PESTEL Viet Nam Analysis Essay

A. Introduction of Viet Nam Vietnam is approximately 331688 km2 in area and occupied the eastern coast of the Southeast Asian peninsula. The northern part of the country part consists mostly of highlands and the Red River Delta. The south is divided into coastal lowlands and extensive forests. Because of differences in latitude and the marked variety of topographical relief, the climate tends to vary considerably from place to place. During the winter or dry season (November to April), the monsoon wind blowing from the northwest brings considerably moisture. Consequently the winter season in most parts of the country is dry. Major Vietnamese cities include Hanoi in the north, Da Nang in the mid coastal region, and Ho Chi Minh City (formally known as Saigon) to the south. Vietnam has considerable energy resources such as oil, gas and coal and its 41,000 km long waterways provide the basis for hydropower. The country is rich in minerals such as bauxite, iron ore, lead, gold, precious stones, tin, chromate, anthra cite, granite, marble, clay, white sand and graphite. In addition, Vietnam has a considerable fresh and saltwater fauna, dense tropical forestry resources and it possesses great agricultural potential. The history of Vietnam, reference to the Geneva Accord signed in 1954. The accord ended French colonial rule, and the country was partitioned into the Democratic Republic of Vietnam, led by Ho Chi Minh and the Republic of Vietnam in the South. The capitals were Hanoi for the North and Saigon for the South. Fights led by Ho Chi Minh to unite the country started in 1959 and lasted until 1975. Hanoi became the capital of the country whilst Saigon was renamed Ho Chi Minh City. Following reunification, the Vietnamese government’s initial plan was to manage the economy via methods of central planning. Based on experiences gained during the 1976-1980 five years plan, subsequent central plans introduced more relaxed policies with respect to agricultural collectives, State Owned Enterprises and allowed more scope for private initiatives. These measures were instrumental in elevating poverty.  Growth rates during the early 80’s were higher than during the 1976-1980 five year pl an, however it became evident that further policy shift were necessary to enable the Vietnam economy to perform closer to its potential. Economic reform was the key point of discussion at the Sixth National Party Congress held in December 1986. The process then initiated of moving from a centrally planned economy to an open, socialist-oriented and multi-sector market economy known as Doi Moi (renovation). In 1992, the National Assembly revised the post-unification constitution to better reflect the aspirations articulated in the Doi Moi process. Economic performance since 1986 has justified the policy of relaxation of central control, the challenge faced by Vietnam has been the maintenance of rapid economic growth and integration into the global economy. B. â€Å"P.E.S.T.L.E† REPORT ON VIET NAM 1. Politics The Socialist Republic of Vietnam is a single-party state. Its current state constitution, which replaced the 1975 constitution in April 1992, asserts the central role of the Communist Party of Vietnam in all organs of government, politics and society. In 2011, Viet Nam held the 11th Congress of Vietnam Communist Party, in which happened the Election of the Party Central Committee for the new term. Mr. Nguyen Phu Trong was elected to be the General Secretary. After the Congress, there happened the fist Congress of the Parliament, term 13th, in which Mr. Nguyen Sinh Hung was elected to be the President of the Parliament, Mr. Truong Tan Sang the President of the Country, and Mr. Nguyen Tan Dung was elected to continue the position of Prime Minister. This Congress also issued 4 degrees: first, approving the State Budget, second, agreeing on the program of building laws and ordinances in2012, third, beginning the study of the amendments and supplements of the 1992 Constitution and establ ishing the revised draft of the 1992 Constitution, and finally, the degree on the issuance of certain additional tax measures to remove difficulties for enterprises and individuals, contributing to economic development in 2011. In 2011, the disputes over the East Sea was the main cause of some changes in relations between Vietnam and some important countries in the world, especially the  Vietnam – China and Viet Nam – U.S. Tension in the East Sea has escalated due to China’s provocative acts in May, 2011. Then happened many anti-Chinese protests in Ha Noi and Ho Chi Minh city. In this context, the relation between Viet Nam and the U.S was proclaimed to be elevated to strategic partnership.4 And late 2011, the tensions in the Vietnam-China relations down to the visit by the senior officials of the two countries. In terms of politically domestic policy, the government kept a political stability, and showed some positive signs. For example, the freedom of the press seemed to be extended. In addition, the government was also more aware of its limitations and of the policy mistakes. Concretely, at the Fourth Conference of the Party Central Committee (XI), Mr. Nguyen Phu Trong said: ―Besides the achievements, the Party building work still has many limitations and shortcomings, weaknesses, even spanning multiple defects; these limitations would reduce people’s trust in the Party; if not corrected, they will be the challenge for leadership of the Party and the survival of the regime. 2. Economy The year of 2011 was important for the economy of Viet Nam because this is the first year in the latest Socio-Economic Development Strategy (2011-2020), with the goal of becoming an industrialized and modern economy by 2020. This strategy goes on to identify the country’s key priorities to meet this ambitious target: stabilize the economy, build world-class infrastructure, create a skilled labor force, and strengthen market-based institutions. According to Vietnam Development Report (VDR) 2012, meeting these aspirations will not be easy. In fact, the country has experienced bouts of macroeconomic turbulence in recent years—double-digit inflation, depreciating currency, capital flight, and loss of international reserves—eroding investor confidence. Besides, rapid growth has revealed new structural problems. The quality and sustainability of growth remain a source of concern, given the resource-intensive pattern of growth, high levels of environmental degradation, lack of diversification and value addition in exports, and the declining contribution of productivity to growth. Vietnam’s competitiveness is under threat because the power  generation has not kept pace with demand, logistical costs and real estate prices have climbed, and skill shortages are becoming more widespread. And these difficulties strongly existed in 2011. Concretely, the inflation in 2011 was 18.13%; the growth of GDP has slowed (5,89%). Domestic and international gold price gap increased. The Corruption index 2011 from Transparency International ranked Viet Nam at the position 112. This shows that Viet Nam has been faced one of the most difficult challenges of economic development. In terms of financial, according to the document of World Bank, in 2011, foreign direct investment inflows (to Viet Nam) continued at a steady pace, although new commitments declined. International reserves increased in the first half of the year while the Vietnamese dong benefitted from a period of relative calm. In the last quarter of the year, however, exchange rate fluctuations increased due to volatility in gold prices, deepening uncertainties and the seasonal increase in demand for foreign currency as the year end approaches. With approximate 9 billion U.S. dollars, the amount of money coming from overseas Vietnamese was one of the biggest sources of foreign currency in 2011. This amount is equivalent to the amount of FDI. Hong Kong, Singapore, and Japanese are the countries that contributed the biggest investment to Viet Nam in 2011. Hai Duong, Ho Chi Minh city, and Ha Noi are three places that has been most invested in recent time. The sectors that most attract the attention of foreign investors are processing industry, electricity supply, and accommodation and dining service. However, according to the analysis of a chief economist, Dr. Allan Pham, though facing the difficulties as mentioned above, the economy is coming to a better prospect in 2012, especially with a certain success in the fight against inflation of the country (the inflation has been trending down since the 4th quarter of 2011). Following is the figure of the selected macro indicators of the economy in recent years: Key Indicators 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 GDP growth (%) 8.5 6.2 5.3 6.78 5.8 6.0 CPI (%) 12.6 23 6.52 11.75 18.0 12-14 Trade deficit (USD) 12.5 17.8 12.2 12.4 12.1 13.3 Exports (USD) 48.4 62.5 56.6 71.6 80.2 86.5 Imports (USD) 60.8 80.3 68.8 84.0 92.4 99.8 FDI commitments (USD) 21.3 66.5 21.5 18.6 15.0 18.0 FDI disbursement (USD) 8.0 11.5 10.0 11.0 12.0 12.5 Credit growth (%) 54 21 37.7 27.6 15 18 SBV Base rate 8.2 8.5 8.0 9.0 9.0 9.0 Deposit rate (%) 7.0-8.0 7.0-8.5 9.5-10.5 10.0- 11.0 14 12.0 Lending rate (%) 10.0-12.0 10-12.5 10.5-12 13.0-13.5 18-20 14-16 USD/VND (bank rate) 16,016 17,468 18,600 19,500 21,500 22,500 Foreign Affairs At present, Vietnam has established diplomatic relations with 168 countries, and it has economic and trading relations with about 165 countries. Vietnam joined the United Nations in 1977. Vietnam became an official member of the Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) in 1995, and has concluded a cooperation agreement with the European Community. Relationships with multi-national financial institutions such as the World Bank (WB), the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the Asian Development Bank (ADB) have been re-established. Viet Nam has been participating in the ASEAN Free Trade Area (â€Å"AFTA†) since 1996 and became a member of the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation Forum (APEC) in 1998. Vietnam became an official member of the World Trade Organization (WTO) on 11 January 2007. In January 2008, the country started a two year term as an elected non-permanent member of the UN Security Council. Vietnam signed the bilateral trade agreement (BTA) with the United Sta tes in 2000. Besides aspects of international trade, the BTA covers a variety of other areas, including intellectual property rights, trade in services, development of investment relations, business  facilitation and the obligation to ensure transparency of laws and regulations. The BTA essentially constitutes a commitment by both countries to open their markets to each other. Intellectual Property In recent years, the Government has taken various measures to increase the legal protection of intellectual property and has created an environment of respect for intellectual property as compared to other neighboring countries. Intellectual property rights are protected by the Civil Code (1995 and 2005), the Law on Intellectual Property (2005) and a host of subordinate legislation. Vietnam is a long-time signatory to the Paris Convention, the Madrid Agreement on International Trademark Registration, and the Patent Cooperation Treaty (â€Å"PCT†) and became a member of the World Intellectual Property Organization in 1976. On 27 June 1997, Vietnam entered into an Agreement on copyrights with the US. According to the Viet Nam-US Bilateral Trade Agreement, Vietnam is under the obligation to adhere to the Berne Convention. The National Office of Intellectual Property (â€Å"NOIP†) is the authority responsible for the registration of industrial property and for the resolutio n of disputes with regard to industrial property in the first instance. Foreign organizations and individuals seeking to register their industrial ownership should file their applications through an authorized agent, who will transfer their application to the NOIP. The Office of Copyright Protection under the Ministry of Culture, Sport and Tourism has also been established and is responsible for the protection of copyright. Works may be registered with the Office of Copyright Protection; however, registration is not a prerequisite for copyright protection. Currently, patents are protected for a period of 20 years. A certificate of utility solutions may be granted for 10 years. A certificate of industrial design is granted for 5 years and may be renewed every 5 years. However, the total effective period of a certificate cannot exceed 15 years. Certificates of trademarks are granted for 10 years with no restrictions on the number of renewals. Investment Guarantees The Government of Vietnam guarantees fair treatment for investors. Capital and other legal assets of investors will not be expropriated or confiscated by law or administrative measures and businesses with foreign-invested  capital will not be nationalized. Foreign investors are allowed to remit abroad investment capital and profits, loan principal and interest, and other legal proceeds and assets. Expatriates working for businesses with foreign-invested capital or for a business cooperation contract are permitted to remit their income abroad. The Vietnam government respects intellectual and industrial property rights and the interests of foreign investors relating to technology transfers into Vietnam. Economic Risks Global Finance Crisis is the hottest issues that people discuss most in this few years. The global financial crisis that started from the United States raises a very broad impact to Vietnam. Inflation Inflation has been in double digits since 2007 and peaking at 28% in August 2008. The fiscal deficit accounted for 4.5-5% GDP in 2008 while trade deficit reached US$17.5 billion (or over 20% of GDP), a level that signals vulnerability to a sudden drop in external demand (Figure 2). A high rate of investment combined with a sizeable fiscal deficit resulted in rapid growth in aggregate demand in the first half of 2008. Massive capital inflows generated asset price inflation, especially in real estate and land prices. Export Decline Vietnamese exports have suffered the strongest negative impact. With economic problems in the US, EU and Japan, which together account for more than 60% of Vietnamese exports, Vietnam saw a significant decline in export revenues. Vietnam’s export revenues fell 6.5% in November 2008 and a further 24% drop in January 2009 (year-on-year) (Figure 3). Orders for manufactured exports including garments, footwear and furniture dropped quickly, while seafood5 producers are also under pressure. The decline of orders has caused great difficulties for exporting companies, many of them are at risk of closing down.6 Vietnamese exports’ growth is forecasted to decline from 30% in 2008 to 13% in 2009. Unemployment Unemployment has worsened. At February 28, 2009, 66,700 workers (out of 45 million workers) lost their jobs in 2008 with national unemployment rate of 4.65%. Thus, it is estimated that over 80,000 workers lost their jobs  nationwide in 2008. The latest forecast of Vietnam Labor and Employment Agency estimates the figure to hit 400,000 nationwide in 2009. Job cuts are rising especially in big cities11 with industrial, processing and exporting zones. The situation may worsen in 2009 with an unemployment rate of 5% and at a projected economic growth of 6.5%. High unemployment has already affected domestic demand and consumers’ sentiment in Vietnam, which are bearish in recent months. 3. Socio-Culture 3.1 Education Viet Nam’s population enjoys a relatively high standard of education. In fact, Confucian ethics has strongly influenced upon Vietnamese’s viewpoint of social values, and education has always been considered as one of the best values that a person should desire to achieve. Nowadays, education has been still considered as one of the most important issues that the country has to pay great attention. Recently, at the 11th Party Congress, the government is determined to develop a national education policy as one of the priorities of the country. As a result, the country has gained big success in education. Concretely, according to the 2009 Census results, there are only nearly four million people who have never attended school (5.0% of the total population aged 5 years and over) and as compared with the 1999 Census this number has decreased 5% (6.9 million people, account for 10.0% of population aged 5 and over). This shows the significant progress of Vietnam’s educat ion sector in minimizing the number of people who never go to school. The official figures also point out that the literacy rate for the population aged 15 years and over increased by 3.7% (from 90.3% in 1999 to 94.0% in 2009). The female literacy rate increased 4.9%, while the male literacy rate increased 2.2%, significantly narrowing the literacy rate gap between men and women. Ha Noi, Hai Phong and Ho Chi Minh City are three provinces having the highest literacy rate (97.9%) while Lai Chau has the lowest (59.4%). This data shows that the literacy rate was not only increased quite rapidly but also express successes of Vietnam’s gender equality work in the education sector.13 Certainly, besides such successes, Vietnamese education system also has faced many challenges,  including poor infrastructure, lack of equipment and teaching materials, low wages precipitating an acute shortage of skilled teachers and academic staff, a relatively poor linkage of higher education with research, production and employment, and some contradictions of the system. As the analysis of RFA, the situation of education in Viet Nam in 2011 had some notable points as following: There were three positive points of the education in Vietnam in 2011. The first point is the plan of â€Å"reducing the load of textbooks† from primary to secondary school of the Ministry of Education and Training. The second is the plan of achieving universal preschool education for children of 5 years old. In this plan, the Ministry of Education will build public kindergartens for children at age 5 in the mountainous areas; and the poor students will be exempt from tuition fees, with the plan of over 95% of children enroll in 2 sessions / day by 2015. And the third is the policy of training and vocational training in poor areas such as the Highlands. On the contrary, there were also many crucially negative points of the education in 2011. First of all, there was the imbalance in enrollment in universities and colleges between students with practical needs. The sectors of social sciences, agriculture, forestry and fishery were registered by only 2.5% of exam registration reco rds (while Vietnam has up to 70% of the population are farmers). And the sectors in demand such as business, tourism †¦ had to be encountered the difference between training and recruitment practices; and this leads to the fact that graduates get difficulty to find job. Secondly, teacher’s salary does not meet their living when inflation is high; and this leads to some problems: the teachers could not focus on their business as they had to find extra jobs, or to open extra classes. Thirdly, there has existed the problem of the degradation in social ethics of many students, due to lack of paying attention on humanity teaching, which can be proved by many cases of students committed violent guilty or crime. 3.2 Human Resource The national average population in 2011 estimated 87.84 million, up by 1.04% compared to 2010, including male population 43.47 million, (49.5%), and female population 44.37 million, (50.5%). Urban population is 26.88 million,  (30.6%); rural population is 60.96 million (69.4 %). According to the official report, the population structure by age in Vietnam is in a positive change. The population in the working age is 46,48 million, increased 0,12% compared to 2010. The proportion of workers in the agriculture, forestry and fisheries declined from 48.7% in 2010 to 48.0% in 2011; in industry and construction rose from 21.7% to 22.4%; and in the services maintained at 29.6%. The unemployment rate in the working age was 2.27% in 2011, of which the urban areas account for 3.6%, the rural areas 1.71%. This is the period of the country with advantages in labor force, also known as the â€Å"demographic window period†, which began in 2003 and may last from 30 to 50 years. This is cons idered as a big advantage for the industrialization and modernization of the country, if it takes advantage of the superiority Vietnamese on the labor force. 3.3 Traffic: Conditions And Problems Highway system The road system consists of over 200,000 km network including over 10,000 bridges. However road conditions are not ideal, less than half of the national highways have two lanes or more. In addition, road congestion is increasing in major cities. In recent years, the Government has mobilized a significantly large amount of capital to upgrade the highway system with financial support from international lending agencies. Railway The rail network consists of about 2,600 km of single–track line covering several routes. There are about 260 stations in the network. The longest and most important route is the Hanoi – Ho Chi Minh City line, which stretches for 1,730 km. This line is now serviced by an express train, which makes the journey in approximately 29.5 hours. The lines connecting Vietnam to China were re-opened a few years ago. Inland Waterways Often overlooked by foreign investors, the inland waterway system offers a cheap and flexible mode of transport. Vietnam has more than 2,300 rivers and canals with total length of 198.000 km. Currently, the inland waterway has a system of over 61,000 km. The two major inland waterway systems serve as major transportation outlets. The first major inland waterway system is in  the Red River area in the north which stretches for approximately 2,500 km. Along this system there are five main ports, of which Hanoi is the largest. The second major inland waterway extends 4,500 km along the Mekong River and its tributaries in the South and boasts about 30 ports, including Ho Chi Minh City. The larger river vessels are tug-drawn barges. Official estimates put the fleet capacity at about 420,000 tons with speeds ranging from 2 to over 20 km an hour. Smaller, wooden barges are mostly privately owned. Ports Vietnam has eleven major seaports. Ho Chi Minh City serves most of the South and now boasts modern container loading facilities. Just a few hours’ drive from Hanoi, Hai Phong serves much of the North. Given the rapid rise in trade volume, increasing port capacity is a national priority. Airports and Civil Aviation There are three international airports: Ho Chi Minh City, Hanoi and Da Nang. Currently, the Government has significantly upgraded international airports to handle the increase in the volume of traffic associated with Vietnam’s invigorated economy. A new international terminal of the Tan Son Nhat airport in Ho Chi Minh City, capable of handling up to 10 million passengers a year was opened in December 2007. Noi Bai airport in Hanoi was upgraded, enlarged and completed for operation in 2002, construction of a second terminal is expected to start in October 2008 and completed in two years. Four new international airports are planned to be constructed in Phu Quoc, Dong Nai, Lao Cai and Quang Ninh provinces. Preparations for the new Long Thanh International Airport, 40 kilometers from Ho Chi Minh City in Dong Nai province is underway. The airport is scheduled to open in 2010 and by 2015 it will be further expanded to reach an annual transportation capacity of 80 to 100 million pass engers, becoming one of the biggest airports in the region. In addition, there are 16 other domestic airports around the country. Culture and Social Vietnam is a country located in Southeast Asia, Vietnam is a culturally rich country whose distinct history played a role in the development of the modern day state. Vietnamese practices of Confucianism and showing reverence towards ancestors are evidence of China’s historical influence on Vietnamese  society. Vietnam became an independent state in the tenth century but was colonized by the French in the mid 1800s. Vietnam gained independence in the mid twentieth century but still retains traces of French culture which are visible in the way people communicate verbally and nonverbally. Though Vietnam has struggled over the past century through colonial rule, the Vietnam War and recent economic upheavals, it is now rebuilding itself to be able to compete on a global scale. Having a comprehensive understanding of Vietnam’s unique cultural values and traditions can allow the company to develop strong and successful business relationships with Vietnamese counterparts. Language Vietnamese is the official language, although there are distinct northern, central and southern dialects and accents. It is a tonal language, with each syllable; there are six different tones that can be used, which change the definition and it often makes it difficult for foreigners to pick up the language. There are other languages spoken as well such as Chinese, Khmer, Cham and other languages spoken by tribes inhabiting the mountainous regions. Although there are some similarities to Southeast Asian languages, such as Chinese, Vietnamese is thought to be a separate language group, although a member of the Austro-Asiatic language family. In written form, Vietnamese uses the Roman alphabet and accent marks to show tones. This system of writing called â€Å"quoc ngu†, was created by Catholic missionaries in the 17th century to translate the scriptures. Eventually this system, particularly after World War I, replaced one using Chinese characters (chu nom), which had been the u nofficial written form used for centuries. Non-verbal communication For certain feelings, Vietnamese people favor non-verbal communication. Vietnamese do not express feeling of thankfulness of apology in verbal communication, but non-verbal through silence or a smile. The proper respectful behavior is to avoid eye contact when talking to person who is not equal status or of the same gender. The smile is another non-verbal symbol conveying the feeling of respect in Vietnamese culture. It is used as an expression of apology, or as expression of embarrassment. For the Vietnamese a smile is a proper response in most situation in which verbal expression is not necessary, or appropriate. Confucianism The teachings of Confucius influence the Vietnamese describe the position of the individual in Vietnamese society. Confucian teachings emphasize the importance of relationships, responsibility and obligation. This philosophy is still a vital component of Vietnamese society and is prevalent in Vietnamese business culture in conserving the harmony of the collective good. The basic tenets are based upon five different relationships: Ruler and subject Husband and wife Parents and children Brothers and sisters Friends Hierarchy As like other group-oriented societies, Vietnam hierarchical structures are very much based upon age and status. This derives from Confucianism, which emphasizes social order. Everyone is seen as having a distinct place and role within the hierarchical structure, be it the family or workplace. An obvious example is seen in social situations where the oldest person in a group is greeted or served first. Within the family the head would be responsible for making decisions and approving marriages. Therefore companies that want to invest in Vietnam are made sense to give more authority to local managers to control the subordinates. The organization structure can be designed as hierarchical, with power derived from prestige, force, and inheritance. Collectivism Vietnam is a collectivist society in which the needs of the group are often placed over the individual. Family and community concerns will almost always come before business or individual needs. Family in particular plays an important role in Vietnamese society. You will notice that close ties between extended families and communities can have a major influence on individual behavior and oftentimes there are multiple generations living under one roof. For this reason, the company of the investor can pay more attention to their employees’ family members for example provide free medical treatment, childcare leave, family trips, etc. This can increase the employees’ loyalty to the company. Besides, in order to increase efficiency of Vietnamese employees, the company should assign tasks to them by group rather than individual. Religion Religion in Vietnam is closely related to the history of Vietnam and most importantly the culture of Vietnam. The earliest established religions in Vietnam were Mahayana Buddhism, Confucianism and Daoism (called the ‘triple religion’). These religions have been co-existing in the country for centuries and mixed well with the Vietnamese tradition of ancestor worship. This special mix explains why the Vietnamese people find it hard to say exactly which religion the belong to. They usually classify themselves as non-religious, despite visiting religious temples several times every year. At the year 2006, the major religious affiliations amongst Vietnam born people were Buddhism (58.6%), Catholics (22.1%), other (4.6%), and no religion (11.03%). From the data, we were found that Buddhism, Confucianism and Daoism have greatly affected the Vietnamese’s behavior. The foreign investors should take note there are quite a large number of vegetarian in Vietnam, because of th e Buddhism religion. Food of Vietnamese Food is a very important part of Vietnamese culture. The Vietnamese not only enjoy eating but believe eating good food can bring harmony and closeness to the family and relationships. The types of foods are chosen to bring luck and these vary from province to province. Buying daily for fresh food is essential for all Vietnamese cooking. In general, Vietnamese people are not as concerned about nutrition as Westerner. They are more concerned with the quality of the foods. Concepts of Time Like most Asians, the Vietnamese have a more extended concept of time than that of most Americans. The agrarian nature of their traditional society focuses on seasons rather than days or weeks. And this tradition is reinforced by the Confucian tradition of respect for earlier generations. Americans measure time by the clock, Vietnamese by the monsoon. Although this is changing somewhat, Vietnamese can still be expected to take a longer view of time and be suspicious of the need for urgency in making decisions  or culminating a business deal. Patience remains the ultimate Confucian virtue in personal life as well as in business. Personal Relationships In Vietnam, propriety and courtesy play a major role in personal relationships. Vietnamese are generally more interpersonally formal than are Americans. This formality decreases the uncertainty surrounding interpersonal contacts in Vietnamese society and is carried over into the business realm for the same reasons. During initial meetings with Vietnamese officials, you can expect little real business to be accomplished. The Vietnamese will concentrate on getting to know you–your background, your expertise, your character. In their high-context communication culture, they will depend heavily on non-verbal clues to assess meaning. By becoming acquainted and establishing a personal relationship with you, they are merely trying to understand you better. Vietnamese society is comprised of an interconnected network of personal relationships, all of which carry obligations on both sides. These mutual obligations are the underpinnings of social order in Vietnam, so they are taken very seriously. Americans need to understand and be sensitive to the serious nature of what may seem to them to be casual business relations. Failure to do so could easily result in a loss of trust or credibility, with obvious implications for longer-term relationships. 4. Technology In terms of technology, Viet Nam is a rapidly developing country. The year 2011 was the beginning of the strategic plan of economic and social development, period 2011-2020, in which infrastructural building is considered as one of main targets. With this plan, the country has been building many expressways and will let the local transport network be eventually upgraded to meet the requirements of rural industrialization and modernization, and connect itself with the national system. In addition, the above plan also includes a project which will work to narrow its scientific and technological gap with the world in some key fields by 2020. To launch this project, the Government will give top priority to enhancing the competence of scientists and related managers while encouraging the organization of training courses partnered with foreign competent partners. According to the project, the Government will focus on scientific and technological renovation to sharpen the competitive edge of local products and assisting businesses to purchase patents in some prioritized areas: biotechnology, information technology, new materials technology – Nano technology , manufacturing technology and automation. 5. Legislation The communist party-controlled government of Vietnam has ruled under four state constitutions. The first was promulgated in 1946, the second in 1959, the third in 1980, and the current in 1992 (amended in 2001). Significantly, each bore the mark of its time. On paper, all these constitutions seem to establish a solid democracy. In fact, the purpose of the 1946 constitution was essentially to provide the communist regime with freedom of speech, the press, and assembly. The second constitution was explicitly communist in character. Its preamble described the Democratic Republic of Vietnam as a â€Å"people’s democratic state led by the working class,† and the document provided for a nominal separation of powers among legislative, executive, and judicial branches of government. The 1980 Constitution concentrates power in a newly established Council of State much like the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet, endowing it nominally with both legislative and executive powers. Many functions of the legislature remain the same as under the 1959 document, but others have been transferred to the executive branch or assigned to both branches concurrently. The executive branch appears strengthened overall, having gained a second major executive body, the Council of State, and the importance of the National Assembly appears to have been reduced accordingly. The role of the Council of Ministers, while appearing on paper to have been subordinated to the new Council of State, in practice retained its former primacy. Having inherited the previous constitutions with substantial and basic changes, on the one hand, the 1992 Constitution continues reaffirming the basic principles in the constitutional history of Vietnam. First, it reiterates the target of socialist construction in Vietnam and the popular nature of the State. Second, the 1992 Constitution continues affirming the Communist Party of Vietnam’s leadership over the State and the society.  Third, it continues affirming the mechanism of State powers performed by the people through the National Assembly and the People’s Councils, the organization and operation of the State under the principle of concentrated powers; the concentration of State powers uniformly into the National Assembly with the division of responsibility among State bodies for the exercise of the legislative power, executive power and judicial power. On the other hand, the 1992 Constitution sees big changes: Vietnam decided to take economic renewal as the cent ral task, First, building the multi-sector and multi-ownership market economy along the socialist orientation. open-door policy and international economic integration. In reality, however, final authority on all matters rested with the Political Bureau; especially, the guarantees provided by the constitutions for freedom of speech, the press, and assembly has been never intended to be carried out. The constitutions eventually show its limitations since Vietnam has joined the stream of globalization, especially in the field of human rights and land-ownership law. In a report made public at the Conference on the Rule of law for human rights in the ASEAN region held by the Human Rights Resource Centre for ASEAN (HRRCA) in Jakarta, Indonesia on 30 April 2011, Mr. Vo Van Ai, President of Que Me: Action for Democracy in Vietnam and the Vietnam Committee for Human Rights called on Vietnam to urgently reform its legal system and bring domestic legislation into line with international human rights laws. Mr. Vo Van Ai declared: ―36 years after the end of the Vietnam War, the rule of law exists only in theory in Vietnam. The government has incorporated human rights into its 1992 Constitution. Yet it has also adopted a whole arsenal of Laws, Decrees, Ordinances and Decisions which restrict or even nullify the exercise of these rights, in total violation of the UN Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) to which Vietnam adhered in 1982â€â€". At the beginning of the New Year 2012 (Jan 1, 2012), there happened The Tien Lang land withdrawal case: in Tien Lang district (on the outskirts of Haiphong, a port city east of Hanoi) a fish farmer, Doan Van Vuong, and his family had resisted a large force moving in to enforce an eviction order. With an improvised mine and muskets bought on the black market, they’d wounded two soldiers and four policemen, including the local police chief. Prime  Minister Nguyen Tan Dung himself had to meet the Haiphong City authorities to resolve the case; and finally came to the conclusion on Feb 2 that the Haiphong government was absolutely wrong in the case; and he ordered the Haiphong City authorities to review their wrong works as and repair the situation. This case is just one among so many cases that show matters association with the land law. And this shocked case has raised the question of reforming the land law, which has been ambiguously claimed by the constitution as ―land is possessed by the whole peopleâ€â€". Mr. Dang Hung Vo, former Deputy Minister of Natural Resources and Environment, comments that ―it’s possible to see the recent incident at Tien Lang as a climactic demonstration of the faults in our Land Law and how it is implemented at the local level. A good farmer, pure, simple and hardworking, who’s driven to defend his right to his land with home-made weapons – what misery! Everybody believes that there’s such a thing as justice and that the law ensures it. Certainly that’s what the farmers who built the fish ponds at Tien Lang believed. They went to the court expecting fair play, but the simple truths they understood proved elusive. The hopelessness of their situati on drove them to take desperate measures. As mentioned above, the 11th Congress of Vietnam Communist Party held in 2011 issued four degrees; and one of them is beginning the study of the amendments and supplements of the 1992 Constitution and establishing the revised draft of the 1992 Constitution. This is urgent and necessary for the development of the country. 6. Environment Viet Nam is blessed by the nature, with a great ecological and hydrological diversity. The country is made up of equatorial lowlands, high, temperate plateaus and cooler mountainous areas. It lies in the inter-tropical zone and local conditions vary from frosty winters in the far northern hills to the year-round subequatorial warmth of the Mekong Delta. At sea level, the mean annual temperature is about 27 °C in the south, falling to about 21 °C in the far north. Geographically, it stretches over 1600km (1000mi) along the eastern coast of the Indochinese Peninsula; and has two main cultivated areas, that are the Red River Delta (15,000 sq km/5400 sq mi) in the north  and the Mekong Delta (60,000 sq km/23,400 sq mi) in the south. Vietnam also has diverse wildlife, with rare and precious fauna such as elephants, rhinoceros, tiger, leopard, black bear, snub-nosed monkey, crocodile and turtle. Forest area accounts for 2% of total forests in East Asia and Pacific. Fish catch is amon g the 10 highest countries in the world, with 1,451,800 tons per year. However, as the report of the World Bank on the environment in Viet Nam, ―Rapid economic growth in Vietnam over the last ten years, and its associated industrialization, urbanization, as well as increased exploitation of natural resources, has created significant pressures for the environment.â€â€"35 For example, the diverse wildlife is in precipitous decline because of the destruction of habitats, illegal hunting and pollution. In fact, Viet Nam Rhino was officially extinct in 2011. One of the most obvious examples for illustrating the environmental pollution is the phenomenon of getting narrowed of the lakes in Ha Noi. According to the Hanoi Construction Department, there are 111 ponds and lakes in Hanoi which cover a total area of 1165 hectares. The total area of lakes has decreased sharply during the urbanization, while a lot of them have disappeared. It is estimated that 80% of the lakesides have got polluted, 71% of lakes have suffered from pollution, 26% of the lakes still do not have embankments, while 8% of lakes have partial embankments. Environmentalists have called on to take urgent actions to protect the remaining lakes, or they would also disappear one day. Vietnam is among the countries that can be seriously affected by climate change. And the fact shows that the increasing deterioration of environmental conditions is emerging as a barrier to growth and development in recent years. In fact, according to the General Statistics Office, domestic natur al disasters occurred in 2011 has made 257 people dead and missing, 267 wounded; nearly 1.2 thousand houses collapsed and swept away; 391.8 thousand houses were submerged or damaged; more than 760 km of dykes, and the 680 km road motorized traffic bursts, landslides; 867 power poles broken or poured; nearly 54,000 hectares of rice and vegetables has been lost; more than 330,000 hectares of rice crops were flooded or damaged. Total value of damage caused by natural disasters in 2011 was estimated at over 10 trillion VND. Thus, this is really a big challenge of the country; and it needs a national and urgent action to prevent an ecological and hydrological catastrophe. C. BRIEF CONCLUSION With the aforementioned analysis of ―P.E.S.T.L.Eâ€â€", we see that in 2011, on the one hand, Viet Nam constantly attempted to keep its strategic plan of development, and also has obtained some important goals; on the other hand, the country had to face many difficulties and challenges which came both from outside and from inside. In my opinion, there are some main issues that the government should pay great attention in the coming years: reforming the education system, fighting against corruption (especially, promoting fiscal transparency and the public availability of economic data and information), reforming the state-owned sectors, amending laws, narrowing the gap between the Kinh, the Hoa and the ethnic minority groups, and improving environmental conditions.

Sociology: Notes on Social Dimensions of Crime

SOCIAL DIMENSIONS OF CRIME 1. AGE 2. SEX 3. ETHNICITY 4. SOCIAL CLASS Since the recession of the 1980s, employment rates for adolescents increase yearly and have an impact on the diminishment of youth crime The younger you are, the more prone you are to be a victim of victimization The older you get, the more you are prone for property crimes and less for physical crimes SOCIAL DIMENSIONS OF CRIME 1. AGE 2. SEX 3. ETHNICITY 4. SOCIAL CLASS MALES: Offenders are most likely to be male. They account for 80% of all criminal offences. 90% of all homicides, sexual assaults, and robbery crimes.And 78% of all property crimes (breaking & entering, theft). Since the 1960’s, we see an increase in female criminality. However, the specific crimes they engage in are different than the ones males engage in. (Credit card fraud, shoplifting) The feminization of poverty: we are seeing the high rise of poor, single mothers Men & Women have equal tendencies to be victimized by crimes†¦ the d ifference between the two is that they are more likely to be victimized by different crimes. They are not equally victimized to the same crimes. MEN: Assault, theftWOMEN: Sexual Assault SOCIAL DIMENSIONS OF CRIME 1. AGE 2. SEX 3. ETHNICITY 4. SOCIAL CLASS Big over presentation of aboriginal peoples in federal & provincial prisons. In general, aboriginals only make up 3% of Canada’s population, but 16% of Canada’s inmates. Howard Sapers noted that aboriginal people are mistreated (receive harsher treatment) by workers, prison guards, psychologists, and are more likely to be denied parole. They are also more likely to be sent to maximum security prisons. SOCIAL DIMENSIONS OF CRIME 1. AGE 2. SEX 3. ETHNICITY 4. SOCIAL CLASSToday’s social class, it doesn’t matter if youre rich or poor, all have equal tendencies to commit crimes. The difference is the type of crimes that the poor commit and the rich commit. Rich commit more sophisticated/organized crimes Poor commit more survival crimes (theft, If you make less than 15 thousand dollars a year, research shows that you’re more likely to be a target of a violent crime because youre probably living in the ghetto If you make more than 60 thousand dollars a year, research shows that youre more likely to get robbed, because you have more to rob.

Rebellion or Reason in Amy Tan’s: Two Kinds

Rebellion or Reason in Amy Tan's: Two Kinds In the short story â€Å"Two Kinds†, written by Amy Tan, the character Jing-Mei appears to be rebelling. But, what is she rebelling against? I feel she is rebelling against her mother’s competitive relationship with her Auntie Lindo and her daughter, Waverly. She is struggling to establish her identity by purposely not measuring up to her mother’s standards. This in turn, allows her to enforce her boundaries.Jing-Mei’s mother wanted the best for her; she had very high hopes for her. Jing-Mei’s mother wanted the â€Å"perfect child†. She may have wanted this â€Å"prodigy child,† due to sibling rivalry. As the story begins, the stench of ongoing competition is made apparent when Jing-Mei’s mother snorts, â€Å"What does Auntie Lindo Know† (2)? There is an unspoken, but well known big sister little sister, love-hate relationship; which ironically, is very similar to the struggles that mothers and daughters experience.Younger children may look up to their older siblings and try to emulate them. And this is important since older children tend to influence the actions and behavior of younger siblings. Sibling rivalry or childhood conflict teaches us how to relate to others. If we're struggling with adult sibling rivalry, our experiences can change how we communicate with our partner or our children. Laurie Pawlik-Kienlen,’ Adult Sibling Rivalry – How It Starts- Fighting With Your Grown Brothers and Sisters†, Time Magazine, July 10, 2006.This transgenerational feud was at the core of Jing-Meis’ mother’s incessant desire for her to force Jing-Mei to become who she wanted her to be. Causing Jing-Mei to rebel and to also plead with her mother to see her and accept her for who she was. She gained strength each time she rebelled. â€Å"I failed her so many times, each time asserting my own will, my right to fall short of expectation s†(79). She made the choice to be herself; and enabled herself to move beyond being a â€Å"Pleading Child† and into a woman â€Å"Perfectly Content†.

Special Needs Education Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Special Needs Education - Essay Example By giving a workshop to parents regarding the education of children with special needs, not only would they be able to appreciate the efforts that regular schools do for the children, but also enlighten them in what they could do to support and encourage their own children’s learning process. Special Needs Education Workshop for Parents Many parents take it for granted that their own children are able to follow the school’s given curricula without any worries. However, for parents who may not be able to understand why their child is having a hard time coping with lessons in school, despite regularly attending classes and studying even after school, it may be that they have not realized that the child has learning problems. Putting the blame on the child or the educational system, or both may not be the best way in handling the situation. Not only does it creates a barrier between understanding the child better, but it also gives the child an idea that there is nothing t hat can be done to the situation (Porter, 2002). Thus, to improve the well-being of children with special needs as well as providing stability to the parents’ relationship with the child and the school, a workshop regarding the mechanics of how special education needs are addressed by regular schools, as well as how parents can participate in their child’s learning process would be a helpful tool in helping parents understand and support their child better in school. The main goals for conducting the seminar and workshop regarding the special education needs for children that have learning problems are: to introduce to parents the â€Å"IDEA†, an act that supports the education of children with special education needs through the public school system; to present to concerned parents how regular schools are able to provide quality education not just to children with normal or superior learning capabilities, but also to children that may have other needs that woul d allow them to learn lessons at the same rate as their peers; to let parents see the perspective of children with learning difficulties in dealing with their everyday schooling; to provide parents ideas which could help them assist and empower their children in coping with the regular educational curriculum of the school; and to enlighten parents of the important role that they have to play in order to become even more attuned with their children not just in the academics but also in their physical, social, psychological, and emotional well-being. In order for the parents to not only be informed but also get engaged with the topic itself, the program shall consist of four parts: the introductory part; the presentation proper; the question and answer part; and the workshop proper. The introductory part would be presented in the form of a video presentation that enumerates and explains laws that are concerned with the provision of additional adjustment of the school’s teaching methods to address the needs and support the abilities of children with special needs. The presentation proper would utilize a power point presentation so that the parents would be able to read the additional information with ease. The presentation will be mentioning in detail the services that are provided for specifically by the schools that their children are enrolled in, as well as other

IT - Forensic Technology Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

IT - Forensic Technology - Essay Example Generally, each crime scene brings its own unique set of questions requiring answers to unveil the truth as the circumstances of each investigation differ considerably. The questions may include but not limited to the way crime was conducted, identities of victims, timeframe of crime and presence of any other material that may assist investigations (Oxenham, 2008). Ian (2010) is of the view that even these techniques are mainly borrowed from other sciences, forensic science has itself developed and matured over the years. Numerous scientific techniques have been developed and refined to support preservation, analysis and interpretation of evidence for forensic purposes. Forensic science cannot be isolated since advancements in other fields of science have been integrated to forensic technology over the years. 2. History of Forensic Science Forensic scientists employ scientific methods and techniques to obtain the evidence from dandruff to DNA and from ammunition to infrared spectroph otometry (Tilstone, Savage & Clark, 2006). Ancient world lacked sophisticated and standardized methods in forensics to analyze and interpret the evidence, but still many accounts in the forensic analysis have been found in ancient history like Archimedes’ analysis for volume of crown in water. In 16th century, European medical practitioners tried analyze cause of death. Similarly, Swedish scientists developed methods for detection of arsenic in 17th century. Juan Vucetich in Argentina solved first criminal case on forensic basis by analyzing the bloody finger prints on a door. First school of forensic was established in 1909 by Rodolphe Archibald Reiss at University of Lausanne. The inquisitiveness to answer questions that have gripped the entire human history including the criminal justice system on scientific basis is over a century old. The courts made opinions of experts admissible inform of fingerprints in and postmortem where these were earlier left to discretion of jur y. With the tremendous advancements in science and technology, different specialized fields and areas of expertise emerged. The witness and evidence supported on scientific analysis has now become a routine in helping jury to find guilty. United States became the main center for development of forensic science from 1930 to 1980. According to Bell, Fisher and Shaler (2008), still at start of twentieth-first century, US holds majors advancements in the field when investigators and scientists are using methods and techniques not thought of a generation before. 3. Classification of Forensics For investigative purposes, forensic science can be viewed as a combination of distinct areas including (Purdue university forensic science, 2012): Forensic Anthropology. Application of physical anthropology in legal scenario. Cyber Forensic. Use and analysis of digital data that is admissible in court of law. Forensic Engineering. Investigation into material and structure of components that fail pr ior to completion of expected duration resulting in accidents. Forensic Entomology. It involves use of insects and anthropodology to study the decomposed materials and bodies to help in investigations. Foensic Odontology. It is the study to human teeth to establish information

Mini Research Report on Tutankhamun Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Mini Report on Tutankhamun - Research Paper Example esenamun with whom they had two stillborn daughters who died at 6 months and later at 9 months of pregnancy according to modern computations.1 However, even the modern research has not yet revealed the core reason of the deaths since there were no congenital anomalies found in the mummies. Given the young age of Tutankhamun at the time of ascending to the throne and his successes such victories over several ethnicities, it obvious that he had wise and string council among them Vizier Ay. Nonetheless, Tutankhamun made several noticeable changes during his reign marking a number of achievements under his name. For instanvce, during the third year of his reign he banned the worship of the god Aten restoring the god Amun contrary to his father’s reign. Moreover, the Capital was reverted to Thebes abandoning Akhetaten that had served as the main city during his father’s reign. It was this period that saw the establishment of the name Tutankhamun that means â€Å"Living image of Amun† whom he had restored as the god to worship. Additionally, he saw the development of Thebes marked by numerous buildings such as a temple for Amun and erection of several monuments mainly related to the gods. As a result of these advancements, traditional festivals such as those related to Apis Bull that had earlier been neglected were now celebrated across the territory. However, due the increased concentration on the god Amun other gods and goddesses were seemingly neglected leading to the belief that the land was under a curse. As such, the temples and the sanctuary were in ruins with some being seemingly abused due to use as roads and hence prayers to these gods and goddesses were not answered. This may be considered one of the greatest failures of Tutankhamun and it has received great critic especially from those against the worship of the god Amun. Nevertheless, Tutankhamun saw the improvement of the economic status of the country that had been strained during the reign of his

The Lottery Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

The Lottery - Research Paper Example That is the main reason why the lottery happens every year although not everyone truly looks forward to it. This research paper takes a critical look at this story to establish how the writer uses imagery and other devices to communicate the central theme of the danger of blindly following customs. These exposes underlying backwardness and hypocrisy with which the administrative authority run its affairs (Hattenhauer, p.171). It goes further to draw comparisons and contrasts between Shirley Jackson’s â€Å"The Lottery† and Jane Glaspell’s â€Å"A Jury of Her Peers† focusing on the main characters that are both females living in a male dominated and conservative societies. They symbolize change as they are the ones out to change how things happen by their actions and words. â€Å"The Lottery† The friendly tone that Jackson uses to write the story and the way that she describes the days’ events leading up to the lottery draw actually manages to initially hide the darkness that is actually represented by the lottery (Smith, p.170). No doubt that not a single person in the town ever looked forward to the lottery draws every year because nobody wants to end up being pelted to death with stones just because your name was drawn out of a box. Before we establish the kind of lottery to be done, the preliminary preparations does not depict any kind of violence to give the image of a typically organized society. The man in charge of the process is very shabby and carries a black box that has been used for a very long time without being replaced; this depicts this tradition as an old custom that has no place in the modern society. According to Smith (p.117), the lottery as a practice feeds the blood lust of the villagers and the hypocrisy of the practice. In fact, it could also represent a study of the human psyche that shows how nobody truly knows his neighbor and how mundane activities could actually hold an evil intention behind it. The event is organized in a very shambolic manner with pieces of paper used to write the residents’ name for selection purposes. These events were organized in order to connect with the gods and ancestors for favour of blessings and abundant harvests. The writer however punches holes in the exercise even saying that these people did not even have an idea why they were taking part. They preserve this archaic tradition because it was passed down generations but no factual explanation of when and how it was started. According to Showalter (p.411), the lottery practice in the town itself presents society’s weakness and their ties traditions that they continue to practice even though everyone has already forgotten why the tradition started in the first place. Never mind the fact that they continue to practice legalized murder just because the society is afraid of what might happen if they actually stop the practice of murdering a person from the town every year as an o ffering for an excellent harvest. I find it hard to believe that nobody in the town questioned the reason for the lottery and its outcome. Even harder to fathom is why the townspeople pretend to be excited by the lottery when it is not something that normal thinking people would look forward for annual participation (Duffield, p.62). It can't just truly be all about not wanting to ruffle any feathers when it came to townspeople participation in the event. Why would somebody be afraid of being rejected by their neighbors for not wanting to participate in a bloodbath year after year? No. This was a town that rejected change and the disruption of traditions for some reason. The lottery ends in murder committed annually in a very inhuman way; the

Reading response Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 20

Reading response - Essay Example ies and to socialize the industries of the country.’ (Hillquit, 18) The platform of the party is to create awareness among the masses and is to educate them about political class-consciousness. However, as the American workers are dubious of the Socialist movement, they are approached through the Labor Party. The Labor Party can gain their confidence and then and lead them to the path of Socialism. The difference between the Socialist Party in the United States and the Communist Party of Russia is the scope of their manifesto. The Socialist party wants to emancipates all thus extending the benefits of industrialization to the masses in the United States. On the other hand the Communist Party in Russia holds the authority in few hands with the State being the channel that decides what and how much should be passed on to the masses. Thus these tow philosophies differ from one another as the two countries are different from each other, but as far as racialism in the United States is concerned than the Socialist Party takes the

Reflection paper Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Reflection paper - Assignment Example Besides, written English contains many punctuation errors especially in the use of a full stop, comma and semicolon. With respect to this, I understood that long sentences not only confuse the reader by the wordy content, but it also a challenge in marking the best punctuations. As simple as spoken English seems to be, working with articles was one of my greatest challenges in the written form. Through the support of my instructor and class tutorials, I learnt that the article â€Å"THE† is appropriate in front of a noun familiar to the reader. Whereas, A /AN can only be used by countable nouns. That is to say nouns with justifiable plurals. More interestingly, I pointed out that THE article is applicable in dynamic situations alters sentence fragment to give a different meaning. Consequently, as an ESL student, grammar was my serious challenge, as illustrated by our English instructor ‘no one can perfect his grammar unless through consistent

Discussion Board Questions Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Discussion Board Questions - Assignment Example I therefore, believe that it will be self defeating for any proprietor to believe that it is the a customers responsibility to learn English, with it being a lingua franca. The customer is said to be a monarch in business. As such any proprietor who wants to succeed should come down to the level of the potential client and not vice-versa. Diversity in languages is vital as it gives the owners of the language a sense of belonging due to shared history and culture. Anthropology studies show that no language is superior to another. Accommodating other languages ideologies can also give a politician political mileage. This was evident in Barrack Obama’s 2012 presidential election victory where he garnered more votes in Florida, Nevada and Colorado states. These votes turned the tide in his favor. In a situation where individuals are forbidden to speak their native language it breeds resents. Personally I would be uncomfortable staying in such a nation or state. The disadvantage of diversity in languages is it can bread negative ethnicity where some languages are rendered insubordinate; this happens particularly where some groups form the minority. Such scenario hinder economic development due conspiracies propagated by different ethnic groups. If not well managed this may lead to civil strife. Stratification of ethnic groups occasioned by difference in language may lead to increased crime rates especially by the group that may feel shortchanged or marginalized economically (Schaefer, 2013). In my view Statehood for Native Puerto Rican residing in Puerto Rico for Puerto Rico will greatly improve the life and economic status of the Puerto Ricans as the geographical restrictions and fiscal hindrances will be lessened. This will be beneficial more so because the number of them in America is higher than that in Puerto Rica. Independence will be more costly and as it

Radioactive materials and other polutants in water sources Research Paper

Radioactive materials and other polutants in water sources - Research Paper Example Water pollution is the term that refers to the contamination of water bodies, which include: lakes, rivers, oceans and groundwater. Water pollution is caused by pollutants which are discharged either directly or indirectly into the water bodies without proper treatment for the removal of the harmful components. Water pollution affects plants and other living organisms that are present in water bodies; the effect of water pollution is not only damaging individual species and populations, but in fact the natural biological communities as well. Surface waters are referred to as natural water resources or the Earth. Surface water pollution is divided into two major categories: point sources and non-point sources. Point source pollution is where pollution is caused from a single source and can also be identified. Non-point source pollution is where pollution is not caused by just one source in fact; it is the diffused contamination that occurs from different sources rather than just one. (Water Pollution Guide) There are many causes for water pollution. The first major water pollution pollutant is sewage and wastewater. Activities such as domestic work, industrial and agricultural practices produce wastewater which then pours in the clean water stream and contaminates it. Sewages water contains pollutants such as faeces, urine and laundry wastes. The world population has reached 7 billion, therefore, sewage treatment is vital and population is like to grow hence we need to take of this cause or there will be ever-increasing water pollution. Sewage is a major problem especially in the developing countries where they do not have access to good sanitary conditions and safe water. Untreated sewage causes diseases such as diarrhea. Sewage is mainly biodegradable but sometimes is contains chemicals and pharmaceutical substances, sewage also contains viruses and bacteria thus causing health problems. (Fuller) Another major cause of water pollution is marine dumping. Marine dumping is when humans d ump garbage into the sea or ocean. This then causes the water to directly become polluted. This is a major problem throughout the world and the developing countries in particular. Since developing countries do not have a proper waste disposal system then the people dump their waste into the sea. For instance Karachi, a city in Pakistan, used to attract high numbers of tourist because of their geographical location that has more than 6 beaches. However, due to marine dumping tourism in that region has dropped tremendously in that region. Different items take different times to degrade in water, some take a shorter time for instance cardboard – two days, and some take a very long time for instance plastic packaging material – about 400 years. (Fuller) One more major cause of water pollution is industrial water and waste. Industrial waste is a huge cause of water pollution because it produces pollutants that are very harmful and dangerous to the people and the environment . Many industrial facilities use fresh water as a source to wash and carry their waste out of their vicinity into different water bodies. There are ample amounts of industrial pollutants. First is asbestos. Asbestos is carcinogenic and is a serious health hazard. It can be inhaled and can cause deadly diseases such as lung,

The Game of Life Essay Example for Free

The Game of Life Essay Who can really play the â€Å"game† of life? In the novel The Catcher in the Rye by J. D. Salinger, the main character, Holden Caulfield, states, â€Å"Game, my ass. Some game. If you get on the side where all the hot-shots are, then it’s a game, all right? I’ll admit that. But if you get on the other side, where there aren’t any hot-shots, then what’s a game about it? Nothing. No game† (8). This statement is true because it is the people who have success, fame, and fortune that can play the â€Å"game† of life and win in it. So why can only these people play the â€Å"game† of life? A â€Å"hot-shot† is a person of great success. Those on the â€Å"other side† do not have this success and are therefore at a disadvantage. It is the people who have succeeded in life that continue to succeed and eventually win in life. Although success cannot be exactly measured, a person cannot succeed without having prior success. For example, a person cannot be an aspiring artist, singer, or author without having succeeded in that field before. Because of this lack of success, those on the â€Å"other side† cannot play the â€Å"game† of life. â€Å"Hot-shots† do not only have success however. By putting himself on the â€Å"other side†, Holden alienates himself from the rest of society and may therefore mean that those on the â€Å"other side† are as well alienated from society. Those on the â€Å"other side† cannot play the â€Å"game† of life because it is the people who have fame and recognition who are successful. They have support, experience with people, and connections. Because the people alienated from society lack these advantages, they cannot play the â€Å"game† of life. Furthermore, there is another factor which whether a person can play the â€Å"game† of life. People usually associate success with money, or fortune. When a person has great fortune, they have great success. This fortune however is what makes the â€Å"hot-shots† successful in the first place. Fortune is not only defined as money though. It includes any type of resource or pure serendipity. All fortune however makes people successful, either by allowing them an education or opening up opportunities that would not be available without it. People on the â€Å"other side† do not have fortune and therefore do not have the means to play the â€Å"game† of life. So who can really play the â€Å"game† of life? â€Å"Hot-shots† are the one who can play the â€Å"game†. Their access to success, fame, and fortune allows them to play the â€Å"game† of life and win in it. Those on the â€Å"other side† do not have access to these advantages and can therefore not play the â€Å"game† of life and not win in life. It is not until a person transitions into the â€Å"hot-shot† side can they truly be successful in life.

Analysis of Russias Financial and Labour Crisis

Analysis of Russias Financial and Labour Crisis INTRODUCTION In 2003, major economic organisations and key economists predicted that within a decade, the Russian Economy will face a human capital and labour crisis that will be unable to meet the growing demands of the country. This prediction came true and Russia slowly witnessed diminishing labour market performance following the Global Financial Crisis starting in 2009. The Russian Federation has a very flexible labour market. Cutting wages, reducing working hours and minimising non-wage labour costs are some of the policies adopted by most of the companies to adjust to the economic scenario. The workers respond to this by changing jobs. Hence, there exists a high and stable overall employment rate, but also high wage inequality, informality and labour turnover, due to which firms do not have the incentive to invest in human capital and productivity improvements. Hence, the growth figures of the Russian Economy rarely indicate how the economic performance is impacting the average man. Problems in the labour market of Russia slowly became noticeable following the Global Financial Crisis that started in 2008. The global financial crisis had a significant impact on the Russian economy and its labour market. According to OECD Database, in 2009, the decline in the GDP was −7.9% (World Bank Economic Outlook, 2009). However, since the latter half of 2009, Russia showed economic recovery. There was 4.5% growth rate in 2010 (World Bank Economic Outlook, 2010), and 4.3% in 2011 (World Bank Economic Outlook, 2011). The graph above indicates the changes in the unemployment rate and GDP of Russia during 2008-09. Russia was the third country along with Slovenia in the list with highest downfall in the GDP after Estonia and Finland. The unemployment rate increased, although it was stable as compared to other countries This period saw a fall in the output generation of goods. Working hours and wages were reduced to adjust to the scenario. The Youth of the country were the most affected by the sudden increase in unemployment. As shown in the diagram, from 2009 to 2012, unemployment rate was the highest for people aged 15-24. The labour market strengthened a little in early 2013. Unemployment in the months of January, February, and March lowered by 0.4% than the rate prevalent in 2012. But the second quarter of 2013 again saw a reversal of this trend, with unemployment again growing up by 0.1% compared to 2012 (OECD Economic Survey- Russian Federation, 2013) This marked the advent of an Economic Slump in the Russian Economy that is discussed in the succeeding chapter. Russian Economic Slump: How and Why? Russia suffered from major economic slump in 2012 and tried to make efforts to recover from it using the oil and gas revenues. However the living standards and productivity was below those of advanced BRIICS countries. Growth in 2012 slowed not only because of cyclical factors but also due to slow down of potential output growth. The Ministry of Economic Development, in November 2013, projected long-term average growth to 2.5% (OECD Survey 2013) down from 4.3% (ibid) projected in April, warning that Russian growth until 2030 would lag behind the global average. The reason that led to the emergence of slump is the heavy dependence on natural resources and the challenge lies in reduction of dependence on exhaustible natural resources, strengthen sustainable, productivity-driven, regionally balanced and broad-based growth. The abovementioned Economic slump emerged in late 2012 and into 2013, resulting in the recent Russian Economic crisis triggered by stagnant terms of trade due to inefficient labour market reforms. The temporary factors that earlier boosted growth slowed down, reducing investment mostly driven by natural resource related sectors and public expenditures. The employment and capacity utilization rates are near their pre-crisis records. The unemployment rate has fallen because of employment gains, a fall in labour force, high wage flexibility and extremely low unemployment benefits. Inflation rose above the central bank target range of 5-6% (Ibid). Although this rapid rise was driven mostly by high food prices due to the poor 2012 harvest and headline inflation, the second half of 2013 was on a downward trend and inflation expectations are sticky. These factors structurally limited growth , slowing potential growth below 3% (ibid) This Russian economic slowdown led to several changes in the society and some significant trends were seen: Partial employment increase No demand for radical life changes or political changes Dormant discontent against crisis situation unique adjustment function of the Russian labor market suppressed the impact of the economic crisis on the workers and they did not express their discontent in the form of strikes The policies and reforms for this slump are given in further chapters as discussed by the OECD report on Russian Economic Crisis. OECD ECONOMIC REPORT: REFORMS AND POLICIES Previously we studied the background of Russia and the possible reasons that triggered the current Russian economic slump. OECD is a world organisation that has come up with a report about the changes required for the current economic slump. The Organization of economic cooperation and development (OECD) is a forum founded in 1961 that discusses economic growth and world trade of its 34 member countries. It provides answers to common problems, identify practices in favour of these countries and also provide coordination between the domestic and international policies. It gives assistance in economic, environmental and social issues. Objectives of the OECD- To promote sustainable development in economic growth and employment, giving a rise in standard of living along with the maintenance of financial sector. To provide economic expansion to member countries in order to promote development in world economies. To carry out this expansion on a non-discriminatory basis. OECD: Russian Labour Market The Russian Labour market is in segments even though the global financial crisis ended the long period economic growth .The labour market faces a number of problems like unequal earnings, lack of enforcement of effective labour laws and underdeveloped collective bargaining. To improve this imbalance between labour market flexibility and the protection of workers the Russian federation needs to impose favourable labour market institutions. This imbalance can be improved by shifting to a more sustainable based growth from dependence on revenues from natural resources such as oil (main relying natural resource) by making it attractive place to invest, study and work. Russia should ensure growth beyond natural endowment. BOOSTING PRODUCTIVITY Stronger and more sustainable growth is not possible without better use of skills and stronger innovation. Considerable resources are employed in lowà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â‚¬Ëœproductivity activities. Lifelong learning, activation programmes and temporary income support remain underdeveloped. Key Recommendations: Better market oriented training. Strengthening the quality of the education system Improve the governance of higher education. IMPROVING THE BUSINESS CLIMATE The business climate in Russia is turning out to be risky as rule of law is weak and widespread corruption along with widespread state involvement. The implications are widespread such as low level of entrepreneurship and investment. Thus a stronger policy initiative along with stronger financial sector is required to match the skills of labour. Key Recommendations- Identify risks to integrity for particular jobs, work and project. Strengthening the rule of law by enhancing the quality of law instead of increasing the number of laws and regulations thus giving rise to judicial independence. Incorporating accountability and transparency of public institutions through promotion of media freedom. COMPETITION FRAMEWORK IN RUSSIA Russia has the highest barriers to competition when compared with any OECD country or emerging country. This halts the diffusion of technology and hampers the speed with which the labour productivity catch up with best performers. As suggested by OECD product market regulation (PMR) indicator, it suggests that Russia’s PMR is very restrictive as compared to any other OECD country. A PMR indicator tells the state involvement extent and administrative barrier to developing new enterprises. This high rate is reflected in Small and Medium sized enterprises sector in Russia. Key Recommendations- Lowering administrative burden on firms by cutting ‘red tape’, introducing deemed clearance regime and carrying out systematic Regulatory Impact Analysis and Stake Holder consultations. Strengthen the competition by eliminating subsidies to large firms, prioritize resources only to important cases and liberalization of foreign trade and investment policy. Widening scope of competition by taking WTO accession as an opportunity and supporting the concerned firms with framework measures rather than imposing entry barriers. POLICY IMPLICATIONS The basic problem in the Russian Economy is that it is still heavily dependent on the communist age infrastructure and economic mechanisms. No innovations or new methods of economic development have significantly evolved after the communist era collapsed. The economy still uses capitalist management styles that were used in the erstwhile USSR. The economy is heavily dependent on gas reservoirs and their rising prices. This leaves the domestic market open to major jolts due to the fluctuating world market prices of gas and other natural resources. Growth in 2013 slowed to 1.3 percent, the lowest in a decade other than during the global recession in 2009 (OECD Economic Indicators Report 2013). As mentioned in the previous chapter, the economic resilience of the economy can be raised through structural reforms. Making the economy more balanced, and less dependent on the volatile revenue from the energy market is one of the main challenges. This challenge can only be met by higher productivity of labour and energy efficiency which further, can by increasing competition in the market and investment in the structural economy. The improvement of the political economy and implementation of structural reforms is crucial to revive the Russian Economy. The society and not natural resources needs to partake in Russia’s transformation. And so there is need for investments in infrastructure, innovation and human resources. Russia needs to step up its governance and address the increasing inter-regional disparity. The OECD survey indicates that the Federation is doing well in numerous areas but future growth and development is being retarded by poor governance and laws. Russia faces major transport bottlenecks that hinder the infrastructural growth in many potential regions. The irony is that a majority of the Russian population- about a million, are engaged in the railways with most of them being disguisedly unemployed in the process. The Russian Federation has one of the highest shares of tertiary educated population in the world, but the education system has had difficulties in providing the education according to the needs of the market and the firms. The education system of the country is outdated. It needs to be revamped to suit the modern sensibilities and economic conditions. Education will have to target higher paying and more intellectual jobs (white collar jobs). Public spending on education is low and the high inequality of educational opportunities adds to the problem. Major public and private sector investments in the education sector, especially in backward areas should be a national priority. Better quality of market oriented vocational training and an improved technical curriculum is also the need of the hour. Another good way to increase the labour force of the nation is to decrease the gender gap in the labour market. Education and training focused solely on women would be beneficial. The Government should also increase the retirement age of women to equal to that of men. A boost in education and skill in turn will increase opportunities and investments in Research and Development that will bring the much needed innovation and further enhance the business climate. Flexibility in the Russian labour market has helped the economy achieve very low levels of unemployment. However, firms lose the incentive to invest in human resource due to the high labour turnover. This causes high wage inequality. The OECD encourages better communication between employers and labour, encouragement to engage in long term training programmes and temporary income support from the Government. One industry that has a lot of potential in the Russian economy and will benefit out of the recommended labour changes by OECD is the automobile industry. This will not only give a much required push to the economy but also solve the transportation bottleneck that the nation is facing. The Russian Federation will also benefit by strengthening its Immigration policies. There is a large influx of unskilled labour from countries that were part of the former Soviet Union, who come in the search for better employment opportunities and standards of living. They are seen to be putting additional burden on the Government’s diminished welfare schemes such as free education and healthcare systems. This is happening due to the easy immigration policy of the state. Hence the welfare labour policies that are already functional in the State cannot give quality output due to this additional burden put on them. CONCLUSION It can be asserted that the economic slump in Russia is a temporary bottleneck in its path of growth and development and can the removed by focusing on the improvement of the labour market performance by implementing the measures given in the OECD Economic Report on the Russian Federation 2013. As suggested by the OECD, encouraging lifelong learning among skilled workers, training and targeting the youth for inculcating better skills, developing advanced Information Technology in this arena, reducing the gender gap in the work force, reforms in the education system and promoting innovation and technology can take the nation a long way. However other measures such as State support in welfare schemes that boost labour performance and privatisation of firms can be beneficial. Encouraging better Human Resource policies in Russian Firms and stronger collective bargaining power of the workers can also help promote the right balance between wages and productivity. Russia also needs to look into its immigration policy to stop the rapid rise in immigrants who are unskilled and ultimately become a burden on the state.

A Clockwork orange :: essays research papers

Psychological concepts in A Clockwork Orange At the start of A Clockwork Orange, you are introduced to Alex and his droogs. They are at a milkbar drinking milk-plus. Milk, plus types of drugs that enhance Alex and his droogs ultraviolence, which is the main backdrop to the story that leads to other psychological events. Drug addiction is a complex disorder that is compulsive and often uncontrollable. This is a chronic relapsing disorder, and treatment for drug addiction is about as effective as treatments for chronic medical conditions. Next Alex goes to a home in the country for a surprise visit of the ultra-violent kind. To persuade the wife of the house to let him in, Alex uses an intrinsic approach, pretending to be a helpless fellow in need of a telephone. This is a behavior used to fulfill an urge of Alex's, which is ultra-violence. Later on back at the milk bar, or Korova, Alex smacks his brother for behaving inapropriately, saying, "...For being a bastard with no manners. Without a dook of an idea about how to comport yourself public-wise, O my brother." So at this point Alex is using positive punishment. Alex heads to his house where he stays with his Dad and Mum. His mother, an older woman, has purple hair. This could be from the natural aging process of the eye, making his Mum think her hair is possibly silver or blond, when instead is a deep purple. But, then again, this movie might as well be using an artistic approach, and the hair color could reflect on the fashion of the near future. Alex goes in for treatment to cure his ultra-violence. The treatment is a conditioning method where he is to watch terribly movies with his eyes held open. After many, many views Alex gets sick at the slightest hint of any voilence or sex. Alex is put on stage where he is to be used in a demonstration. A man walks out, toward Alex. He begins to yell at Alex, then gets violent.

Total Quality Management Essay -- essays research papers

Management Holmes, Rustin L. Confronting TQM Resisters Head-On - The Medical Laboratory Observer 1996, p. 1-4 Abstract   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Total Quality Management involves employees working in teams toward a common goal to manage the organization. This is a spreading practice in the healthcare industry. However when first presented with this new method of management some people are often skeptical. Many have been working under one philosophy of management for so long that they may find it hard to change over to a new style. There is ways though to make this transition go smoother.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The first way is to mandate accountability. After each decision is made make sure each employee knows what is expected of them and when. You must maintain clear commu...

Child Development Essay -- Health, Childhood Obesity

There are multiple factors in a child’s development. Parents have a responsibility, as well as a privilege, to contribute to every milestone. Most parents stress over physical and mental stages so much so that play-time is ignored. By making decisions that sacrifice play parents hinder their social development. Parents must take action and encourage their youth to play more, before childhood is lost forever. Play-time is an essential part of early childhood development as well as their most primitive form of expression. In an article titled â€Å"The Importance of Play† by Bruno Bettelheim, he refers to Sigmund Freud’s thoughts that play is a child’s first step in attaining â€Å"cultural and psychological achievements†. (Bettelheim 324) The author also mentions Freud’s notation of how children use play to â€Å"express† themselves. (Bettelheim 324) Play is vital for the maturation of toddlers’ emotional and mental health. Bettelheim, in his article, reflects on Fraud’s understanding of â€Å"how children use play to work through and master quite complex psychological difficulties of the past and present†. (Bettelheim 324) As a mother, I agree with this insight because I can witness the day’s events unfold through my son’s eyes as he holds batman and robin figures. Today’s culture views the media as a necessity. One class of media entertainment is television. Television is often exchanged for play among children. Marie Winn wrote â€Å"The End of Play† commenting on how children have replaced â€Å"fantasy and make-believe games† for television. (Winn 76) A research study in USA Today showed results of a survey indicating â€Å"14% of parents said TV is always on.†(Par 4) Their findings point out â€Å"TV decreased play’s intensity to given toy†. (Par 3... ...thout recess, children are denied elements for social development. Physical education classes, or P.E., are the higher grades’ version of recess. At this level, juveniles engage in a more structured program with specific objectives. In Education Digest, Ann Rosewater from Team Up for Youth reflects on how organized sports are a bridge to adult achievements. Her report on the impact of organized sports exclaims â€Å"participation in physical activities have long term positive effects†. (Par 7) Details assert juveniles â€Å"connect with positive peer groups and provide the experience of failing yet trying again†. (Par 8, 9) As parents we want our children to experience the joys of childhood. One’s child rearing choices are the most dominate factors in adolescents. Parents must control the outside influences interfering with their emotional and physical maturity.

Youth Gang Prevention

Youth Gang Prevention EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Gang prevention, intervention and suppression for youth at risk and gang members are strategies for addressing the recent increases in youth and gang related problems in the city of Norfolk, Virginia. State and local policymakers as well as citizens are concerned about public safety and want to avoid a continued increase in gang activity and membership. An effective response to the problems of youth must be built on a thorough understanding of the problem. There is an important role for Norfolk State University (NSU) to assist the City of Norfolk in addressing the problem and designing an effective program built on the strategies of prevention, intervention and suppression. This white paper outlines such a program and related strategies, which we believe will be a successful response to youth at risk and gang members. This program is focused in the six communities adjacent and next to the Norfolk State Campus, and is designed to support and enhance community organizations and families in their effort to address youth at risk and reduce violence. The program includes the strategies of prevention, intervention and suppression, and is highlighted by a five point component structure. These five points are as follows: 1)} build a solid community social network of community organizations, churches, government agencies, police units, local businesses, schools, and so forth,. 2) a range of services/workshops/training and educational opportunities offered and available to the residents of the communities identified by key street workers, clergy, parents, police, and other youth. ) the utilization of key family and ex gang members in working directly with youth and gang members with experience in addressing such problems. 4) the creation of an educational ladder designed to provide alternative patterns of behavior and provide opportunities for the youth and the parents. 5) an evaluation plan focused on determining which aspects of the program are most effective and cost beneficial. ADDRESSING THE PROBLEM This program expands on the di scussions held on campus. It builds on the range of services and workshops provided by NSU and other groups working in this area and directly with NSU. This program is intended to include what is currently available and expands the capability of folks within NSU so as to support and strengthen families and youth in their development. It is very much intended to assist in diverting youth into alternative patterns of behavior and to reduce the need and/or preference for violence. FIRST COMPONENT The proposed project has five components. The first is to build a network of social, economic and religious organizations in the six communities adjacent to Norfolk State University. Such a network is critical so that information, brochures and direct contact can be made with community residents and organizational leaders. We will most likely need to meet with them most likely in their habitat so as to explain the intent of the program and what we would have them to contribute to the overall effort. Most important would be for them to help distribute the information we prepare, be able to answer basic questions or connect residents with key personnel in the project. We would very much like for some to consider holding workshops and/or educational programs in their facilities. The type of locales that we are considering would be the public and private schools, the cChurches, recreation and community centers, hair salons and barbershops, and any other places where people gather. The work on our part would be to meet face to face with the managers/ workers/ owners and discuss our effort. We would show them our brochures and other information and leave them with the names of two or three people to call in case they need to contact us, as well as maintaining consistent contact over a period of time so that they will understand the need to address the youth related problems. SECOND COMPONENT The second component would be the somewhat detailed and clearly spelled out range of services/workshops/training/and educational opportunities available through our project. The set of services we intend to use have been provided for several years by the Virginia Gang Prevention Program, which includes God’s X Gangsters. They are familiar with and have provided some services in the areas we intend to serve. NSU has been partnering with them for a little over three years, have been the site of a couple of conferences, and it is where many meetings of the group have been held all within the School of Social Work and NSU’s Brambleton Center of late. more lately its Brambleton Center. In this context we envision developing a peer mentoring program in the community, such as gang prevention for youth, gang intervention for youth, intensive gang intervention services, group/6-week certificate, gang awareness for parentsparents’ in-home/group, intensive in-home services, train the trainers, and certificate training for trainers. These workshops and training programs have already been provided, but we will need to do it in a consistent, systematic and developmental manner, and make certain that we cover a community. Family Systems Inc is another community based agency which serves the youth and their families. It has some interesting programs already being provided to youth such as an entrepenurialentrepreneurial group and a youth skills group. It has a staff well connected to youth, families, courts and police, and would significantly provide additional services to this program. There are also other treatment opportunities for parents and youth when such services are indicated. We are looking at the risk factors that God’s X Gangsters haves learned are associated with gang involved and youth at risk. These risk factors are failure in school, family problems, substance abuse, pattern behaviors and â€Å"conduct† problems, gang membership and gun possession, and incidents of violence. These are important indicators to make others aware of what the program will address and to make certain that these youngsters need special attention. THIRD COMPONENT One of the most important new services we will embrace is the creation of an educational ladder. This ladder would form the basis of creating opportunities and provide a source of hope for parents, teachers, and youth. In this context, we would work with the youth to determine their needs, whether it be learning to read and write, reading comprehension and literacy, assisting in obtaining a GED, moving into learning a trade, going to community college, or coming to NSU. This opportunity ladder would assist providers of service with a chance for growth in addition to the suppression model and the reinforcement of our treatment model so prevalent in addressing such problems. We envision that this type of service would also be made available to family members, so they can be a source of encouragement for the youth and others. The full range of services we are capable of providing include, anger management/conflict resolution, one-on-one social mentoring, social skills training, goal setting, attitude formation, empathy development, problem solving skills, bully prevention/violence reduction and substance abuse awareness and reduction. These courses/workshops would be addressed in weekly modules in addition to the initial six week training module where the overall program is introduced and discussed. FOURTH COMPONENT In this component we want to make it easy and possible for people to sign up for these services and/or workshops. This will likely be accomplished when the information is distributed in the community organizations and commercial operations. There will be a checklist which we will use to contact those who complete them and indicate what they would like us to addressed. It is likely that we might see several services or courses checked off and we would maintain a list of needed service as well as a mailing list of folks for us to contact for over time. We would also have a blank where one would like for the services to be held, and we would go to those locations. It may be that we would hold some classes in barbershops, which would be an excellent resource because we want to address people in their own back yard and then encourage them to go to other locations when they feel comfortable. It is very likely that we will incorporate the interns in social work and in the Psy. D. programs, under supervision of professional faculty and other treatment professionals. The interns would assist in organizing after school educational and recreational programs as well as assisting in the development and implementation of service learning efforts. They would help in distributing the program information and when indicated would co-lead groups. In other situations, they would help with short- term intervention, make referrals and bring attention to youth at potential for trouble. In another context, we have worked with and used Liberty Counseling services and we would likely use them as a case permits. We intend to use the NSU Counseling Center when appropriate and on a case-by-case basis. The services that NSU uses would be based at the Brambleton Center, where it is envisioned that the project would be housed. It will be necessary and important for the NSU security personnel to work closely with the City of Norfolk Police Department in order to coordinate activities. This collaborative effort is key as we are addressing the six communities surrounding NSU. One important feature of this coordinated effort would be to identify youth at risk and gang members for our own work force to make either the first or follow up contact as we seek to reduce violence, rather than seek arrest and adjudication. In these contacts where an assessment of the problem would be made, it is critical that our work force have the service possibilities and the educational opportunities readily available. FIFTH COMPONENT The fifth component would be evaluation. Such an evaluation would be based on a developmental model where we would constantly usinguse the data to enhance the specific courses, etc. We would work with our Assessment unit to develop evaluative feedback information for the programs provided so that we can make well-informed decisions about our overall effort. We would be particularly interested in determining what works, what is most cost-effective, whatere are the favorable locations, and so forth. This information is critical if we are to show success. use money wisely. One last but not least point is that while a very effective project can be developed and implemented we would need a source of funds. This is not easy to note particularly when the economy is so poor and our University and City are in economic turmoil;, however, we will need to explore funding for the project. To date, Prof. Banks has agreed to work with Prof. S. Lowe and Prof. J. Robinson on developing the educational ladder, Interim Director D. Sanderlin and Mr. Turan Smith from the Brambleton Center is are working on identifying key community resources for the network, and Pastor B. Emory is coordinating the service component of the project. These folks have agreed to work as part of a team to design an effective project associated and driven via NSU. Chief Walker, Dr. Coleman and I will work together to coordinate the overall project. CONCLUSION This project incorporates the strategies of prevention, intervention and suppression in a program designed to deal effectively with youth at risk and gang members in the six communities surrounding Norfolk State University. The program is built on a five point component system which is well integrated so that each contributes to and strengthens the others. It is also community based relying on the strengths and resources of these communities, in addition to the resources of NSU and its educational thrust and extensive community and outreach effort. The evaluation effort is intended to provide continuous feedback to the leadership of NSU, the leadership of the City of Norfolk, and others within the communities, as well as contributing to the understanding of addressing the problems of youth at risk.