A SWOT Analysis of the Bird Company Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

A SWOT Analysis of the Bird Company - Essay Example New entrants in the motor vehicle industry have changed the game with the tide swinging to the newcomers who enter with new vehicle designs and modern technology features. The company management blamed the current decline in sales to increasing competition and client prevalence for more comfort while preferring to pay less for the vehicles. In addition, high fuel prices and environmental concerns have driven clients to prefer vehicles that consume less fuel while emitting fewer exhaust fumes. While addressing the lost market share, management has held a number of meetings of which the resolution’s implementation started immediately. Some of the factors the management identified in relation to the operation include the following; High quality: Bird boasts of manufacturing high-quality vehicles that many buyers prefer. The vehicles have low breakdown rates with the heaviness contributing to stability. In addition, the cars can move at high speeds with a large angle of tilt. Cheap prices: Bird vehicles are manufactured with the low-end customers’ budget in mind. The vehicles have standard features but go for a relatively cheap price. As a result, the vehicles compete favorably with other brands in the market. Supportive to CSR: Bird Company believes in giving back to the society as a way of creating awareness on various matters. The company has been active in planting trees and among other conservation measures meant to create clean environments. Experience: Having stayed in the industry for a long time, the company has known how to react to customer requests by modifying specific parts that could increase the vehicle value. The company has invested in research and innovation with aims of remaining relevant while beating the competition. Dominance: Bird is the leading supplier of sedan cars in the world with a significant market share of 30%.

Critically Appraised Topic (CAT) Paper Article Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Critically Appraised Topic (CAT) Paper - Article Example The CEO was also accused of using $31 million to acquire a private jet. These and a host of other problems from the corporate world have been around for long and the result is the reduced employee performance because they do not trust their leaders. This is why leaders from non-profit organizations have the obligation of demonstrating that they are accountable, honest and respectful. Based on the research findings, it seems that only through ethical leadership can charitable organizations in America maintain the trust from the public. To understand the importance of ethical leadership, it is imperative to know how this type of leadership influences employees’ voice in non-profit organizations in America. c) Study Mechanisms: Comparative studies of any study mechanisms examining if leaders in different non-profit organizations in America behave in an ethical manner and their influence on employee freedom. On the left-hand side of the search results page, I selected the box next to the Scholarly (Peer Reviewed) journals limiter and updated my results. In some cases, I was able to find the journal articles. However, in some cases, I was not able to obtain the full text of the article. To obtain the full text of the article, I first clicked on the Find It tab button in the articles record. By doing this, I was directed to the Find It window that indicates that the full-text article was not available from any of the UMUC librarys databases. Nonetheless, it meant that I could use the Librarys DocumentExpress service to request a PDF. While I started synthesizing the evidences from the searches, I explored evidences based on Evidence-Based management’s suggestion (2014), which involves asking, acquiring, appraising, aggregating, applying, and assessing. I did this with the aim of enhancing the chance to support my research context and get the evidence that could answer my

Personal Statement of Ethics Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Personal Statement of Ethics - Essay Example When I was a child, my concept of ethics has been confined in being good and right to the people within my small circle. However, as I grew older and exposed to the realities of this world, I begin to learn that ethics is more than just pleasing the people which are around me. I realize that in order to maintain my integrity and credibility as an individual, I should be able to establish my own ethical standards backed by what I believe to be morally excellent. As I go about making my own stand, I learn that upholding my ethical beliefs is a struggle where I need to battle with the conflicting ideologies of the people around me. I begin to understand that what my parents taught me are quite shallow compared to what I learn with my various experiences yet they provide a good foundation of how to decide whether something is acceptable or not. My definition of ethics goes beyond what is socially acceptable as right. Looking at the current world situation, it now appears that our society have tolerated and absorbed previously unethical behaviors and added them into our value system. For instance, I strongly assert that gay marriage is not ethically because it destroys the original purpose of a woman's creation that is, to be the completeness of a man.

Solution Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

Solution - Essay Example It is essential to redesign healthcare intervention toward diabetic patients, increasing their self-care behavior; especially for workers and the elderly (Bandura, 1997), and education is one key prevention strategy (Jun-Qiao Wang, 1997). Early education enables patients to prevent the disease while reducing the expense of healthcare. Many diabetic patients don't understanding the value of self-care, and helping them acquire the skills to manage their condition is important. According to the International Diabetes Alliance (IDA), more than half of diabetics know nothing about diabetes, and the American disease control center estimates 50% - 80% of diabetes complications can be prevented. Surveys show 58% of diabetics are confused by doctors' instruction, and 35% have damaged their health by not following those instructions. Also, 88% of diabetic patients gain primary knowledge from their doctors while only 9% receive it from nurses. The relationship between nurse and diabetic patient is essential; in developed countries, most diabetes education is gained through nurses rather physicians. Medication alone cannot control diabetes, and lifestyle education enables the patient to increase self-management more effectively (Li, 2002). Physical activity can reduce the risk factors, and the Daqing study shows that lifestyle intervention can improve insulin resistance by 46%. The U.S. DPP experiment showed that among 3,200 cases, lifestyle intervention reduced the incidence of diabetes by 58%. Medical intervention is less effective compared to lifestyle intervention (Pan Lizhen, Chinese Nursing Research, 2004). Liu shows intervention is able to reduce glucose and increase the sensitivity of insulin, among other benefits (Liu, 2001), while another survey reveals a 40% decrease (Bing, 2005). Just 30 minutes of walking daily can reduce the level of glucose, and large studies in other nations have recently demonstrated that exercise reduces the incidence of diabetes by more than 50%. Patients: In China, diabetic patients tend to trust drug advertisements rather than healthcare professionals, and many think the side effects of western medicine are stronger than traditional Chinese therapies. Some believethink that the more expensive the medicine, the better health outcome they can achieve; which is a huge economic burden (Jia Fen, Wang Jun, Shanghai University). Most diabetic patients are worried about having an incurable disease, long term injections of insulin, and other factors. Chinese studies show older diabetic patients dislike the outpatient service due to administration and waiting times, while others dislike the inpatient services because of unfamiliar environments. Richard Donnelly shares that most patients in China prefer to use traditional Chinese therapies, and many prefer to combine the best of traditional Chinese with Western treatment. Behavior: Ming Yeong Tan (2003) says that lack of adherence to self-care behaviors requires lifestyle changes for long-term management, and identifying the barriers to behavior is important. It is vital to increase educational programs on patient behavior to improve the quality of life. Health System: In China, health management is

SEX AS CRIME 2 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

SEX AS CRIME 2 - Essay Example The essay will also explore the different situations in which women might find themselves in which predispose them to rape. The sex industry is a large sector where acts of rape are perpetrated and the victims have no means of seeking legal action. In this regard, the essay seeks to bring into perspective the policies that have been put in place to combat sexual offences such as rape. In the essay, challenges that the government, the law enforcement officers and social services officers encounter in assisting victims of sexual violence are explored. Rape is forced sex. It involves forcing an individual to engage in sexual activity without their consent. It may involve penetration through various body openings and using various objects. Rape mostly occurs because of the social inequalities between men and women, or the inequalities related to age and position at the workplace. The most type of rape is date rape, which is done by a familiar person. Marital rape also occurs in marriage- like settings. Sexual violence allows men to control women (Brown miller, 1975). In her analysis of rape, Miller points out that rape is not a crime of irrational impulse or an uncontrollable act, but a deliberate violent, hostile act of degradation possessions on the part of the would be conqueror. According to Miller, rape is designed to intimidate and inspire fear. This explains why many rape cases go unreported and are tolerated in silence by victims. The silence of the society is equated as the silence of the victims. According to a 2005 report by the Sanders, many people believe that a woman bears the responsibility of her rape, either partially or completely, in case she demonstrated flirty behavior. A small percentage of the people interviewed expressed the opinion that a woman is partly to blame if she is raped and she has worn revealing attire or is under the influence of drugs (Sanders, 2005). These reasons do little to shed light on the low number of convicted criminals of sexual violence. Around 14% of the reported cases find their way in a court house, while almost 10% of these are termed as faulty allegations on the suspects. Majority of these are cases that involve women and girls from the age of 16 to 25. Some of these cases are later withdrawn for the victims fear that they are not believed, while others are dismissed on the grounds of insufficient evidence. The above mentioned reasons explain why very few cases are reported by rape victims. The public exudes no confidence in the justice system when it comes to handling sexual violence victims. Vulnerability of rape victims varies with different people. Different situations expose individuals to sexual assault. Adolescents make up the largest and most vulnerable group of individuals most susceptible to rape. They are most vulnerable because of their age. Assailants instill fear in them and they do not report cases of sexual assault until it is too late. On the other hand, teenagers are easily manipulated but their assailants as they are offered gifts and money in return for their sexual services (Phoenix, 2001). These are gifts that are very appealing to the teens as they make them stand out from their peers. Another group that is very vulnerable to rape is that of individuals whose mental health is problematic or unstable. Sexual violence also occurs as part of domestic violence. Studies show that almost 50% of women and 35%

Exploitation of Teenagers Essay Example for Free

Exploitation of Teenagers Essay Our Indian society is far better than the rest of the universe from the point of view of culture as well as conventions and ways of living but on the other side, if we glance into our society, it has many social and political and economical evils such as bride burning, dowry system and dowry death, corruption in educational system, problem of illiteracy in India, domestic violence, communalism, injustice, crime against children, unemployment in India, suppression of human rights, poverty. Some of the problems have been cast off from its core by the social propaganda and social awareness and education and there are still such unanswerable problems which must be removed from the society only through the individual consciousness. Literature is an echo or reflection of the society and that is why authors have a direct association with the society and its values. They have always been successful in the vivid portrayal of the colourful and well cultured society. At the same time they never hesitate to show a dirty and filthy image of the same society. One of the major themes in all genres of literature is social issues or problems. If we observe the present Indian society, the major problem that has taken place and has been most prevalent in the Indian society as well in the whole globe is the problems of teenagers. Childhood is one of the greatest and valuable periods in human life. It is that phase of life where a child is free from all the tensions, fun-loving, to play and learns new things, and is the most innocent of all the family members. This age of a child or teenager is of enjoying the naughtiness and also the time of learning and making career. If the teenagers work taking the whole family’s responsibility instead of learning what will be the future of the nation? The issues relating to the exploitation of teenagers should be high on any Governments agenda. Children should be on the first call on agenda of human resource development not only because young children or teenagers are the most helpless but because this age is the institution of lifelong learning and human development is totally dependent on these crucial early years. The constitution of any teenager’s social, emotional, mental background is depended on the primary stage of childhood. Children or teenagers are considered as the future of any nation and as the power and muscle of the nation lies in a healthy, protected, educated and well developed child population. Child abuse is covered in secrecy and there is a great conspiracy of silence among all the administrative power around the entire subject. Existing socio- economic conditions also render some children vulnerable and more at risk to abuse, exploitation and neglect. All the major or minor problems have their root causes from which it stems out. The Concept of Exploitation The awareness of this new phenomenon first emerged several years ago in Latin America, and more particularly in Asia. But the complete understanding of the term exploitation came into existence after many decades of the people’s slumber in the form of Karl Marx, the first revolutionary against capitalism and industrialism which are the basic factors of exploitation. He was a revolutionary by nature. He strongly believes: The worker becomes all the poorer the more wealth he produces, the more his production increases in power and range. The worker becomes an ever cheaper commodity the more commodities he creates. With the increasing value of the world of things proceeds in direct proportion to the devaluation of the world of men (Kreis 1). Thus Marx was against industrialism and capitalism that victimize the people through the medium of various instruments yielding exploitations. Marx argued that the change in socio-economic conditions occurred through organized revolutionary action. He argued that capitalism would end through the organized actions of an international working class, he did not believe in communism to be established; he used abide the people to accept reality-an ideal to which we will have to adjust itself. He believes that there are only two communities 1.Abuser and 2. Abused people. Then Came Lenin Vladimir, a Russian Marxist revolutionary and then Stalin came with his own revolutionary thoughts. In India, Dr. Baba Saheb Ambedkar, came into the form of semi-God figure, worshipped by the down-trodden people and untouchables of India. He enriched the lives of exploiting caste by awareness, revolution and by granted them the basic human rights. Gandhiji also completely advocated him his actions to eliminate the wrongs done towards low-caste and exploited people. Exploitation has a strong relationship with the society as in the society there are many people who are being exploited or manipulated for the benefits of others. The term exploitation of teenagers basically has two meanings. One is to make use of someone for specific purpose whose age is more than twelve and less than twenty, and the second one is to manipulate someone or something in an unjust or cruel manner. In the simplest of words, the term exploitation refers to using another person’s labour without offering adequate rewards including all kinds of abuses as physical, verbal, emotional, sexual, psychological and mental. Exploitation of Teenagers as Reflected in Mulk Raj Anand’s Untouchable and Coolie Dr. Mulk Raj Anand’s two Novels Untouchable and Coolie are the real representation of the condition of our society i.e. the phenomenon of exploitation of teenagers. Mulk Raj Anand was a man of realism and the characters of his Novels are more real and universal rather than subjective i.e. individual. Most of his writings are directly or indirectly investigating deeply the social process. To Anand literature is an expression of society and the large majority of questions raised by him are social questions: question of tradition and convention, norms and genres, symbols and myth. Untouchable and Coolie are not only literary pieces became well known which talk about the behavioral pattern of untouchablity and the people deprived of socially, culturally, religiously and but because of several exploitations of people including innocent children of that period. Undoubtedly Untouchable is Anand’s modern work which is the image of his society’s trodden and exploited class. This book is considered to be an autobiographical note which came out as a form of his experiences. When Anand was a child, his father was employed as a Subedar in the Indian Army. During those days Anand mixed with the children of leather-workers, washer men and sweepers and came across their real daily life and its realities. This association and attachment continued till the days of his youth. Hence this Novel is the authentic document of his life’s incidents. Untouchable is the story of the depravation of outcaste people and at the same time of the exploitation of teenagers. It basically deals with the different teenagers’ problems like Bakha, sister Sohini, his brother Rakha and some other his outcastes friends like Chota and Ramcharan we come across during their a day’s activities. Coolie is also a masterpiece depicting the reality of life. The title is very apt, suitable and reasonable as the story of the Novel revolves round a boy named Munoo, a son of a porter who comes from his village to come out his poverty and works at various places. The peak of darkness of exploitation is expertly described by the author. The Novel also shows the highest level of inhumanity when poor Munoo works at socially, economically, and politically higher classes of Indian society. The Novel shows his adventures and journey of exploitation from servant, factory worker, rickshaw driver to a child labourer. There is a large difference between social evil and social problem. A definition of a social problem may be suggestive of state of affairs which are not favorable in society and people searching for the practical cure. On the contrary social evil indicates more complex, threatening and indescribable, may an implication of more realism, a degree of skepticism and gloom whether any remedy can be found. In everyday speech, both the terms are often used rhetorically and in substitution. There are many subjective and objective elements of social problems. Social problem includes many social forms and all share two important elements: an objective social condition and a subjective social condition. The objective element of a social problem refers to the existence of a social condition. Generally we learn about social condition through our own life experience, through the media and education. The subjective element of a social problem refers to a personal belief and view that a particular social situation is harmful to the society or to a segment of society, it should and can be changed. We can take an example for illustration. We know that poverty, racism, violence, pollution, crime. They are not considered to be social problems they diminish the quality of human life. Combination of these subjective and objective elements led us to certain efforts. Every individual needs to take steps in order to make the nation a better place to live in. Mulk Raj Anand is considered to be God or Messiah in backward castes and exploited class just because of his brilliant works which describe down-trodden and poor Indias social, political, and cultural conditions. The Novels Untouchable and Coolie, which communicate the abuses of an exploited class- an untouchable boy in Untouchable and a waif, Munoo in Coolie. Untouchable and Coolie are the only Novels in which Anand has presented the realistic picture especially problems and exploitations of teenagers of the early decades of 20th century in India to reveal the social background with the unique observation of social reformer. Anand has not presented the teenage character in particularly but in a general way. The writer has not only painted his works with the idea of keeping his literary pieces mirror up to the Indian society but also made it mandatory to think about the masses, about the sufferers and abused people and provided ideal solutions. Untouchable and Coolie are legendary stories of two teenagers Bakha and Munoo, appear among the people of the modern society to tell their problems, abuses and exploitations they endured. Bakha and Munoo are the symbolic representatives of the whole teenage class of the present day who give a voice to the predicament of the mute humanity in odd circumstances. Anand has not presented the adolescent characters in particularly but in a general way. Like G.B.Shaw, Mulk Raj Anand is considered to be a great thinker and reformer of the society. He succeeded in doing so by disturbing his readers putting the puzzle-like problems before the society like Shaw and never put a solution of a particular problem. No writer before Charles had handled the English people, similarly no Indo-English writer before Annad has devoted a strong sympathy to the poor, exploited class and neglected part of the society. The underdog protagonists Bakha and Munoo in both the Novels seem to sail in the same boat as far as personal and subjective suffering and exploitation is concerned. There is a parallel central theme in Untouchable and Coolie – social exploitation, exploitation of the poor and the under-privileged class by the forces of capitalism, industrialism and colonialism. In Anand’s Coolie, Munoo is denied his fundamental rights to life and happiness and is exploited and made to suffer, till he dies of consumption. The Novelist makes it quite clear that Munoo is not the only victim of such exploitation. He represents millions of those for whom such exploitation is the lot of everyday life. Both these Novels have been written with a purpose. These Novels are powerful condemnation of modern capitalistic Indian society and feudal system with the shameless and tragic exploitation of the underdog and poor which is also ready to sacrifice the poor teenagers and children who face the difficulties without protest. Both the protagonists desire to live but the society does not allow them to live. They die of exploitation, poverty and hunger. Thus, only a single problem that has attracted the attention of most of the writers, philosophers and administrators is the only exploitation of teenagers which can be possible to eradicate of this planet only through application of more possible improvements that can be beneficial for the teenagers. One of the helpful components is education which can help in relieving this major evil in the society. In the first Novel Untouchable we can rightly observe that Bakha became a victim of the society who has high aspirations of life which have been suppressed not only the customs and traditions but also by the dirty politics and Government. Bakha is seen, saved by the man emerged out in the end of the Novel like a real God in the form of Gandhi who has started the remedial works of the society not by the mere talks and philosophies but by the real implementation of the ideas he has. However in the real life who will be a benefactor person of these downtrodden and exploited people. This is a total responsibility of the Government and administrative people who are observing and enjoying the joyful moments just like an audience of a circus that need a complete meditation on this particular subject to take reforming steps in relation to this harsh reality. In the second Novel Coolie we can notice the same anguish scenario but with a different view. Munoo, hero of the Novel reveals real social conditions but not through a single day of his life but through the full-fledge life that might be a great trick of the writer not only to develop the discourse of the character of poor Munoo, but the silence and mum that is still prevalent and ever last among the heartless and unkind society as well as the administrative people even after the death of an innocent boy Munoo. This is not a single teenage boy who lives a hell-like life, is sacrificed on the altar of social treatment and Government’s indifference towards this burning social dilemma but there are many teenagers sacrifice themselves in the same manner which can create a shocking result which is merely unimaginative for the whole globe. Poverty Poverty is considered to be the first and foremost root cause of being exploitation of the teenagers. Poverty is one of the major issues, attracting the attention of sociologists and economists. It is such a situation in which a person fails to maintain a living standard adequate for a comfortable lifestyle. Poverty plays a significant role in the formation of public policy and has a centre of attraction to the National Policy Agenda forever five decades. Though India boasts of a high economic growth; it is shameful that there is still large scale of poverty in India. Poverty in India can be defined as a situation when a certain section of people are unable to fulfill their basic needs. India has the worlds largest number of poor people living in a single country. Out of its total population of more than 1 billion, 350 to 400 million people are living below the poverty line. Nearly 75% of the poor people are in rural areas, most of them are daily wagers, landless labourers and self employed house holders. The same scenario of anguish as presented in the Novel can be seen in the present society: The outcastes’ colony was a group of mud-walled houses that clustered together in two rows†¦.there lived the scavengers, the leather-workers, the washer men, the barbers, the water- carriers, the grass-cutters and other outcastes from Hindu society. A brook ran near the lane, once with crystal- clear water, now soiled by the dirt and filth of the public latrines situated about it, the ordour of the hides and skins of dead carcasses left to dry on its banks, the dung of donkeys, sheep, horses, cows and buffaloes heaped up to be made into fuel cakes, and the biting, choking, pungent fumes that oozed from its sides (Anand 1). Social division This great affecting major problem of the society came into existence when the Hindu society has been divided. That is why it is the main root or origin of this problem. Hindu society has traditionally been categorized into four classes, called Varnas the Brahmins, the Kshatriyas, the Vaishyas, and the Shudras. The first belonging to this Varna is called Brahmanas. Their function is to learn and to make share of the learning and to preserve the eternal knowledge of the race. The Brahmins are devoted to their works of teaching and preaching. Kshatriya is the one who belongs to Kshatra varna. This is the forms the military defense group, the martial class and administration of the society. They contain administrative and wielding political power and ruled the states. The Vaishyas are divided into the category of farming and business and that is the reason why they were pre-occupied with the works of selling goods to the others. Vaisya is the creative class of the society, and their primary occupations are trading and business and they are called merchants. Shudra is the lowest in the traditional four-section division in the Hindu caste system. The Shudras have classically lived lives of service. Slaves were often classified as Shudras, as were leatherworkers, blacksmiths, maids, cooks, and so forth. They have typically not been accorded the same rights as higher castes, forced to use different temples and public facilities. Thus the Gita declares: â€Å"The work of the Brahmins, Kshatriyas, Vaishyas, and Sudras is divided according to qualities born of their own inner nature† (Wikipedia 1). Some relieving solutions Common education system Every child and citizen of India is eligible to get equal type of education. As we know parallel education system created by upper class and the rich people but limited to these classes only. We can say that this system is totally based on class and caste. Kothari Commission (1964-66) has presented the common school education system both for the poor and rich people. Almost all political leaders, upper class administrators support this system. But the little children and teenagers are sent to the private schools and English medium schools that charge high fees which are not affordable for the poor, down trodden and exploited class. It is very noticeable that neither State Government nor the Central Government has succeeded to cease these schools and will not dare for the same in the future also. Although the Government has opened a number of schools for the underprivileged and exploited class, how many benefits they got still now? The Government runs schools for the poor people like Bakha and Munoo but practically failed to make the major part of the deprived people educated. The reason also may be a lack of awareness among the down trodden people or a lack of Government policy. In one of the incidents of the novel Untouchable, we can observe that Bakha, at the British Barracks, shows his extreme wish of being educated to his uncle and he also weeps for it. His father tells him that schools and education institutions are made for the sahibs only not for the downtrodden and exploited class. In this way, we can rightly observe the lack of common education system at the time of British still continues today also. The same education discrimination is prevalent in the recent age. It is very clear that the upper class and rich people who are the holders of high degrees and well educated come in contact with the poor and exploited class and impose them to be abused. Because they are all illiterate and do not have degrees for getting good jobs just like the high class people which pathetic circumstances after all direct them to a single path of leading life and that is exploitation alone. The problem of social, economical and educational inequality can be solved only when the Government takes over the management of all the non-governmental schools by making necessary laws in this connection. In the near future if it is not done, the problem of inequality in all the grounds will remain same as present time. There is an intimate kinship between education and life. Education is the one tool that can drive one from the world of several exploitations and abuses to the world of equality. * Incentives to needy families to send their children to school regularly till they reach the age of 17 or 18. * Pre-metric and post-metric scholarship scheme for children of families employed in occupations such as scavenging. All children of such families, regardless of incomes, will be covered by the scheme. * Provision of remedial courses to improve their study and prospect for further education. * The recruitment of teachers from the low-castes who are being the target of exploitations. * Increasing of residential schools, including ashram schools should be established in a large numbers so that the parents can take care of their children very well. * The curriculum of education should be designed by keeping an eye on both rich and poor classes and as a device to encourage children and teenagers to get educated. * To provide them an education loan of a small amount without a single penny interest which provides in muster to make their children educated and employed. * The state should not discriminate against any citizen on the basis of religion, caste, race, sex by keeping in mind traditions and customs at school or colleges or any institution of learning. * Primary and secondary should provide education irrespective of cast and creed. Anti-poverty programmes The most important component of eliminating of the exploitation of teenagers is the socio-economic and anti-poverty programmes meant for the families socially and economically handicapped ready to sacrifice their children only for monetary significance. Gujarat is one of the most growing states of India now-a-days. Though the state is developing in all the directions, it is facing much more problems simultaneously; one of them is poverty. The Chief Minister of this state launched state-wide Abhiyan of Garib Kalyan Mela from Amreli which is the first major step taken in the whole India to reduce poverty. It has been announced of organizing around 50 Garib Kalyan Mela across the State, providing economic assistance to the poor and marginalized people. One of its essential objectives of this programme is to provide financial help which is the source of all the harms of the exploited and deprived people. Nearly forty thousand people, including slum dwellers and citizens Below Poverty Line (BPL) of Visnagar under this programme attained a full economical assistance at the Garib Kalyan Melo. However, the elimination or eradication of the poverty in India has not reached to a definite estimated level because of indifference of Central Government of India towards the reality of poverty. Such programmes related to poverty must be organized nationally to bend each state in these activities. Central Government of India totally failed to be conscious of the severe conditions of poverty. Present central Government need to be sensitized the administration so that such programmmes can get a start to lead actives and inspiration which have already started in a single state or two. In short, the schemes or programmes for reducing poverty as considered the first and primary source exploitation should be introduced and updated time to time by the central Government. On one side children and teenagers are considered to be the power and strength of the near future. On the other side, this social evil of exploitation is increasing day by day and taking its magnitude form. The day will come when half population of the children and teenagers will be exploited in India and these situations will create a great obstacle in the development of the nation. Therefore everyone should admit this harsh reality which cannot be cast off from its root unless and until the government is awake and show seriousness. References Anand, Mulk. Untouchable. Pune: Mehta Publication, 2003. Print. Anand, Mulk. Coolie. Noida: N.p. Penguin Books India, 1993. Print. Kreis, Steven. â€Å"Lecture on Modern European Intellectual History Karl Marx 1818-188.† The History Guide. N.p. 30 Jan. 2008. Web. 11 Nov.2010. â€Å"Varna (Hinduism).† Wikipedia the Free Encyclopedia. N.p. n.d. Web. 12 Nov. 2010.

Water Prevention And Control Of Pollution Environmental Sciences Essay

Water Prevention And Control Of Pollution Environmental Sciences Essay The water law framework in our country is attributed by the coexistence of a number of different principles, rules and acts adopted over several decades extending from common law principles and irrigation acts from the colonial acts to the recent regulation of water quality and pollution. The basic underlying reasons for water law reforms are both physical and institutional. Over the past few decades water has gradually become sparse in many parts of the country. This can be attributed to increased pollution of finite water resources and also increased use of water by all categories of water users as a consequence of economic and population growth. The Water Act of 1974 was Indias first attempt towards dealing comprehensively with the environment related issues. Water is a subject in the State List under the Constitution. Consequently, the Water Act which is a central law came into being under Article 252(I) of the Constitution which empowers the Union Government to make laws in a field reserved for states. All the states have approved the implementation of Water Act 1974. In spite of this there is a lack of umbrella legislation at the national level because of which different state and central legal interventions do not coincide often. Water Prevention And Control Of Pollution Act, 1974 Salient Features The Water Act establishes a Central and State pollution control boards. The Central Board may advise the Central Govt. on water pollution issues, coordinate the activities of state pollution control boards and devise a comprehensive plan for the control and prevention of water pollution. In case of any conflicts between the Central and the State boards, central board prevails. This act is applicable to streams, inland waters, subterranean waters, and sea or tidal waters. Standards for the discharge of effluent or the quality of the used water being released into the water sources are to be prescribed by the state boards. Any person or any industry for that matter has to take the consent of the state board before proceeding towards establishing any industry, operation or process or any treatment or waste disposal system. The Act specifies other important functions of the state boards as follows: Devising a comprehensive programme for prevention, control and abatement of water pollution in respective states Encouraging, conducting, and participating in investigations and research of water pollution problems Inspecting facilities for sewage and developing economical and reliable methods of its treatment State board in its capacity may take emergency measures if it foresees accidents or events that might pollute the water bodies. These measures include activities like removing the pollutants, alleviating the damage and issuing orders to the polluter prohibiting effluent discharges. Under section 33A state boards can issue directions to any person, office or authority, including orders to close, prohibit or regulate any industry, operation or process and to stop or regulate the supply of water, electricity or any other service. Not complying with a court order under section 33 or a direction from the board under section 33A is punishable by fines and imprisonment as per section 41. In order to assist the Water Act, the Water Pollution Board constituted under the Pollution Act, has been empowered under the Cess Act to levy a cess/tax for meeting the financial requirements for its working. This cess is for the purposes and utilization under the Water Act. The Cess Act grants a rebate in the cess payable to those who install a plant for the treatment of sewage or effluents. This is one of the steps to encourage establishments to set up effluent treatment plants and process the effluents before releasing them. However it is to be noted that Cess Act cannot be deciphered individually and should be taken into consideration only in relation with the Water Act. While it is quite evident that water laws are the need of the hour but these water law reforms can only contribute to solving water management issues but fail to solve issues related to human rights, social, environmental and health aspects of water. Textile industry The textile industry in India mainly depends upon exports and manufacturing. Export income from textiles account for around 30% of Indias export revenues and 3% of Indias Gross domestic product. This industry has grown a lot over the past few years especially after the economic liberalization in 1991 where the country was opened to free trade under the auspices of Dr Manmohan Singh. The table below gives the major strength and weaknesses of the textile industry in the country Strengths Weaknesses Production Capacity Increased global competition Cheap Labor Dumping Efficient production facilities Huge Decentralized sector Large domestic markets High production costs Large Export Potential Poor Supply chain management Flexible manufacturing Systems Outdated technologies To grow at a rate of around 15% in the coming years the sector needs to keep in mind the following points which shall go a long way in ensuring that growth is maintained at healthy rate and is also sustainable. Threat of competition in Domestic Market Ecological and Social Awareness Ecological and social awareness are going to play a huge role in determining who is going to reap profits in a sustainable manner keeping in view the sensitivity of the stakeholders who are most of the times the losers when large scale development takes place. The industry is likely to face pressure from the media, the Government and the common people to follow international norms and regulations which shall prohibit it from using natural resources like Water which is a key ingredient in producing textiles. The way this industry uses water and how much it pollutes the various sources shall be determined by external factors. Developed markets have extremely high standards of consumer consciousness on issues such as polluting Dyes, Usage of Child Labor, Unhealthy working conditions of the mill workers etc. Standards like SA 8000 have now been started to get implemented in the industry at a large scale. This has also led to pressure on companies to limit sourcing from countries which violate the practices mandated under the norms of SA 8000. The Indian industry needs to improve its working practices and the fallout of the new international developments in this particular area. In such a scenario large players can take advantage of this and indulge in practices which promote sustainability. Proper water Use by textile mills and recycling and purifying water and then reusing it for industrial purposes can also serve the purpose in the long run. Textile Industry and water Pollution Textile Industry is one of the most polluting industries in the country and in terms of consumption of water it constitutes around 3.2% of total consumption of water for various processes like scouring, sizing, and bleaching, dying and other associated processes. It is one of the most growing sectors in the Indian economy in terms of its contribution to the total GDP of the country. Water pollution is done by each and every process in the whole manufacturing of textiles, The table below gives an exhaustive list of the various processes and the nature of effluents and pollutants which are released as a result of the above. Process Pollutants Nature of Effluents Desizing Starch, Glucose, Resins, Fats and Waxes High Biochemical oxygen demand Kiering Caustic Soda, Wax, Grease, Soda Ash, Sodium Sillicate Strongly Alkaline, High Biochemical oxygen Demand Bleaching Hypochlorite, Caustic soda, Hydrogen peroxide and acids Low biochemical oxygen demand and strongly alkaline Mercerization Caustic Soda Strongly alkaline, low biochemical oxygen demand Dyeing Reducing agents like sulphides, acetic acids and soaps Fairly high biochemical oxygen demand ,strongly colored Printing Dyes, starch, gums oil, china clay, mordants, acids and salts Faily high biochemical oxygen demand, Oily appearance Finishing Special finishes, starch, salts, tallow Low Biochemical oxygen demand, less alkaline The polluted water is very harmful for human beings living in and around the area where the pollution takes place as the turbidity of the water is very high and toxic elements present in the water which have a detrimental effect on humans and animals make such water unfit for consumption. The stakeholders which reside alongside areas which are affected by this menace face severe health hazards and face decrease and productivity and life span as a result of the above. Effects on Aquatic Life and Other living creatures High PH levels in water makes it alkaline, alkaline water is not fit for aquatic creatures like fishes and it also causes incrustation in sewers and may also damage crops by hampering their natural growth rate. Spoiling the natural color of water hampers the passage of sunlight and thus prevents photosynthesis in the aquatic plants and other marine life existing inside water. The effluents and oils present in the pollutants which are passed into water increase the turbidity of water and gives it a bad appearance and foul smell. Oily scum interferes with the oxygen transfer and colloidal matter clog the pores of soil. High levels of dissolved solids are detrimental to sewers as it causes incrustation in sewers. High level of sodium is also harmful to crops. Dissolved oxygen in water is an essential element in marine life and therefore the amount of oxygen required to correct the effluent is expressed in the form of biochemical oxygen demand or BOD. Steps to curb Water Pollution To curb pollution due to these textile mills in the areas around them the following measures can be taken in order to increase measures leading to long term sustainability as a corporate strategy which is wholly aligned to the business goals of being profitable in the long run and acquire market share in the future. Reduction in waste water volume: The water used in processing of textiles is reduced to a considerable extent such that the effluent concentration is limited to a specified small volume of water and it does not start impacting larger volume of water. Counter flow processing Water re-use technique which uses the same water before discharging it into the water body so that effluent concentration is limited to a small volume and more water is saved in the process. Reduction of process chemicals: The process chemicals create more than 90% of the pollution in textile industries. This also brings down the production cost in terms of the chemicals used. It can be achieved through reusing various chemicals when processes are completed. For Example: Caustic soda is recovered from the mercerizing and sourcing and is consequently filtered and dialyzed so that it can be reused. Process modification would involve slight modifications in the various processes used during manufacturing in order to create lesser pollution and reduces unnecessary wastage of water. Certain alternate chemicals can also be used during manufacturing so that recovering those chemicals become easy and it thus can be used in further manufacturing processes. Pre-Release Stage Water Treatment Before water is released into the nearest water body it is essential that it is treated properly in order to ensure that there is significant reduction in the level of pollutants in water before it gets released into the water body. The following steps are necessary in order to ensure proper water condition before release into the nearest river or stream or lake. Primary Treatment: It involves concepts of removal of suspended solids by sedimentation, floatation or coagulation techniques using alum and electrolyte. Secondary Treatment: This involves oxidation of organic matter by aeration either by chemical of biological methods or by both. This is done in presence of micro organisms in presence of chemicals such as Urea. Pollutants resistant to biodegradation such as detergents and petrochemicals are removed by non biological means and are again treated with bleaching powder before releasing them into the water body. Tertiary Treatments: Tertiary treatment contains of three main methods like Chemical Coagulation which involves a mixing tank with the effluent and the coagulant mixed and its PH adjusted to an optimum level. The resultant coagulated material is separated by sedimentation or flocculation. Carbon absorption Technique which is effective in removing pigments and dyes using carbon which is activated and has large surface area. Reverse osmosis where cellulose acetate is used to create a semi permeable membrane and subjected to pressure which is usually greater than the osmotic pressure of the effluent. This process can remove 95% of the dissolved solid content as the solution passes from area of higher concentration to lower concentration. Now to discuss the applicability of these methods to curb water pollution in Textile industry and also to do the cost benefit analysis of the same we shall discuss a relevant case of Tiruppur Textile Industry. Case discussion: Tiruppur Textile Industry Background South Asia lately has become the hub of Industrialisation and the unchecked growth is leading to severe environmental problems. Industries have sprung up as clusters which is why the issue of environmental pollution becomes even more relevant in highly water polluting industries like textile dyeing, leather tanning, paper and pulp processing, sugar manufacturing, etc. The runoff released by these industries leads to contamination of surface and ground water sources and eventually impacts the livelihood of the poor. In a usual scenario, the above mentioned industrial units function at a small or medium scale, are a huge employment opportunity for the locals and have the potential to generate foreign exchange because all these industries are export oriented and more than half of their produce is shipped abroad. Given the vast coverage of these industries, the pollution control mechanisms have been awfully weak in these units. The pollution control authorities have been lenient in imple menting the law and ensuring prevention of water pollution caused due to these industries mainly considering the socio economic benefits that they provide and also the low financial capacity of the small scale units. It is a huge capital investment for the relatively smaller industrial units to set up effluent treatment plants and the return on investment is very low. Since they provide employment, therefore these agencies have not tightened the noose on them. This stance of the Pollution Control Boards further discouraged the polluting industries to formulate and implement pollution management and reduction strategies either by efficient effluent treatment or process changes by adopting newer and cleaner technologies. In this report we have attempted to analyse the environmental impact of the production process followed in a textile unit with reference to Tiruppur, a major textile cluster in South India. A cost benefit analysis of the implementation of cleaner production processes and setting up of treatment plants has also been done to depict the return on investment for these textile units. Textile Industry And Its Benefits Tiruppur, located in Tamil Nadu, is a leading cotton knitwear industrial hub in South India. The industrial activities have experienced a rapid growth during the last two decades due to decentralization and flexibility. At this point of time more than 9000 small-scale textile related units are operating with a volume of investment more than US $ 200 million. The city of Tiruppur contributes 56% of the total cotton knitwear exports from India. The industry provides socio-economic benefits to the local community and to the nation in the form of employment, income, and foreign exchange. More than 2 lakh people are directly employed by this industry. The export value from Tiruppur during the year 2002 was about US $ 957.5 million. An equal amount is sold in the domestic market. The economic opulence of Tiruppur on this industry and the local community is employed either directly or indirectly in this industry in one way or the other. Textile Process And Pollution The textile manufacturing process on the whole is a polluting activity with the major contributors being the bleaching and dyeing (textile processing).During 1981, in Tiruppur , only around 70 textile units were operating. This number drastically rose to 450 ten years later and further to 866 in 1997. With due credit to efforts of the Tamil Nadu Pollution Control Board (TNPCB) against the release of untreated effluents some units had to be shut down because of non-conformity to the pollution prevention standards in the state. In 2004 there were a total of 702 textile processing units functioning in Tiruppur. These units together used around 85 million litres per day (mld) of water and discharged a similar quantity (83 mld) as effluents, which are laced with a significant volume of chemicals used at the wet processing stage. The point worth noting here is that the amount of water used as input is almost same as the amount of water that is released in the water bodies which actually me ans that if there is a possibility to treat the effluents, the resultant residual water can be used as a recycled input and thus costs can be decreased. These units collectively produced a quantity of 15,000 tonnes of cloth per month. The incessant release of untreated effluents for more than 10 years has resulted in accumulation of harmful suspended and dissolved solids in the soil, ground water, etc. at Tiruppur and surroundings. During 1980 to 2000, the cumulative pollution load discharged by the Tiruppur units is as follows: Total Dissolved Solids(TDS) : 2.35 million tonnes Chloride: 1.31mt Sulphate: 0.13 mt Total Suspended Solids: 0.098 mt Chemical Oxygen Demand: 0.09mt Biological Oxygen Demand: 0.03 mt Oil and Grease: 0.001mt Impact of Textile Effluents On The Environment From the research conducted on water pollution in Tiruppur area, it is clearly evident that the accumulation of chemicals had added to the woes. All ground water studies showed that open wells and bore wells in and around Tiruppur exhibited high levels of TDS (ranging from 3000mg/l to 11,000 mg/l) and Chloride (ranging from 2000 mg/l to 5000 mg/l) due to industrial pollution and these values were much higher than the background level for this region. The available groundwater in this region was rendered unsuitable for domestic, industrial or irrigation consumption. The surface water studies indicated that the Noyyal river (the river passes through Tiruppur and receives the major share of untreated effluents), reservoir, downstream of Noyyam, (Orthapalayam) and irrigation tanks have been adversely affected by industrial pollution and the surface water is unfit for consumption purposes. A study to measure the quality of soil also indicated the pollution concentration and most of the ar ea the soil is alkaline (pH >8.5) or tending to alkalinity (pH 8-8.5). The Damage Cost Imposed By Pollution Due to high water pollution many adverse effects in the ecology of the Tiruppur area are observed. Agricultural water, drinking water and various fisheries in Tiruppur area and downstream villages have been affected. The water which has been polluted by the textile industry is injurious (EC>3mmhos/cm) to agriculture in an area of 146.3 square km and critical (EC 1.1 to 3 mmhos/cm) in 218.3 square km. Because of this, crop productivity in these villages has declined substantially which has affected the welfare of farmers. Recently farmers took action and filed a case against the industry. The total cost to agriculture was estimated at US $50 million. Drinking water in these villages has also been affected and the municipality has to bring additional water from neighboring villages. In affected villages, special water supply schemes have been issued by the Water Board. Also, a lot of the short fall is being met by bringing water from distant sources of water which leads to the wastage of a lot of time and effort. Considerin all of this, the total damage cost due to pollution of drinking water comes down to US$23.8 million. The fisheries activities in various downstream regions like the Noyyalriver, tanks and reservoirs have been affected as well. Fish mortality rate has increased which has led to a stoppage of fish culture. US $.15 miilion comes out to be the loss in value of fish and besides that, the possibility of the toxicity of existing fish is also high, consumption of which can lead to serious health problems. This high level of pollution has had an adverse effect on the operations of the industry itself. Since most of the industrial wells in this area have only coloured, or very highly polluted water, major water supply is brought in through tankers from peripheral areas. The cost incurred by the industry to maintain this additional source of water supply is US $165 million. Besdies this, the continued buying of water leads to the development of a water market, which causes the water levels in the peripheral villages to go down, affecting the livelihood of villagers. On many occasions, protests have been done by villagers against the water transfer. A mega water supply project is being undertaken by the Tiruppur Area Development Corporation. The total cost of this project is estimated to be US $269 millions and will have to be financed by government agencies and the consortium. Under this scheme, it has been planned that 185 mld of water, which would be both industrial and domestic, would be transferred to Tiruppur from River Cauvery, which is an interstate and a very controversial river in India. If this project would succeed, the industry will need to pay more than what they are currently paying for water, which could result in a huge cost increase for textile processing. Besides these quantifiable terms, human health and aquatic eco-system of river, tanks and reservoir, livestock etc. also get affected by water pollution, but their cost has not been taken into account as it is not easy to express in monetary terms. Status of Effluent Treatment On seeing various adverse effects and hence assessing the seriousness of pollution from textile affluents, the Courts finally gave an order against the continued functioning of various polluting units without being accompanied by effluent treatment plants in 1997. After this order, the state pollution control agency has increased the amount of pressure on all the textile manufacturing units towards effluent treatment. The units which were too small to comply with these regulations and survive were closed. Presently out of the existing 702 units, 278 units are treating upto 38 mld of water effluents through Common Effluent Treatment Plants (CEPTs) which are 8 in number and 424 units are treating upto 45 mldof chemical effluents using Individual Effluent Treatment Plants (IETPs). For effective effluent treatment, US $ 10 million has been spent for various fixed costs, which the Government subsidizes heavily. Besides these, an additional US $ 6.7 million has already been incurred as ann ual running costs. The cost analysis has shown that the variable cost per unit of effluent treatment is much higher than the capital cost both in the IETPs (which is 86% of total cost) and CETPs (which is 73%). Unfortunately the current treatment system is not sufficient for reducing the large amounts of TDS, particularly the acids like Chloride and Sulphates. The average concentration of TDS in the treated effluents is 300 of the TNPCB standard of 2100 mg/l. The same is true of Chloride, which averages more than 300% of the CETP existent standard. Learnings from the case Thus we can see that the management of environment at the Tiruppur textile industry has been difficult and the various difficulties faced by the various actors (State Pollution Control Board, Water Resources Organisations, Local Government , Industrial Organisations, NGOs etc.) or interested parties in this regard or in finding a solution for this problem. If these difficulties had been effectively dealt with, the environmental impacts could not have continued at this level. The above analysis on various RO plants and CPT for the textile units has clearly shown the long run advantage to the industries apart from reducing the various social costs. These technologies can be implemented by all large-scale units who possess the capacity for investment and have long-term vision about the business. But the affordability of affluent treatments among existing large number of small and medium units remains a big challenge. The textile manufacturing industry is predominantly an export oriented business which faces high competition. So any investment done on RO or CPT here impacts the cost of production by increasing it in the short run which is especially true for the smaller units. Also being able to find such big investment, which is approximately more than 10-20 times the overall capital investment, is almost impossible. But the introduction of a much cleaner production for textiles and the availability of advanced treatment technology is the viable long term solution towards further improvement of environmental standards. Realizing the same facts, (i.e. the existing economic benefits of the Tiruppur industry, social costs of pollution, various constraints in effective management of pollution among small scale units, and the need for a having a critical solution for the pollution problem), an integrated process of pollution management can be attempted at by different actors who are related to Tiruppur textile business. In such circumstances the role of various foreign buyers and the consumers of Tiruppur garments are greatly significant. If a very strong demand for garments which are pollution free or come with a green label is observed from them along with a willingness to pay more, definitely it would provide pressure to introduce cleaner technology by the various industries operating in this domain. A few very small units will have no other option but to close down, since making such an investment may not be viable for them. Other units however can think of various steps like unit modification individually or even have joint units. Most critical are proper technical guidelines for these units and financial support is needed for the units from various domestic and foreign research institutions and other donor agencies. In parallel, sincere collaborative efforts from joint industrial associations, pollution law enforcement agencies, industrial consultants and experts, etc. are also required. Only than the textile industry in Tiruppur would be a ble to achieve the ideal objective of sustainable development. Recommended Strategy for companies in textile industry The companies in Textile industries can be divided into two: Major players with financial strength to invest in greener technologies and small player which need assistance even to maintain regulatory standards. Hence the strategy will also differ based on the type of company. Strategy for small players A broad categorization has been done based on the revenue. Below Rs. 10 million the company can be said a small company. It is imperative for a small company to follow regulatory standards at least. While government is finding difficult to close all such factory due to labor intensive nature of such industry it is always a long term risk hence the standards should always be maintained. Hence their strategy is to achieve the minimum standards by increasing the cost as less as possible. The immediate high investment in green technology may throw them out of market. Following strategy must be followed by the company. To have least impact on increment in costs the company might seek financial assistance from government subsidy or jointly making investments. To get knowledge assistance it could collaborate with various stakeholders. Strategy for big players: A major player could afford a significant investment for the long term overall benefit. The strategy should be to gain competitive advantage by achieving Cleaner process technology and establishing efficient effluent treatment plants. These will have high investments in short term but will give major cost advantage and high value of intangibles, other important aspect is to have a differentiation based on greener features. This way a high premium could be charged against the product and much higher overall profitability could be achieved.