Tuesday, August 6, 2019
The handmaids tale Essay Example for Free
The handmaids tale Essay Moira is a strong and independent woman who is not like other handmaids and therefore has a vast array of roles through out the play. Moira is an autonomous woman who rejects the responsibility and job of the handmaid and as a result of this the narrator uses her proper name. Moira allows the narrator to express her feelings so the reader can see her from different angles and see her different characteristics. One of Moiras main features is her rebelliousness, which the reader sees through the past, present and the future. For example when Moira and Offred where both in college, Moira was the one who wanted to go out, have a good time. She wanted Offred to come with her even though she knew that she was expected to hand in an assignment the next day I had a paper due the next day. She rebelled against the system in college she did the opposite of what was expected from her. Even when she was brought into the centre where they train all the handmaids she was wearing jeans, she stood out from the rest and was clearly rebellious. She is a Feminist heroine who all the other handmaids look up to. She is an individual, a leader and a figurehead. She has a dramatic impact on the rest of the handmaids, she influences them giving them hope and inspiration. Due to Moiras presence the aunts seem less fearsome and frightening, she exposes them for what they real are. She does by the way she escapes; she doesnt just run she actually ties one of them up and shows that they can be physically hurt. This reminds the handmaids that the aunts are only human and in a way it reassures them. To all the other handmaids she is a heroine but from Gileads perspective she is a loose women. Moira defies the Gilead regime so much that she tries to escape and on her second attempt she succeeds and as a result of this Moira never actually becomes a proper handmaid. This is just another example of Moira being a heroine and showing the reader her revolutionary nature. Even when Moira has disappeared from the scene she is still making a dramatic impact on both the handmaids and the reader. She is even more of a role model Moira was our fantasy. She inspires the other handmaids and gives them hope for the future. However, her escape also has a reverse affect it causes Offred to feel lonely and abandoned so much that she begins to reminisce about her time she spent with Moira in college. Even past memories inspire and motivate Offred that she comes to realise that they can control her body but not her mind. Moira also portrays the motherly figure within the novel an example of this is when Janine starts to cry and wants to go home. If the aunts where to find out she would be punished severely. Moira steps in and takes charge she is the dominant one and is like a mother. However, she is not sensitive or caring instead she slaps Janine. This shows the reader that although she is very rebellious she is aware of the rules and she knows how far she can go. She is also caring but in a violent way, although she slaps Janine she saved her life. Although the other Handmaids are probably jealous they do look up to her. When she was tortured everyone stole and took a big risk to bring Moira packets of sugar. Moira cant really do much with packets of sugar but it shows that they care and is also a sign of respect. When Moira and Offred where in college together Moira was a lesbian, which again is rebelling against human nature, she was an obvious lesbian she wore long dangly earrings. When Moira escaped she manages to get a job at a place called jezebels working as a prostitute. This is everything that Gilead stood against and is now what she has become. This again shows the reader and Offred Moiras radical nature. Even when Moira stayed at Jezebels she remained a lesbian. In conclusion Moira is a significant character that plays a major part in the past, present and the future of the novel. She is a clear revolutionary and finds new ways to break the rules. She is an individual, the uniforms that the handmaids had to wear were supposed to take away their individuality but Moira was too passionate and determined and she wouldnt let it. She was a leader who inspired others and gave them hope for the future. Moira always wanted to be the centre of attention, which may be while she was so rebellious. She lived the dream of all the other handmaids by physically getting to the aunts and then escaping. However, towards the end of the book she was a bit disappointment. She was working in jezebels wearing a bunny costume, which is very demeaning and in a way shows sign of defeat. She is more or less everything that the aunts said that they were trying to protect the other handmaids from. She is almost at the lowest of the low. Show preview only The above preview is unformatted text This student written piece of work is one of many that can be found in our GCSE Margaret Atwood section.
Monday, August 5, 2019
Body ownership
Body ownership Body Ownership The sense of ones own body has been a subject of debate among researchers for many years. It is argued to be a very specific type of knowledge, illustrated as being a non-conceptual and somatic (e.g., Kant, 1781/2003; Bermuà ´ dezas cited in Lango, et al., 2007). It has been argued that this type of knowledge, often referred to as ââ¬Ëââ¬Ëembodimentâ⬠(Arzy, Overney, Landis, Blanke, 2006), ââ¬Ëââ¬Ëbodily self-consciousnessâ⬠(Bermuà ´dez, 1998; Legrand, 2006), or ââ¬Ëââ¬Ëcorporeal awarenessâ⬠(Berlucchi Aglioti, 1997; Critchley, 1979) is compulsory, to experience various types of sensory information (Kant, 1781/2003; Johnson, 1987; Lakoff, 1987; Merleau-Ponty, 1945/1962; Piaget, 1937/1954 as cited in Lango, et al., 2007). In other words, one has to have some sort of knowledge of ones own body in order to experience emotions and sensations. It has been argued that gaining this type of knowledge is crucial for formation of personal psychological id entity (Cassam,1997; Edelman, 2004). Rubber hand illusion allows for the manipulating the brain into perceiving an external object- the rubber hand, as being a representation of the body (Tsakiris Haggard, 2005). Self awareness has been argued to be mostly represented by the sense of the body ownership. Moseley( et al., 2008) provoked the rubber hand illusion and demonstrated one of rubber hand illusions effects- taking ownership of an artificial counterpart- which leads to decrease in the temperature in the real hand. They found that this phenomenon was limb-specific, in other words similar effect have not been found to occur in the not stimulated hand. They argued that this is phenomenon is demonstrating that physical self and the physiological regulation of self are closely linked in the top down manner to an individuals body awareness. It also seems likely that if body awareness is disrupted by cognitive processes, that might lead to changes in the body temperature regulations, in the rubber hand illusion case, making it decrease. This therefore leads to conclusion that if an individuals starts perceiving and artificial body part it will have an effect on the rest of the body (Moseley, 2 008). Body ownership has been argued to be a sort of knowledge that that your body belongs to you, and is constantly there, is a basis for the aspect of self-awareness. Individuals suffering from for example schizophrenia, autism, epilepsy, neuropathic pain, anorexia nervosa, and bulimia have been found to have a disturbance in their body ownership. These disorders have also been found to have a connection to the disruption of the body temperature regulations (Moseley, 2008). Moseley (et al., 2008) has demonstrated that such disruption in the body ownership can be a consequence of a Rubber Hand Illusion. RHI consequences in participants perception that the touch they are experiencing is actually an effect of the stimulation given to the rubber hand. That consequence in participants taking an ownership of the rubber hand. Additionally, Moseley (et al., 2008) found that there was a positive correlation between the vividness of the rubber hand illusion experience and the decrease in the skin temperature in the adequate hand. This suggests that the more an individual experiences the RHI the more will the temperature in their hand decrease. The Rubber Hand Illusion has been argued to involve interaction between tactile, visual, and proprioceptive inputs to the brain. In this type of illusion, the tactile sensations are admitted to the rubber hand (Botvinick Cohen, 1998) Interception is a notion involving two different types of perception: the prioprioception, that is a perception sensitive to the signals gained from the skin as well as musculoskeletal apparatus; and the visceroceptoon, which mains focus are the signals originating from the inner organs (Vaitl, 1996). Interoception in therefore not only as study of heart and gastrointestinal regions and actions, but also respiratory, genitourinary and endocrine systems, as well as changes in chemical, osmotic and volume of tissue. It provides information about the state of the body that could have an influence on individuals on the psychological level, as they are related to the emotional experience , conscious awareness, and higher behaviour (Cameron, 2001). Awareness , on the other hand, can be described as knowledge of the fact of ones existence(Craig, 2009). Interoceptive awareness can therefore be defined as an ability to experience and distinguish between individual sensations a person experie nces (Critcheley et al.,, 1999). The concnept of interoception has been known for houndreds of years, In 1896, a physiologist, Sherrington, described the sensory nerve receptoprs responding to the stimuli from the body as ââ¬Å"interoceptorsâ⬠. These days, one of the most well known theories of the interoceptive processes, is the James-Lange theory of emotions. William James was one of the first psychologists and philosophers to argue that the viscer-afferent information, that is, the information gained from the central inner body organs, had a close realation to emotion experienced at that time (Pollatos, Herbert, Matthias Schandry, 2006). Lange on the other hand, was a physiologist who studied the impact of the emotions on the changes occurring in vasomotor system, such as for example constricting and dilating of blood vessels (Cameron, 2001). Lange focused his theory on the idea that emotions are reactions to changes in vasomotor system per se ( Cameron, 2001). In their book, The Emotions (1922) they argue that an individual needs to be aware of the changes in their bodily signals to experience the emotions as sycg. In other words, the subject provoking emotions, is a direct reason for those changes and emotions are the refore simply our reaction to those changes. This theory became now one of the most influential theories on the way human perceive emotions(Benner Hacker, 2005) The other theory related to interoception is the one proposed by Damasio. In his perspective the more accurate individual is in perceiving their bodily signals, the more extreme emotions they expon, however some argue that this might erience (Pollatos et al., 2005) There are some significant differences in the ability to perceive the interoceptive awareness. Research has established that women are worse at perceiving their heartbeat than men (Kollenbaum, 1990, Katkin et al., 1981 as cited in Vaitl, 1996). The same is true about other interoceptive activity awareness- women perform worse than men on tasks gastic motility, finger temperature, blood pressure, blood sugar level (Vaitl, 1996). Additionally, research has suggested that younger people are better at perceiving their interoception, however some argue that this might be related to the fact that younger people usually have lower fat levels that people in the older age (Cameron, 2001). Another, interpersonal difference in performance on the interoceptive tasks is defined by possible presence of any type of personality or mental disorder. It hs been found that individuals suffering from anxiety disorders and panic attacks are more likely to score superiorly high on the tasks testing sensitivity to interoceptive awareness (Critchley, WIens, Rotshtein, Ohman Dolan, 2004; Ehlers et al., 2000). Opposite was found to hold true for individuals struggling with depression and somatoform (Mussgay et al., 1999). Other clinical issues have been shown to also affect the performance on the interoceptive awareness. Individuals suffering from different types of cardio-related disorders, such as for example, arrhytmias and benign palpitations (Ehlers et al., 2000 as cited in Pollatos at al., 2006) have been shown to performe worse than healthy controls on interoceptive awareness tasks (as measured by heartbeat count performance). The same is true for patients suffering from diabet ic neuropathy (Leopold Schandry, 2001). Another important thing affecting the performance on the interoceptive task, is the position individual is in- the most inaccurate scores are obtained when an individual is stanind, and the most accurate when they are lying down. Suggested explanations for this phenomenon are the cardiodynamic changes occurring as a result of gravity (Cameron, 2001). Additionally it has been suggested that the percentage of the fat in the body was also correlated to the performance on the heart beat tasks- the less fat content an individual had, the better he scored on the cardiac activity task (Jones, 1987 as cited in Vaitl, 1996). One of the most extensively used methods for checking the ability individual to thed have to perceive their own interoception is related to the cardiac action. This includes the ability to detect single heart beats as well as changes in their heart beat per se. Methods allowing studying of cardiac action include the discrimination tasks, created to measure the ability to detect individual heart beats, as well as tracking techniques which were set to assess the ability to sense heart rate, by counting the by counting the heart beats during a certain period of time (Cameron, 2001). Positive correlation between changes n the strength of emotions and the ability to detect changes occurring within the body has been found by Wiens et al. (2000). In the study, Wiens (et al., 2000) used visual stimuli to manipulate the motions a person was experiencing and assessed the interoceptive awareness by asking individuals to count their heart beats. Similar study was conducted and reported by Pollatos, Gramman and Schandry (2006), where positive correlation was found between interoceptive awareness and the intensity of emotions experienced.
Sunday, August 4, 2019
Bureau of Indian Affairs :: American History Native Americans Essays
Bureau of Indian Affairs This is a great day for you and for us. A day of peace and friendship between you and the whites for all time to come. You are about to be paid for your lands, and the GREAT FATHER has sent me today to treaty with you concerning the payment...And the GREAT FATHER wishes you to have homes, pastures for your horses and fishing places. he wishes you to learn to farm and your children to go to a good school; and he now wants me to make a bargain with you, in which you will sell your lands and in return be provided all these things. ââ¬â Isaac I. Stevens, 1854 The US governmentââ¬â¢s official role in Indian affairs began as far back as the Continental Congress (1786) when the Indian tribes were still considered independent nations with whom the settlers had to make treaties (Jackson 1). The purposes for these interactions were to buy land and to keep peace between encroaching settlers and natives. Unfortunately, these first transactions reflected the cultural misunderstandings between the two parties that would continue to plague communication until this century (Taylor 5). The Europeans assumed the Indians viewed land in the same wayââ¬âindividuals owning plots of land for agricultural purposes. Most of the eastern tribes were nomadic and moved to meet seasonal needs for hunting. When the Europeans offered to buy land, the natives did not understand that they would thence be barred from the use of that land for migrating and for hunting. Even at these early stages of negotiations, conflicts arose between the two levels of government as to who had jurisdiction. The federal government alone had authority to make treaties with foreign nations, but the states had to deal with the individual tribes. This led to more local intervention by "agents" of the federal government to actually negotiate between states and tribes (Jackson 15). Another role of these agents was, as Henry K nox stated, "to familiarize Indians with the American way of living" (Jackson 20). As the bureaucracy began to develop to meet the needs of the westward expansion, the departmentââ¬â¢s oversight was given to the Secretary of War. This did not seem to be an intentional statement of purpose but rather a decision of convenience because the Department of the Interior did not exist yet. However, Francis Prucha felt that this may have been because the Indians had been viewed as siding with the British during the Revolutionary War and thus were adversaries(319).
Saturday, August 3, 2019
Comparing Social Commentary in Dover Beach, Second Coming, and Church Going :: compare and contrast essay examples
Comparing Social Commentary in Dover Beach, Second Coming, and Church Going Human society has always struggled with the conflict of faith versus technology. Faith has always been a symbol of order, and increasing technology has always been the scapegoat for "mere anarchy." When faith ebbs, technology or new scientific concepts are blamed. Technology is a convenient target because when people lose faith in the church, science is a hard-based, factual thing in which to believe. The increasing chaos in society can be blamed on the decreasing faith in religion that has been shifted to technology. After the fall of the Roman Empire, European society was in chaos. Since no other civilizing force in which to believe was in existence, when the Roman Catholic Church made itself a organizing power, it set up a precedent that attached itself to the mind set for the next few centuries. Religious beliefs are synonymous with the "calm" and the peace that relieve life's turmoil. For a long period of time, there was no other steadying force, so "the Sea of Faith" was the sole source for easing "the turbid ebb and flow of human misery." Tradition has kept this view of religion popular. Still, religion itself cannot hold the attention of human society forever. Eventually, as displayed in "Dover Beach," faith in religion and its structure will fade in the light of new ideas and new human inventions. Society's faith cannot always be "full" because as civilizations grow individuals become more independent. They begin to think for themselves, which causes life to become more subjective. With less imposed structure, individuals will determine that they do not subscribe to all of what their predecessors believed, and they are left "wondering what to look for." Technology often replaces religion because it is far more tangible than the concepts of organized religion that require blind faith. It is easier to believe in something touchable. In "Church Going," this attitude is examined. A wistfulness for a time when faith came easier is apparent, but there is also "an awkward reverence" for the ways of religion even if they are no longer believed. Once people place their faith in technology rather that something spiritual, they will find that while technology is concrete, it does not provide guidance for social behavior or the human spirit as most religions do. In "The Second Coming" the world is spinning out of control.
Friday, August 2, 2019
Capital Punishment Essay: Christian Opposition -- Argumentative Persua
Christian Opposition to Capital Punishment The matter of the death penalty is one which we, as Christians, should address at this time since victims continue to be killed by the state. We should give the religious teaching concerning it, in order to assist those who are making efforts to clarify their thoughts about this very complex and difficult question. Such is the subject of this paper. Ã There are two sources from which we draw information regarding the practice of capital punishment: (1) sacred scripture and (2) the teaching of churches and synagogues through the ages. With them as a basis, we can make a theological analysis of our present day circumstances and draw what we believe to be sound conclusions. Ã From Sacred Scriptures: The book of Genesis addresses the same problem and conflict we face today. It is the tension between the inviolable sacredness of human life on the one hand, and man's responsibility for safeguarding the well-being of the community. The biblical authors regarded life as the gift of the life-giving God himself: "So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them." (Gen. 1:23) "Then the Lord formed man from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living being." (Gen. 2:7) For one person to deprive another of that gift is an affront to the creator himself. Ã There are many scriptural references that make the point that the murderer must be punished. Nevertheless, biblical tradition is also replete with reminders that vengeance belongs to the Lord and that he enjoins the qualities of compassion and forgiveness on those believers in the biblical revelation of God. (Amo... ...roclaim the value of every human life and the dignity of every human person and thus call into question the imposition of the death penalty. We recognize that our proclamation is also a call to others for: 1. A further commitment by every person of good will to greater protection of society; 2. The affirmation of the God-given value of life; 3. The satisfaction of human need for the alleviation of every human want. 4. The promotion of justice in society, and peace among men. Ã It is our belief as Christians that the imposition of the death penalty in today's society is an attack upon the inviolability of human life and an affront to human dignity. Our opposition to the death penalty is also an affirmation of the sacredness of all human life and an appeal to all for greater individual and societal efforts for a more humane and just society.
Project management success factors Essay
Housing is the critical issue in global urbanization which have a tremendous impact on the environment ââ¬â both during construction and through out their. As the key element in urban development, housing plays a vital role in attaining the goal of sustainable development. Effective of project management is becoming increasingly important for sustainable housing to remain competitive in todayââ¬Å¸s dynamic business environment. This paper attempt to establish a theoretical framework for project management success factors in sustainable housing development. Review on past literature on the subject were carried out to build the existing research works on the area and to establish critical success factors of project management best practices. At the end of this paper, a new area of managing sustainable housing for future direction of this research was identified. A list of critical success factors for project management practices for sustainable housing development was established. Keywords: Sustainable Housing, Sustainable Development Project Management, Critical Success Factors. 1.0 INTRODUCTION Housing, as human basic need, is a very important issue of peopleââ¬Å¸s everyday life. In 1948, the United Nations, in its Universal Declaration of Human Rights, stated that ââ¬Å"everyone has the right to a standard of living adequate for the health and well-being of himself and of his family including food, clothing, housing and medical care and necessary social servicesâ⬠¦Ã¢â¬ . Housing provision is one of the major challenges facing developing countries. Under the Seventh Malaysia Plan (1999-2000) and Eight Malaysia Plan (2001-2005), Malaysian governments are committed to provide adequate, affordable and quality housing for all Malaysian, particularly the low income group. This is in line with Istanbul Declaration on Human Settlement and Habitat Agenda (1996) to ensure adequate shelter for all. In order to be sustainable, housing initiatives must be economically viable, socially acceptable, technically feasible and environmentally compatible (Choguill, 2007). In the other hand, housing encompasses the immediate environment, sanitation, drainage, recreational facilities, and all other economic and social activities that make life worthwhile (Olejado, 2003). The World Commission on Environment and Development (WCED, 1987) report, Our Common Future has led to a world-wide notion of the concept of sustainable development (Meldon, 1998). However, it has been argued that the history of the concept of sustainability can be traced back to the terms ââ¬Å"stationeryâ⬠or ââ¬Å"steady state economyâ⬠used by the nineteenth century political economist (European Environment agency, 1997). Today there are over 300 published definitions of sustainable development, the products of diverse world views and competing vested interests (Moles and Kelly, 2000). Fundamentally, sustainable development addresses three major areas; I. People living today are entitled to justice and equal rights; II. Environmental degeneration must be alleviated or eliminated; and III. Future generations must not be impoverished as a result of current actions (Redclift,1987). Our Common Future explores how sustainable development ââ¬Å"is not a fixed state of harmony but rather a process of change in which the exploitation of resources, the orientation of technological development, and institutional change are made consistent with future as well as present needsâ⬠(Moles and Kelly, 2000). In other words, (WCED, 1987, 8) itââ¬Å¸s defined as ââ¬Å"development which meets the needs of the present without comprising the ability of future generations to meet their own needsâ⬠. The Commission not only observed that environmental problems need to be addressed, but also socials problem, such as inequity, property, non-prosperity and the violation of human rights, that are related to explosive population growth and the enormous expansion of environmental harms caused by human activities. According to the Commission, solving these problems requires global economic growth whilst respecting ecological constraints (Klunder, 2004). Other studies, (Ding, 2008) defined sustainable development is as a concern of attitudes and judgment to help insure long-term ecological, social and economic growth in society. While the term of sustainable development is well known and widely used, there is no common understanding and approach for it. The perception of sustainability especially when it comes to what ââ¬Å"needsâ⬠is regarded as important varies much by different nation and even different people with different points in time, economic, social and cultural backgrounds (Zinkernagel, 2001). The detail of what comprises sustainable development is very context ââ¬â specific and the same condition and practice cannot apply everywhere. Therefore, sustainability has its diverse implications in every corner of the world and in every sector of a society (Bell and Morse, 2003). For construction sector, the Dutch Ministry of Housing, Spatial Planning and the Environment (1990) explains sustainable as directed towards the reduction of the environmental and health impacts consequent to construction, buildings and the built environment. Such construction processes would bring environmental responsibility, social awareness, and economic profitability objectives to the fore in built environment related projects (Langston and Ding, 2001). There are various definitions of sustainable housing; The European Union defined sustainable housing in the following perspective: construction (e.g. Quality of construction), social and economic factors (e.g. Affordability and psychological impacts) and ecoefficiency (e.g. Efficient use of non-renewable resources) (VROM, 2005). Previously, IHBC (1998) definitionsà present the general factor of a sustainable housing practice that is applicable under various circumstances, depending on the conditions where itââ¬Å¸s implemented (Larasati, 2006). Basically, all these definitions were carry out the idea of Principle 15 of the Declaration of the United Nations Conference on The Human Environment: ââ¬Å"Planning must be applied to human settlements and urbanization with a view to avoiding adverse effects on the environment and obtaining maximum social, economic and environmental benefits for allâ⬠(UNEP, 1972). A sustainable house is cost-efficient over time, comfortable, cheap to maintain and complements our unique environment (Queensland Government, 2004). ââ¬Å"Sustainable Housingâ⬠is a new concept in developing countries and unearthing projects covering all aspects of sustainability proved to be difficult (Ebsen, 2000). For housing that make up a great proportion of building, sustainable housing could be defined as housing practices, which strive for integral quality (including economic, social, and environmental performance) in a broad way (John, Croome & Jeronimidis, 2005). The focus on sustainable housing implies a perspective of flows (Klunder, 2004). From this viewpoint, a sustainableà housing is characterized by the minimization of the environmental impacts of material use, energy consumption and water consumption during the whole service life of the building. 2.0 PROBLEM STATEMENT Malaysia is a developing country heading towards industrialization. The growths of industries bid rapid housing expansion due to the high demand from the customer. A good housing area has to fulfill the health aspect from the building, drainage, clean water supply, domestic waste management and suitable ventilation. The quality of housing and itââ¬Å¸s social, economic and environmental performance is critically important to sustainable development. However, the lacks of practices of project success factors in housing development activities may often bring about water, air and land pollutions thus affecting the natural environment, health and quality ofà life. These issues are often raised today as problems of uncontrolled development of housing growth as concern for the environment is not considered. With this concern in mind, housing and other social services become priority in todayââ¬Å¸s development programmes which aimed at improving the quality of life and contributing towards the formation of a caring society. However, the issue of sustainable housing are still new and not that familiar in our country. With referring back the house being built in the past decade, those houses were not meeting the essential criteria of sustainability and unfortunately, there are little to none; in depth studies for this matter. Although the homes that create may look good and be cheap to build, they are poor value if they weather poorly, have high energy and other running costs, are expensive to maintain and cannot adapt to changes in use. According to Maylor (1999) those organizations that are most resourceful in seeking out best practices and making those aspects work for them will be the most successful. Although project management has proved its success in many construction projects, there is however some problems associated with the manner in which the system has been selected and/or implemented (Noum S. et al., 2004). Here, critical factors of successful project management were establish to develop a new area of managing sustainable housing for further studies of this research to ensure its potential for future sustainability. 2.1 RESEARCH QUESTIONS Based on the problems stated above, two main questions are formed as below: 1) What are the critical factors that are required for the successful implementation of sustainable housing practices? 2) What are the critical factors project management best practices in sustainable housing development? 2.2 OBJECTIVES There are two objectives for this paper: 1) To identify factor that are required for the successful implementation of sustainable housing practice. 2) To establish the success factors that determines the best practices for project management in sustainable housing. 3) To establish guideline for project management best practices for sustainable housing. 3.0 FACTORS EFFECTING PROJECT SUCCESS Nowadays, companies are increasingly using projects in their daily work to achieve company goals. The only way organizations can be driven to achieve excellence is by keeping an eye on competition and world best practice in all aspects of the business (Bendell et. all, 1998). Recently more and more organizations are recognizing that translating corporate strategies into actions requires project management. Consequently, it is vital that projects are successful (Baccarini, 2003). Critical success factors are important influences that contribute to project success. So, critical success factors are the set of circumstances, facts or influences which contribute to the project outcomes. According to Mobey and Parker (2002), to increase the chances of a project succeeding it is necessary for the organisation to have an understanding of what are the success factors, to systematically and quantitatively assess these factors, anticipating possible causes and effects, and then choose appropriate methods of dealing with them. Once identified, the success of the project can be achieved. Generally, the success of a construction project depends on a number of factors, such as project complexity, contractual arrangements, and relationships between project participants, the competency of project managers, and the abilities of key project members (Chua et al., 1999). Bayliss, (2002) in his report said that successful project delivery requires the concerted effort of the project team to carry out the various project activities, but it is the project manager who, at the center of the project network, is responsible for orchestrating the whole construction process. Possessing the core project management competence would help to define the ability of project managers to deliver good performance towards the attainment of project success. The search for factors that influence project success has been growing interest over the past decade. Among researchers that have tried to a certain extent to identify success factors for project management are Pinto and Slevin (1987,1989), Cooke-Davis (2002), Muller and Turner (2003), Belassi and Tukel (1996) and etc. Success factors are those input to the project management system that lead directly or indirectly to the success of the project or business. Belassi and Tukel, 1996, categorized success factors into four main group. These are factors relating to the project, project managers, organization, and external environment. Others researcher, Chan et al., 2002 identify a set of project success factors; project team commitment, contractorââ¬Å¸s competencies, risk and liability assessment, clientââ¬Å¸s competencies, end-users needs and constraints imposed by end user. As referred to the ten critical success factors developed by Pinto and Slevin (1986), Pinto and Mantel (1990) suggest that ââ¬Å"these critical success factors were found to be generalisable to a wide variety of project types and organizationsâ⬠. Their model is one of the most widely quoted lists of critical success factors (Muller and Turner, 2007). However a single set of project success factors may not be suitable for all industries (Lim et al, 1999; Hartman et al, 1996). Liu and Walker 1998 suggest that as industries operate differently, ââ¬Å"a set of critical success factors may not be transferable from one project to another projectâ⬠¦only generic areas can be identified and used as broad guidelines.â⬠A comprehensive review of the literature research on success factors of project management was conducted. Table 1 gives lists of the critical success factors developed in the various literatures. Several researchers have identified the factors that significantly determine project management success. Based on the frequency analysis, the critical success factors are prioritised as shown in Table 2. Table 1. Summary of literature reviews from various authorââ¬Å¸s for project success Authorââ¬Å¸s Pinto & Critical Success Factors Belassi Cooke- Baccarini Andersen Hyvari Turner & Khang Slevin & Davies (1999, et al., Muller & (2002) 2003) (2006) (2005,07) Moe (1987,89) Tukel (2006) (1996) (2008) Project Understanding âËÅ¡ âËÅ¡ Top Management Support âËÅ¡ âËÅ¡ Information/Communication âËÅ¡ âËÅ¡ âËÅ¡ âËÅ¡ Client Involvement âËÅ¡ âËÅ¡ âËÅ¡ âËÅ¡ Competent Project Team âËÅ¡ âËÅ¡ âËÅ¡ âËÅ¡ âËÅ¡ âËÅ¡ âËÅ¡ âËÅ¡ âËÅ¡ âËÅ¡ âËÅ¡ Authority of the Project Manager/Leader Realistic Cost and Time Estimates âËÅ¡ Adequate Project Control âËÅ¡ âËÅ¡ âËÅ¡ âËÅ¡ âËÅ¡ âËÅ¡ Planning/Controlling Project mission /common goal âËÅ¡ âËÅ¡ Project Ownership âËÅ¡ âËÅ¡ âËÅ¡ âËÅ¡ âËÅ¡ âËÅ¡ âËÅ¡ feedback âËÅ¡ âËÅ¡ âËÅ¡ âËÅ¡ âËÅ¡ âËÅ¡ âËÅ¡ or empirical basis. Table 2: Prioritisation of CSFs Critical Success Factors Prioritised Occurrence No. Frequency of Rank 1 Competent Project Team 8 1 2 Authority of the Project Manager/Leader 6 2 3 Project Understanding 5 3 4 Top Management Support 5 3 âËÅ¡ âËÅ¡ Remark: ââ¬Å"âËÅ¡ â⬠critical success factors that is determined by the authors either on a conceptual Sr. âËÅ¡ âËÅ¡ âËÅ¡ Monitor performance and âËÅ¡ âËÅ¡ âËÅ¡ Adequate Resources âËÅ¡ âËÅ¡ âËÅ¡ Risk Management âËÅ¡ âËÅ¡ âËÅ¡ Problem Solving Abilities âËÅ¡ âËÅ¡ 5 Client Involvement 5 3 6 Project mission /common goal 5 3 7 Adequate Resources 4 4 8 Realistic Cost and Time Estimates 4 4 9 Information/Communication 4 4 10 Project Ownership 3 5 11 Monitor performance and feedback 3 5 12 Planning/Controlling 3 5 13 Risk Management 3 5 14 Adequate Project Control 2 6 15 Problem Solving Abilities 2 6 The frequency analysis in Tables 1 and 2 revealed that there are only one critical success factors in all frameworks in common which is competent project team. The analysis also showed that authority of the project manager/leader is prioritised in rank 2. The analysis further revealed that 5 out of the 8 frameworks have four critical success factors in common: Project Understanding, Top Management Support, Client Involvement and Project Mission/common goal. The Adequate Resources, Realistic Cost and Time Estimates and information/Communication success factors have their presence in forth frameworks respectively. The other critical success factors (namely, Project ownership, Monitor performance and feedback, Planning/Controlling and Risk Management) are presented in very few frameworks (Table 1 and 2). Meanwhile, the other two factors were not commonly found in the literature which is adequate project control and problem solving abilities. 4.0 FACTORS OF PROJECT SUCCESS FOR SUSTAINABLE HOUSING The subject of project management is vast and numerous authors continuously add to the body of literature on the subject. According to the Project Management Institute (2004), the discipline of project management can be defined as follows: Project management is the art of directing and coordinating human and material resources throughout the life of a project by using modern management techniques to achieve predetermined objectives of scope, cost, time, quality and participation satisfaction. Project management best practices may be described as optimum way of performing work to achieve high performance (Ramabadron et all., 1997). According to Dey (2002), current project management practices of organizations in the industry sector do not always ensure success. The main problems with projects planning and implementation have been cost and time overruns and quality non-achievement. Dey (2002) stated that the main contributing factors are: ï⠷ Expansion of the scope and subsequent quality increases of input resources; ï⠷ Engineering and design changes; ï⠷ Underestimation and incorrect estimation and ï⠷ Unforeseen inflation ï⠷ Project size and complexity and etc. Dey, (2002) illustrates projects management growing popularity has stimulated interest in how companies compare in their application of project management process, tools and techniques. Successful project management can contribute towards project success but is unlikely to be able to prevent project failure (de Wit, 1988). The various variables affecting the success factors are identified in theà previous section. There are Project Understanding, Top Management, Support Communication, Client Involvement, Competent Project Team, Authority of Top Level, Realistic Cost and Time Estimates, Adequate Project Control, Problem Solving Abilities, Risk Management, Adequate Resources, Planning/Controlling, Monitor performance and feedback, Project mission /Common goal, and Project Ownership. Furthermore, a new conceptual framework that includes the indentified variables of project success is shown in Fig. 1. Its show that variables project success can influence a variable of criteria measuring sustainable housing. Figure 1: Framework of Project Management Success Factors in Sustainable Housing. Project Management Success Factor Criteria Measuring Sustainable Housing: Competent Project Team Authority of the Project Manager/Leader Project Understanding Top Management Support Client Involvement Project mission /common goal Adequate Resources Realistic Cost and Time Estimates Information/Communication Project Ownership Monitor performance and feedback Planning/Controlling Risk Management Adequate Project Control Problem Solving Abilities ï⠷ Energy Efficiency ï⠷ Use of Materials ï⠷ Water Efficiency ï⠷ Disposal ï⠷ Site Issues ï⠷ Green ï⠷ Traffic ï⠷ Outdoor environment and Indoor environment Project Management Success Factors in Sustainable Housing ââ¬â Economically ; are cost-efficient over the lifespan of the dwelling ââ¬â Environmental/Ecology ; are resource efficient in terms of materials, waste, water and energy ââ¬â Social/Community ; are safe, flexible and comfortable for people with varying abilities * Critical success factor of project management were establish to come out the best practices in new area in Sustainable Housing. An extensive literature survey on sustainable housing also has been carried out to select criteria measurement frameworks for this study. The relevant literature has revealed that different researchers have adopted similar sustainability criteriaââ¬Å¸s framework that consider on three basic themes of the sustainable construction; social, environmental, and economic. Below, there are a few literatures findings in term of criteria of measuring sustainable housing: 1. Winston (2007) have carried out some important characteristics of sustainable housing include: sustainable land-use planning; resisting scattered settlements; housing close to employment and public transport; higher residential densities; sustainable construction; high standards of energy efficiency in use of dwellings; housing availability, affordability and quality; access to green space, and a high quality residential environment. Many sustainable building indicator sets are derived from conceptual models (Winston and Pareja, 2008). 2. Blaauw (1997), the following environmental theme are derived from a workbook for sustainable building and housing: Energy, Use of Materials, Water, Disposal, Site, Green, Traffic, Outdoor environment and Indoor environment. 3. Building Environmental Science & Technology (B.E.S.T), formulated residential green building guidelines: Emphasize the reduce, recycle, re-use, renewable; use energy, water and resource efficiently; healthy indoor air quality; building has affordable community; development creates a sense of well-being; the home remains reasonably affordable and cost effective. 4. (Bennett and James, 1999) Effective sustainability measurement should consider the complete triple bottom line of economic, environmental, and societal performance which is: a) Social Sustainability ï⠷ Healthy internal environment ï⠷ Safety (personal, household and environmental) ï⠷ Provision of social amenity ï⠷ Provision of recreation amenity ï⠷ Accessibility to jobs and amenities b) Economic Sustainability ï⠷ Cost efficient over time ï⠷ Adaptability with min. cost ï⠷ Affordability ï⠷ Job creations and local economy c) Environmental Sustainability ï⠷ Energy efficiency ï⠷ Water efficiency/Conservation ï⠷ Reduction of greenhouse gas emissions ï⠷ Waste management / recycling ï⠷ Material efficiency ï⠷ Pollution preventionââ¬â noise, water, air ï⠷ Optimization & conservation of land ï⠷ Protect and enhance biodiversity ï⠷ Reduction of car dependency 5. Green Building Manual from the US Department of Energy (DOE) & Public Technology, Inc. (PTI) include the following points: ï⠷ Site Issues: selection of building sites, landscaping, watershed, site materials and equipment ï⠷ Building Design: building systems (heating, ventilating, air-conditioning, electrical and plumbing systems) and indoor environmental quality ï⠷ Construction Process ï⠷ Operations & Maintenance ï⠷ Economics & Environment: energy and water efficiency, waste reduction, construction costs, building maintenance & management savings. For the purpose of this research, eight aspects of criteria sustainability that can be used to analyze sustainable housing , were derived from the six environmental themes that are distinguished The National Measures for Sustainable Building (Hendriks, 2001): ï⠷ Energy: reducing the demand for energy, promoting the use of sustainable energy resources and using energy efficiently ï⠷ Materials: more efficient use of materials, reducing waste and removing it responsibly ï⠷ Water: reducing water usage, preventing land drying up, and protecting water quality ï⠷ Indoor Environment: improving air quality, improving thermal comfort, and reducing noise levels. ï⠷ Surrounding Environment: supporting bio-diversity, strengthening the perception of the environment (including maintaining old townscapes) and reducing nuisance (noise, wind, odor) ï⠷ Miscellaneous: improving the flexibility of the home with regard to accommodating new functions and improving safety It is expected that study of project management best practices in the extent of project success could lead toward meeting criteria of sustainable housing. This approach in sustainable housing area will provide much needed information to local authorities to take more effective control of housing issues. 5.0 CONCLUSION The implementation of success factors for project management in sustainable housing is important in other to ensure project success. Apparently, the sustainable housing is one of the major contributors to the development of any country. Unfortunately, in our country Malaysia, the issue of sustainable housing development is still new and not yet the proactive action had been taken to develop the housing sector in sustainable way. Thus, this research is proposed to identify success factors for project management in sustainable housing area. At the end of this paper, a new area of managing sustainable housing for future direction of this research will identified. A list of critical success factors from various authors for project management success for sustainable housing development in Malaysia was established. Further work is needed to explore in more detail which factors are important and to understand how the factors interact with each other in sustainable housing area. 6.0 REFERENCES Andersen, E.S., Jessen, S.A. (2000), ââ¬Å"Project evaluation schemeâ⬠, Project Management, Vol. 6 No.1, pp.61-9. Baccarini D. (2003), Critical Success Factors for Projects. Faculty of The Built Environment, Art and Design Curtin University of Technology, Australia. Belassi W, Tukel OI (1996), A new framework for determining critical success/failure factors in projects. International Journal of Project Management. 14(3): 141-151. Bell, S and Morse, S (2003), Measuring Sustainability: Learning from Doing. Earthscan: London, UK. Bendell, T., Boulter, L. and Kelly, J. (1998), Benchmarking for Competitive Advantage, Pitman, London. Bennett M., James P. (1999). Sustainable Measures: Evaluation and Reporting of Environmental and Social Performance. Greenleaf, Sheffield, UK. Blaauw, drs. F.J. (1997), Werkboek Duurzaam Bouwen en Wonen. Alphen aan de Rijn: Samsam HD Tjeenk Willink bv. Building Environmental Science & Technology (B.E.S.T.). ââ¬Å¾Green Buildingââ¬Å¸ ââ¬â http://www.energybuilder.com/greenbld.htm#top Chan, A.P.C., Scott, D. and Lam, E.W.M. (2002) Framework of Success Criteria for Design/Build Projects. Journal of Management in Engineering Vol. 18 (3), pp. 122128. Choguill, C. L. (2007), The search for policies to support sustainable housing. Habitat International, pp 143-149. Chua DKH, Kog YC, Loh PK (1999), ââ¬Å"Critical success factors for different project objectives.â⬠Journal of Construction Engineering and Management, pp. 142-150 Cooke-Davis, T. (2002). ââ¬Å¾The ââ¬Å"realâ⬠success factors on projectsââ¬Å¸, International Journal of Management, 20 (3), pp. 185-190 de Wit, (1988), ââ¬Å"Measurement of project management successâ⬠, International Journal of Project Management, Vol.6 (3), pp. 164-170. Dey, P.K. (2002), ââ¬Å"Benchmarking project management practices of Caribbean organizations using analytic hierarchy processâ⬠, Benchmarking: An International Journal, Vol.9 No.3, pp. 326-356. Ding, G.K.C (2008), Sustainable Construction-The role of environmental assessment tools. Journal of environmental management, 86, 451-464. Dutch Ministry of Housing, Spatial Planning and The Environment (1990), Nationaal milieubeleidsplan-plus; notitie instrumentarium + duurzaam bauwen, Sdu. Den Haag. Ebsen C., Ramboll B. (2000). International Review Of Sustainable Low-Cost Housing Projects Proceedings: Strategies for a Sustainable Built Environment, Pretoria, 23-25 August 2000 Green Building Manual from the US Department of Energy (DOE) & Public Technology, Inc. (PTI) Hartman F, Ashrafi R. (1996). Failed successes and failures. PMI Annual Seminar/Symposium, Boston, PD 35, 1-5, Hendriks, (2001). Sustainable Construction. Boxtel, The Netherlands : AEnas technical publishers. John. 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Kelly R., (2000), Towards Sustainable Development in The Mid-West Region of Ireland. Environmental Management and Health, Vol. 11 No.5 pp 422-432. Muller R, Turner JR (2003). On the nature of the project as a temporary organization. Int. J. Project Manage, 21(1): 1 Muller R, Turner JR (2005). The project managerââ¬Å¸s leadership style as a success factor on projects: A literature review. Project Management Journal,36(2): 49 ââ¬â 61 Muller R., Turner R. (2007), ââ¬Å"The influence of project managers on project success criteria and project success by type of project.â⬠European Management Journal Vol. 25 (4), pp. 298-307 OECD. (1998) Towards Sustainable Development ââ¬â Environmental Indicators. OECD Code 971998031P1. Olejado, E.O. (2003), Implication of Designs and Material Specifications on Housing Development. Proceedings: Housing Development in Nigeria ââ¬â Which Way Forward, Lagos State of Nigeria. 1st & 2nd April, 2003. Pinto JK, Slevin DP (1989). 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Thursday, August 1, 2019
Bullying In the Schools
In the past, these actions could be better controlled because they were limited to face-to-face interactions. In recent years, this age-old conflict has matched the pace of technological evolutions; making it more dangerous and harder to contain. Cell phones, social media sites, chat rooms, and other forms of technology have allowed bullying to expand into cyberspace. This new form of bullying is known as accessibility. The word ââ¬Å"bully' can be traced back as far as the sass's (Hindu & Patching, 2009). In its most basic form, bullying involves two people, a bully or intimidator and a victim.The bully abuses the victim through physical, verbal, or other means in order to gain a sense of superiority or power. These actions may be direct (I. E. Hitting, verbally assaulting face-to-face, etc. ) or indirect (I. E. Rumors, gossip). There is no clear cut reason why children become a bully, but some evidence shows that they tend to be involved in alcohol consumption and smoking, have po orer academic records than involved students, display a strong need for dominance, and show little empathy for their victims (Roberts & Imports, 2000).Bullying may be means of increasing one's own social status (Pipelining, 2001). A strong correlation appears to exist between bullying other students during the school years and experiencing legal or criminal troubles as adults (Pigskin, 2002). Bullying tends to peak in middle school because this is when kids start to physically develop and become more aware of their differences (Pomeranian Beer, 2013). Cliques begin to take shape and a social system develops that lays heavily on the desire of adolescents to fit in.Bullying usually occurs in the presence of peers, who can adopt a variety of roles, such as remaining neutral during a bullying incident, assisting and encouraging the bully, or aiding or consoling the victim (unfortunately the latter role is rarely adopted by children). The action of peers in the vicinity of bullying incid ents typically support the bullying behavior rather than stop it (Sutton & Smith, 1999). Most children do not want to intervene, being afraid they might be the next target Pigskin, 2002).The impact of being bullied can leave a devastating affect lasting into adulthood. Children and adolescents being bullied tend to have lower academic grades and low self-esteem. The extreme scones ounces are suicidal thoughts or thoughts of violent revenge. While grade school children tend to rely on parents and teachers for support, junior and high school children tend to leave them out and rely more of the support of their friends (Subtotals, 180). This makes it especially difficult to intervene, not knowing here is such an incident. Usually intervention comes too later when a child has decided to take his/her own life or take a weapon to school to prove they are a victim no more. Media attention has made this epidemic a national crisis. Parents and school officials are calling for law-makers to t ake action to deter or punish bullying. In order to control and prevent this in schools or in cyberspace, bullying should first be acknowledged as a significant and pervasive problem, and secondly school-based intervention programs need to be developed.
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