Geopolitical Factors Between Nato And Russia Essay

Geopolitical Factors between NATO and Russia Future relationships between NATO and Russia are very uncertain. These uncertainties are due primarily to geopolitical factors like globalization, economic interdependence and international law. This leaves the world to question the possibility of a conflict arising from these clashing geopolitical factors. First, Russia, one of the major powers, has expanded economically and militarily by increasing trade, communication and even showing military force in other countries with the fight against ISIL. This expansion, known as globalization, has lead to the interdependence between states, specifically, dependence of the production process, investment, consumption, foreign trade, and inflows of foreign currency (Vorobyov 2). Next, the issue of economic interdependence has many wondering about the state of conflict between NATO members and Russia. Economic interdependence refers to a state’s need to rely on other states for resources thr ough trade and investment. Liberalist and realist views of economic interdependence shine light on the last question about causes for concern for war between Russia and any NATO members. In the following paragraphs, these contradicting views will be closely analyzed in order to help get a sense for how interdependence between major powers will have an effect on potential future conflict. Lastly, Russia and NATO have very conflicting views when it comes to international laws and how they ought to beShow MoreRelatedThe Geopolitical Challenges Of America1616 Words   |  7 PagesOur Geopolitical Challenges America is a country that stands out from all the other countries. We have a strong system of government that listens to the people and is ran by the people. This does not however mean that we are without geopolitical challenges. 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Facebook Assignment Free Essays

Nathan Barry – S10001606 Business Context Introduction The following assignment was created by our group [ ] Our chosen organisation for the assignment is the online social networking site Facebook. As a group we feel as though this would give us a good opportunity to analyse the factors of business content in an in-depth way. Business could be defined as â€Å"the transformation of inputs into outputs. We will write a custom essay sample on Facebook Assignment or any similar topic only for you Order Now This transformation process takes place against a background of external influences which affect the firm and its activities†. (Worthington and Britton 2000:3) Facebook Background Facebook was co-founded in February 2004 by Mark Zuckerburg and roommate Dustin Moskovitz, both American entrepreneurs who attended Harvard University, Massachusetts. Zuckerburg now owns around a quarter of the organisation with Dustin still having a share of around 6-7% as of 2010. Facebook’s mission statement simply reads â€Å"to give people the power to share and make the world more open and connected†. (www. facebook. com) Economics â€Å"The study of how human beings seek to use resources to satisfy the whole range of their needs, wants and desires†. Wetherly and Otter 2008:3) We need resources in order to satisfy our needs, wants and aspirations. The economy provides this in four categories which are land, labour, capital and enterprise. The economy surrounding Facebook is undoubtedly large and still growing rapidly with investors continuingly looking to pump money into the company. The site attracts businesses from all over the world and of all sizes with its expansive advertising space which reaches out to millions of users daily. Recent figures published by Facebook themselves estimate a figure in the region of â€Å"five hundred million users with 50% of chose actively logging into the site daily†. (www. Facebook. com/stats). This therefore is an extremely attractive proposition for any business looking to advertise as most target audiences are reachable. Supply and demand is an extremely important factor for Facebook. They are the market leader in there sector and therefore control the price as investors and company’s looking to advertise have little choice when it comes to substitutes (compliments). There is a huge demand for what Facebook offer and this demand is only met by small supply which as a result increases the price. Legal/Technology Technology is â€Å"the sum of knowledge of the means and methods of producing goods and services† (Worthington and Britton 2000:138). Technology is massive issue for any online business as falling behind could be very costly in terms of gaining a competitive advantage. Facebook specifically must concentrate on information technology (i. c. t) as they handle huge quantities of data about their users. Businesses must comply with legislation and Facebook are a complex example with issues such as eBullying, â€Å"the term used to refer to bullying and harassment by use of electronic devices such as mobile phones, e-mail, instant messaging, text messages and websites†. (www. ebullying. co. uk). Facebook attempts to reduce this with an extensive rights and responsibility page which must be agreed to when the user signs up to the website such as an age restriction policy although this is easily flawed as users can enter the wrong D. O. B without checks being carried out. How to cite Facebook Assignment, Papers

Developing A Marketplace For Smart Cities - Myassignmenthelp.Com

Question: Discuss about the Developing A Marketplace For Smart Cities. Answer: This research paper discusses the cybersecurity challenges in smart cities. It also presents many theories to discover safety, security, and privacy role in the smart cities. The main aim of this report is to address the impact of safety, security and privacy, and cybersecurity in the smart countries. This paper based on opinions of many authors to support the study, it involves Elmaghraby and Losavio (2014). This study practiced several paradigms and categorical structures as it could be imperative for examine advantages and cybersecurity. In this, it considers three factors like intelligence level, instrumented, and Interconnected. Moreover, the integrated structure will assist to the emergency responders, disaster recovery, and public safety as it could be effective in managing the security. The findings also demonstrate the significance of security and privacy. It supports to explore the findings of the research study, author practiced a huge number of pictures and tables to repr esent the collected data. From the findings, it is examined that the security demonstrates the evaluation of data and influences causing physical disruptions in the availability of services. Moreover, It is also analyzed that privacy-protecting structure supports to gather the information and prompt responses at the time of technical changes and dealing with security challenges. In this report, the author uses a model to represent the interaction between servers and individuals. This article is published in the Journal of Advanced Research. This Journal is supportive to explore the qualitative and quantitative data as it would be imperative for both research scholar and reader. This report supports to provide the evidence of the previous research challenges, like Rose (2013), who focuses on the programmes for the smart city technical regulations and guidance to explore the significance of standards in the smart cities. In addition, it is also stated that the main aim of this research report is to identify the role of the technical standards and guidance in establishing the smart city. Cohen and Money (2017) completed their research on this particular research matter. In this research study, the investigator uses the multiple large software structures that consider many elements like environmental interactivity, requirements of citizens, error handlings, safety instruction, and operational controlling liability. Other elements are transparency, portfolio, credibility, availability, and hosting. The data was collected through observation method. Moreover, the author has used many methods to analysis the framework of smart cities like applied computing, Inform ation systems, Security and privacy, Software security engineering, and Human-centred computing. This finding recommended that through data analysis method, the research scholar is able to determine the significance of regulation in the smart cities. In this, it is also addressed that there is a certain factor that could be imperative in making the smart city like techniques, policies, companies, management system, people, governance, economy, communities, natural atmosphere, and infrastructure. To support discovered findings, the investigator exercised a huge number of tables, charts, and tables to increase the discussion. This journal is published in the International World Wide Web Conference Committee. This journal concentrates on the practical relevance and theoretical exploration as it could be beneficial for the academic audience as well as the practitioner. This paper supports to demonstrate the last research, such as Berry (2008), who describes the conceptualization of smart cities. Moreover, it is also examined that the primary aim of this research report is to determine the information communication technology and sustainability in the smart cities management. Bifulco, F., Tregua, M., Amitrano, C. T., and D'Auria, A (2015), have completed their research on ICT and sustainability in the smart cities management. For this research study, the author has used the survey through a questionnaire to conduct their research as it could be effective to collect the reliable outcome. In this, qualitative data analysis method is used by the research scholar through content analysis method as it would be supportive to evaluate the collected data and get a reliable outcome. Moreover, this finding suggested that through data analysis method, the investigator is capable to identify the importance of information communication technology and sustainabil ity in the smart cities. In this, it is also stated that information communication technology and sustainability like an across-the-board elements because they connect all services to communities in the smart city. Consequently, it will be effective to make the smart city planning. In addition, ICT and sustainability technique support to operate the process of amortization. In this research report, the research scholar has practiced many tables and charts to support the findings and increase the whole discussion of research. This journal is published in the International Journal of Public Sector Management. This journal focuses on the theoretical exploration and practical relevance, which will be imperative for enhancing the understanding of practitioner and academic audience. This research report discusses the previous research, such as Harrison and Donnelly, who discusses the perspective on smart cities. Further, the main aim of this research is to identify a strategic and technical situation of the smart city for effectively dealing in the recession period. Paroutis, S., Bennett, M., Heracleous, L. (2013) completed their research study on this particular topic. In this research study, researchers have used qualitative research design to complete the specified aim and objectives. In this, it considers a certain method of observation, interview and documentary method to collect the data in the context of research issue. Besides this, the researcher has also practiced the case study approach to collect reliable data regarding the research issue. For this research study, research scholars have utilized qualitative and quantitative data analysis method to examine the collected data and meet research aim and objectives systematically. In addition, it is also found that the data analysis method will enable the researcher to determine the significance of strategic view on smart city technology. In this, the author mainly considers three factors like technology view, systems view, and strategic view. It is also stated that systematic view and technical view support to develop the smart technology and structure in the city. As a result, the country could be capable to improve their existing situation systematically. For supporting the finding of the research, the researcher will practice many tables and charts as could also be effective to deeply understand the research matter. This journal article is published in the technological forecasting and social change. This article concentrates on both practical as well as theoretical perspective as it could be imperative for increasing the subjective knowledge of academic audience and practitioner. In this report, researcher studied various literature regarding the smart cities. This research paper also supports to previous research, such as Wright and Steventon (2006), who discusses the smart cities. The main purpose of this research report is to evaluate the impact of smart city initiatives and big data on SCM (supply chain management). More precisely, this research also discovers the information about the connection between supply network characteristics, smart cities, and big data. Elcio M. Tachizawa, Mara J. Alvarez-Gil and Mara J. Montes-Sancho (2015), completed their research on how smart cities will change supply chain management. It will be effective to improve the supply chain process and get a higher return. In this research study, researchers have used an integrative framework to collect specific data about the research issue. In this, the researcher has also used the literature review and integrative framework to evaluate the collected data and meet the research ai m and objectives. Further, this finding recommended that the data analysis method mandate the researcher to determine the impact of smart cities in the whole process of supply chain management. For this research report, the investigator has used charts to support the collected data and as it could be effective to understand the current research matter. This Journal has published in the supply chain management: an international journal. This Journal concentrates on both practical and theoretical concept as it could be effective for improving current awareness about research subject. References Adel S. Elmaghraby, and Michael M. Losavio (2014) Cybersecurity challenges in Smart Cities: Safety, security, and privacy, 5(4), pp. 491497 Elcio M. Tachizawa, Mara J. Alvarez-Gil, Mara J. Montes-Sancho, (2015) "How smart cities will change supply chain management", Supply Chain Management: An International Journal, Vol. 20 Issue: 3, pp.237-248. Francesco Bifulco Marco Tregua Cristina Caterina Amitrano Anna D'Auria, (2016) "ICT and sustainability in smart cities management", International Journal of Public Sector Management, Vol. 29 Iss 2 pp. 132 - 147 Money, W. H., Cohen, S. (2015) Developing a marketplace for Smart Cities Foundational Services with Policy and Trust, International Journal of Computer Science: Theory and Application, 3(1), 1-12. Paroutis, S., Bennett, M., Heracleous, L. (2013) a strategic view on smart city technology: The case of IBM Smarter Cities during a recession 89, pp. 262-272.

Synthesis and Characterization Essay Example

Synthesis and Characterization Paper Insert the tube into the MSB and take a mental average of the fluctuating reading. 5. Repeat the previous step three times. 6. If the MSB displays a negative number, the coordination complex is diamagnetic and no further steps are necessary. 7. Determine how many unpaired electrons reside on the cobalt. E. Interpreting Infrared Spectrum 1. Assign the bands of the infrared spectrum of the complex. Results A. Synthesizing Carbonatotetraamminecobalt (III) nitrate: [Co(NH3)4CO3]NO3 The first attempt to dissolve the ammonium carbonate in 30. 0 mL of water failed because some chunks still remained. It was important to grind the ammonium carbonate down to a fine powder because the dissolution process took place very slowly and bigger chunks would not have dissolved. After all of the 10. 012 g of ammonium carbonate was dissolved, the liquid remained clear. The addition of 7. 56 g of cobalt nitrate to 15. 0 mL of water was very fluent and took on a color between dark purple and maroon. When the ammonium carbonate and cobalt nitrate solutions were added together, the new mixture was a blood red. After the mixture was stirred, however, it darkened and became nearly black. The 4. We will write a custom essay sample on Synthesis and Characterization specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now We will write a custom essay sample on Synthesis and Characterization specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer We will write a custom essay sample on Synthesis and Characterization specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer 0 mL of 30% H2O2 solution which was slowly added caused the mixture to bubble, sizzle and gain heat, while staying black. While the solution, which was poured into a large crucible, was concentrated over a Bunsen burner, evaporation occurred very slowly. During evaporation, the solution bubbled a little, gas was evolved, and the dissolution of 2. 49 g of ammonium carbonate in the hot solution was visible due to tiny bubbles. After the evaporation was complete and the volume had dropped to 48 mL, the solution had the same appearance. However, after suction filtering the solution, the color became a lighter purple. After the cold water bath, it looked somewhat powdery on the bottom. Filtering a second time resulted in only a pink/purple powder which appeared somewhat crystalline. When the solid was mixed with a scupula during the 10 minute drying process, it looked a lot more like crystals. The final mass of the crystals was 3. 039 g. The balanced equation for the synthesis of carbonatotetraamminecobalt (III) nitrate is shown below as well as the calculations for determining percent yield. 2 Two distinct peaks of intensity were noticeable for the absorbance spectrum of the cobalt solution between 350 to 650 nm. Below are the calculations for determining the mass of crystals required to create a solution of the right concentration to produce a spectrum of absorbance at approximately IR spectrum: spikes at frequencies(IR spectrum: spikes at frequencies(cm-1) of 830 and 1380. Discussion A problem occurred during the conductivity measurements of the cobalt complex. The expected values for conductance were between 118 and 131, but the actual calculated value was 43. 88 microseimens. Clearly, the problem arose during the probe reading in the cobalt solution. It is possible that the probes reading was skewed because it made contact with the glass wall of the beaker. This problem would have definitely lowered the reading relative to what it should have been. The absorbance spectrum of the cobalt complex on the wavelength interval 350-650 nm displayed two distinct peaks, meaning that both ions of the coordination compound were separated. This suggests strongly that the coordination compound was indeed synthesized correctly. The absorption intensities at both lambda maxes were relatively close, around 0. 6. These absorption values were used in the Beers Law equation to solve for the molar absorbance, also called the extinction coefficient. Both molar absorbance values are fairly close to 100, but deviations of 4 and 14 imply that some impurities still remain in the compound, possibly left over from the evaporation process. The coordination compound characterization via magnetic susceptibility was rather simple data requiring no calculations. The reason for this is that the magnetic susceptibility reading of the crystal-filled glass tube was equal to the reading of the empty tube, and that both were negative values. Negative values signify that the coordination compound is diamagnetic, which means that no unpaired electrons are present. The reason for the pairing of electrons can be explained with crystal field splitting. When electrons are introduced to d-orbitals, a change in energy occurs. Electrons will move to orbitals with the lowest possible energy. The ideal behavior for electrons after occupying the dxy, dx2, and dyz orbitals is to pair with the electrons already in these same orbitals. This is true only if ? E, or the energy difference from these orbitals to the dx2-y2 and dz2 orbitals, is greater than the energy cost for pairing with electrons in the lower orbitals. In the case of the cobalt complex, the spin pairing energy is much less than ? E, causing the electrons to pair in the lower energy orbitals. This pairing makes the complex a low-spin complex, implying that it is in fact diamagnetic. The goal of the infrared spectroscopy analysis was to prove that the cobalt coordination compound which was created during this experiment was actually created instead of a different compound with similar properties and bonds. [Co(NH3)5Cl]Cl2 and NaNO3 were available to compare with the infrared spectrum of [Co(NH3)5CO3]NO3. Clearly, [Co(NH3)5CO3]NO3 cannot be the same compound as NaNO3 because they only share one infrared band. Both coordination compounds have a band at 3300 cm-1 which corresponds to a N-H stretch, one at 1600 cm-1 corresponding to N-H bending, one at 1300 cm-1 corresponding to N-H symmetric bending, and one at 830 cm-1 corresponding to N-H bending. The most important difference between these coordination compounds lies in the common spike of [Co(NH3)5CO3]NO3 and NaNO3 at 1380 cm-1. Because these two compounds share this spike while the Cl coordination compound does not, the 1380 cm-1 peak must represent an N-O bond, which is the most significant spike on the NaNO3 spectrum as would be expected. During the synthesis of carbonatotetraamminecobalt (III) nitrate, several factors could have contributed to the relatively low quantity of crystals formed in terms of the percent yield. After calculations, it was concluded that 6. 22 grams of crystals should have been produced. However, only 3. 039 grams was actually produced. One of these factors that may have contributed to the low percent error of 48. 86% is the short evaporation stage. Since time was a factor during the experiment, the solution may not have been given enough time to evaporate any impurities. While the final volume of the solution was verified to be 48 mL, under the designated 50 mL, more impurities could have evaporated. If the solution had sat above a Bunsen burner for a greater length of time, it would have undoubtedly become more concentrated. Another factor which possibly contributed to a low percent yield is measurement errors. Although a good level of confidence can be felt about whether or not the right amounts were added, there is always room for error. A simple miscalculation or slight deviation in a measurement could have thrown off the remainder of the synthesis. Furthermore, a very obvious source of error can be found regarding the filtering system. The crystal product is quite soluble in water for the fact that its ions can be easily separated. For this reason, ice cold water was used whenever contact had to be made with the crystals; the low temperature of the water prevents the dissolution of the crystals to some extent. In the filter, some of the crystals could have dissolved and fallen through, which would have resulted in a poor percent yield. In general, this experiment ran very smoothly and achieved its purpose of providing detailed information regarding the properties and synthesis processes of a transition metal coordination compound. To improve the results of percent yield and perhaps to improve the results in many areas of characterization, the evaporation stage should be lengthened to facilitate the removal of remaining impurities.

How to Stay Positive in the Middle of a Job Search

How to Stay Positive in the Middle of a Job Search The job search process may seem lengthy at times, but there are things you can do to increase both the efficiency of the search and your resiliency.   The most successful job hunters  navigate the waters in a purposeful manner,  using positivity as a guide. Let’s take a look at some techniques that can help you achieve your goals.   Target a JobThis is really a two-pronged approach. First,  understand  the type of job that suits your talents. You likely have an idea of what this is from  the courses you’ve taken to the natural interests and abilities you possess. List the type of work at which you excel, and link that to pertinent job duties. Try to  find companies where you might want to work, and then aim  to connect your talents to job duties at these  companies.  Network With OthersNetworking with friends or colleagues who work in the industry or at a company you are targeting is important. Work with your contacts   to learn about  attribut es the company seeks  in an employee- doing so might help you use the right key words  resume or during an interview.  Get Help to Stay on TargetSeeking the help of a friend or job coach can be key in keeping you on track. If a contact  has experienced a similar job search situation or counseled others in their search, he or she can be a weekly touchstone to help  you stay on target.A trusted support person is also a great resource for practicing a mock interview. Brainstorming possible questions- and having the right answers!- can help  you appear at ease when the big day comes.  Strategize Your Job SearchThinking of a job search with the same plan of attack  you have when playing a game of chess will  help you navigate hurdles. Game players know there are no points to be made in  giving up, and having a plan always helps you win. Devising a strategy for your job search is similar. Make checklists for your week and celebrate milestones (such as finally structuri ng a winning  resume)- and always keep moving forward.  Control What You CanWhile there are some aspects of a job search you cannot control, you can control  how you  search for a job and where you eventually apply. For instance, using TheJobNetwork to locate jobs that match your skill set at a particular company is a deliberate choice that sets you on the right path. Applying as soon as a job comes up gives you a running start. TheJobNetwork matches jobs to your criteria and qualifications and alerts you as soon as the job is available.  Set Up a RoutineEstablish a routine you feel comfortable following every day. Check email daily, maybe even at the same time very day, to see if search results have arrived or if you received an invitation for an interview. Automatically follow up with an email after sending in an application to ensure it was received.When you are searching for a job, having a platform like the JobNetwork doing the searching for you helps. Since employers use platforms to announce jobs, it stands to reason you’ll have early access to new listings. TheJobNetwork even ranks the results, so you are able to see how closely the job matches your criteria. Doing your homework and getting ready to embrace a new job has a great deal to do with how you feel and the perceptions others have of you. Being positive and energetic is a great calling card.

Using the PHP Function to Find When a File Was Modified

Using the PHP Function to Find When a File Was Modified If your website contains time-sensitive information- or even if it doesnt- you may want to display the last time a file was modified on the website. This gives users an accurate idea of how up to date the information on a page is. You can automatically draw this information from the file itself using the ​filemtime() PHP function. The filemtime() PHP function retrieves the Unix timestamp from the file. The date function converts the Unix timestamp time. This timestamp indicates when the file was last changed. Example Code to Display File Modification Date   When you use this code,  replace myfile.txt with the actual name of the file you are dating.​ ?php // outputs myfile.txt was last modified: December 29 2002 22:16:23. $filename myfile.txt; if (file_exists($filename)) {  Ã‚  echo $filename was last modified: . date (F d Y H:i:s., filemtime($filename)); } ? Other Uses for Filemtime() Function In addition to time-stamping web articles, the filemtime() function can be used to select all articles older than a specified time for the purpose of deleting all old articles. It can also be used to sort articles by age for other purposes. The function can come in handy when dealing with browser caching. You can force the download of a revised version of a stylesheet or page using the filemtime()  function. Filemtime can be used to capture the modification time of an image or other file on a remote site. Information on Filemtime() Function The results  of the filemtime() function are cached. The  clearstatcache() function clears the cache.If the filemtime () function fails, the code returns false.

Disscus How ethics applies to police work. and how ethical decisions Essay

Disscus How ethics applies to police work. and how ethical decisions should be made by law enforcement - Essay Example They take vow of office, are anticipated to meet the terms with certified codes of ethics, and are subject to numerous rules, laws, and protocols. An officer matures his or her moral scope, ethical base, or character from cooperating with other characters and reviewing ethics. Ethics exercise for police authorities assistances them do the following: Surrounded by an agencys code of ethics are precise provisions endorsing the protection of lives and belongings, the meaning of escaping bias and the accepting that the badge is the representation of the public trust? To be brief, the code of ethics necessitates that officers are not only equipped to impose the law, but to shadow it. They are entitled to be illustrations to the public and to make evident the right way to perform, instead of the entitlement mentality they are so repeatedly reproached of exhibiting (Gleason,

The Rose Theatre Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

The Rose Theatre - Case Study Example The performing arts in general make a significant contribution to the economy in the UK, therefore there are political factors involved. Those include funding sources for subsidized theatre and better facilities for the arts and education. The Rose has also become a great community resource as it fills the schedules for drama students at Kingston University. There is also, at this time some political controversy in the change of leadership between Hall who was very much an artistic dictator to the replacement Stephen Unwin (Taylor, 2008) which could in fact affect the Rose.E-(Economic factors)-There has been a drastic change in the world's economy in the last year, the UK is no exception and public entertainment like that at the Rose is affected. The pound fell to the lowest level in 10 months against the dollar on Monday before it began to recover on Wed (Ewing et.al., 2010). A sovereign debt crisis similar to the one in Greece is a concern at this time. The Bank of England has halt ed buying government bonds (Ewing, 2010). All of these economic factors affect every part of the economy and most often those that are considered entertainment or leisure. The Rose Theatre still show high attendance levels but most open for opening showings and with higher income audiences. Decisions on financial stability are difficult to make at this time, but certainly it will be affected one way or another (Smith, 2008).There are in fact difficulties at the Rose as the Peter Hall has been to the arts council for funding and there have been many new funding ideas set up such as training for the unemployed in the arts industry. Hall believes, however, that the arts council has not done enough (Kennedy, 2008). There are many jobs lost in the UK and at this point in time there are 10 jobseekers for every vacancy which certainly affects the number of people who can afford the theatre (Grice, 2010). S-(Social Factors) - The history of theatre in the UK has been long going. Admissions to London theaters reached 13.6 million in 2007. Opening showings at the Rose have been extremely well attended. Sell out productions have been noted on a regular basis. Theatre also remains a strong draw to the country for tourists. There are some concerns to be considered here, especially with the advent of the electronics age. There are still barriers to attending the performing arts. Some of those are financial and some of them are access as well as political and social. Even with increased arts funding, and initiatives to widen the audience, there have not been increases in the types of audiences that are attending. This will remain a challenge for theatre management (UK Market research, 2008). In most countries, especially the United States there has been a consistent 5 year decline in attendance (Treanor, 2008). This has to remain a consideration to management in the UK. T-(Technological factors).The age of electronics has definitely affected the theatre although in many other countries it is much worse than the UK. With the advent of television, video, internet there has been a decreased need to go to the theatre. There are many productions that are putting the production right on the web with fees for watching the production. This can be done in the convenience of home or car. This is where access to the theatre is so important. When challenged by access technology will surely win (UK market research, 2008). E-(Environmental factors)- Other than the melting of the ice caps and the possible flooding of London, there are many other issues noted in the news that might affect the management of the theatre over many years. Methane emissions from livestock creates more greenhouse gas than cars. Global meat production will double by 2050 because of a population explosion that will continue (Wilson, 2010) The world has 6.8 billion people and that will expand to 9.2

Comparing The Golden Pathway Annual to Blue Remembered Hills Essay Example for Free

Comparing The Golden Pathway Annual to Blue Remembered Hills Essay In the autumn term of 2006 I performed as Enid and The Head in The Golden Pathway Annual, a play by John Harding John Burrows, for my scripted performance. The class was split into groups of three (which was very fitting as in The Golden Pathway Annual most scenes have only three characters, only the odd few scenes had four) and then given different extracts from the play. My group was exceptionally conscious in keeping the props, costumes and especially acting appropriate to the time period, so some brief research was done using the Internet to give us a better understanding of, for example, what statuses the mother and father would have in relation to each other, or what costumes should be worn. Obviously, a reading of the entire play was done prior to any rehearsals, so that the scenes that we would be performing made sense to us. We also read through Blue Remembered Hills, by Dennis Potter, as a class. The Golden Pathway Annual is almost completely non-naturalistic. The same actor plays Michael, the lead role, throughout all his ages from the age of two-and-a-half into his adulthood. Also, two of the four actors play a range of characters, as opposed to one actor playing one character, as they would in a naturalistic play. At first glances, Blue Remembered Hills would seem to be a non-naturalistic play. Firstly, the characters are all children, whereas all the actors are adults, similar to The Golden Pathway Annual, where an adult actor would play the role of the child Michael. However, the scenarios in Blue Remembered Hills are completely naturalistic everything that happens could happen in real life. In contrast, The Golden Pathway Annual has moments, such as the fantasy sequences, where Michael is a dog with members of the Famous Five, which are evidently not naturalistic. The other very naturalistic thing about Blue Remembered Hills is that the play is in real-time one incident after another without the imposition or intervention of memory in the form of flashback in Potters words. The play is set in one day, unlike The Golden Pathway Annual, which spans a time period of more than 20 years there is even an instance in the beginning where the transition between two scenes indicates the change of several years, where a child had been born and raised to the age of two-and-a-half not naturalistic in the slightest. The emotions in Blue Remembered Hills are very naturalistic. This is because the play shows realistic emotions and how the different characters would react, for instance when Donald dies towards the end, all the characters are badly shaken. If the emotions were non-naturalistic, such as in a comic style, the emotions would portray Donalds death as humorous. The Golden Pathway Annual also has very naturalistic, touching moments, such as: Enid: Whats going to happen to us? George: When? Enid: When we die. Enid feels upset and slightly pessimistic now that Michael has left home, a natural reaction for a mother to feel. George, in the following lines, tries to be brave and attempts to convince Enid shes not talking sense an also natural thing for a husband to do. A noticeable difference between the two plays is the themes. The Golden Pathway Annual mainly has the theme of expectations, where Michael is pressured throughout his life, by his parents and by his school. He works hard, however this is only to find that all he worked for amounted to nothing. The main theme of Blue Remembered Hills is, in my opinion, childhood (other people may think differently it depends on a persons interpretation). The play goes through the emotions and activities of children, with an ending showing how all fun and games can end in catastrophe. Basing the two plays on their main themes, it could be said that they are divergent, however the two plays have other themes, which do relate the two of them. Nostalgia seems to be portrayed in both of the plays. A sense of looking back can be seen in both Dennis Potters and Ed Thomasons (the director of the first The Golden Pathway Annual productions) introductions; Every event in the script which had sparked off a personal memory, a moment of recognition for me, would do the same for an audience (Ed Thomason). It is clear that The Golden Pathway Annual was written with the intention of nostalgia and Blue Remembered Hills was written using Potters memories. Both the plays similarly experience the theme of fantasy, however one experiences it naturalistically and the other non-naturalistically. Blue Remembered Hills has times when the children will imagine they are Indians and cowboys, for instance, running through the forest wailing and shooting each other with their imaginary guns. This is naturalistic, as the audience sees the children playing pretend. The Golden Pathway Annual has non-naturalistic fantasy sequences. Michaels fantasies are much more like dreams the audience views a dream where Michael is a dog or is James Bond; it is not Michael pretending he is James Bond. Although Blue Remembered Hills was written for television, a successful stage adaptation has been made of it. A problem posed by this, which is overcome in different ways, depending on the production, is the staging. There is a section towards the end where there are instant transitions between inside a barn and outside a barn. On television, this is easy to do, however on stage this is harder. Therefore, the staging must be unnatural the stage could be split, for instance. This is alike to The Golden Pathway Annual, where the staging is very unnatural such as in a scene I performed a Grannys footsteps scene, where Michaels parents advance on him in the ironic fashion of this childs game. As a group, we decided to stage it abstractly, similarly to the way Blue Remembered Hills would be staged. The Golden Pathway Annual is set during the 1940s and 1960s. Our group established this time period in many ways; one was the way the two parents related. I performed as Enid in a way that allowed George to be the more dominant character, reflecting on the main beliefs of that time, that men still seemed to be the superior gender. The Golden Pathway Annual begins just after the war, whereas Blue Remembered Hills is set during the war. It is interesting to see that just the two years changes the historic period entirely, making the two plays acted very differently. There is a similarity in time periods between the plays, and that is that the time period is a given circumstance it is set, and cannot be changed. The reason Blue Remembered Hills cannot be changed is quite obviously as it is during the war, and the context of the play wouldnt make sense without the time period. The time period in The Golden Pathway Annual is essential to the characters, plot and emotions; without the time period, the nostalgia of the play would be lost. In addition, the production notes stress the time period heavily. One difference I notice about the style of how the two plays are written is the freedom the writers allow for the production, and what given circumstances there are. Blue Remembered Hills seems to be more flexible with how the play can be performed. Potter gives an option of what Willie can be doing in the first scene, whereas Harding Burrows have much more strict given circumstances, where the props, as examples, are much more set the placing of the two chairs (which are the props that create the illusion of many other items in the play) is stated. Society and culture is a significant difference between the two plays. The Peters family in The Golden Pathway Annual is of working class. The family was hard-hit by the war literally; their house was bombed and they lost everything. Society in the times of the beginning of when The Golden Pathway Annual is set had the popular belief that the future would get better, the high hopes due to the recent winning of the war. It was also believed that the young generation should make the best of what they have offered to them, a culture reflected deeply into Enid and Georges parenting, which is shown through all the pressure applied on Michael to do well at school and get good qualifications, so he can succeed in life. However, as the play progresses, we see that cultures change and Michael finds that like the pound, his degree has devalued. The class and culture are both very different in Blue Remembered Hills. The children spit, threaten and fight regularly in the play, something that Michael is never known to have experienced. Michael is always made presentable, as his parents believe that they need to fit in with the society. It is likely that the same case occurs in Blue Remembered Hills, however the culture is different the entire town is likely to be of the lower agricultural class, working on the farms; the way the children behave is normal in the society they are in. It is clear that the upbringing of the children in Blue Remembered Hills is not to get a degree and do well in life and to better themselves, as Michael is in The Golden Pathway Annual; the children are parented in a sort of the present matters mentality, in contrast to The Golden Pathway Annual where Enid and George have firm beliefs that it is the future that matters, and that everything is done for a child to better themselves in the future. In conclusion, I have learnt that although the two plays are very different in where they are set and the way the characters behave, similarities still lie in the themes and some of the styles, such as staging.

The Mystery of Sleep Essays -- Essays Papers

The Mystery of Sleep ~ Rest for the body, Activity for the brain ~ Everyone sleeps. While humans sleep, they do not procreate, protect, or nurture their young, gather food, earn money, write papers, etc. Surely, at least once, most people have wondered why they sleep in spite of these disadvantages. According to Greier (48), it is hard for scientists to answer the seemingly simple question of what, exactly, sleep is good for. Sleep occupies one-third of humans' lives, which seems like a waste of precious time; however, no one can survive without sleep. According to Shelton (5), sleepy drivers in the U.S. cause approximately 56,000 car accidents every year. Also, Wolfson and Carskadon (875) report interestingly that the students who achieve good grades sleep longer than the students who are struggling or failing in school. Furthermore, the nuclear accident at Chernobyl, the near meltdown at Three Mile Island, the environmentally disastrous oil spill by the Exxon Valdez, and the loss of the space shuttle Challenger were all caused by people who made m istakes because of too little sleep (Coren 1). Sleep deprivation seems to cause detrimental effects to humans' daily lives. Sleep is a state marked by reduced consciousness, diminished activity of the skeletal muscles, and depressed metabolism. Humans normally experience sleep in patterns that follow five observable, progressive stages (stages 0~ 4) of non-rapid eye movement (NREM) sleep and a separate pattern of rapid eye movement (REM) sleep (Coren 31). An electrical encephalogram (EEG), devised by Hans Berger in 1919, is used to measure electrical activities of neurons during the stages: Stage 0 is not real sleep, but going to bed and preparing for sleep. During stage 1, th... ... (1997): 48-50. Hobson, Allan J. {Sleep}. New York: Scientific American Library, 1995. Meddis, Ray. {The Sleep Instinct}. Boston: Routledge & Kegan Paul, 1977. Moreno, Anne. "Why We Sleep? Getting a Good Night's Sleep Is Important to Your Health and Also to Your Success in Life." {Current Health 2} 25.2 (1998): 6-13. Rechtschaffen, Allan. "Current Perspectives on the Function of Sleep." {Perspectives in Biology and Medicine} 41.3 (1998): 359-90. Shelton, Deborah L. "Sleep-Deprived Drivers Linked to Highway 'Carnage'" {American Medical News} 38.26 (1995): 5-6. Stampi, Claudio, ed. {Why We Nap: Evolution, Chronobiology, and Functions of Polyphasic and Ultrashort Sleep}. By Jurgan Arnoff. Boston: Birkhauser, 1992. Wolfson, Amy R., and Mary A. Carskadon. "Sleep Schedules and Daytime Functioning in Adolescents." {Child Development} 69.4 (1998): 875-89.

Grievance Redress Mechanism in Government

GRIEVANCE REDRESS MECHANISM IN GOVERNMENT GRIEVANCE REDRESS 1. 1Â  Grievance Redress Mechanism is part and parcel of the machinery of any administration. No administration can claim to be accountable, responsive and user-friendly unless it has established an efficient and effective grievance redress mechanism. In fact, the grievance redress mechanism of an organization is the gauge to measure its efficiency and effectiveness as it provides important feedback on the working of the administration. I. (A) STRUCTURE OF GRIEVANCE REDRESS MACHINERY AT APEX LEVEL The grievances of public are received at various points in the Government of India .There are primarily two designated nodal agencies in the Central Government handling these grievances. These agencies are:- (i)Â  Department of Administrative Reforms and Public Grievances, Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances & Pensions (ii)Â  Directorate of Public Grievances, Cabinet Secretariat Department of Administrative Reforms & Public Grievances 2. 1Â  Department of Administrative Reforms & Public Grievances is the nodal agency in respect of policy initiatives on public grievances redress mechanism and citizen centric initiatives.The role of Department of Administrative Reforms and Public Grievances consists primarily to undertake such citizen-centric initiatives in the fields of administration reforms and public grievances in the Government so as to enable the Government machinery to deliver quality public services to the citizen in a hassle-free manner and eliminate the causes of grievance. 2. 2Â  The grievances received by the Department are forwarded to the concerned Ministries/Departments/State Governments/UTs, who are dealing with the substantive function linked with the grievance for redress under intimation to the complainant.The Department ‘takes up’ about 1000 grievances every year depending upon the seriousness of the grievance and follows them regularly till their final disposal. This enables the Department to evaluate the effectiveness of the grievance redress machinery of the concerned government agency. 2. 3Â  On the basis of the grievances received, Department identifies the problem areas in Government which are complaint-prone. These problem areas are then subjected to studies and remedial measures are suggested to the Department/Organisation concerned. Directorate of Public Grievances (DPG) . 1Â  Based on the review of the public grievances redress machinery in Government of India carried out in 1987, the Directorate of Public Grievances was set up in the Cabinet Secretariat with effect from 01. 04. 88. This Directorate was set up initially to look into individual complaints pertaining to four Central Government Departments which were more prone to public complaints. Subsequently, more Departments having larger public interface were added to its purview and presently this Directorate is handling grievances pertaining to 16 Central Government Organisations . . 2Â  The Directorate was envisaged as an appellate body investigating grievances selectively and particularly those where the complainant had failed to get redress at the hands of internal machinery and the hierarchical authorities. Unlike the Department of AR&PG, Directorate of Public Grievances has been empowered to call for the files and officers for discussion to see that grievance handling has been done in a fair, objective and just manner.Wherever the Directorate is satisfied that the grievance has not been dealt in such a manner, it makes suitable recommendations for consideration and adoption by the concerned Ministry/Department which are required to be implemented within a period of one month. 3. 3Â  The empowered and enlightened citizenry of today is far more demanding and the government, therefore, has to develop, evolve and enable itself to meet the evolving demands of the society that it has to serve. The society oday is impatient with the old system of governance which is not coming up to its expectations. To them, a government employee is perceived as insensitive, aloof, corrupt and overall the administrative system as autocratic, opaque and with no work culture 3. 4Â  This requires a paradigm shift in governance to a system where the citizen is in the center and he is consulted at various stages of formulation and implementation of public policy. To achieve this objective, India needs a public service which is capable, innovative and forward looking.The traditional role of civil service which was of administrator, service provider and controller of development activities has to make way for the new roles of facilitator and regulator so as to create best environment and conditions in the country for building a nation of excellence. 3. 5Â  Department of Administrative Reforms & Public Grievances is the nodal agency in Government of India for formulation and implementation of such policies and strategic initiatives so as to enable and equip the government machinery to meet the challenges involved in achieving this objective. . 6Â  Department of Administrative Reforms and Public Grievances is the driving engine of reforms in administration and governance. The Department proposes to introduce and lead Change to establish a public service of quality, efficiency, integrity and effectiveness and modernize the public service. It is the nodal agency in government for facilitating administrative improvements and reengineering of processes across the government. Citizen’s Charter initiative, Public Grievance Policy, Quality Management in Government, e-Governance, Review of Administrative Laws etc.Documentation and Dissemination of Best Practices, Organisation & Methods, Information & Facilitation Counters, Civil Services Reforms are some of the areas under the ambit of Department of Administrative Reforms & Public Grievances. 3. 7Â  Following are the necessary conditions for successful implementation of any reforms ag enda: –Â  Political mandate –Â  Committed and strong executive –Â  Willingness and capability to take on vested interests in the system II. (A) PUBLIC GRIEVANCE REDRESS MECHANISM IN CENTRAL GOVERNMENT MINISTRIES/ DEPARTMENTS/ ORGANISATIONS 4. Â  The Public Grievance Redress Mechanism functions in Government of India on a decentralized basis. The Central Government Ministries/Departments, their attached and subordinate offices and the autonomous bodies dealing with substantive functions as per Allocations of Business Rules, 1961 have their respective grievance redress machinery. An officer of the level of Joint Secretary is required to be designated as Director of Grievances of the Ministry/Department/Organisation. The role and functions of Directors of Grievances are given in Department of Administrative Reforms and Public Grievances O.M. no. 1/PLCY/PG-88(7) dated 01. 03. 1988. This inter alia empowers the Directors of Grievances to call for files/reports an d take decisions or review decisions already taken, in consultation with Secretary/HOD even in those areas which do not fall within his/her domain/charge. 4. 2Â  The functioning of Public Grievance Redress Machineries in various Ministries/Departments/Organisations is regularly reviewed by a Standing Committee of Secretaries under the Chairmanship of Cabinet Secretary with Additional Secretary Department of Administrative Reforms and Public Grievances as member-secretary. . 3Â  With a view to ensure prompt and effective redress to the grievances, a number of instructions have been issued by Department of AR&PG from time to time which, inter alia include:- (a)Â  Observe every Wednesday as a meetingless day in the Central Secretariat Offices when all the officers above a specified level should be available their desks from 1000hrs. to 1300hrs. to receive and hear public grievances. Field level offices having contact with the public have also to declare one day in the week as a meet ingless day. b)Â  Designate a Joint Secretary level officer as Director of Grievances including in autonomous bodies and public sector undertakings. (c)Â  Deal with every grievance in a fair, objective and just manner and issue reasoned speaking reply for every grievance rejected. (d)Â  Analyse public grievances received to help identification of the problem areas in which modifications of policies and procedures could be undertaken with a view to making the delivery of services easier and more expeditious. e)Â  Issue booklets/pamphlets about the schemes/services available to the public indicating the procedure and manner in which these can be availed and the right authority to be contacted for service as also the grievance redress authority. (f)Â  Pick up grievances appearing in newspaper columns which relate to them and take remedial action on them in a time bound manner. Issue rejoinders to newspapers after investigation in cases which are found to be baseless and/or damagin g to the image of the Organisation. g)Â  Strengthen the machinery for redress of public grievance through, strictly observing meetingless day, displaying name designation, room number, telephone number etc. of Director of Grievances at the reception and other convenient places, placing locked complaint box at reception. (h)Â  Set up Staff Grievance Redress Machinery and designate a Staff Grievance Officer. (i)Â  Include the public grievances work and receipt/disposal statistics relating to redress of public grievances in the Annual Action Plan and Annual Administrative Report of the Ministries/Departments. j)Â  Fix time limits for disposal of work relating to public grievances and staff grievances and strictly adhere to them. (k)Â  Acknowledge each grievance petition within three days of receipt, indicating the name, designation and telephone number of the official who is processing the case. The time frame in which a reply will be sent should also be indicated. (l)Â  Constitu te Lok Adalats/Staff Adalats, if not already constituted, and hold them every quarter for quicker disposal of public as well as staff grievances and pensioners’ grievances. m)Â  Constitute a Social Audit Panel or such other machinery, if not already constituted, for examining areas of public interface with a view to recommending essential changes in procedures to make the organization more people-friendly. (n)Â  Establish a single window system at points of public contact, wherever possible to facilitate disposal of applications. (o)Â  Indicating telephone/fax number of the officer whose signature over a communication regarding the decision/reply is to issue to the petitioner. p)Â  Monitoring of grievances in organisations under Ministries/Departments on a monthly basis. (q)Â  Publicising the grievance redress mechanism through the print and electronic media. (r)Â  Review of receipt and disposal of grievances by Secretaries of Ministries/Departments in the weekly meetin gs taken by them. (B) TYPES OF PUBLIC GRIEVANCES 5. 1Â  An analysis of grievances received in Department of Administrative Reforms & Public Grievances and Directorate of Public Grievances has revealed that the majority of grievances related to inordinate delay in aking decisions, extending from several months to several years and refusal/inability to make speaking replies/disclose basic information to the petitioners to enable them to examine whether their cases have been correctly decided. It is observed that, had the concerned organizations expeditiously and appropriately dealt with the grievances in the first instance, the complainants would not have approached Department of Administrative Reforms & Public Grievances/Directorate of Public Grievances. (C) SYSTEMIC PROBLEM AREAS 6. Â  There are rules, regulations, instructions which are archaic and aimed at shifting the work towards citizens. Slackness in administration, low morale of the services, inherent inertia, absence of in centives, lack of proper authority and accountability are the delay-breeders and the delay is the major factor that generates the grievances. These factors need to be tackled properly through systematic changes. Prevention is better than cure. On these lines, the best method to redress a grievance is not to allow the grievance to arise at the first instance.Even the redress of a grievance, that arose on account of delay, is also delayed as is revealed by the analysis of grievances according to which on a average six months are taken to redress a grievance. 6. 2Â  Many a times Departments/Organisations are found to avoid taking appropriate decisions by resorting to rejection without application of mind, not taking appropriate interest in functioning of subsidiary offices/linked autonomous organizations, and emphasize on disposal and not on the quality disposal.Decisions taken earlier are reiterated without subjecting the cases of independent examination. There is an inertia to revie w decisions taken by down-the-line functionaries. In many cases Departments/Organisations justify the delay and continue with their inability to take decisions by putting the onus on another agency or on the petitioner. Many a times, the actual cause of grievance lay in internal inefficiency of the system and failure to identify simple systemic solutions. It is also observed that the time norms set by Departments for providing services were not being adhered to in many cases. . 3Â  There is no doubt that grievances continue to arise because of a high systemic tolerance for delay, poor work quality and non-accountability in every day performance of functions. Failure to review archaic, redundant and incongruous rules, policies and procedures and to initiate simple, workable systemic changes is another cause for grievance generation. However, Departments and Organisations, which work with policies and procedures on a day-to-day basis, do not appear to have developed the ability to co ntinually look ‘within’ and identify deficiencies.All these factors have ensured that grievances, once arisen, many a time do not get resolved in ‘normal’ course and need intervention at the highest administrative level. 6. 4Â  Slackness in efficient functioning of ‘Directors of Grievances’ is identified as one of the prime cause for continuing delay in redress of grievances. Poor work quality, non-accountability in everyday performance of functions and failure to systemically review policies/procedures and suggest systemic changes are other important causes.In most Ministries, Departments and Organisations, the mechanism of Director of Grievances is not functioning as per the mandate prescribed. (D) Focus Areas 7. 1Â  In this context, it is the need of the time that the Government should review its pledge of providing hassle-free public services to the citizens by focusing on systemic changes to minimize the grievances in Government domain. In order to achieve this objective in a focused manner, it is necessary to evolve a multi-pronged strategy to be implemented in a time-bound and effective manner.Keeping in view the various factors involved in grievance redress issue, following areas need focused attention : 7. 2 Performance Review – Foreseeing areas of dissatisfaction (a)Â  To review processes, functions etc. in the organization and to cast them pro-actively in a manner that would foresee areas of dissatisfaction, identify activities where transparency, equity, prudence and propriety are compromised, interventions that can help achieve better outcomes, improve satisfaction of internal and external stakeholders. b)Â  An annual review of laws, rules, regulations, instructions and procedures be carried out with a view to simplify the procedure making the administration more transparent, accountable and citizen-friendly. Information Technology should be employed in re-engineering of governmental processes in o rder to improve efficiency and effectiveness and ensuring transparency and accountability. 7. 3 Identification of Grievance Prone Areas and Analysis (a)Â  Identify areas susceptible to corruption and/or grievance generation and conduct work audit of such areas.In addition, consider external/social audit in areas of very high public interface, with the aim of identifying wrong doers and improving processes and systems. Involve NGOs in the exercise. (b)Â  Analyse the nature and causes of grievances with the aim of identifying systemic deficiencies in laws, rules, regulations, policies, instructions, work practices and procedures, and effecting systemic changes to remove/correct these deficiencies. The Directors of Grievances be the nodal officers for such purpose. The analysis should be conducted in the month of April every year and studies of identified grievance prone areas be undertaken.Recommendations made in the studies should be implemented by December of that year so as to br ing systemic changes and remove the Causes of grievances. (c)Â  Fix responsibility in each and every case of delay, default or dereliction in performance of every day duties on failure to deliver services, and take disciplinary action to avoid recurrence. This will send a clear signal that in the event of failure to perform duties or deal appropriately with grievances within the time frame norms prescribed, a real possibility of having responsibility fixed on one’s shoulder exists.Consider the feasibility of prescribing specific penalty clauses in such cases. 7. 4 Citizen’s Charter Formulation and effective implementation of Citizen’s Charters, which should, inter-alia, include disclosure of time norms for providing various services to the citizens/clients and details of all levels of grievance redress machinery that may be approached. 7. 5 Information & Facilitation Counters (IFC) Setting up and effective operationalisation of IFC’s civic society may be involved in the functioning of IFCs to make them citizen- friendly and effective. 7. 6 On Line Registration of GrievancesMake ‘Public Grievance Redress and Monitoring System’ (PGRAMS) software, operational with every Director of Grievances. This shall enable the Director of Grievances to immediately place the details of grievances received in a database (efficient ‘dak’ management) as well as record the fact whether he intends to monitor its progress, identify the section/division where it is being sent, etc. , generate the time taken in dealing with the grievance, enable review of pending grievances in the organisation or across the organisations, generate acknowledgements to complainants, conduct analysis etc.The system should also have the facility of on-line registration of grievances by the citizens and access to information on the status of his/her grievances. 7. 7 Prompt and Effective Redress of Grievances (a)Â  ll grievances should be necessarily acknowledged, with an interim reply within 3 days of receipt and redressed within 3 months of receipt in the Organisation. The same time limit should apply even if co-ordination with subsidiary offices or another Department/Organisation is involved. In such instances special efforts, to be suo moto disclosed when reports are called, should be made. b)Â  No grievance is to be rejected without having been independently examined. At a minimum, this means that an officer superior, to the one who delayed taking the original decision or took the original decision that is cause for grievance, should actually examine the case as well as the reply, intended to be sent to the grievance holder. (c)Â  Make the ‘Director of Grievances’ effective through the following inter-related steps: (i)Â  Secretaries/Organisational Heads ensuring that Directors of Grievances are fully ‘empowered’ in accordance with instructions to perform their role. ii)Â  All grievance represe ntations received in the Department/Organisation, either by mail, fax, e-mail to be invariably routed through Director of Grievances before they go to concerned sections/divisions. At this stage, Office of the Director of Grievances shall go through the representations and come to a prima-facie view regarding the gravity of the matter involved and decide whether it shall monitor the case or allow down-the-line functionaries to independently deal with it.Directors of Grievances should monitor and follow up at least 3 to 5 percent of grievances received to enable them to assess the efficacy of grievance redress mechanism. (iii)Â  Fix responsibility in each case of delay, default and dereliction of duty, identified by Director of Grievances, and take appropriate action against concerned personnel. In addition, consider feasibility of prescribing specific penalty clauses for such failures. 7. 8 Review and Monitoring of Grievance Redress MechanismEnsure meaningful review of the performa nce of grievance redress machinery of the Ministry/Organisation as well as that of attached/ subordinate organization by Secretary/ Head of the Department on a monthly basis. Review should also cover action against defaulters. III. ROLE OF REGULATORS, OMBUDSMAN AND LIKE BODIES 8. 1Â  An explosive issue today in context of public grievance redress is the pace and phasing of the movement towards open markets after the gradual abandonment of centralized planning model.The Government is today withdrawing from various service sectors traditionally monopolosized by it and private enterprise is moving in. This may lead to a scenario where the Government monopolies are replaced by even more vicious private monopolies or cartels in the absence of adequate regulation, enforcement and recourse to grievance redress. 8. 2Â  This has significant implications for the role of Government. The Government can not just abandon the interests of citizens to be taken care of by the market forces in area s of service delivery covered by the private sector.In the open market scenario, it is often the major stakeholders and players which define the cost, quality and mechanism etc. of service delivery. 8. 3Â  The Government therefore needs to put in place appropriate mechanisms in the regulatory authorities, ombudsmen and like bodies in such sectors so that the concerns of individual citizens are also accorded equal importance and weightage and are appropriately and effectively addressed. They should safeguard the interests of the common citizens and ensure that the grievances of the citizens are attended to promptly and effectively.

Issues and Controversies

Position Paper Garrett Kaufmann ISSUES AND CONTROVERSIES ON FILE Citizenship 2nd Period â€Å"Gun Control† Due 1/14/2013 May 29, 1998 Pages 225-233 I strongly believe that our right to keep and bear arms that was given to us as American citizens in the second amendment of the constitution should be upheld and gun control is not the answer to stopping gun violence.A well-regulated militia being necessary to the security of a free state, the right of the people to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed. – The Second Amendment. Our nations’ forefathers gave us this right when they signed the constitution of the United States of America September 17, 1787. Although there has been debate over the wording of the amendment and whether it actually means every individual person or only people who belong to a state-regulated militia.I think it is obvious that they meant each individual person. In a December 1989 article in the Yale Law Journal, titled ‘The Embarra ssing second amendment’ by scholar Sanford Levinson, a liberal democrat who supports gun control said that â€Å"The second amendment was clearly written to give all citizens, not merely trained soldiers belonging to a militia the right to keep firearms†. Other scholars agreed and noted that in 1792 congress actually passed a militia low to mandate every able-bodied man to arm himself with a musket.The Brady Act is a controversial law which was signed by President Clinton in 1993 and that took effect in 1994 (named for President Reagan’s press secretary who was paralyzed when shot in a 1981 assassination attempt on the president) which requires prospective gun buyers to wait 5 days before they can buy a gun while local law enforcement officials do a background check to make sure anyone who is prohibited from owning a firearm such as convicted felons, minors, druggies or illegal immigrants can’t buy a gun.Although gun control advocates say that laws such a s this one are responsible for a drop in gun fatalities and violent crime Tania Metaska , executive director for the National Rifle Association (NRA) rejects this claim and says violent crime began to decline before 1993 and that the background checks and waiting periods are â€Å"Irrelevant to criminals since the vast majority of felons obtain firearms on the black market or through theft, not through dealers affected by the Brady law†.The Supreme Court agreed that the Brady Bill wasn’t the answer when they overturned major portions of the law in the 1997 case â€Å"Printz vs US† when they said the law infringed on state sovereignity rights and it put an unfair burden on local officials. The NRA and other gun-rights groups contend that it is not the Brady law that has helped to spark a nationwide decline in crime but ‘Right to Carry’ or the passing of concealed weapons laws in many states. Florida began the national trend towards more permissive co ncealed weapon laws in 1987 and since then 30 other states have followed.Florida’s â€Å"Shall Issue† law requires law enforcement officials to immediately issue permits to any eligible applicant, eligible meaning that they don’t have a criminal record or history of serious mental illness. Gun-right advocates say these types of laws are necessary because people need to be able to protect themselves from a high crime rate, a legal system that can’t deep criminals in jail and the lack of resources or manpower of law enforcement to protect them.In surveys of convicted felons, criminals admit that they target victims that they believe to be unarmed and avoid those who might have weapons. A study done between 1977 and 1994 by two researchers at the University of Chicago found much lower crime rates in Illinois counties that allowed concealed weapons, and that murder rates dropped 8. 5%, rapes 5% and aggravated assaults by 7%. In May 1998 15 year old Kip Kinkle fatally shot both his parents then took 3 guns to Thurston High School in Springfield, OR. here he shot 24 students, killing 2 of them. One Month later in Jonesboro, Arkansas two boys were arrested for fatally shooting 5 people and wounding 10 others. Then of course there was the shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary just this last December when 20 year old Adam Lanza shot his mom dead then went to the school and shot and killed 26 people, most of them little kids. School shootings are a horrible tragedy and they only give gun-control groups more ‘ammunition’ for their argument.I guess I can see their point but I agree with the gun rights advocates when they say it is a mistake to blame guns for all the school shooting. I agree with the saying ‘Guns don’t kill people- people kill people’. I think the people that do these things are sick in the head and that they need mental help and would still probably find a way to hurt people even if they didnâ€℠¢t have access to guns. I’m sure it’s gone up some since this article was written but studies have shown that violence in our nations’ schools is actually pretty rare.A March 1998 White House study found only 10% of all schools reported serious violence. I don’t really feel that I need to carry a gun to protect myself here where I live but if I did live in a big city I would definitely what to have the right to carry a gun to protect myself and my family. But I do love to hunt and I own 5 guns for that purpose. My dad has taught me about gun safety since I was a little kid. I have been through required gun safety training which I think is a good thing.The article states that in many rural areas of our country guns are not regarded by many as an evil, but simply as part of a way of life. In those regions, hunting is a popular sport and learning how to use a gun is often a rite of passage for many young boys and girls. Guns are treated with pride and respec t and gun safety is a paramount concern. Because many young people in those regions are exposed to guns at an early age and trained to use them safely, they are much more likely to understand the risks of guns and treat them properly.

Indian Economic Environment Essay Example

Indian Economic Environment Essay Example Indian Economic Environment Essay Indian Economic Environment Essay Companies and their suppliers, marketing intermediaries, customers, competitors, and publics all operate in a macro environment of forces and trends, increasingly global, which shape opportunities and pose threats. These forces represent â€Å"non-controllables†, which the company must monitor and to which it must respond. The beginning of the new century brought a series of new challenges: the steep decline of the stock market, which affected savings, investment, and retirement funds; increasing unemployment; corporate scandals; and of course, the rise of terrorism. These dramatic events were accompanied by the continuation of existing trends that have already influenced the global landscape. Within the rapidly changing global picture, the firm must monitor six major forces: demographic, economic, socio-cultural, natural, technological, and political-legal. Economic Environment- The available purchasing power in an economy depends on current income, prices, saving, debt, and credit availability. Marketers must pay careful attention to trends affecting purchasing power, because they can have a strong impact on business, especially for companies whose products are geared to high income and price-sensitive consumers. India’s economy has been showing vibrancy of growth from 1991 ever since the government initiated programs to ease control on industry and commerce. In 1998-1999, the GDP of the country was estimated to be Rs. 17,410 billion, at current prices. By the year 2006-2007, the GDP was estimated to be Rs. 41,000 billion. By applying the purchasing power parity (PPP) method, India’s GDP is estimated to be about $3. 319 trillion, making India the fourth largest economy in the world. GDP has also been growing at more than 7% per annum. The per capita income is also estimated to be increasing at the same rate. In addition, India has healthy foreign exchange reserves to cover the county’s imports for nearly one and a half year. Inflation has also been showing a healthy trend of less than 5%. These figures indicate that India has strong economic fundamentals that suggest a positive climate for business growth. India was under social democratic-based policies from 1947 to 1991. The economy was characterized by extensive regulations, protectionism, public ownership, corruption and slow growth. Since 1991, continuing economic liberalization has moved the country toward a market-based economy. A revival of economic reforms and better economic policy in 2000s accelerated Indias economic growth rate. In recent years, Indian cities have continued to liberalize business regulations. By 2008, India had established itself as the worlds second-fastest growing major economy. Indias large service industry accounts for 55% of the countrys Gross Domestic Product (GDP) while the industrial and agricultural sector contribute 28% and 17% respectively. Agriculture is the predominant occupation in India, accounting for about 52% of employment. The service sector makes up a further 34% and industrial sector around 14%. Previously a closed economy, Indias trade has grown fast. The Economic Survey for 2009-10 presented by Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee in Parliament on Thursday has revealed Indias share in world merchandise exports after remaining unchanged at 1. 1 per cent between 2007 and 2008, reached 1. per cent in 2009 (Jan-June) mainly due to the relatively greater fall in world export growth than India. Income Distribution- Macro economic indicators of the country provide the overall health of the economy as well as direction of economic growth. A marketer needs to understand the distribution of income to reach more meaningful conclusions about taking spe cific decisions. In India, we see that 77. 7% of urban households in India have a monthly income of up to Rs. 3000. Urban households with a monthly income between Rs. 3001 and 6000 are estimated to be about 16. 2% and another 4% with a monthly household income of Rs. 001-10,000. Only about 2. 1% of urban households have a monthly income over Rs. 10,000. Income distribution of households in India has been changing significantly over time. Households belonging to the lower income segment have been steadily declining over the years, and the middle income households have been showing an increase. These are the results of economic growth. The NCAER (_) has classified Indian consumers into five categories destitute (annual household income of Rs. 16,000; not active participants in market exchange for a wide range of goods), aspirants (annual household income of Rs. 6,000-22,000; new entrants into the consumption systems due to increase in their real income), climbers (annual household in come of Rs. 22,000-45,000; have desire and willingness to buy, but have limited cash at hand), consuming class (annual household income of Rs. 45,000-215,000; households that form the majority of consumers; have money and are willing to spend), and the rich (those who have money and own a wide range of products). The patterns of income distribution in urban and rural areas also vary. SECTORS- Industry and services Industry accounts for 28% of the GDP and employ 14% of the total workforce. However, about one-third of the industrial labour force is engaged in simple household manufacturing only. Economic reforms brought foreign competition, led to privatization of certain public sector industries, opened up sectors hitherto reserved for the public sector and led to an expansion in the production of fast-moving consumer goods. Post-liberalization, the Indian private sector, which was usually run by oligopolies of old family firms and required political connections to prosper was faced with foreign competition, including the threat of cheaper Chinese imports. Business services (information technology, information technology enabled services, business process outsourcing) are among the fastest growing sectors contributing to one third of the total output of services in 2000. The growth in the IT sector is attributed to increased specialization, and an availability of a large pool of low cost, but highly skilled, educated and fluent English-speaking workers, matched on the demand side by an increased demand from foreign consumers interested in Indias service exports, or those looking to outsource their operations. In 2009, seven Indian firms were listed among the top 15 technology outsourcing companies in the world. Agriculture India ranks second worldwide in farm output. Agriculture and allied sectors like forestry, logging and fishing accounted for 17% of the GDP in 2009, employed 52% of the total workforce and despite a steady decline of its share in the GDP, is still the largest economic sector and plays a significant role in the overall socio-economic development of India. Yields per unit area of all crops have grown since 1950, due to the special emphasis placed on agriculture in the five-year plans and steady improvements in irrigation, technology, application of modern agricultural practices and provision of agricultural credit and subsidies since Green revolution in India. Banking and finance Prime Minister Indira Gandhi nationalized 14 banks in 1969, followed by six others in 1980, and made it mandatory for banks to provide 40% of their net credit to priority sectors like agriculture, small-scale industry, retail trade, small businesses, etc. o ensure that the banks fulfill their social and developmental goals. Since then, the number of banks has been increasing in the country and the population covered by each branch has decreased. Since liberalization, the government has approved significant banking reforms. While some of these relate to nationalized banks (like encouraging mergers, reducing government interference and increasing profitability and competitiveness), other reforms have opened up the banking and insurance sectors to private and foreign players. Natural resource Indias major mineral resources include coal, iron, manganese, mica, bauxite, titanium, chromite, limestone and thorium. India meets most of its domestic energy demand through its 92 billion tonnes of coal reserves (about 10% of worlds coal reserves). Indias oil reserves, found in Mumbai High, parts of Gujarat, Rajasthan and eastern Assam, meet 25% of the countrys domestic oil demand. Indias total proven oil reserves stand at 11 billion barrels. In 2009, India imported 2. 56 million barrels of oil per day, making it one of largest buyers of crude oil in the world. The petroleum industry in India mostly consists of public sector companies such as Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC), Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Limited (HPCL) and Indian Oil Corporation Limited (IOCL). There are some major private Indian companies in oil sector such as Reliance Industries Limited (RIL) which operates the worlds largest oil refining complex. Pharmaceuticals India has a self reliant Pharmaceuticals industry. The majority of its medical consumables are produced domestically. Pharmaceutical Industry in India is dotted with companies like Ranbaxy Pharmaceutical, Dr. Reddys Laboratories, and Cipla which have created a niche for themselves at world level. India including China, Brazil, Turkey, Mexico, Russia and South Korea are called â€Å"pharmerging† countries. Today, India is an exporter to countries like the United States and Russia. In terms of the global market, India currently holds a modest 1-2% share, but it has been growing at approximately 10% per year. External trade and investment ? Global Trade Relations Indias economy is mostly dependent on its large internal market with external trade accounting for just 20% of the countrys GDP. Until the liberalization of 1991, India was largely and intentionally isolated from the world markets, to protect its economy and to achieve self-reliance. Foreign trade was subject to import tariffs, export taxes and quantitative restrictions, while foreign direct investment (FDI) was restricted by upper-limit equity participation, restrictions on technology transfer, export obligations and government approvals. Indias exports were stagnant for the first 15 years after independence, due to the predominance of tea, jute and cotton manufactures, demand for which was generally inelastic. Imports in the same period consisted predominantly of machinery, equipment and raw materials, due to nascent industrialization. The Indian export has grown by 22. 5 per cent at $16. 64 billion in August 2010. India is a founding-member of General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) since 1947 and its successor, the WTO. While participating actively in its general council meetings, India has been crucial in voicing the concerns of the developing world. For instance, India has continued its opposition to the inclusion of such matters as labour and environment issues and other non-tariff barriers into the WTO policies. ? Balance of payments Since independence, Indias balance of payments on its current account has been negative. Since liberalization in the 1990s (precipitated by a balance of payment crisis), Indias exports have been consistently rising, covering 80. % of its imports in 2002–03, up from 66. 2% in 1990–91. Indias growing oil import bill is seen as the main driver behind the large current account deficit. Although India is still a net importer, since 1996–97 its overall balance of payments (i. e. , including the capital account balance) has been positive, largely on account of increased foreign direct investment and deposits from non-resident Indians; until this time, the overall balance was only occasionally positive on account of external assistance and commercial borrowings. As a result, Indias foreign currency reserves stood at USD 283. 5 billion at the end of December 2009. [pic] Due to the global late-2000s recession, both Indian exports and imports declined by 29. 2% and 39. 2% respectively in June 2009. The steep decline was because countries hit hardest by the global recession, such as United States and members of the European Union, account for more than 60% of Indian exports. However, since the decline in imports was much sharper compared to the decline in exports, Indias trade deficit reduced to 252. 5 billion rupee. Indias reliance on external assistance and commercial borrowings has decreased since 1991–92, and since 2002–03, it has gradually been repaying these debts. Declining interest rates and reduced borrowings decreased Indias debt service ratio to 4. 5% in 2007. In India, External Commercial Borrowings (ECBs) are being permitted by the Government for providing an additional source of funds to Indian corporates. The Ministry of Finance monitors and regulates these borrowings (ECBs) through ECB policy guidelines. ? Foreign Direct Investment In India As the fourth-largest economy in the world in PPP terms, India is a preferred destination for foreign direct investments (FDI); India has strengths in telecommunication, information technology and other significant areas such as auto components, chemicals, apparels, pharmaceuticals, and jewelry. Despite a surge in foreign investments, rigid FDI policies resulted in a significant hindrance. However, due to some positive economic reforms aimed at deregulating the economy and stimulating foreign investment, India has positioned itself as one of the front-runners of the rapidly growing Asia Pacific Region. India has a large pool of skilled managerial and technical expertise. The size of the middle-class population stands at 300 million and represents a growing consumer market. Indias recently liberalized FDI policy (2005) allows up to a 100% FDI stake in ventures. Industrial policy reforms have substantially reduced industrial licensing requirements, removed restrictions on expansion and facilitated easy access to foreign technology and foreign direct investment FDI. The upward moving growth curve of the real-estate sector owes some credit to a booming economy and liberalized FDI regime. In March 2005, the government amended the rules to allow 100 per cent FDI in the construction business. This automatic route has been permitted in townships, housing, built-up infrastructure and construction development projects including housing, commercial premises, hotels, resorts, hospitals, educational institutions, recreational facilities, and city- and regional-level infrastructure. A number of changes were approved on the FDI policy to remove the caps in most sectors. Fields which require relaxation in FDI restrictions include civil aviation, construction development, industrial parks, petroleum and natural gas, commodity exchanges, credit-information services and mining. India has been ranked at the third place in global foreign direct investments in 2009 and will continue to remain among the top five attractive destinations for international investors during 2010-11, according to United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) in a report on world investment prospects titled, World Investment Prospects Survey 2009-2011 released in July 2009. India attracted FDI equity inflows of US$ 2,214 million in April 2010. The cumulative amount of FDI equity inflows from August 1991 to April 2010 stood at US$ 134,642 million, according to the data released by the Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion (DIPP). The Indian rupee is the only legal tender accepted in India. The exchange rate as on 23 March 2010 is 45. 40 INR the USD, 61. 45 to a EUR, and 68. 19 to a GBP (British pound). The Indian rupee is accepted as legal tender in the neighboring Nepal and Bhutan, both of which peg their currency to that of the Indian rupee. The Rupee hit a record low during early 2009 on account of global recession. However, due to a strong domestic market, India managed to bounce back sooner than the western countries. Since September 2009 there has been a constant appreciation in Rupee versus most Tier 1 currencies. On 11 January 2010 Rupee went as high as 45. 50 to a USD and on 10 January 2010 as high as Rs. 73. 93 to a British Pound. The RBI, the countrys central bank was established on 1 April 1935. It serves as the nations monetary authority, regulator and supervisor of the financial system, manager of exchange control and as an issuer of currency. The RBI is governed by a central board, headed by a governor who is appointed by the Central government of India. According to The Times of India, a majority of Indians have per capita space equivalent to or less than a 10  feet x 10  feet room for their living, sleeping, cooking, washing and toilet needs. and one in every three urban Indians lives in homes too cramped to exceed even the minimum requirements of a prison cell in the US. The average is 103  sq  ft (9. 6 m2) per person in rural areas and 117  sq  ft (10. m2) per person in urban areas. Around half of Indian children are malnourished. However, India has not had famines since the Green Revolution in the early 1970s. While poverty in India has reduced significantly, a 2007 report by the state-run National Commission for Enterprises in the Unorganized Sector (NCEUS) found that 65% of Indians, or 750 million people, lived on less than 20 rupees per day with most working in informal labour sector with no job or s ocial security, living in abject poverty. Since the early 1950s, successive governments have implemented various schemes, under planning, to alleviate poverty that have met with partial success. All these programs have relied upon the strategies of the Food for work program and National Rural Employment Program of the 1980s, which attempted to use the unemployed to generate productive assets and build rural infrastructure. In August 2005, the Indian parliament passed the Rural Employment Guarantee Bill, the largest program of this type in terms of cost and coverage, which promises 100 days of minimum wage employment to every rural household in all he Indias 600 districts. Recent statistics in 2010 point out that the numbers of high income households have crossed lower income households. Agricultural and allied sectors accounted for about 60% of the total workforce in 2003 same as in 1993–94. While agriculture has faced stagnation in growth, services have seen a steady growth . Of the total workforce, 8% is in the organized sector, two-thirds of which are in the public sector. From 1983 until 2000, Indias Unemployment Rate averaged 7. 0 percent reaching an historical high of 8. 30 percent in December of 1983 and a record low of 5. 99 percent in December of 1994. The labour force is defined as the number of people employed plus the number unemployed but seeking work. The non-labour force includes those who are not looking for work, those who are institutionalized and those serving in the military. [pic] Indias labor force is growing by 2. 5% annually, but employment only at 2. 3% a year. Unemployment in India is characterized by chronic or disguised unemployment. Government schemes that target eradication of both poverty and unemployment (which in recent decades has sent millions of poor and unskilled people into urban areas in search of livelihoods) attempt to solve the problem, by providing financial assistance for setting up businesses, skill honing, setting up public sector enterprises, reservations in governments, etc. Child labor is a complex problem that is basically rooted in poverty. The Indian government is implementing the worlds largest child labor elimination program, with primary education targeted for ~250 million. Numerous non-governmental and voluntary organizations are also involved. Special investigation cells have been set up in states to enforce existing laws banning employment of children (under 14) in hazardous industries. In spite of the high growth rate in India, the country still continues to be a low-income country since decades. Though it is believed the country could be a â€Å"motor to the world economy† if it fulfills its growth potential. In order to achieve its growth potential, things needed to be done are: o Improve Governance Raise Educational Achievement o Increase Quality and Quantity of Universities o Control Inflation o Introduce a Credible Fiscal Policy o Liberalize Financial Markets o Increase Trade with Neighbors o Increase Agricultural Productivity o Improve Infrastructure o Improve Environmental Quality. ? Agriculture The low productivity in India is a result of the following factors: o According to India: Priorities for Agriculture and Rural Development by World Bank, Indias large agricultural subsidies are hampering productivity-enhancing investment. Overregulation of agriculture has increased costs, price risks and uncertainty. Government interventions in labor, land, and credit markets are hurting the market. Infrastructure and services are inadequate. o Illiteracy, slow progress in implementing land reforms and inadequate or inefficient finance and marketing services for farm produce. o The average size of land holdings is very small (less than 20,000  m? ) and is subject to fragmentation, due to land ceiling acts and in some cases, family disputes. Such small holdings are often over-manned, resulting in disguised unemployment and low productivity of labour. o Adoption of modern agricultural practices and use of technology is inadequate, hampered by ignorance of such practices, high costs and impracticality in the case of small land holdings. o World Bank says that the allocation of water is inefficient, unsustainable and inequitable. The irrigation infrastructure is deteriorating. Irrigation facilities are inadequate, which result in farmers still being dependent on rainfall, specifically the Monsoon season. A good monsoon results in a robust growth for the economy as a whole, while a poor monsoon leads to a sluggish growth. Farm credit is regulated by NABARD, which is the statutory apex agent for rural development in the subcontinent. Indias population is growing faster than its ability to produce rice and wheat. The most important structural reform for self-sufficiency is the ITC Limited plan to connect 20,000 villages to the Internet by 2013. This will provide farmers with up to date crop prices for the first time, which should minimize losses incurred from neighboring producers selling early and in turn facilitate investment in rural areas. ? Corruption Corruption has been one of the pervasive problems affecting India. The economic reforms of 1991 reduced the red tape, bureaucracy and the License Raj that had strangled private enterprise. Yet, a 2005 study by Transparency International (TI) India found that more than half of those surveyed had firsthand experience of paying bribe or peddling influence to get a job done in a public office. The Right to Information Act (2005) and equivalent acts in the Indian states that require government officials to furnish information requested by citizens or face punitive action, computerization of services and various central and state government acts that established vigilance commissions have considerably reduced corruption or at least have opened up avenues to redress grievances. The 2009 report by Transparency International ranks India at 84th place in terms of corruption and states that significant improvements were made by India in reducing corruption. Education India has made huge progress in terms of increasing primary education attendance rate and expanding literacy to approximately two thirds of the population. The right to education at elementary level has been made one of the fundamental rights under the Eighty-Sixth Amendment of 2002. However, the literacy rate of 65% is still lower than the worldwide average and the country suffers from a high dropout rate. ? Infrast ructure In the past, development of infrastructure was completely in the hands of he public sector and was plagued by corruption, bureaucratic inefficiencies, urban-bias and an inability to scale investment. Indias low spending on power, construction, transportation, telecommunications and real estate, at $31 billion or 6% of GDP in 2002 had prevented India from sustaining higher growth rates. This has prompted the government to partially open up infrastructure to the private sector allowing foreign investment which has helped in a sustained growth rate of close to 9% for the past six quarters. Some 600 million Indians have no mains electricity at all. While 80% of Indian villages have at least an electricity line, just 44% of rural households have access to electricity. India has the worlds third largest road network in the world. Container traffic is growing at 15% a year. Some 60% of India’s container traffic is handled by the Jawaharlal Nehru Port Trust in Navi Mumbai. Internet use is rare; there were only 7. 57 million broadband lines in India in November 2009, however it is still growing but at a slower rate. Most urban cities have good water supply water 24 hours a day, while some smaller cities face water shortages in summer season. A World Bank report says it is an institutional problem in water agencies, or how the agency is embedded in the relationships between politics and the citizens who are the consumers. ? Labour laws India’s labor regulations  - among the most restrictive and complex in the world  - have constrained the growth of the formal manufacturing sector where these laws have their widest application. Better designed labor regulations can attract more labor- intensive investment and create jobs for India’s unemployed millions and those trapped in poor quality jobs. Given the country’s momentum of growth, the window of opportunity must not be lost for improving the job prospects for the 80 million new entrants who are expected to join the work force over the next decade. ? Economic disparities One of the critical problems facing Indias economy is the sharp and growing regional variations among Indias different states and territories in terms of per capita income, poverty, availability of infrastructure and socio-economic development. Six low-income states Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh, Orissa and Uttar Pradesh are home to more than one third of Indias population.