The Extent to Which William Golding Portrays Mankind as Being Inherently Evil :: William Golding Lord of the Flies Essays

The Extent to Which William Golding Portrays Mankind as Being Inherently Evil Although I do not think he shows humans to be completely, irrevocably evil, I think that Golding paints an increasingly dim picture of humankind. As his faith in humanity's intrinsic good fails, Golding's foresight of a dark future for man is reflected in the colour of his metaphorical oil paints as he writes this allegorical novel. Even supposedly innocent children are shown to be incredibly sinful and the rules and regulations they are brought up under fade away into insignificance. This mirrors William Golding's belief that people are born corrupt and malevolent, they are not influenced into bad ways; rather it is something about us as a species. Throughout his story, Golding demonstrates the true nature of people coming out into the open - manifesting itself more openly after being restrained by society for so long. At the start of Lord Of The Flies, there is chaos amidst horrendous storms, with panicky schoolboys unregulated and vulnerable. Together though, they set about their predicament in a very well meaning, sophisticated way - everything is orderly and civilised in true boy-scout fashion. The boys act above their ages and decide they ought to "...call the others...have a meeting"(I, p. 22), to organise themselves and to build shelters after their adult 'election'. Like in Parliament, only one person is allowed to speak at once and the conch helps to enforce this. With the well meaning and democratic Ralph in charge, even specific jobs are allocated amongst the children with Jack's choir designated the island's hunters. However, even at this early stage, the children test the limits of this new adult-less world. Jack says to Piggy, "Shut up, Fatty"(I, p. 28). Then, the name-calling continues with Ralph even, abusing Piggy's trust and revealing his former private nickname merely for a cheap laugh. Even the tiniest child joined in the resulting combined uproar of laughter - every one glad that there is no authority to discipline them. Later, when Piggy approaches Ralph about his betrayal, Ralph is caught between "...apology or further insult"(I, p. 33) as his conscience begins to falter. As the story progresses, incidences illustrating the immorality of the boys become more frequent and more prominent. Still in the first chapter, Ralph, Simon and Jack revel in the wanton destruction caused by their hands when they roll a boulder into the canopy below - they were transfixed by this "triumph"(I, p.37) and utter an excited "Wacco!"(I, p. 37). The first time the boys chance upon a pig, Jack crucially hesitates whilst considering the consequences of taking life. Though, as later on Jack renounces his social conditioning and

SIP Security Essay -- Information Technology

Abstract The session initiation protocol (SIP) is emerging as standard protocol for session control in Next generation voice over internet protocol (VoIP) As it is based on IP it is vulnerable to all IP related threats . Among all the attacks, flood-based denial of service DoS attack is one of the main threats to SIP. Several solutions regarding prevention of DoS are discussed. Efficient Security scheme is proposed for batter performance. I. INTRODUCTION Session Initiation Protocol (SIP) [1] is signaling protocol given by the Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF) for IP telephony. Moreover, the 3rd generation partnership program (3GPP) has chosen SIP as a signaling protocol in IP multimedia subsystem (IMS). With more and more multimedia applications and the digital audio/video transport over IP-based networks, SIP is becoming the de-facto signaling protocol. In fact, SIP is a session control protocol that can establish, modify, and terminate multimedia sessions such as Internet telephone calls (VoIP). SIP users are indicated by Uniform Resource Identifiers (URI), consisting of a pair of user name and domain name, e.g. sip:ali@abc.co.uk , which is similar to the email format. SIP signaling between multiple users consists of requests and responses .A call is set up in SIP by the three-way handshake composed of INVITE, 200 OK and ACK messages. The INVITE request asks the cal lee to join or establish a call. If the cal lee’s response indicates that he/she accepts the call by sending the 200 OK response message, the caller confirms that it has received the response by sending the ACK message. When the caller or cal lee wishes to terminate a call, they send a BYE request. ... ... June 2001. [8] T. Peng, C. Leckie, and K. Ramamohanarao, â€Å"Protection from distributed denial of service attacks using history-based IP 108 filtering,† Communications, 2003. ICC'03. IEEE International Conference on, vol. 1, 2003 [9] S. D. D'Souza, and D. Vinokurov, â€Å"Queuing methods for mitigation of packet spoofing†, US Patent App, 2004 [10] M.A. Akbar, M.Farooq, â€Å"Application of Evolutionary Algorithms in Detection of SIP based Flooding Attacks†GECCO’09, July 8–12,2009, Montrà ©al Quà ©bec, Canada.ACM. [11] M.A. Akbar, Z.Tariq and M.Farooq, â€Å"A Comparative Study of Anomaly Detection Algorithms for Detection of SIP Flooding in IMS†, Next Generation Intelligent Networks Research Center (nexGIN RC), 2009.

Gender Equality and Environmental Sustainability in Uganda’s Water Sector

GENDER EQUALITY AND ENVIRONMENTAL SUSTAINABILITY IN UGANDA’S WATER SECTOR. By Nandala Mike([email  protected] com) 1. 0INTRODUCTION 1. 1Essence of Gender, Gender Equality and the Environment Gender refers to the different roles, rights and responsibilities of men and women and the relationships between them, their qualities, behaviours, and identities which are determined through the process of socialisation to define their relationships with each other and with their environment.Gender equality on the other hand is a principle that equates men and women before and under the law; men and women have equal dignity (worthiness); and have equal opportunities in economic, political, cultural and social life. It is upon this background that the relationships and rights enjoyed by men and women foster decision making and activities that in turn have been affected in both the management and sustainability of the environment. It has been observed that there is an undesirable imbalanc e that has existed between men and women resulting in inadequate performance of the letter of their roles.Often this has slowed down development initiatives leading to adverse effects on the environment. 1. 2 Significancy of Water in Social and Economic Development Water is a key strategic resource, vital for sustaining life, promoting development and maintaining the environment. Access to clean and safe water and improved sanitation facilities and practices are pre-requisites to a health/population and therefore have a direct impact on the quality of life and productivity of the population.Besides domestic water supply, water is also vital for: Livestock Water Supply, Industrial Water Supply, Hydropower generation, Agriculture, Marine Transport, Fisheries, Waste Discharge, Tourism, and Environmental Conservation. Water, therefore, significantly contributes to the national socio-economic development and also poverty eradication (UNWD, 2005) Water is thus an integral part of the natu ral resources protected under the Uganda Constitution. 1. 3Government Committement.Over the last two decades, government has committed itself to the implementation of public sector reforms meant to ensure sustainable development, through legislative and policy frameworks anchored on three key policies, namely: Decentralisation, Privatisation and Divestiture; and the Poverty Eradication Action Plan (PEAP), These were intended to reduce the burden of the nation’s concern for income generating resources and practices. The PEAP was prepared in 1997 in a move to eradicate poverty as an overall national planning framework.It has since been revised through 2007/8 and based on five pillars, namely; (1) Economic management; (2) Enhancing production, competitiveness and incomes; (3) Security, conflict-resolution and disaster management; (4) Good governance and (5) Human development (PEAP 2004/5-2007/8) Water and sanitation are some of the central elements under pillar one intended to i mprove the quality of life of the poor through human development. The second pillar points out a strategy to foster production, incomes and competitiveness through water consumption and production.It also addresses actions to empower and strengthen women’s gender awareness and furthermore points out inadequacies aimed at capacity building in the application of skills, limited choice in the decisions about the nature of services received and needed by women, less efforts in community gender awareness campaigns, weaknesses among decision makers including support in supervision and monitoring thus leading to reasons for low gender responsiveness in the water sector. Which way forward?With this background, this Article addresses key policy and legal frame works in the water sector, gender and environmental impact assessment of water resources which have been developed and supported by various laws, sector performance, integration of gender into environment and sustainable develop ment, issues of particular concern, and recommendations. 2. 0Policy, Legal and Institutional Frameworks 2. 1Policy The policy objectives of the Government of Uganda for the Water and Sanitation sector are at two levels: first, the domestic consumption and secondly, water for production.At the domestic level, the objective is to provide sustainable safe water and hygienic sanitation facilities, within easy reach, based on management responsibility and ownership by users, to 77% of the population in rural areas and 100% in urban areas by year 2015. Concerning water for production, the aim is to promote development of water supply for agricultural production in order to modernise agriculture and mitigate effects of climatic variations on rain fed agriculture (MWLE, 1999).In essence, the overall policy objective is to manage and develop the water resources of Uganda in an integrated and sustainable manner, so as to secure and provide adequate quantity and quality of water for all social and economic needs of the present and future generations. The Government aims at full participation of all stakeholders with an 80-90% target for effective use and functionality of facilities. Other policy measures have also been put in place by the Environment and Natural Resources Sector Working Group which commissioned a study on the use of economic instruments for environmental management.Curbing water pollution was a key implementation factor for environmental sustainability. In 1998, the government introduced a water waste discharge fee ranging from 0 to 13 million Ugandan shillings ($0 to $7,000) in proportion to the biological oxygen demand load. The fees were meant to encourage investment in less polluting technologies. The legislation required that companies register for discharge permits before dumping industrial waste water. 2. 2Legal FrameworkThe major Instruments relevant to the Water Sector that provide the enabling legal framework for the water resources management and development in Uganda include: the Constitution, which provides the broad legal and policy framework within which all water sector legislation, policies and development plans are developed; the National Environment Act,(1995), it provides the framework for coordinated and sound management of the environment including environmental impact assessment of water resources related projects and setting water quality and effluent standards; the Local Government Act, which provides for the decentralisation of functions, powers, responsibilities and services to Local Governments; Uganda Water Action Plan (1995); the Water Resources Regulations and Waste Water Discharge Regulations (1998), providing for the regulation of water abstraction and waste water discharge through the use of permits; the National Water Policy (1999), indicating the policy framework for water resources management and development in Uganda. Other related legal policies include the National Gender Policy (1997) ; Plan for Modernisation of Agriculture (PMA) and ; Water and Sanitation Gender Strategy (2003-2008). The policies and legal framework outlined above, are forward-looking in intention, for socio-economic, development strategies of the Government of Uganda and have supported various reforms in the water sector which has enabled government, to put in good order and rationalise the country’s resource utilisation. The question is, are these policies fully implemented? What is the implementation stand at local government and community levels?There are challenges regarding definition of roles and responsibilities, capacity and coordination of men and women, as well as collaboration for improved performance especially at government and community levels (MWLE, 2005). There is also need to review some provisions of the laws to incorporate regulatory functions and allow equal participation of men and women, in the water sector. (1)Institutional and Implementation Framework The water sector i s structured at three distinct levels namely: (a) the national, (b) decentralised or local government level and (c) the micro or user level. (a)National level At the national level, a Ministry of Water, Lands and Environment (MWLE) was created in 1996 following Government restructuring of line Ministries.This institution is charged with overall responsibility for initiating national policies and setting national standards and priorities for water development and management. Two national institutions are under this Ministry: The National Water and Sewerage Corporation (NWSC) and Directorate of Water Development (DWD). At implementation level, the Water and Sanitation Sector Working Group (WSSWG) which is under the Ministry of Water and Environment (MWE) provides policy and technical guidance for sector development in the country; approves all sector programmes, including work-plans and budgets. The sector comprises representatives from ; Development Partners and Non-Governmental Orga nisations and Government.The National Water and Sewerage Corporation (NWSC), was established in 1972 with responsibility to deliver water supply and sewerage services in 15 urban centres serving 2. 1 million people. These centres are Entebbe, Kampala, Jinja /Njeru, Mbale, Tororo, Soroti, Gulu, Lira, Arua, Masaka, Mbarara, Fort Portal, Kasese, Bushenyi/Ishaka and Kabale. The Directorate of Water Development is the leading water sector agency responsible for policy guidance, setting standards, co-ordinating and monitoring, sector reporting, and undertaking sector relevant research and development. DWD is also responsible for managing water resources including provision of oversight and support services to the local governments and other water supply service providers. DWD, 1991-2001 ) Other national level institutions that play important roles in the Water and Sanitation sector include Ministry of Finance, Planning and Economic Development (MFPED), responsible for the mobilisation and allocation of financial resources including co-ordination of donor inputs and the privatization process; Ministry of Health (MOH), for promotion of hygiene and household sanitation; Ministry of Education and Sports(MoE), charged with promotion of sanitation and hygiene education in schools; Ministry of Agriculture, Animal industry and Fisheries (MAAIF), responsible for planning, coordination and implementation of all agriculture development in the country including irrigation development, aquaculture, and livestock development ; Ministry of Gender and Social Development, which addresses gender responsive development and community mobilisation; and NGOs working in the sector. (b)District level The District and Local Government levels as a whole, are responsible for the provision and management of water and sanitation services in rural areas and urban areas outside the jurisdiction of NWSC, in liaison with DWD. Their functions, responsibilities and powers differ according to the degr ee of decentralization so far implemented for both rural and urban water. Planning, implementation and operational management of water and sanitation activities in major towns remain the function of NWSC. However, of 143 small towns with a population of 1. million, 66 have been gazette as water supply areas, 61 of these have operational piped water supplies and schemes, of which 57 are managed by private sector water operators. Planning and implementation for water supply systems in small towns is still centralized at national level (MWLE 2005). Operation and maintenance is decentralised to the urban authorities and private operators through public-private partnership arrangements. The district water offices operate within the overall framework of the district local councils. The district offices are staffed with a multi- skilled team, in planning, hygiene education and social aspects. The district water team reports to the Works and Technical/Services sub-committees of their respec tive local governments.At county level, technical officers have been posted to facilitate planning and supervision of construction works and overseeing maintenance of installed supplies. The communities are responsible for demanding for, planning, operating and maintaining water and sanitation facilities. (c)The Micro or User level At sub-county level, planning, implementation and operation and maintenance of the rural water and sanitation facilities are organised. These communities are also obliged to pay for urban water and sanitation services provided by NWSC and other service providers. Development of low-cost technology options such as springs, shallow wells, rainwater-harvesting tanks and school latrines are undertaken.The district water office and national level technical teams support the sub-counties to carry out water resources assessment to identify potential areas for water development and sanitation services. The sub-counties assess the demand for water and sanitation s ervices by the communities. This is based on population size and location and functionality of the existing facilities. At community level, the citizens are supposed to participate in the planning, financing, implementation, monitoring and control of community water and sanitation development. Communities submit requests/applications to the sub county for support towards water improvements. These are then forwarded to the district However, the level of community participation is less than the partnership, which it is meant to be.Women who are majority users of Water resources constitute only a handful of people, dominated by men in accessing and managing these resources. The initial programme design and implementation under many previous projects does not fully address gender equity participation. 3. 0Integration of gender into Environment and sustainable development in the water sector In order to avert the rapid degradation of the environment, Uganda developed a National Environme nt Action Plan (NEAP), 1995, that adapted a gender approach in planning the long-term investment of managing the natural resources in the country. The NEAP makes a strong commitment to addressing environment problems and to sustainable development in a comprehensive manner.The plan also argues for participatory approaches to environmental planning and the integration of gender analysis. The Uganda National Environment Management Authority (NEMA) is charged with formulating national environment policies and providing guidance in the implementation, including environment impact assessment, and environment education and training in environment management. The main purpose of incorporating gender in the environment management policies was to enable men and women perform their duties in the best cost effective methods which will conserve the environment, accelerate sustainable development that would improve people’s way of living.To achieve the above objectives there was need to f ormulate activities, which would contribute to the integrated promotion of sustainable livelihoods and environmental protection, covering various sectoral interventions involving a range of actors, from decentralised or local government level to lower levels, that are essential at every stage especially at the grassroots levels in the rural areas with special emphasis on the disadvantaged groups like women and youths. 4. 0ISSUES OF PARTICULAR CONCERN 4. 1Equitable access to water supply Access to safe drinking water is a basic human right and essential for achieving gender equality and sustainable development. Most households, especially at community levels do not have adequate access to water and the children and especially women, walk long distances to fetch water for domestic use.Water near the home contribute significant improvements in nutrition and health. The carrying of water over long distances is a health hazard. During daily water collection, women and girls face the risk of rape and injuries from attacks. A major issue associated with poor water supply and sanitation is a case with the Internally Displaced Persons(IDPs) camps, in Northern Uganda which involves high risks of sexual violence and abuses committed primarily against women and girls, a danger often caused by insufficient water supply and sanitation facilities within the camps which prompt movements to get water from far areas and at homes poor hygienic conditions.Over crowding, poor water pressure and broken water pumps accelerate the crisis (Diane Paul, 2006) Access to fresh water and sanitation therefore, does not only improve the health of a family, but it also provides an opportunity for girls to go to school, and for women to use their time more productively than in fetching water. Women in most cases are primarily responsible for the use and management of water resources, sanitation and health at the household level. Over the years, women have accumulated an impressive store of env ironmental wisdom, being the ones to find water, to educate children in hygiene matters and to understand the impact of poor sanitation on health and the environment.Very often the decision about location of water sources, types of water sources, and who will maintain the operation of the facilities are made without consulting women resulting in no-one taking responsibility. Men, who mainly dominate the operations and maintenance of facilities in the water sector often do not fully implement decisions and actions thus the need to involve more women. 4. 2Equitable access to land rights and water for productive use Equitable access to water for productive use empowers women and addresses the root causes of gender inequality. Lack of access (ownership) to land, is seen as an underlying cause of women’s limited access to water.In Uganda, women technically have little control and ownership on land under customary law in many of the Uganda ethnic societies statutory (national) law, there is, however, no discrimination. According to MFPED (2006), women own only 7% of the registered land in Uganda, a situation which affects gender mainstreaming in the Water sector, as women lack control over resources and therefore have limited decision making over issues like the silting of water sources, maintenance of broken pumps/taps/damaged bore holes/ water tanks and use of water for production. Land ownership is a precondition for access to water. Thus, land reforms that allocated legal land tenure to the heads of households or permanent agricultural workers (who are generally male) resulted in women losing any legal claim to water.There is need of water for a range of small scale economic enterprises, like: home gardens in peri-urban areas ; growing fruits; poultry farming; preparing food, (which are some times overlooked in agricultural statistics). Overall, the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) reports an increasing â€Å"feminisation of agriculture† due to wars, pandemics and the exodus of men seeking paid work in urban areas. Also mentioned is the fact that women are heads of an increasing number of rural households in the developing world and find themselves in the position of managing farm land and providing for their families alone, without legal rights to water and land. 4. 3Equity and Participation in the management of resources in the water sector The management of water resources has been mainly male dominated.Men occupy a bigger portion in careers and training in water management than do women. Social barriers tend to restrict women’s participation in public consultations that can influence policies on water at all levels of water management. This prevents women voices from being effectively heard, particularly with respect to their environmental concerns and also results to limited effectiveness of water, sanitation and hygiene promotion efforts . Usually it is men who make the decisions over water management and sanitation issues and yet it is women who are usually in greater need for sanitation privacy and responsible for water, sanitation and hygiene.It is worth noting that the process of formulating the Water and Sanitation Sub-Sector Strategy (2010/11-2014/15), which began in 2003-2008 (Water Sector Gender Strategy-WSGS,WSGS ), served as the first strategic framework for implementing Uganda’s National Gender Strategy within the powers of the Ministry of Water and Environment (MWE). The WSGS I was developed in response to the various international commitments made by the Government of Uganda regarding gender equality and the National Gender Policy (1997). The strategy was aimed at developing and empowering approaches that would enhance gender equity, participation and access to and control of resources in the water sector.The strategy further put emphasis on both internal and external gender mainstreaming including building capacity for gender planning, monitoring and evaluation; strengthening the capacities of partners and executing bodies for mainstreaming; and committing adequate resources for gender related activities. This is an outstanding move with good intentions of formulating gender equity and participation but unless the Ministry of Water and Environment comprehensively and consistently puts focus on gender concerns, gender mainstreaming in the water sector will not penetrate deeply into matters of policy and legislation. 4. 4Issues on Sanitation Sanitation refers to the drainage and disposal of sewage. The need to dispose human excreta appropriately is an environmental and social concern in the country. Ignoring it posses adverse impacts on environment cost and on health.Lack of sanitation and poor hygiene are responsible for the transmission of diseases such as cholera, typhoid and other parasitic infections. These diseases have a big negative impact on the health and nutrition of communities especially the children. A focus on gender difference s is of particular importance with regard to sanitation facilities which needs the attention of women to play crucial roles in influencing the hygiene behaviours of children, and men too can serve as role models in sustaining changes in disposal habits. Hence the success and effective use of water and sanitation facilities largely depend on the involvement of both women and men in selecting the location and technology of such facilities, and taking responsibility for operation and maintenance.Sanitation concerns are mainly emphasized in urban and peri-urban centres and less priotised in the villages or lower communities/households. It is only under the urban and peri-urban strategies that water is directly linked to sanitation. The number of latrines at community level tend to be less as compared to size of the families needed to access them. Latrines are usually household initiatives sometimes rudimentary in nature. The water sector supply systems are relatively well developed and have mechanisms for delivery whenever necessary as compared to sanitation mostly at community level. There seems to be no well-developed mechanism for sanitation service delivery even at household level. Investment in water supply is highly priotised than sanitation.The reasons why sanitation prioritisation is not key in the water and sanitation sector is because of the difficulty of estimating the sanitation measures especially for rural sanitation where the latrines are merely rudimental with varying degrees of safety which makes it difficult to tag costs of improvements, rehabilitation or construction of such facilities including lack of political commitment to sanitation. It was therefore easy to omit household sanitation and concentrate on institutional sanitation (MWLE 2005). 5. 0Linkages OF GENDER EQUITY with PEAP Goals Gender mainstreaming and improved access to water supply has two potential benefits; improved service delivery and health. Gender equity in the sector offers better services in the management and maintenance while water-born diseases are important issues of the disease burden in Uganda.The sector goals are in line with PEAP goals as well as the Millennium Development Goals(MDGs). For example, the goals aim at the importance of gender in areas of agricultural production, legal discrimination and wood fuel, shortage of sustainable safe water supply and sanitation facilities, based on management responsibility and ownership by the users. It furthermore mentions inadequacies realised in the capacity to apply gender analysis skills, limited gender awareness among the communities, bureaucratic resistance in decision making and weak support in monitoring and supervision of sector activities as the reasons for low gender responsiveness. 6. 0Implementation ChallengesThe Poverty Eradication Action Plan identifies the importance of gender mainstreaming in all interventions which include policy planning, formulation, guiding public actions to eradic ate poverty and points out inadequacies in applying gender analysis skills, limited gender awareness among the communities, bureaucratic resistance among decision makers and weak support in supervision and monitoring. However, the importance of gender equity is not emphasised in the water and sanitation sector major implementation polices. Focus is targeted on poverty alleviation as an overall concern than gender. This limits coverage on gender issues and implementation. The insurgency in some northeast parts of the country and most especially northern Uganda, not only delays implementation, but also contributes to destruction of existing facilities. This contributes to delays in achieving the targets and the goals of the sector and PEAP.Community gender involvement, while it is a good input for environmental sustainability, remains difficult to attain. Attempts have been made to involve the men and women in planning ,maintenance of water and sanitation facilities . The methodologie s require a lot of skills and patience, qualities that are still lacking among the sub-county level civil servants. Women and the youth involvement remains limited as no major efforts have been made to involve them in planning, implementation, monitoring and evaluation. 7. 0The way forward The paper has identified some challenges in transforming the water sector to achieve effective and sustainable services for both men and women.Issues concerning gender and their roles in development process and thus environment have not been given adequate attention by development planners. Women are now viewed as a useful resource to be integrated into development process, thus rendering the projects more efficient and successful. What is the way forward for Uganda to ensure that gender issues are mainstreamed in environment and development plans, projects and actions? 8. 0Issues to be addressed (1)Having water points nearer the homestead will reduce the distance women and girls have to walk, thu s allowing time for other activities, including training, childcare, growing food and income generation.The latter could include construction and management of water and sanitation facilities. (2)It is essential that both women and men be involved in decision making processes regarding the provision, location and technology of water and sanitation facilities in the community and household. (3)Government should also address perceived inequalities between women and men through reviewing laws and policies that discriminate against women and also urge Non Government Organisations(NGOs) and the private sector to champion women’s cause, which might increase women access to land and more decision-making powers. (4)Women groups should be accorded recognition as citizens, land holders and contributors to the development process.They need to have secure access to land and water for domestic use, in addition to productive use in farming including small scale industries. (5)Incorporate g ender analysis into all development plans, projects and actions, by encouraging the development of new skills and expertise within an Integrated Water Resources Management framework, linking social and gender aspects with the ecological, technical and economic dimensions of water management with special attention at community level. (6)The water sector should change the attitude of value system in favour of only men, and develop positive perceptions about women as competent professionals just like their male counterparts. 7)Capacity building for all women should be geared towards effective participation in local governances and sustainable development. Women politicians should be strengthened to enable them represent women interests regarding water and sanitation management and maintenance. (8)The water sector should fill all established posts equitably for better performance. It has been found that projects in which women and men have an equal say have a better chance for sustainab ility and success because they cater for the needs of every one. (9)The legislation on industrial water discharge permits be amended to require all companies / major water polluters to register for discharge permits. 10)A specific percentage of investment in water supply should be dedicated to promotion of sanitation and hygiene initiatives for the welfare of the users and protection of the environment. 9. 0Conclusion The water and sanitation sector has developed elaborate mechanisms and capacity at national, district and community levels for planning and managing sector activities which includes gender and environment issues to a large extent. However, in order to address strategic gender needs, there is a need to introduce fundamental changes in ideologies and power structures, behavioral attitudes, in government, organisations, companies and involve individuals both men and women.

A History of Pakistan Essay

â€Å"Believe it or not, India and Pakistan were once a solid and unified country: the citizens of the Indian border states of Rajasthan and Punjab were almost looking similar to the citizens of Pakistan† (Paul, 2005). â€Å"So when India became free from the British colonizers in 1947, conflicts between the India and Pakistan started to become intense. Since then, India and Pakistan have continuously been angry and uninterested towards each other—in fact, they have already participated in three major wars—and even during periods of peace, the two country’s relationship had always been on the line† (Jaffrelot, 2005). â€Å"Inspired by their conflicts regarding territories† over the region of Kashmir, anger and hatred developed between the two countries over the years. For Pakistanis, the Kashmir dispute has become a symbol of broken pledges and Indian duplicity, and they are constantly attempting to raise the issue whenever possible, thus drawing strong reactions from India; on the other hand, India considers Kashmir as a vital part of the country, and attempts of the Pakistanis are viewed as an act to smear India’s image (Conboy, 1992). Read more:  Current Political Situation of Pakistan Up to this day, Kashmir remains the world’s largest and most highly militarized territorial dispute. Worse, as the years passed by, many issues have coupled the long-lived dispute over Kashmir, such as: the linked issues of the Siachen Glacier, the Wular Lake Barrage, and the current Kashmiri struggle; communalism and the plight of the minorities; nuclear developments; periodic domestic troubles; the Afghanistan crisis; and the involvement of outside powers (King, 1998). The Benefits of Pakistan Partition â€Å"Economic programs in Pakistan after the period of its partition emphasized on core planning. The Pakistani government established objectives for controlling private industries. The partition was established in order to improve domestic businesses and reduce dependence on foreign trade. These efforts led to the stability of its economic development in the 1950s† (Jones, 2003). However, excellent results stopped coming in the two straight decades. By the early 1970s Pakistan had succeeded in conquering its goal of stability in terms of food availability, â€Å"although this food was not really available to all Pakistanis because of the flawed distribution and shortcomings in the harvest†. In the late 1970s the Pakistani government began to decrease its power over the economy, which led to slowed development toward this goal. By 1991, however, the Pakistani government still controlled or managed many industries, including mining and financing, manufacturing and construction. Economic development enhanced during this time, at least gradually as a result of economic programs supported by foreign loans (Jones, 2003). A financial crisis after the partition stimulated Pakistan to institute major economic reforms. Because the partition resulted into an incredible surge in oil prices, Pakistan was haunted by a barrage of payments problem. To gather loans from well-regarded funding organizations, Pakistan made up its mind to implement programs in order to free its economy. These economic programs eliminated many strict government policies on investment, and established tariff systems that maintained trading at a manageable level. â€Å"Also, reform deregulated many industries and privatized many public enterprises. These reforms continued through the mid-1990s, although at a slower rate because of political changes in India’s government. In 1993 Pakistan permitted Pakistan-owned private banks to be established along with a minority of foreign banks† (Holliday, 2000). â€Å"With the reforms, Pakistan incredibly made a smooth transition from a closed and very restrictive economy to one that is open and free to the world. By 1996 to 1997, foreign investment had grown to nearly $6 billion, up from $165 million in 1990 to 1991. Exports and imports also improved significantly at the same time. Economic growth since the 1980s has brought with it an expansion of the middle class, which was estimated to form 20 to 25 percent of Pakistan’s population in the mid-1990s. As a result, the demand for consumer goods has expanded rapidly† (Mittmann, 1991). In Pakistan, the upsurge of innovative activity seems to have had more to do with the advent of partition than with the Silicon Valley phenomenon. The partition has dramatically changed the market and supply conditions, from being shortage and seller driven to being buyer and competition driven. To survive and grow, firms have to focus on improving their competitiveness. They are realizing that the real source of industrial competition today lies in innovation and the rapid technological change taking place throughout the world. Technology is now a key determinant of strategic change in Pakistani firms. Industrial development based on indigenous technology development is still an elusive dream, but the ‘process’ of technology acquisition and assimilation is now very much a strategic process, aligned with firms’ need to build competencies (Kudaisya, 2001). The partition has stimulated the rapid growth of innovation-driven industries such as information technology (IT), communications technology, biotechnology and pharmaceutical industries. This has led to a new type of business enterprise known as the knowledge enterprise and a new sector of the economy known as the knowledge economy. This sector is now a significant component of the national economy and accounts for a large portion of economic growth. The partition created renewed interest in innovative entrepreneurship as a key driver for the rapid diffusion of innovation in business and industry. Entrepreneurship occupies centre stage in the wealth creation process in the knowledge economy (Cohen, 2004). References: Cohen, S, 2004. The Idea of Pakistan. Brookings Institution Press. Conboy, K, 1992. Elite Forces of India and Pakistan. Osprey Publishing Holliday, T, 2000. Insight Guide Pakistan. Insight Guides; 3rd edition Jaffrelot, C, 2005. A History of Pakistan and Its Origins. Anthem Press; New edition Jones, O, 2003. Pakistan: Eye of the Storm. Yale University Press; 2nd edition King, J, 1998. Lonely Planet Pakistan. Lonely Planet Publications; 5th edition Kudaisya, G, 2001. The Aftermath of Partition in South Asia. Routledge; 1st edition Mittmann, K, 1991. Culture Shock! : Pakistan. Graphic Arts Center Publishing Company Paul, T, 2005. The India-Pakistan Conflict: An Enduring Rivalry. Cambridge University Pres

Workplace Security Essentials: A Guide for Helping Organizations Create Safe Work Environments Essay

MEMO Introduction                   This is to address the need of workplace surveillance for the benefit of both the employees and the employer. It is an important practice because it helps to prevent and reduces cases of theft, and also to monitor what the employees are engaging in during working hours. This is not any way targeting to infringe the employees’ rights of privacy. Video filming for surveillance will be done at sensitive departments only as allowed by the law and such areas include entrance and exits. Controversies                   The issue of workplace surveillance has raised controversies in the implementation because of the different interests of the employers and employees. Most of the employees are always not in agreement with the surveillance measures taken at their work place (Smith, 2010). These employees argue that surveillance has a negative effect on their productivity as it denies them freedom to work without fear of being watched. However, employers believe that surveillance is important as it keeps employees focused and more productive. It also reduces theft cases, which is beneficial to both the employer and the employees. Legislation                   Employees should enjoy some privacy rights at their workplace despite the presence surveillance by the employer (Stam, 2013). There are some places within the workplaces that employees cannot be monitored. Example of areas where surveillance cannot be done include the toilets and the changing rooms. If this legislation is not respected then the employees should sue the company for privacy rights infringement. Future Direction                   It is both important to have workplace surveillance and also give the employees their privacy rights as stipulated by the law. The company should in future harmonize the employees privacy needs with the need for surveillance in order to create a good working environment that serves both their interests. It is important for the company to monitor business communication to ensure that employees are doing the right thing (Staples, 2011). At the same time employees should enjoy their privacy at social places such as the tea room for their own talks out of the work area. Harmonizing the employer and employee needs, will create a better working environment. This increases the employers trust and makes the employees more productive due to job satisfaction References Smith, E. (2010). Workplace Security Essentials: A Guide for Helping Organizations Create Safe Work Environments. New York: Butterworth-Heinemann. Stam, K. (2013). The Visible Employee: Using Workplace Monitoring and Surveillance to Protect Information Assets-Without Compromising Employee Privacy or Trust . New York: Information Inc. Staples, W. (2011). Everyday Surveillance: Vigilance and Visibility in Postmodern Life. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Source document

Codification Master Glossary Essay

Question 1 Is the Enterprise a VIE as defined in the Codification Master Glossary? If so, what criteria cause it to be deemed a VIE? Assume that (1) the Enterprise does not qualify for any scope exceptions and (2) the equity investment by the Nominee Shareholders in the Enterprise represents equity investment at risk. The enterprise is a VIE as defined in the codification of the master glossary. From the narrative, nominee equity holders do not absorb the losses of the enterprise and do not benefit from the residual gain the residual gain rather goes to the WFOE. The nominee equity holders though they own 100% of the share cannot run the activities of the enterprise; the activities are run by the WFOE as they provide the intellectual property, employees, resources and other services to run the schools. The nominee shareholders equally pledge their equity rights to the WFOE and cannot transfer, sell or give their equity for encumbrance. This descriptions in the narrative are in line with the def inition of a VIE as per ASC 810-10. Question 2 If the Enterprise is deemed to be a VIE, would the WFOE (excluding any related party or de facto agency relationships) consolidate the Enterprise? The WFOE would consolidate the enterprise following ASC 810-10-25-38 because it says a reporting entity shall consolidate a VIE if the reporting entity has a variable interest that absorb a majority of the VIE’s expected losses, receives a majority of the VIE’s expected residual income or both. The WFOE receives a majority of the enterprise residual income and so should consolidate the enterprise. Question 3 What impact, if any, does the POA agreement have on the conclusion reached in Question 2? The POA does not change the conclusion reached in question 2 because the nominee shareholders still act on behalf of the WFOE and the provisions that made the enterprise a VIE does not change with the POA 4. Does the accounting analysis or conclusion change for each of the questions above when analyzed in accordance with IFRS? IFRS does not have VIEs they  have special purpose entities which are similar to VIEs. According to IAS 27 SPEs should be consolidated where substance of the relationship indicates that the SPE is controlled by the reporting entity. This may arise even where the activities of the SPE are predetermined or where the majority of the voting or equity are not held by the reporting entity.

Barack Obama - Fifth Weekly Transition Address

Barack Obama Fifth President-Elect Weekly Transition Address Broadcast 6 December 2008Good morning. Yesterday, we received another painful reminder of the serious economic challenge our country is facing when we learned that 533,000 jobs were lost in November alone, the single worst month of job loss in over three decades. That puts the total number of jobs lost in this recession at nearly two million. But this isn’t about numbers. It’s about each of the families those numbers represent. It’s about the rising unease and frustration that so many of you are feeling during this holiday season. Will you be able to put your kids through college? Will you be able to afford health care? Will you be able to retire with dignity and security? Will your job or your husband’s job or your daughter’s or sons jobs be the next ones cut? These are the questions that keep so many Americans awake at night. But its not the first time these questions have been asked though. Weve faced difficult times before, times when our economic destiny seemed to be slipping out of our hands. And at each moment, we have risen to meet the challenge, as one people united by a sense of common purpose. And I know that Americans can rise to the moment once again. But we need action and action now. Thats why Ive asked my economic team to develop an economic recovery plan for both Wall Street and Main Street that will help save or create at least two and a half million jobs, while rebuilding our infrastructure, improving our schools, reducing our dependence on oil, and saving billions of dollars. We won’t do it the old Washington way. We won’t just throw money at the problem. We’ll measure progress by the reforms we make and the results we achieve by the jobs we create, by the energy we save, by whether America is more competitive in the world. Today, Im announcing a few key parts of my plan. First, we will launch a massive effort to make public buildings more energy-efficient. Our government now pays the highest energy bills in the world. We need to change that. We need to upgrade our federal buildings by replacing old heating systems and installing efficient light bulbs. That won’t just save you, the American taxpayer, billions of dollars each year. It will put people back to work. Second, we will create millions of jobs by making the single largest new investment in our national infrastructure since the creation of the federal highway system in the 1950s. We’ll invest your precious tax dollars in new and smarter ways, and we’ll set a simple rule: Use it or lose it. If a state doesn’t act quickly to invest in roads and bridges in their communities, they’ll lose the money. Third, my economic recovery plan will launch the most sweeping effort to modernize and upgrade school buildings that this country has ever seen. We will repair broken schools, make them energy-efficient, and put new computers in our classrooms. Because to help our children compete in a 21st century economy, we need to send them to 21st century schools. As we renew our schools and highways, we’ll also renew our information superhighway. It is unacceptable that the United States ranks 15th in the world in broadband adoption. Here, in the country that invented the Internet, every child should have the chance to get online, and they’ll get that chance when I’m President because that’s how we’ll strengthen America’s competitiveness in the world. In addition to connecting our libraries and schools to the Internet, we must also ensure that our hospitals are connected to each other through the Internet. That is why the economic recovery plan I’m proposing will help modernize our health care system; and that won’t just save jobs, it will save lives. We will make sure that every doctor’s office and hospital in this country is using cutting edge technology and electronic medical records so that we can cut red tape, prevent medical mistakes, and help save billions of dollars each year. These are just a few parts of the economic recovery plan that I will be rolling out in the coming weeks. When Congress reconvenes in January, I look forward to working with them to pass a plan immediately. We need to act with the urgency this moment demands to save or create at least two and a half million jobs so that the nearly two million Americans who’ve lost them know that they have a future. And that’s exactly what I intend to do as President of the United States. Thanks for listening. Source:Â  https://www.loc.gov/