Fair Value Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Fair Value - Essay Example Thus, the AASB framework provides the general guidelines, establishing the way a company should measure all its assets. The aim of the act is to avoid inconsistency of the various methods of measuring fair value, providing a more rigorous framework, for all companies. Thus, the market value of any current asset will be measured by the replacement cost of the services or benefits currently embodied in the asset. One very disputed and problematic point concerned the market value of different assets that weren't commonly traded on the open market, such as buildings or other possessions of this nature. The conclusion reached by the AASB researchers and specialists was that the best way to measure the market value of such assets would be by comparing the selling-prices of other buildings in the area. Although controversial at first, this rule was, seemingly, the best one to follow in establishing the potential selling price of any asset held by a company. The concepts of "current assets" and "current liabilities" are also defined by AASB, as being "an asset that is expected to mature or be realized within a 12 month period", while current liabilities are those liabilities that are "expected to be paid, settled or extinguished within a period equal to or less than 12 months from the reporting date". FASB and IASB board members met on 12th of May, 2006 to discuss and establish the revenue recognition methods that should be used. In doing so, there were some factors that had to be acknowledged as important to the recognition of any revenue. First on the list was customer acceptance, which lead, after thorough examination and in-depth discussions, to the conclusion that: "Revenue shall be recognized if the customer must accept performance to date. That is, the contract's legal remedy for breach is, or is like, specific performance or in the event of customer cancellation, the customer is obligated to pay damages reflecting performance to date." (see http://www.fasb.org/board_meeting_minutes/04-27-06_rr.pdf) "We're hoping that there will be more consistency in the way companies approach fair value measurement, and less diversity in practice from the user's perspective. Users should have more confidence that when they look at those disclosures about what is being shown at fair value and the methods used, they'll have better information to use to assess the quality of earnings and how they view the reliability of the estimates being made.", stated FASB board member, Leslie F. Seidman (Glenn Cheney, "FASB standard clarifies fair value measurement", 16 Oct, 2006,). From this point of view, the AASB framework provides rigorous guidelines, avoiding misunderstanding and inconsistency. Still, as all regulations were changed and revised, many companies complain that they have a difficult time in applying them, and that many criteria provided by this statement have been so frequently changed and discussed that the danger of misinterpreting or failing to respect the newest changes is real and impossible to ignore. Given the fact that the market value is mainly based

Inter-Organizational Relationships Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

Inter-Organizational Relationships - Assignment Example This proposed dissertation explores the feasible ways by which organizations with the interlocking relationships of the global economy can best respond to the challenges posed by increased business competition and complexity. It will focus on human resource management, which has assumed a new dimension because of the presence of a third party organization that can exercise control over employees of another firm. The paper will propose that in the multi-employer environment of business globalization, the best-fit or best practice objectives of HRM can be achieved by incorporating the inherent advantages of franchising in a company's HR strategies, especially in the matter of pay and reward. The present-day challenge of human resource development is to design HR practices that fit with the new business requirements or, in the words of Mohmann & Lawler (1999), to formulate practices that fit into a "dynamic, unpredictable corporation with a myriad of approaches to getting the work done." In this concern, the franchising sector provides a microcosm of the difficulties being encountered by the human resource department in working out innovative assessment systems that will demonstrate their influence over the company's bottom lines, which are profitability and shareholder value (Becker, et al., 2001). The reason is that franchise holders, especially those engaged in the sale and servicing of cars, have as many third-party partners as the existing number of automotive manufacturers who all demand a voice in deciding the franchisee's HRM practices (Swart, et al., 2002). Franchising in effect typifies the inter-organizational dependency involving human resource management and the attendant dilemma on how the HR department of a franchisee firm can implement a strategic pay-and-reward system that promotes its long-term interest without alienating its network partners. Curran & Stanworth (1983) define franchising as "a business form essentially consisting of an organization with a market-tested product or service maintaining a contractual relationship with another organization to sell the brand." In general, franchisees are self-financed and independently owned and managed small firms operating under the franchiser's brand name to produce or market goods or services according to a format specified by the franchiser. Because of the subsequent growth of this sector, the franchising outlet was later redefined as "a legally separate business entity with its own capital base, set of employees, organizational structure and specific customer relations (Stanworth & Curran, 2003)," which indicate that franchisees have become analytically independent of their franchisers. On franchising as growth sector, Floyd & Fenwick (2003) note that this business sector now accounts for over one-third of retail sales in the US and 29 percent of those in UK, thus claiming a huge proportion of the workforce of either country. The

Groundwater Use in Kathmandu Valley

Groundwater Use in Kathmandu Valley Chapter IV A. Groundwater Use inKathmandu Valley Abstract: The Kathmandu Valley, bowl shaped of 651 Km2 basin areas, has gently sloping valley floor, valley plain terraces with scrap faces together with the flood plains. The valley has warm temperate-semitropical climate and intended circular shaped drainage basin with only one outlet. The valley is filled with the fluvio-lacustrine sediments of quaternary age, making three groundwater zones. Only one water supply operator, Kathmandu Upatyaka Khanepani Limited (KUKL), is serving water supply in 5 Municipalities and 48 VDCs out of 99 VDCs using 35 surface sources, 57 deep tube wells, 20 WTPs, 43 service reservoirs and operating about 1300 major valves. The portion of groundwater contribution in total production is an average of 35% in dry season and 11% in wet season with yearly average of 19% in 2011, and found decreasing to 7%, 4%, and 3% in 2016, 2019 and 2025 respectively. Water supply is found to be improved with increasing consumption rate from 41 lpcd in 2011 to 126 lpcd in 2025.If sup ply system is managed with project demand of 135 lpcd, the average supply duration will increase from 7 hr a day in 2011 to 23 hour a day in 2025. Foremost reasons of supplying much less compare to calculated are possibly due to inaccurate forecasting of served populations, absence of effective MIS on water infrastructure systems, and inaccurate estimation of unaccounted for water from system. Outside valley urban centers development, optimum land use planning for potential recharge, introducing micro to macro level rainwater harvesting programs and riverhead forest protection are important alternative options to minimize the gap between demand and supply of the valley. 1. BACKGROUND The Kathmandu Valley is consisting of Kathmandu metropolitan city, capital of Nepal. Kathmandu, an ancient city with a varied history, consists of Kathmandu, Bhaktapur and Lalitpur districts with five municipalities and 99 Village Development Committees. The significance of its historical development is the rise of conurbation in the valley, the design of Pagoda style architecture and high rising temples with stepped plinth basement. After liberation in 1952, the new phase of development began with remarkable change in social status, migration of people to the valley. The general trends of the urbanization remained slow till the mid sixties. Only in seventies, infrastructures like road networks, water supply systems started to develop rapidly in the city. As a result, the valley is growing rapidly and haphazardly. This is the right time to look seriously at the growing urban problems and available water resource in the valley. It is necessary to systematize the settlement, implement the town planning more scientifically and carry out the land use in proper manner so that available water resource potential could be maintained sustainably. There are various development plans for the valley, namely construction of outer ring road, fast track road, railways, urban settlement development and construction of link roads on the bank of the rivers. The shortages of surface and groundwater availability and flood damage are identified problems in the valley. The valley basin is an ecologically important basin. 2. INTRODUCTION:KATHMANDUVALLEY 2.1 Topography The Kathmandu Valley is an intramontane basin, situated in the Lesser Himalayan zone. The lofty Higher Himalayan Range is just about 65 km aerial distance north of the Kathmandu. The valley is unique in its shape and is surrounded by the spurs of Lesser Himalayas. The valley basin is 30 km long in the east-west and about 25 km long in north-south direction. Phulchoki Hill which is 2762m above the mean sea level (msl) in the southeast is the highest elevation point in the area. Shivpuri Hill is about 2700m above msl in the north, Nagarkot is 2166m above msl in the east and Chandragiri is about 2561m above the msl in the west. The lowest elevation point located by the side of Bagmati River is 1214 m above msl. About 55 % of the area is occupied by the valley floor, 35% of foothill and the remaining 10% are mountainous areas. In the valley, the forest (mountainous) area is about 30% of the total area having slope range from 20 to 30%, and remaining area (70%) is having average slope of 0 to 4% as shown in Fig.1. Kathmandu Valley is believed to be a Paleolake. At places outcrops of Tistung Formation are exposed in the valley. There are few other buried hills and river channel in the valley underlying the thick cover of the valley fill sediments. Kathmandu Valley is situated between latitudes 27 °32 N and 27 °49N and between longitudes 85 ° 11 E and 85 ° 32 E. The configuration of the valley is more or less circular with watershed area of 651 km2.   The topographic features of the study area are gently sloping valley floor, valley plain terraces with scrap faces, and talus cone deposition, together with the flood plains. 2.2 Meteorology The climate of the area is warming temperate-semitropical, largely affected by monsoon behavior. The maximum temperature is observed about 36 ° C in summer (May) and the minimum temperature is about -3 °C in winter (January). The major forms of precipitation are rain, occasional hail and fog.   Considering the precipitation received record the maximum annual precipitation within the valley was recorded as 3293 mm in 1975 and minimum was 917 mm in 1982. The summer rainfall occurs mainly in the months of June to September and winter rainfall is also common but not heavy. Kathmandu Valley receives an annual average rainfall of about 1600 mm, which is also the average annual rainfall for the whole Nepal. The mean relative humidity is 75% and the mean wind velocity rises till the month of May up to average of 0.55 m/s and decreases after monsoon until December. The predominant wind directions are west and northwest. Generally the days are rather calm before noon and the wind rises afternoon. The monthly air pressure is almost constant throughout the year, which is about 860 mb. The sunshine duration is in the range between 7 hours and 9.5 hours per day except during the months of monsoon.   The average annual evapotranspiration is 829 mm over the basin. 2.3 Drainage The valley is situated at the upstream reach of the Bagmati River. The Bagmati River is the main drainage, which drains all the water collected in the valley basin to the south and dissects the mountains of Mahabharat range at the southwest of the valley. It originates from Bagdwar in the Shivpuri Hill in the north and flows from northeast to southwest direction in the northern half part of the valley. The watershed area has an intend shape of circular with the outlet of the basin at Chovar gorge, which is the only outlet of the basin. The fluvio-lacustrine deposit filled in the valley bottom controls the drainage system. The major tributaries for Bagmati river are nine in total namely Mai khola, Nakhu khola, Balkhu khola, Vishnumati khola, Dhobi khola, Manohara khola, Kodku khola, Godavari khola and Hanumante khola. Hanumante khola flows towards the west and Balkhu khola towards the east. Mai khola and Dhobi khola flow towards the south. They meet Bagmati River in the central part o f the valley. The Vishnumati, the Bagmati and the Manohara khola, which rise from northern and northeastern of the watershed, join in a place called Teku Dovan in Kathmandu City. Godavari khola, the Kodku khola and the Nakhu khola rise in the southern part of watershed and flow from the south to north to join with the Bagmati River. 2.4 Hydrogeology Hydrogeological condition of the valley is important things to know the groundwater potential and its yield estimation. The valley is located in the Lesser Himalayan region in central Nepal. Bedrocks are exposed mainly in the hill slopes around and only at few places in the valley.   The valley is filled with the fluvio-lacustrine sediments of quaternary age. These sediments were derived from the surrounding hills. The thickness of the valley fill sediments varies according to the undulated pattern of the basement from 78 m in Bansbari upto 549 m in Bhrikuti Mandap as confirmed by deep bore holes (Kaphle and Joshi, 1998). Metasedimentary as well as metamorphic rocks represent the basement/bedrock of the valley. Shrestha(2001) assigned The Hydrological Soil Group (HSG) for each type of geological formation according to its infiltration potential as per SCS (1975). HSG A was assigned for the soil of high infiltration rate, B for medium, C for slow and D for very slow rate. The HSG of the valley is shown in Fig.2. There are two types of sediment material namely unconsolidated and slightly consolidated sediment materials. The unconsolidated materials are found mostly in the northern part of the valley and bank of major rivers whereas slightly consolidated materials are found in other portions. In the valley, silty clay lake deposit ranges in thickness from 180 to 220 meters or more from surface and are predominate in the center and south of the valley. On the other hand no thick silty clay lake deposit exists in the northern valley except deep portion of Dhobi khola well field. Un-confined to semi-confined sand and gravel formation predominate in the north and northeast of valley. These formation ranges in thickness from 30 to 80 m with high permeability. On the other hand, the confined water bearing formation is underlined the above mentioned very thick silty clay in the center and south valley. However this deep aquifer has low permeability and high electrical conductance. The ground water we lls in the north side have penetrated high permeable water bearing formation.   However, the static water level in well field as observed by Nepal Water Supply Corporation (NWSC) has been showing a decline trend since the groundwater development has started. Almost all the private wells are located in the center and south of the valley, drilled into the confined low permeable aquifer underlined the very thick silty clay formation. In the center of the valley, below Quaternary sedimentary formation, pre-Palaeozoic hard fresh rocks are confirmed by gas wells at 450 m below ground surface. 3. GROUNDWATER ZONE AND RECHARGE Recharge into groundwater is a complicated phenomenon especially when considering recharge in a deep aquifer. It depends on many factors such as soil, vegetation, geography, and the hydrological conditions. In general, most of rechargeable areas are confined in high flat plains and alluvial low plains in the valley, because the exploitation of groundwater seems to be difficult in the surrounding high mountains. The mountain ranges surrounding the valley have no possibility for groundwater recharge because of the high relief topographical conditions. Due to steep slope, the rainfall will convert quickly to runoff than infiltrate through the ground and joins the nearest tributaries. Most of the permeated rainfall moves laterally and reappears in to the river channel as base flow or lost as evapotranspiration. The remaining part moves vertically and recharges the groundwater basin. So the rechargeable areas are found on the margins of northern and southern part of the groundwater basin boundary. Groundwater basin boundary has area of 327 km2 (Shrestha, 1990). The total rechargeable area in the valley was found 86 km2 which is 26% of the groundwater basin area. The amount of long term average annual groundwater recharge to the Kathmandu Valley basin was estimated as presented in Table 1. Table 1. Recharge Amount in equivalent depth over the Kathmandu Groundwater Basin (Shrestha, 1990) In 1972, the incoming tritium content at Kathmandu valley was estimated by the Atomic Energy Research Establishment (AERE), Harwell, 60 TU (Tritium unit) during summer and 30 TU in winter. The Tritium dating result for the groundwater indicated the recharge water was of pre-1954 (Binnie Partners and Associates, 1973). Based on hydrogeological structure the valley can be divided into three groundwater zone, namely Northern, central and southern zone. The northern zone includes 5 well fields ( Bansbari, Dhobikhola, Manohara, Bhaktapur and Gokarna well field)   as principal water sources and of 157 km2 area with estimated recharge area of 59 km2 ( Shrestha, 1990). The northern zone is largest recharge area of the valley. There are unconsolidated high permeable materials deposits in upper part consisting of micaceous quartz, sand and gravel. It can yield large quantity of water. Isotope analysis study made by Jenkins et al, 1987, confirmed that there is more rapid and vigorous recharge in Sundarijal area (Gokarna well field) than elsewhere. This zone is an interbedded aquifer or a series of sub aquifers and the complexity of its structure. It has average transmissivity in range of 83 to 1963 m3/d/m and low electrical conductivity in the range of 100 to 200 ms/cm. The central zone includes most of core urban area with almost all private wells. This zone includes Mhadevkhola well field. The upper part of deposit is composed of impermeable very thick stiff black clay with lignite. Total groundwater basin under central zone is 114.5 km2 and the rechargeable area under this zone is 6 km2. It has average transmissivity in the range of 32-960 m3/d/m and very electrical conductivity of an average of 1000 ms/cm. The existence of soluble methane gas gives an indication of sustended aquifer conditions. The southern zone is characterized by about 200m thick clay formation and low permeable basal gravel. This zone is not well developed and only recognized along the Bagmati River between Chovar and Pharping. Total groundwater basin under this zone is 55.5 km2 and the rechargeable area is 21 km2. This zone includes Pharping Well field. 4. WATER SUPPLY MANAGEMENT STATUS IN KATHMANDU VALLEY 4.1 Institutional Set up and Service Area The water supply services of Kathmandu Valley have remained poor despite various attempts through many projects during last three decades. It was realized that the poor state of water services in Kathmandu valley was a compounded result of deficiencies in water resources, weaknesses in system capacity, inadequacies in management efficiency and increasing political interferences after 1990 political change. As per agreement made with ADB for Melamchi Water Supply Project (MWSP), the Government of Nepal restructured the existing only one State owned regulator   and operator , Nepal Water Supply Corporation (NWSC) and establishing three separate entities, each for the role of asset ownership and policy setting (Kathmandu Valley Water Supply Management Board (KVWSMB), operation and management of services (Kathmandu Upatyaka Khanepani Limited (KUKL) and economic regulation of the services (Water Supply Tariff Fixation Commission (WSTFC).  Ã‚   KVWSMB issued an operating license to KUK L for 30 years on 12 February 2008 and also signed asset lease agreement for 30 years. Under the Asset Lease Agreement, KUKL has exclusive use of leased assets for the purpose of providing water services over 30 years and is responsible for maintaining the leased assets in good working condition, preparing capital investment and asset management programs to meet the service standards specified in the license and implementing such investment plan as approved by KVWSMB. As provider of the license, KVWSMB is also responsible for monitoring whether KUKL complies with the provisions of the operating license and asset lease agreement. The service area of KUKL includes 5 Municipalities and 48 VDCs as shown in Fig. 3.   Water supply management for remaining 51 VDCs are under Department of Water Supply and Sewerage, Government of Nepal. 4.2 Population Projections The Kathmandu Valley is the most densely populated region in Nepal. Its population has also been increasing rapidly. This population is largely in Kathmandu, which is the centre of administration, industrial, commercial, social and economic activities. During the last three decades, the growth in population has been significantly driven by in-migration. The in-migration is largely due to better employment and business opportunities, better educational and medical facilities, but also insurgency and security concerns of recent years. (Source: KUKL 2011 Third Anniversary Report, 2066/67) The rapid unplanned urbanization of the Kathmandu Valley has brought negative impact to its overall development. Water became scarce as demand exceeded supply. Lack of operational wastewater system facilities converted the holy Bagmati River into a highly polluted river. Congested and crowded roads brought hardship to travelers and road junctions became garbage dumping sites. Despite these negative impacts, the urbanization of the valley has still continued at a similar rate to the past 10 years. According to urban planners, from urban basic service management and disaster relief management aspects, the Kathmandu Valley only has a carrying capacity of 5 million populations. In 1999, the Ministry of Population and Environment (MOPE) estimated that the population in 1998 was 1.5 million, assuming an urban growth rate of 6.3% and 2.32% for the rural sector. This is consistent with the 2001 Census of 1.67 million. Using separate growth rates for the urban and rural population, the population of the valley was estimated to reach 3.5 million by 2016 under a do-nothing scenario according to MOPE (1999), as shown in Table 2. Table 3 shows the projected population in the Kathmandu Valley and KUKL service area upto 2025. Population in Kathmandu Valley will be saturated with maximum capacity of 5 millions in 2025. Thus alternate planning and development of urban settlements are needed after 2025. Figure 4 shows comparison of the KUKL service area permanent population projections adopted with those provided by SAPI (2004) and the Bagmati Action Plan (BAP) (2009). The BAP projection is higher because the area taken is for the whole of the Kathmandu Valley and includes areas outside the KUKL service area. Table 2. Population Projection for Kathmandu Valley under Do-nothing Scenario Note: 1 Growth rate at 6% per annum, 2, Growth rate at 2.32% per annum. Urban population includes municipal population and population of 34 rapidly urbanizing VDCs, Source: MOPE, 1999 Source: Kathmandu Valley Water Supply Wastewater System Improvement ( PPTA 4893- NEP)   May 2010) 5. WATER INFRASTRUCTURES (KUKL) Figure 5 shows 6 major water supply schemes, namely, Tri Bhim Dhara, Bir Dhara, Sundarijal, Bhaktapur, Chapagaun, and Pharping schemes, which include surface and groundwater sources, WTPs, and major transmission lines. Surface Water Sources: At present, there are 35 surface sources being tapped for water supply mostly situated at hills surrounding the valley as spring in the valley. There is considerable seasonal fluctuation in water discharge. Most water sources have a reduced flow in the dry season by 30 to 40% with some by as much as 70%. Almost all the sources have some potential additional yield in the wet season. The total wet season supply of 106 MLD reduces in the dry season to 75 MLD. Groundwater Sources: Deep tube wells are the main means of extracting groundwater for use in the water supply system. Out of 78 existing deep tube-wells only 57 are currently in operation mainly from 7 well fields, namely, Manohara, Gokarna, Dhobikhola, Bansbari, Mahadevkhola, Bhaktapur, and Pharping well fields. Most of the tube wells electro-mechanical parts are in a poor condition with most flow meters missing or broken. Tube wells used to be operated only in the dry season in order to supplement reducing surface water sources, but, due to demand exceeding supply, they are now also used in the wet season. Total dry season (4 months: February to May) rated production 33 MLD with a reduced wet season (remaining 8 months) production of 13.7 MLD. Additional subsurface flow has been extracting through 15 dug wells. Table A1 (in Appendix) presents inventory of deep tubewells currently in operating condition in KUKL. Water Treatment Plants: At present, there are 20 water treatment plants (WTPs) in the system with a total treatment capacity of about 117 MLD treating surface water and groundwater due to high iron content. Six WTPs are of capacity between 3 to 26.5 MLD. The largest is at Mahankal Chaur with a treatment capacity of 26.5 MLD and the smallest is at Kuleswor with a treatment capacity of 0.11 MLD. Most of the WTPs are in poor condition and none has operational flow meters or properly operating chlorination equipment. Service Reservoirs:   There are a total of 43 service reservoirs in the system with capacities ranging from 4,500m3 down to 50m3. Most of the reservoirs are in reasonable condition but two are leaking. The total storage capacity is 41500 m3. Pumping Stations:There are 31 water supply pumping stations in the system that are used to draw water from sump wells to treatment plants or service reservoirs, and to fill up reservoirs located on higher ground or overhead tanks. Of these only 11 are in satisfactory condition. Few have operational flow meters or pressure gauges. Major operation and maintenance problem in the pumping stations are lack of skilled technician and absence of proper monitoring mechanisms. Transmission Mains and Distribution Lines: At present, the total length of transmission mains is about 301kms,aging between 20 to 115 years, and distribution mains of about 1115 kms of aging between 2 to 115 years, with pipe diameter varying from 50mm to 800mm. The pipe materials used include Galvanized Iron (GI), Cast Iron (CI), Steel (SI), Ductile Iron (DI), High Density Polythene Pipe (HDPE) and Polyvinyl Chloride (PVC). The majority type of pipe used is 50mm diameter GI. Operating Mechanism:   The system has about 1300 major valves of different sizes. Most of the large sizes valves are situated inside WTPs and operating daily. All valves are being operated manually. Water leakage from the valve chamber or valves contributes major portion in the total counted leakage percentage. Other than piped water supplied through the valves, water tankers are also serving water especially in water scared area by injecting into the distribution line usually smaller size (50 mm) and filling in publicly established polytanks. Water tankers are also being used for emergency condition such as pipeline breakage, fire fighting and sudden malfunctioned systems. Water tankers are also used as private trip charging approved rate. There are many problems in the distribution system. These problems include: ad hoc laying of pipes and valves, involvement of users group and their intervention in the operation of valves, multiple service pipeline connections, direct pumping fr om distribution lines, illegal connections, high percentage of leakage and wastage, and direct distribution from transmission mains. The majority of consumer lines are leaking at the connection to the distribution mains and few customers have properly operating consumer meters. 6. WATER DEMAND AND GROUNDWATER USE FORSUPPLY 6.1Current Water Demand and Supply Water demand is usually derived from the population within service area, population growth, domestic water consumption level assumptions, and a provision for non-domestic water consumption. The permanent population is forecast to rise from present population of 2.1 million in 2010, 2.7 million in 2015 and 3.2 million in 2020 and 3.9 million in 2025. Out of the total population forecast 77%, 87% and 96% of the population will be served, as a result of the MWSP and future investments, in 2015, 2020 and 2025 respectively. Predicting the exact number of temporary population in the valley is a challenging task, as there is no reliable data. Kathmandu Valley Water Supply Wastewater System Improvement-PPTA 2010, undertook a sample survey to count temporary population. The sample surveys were focused on three categories of the temporary population viz street vendors; students, service holders and labours seeking job in the valley; and house servants/keepers. The survey indicated that tempor ary population amounted to approximately 30% of the permanent population. The proportion of temporary population varies between municipal and VDC wards. It has to be taken into account in population projections and service demands. However, demand is also a function of price, household income availability and accessibility of water supply, but accurate estimates of the impact of these factors require extensive analysis of historical data. The present permanent population of the valley water supply service area is estimated at over 2.1 million. Adding 30% the total population to be considered for gross demand forecasting will be 2.73 million. It is reasonable to assume 40 % of total water consumption rate for temporary or floating population. Considering household sanitation system in the service area, it is reasonable to take per capita demand in the range of 85 to 95 lpcd. Kathmandu Valley Water Supply Wastewater System Improvement-PPTA, 2010, has considered 93 lpcd. For the demand taking 135 lpcd which is consumption rate considered in MWSP for total population including temporary population, the total water demand at service level or point of use is found to be 315 MLD, which is similar to KUKL estimated de mand of 320 MLD (KUKL, 2011). Estimated unaccounted for water (UfW) considered for the system is 35-40% (KUKL 2011). Considering UfW as 40 %, net water supply would be decreased by 40%. Figure 6 shows maximum production of 149 MLD on the month of September and minimum of 89 MLD on March. It gives yearly average production of 119 MLD and dry season average production of 94 MLD whereas wet season average is 131 MLD. Considering 20 % real losses as process loss on water flow incorporating transmission loss, treatment plant operation loss, quantity of water supplied and deficiencies is estimated as shown in Fig.7 and Table 4. 20 % loss is assumed to be occurred in distribution system, i.e. from service reservoir to a tap or point of use. Table 4. Current Average Monthly Demand, Supply and Deficiencies ( ) Groundwater contribution in MLD Figure 7 shows dry season average supply as 76 MLD and 105 MLD for wet season. Yearly average supply is 96 MLD. Thus the water supply in the Kathmandu Valley via KUKL piped network at present is an average 35 litres per capita per day, whereas supply in KUKL service area is average of 46 lpcd. 6.2Groundwater Depleting Trends The portion of groundwater contribution in total production is an average of 35% during dry season (4 months from Feb to May) and 11% during wet season (remaining 8 months). The pumping rate of the private wells in the valley is smaller compared to KUKLs   tubewell abstraction. The trend of groundwater extraction volume from private wells and gas wells remains almost constant during the last several years. But the production from KUKL wells is increasing greatly. Deeper groundwater is being over-extracted and extraction is unsustainable. It is estimated that there are over 10,000 hand dug well Groundwater Use in Kathmandu Valley Groundwater Use in Kathmandu Valley Chapter IV A. Groundwater Use inKathmandu Valley Abstract: The Kathmandu Valley, bowl shaped of 651 Km2 basin areas, has gently sloping valley floor, valley plain terraces with scrap faces together with the flood plains. The valley has warm temperate-semitropical climate and intended circular shaped drainage basin with only one outlet. The valley is filled with the fluvio-lacustrine sediments of quaternary age, making three groundwater zones. Only one water supply operator, Kathmandu Upatyaka Khanepani Limited (KUKL), is serving water supply in 5 Municipalities and 48 VDCs out of 99 VDCs using 35 surface sources, 57 deep tube wells, 20 WTPs, 43 service reservoirs and operating about 1300 major valves. The portion of groundwater contribution in total production is an average of 35% in dry season and 11% in wet season with yearly average of 19% in 2011, and found decreasing to 7%, 4%, and 3% in 2016, 2019 and 2025 respectively. Water supply is found to be improved with increasing consumption rate from 41 lpcd in 2011 to 126 lpcd in 2025.If sup ply system is managed with project demand of 135 lpcd, the average supply duration will increase from 7 hr a day in 2011 to 23 hour a day in 2025. Foremost reasons of supplying much less compare to calculated are possibly due to inaccurate forecasting of served populations, absence of effective MIS on water infrastructure systems, and inaccurate estimation of unaccounted for water from system. Outside valley urban centers development, optimum land use planning for potential recharge, introducing micro to macro level rainwater harvesting programs and riverhead forest protection are important alternative options to minimize the gap between demand and supply of the valley. 1. BACKGROUND The Kathmandu Valley is consisting of Kathmandu metropolitan city, capital of Nepal. Kathmandu, an ancient city with a varied history, consists of Kathmandu, Bhaktapur and Lalitpur districts with five municipalities and 99 Village Development Committees. The significance of its historical development is the rise of conurbation in the valley, the design of Pagoda style architecture and high rising temples with stepped plinth basement. After liberation in 1952, the new phase of development began with remarkable change in social status, migration of people to the valley. The general trends of the urbanization remained slow till the mid sixties. Only in seventies, infrastructures like road networks, water supply systems started to develop rapidly in the city. As a result, the valley is growing rapidly and haphazardly. This is the right time to look seriously at the growing urban problems and available water resource in the valley. It is necessary to systematize the settlement, implement the town planning more scientifically and carry out the land use in proper manner so that available water resource potential could be maintained sustainably. There are various development plans for the valley, namely construction of outer ring road, fast track road, railways, urban settlement development and construction of link roads on the bank of the rivers. The shortages of surface and groundwater availability and flood damage are identified problems in the valley. The valley basin is an ecologically important basin. 2. INTRODUCTION:KATHMANDUVALLEY 2.1 Topography The Kathmandu Valley is an intramontane basin, situated in the Lesser Himalayan zone. The lofty Higher Himalayan Range is just about 65 km aerial distance north of the Kathmandu. The valley is unique in its shape and is surrounded by the spurs of Lesser Himalayas. The valley basin is 30 km long in the east-west and about 25 km long in north-south direction. Phulchoki Hill which is 2762m above the mean sea level (msl) in the southeast is the highest elevation point in the area. Shivpuri Hill is about 2700m above msl in the north, Nagarkot is 2166m above msl in the east and Chandragiri is about 2561m above the msl in the west. The lowest elevation point located by the side of Bagmati River is 1214 m above msl. About 55 % of the area is occupied by the valley floor, 35% of foothill and the remaining 10% are mountainous areas. In the valley, the forest (mountainous) area is about 30% of the total area having slope range from 20 to 30%, and remaining area (70%) is having average slope of 0 to 4% as shown in Fig.1. Kathmandu Valley is believed to be a Paleolake. At places outcrops of Tistung Formation are exposed in the valley. There are few other buried hills and river channel in the valley underlying the thick cover of the valley fill sediments. Kathmandu Valley is situated between latitudes 27 °32 N and 27 °49N and between longitudes 85 ° 11 E and 85 ° 32 E. The configuration of the valley is more or less circular with watershed area of 651 km2.   The topographic features of the study area are gently sloping valley floor, valley plain terraces with scrap faces, and talus cone deposition, together with the flood plains. 2.2 Meteorology The climate of the area is warming temperate-semitropical, largely affected by monsoon behavior. The maximum temperature is observed about 36 ° C in summer (May) and the minimum temperature is about -3 °C in winter (January). The major forms of precipitation are rain, occasional hail and fog.   Considering the precipitation received record the maximum annual precipitation within the valley was recorded as 3293 mm in 1975 and minimum was 917 mm in 1982. The summer rainfall occurs mainly in the months of June to September and winter rainfall is also common but not heavy. Kathmandu Valley receives an annual average rainfall of about 1600 mm, which is also the average annual rainfall for the whole Nepal. The mean relative humidity is 75% and the mean wind velocity rises till the month of May up to average of 0.55 m/s and decreases after monsoon until December. The predominant wind directions are west and northwest. Generally the days are rather calm before noon and the wind rises afternoon. The monthly air pressure is almost constant throughout the year, which is about 860 mb. The sunshine duration is in the range between 7 hours and 9.5 hours per day except during the months of monsoon.   The average annual evapotranspiration is 829 mm over the basin. 2.3 Drainage The valley is situated at the upstream reach of the Bagmati River. The Bagmati River is the main drainage, which drains all the water collected in the valley basin to the south and dissects the mountains of Mahabharat range at the southwest of the valley. It originates from Bagdwar in the Shivpuri Hill in the north and flows from northeast to southwest direction in the northern half part of the valley. The watershed area has an intend shape of circular with the outlet of the basin at Chovar gorge, which is the only outlet of the basin. The fluvio-lacustrine deposit filled in the valley bottom controls the drainage system. The major tributaries for Bagmati river are nine in total namely Mai khola, Nakhu khola, Balkhu khola, Vishnumati khola, Dhobi khola, Manohara khola, Kodku khola, Godavari khola and Hanumante khola. Hanumante khola flows towards the west and Balkhu khola towards the east. Mai khola and Dhobi khola flow towards the south. They meet Bagmati River in the central part o f the valley. The Vishnumati, the Bagmati and the Manohara khola, which rise from northern and northeastern of the watershed, join in a place called Teku Dovan in Kathmandu City. Godavari khola, the Kodku khola and the Nakhu khola rise in the southern part of watershed and flow from the south to north to join with the Bagmati River. 2.4 Hydrogeology Hydrogeological condition of the valley is important things to know the groundwater potential and its yield estimation. The valley is located in the Lesser Himalayan region in central Nepal. Bedrocks are exposed mainly in the hill slopes around and only at few places in the valley.   The valley is filled with the fluvio-lacustrine sediments of quaternary age. These sediments were derived from the surrounding hills. The thickness of the valley fill sediments varies according to the undulated pattern of the basement from 78 m in Bansbari upto 549 m in Bhrikuti Mandap as confirmed by deep bore holes (Kaphle and Joshi, 1998). Metasedimentary as well as metamorphic rocks represent the basement/bedrock of the valley. Shrestha(2001) assigned The Hydrological Soil Group (HSG) for each type of geological formation according to its infiltration potential as per SCS (1975). HSG A was assigned for the soil of high infiltration rate, B for medium, C for slow and D for very slow rate. The HSG of the valley is shown in Fig.2. There are two types of sediment material namely unconsolidated and slightly consolidated sediment materials. The unconsolidated materials are found mostly in the northern part of the valley and bank of major rivers whereas slightly consolidated materials are found in other portions. In the valley, silty clay lake deposit ranges in thickness from 180 to 220 meters or more from surface and are predominate in the center and south of the valley. On the other hand no thick silty clay lake deposit exists in the northern valley except deep portion of Dhobi khola well field. Un-confined to semi-confined sand and gravel formation predominate in the north and northeast of valley. These formation ranges in thickness from 30 to 80 m with high permeability. On the other hand, the confined water bearing formation is underlined the above mentioned very thick silty clay in the center and south valley. However this deep aquifer has low permeability and high electrical conductance. The ground water we lls in the north side have penetrated high permeable water bearing formation.   However, the static water level in well field as observed by Nepal Water Supply Corporation (NWSC) has been showing a decline trend since the groundwater development has started. Almost all the private wells are located in the center and south of the valley, drilled into the confined low permeable aquifer underlined the very thick silty clay formation. In the center of the valley, below Quaternary sedimentary formation, pre-Palaeozoic hard fresh rocks are confirmed by gas wells at 450 m below ground surface. 3. GROUNDWATER ZONE AND RECHARGE Recharge into groundwater is a complicated phenomenon especially when considering recharge in a deep aquifer. It depends on many factors such as soil, vegetation, geography, and the hydrological conditions. In general, most of rechargeable areas are confined in high flat plains and alluvial low plains in the valley, because the exploitation of groundwater seems to be difficult in the surrounding high mountains. The mountain ranges surrounding the valley have no possibility for groundwater recharge because of the high relief topographical conditions. Due to steep slope, the rainfall will convert quickly to runoff than infiltrate through the ground and joins the nearest tributaries. Most of the permeated rainfall moves laterally and reappears in to the river channel as base flow or lost as evapotranspiration. The remaining part moves vertically and recharges the groundwater basin. So the rechargeable areas are found on the margins of northern and southern part of the groundwater basin boundary. Groundwater basin boundary has area of 327 km2 (Shrestha, 1990). The total rechargeable area in the valley was found 86 km2 which is 26% of the groundwater basin area. The amount of long term average annual groundwater recharge to the Kathmandu Valley basin was estimated as presented in Table 1. Table 1. Recharge Amount in equivalent depth over the Kathmandu Groundwater Basin (Shrestha, 1990) In 1972, the incoming tritium content at Kathmandu valley was estimated by the Atomic Energy Research Establishment (AERE), Harwell, 60 TU (Tritium unit) during summer and 30 TU in winter. The Tritium dating result for the groundwater indicated the recharge water was of pre-1954 (Binnie Partners and Associates, 1973). Based on hydrogeological structure the valley can be divided into three groundwater zone, namely Northern, central and southern zone. The northern zone includes 5 well fields ( Bansbari, Dhobikhola, Manohara, Bhaktapur and Gokarna well field)   as principal water sources and of 157 km2 area with estimated recharge area of 59 km2 ( Shrestha, 1990). The northern zone is largest recharge area of the valley. There are unconsolidated high permeable materials deposits in upper part consisting of micaceous quartz, sand and gravel. It can yield large quantity of water. Isotope analysis study made by Jenkins et al, 1987, confirmed that there is more rapid and vigorous recharge in Sundarijal area (Gokarna well field) than elsewhere. This zone is an interbedded aquifer or a series of sub aquifers and the complexity of its structure. It has average transmissivity in range of 83 to 1963 m3/d/m and low electrical conductivity in the range of 100 to 200 ms/cm. The central zone includes most of core urban area with almost all private wells. This zone includes Mhadevkhola well field. The upper part of deposit is composed of impermeable very thick stiff black clay with lignite. Total groundwater basin under central zone is 114.5 km2 and the rechargeable area under this zone is 6 km2. It has average transmissivity in the range of 32-960 m3/d/m and very electrical conductivity of an average of 1000 ms/cm. The existence of soluble methane gas gives an indication of sustended aquifer conditions. The southern zone is characterized by about 200m thick clay formation and low permeable basal gravel. This zone is not well developed and only recognized along the Bagmati River between Chovar and Pharping. Total groundwater basin under this zone is 55.5 km2 and the rechargeable area is 21 km2. This zone includes Pharping Well field. 4. WATER SUPPLY MANAGEMENT STATUS IN KATHMANDU VALLEY 4.1 Institutional Set up and Service Area The water supply services of Kathmandu Valley have remained poor despite various attempts through many projects during last three decades. It was realized that the poor state of water services in Kathmandu valley was a compounded result of deficiencies in water resources, weaknesses in system capacity, inadequacies in management efficiency and increasing political interferences after 1990 political change. As per agreement made with ADB for Melamchi Water Supply Project (MWSP), the Government of Nepal restructured the existing only one State owned regulator   and operator , Nepal Water Supply Corporation (NWSC) and establishing three separate entities, each for the role of asset ownership and policy setting (Kathmandu Valley Water Supply Management Board (KVWSMB), operation and management of services (Kathmandu Upatyaka Khanepani Limited (KUKL) and economic regulation of the services (Water Supply Tariff Fixation Commission (WSTFC).  Ã‚   KVWSMB issued an operating license to KUK L for 30 years on 12 February 2008 and also signed asset lease agreement for 30 years. Under the Asset Lease Agreement, KUKL has exclusive use of leased assets for the purpose of providing water services over 30 years and is responsible for maintaining the leased assets in good working condition, preparing capital investment and asset management programs to meet the service standards specified in the license and implementing such investment plan as approved by KVWSMB. As provider of the license, KVWSMB is also responsible for monitoring whether KUKL complies with the provisions of the operating license and asset lease agreement. The service area of KUKL includes 5 Municipalities and 48 VDCs as shown in Fig. 3.   Water supply management for remaining 51 VDCs are under Department of Water Supply and Sewerage, Government of Nepal. 4.2 Population Projections The Kathmandu Valley is the most densely populated region in Nepal. Its population has also been increasing rapidly. This population is largely in Kathmandu, which is the centre of administration, industrial, commercial, social and economic activities. During the last three decades, the growth in population has been significantly driven by in-migration. The in-migration is largely due to better employment and business opportunities, better educational and medical facilities, but also insurgency and security concerns of recent years. (Source: KUKL 2011 Third Anniversary Report, 2066/67) The rapid unplanned urbanization of the Kathmandu Valley has brought negative impact to its overall development. Water became scarce as demand exceeded supply. Lack of operational wastewater system facilities converted the holy Bagmati River into a highly polluted river. Congested and crowded roads brought hardship to travelers and road junctions became garbage dumping sites. Despite these negative impacts, the urbanization of the valley has still continued at a similar rate to the past 10 years. According to urban planners, from urban basic service management and disaster relief management aspects, the Kathmandu Valley only has a carrying capacity of 5 million populations. In 1999, the Ministry of Population and Environment (MOPE) estimated that the population in 1998 was 1.5 million, assuming an urban growth rate of 6.3% and 2.32% for the rural sector. This is consistent with the 2001 Census of 1.67 million. Using separate growth rates for the urban and rural population, the population of the valley was estimated to reach 3.5 million by 2016 under a do-nothing scenario according to MOPE (1999), as shown in Table 2. Table 3 shows the projected population in the Kathmandu Valley and KUKL service area upto 2025. Population in Kathmandu Valley will be saturated with maximum capacity of 5 millions in 2025. Thus alternate planning and development of urban settlements are needed after 2025. Figure 4 shows comparison of the KUKL service area permanent population projections adopted with those provided by SAPI (2004) and the Bagmati Action Plan (BAP) (2009). The BAP projection is higher because the area taken is for the whole of the Kathmandu Valley and includes areas outside the KUKL service area. Table 2. Population Projection for Kathmandu Valley under Do-nothing Scenario Note: 1 Growth rate at 6% per annum, 2, Growth rate at 2.32% per annum. Urban population includes municipal population and population of 34 rapidly urbanizing VDCs, Source: MOPE, 1999 Source: Kathmandu Valley Water Supply Wastewater System Improvement ( PPTA 4893- NEP)   May 2010) 5. WATER INFRASTRUCTURES (KUKL) Figure 5 shows 6 major water supply schemes, namely, Tri Bhim Dhara, Bir Dhara, Sundarijal, Bhaktapur, Chapagaun, and Pharping schemes, which include surface and groundwater sources, WTPs, and major transmission lines. Surface Water Sources: At present, there are 35 surface sources being tapped for water supply mostly situated at hills surrounding the valley as spring in the valley. There is considerable seasonal fluctuation in water discharge. Most water sources have a reduced flow in the dry season by 30 to 40% with some by as much as 70%. Almost all the sources have some potential additional yield in the wet season. The total wet season supply of 106 MLD reduces in the dry season to 75 MLD. Groundwater Sources: Deep tube wells are the main means of extracting groundwater for use in the water supply system. Out of 78 existing deep tube-wells only 57 are currently in operation mainly from 7 well fields, namely, Manohara, Gokarna, Dhobikhola, Bansbari, Mahadevkhola, Bhaktapur, and Pharping well fields. Most of the tube wells electro-mechanical parts are in a poor condition with most flow meters missing or broken. Tube wells used to be operated only in the dry season in order to supplement reducing surface water sources, but, due to demand exceeding supply, they are now also used in the wet season. Total dry season (4 months: February to May) rated production 33 MLD with a reduced wet season (remaining 8 months) production of 13.7 MLD. Additional subsurface flow has been extracting through 15 dug wells. Table A1 (in Appendix) presents inventory of deep tubewells currently in operating condition in KUKL. Water Treatment Plants: At present, there are 20 water treatment plants (WTPs) in the system with a total treatment capacity of about 117 MLD treating surface water and groundwater due to high iron content. Six WTPs are of capacity between 3 to 26.5 MLD. The largest is at Mahankal Chaur with a treatment capacity of 26.5 MLD and the smallest is at Kuleswor with a treatment capacity of 0.11 MLD. Most of the WTPs are in poor condition and none has operational flow meters or properly operating chlorination equipment. Service Reservoirs:   There are a total of 43 service reservoirs in the system with capacities ranging from 4,500m3 down to 50m3. Most of the reservoirs are in reasonable condition but two are leaking. The total storage capacity is 41500 m3. Pumping Stations:There are 31 water supply pumping stations in the system that are used to draw water from sump wells to treatment plants or service reservoirs, and to fill up reservoirs located on higher ground or overhead tanks. Of these only 11 are in satisfactory condition. Few have operational flow meters or pressure gauges. Major operation and maintenance problem in the pumping stations are lack of skilled technician and absence of proper monitoring mechanisms. Transmission Mains and Distribution Lines: At present, the total length of transmission mains is about 301kms,aging between 20 to 115 years, and distribution mains of about 1115 kms of aging between 2 to 115 years, with pipe diameter varying from 50mm to 800mm. The pipe materials used include Galvanized Iron (GI), Cast Iron (CI), Steel (SI), Ductile Iron (DI), High Density Polythene Pipe (HDPE) and Polyvinyl Chloride (PVC). The majority type of pipe used is 50mm diameter GI. Operating Mechanism:   The system has about 1300 major valves of different sizes. Most of the large sizes valves are situated inside WTPs and operating daily. All valves are being operated manually. Water leakage from the valve chamber or valves contributes major portion in the total counted leakage percentage. Other than piped water supplied through the valves, water tankers are also serving water especially in water scared area by injecting into the distribution line usually smaller size (50 mm) and filling in publicly established polytanks. Water tankers are also being used for emergency condition such as pipeline breakage, fire fighting and sudden malfunctioned systems. Water tankers are also used as private trip charging approved rate. There are many problems in the distribution system. These problems include: ad hoc laying of pipes and valves, involvement of users group and their intervention in the operation of valves, multiple service pipeline connections, direct pumping fr om distribution lines, illegal connections, high percentage of leakage and wastage, and direct distribution from transmission mains. The majority of consumer lines are leaking at the connection to the distribution mains and few customers have properly operating consumer meters. 6. WATER DEMAND AND GROUNDWATER USE FORSUPPLY 6.1Current Water Demand and Supply Water demand is usually derived from the population within service area, population growth, domestic water consumption level assumptions, and a provision for non-domestic water consumption. The permanent population is forecast to rise from present population of 2.1 million in 2010, 2.7 million in 2015 and 3.2 million in 2020 and 3.9 million in 2025. Out of the total population forecast 77%, 87% and 96% of the population will be served, as a result of the MWSP and future investments, in 2015, 2020 and 2025 respectively. Predicting the exact number of temporary population in the valley is a challenging task, as there is no reliable data. Kathmandu Valley Water Supply Wastewater System Improvement-PPTA 2010, undertook a sample survey to count temporary population. The sample surveys were focused on three categories of the temporary population viz street vendors; students, service holders and labours seeking job in the valley; and house servants/keepers. The survey indicated that tempor ary population amounted to approximately 30% of the permanent population. The proportion of temporary population varies between municipal and VDC wards. It has to be taken into account in population projections and service demands. However, demand is also a function of price, household income availability and accessibility of water supply, but accurate estimates of the impact of these factors require extensive analysis of historical data. The present permanent population of the valley water supply service area is estimated at over 2.1 million. Adding 30% the total population to be considered for gross demand forecasting will be 2.73 million. It is reasonable to assume 40 % of total water consumption rate for temporary or floating population. Considering household sanitation system in the service area, it is reasonable to take per capita demand in the range of 85 to 95 lpcd. Kathmandu Valley Water Supply Wastewater System Improvement-PPTA, 2010, has considered 93 lpcd. For the demand taking 135 lpcd which is consumption rate considered in MWSP for total population including temporary population, the total water demand at service level or point of use is found to be 315 MLD, which is similar to KUKL estimated de mand of 320 MLD (KUKL, 2011). Estimated unaccounted for water (UfW) considered for the system is 35-40% (KUKL 2011). Considering UfW as 40 %, net water supply would be decreased by 40%. Figure 6 shows maximum production of 149 MLD on the month of September and minimum of 89 MLD on March. It gives yearly average production of 119 MLD and dry season average production of 94 MLD whereas wet season average is 131 MLD. Considering 20 % real losses as process loss on water flow incorporating transmission loss, treatment plant operation loss, quantity of water supplied and deficiencies is estimated as shown in Fig.7 and Table 4. 20 % loss is assumed to be occurred in distribution system, i.e. from service reservoir to a tap or point of use. Table 4. Current Average Monthly Demand, Supply and Deficiencies ( ) Groundwater contribution in MLD Figure 7 shows dry season average supply as 76 MLD and 105 MLD for wet season. Yearly average supply is 96 MLD. Thus the water supply in the Kathmandu Valley via KUKL piped network at present is an average 35 litres per capita per day, whereas supply in KUKL service area is average of 46 lpcd. 6.2Groundwater Depleting Trends The portion of groundwater contribution in total production is an average of 35% during dry season (4 months from Feb to May) and 11% during wet season (remaining 8 months). The pumping rate of the private wells in the valley is smaller compared to KUKLs   tubewell abstraction. The trend of groundwater extraction volume from private wells and gas wells remains almost constant during the last several years. But the production from KUKL wells is increasing greatly. Deeper groundwater is being over-extracted and extraction is unsustainable. It is estimated that there are over 10,000 hand dug well

Racial Profiling by Police in Canada Essay -- systematic discrimination

Systemic discrimination has been a part of Canada’s past. Women, racial and ethnic minorities as well as First Nations people have all faced discrimination in Canada. Policies such as, Charter of Rights and Freedoms, provincial and federal Human Rights Codes, as well has various employment equity programs have been placed in Canada’s constitution to fight and address discrimination issues. Despite these key documents placed for universal rights and freedoms Aboriginal and other minority populations in Canada continue to be discriminated against. Many believe there is no discrimination in Canada, and suggest any lack of success of these groups is a result of personal decisions and not systemic discrimination. While others feel that the legislation and equality policies have yet resulted in an equal society for all minorities. Racism is immersed in Canadian society; this is clearly shown by stories of racial profiling in law enforcement. The key to understanding racialized profiling is to understand what systemic discrimination and profiling mean. Systemic discrimination sometimes called systemic racism is defined as, â€Å"Patterns and practices†¦ which, although they may not be intended to disadvantage any group, can have the effect of disadvantaging or permitting discrimination against†¦ racial minorities† (Comack, 2012, p30). Profiling in policing is defined as, â€Å"The inverse of law enforcement. In law enforcement, a crime is discovered and the police then look for a suspect who might possibly have committed it. Profiling means that a suspect is discovered and the police then look for a crime for the person to have possibly committed† (Tator & Henry, 2003, p3). The act of racial profiling is found in many different insti... ...sx> Comack, E. (2012). Racialized policing: Aboriginal people's encounters with the police. Black Point, Nova Scotia: Fernwood Publishing. Holbert, S., & Rose, L. (2006). It is difficult to establish whether racial profiling is occurring, In D. E. Nelson, Racial Profiling. Farmington Hills: Greenhaven Press. Hulbert, M. A. (2011). Pursuing justice: An introduction to justice studies. Black Point, Nova Scotia: Fernwood Publishing. Satzewich, V., & Shaffir, W. (2009). Racism versus professionalism: Claims and counter-claims about racial profiling. Project Muse, 51(2), p199-226. doi: 10.3138/cjccj.51.2.199 Tanovich, D. M. (2006). The colour of justice: Policing race in Canada. Toronto, Ontario: Irwin Law. Tator, H., & Henry, F. (2006). Racial profiling in Canada: Challenging the myth of 'a few bad apples'. Toronto, Ontario: University of Toronto Press Incorporated.

Duffy: The Real ‘Painful Case’ Essay

In â€Å"A Painful Case,† by James Joyce, the central character is cold, intellectual, and emotionless. The narrator of this story adopts a pessimistic and scathingly negative view of the central character, Mr. Duffy. Duffy is, figuratively speaking, dead. He is dead to the world of passionate emotions that make others ‘alive,’ and he shuns most contact with other humans, especially emotional and intimate contact. He argues that ‘every bond is a bond of sorrow,’ and uses this as justification for not engaging in any relationships of an intimate nature. He has ‘neither companions nor friends, church nor creed.’ Duffy’s room is very telling of his personality as well. â€Å"The lofty walls of his uncarpeted room were free from pictures† (Joyce, 118). It is customary to put up pictures in one’s home of one’s family or friends, but Duffy does not associate with either. He has no joyous memories to immortalize in film and frame on his bedroom wall. His room mirrors the state of his mind: orderly and austere, uncluttered by anything resembling passion. In many respects Duffy is dead. The only intimacy Duffy may have ever felt in his life was with Mrs. Sinico, but even when she dies he initially feels nothing but disgust that he had shared intimate parts of himself with someone who degraded herself with an alcoholic suicide. â€Å"The whole narrative of her death revolted him and it revolted him to think that he had ever spoken to her of what he held sacred. [She had] a commonplace vulgar death. Not only had she degraded herself; she had degraded him. He saw the squalid tract of her voice, miserable and malodorous. His soul’s companion!† (Joyce, 126-127) The extent of Duffy’s aloof fear of intimacy is such that even when Mrs. Sinico dies the only thing he can think about is how her death cheapened him. Eventually, Duffy realizes that ‘he had withheld life from her,’ and ‘he had sentenced her to death.’ He realizes that he, at least in large part, had been responsible for her descent, alcoholism, and eventual suicide. He left her to loneliness when he stopped seeing her, and that loneliness was what prompted her death. â€Å"Now that she was gone he realized how lonely her life must have been, sitting night after night alone in that room† (Joyce, 128). With the realization that he was responsible for Sinico’s death, Duffy realizes that he too will die someday, and, like Mrs. Sinico, become nothing more than a memory. The reason why Mrs. Sinico left memories with Duffy is because she reached out and attempted to become emotionally intimate with him. Unlike Sinico, Duffy never made any such attempts, and recoiled when he realized that their relationship was becoming too close. Because of his lack of warmth and passion, when Duffy dies it is likely that no one will even remember him, and he realizes this. â€Å"His life would be lonely too until he, too, died, ceased to exist, became a memory- if anyone remembered him†¦ He gnawed the rectitude of his life; he felt that he had been outcast from life’s feast†¦ no one wanted him† (Joyce, 128-127) However, even after Duffy comes to this painful realization he still has little hope of altering his lifestyle to be more passionate and ‘alive.’ This is shown by Duffy’s thoughts of Sinico near the end of the story. Initially, he can feel her presence. â€Å"She seemed to be near him in the darkness. At moments he seemed to feel her voice touch his ear, her hand touch his† (Joyce, 128). Later, he sees a goods train emerging from the Knightsbridge station, and imagines the ‘laborious drone of the engine reiterating the syllables of her name.’ In this manner he personifies her spirit with the train. After the train leaves, so does his feeling that she is still there next to him; after the train leaves he feels utterly alone again. â€Å"He listened again: perfectly silent. He felt that he was alone.† Duffy dismisses Sinico’s spirit, and by dismissing her, he also dismisses any hope he had of learning to live. In this manner the narrator provides a pessimistic view of Duffy, while showing the reader how Duffy has little hope of learning to feel passion even after Sinico’s death. The newspaper refers to Mrs. Sinico’s death as ‘a most painful case.’ However, the title of the story really refers to Mr. Duffy. He is, in fact, the real painful case.

Training and Development Program for Bass Pro

Training and Development program for Bass Pro Shops Top Managers Training and Development Final paper Bass Pro Shop Company Overview Bass Pro Shop (Outdoor World) is a private retailer known of selling hunting, fishing and camping gear related to all outdoor and recreational activities that started in Missouri in 1972. By 1974, Bass Pro Shops became very popular and its first catalog first was mailed out. Soon, it became the world's largest mail order sporting goods store. Around 1995, Bass Pro Shops Sportsman's Warehouse opened in Atlanta, Georgia, its first store outside the state of Missouri.Today, Bass Pro Shops became one of America’s premier outdoor retail leaders serving over 75 million sportsmen. Bass Pro Shops have over 39 stores within the US and have several other stores that do not fall under the Outdoor World flagship brand The article we will be analyzing for this paper is called, Bass Pro Failed to Hire Blacks and Hispanics at its Stores Nationwide, EEOC Says in Suit. The article was press released on September 21, 2011 by The U. S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.Bass Pro Shop Outdoor World is being accused in a nationwide federal lawsuit of discriminating against qualified black and Hispanic employees and applicants since 2005 (EEOC, 2011). Bass Pro Shops is additionally being accused of retaliation against employees who were against the discriminatory practices, firing them or forcing them to quit their jobs. They also destroyed or did not save documents associated to internal discrimination complaints that made racially derogatory remarks about minority employees and employment applications.In the lawsuit it cited examples from Texas, Louisiana, Alabama and Indiana showing a national pattern of discrimination. Analysis of the EEOC Article This topic and article was chosen by our team from the EEOC website for the following reasons: 1) It is a credited article 2) It includes the findings and the fact based upon the EEOC filled t he lawsuits against Bass Pro 3) It is well written, accurate, verifiable, clear and concise 4) Broad in its coverage: (a) It addresses the main aspects of the topic; and b) It stays focused on the topic without going into unnecessary detail 5) Neutral: it represents viewpoints fairly and without bias, giving due weight to each. 6) It is very detailed in the findings and investigation processes. 7) It provides information and help for those who have been discriminated against and never dared to file a lawsuit or complain. The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission is a federal agency charged with enforcing antidiscrimination laws in employment.The EEOC found evidence of nationwide discrimination by Brass Pro under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, â€Å"which prohibits discrimination based on race and national origin, and prohibits employers from retaliating against employees who complain about employment discrimination and requires them to keep certain employment recordsà ¢â‚¬ . (EEOC, 2012) Bass Pro is been held responsible for consistently denying jobs to qualified minorities based on their race (African-American), ethnicity (Hispanic or Latino) or national origin not their skills, knowledge, abilities or work experience.The EEOC did an investigation and found statistical evidence based on the number of minority employees working nationwide for this employer that Bass Pro has engaged in discriminatory hiring procedures. The underrepresentation of minority employees and applicants was so noticeable that the possibility that it could happen without discrimination is extremely small. The EEOC found plenty of data to accuse Bass Pro with a national pattern of discrimination. In the lawsuit there were a number of examples of racially derogatory remarks made by management at different Bass Pro stores.Some of the examples are the following: â€Å"it is getting a little dark in here, you need to hire some white people†, â€Å"Hispanics are wetback s†, â€Å"Hispanics should be shot at the boarder by the Border Patrol†, â€Å"hiring black candidates did not fit the corporate profile. † (Samuel, Post, 2011) The EEOC also specified in the lawsuit that Bass Pro did not offer any evidence that the company is using fair hiring practices. On the EEOC website you can find what is considered Race/Color Discrimination and Harassment.The EEOC considers harassment to include, â€Å"racial slurs, offensive or derogatory remarks about a person’s race or color. Harassment is illegal when it is so frequent or severe that it creates a hostile or offensive work environment or when it results in an adverse employment decision such as the victim being fired or demoted † (EEOC, 2011). The reason Bass Pro is being sued by the EEOC is because they believe they have a case against them based on the evidence and data they collected throughout the investigation. Needs Assessment Organizational Analysis:The top manager s of Bass Pro Shops are reluctant to apply diversity practices on their recruitment processes, which has significantly damage their reputation and organizational climate. The successful implementation of a training and development method focused on promoting diversity will attract more customers and skilled employees to Bass pro shops stores. Thus, improving the reputation of the company in both employees and customers. The lawsuits derived from their discrimination practices has already damage Bass Pro’s reputation and might jeopardize their cost structure.Thus, the implementation of a diversity training method is a good strategy to change the top managers mindset and promote the benefits of having a diverse workforce across the organization. Person Analysis: The top managers of bass pro shops need to be trained to understand the importance of having diverse workforce across the organization. This means, that trainers should ensure that the managers are committed with the tr aining before the implementation of the program.According to (Brighthub, 2011) it is essential for managers to understand the problem they are involved in and be mentally committed to change their mindset regarding discrimination acts. On the other hand, the managers of Bass pro shops have sufficient technical skills that allow them to utilize technological equipment and understand software solutions that the training program might contain. Task Analysis: The task analysis would be focused on the top manager’s job. The activities that the program contain involve the interaction of top managers with non-white employees.The main objective of the interactive activities is to break up with the existing bias that top managers have of non-white employees. Thus, the creation of activities that require the collaboration of both managers and employees will improve the knowledge and skills that top managers require to get along with non-white employees. Recommendation: According the in formation stated in the article, Bass pro shops have four main issues that we as consultants are trying to address by the implementation of a training and development program for the top managers of the organization.The four main issues include, the misconception of the basic assumption, which is the organization necessity to hire only white people in order to maintain customers satisfaction; the legal implications derived from their discriminatory practices against afro-American and Hispanic people in their hiring policies; the potential high costs of losing the case and the bad reputation the organization might build with these discriminatory practices. According to (Noe, 2010), There are six stages that the training and development method should accomplish in order to positively impact the main issues that the organization is facing.These include: Ensuring Managers’ Readiness for Training & Creating a Learning Environment in an open dialog with diversity counselors. This i s very important because managers can get feedback regarding their performances. That way, the manager can evaluate the employees perspectives regarding his/her own diversity practices. According to (PACT Training, 2006) The development plan of a succesful training and development program should always start with the definition of the learning outcomes. There are two learning outcomes of the training and development plan for Bass Pro Shops.The first learning outcome is to increase the knowledge of top managers about discrimination acts, and the seccond learning outcome is to build in top managers, skills and behaviors that enables them to effectively apply diversity practices. If managers successfuly learn how to apply these two expected outcomes, there must be a decrease in the number of complaints and litigations against the Bass pro shops. Thus, reducing the potential costs derived from lawsuits and improving their public image. A Cost-benefit analysis will also be a part of the developing plan.Costs such as the purchase of the training program, learning materials, equipments, facilities, and the salary of trainers will be included in the analysis. Some of the specific benefits that the program will pursue include: improvement of managers performance derived from diversity practices, increase of the number of customers, increasing sales of products, and cost saving derived from a decrease in lawsuit payments. Selecting Training Method The training program has to be in adherence to the legislation.Bass Pro Shops need a training program that helps its managers to understand when their behaviors violate the equal employment opportunity laws. Some of the strategies used to enforce this knowledge include: †¢ Encourage managers to learn about Title VII online. Managers can the web to self-train their knowledge about laws. When the self-training is finished, use evaluation test such as online tests or paper-based tests to evaluate the learning outcomes. †¢ Use case studies (Noe, 2010), to encourage anagers to understand the legislation. Managers might find in case studies, a more practical exercise to learn about behaviors that may violate the law. †¢ Incorporate diversity-related news items into the content of the program (PACT Training, 2006). For example, the article mentioned that Abercrombie & Finch had to paid over $50 million dollars to settle employment discrimination suits in 2004. This type of news might increase the awareness of top managers about the implications of engaging in discriminatory practices. Conduct adventure learning activities that encourage the interaction of top managers with non-white employees (Noe, 2010). These type of activities promote trust between the two groups, which allows top managers to deeply observe the characteristics of non-white employees. Thus, improving the managers ability to hire based on skills qualifications rather than hiring based on a specific race. Monitoring and evaluatin g the program There are different techniques that Bass pro Shops can use to monitor and evaluate the effectiveness of the training program.Bass Pro Shops can use test methods to evaluate the impact of the training. These test can be conducted online and paper-based, and they will be focused in measuring the training outcomes. Some of the tests that Bass pro shop can use to evaluate the training program include: Performance appraisal and pretest/posttest evaluation methods (Noe, 2010). Both of these evaluation methods will strive to evaluate the extent to which the top managers apply diversity practices in the organization, and how the results are aligned to what was taught, practiced and expected.Additionally, they will also measure the extent to which the employees performance has improved as a result of the diversity practices. Bass pro shops can also encourage managers to research about workforce diversity best practices and continuously put new practices into action as a part of the monitoring process of the program. These new practices maximize the skills, satisfaction and retention of the employees as well as promoting a continuous learning environment. References Basspro. com (2012). Retrieval April 3, 2012, from Bassproshop Website: http://www. basspro. com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/CFPageC? storeId=10151&ca

The Boy Without a Name by Allan Ahlberg and Back in the Playground Blues by Adrian Mitchell Essay Example

The Boy Without a Name by Allan Ahlberg and Back in the Playground Blues by Adrian Mitchell Essay Example The Boy Without a Name by Allan Ahlberg and Back in the Playground Blues by Adrian Mitchell Paper The Boy Without a Name by Allan Ahlberg and Back in the Playground Blues by Adrian Mitchell Paper Essay Topic: Black Boy Literature From the poems that I have studied I feel that the feelings conveyed by the poets show a mixed view of school days. In both The Boy Without a Name by Allan Ahlberg and Back in the Playground Blues by Adrian Mitchell, a negative outlook on school is shown but in the poem In Mrs Tilchers Class by Carol Ann Duffy, a much more positive vibe is being sent out about school. In the poem A Boy Without a Name, the speaker is the bully. The bully is looking back at his school experiences and he remembers a boy who everyone ignored because he had a skin condition. As he reflects on this he realises that he cannot remember the boys name. The title clearly confirms this statement. The fact that the speaker can remember the names of other children and not the name of his victim shows the inhumanity of the bully when he was younger and how he treated the boy as if he were inferior to himself. The structure of the poem is consistent throughout. The rhythm of the poem is steady; this is possibly to show the consistency of the bullying that the boy received. The poem has limited rhyming. This is probably because the poem is similar to a speech and the speaker would prefer to keep the rhyming in the poem as subtle as possible so as not to take the seriousness away from what he is talking about. The language that Ahlberg uses emphasises the rejection experienced by the boy. The fact that the children would only be seen sharing a ruler under protest gives us a good understanding of how the boy was treated on a daily basis. Also, the language used is of a remorseful nature as the speaker, who is now an adult, is looking back and thinking, I hope his mother loved him, indicating that during the victims childhood no one else did. The way the speaker described the severity of the boys skin condition as red and raw also shows the sympathy that he has for the boy now. It expresses how bad the boys medical condition was and how serious it was, it is a key comparison to the treatment that the boy received by his peers. It helps us to visualise the horror of the boys condition, which again, helps us to understand and to sympathise with the victim. The poem Back in the Playground Blues is similar to The Boy Without a Name in the sense that it portrays a negative image of school. This poem is about the school playground. In this case it is known as the Killing Ground due to the severe bullying which the Rulers inflicted on their victims, for no apparent reason. This poem describes the feelings of one particular victim. The structure of this poem is interesting, as it does not stay the same throughout. The rhythm of the first stanza is slow to show that the person is reflecting back on their childhood. Also, the shorter sentences are said separately to emphasise the weakness of the victim. The second stanza is said softly and timidly to show the vulnerability of the victim. The rhythm in the third stanza is said as a singsong or taunt at the victim. It is reinforcing the reasons why the person gets bullied on to them. Get it for being chicken Get it for fighting back are good examples of what may have been said by the bullies. This shows how the victims were taunted. The final stanza of the poem is a conclusion of the rest of the poem. We can see this in the line, It prepares them for a lifetime. The last stanza is also said like a rhyme to get at the victim. It is said deeply to add a chill to the poem. The rhythm is a key factor in this poem as it sets the mood and tone. In the third stanza, which is almost like a taunt, we get a sense of how the bullies victimised the boy. The language that Mitchell has used shows great emphasis on the fear experienced by the speaker. The language used shows a great sense of fear, vulnerability and unexpectancy. Words such as black and broken create a sense of darkness and violence. The fact that the playground id described as three miles long and five miles wide shows how vulnerable the speaker feels, as we know that these measurements were merely exaggerated to show the great fear that the victim is feeling. The title of the poem also suggests that it was a time of oppression for the speaker as the word blues originates from the era of black slavery in America. The blues was a type of music created by the black slaves as their way of expressing their sadness and oppression on the injustice towards themselves. In the poem, In Mrs Tilchers Class the outlook of school life is completely different to the previous two poems. It sends out a message that school is a good place. The speaker in this poem has had happy experiences in school compared to the previous two speakers. This poem is about a child who is influenced by their schoolteacher but with time they mature and feel that they do not need school and are impatient to be grown. The structure of this poem stays consistent. This may be used to show the stability of school compared to the outside world and also to show that school is a regimented place and has set rules and guidelines. The language used is very childlike and immature at the beginning of the poem. Words such as sugar paper and coloured paper represent the innocence of the child and show how naive the child is. In this poem we can see that by using these words that the child sees school as a place of enjoyment rather than of work. Although the poem is quite childlike, there are many mature words such as enthralling and tangible, which shows that the person is speaking when they are much older and it shows how much the person has matured since the time that the poem is set. It also shows that the person has now been educated enough to not want to attend school or possibly to leave school as they can express themselves using a wider vocabulary for example. The uses of childhood images are very effective. The phrase shed left a good gold star by your name, almost brings you back to your own childhood when you had similar experiences. Duffys use of these images makes it easier for the reader to relate to the experiences of the speaker. The huge jump from childhood straight to adulthood is put in to show how quickly children grow up. One day they are in school getting gold stars and the next day they are at the stage where they hate school and they feel that they are too mature to go to school and they become more independent and rebellious. This poem sends this message out to all who read it. The poem has a steady rhythm, which again is used to create a sense of stability and regimentation, which is a key part of school especially primary school. After studying these three poems, I feel that the statement, school days are the best days of our lives could easily be argued both ways but I feel in the case of the three poems the bad experiences override the good experiences of school days and so on the basis of the three poems that I have studied I feel that this statement could be well argued and firmly backed up by evidence from the poems.

Easy Tutorial for Making Fake Wounds and Cuts

Easy Tutorial for Making Fake Wounds and Cuts Combine chemical ingredients to make fake wounds suitable for Halloween or other special events. This is a great, easy activity for kids and adults alike, and it only takes a few minutes! Materials petroleum jellyred food coloringcocoa powderdisposable tissuebowltoothpicks How to Make Fake Wounds and Cuts Use a toothpick to mix 3-4 drops of red food coloring into a dollop of petroleum jelly (e.g., Vaseline).Stir in enough cocoa (a pinch or so) to darken the red color to a deeper, blood-like tint.Separate the tissue and tear out a small rectangle (3x2 inches) from a single layer of the paper.Place the tissue at the wound site and cover it with the petroleum jelly mixture.Mold the tissue into a wound shape with the edges raised higher than the center of the wound.Add some petroleum jelly mixture to the center of the wound.Sprinkle cocoa at the edges of the wound to darken it. Add cocoa to the wound center if a scabby (as opposed to fresh) appearance is desired.Red food coloring will stain, so avoid wound contact with clothing or furniture.

Biography of Dorothy Vaughan, Groundbreaking NASA Mathematician

Biography of Dorothy Vaughan, Groundbreaking NASA Mathematician Dorothy Vaughan (September 20, 1910 – November 10, 2008) was an African American mathematician and computer. In her time working for NASA, she became the first African American woman to hold a supervisory position and helped the institution transition to computer programming. Fast Facts: Dorothy Vaughan Full Name: Dorothy Johnson VaughanOccupation: Mathematician and computer programmerBorn: September 20, 1910 in  Kansas City, MissouriDied: November 10, 2008 in Hampton,  VirginiaParents: Leonard and Annie JohnsonSpouse: Howard Vaughan (m. 1932); they had six childrenEducation: Wilberforce University, B.A. in mathematics Early Life Dorothy Vaughan was born in Kansas City, Missouri, the daughter of Leonard and Annie Johnson. The Johnson family soon moved to Morgantown, West Virginia, where they stayed throughout Dorothy’s childhood. She quickly proved to be a talented student, graduating early from high school at the age of 15 as her graduating class’ valedictorian. At Wilberforce University, a historically black college in Ohio, Vaughan studied mathematics. Her tuition was covered by a full-ride scholarship from the West Virginia Conference of the A.M.E. Sunday School Convention. She graduated with her bachelor’s degree in 1929, only 19 years old, cum laude. Three years later, she married Howard Vaughan, and the couple moved to Virginia, where they initially lived with Howard’s wealthy and well-respected family. From Teacher to Computer Although Vaughan was encouraged by her professors at Wilberforce to go to graduate school at Howard University, she declined, instead taking a job at Robert Russa Moton High School in Farmville, Virginia, so that she could help support her family during the Great Depression. During this time, she and her husband Howard had six children: two daughters and four sons. Her position and education placed her as an admired leader in her community. Dorothy Vaughan taught high school for 14 years during the era of racially segregated education. In 1943, during World War II, she took a job at the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics (NACA, the predecessor to NASA) as a computer. NACA and the rest of the federal agencies had technically desegregated in 1941 by executive order of President Franklin D. Roosevelt. Vaughan was assigned to the West Area Computing group at Langley Research Center in Hampton, Virginia. Despite women of color being recruited actively, they were still segregated into groups separate from their white counterparts.   Nasa.gov The computing group consisted of expert female mathematicians who dealt with complex mathematical calculations, nearly all done by hand. During the war, their work was connected to the war effort, since the government firmly believed that the war would be won on the strength of air forces. The scope of activity at NACA expanded considerably after WWII ended and the space program began in earnest. For the most part, their work involved reading data, analyzing it, and plotting it for use by the scientists and engineers. Although the women- both white and black- often held degrees similar to (or even more advanced than) the men who worked at NASA, they were only hired for lower positions and pay. Women could not be hired as engineers. Supervisor and Innovator In 1949, Dorothy Vaughan was assigned to supervise the West Area Computers, but not in an official supervisory role. Instead, she was given the role as acting head of the group (after their previous supervisor, a white woman, died). This meant the job didn’t come with the expected title and pay bump. It took several years and advocating for herself before she was finally given the role of supervisor in an official capacity and the benefits that came with it. Vaughan did not just advocate for herself, but also worked hard to advocate for more opportunities for women. Her intention was not just to help her West Computing colleagues, but women across the organization, including white women. Eventually, her expertise came to be highly valued by the engineers at NASA, who relied heavily on her recommendations to match projects with the computers whose skills aligned best. In 1958, NACA became NASA and segregated facilities were completely and finally abolished. Vaughan worked in the Numerical Techniques division and, in 1961, shifted her focus to the new frontier of electronic computing. She figured out, earlier than many others, that electronic computers were going to be the future, so she set out to make sure she- and the women in her group- were prepared. During her time at NASA, Vaughan also contributed directly to projects on the space program with her work on the Scout Launch Vehicle Program, a particular type of rocket designed to launch small satellites into orbit around the Earth. Vaughan taught herself the programming language FORTRAN that was used for early computing, and from there, she taught it to many of her colleagues so they would be prepared for the inevitable transition away from manual computing and towards electronics. Eventually, she and several of her West Area Computing colleagues joined the newly formed Analysis and Computation Division, a race- and gender-integrated group working to expand the horizons of electronic computing. Although she tried to receive another management position, she was never granted one again. Photographs from Dorothy Vaughans retirement party. Vaughan retired from NASA in 1971.   Courtesy Vaughan Family /  Nasa.gov Later Life and Legacy Dorothy Vaughan worked at Langley for 28 years while raising six children (one of whom followed in her footsteps and worked at NASA’s Langley facility). In 1971, Vaughan finally retired at the age of 71. She continued to be active in her community and her church throughout retirement, but lived a fairly quiet life. Vaughan died on November 10, 2008 at the age of 98, less than a week after the election of America’s first black president, Barack Obama. Vaughan’s story came to public attention in 2016, when Margot Lee Shetterly published her nonfiction book Hidden Figures: The American Dream and the Untold Story of the Black Women Who Helped Win the Space Race. The book was made into a popular feature film, Hidden Figures, which was nominated for Best Picture at the 2017 Academy Awards and won the 2017 Screen Actors Guild Award for best ensemble (the guild’s equivalent of a best picture award). Vaughan is one of the three main characters in the film, along with colleagues Katherine Johnson and Mary Jackson. She’s portrayed by Oscar-winning actress Octavia Spencer. Sources Dorothy Vaughan. Encyclopaedia Britannica.Shetterly, Margot Lee. Dorothy Vaughan Biography. National Aeronautics and Space Administration.Shetterly, Margot Lee. Hidden Figures: The American Dream and the Untold Story of the Black Women Who Helped Win the Space Race. William Morrow Company, 2016.

The Lack of an internal audit department in a company called Mawarid Research Paper

The Lack of an internal audit department in a company called Mawarid Islamic finance in the UAE - Research Paper Example In accordance with the issues discussed in the paper Mawarid Finance’s strategy focuses on supporting and developing the national economy through the provision of Islamic financial services and products for small and medium enterprises (SMEs), which form the backbone of a nation’s economy, to enable them to develop, grow stronger and faster. The organization specializes in developing Shariah complaint economical or financial services. It provides eMurabaha that allows its clients to buy the goods offline or online; financing for the purchase of the items; letter of guarantee covering bib; online labor guarantees, and advance payment bonds, together with guarantees for the retention monies, customs duty, labor, home financing, maintenance. Moreover, it offers vehicle and property financing for people, and different services to the corporate sector, which include working capital, assets, deposits, trading activities and financing projects. Mawarid Finance is the only UAEà ¢â‚¬â„¢s financial institution that is absolutely independent. However, in an attempt to ensuring that it hands itself operational independence, we find that the distribution of its shares has been done across over three hundred and fifty shareholders, whereby organizations or even companies own less than five percent each of the capital there is no stake of an individual shareholder that is more than two and half percent. (English 54). Problem Statement: Lack of internal auditors has appeared as one of the fundamental factors that have led to misappropriation of funds in several companies and organizations. That is why several companies and organizations have adopted it to help in bringing accountability, so that each money spent can be accounted for. Background and Significance: Internal auditors play a very crucial role in the corporate governance of their organizations, financial reporting processes, analysis of risk management and internal control structure. During the last dec ade, they actively offered management with assurance and consulting services to help in conformity with the laws like the 2002 U.S. Sarbanes-Oxley. The internal audit resources have also seen expansion for the purposes of satisfying the increasing demand for the services to facilitate financial report and internal control’s executive certifications. In the future years, it might be expected of the internal auditors to broaden their role to responsibilities such as the improvement of risk management, reduction of organizational costs and complexity, and participation in the development of governance and strategic processes. For instance, the rules of Proxy Disclosure Enhancements of the United States Securities and Exchange Commission to reveal their governance measures, which include the structure of their board, the board’s supervision of risk management as well as its relationship with the executive practices and policies of compensation. The new proxy rules will act ually exert pressure or compel the boards to show their role in the supervision of risk management, and further, this presents both opportunities and challenges for the CAEs (chief audit executives) and their

HOW DANGEROUS IS SMOKING FOR YOUR HEALTH Research Paper

HOW DANGEROUS IS SMOKING FOR YOUR HEALTH - Research Paper Example Further, it would be interesting to find out how the hot vapor containing fine particles of carbon directly and specifically affect human organs. Its implications to health would also be analyzed through the illnesses and diseases it inflicts. And finally, when people have realized the health hazards of smoking, this essay would explore ways and means to prevent and ultimately stop smoking. Historians traced the origins of smoking from the Mayan Indians of Mexico from as early as the 600 to 900 A.D. (Glantz 1) Tobacco, being the original source for a smoke, was grown as a cash crop in 1612 where the settlers of the first American colony in Jamestown, Virginia started cultivating and growing them. (Glantz 2). By 1800s, historians revealed that people started using tobaccos for various purposes such as: for chewing, smoking in a pipe, hand-rolled as a cigar or cigarette. According to Glantz, â€Å"the first commercial cigarettes were made in 1865 by Washington Duke on his 300-acre farm in Raleigh, North Carolina. His hand-rolled cigarettes were sold to soldiers at the end of the Civil War.† (Glantz 3). The invention of the cigarette making machine in 1881 by James Bonsack paved the way for the widespread production of cigarettes. His partnership with Washington Dukes son, James "Buck" Duke, initiated the establishment of the first tobacco company in the US, the American Tobacco Company. (Glantz 4) Tobacco, is first and foremost, the main ingredient in a cigarette. Tobacco is a leafy green plant widely grown in warm climates. In the planting phase alone, tobacco is already bombarded with chemicals, fertilizers and insecticides to ensure that the plant grows free from insects. In the manufacturing process, the chemicals are added for flavors and to make them combustible. Jacobs averred that â€Å"there are over 4,000 chemicals in cigarettes. 51 of them are known to be carcinogenic. A carcinogen