By Joginder Singh
Dale Carnegie suggests, the following six ways to make people like you:
1. Become genuinely interested in other people.
2. Smile.
3. Remember that a person's name is to that person the sweetest and most important sound in any language.
4. Be a good listener. Encourage others to talk about themselves.
5. Talk in terms of other person's interests.
6. Make the other person feel important-- and do it sincerely.
A number of persons have gone further in life, than they thought was possible, because someone encouraged and told them, that they could. The greatest good, that we can do to others is reveal their potential to them and encourage them.
The best way, to help others, is by encouraging them to perform their best and showing them their potential. There is a tremendous amount, of talent and ability, in every human being.
Try to develop a personal brand, which should signify as to what you stand for. Your personal brand, should have your core values at the heart. It could be anything like honesty, positively, creativity, hard work, and doing the right thing. You will be known, by your brand and the values you cherish and abide by. Your brand communicates your principles, ethics, morals and your personality more effectively than anything else. Our mind, continuously throws up more than 40000 thoughts a day. It is the substance and contents of these thoughts, whether they are negative or positive, which affect our mental vision, general progression and style. One way is, to continuously do the spring cleaning and stop negativity and negative thoughts in their mid track and erase bad habits from our life. A simple way, to do the same is by positive pronouncement, avowals and declarations to yourself.
It has been estimated, that we each, have upwards of 40,000 thoughts per day. Our effort should be to purge negative, self-destructive thoughts, which we ingrain in our minds unconsciously, and which in the course of time, lead to the formation of our attitudes and habits. Keep on visualising the best of every situation and every person. Mentally picture yourself, as to what you want to be.
An old saying and what we all feel, is that we will believe something, only if see it. Reverse it, by seeing it mentally and your mind will believe it. Always expect the best and see positive in everything.
Write down your affirmations and put them in some handy place, so that you can repeat it to yourself. I carry written affirmation with me, for morning walk and try to repeat and memorise them, so that they become an integral part of my thinking. I have also tape recorded, some affirmations. I listen to them when I am in bath room, because normally each day, we spend at least 30 to 40 minutes in the bath room. You can devise your own methods of visualisations and affirmations, for getting the results you desire. It could be anything, from doing well in life, to enhancing, your charisma and persuasion power.
Criticising, with some people becomes an effortless and unconscious habit. One of my close relations, from the time getting up in the morning is in a censor and a detractor mode. The morning tea is, either too early or too late, or too hot or too cold. Clothes are not properly ironed and the telephone is always disturbing. Or it does not ring or it rings at most inconvenient hours. Not only such people, but all of us require, training and re-training our minds to discover the positive qualities, aspects and characteristic in ourselves and our friends.
You can never hit a shot, without focussing on your target.The future holds infinite possibilities, which are waiting to happen. What it needs, is somebody, who can make the same a reality. Criticism is, a sterile and fruitless approach. Nobody, however wrong, he or she may be, likes to be criticised. Immediately stop, when you find your self, criticising and complaining. Instead get going and commence a stream of positive self talk.
This is the only way, you make a difference, and turn a bad situation into a better one. Concentrate on what can be done. Says Tom Blandi: "Our attitudes control our lives. Attitudes are a secret power working twenty-four hours a day, for good or bad. It is, of paramount importance, that we know, how to harness and control this great force."
We can achieve much and do much good, if we have the appropriate incentive, inspiration, drive and enthusiasm. Motivation and inducement itself, is not enough, unless it is accompanied, by vision, planning, action, and discipline. For doing that we need to develop, create and foster within ourselves, the right skills required for our selected areas.
Skill-building, does not come in one day. For instance, if you want to be a writer, you have to read a lot and learn to write logically, evocatively, eloquently and impressively. Even if you are a good writer, you will need, to enhance and perfect your existing abilities. Learning is a life long process and it should not end with a certain age, if we are to make a mark in our lives.
I had a Private Secretary, who could not take dictation or use computer. When I asked him, as why he did not learn this latest skill. He replied that he had only 6 months of service left and he was too old, to learn anything new. I told him, that I myself had only 12 months service left and I was willing to learn the computer and was learning. But it had no effect him, as he felt that the retirement from the government service was the end of road and life for him. I urged him again, that it is never too late, to learn new skills and acquire new information, as it will make him employable even after retirement.
When we are no longer able to change a situation, it is time to change ourselves.
Mother Teresa used to say, "None of us can do great things, we can only do a small thing with great love every day". This equally applies to our learning and improving ourselves.
(The Author is former Director of CBI, India)
Monday, October 30, 2006
Wednesday, October 25, 2006
Elections: The Emirates Way
By Dr. Ebtisam Al-Kitbi
The next legislative session of the Federal National Council (FNC) represents a pivotal stage in the history of UAE. It is one of the most important sessions in terms of its nature and the tasks it has outlined. The key task is expanding its authority from the consultative to the legislative domain, activating its supervisory role in terms of parliamentary practices such as questioning, forming investigation committees and casting a vote of no-confidence against the government, in addition to expanding the range of membership. All these demonstrate the importance of council, as well as its content and structure, which must subsume and represent the different groups of the social, intellectual and political spectrum. Choosing this kind of council must be based on quality and not quantity. The next council must indeed be different from those that have prevailed until now, both in terms of its essence and content, and not merely in form.
Ultimately, elections are a means and not an end; they are one of the mechanisms of democracy with freedom, justice and equality as the props. Measuring the extent of democracy in a society finally depends on the degree to which its general principles are practiced and applied. This constitutes the basic fabric of any democratic system, either on the part of the citizens or officials. Further, the sound pillars of a real democratic system must be built on:
* Pluralism- in terms of the freedom and legality of diverse viewpoints, and the freedom to form political parties to express the different interests of society;
* Equality- which subsumes granting citizens the same rights and not discriminating between them on the basis of religion, ethnic origin, color, gender or political allegiance; all citizens are equal with regard to rights and duties;
* Participation- guaranteeing citizens' rights to participate in the different spheres of social, political and civil life;
* Freedom of ex-pression- guaranteeing the liberty of expressing viewpoints and giving minorities the opportunity to express their opinions and ensuring freedom of the press;
* Elections- holding polls at all levels and for all groups, and ensuring that they are public, adhering to a secret ballot, fair and periodic;
* Transparency and accountability- devise ways to enable people to know what transpires in the state in a manner that empowers them to hold officials in different spheres and at different levels accountable;
* Combating corruption- to prevent decision-makers from abusing power;
* Respect for law and the Constitution- all citizens are equal before the law; every individual must respect the law and be subject to its rules in the same measure as others;
* Control over the government- constitutional constraints on the government's work must be devised; and so is the need for a mechanism to supervise the work of the different authorities of the state;
* Separation of power- among the legislative, executive and judicial branches, as well as guaranteeing the independence of the judiciary;
* Respect for human rights- in accordance with international human charters and customs.
The process of conducting elections is linked to 3 primary issues- first, the range of positions open to election; second, determining who has the right to vote; and third, the overall turnout of voters on polling day.
One of the most important characteristics of the electoral system is its range of positions open to election. The greater the number of positions subject to competitive elections, the more democratic a political system is. Determining who is eligible to vote is just as important; at present, in most democracies, the constitutional right to vote extends to all citizens who are 18 years old and above.
Notwithstanding the theoretical framework of elections, the important factor is the result of the process, and not the form in which the elections are held. The moot question is: does the outcome reflect the different intellectual, social, economic and political spectrum, or does it institute the control of the elite belonging to any of these groups.
One of the most important characteristics of the electoral system is its range of positions open to election. The greater the number of positions subject to competitive elections, the more democratic a political system is. Determining who is eligible to vote is just as important
The announcement of the names of the nominees for FNC elections in December has raised questions and created a feeling of bitterness and mistrust. In the past, such reactions did not come to the fore because selecting and ignoring FNC members was not the concern of the ordinary people. But the advertisement for the upcoming elections, and the accompanying media coverage, has been a negative factor. It has increased ambiguities instead of clarifying the issues. It succeeded in motivating people to participate in the elections, which everyone thought they were somehow a part of, till they realized that it was the privilege of only 6,689 people, representing 0.08% of total UAE citizens. Remaining citizens have been offered seats reserved for spectators, without knowing why they have been excluded.
Instead of establishing a political consciousness that reflects the content of Article 25 of Chapter III of the UAE Constitution- which addresses public rights and duties and stipulates that "all individuals are equal before the law, and there is no distinction between the citizens of the Federation on the basis of origin, creed, or social position"- distinction has been made and inequality consolidated in a manner that has made the coming electoral process something of a Spartan Paradigm.
What is more important than the elections themselves is establishing an electoral culture, and this cannot be fulfilled through spectators. It has to be achieved through actual participation, not necessarily in the highest public domain; it could start at the level of local or municipal councils, which could form the basis from which the FNC members can be chosen by local authorities. Only this process will consolidate the principle of people's choice and a flavor of untainted democracy will be conferred on the electoral scene.
There is no doubt that any experiment will involve shortcomings and mistakes in the beginning. However, this is a historic opportunity for the concerned authorities to present the government with election models that reflect the views of reformist groups of the highest caliber. Only these will reflect the true aspirations of the people and make a qualitative change that will guarantee the UAE a high position on the scale of freedom and democracy.
The next legislative session of the Federal National Council (FNC) represents a pivotal stage in the history of UAE. It is one of the most important sessions in terms of its nature and the tasks it has outlined. The key task is expanding its authority from the consultative to the legislative domain, activating its supervisory role in terms of parliamentary practices such as questioning, forming investigation committees and casting a vote of no-confidence against the government, in addition to expanding the range of membership. All these demonstrate the importance of council, as well as its content and structure, which must subsume and represent the different groups of the social, intellectual and political spectrum. Choosing this kind of council must be based on quality and not quantity. The next council must indeed be different from those that have prevailed until now, both in terms of its essence and content, and not merely in form.
Ultimately, elections are a means and not an end; they are one of the mechanisms of democracy with freedom, justice and equality as the props. Measuring the extent of democracy in a society finally depends on the degree to which its general principles are practiced and applied. This constitutes the basic fabric of any democratic system, either on the part of the citizens or officials. Further, the sound pillars of a real democratic system must be built on:
* Pluralism- in terms of the freedom and legality of diverse viewpoints, and the freedom to form political parties to express the different interests of society;
* Equality- which subsumes granting citizens the same rights and not discriminating between them on the basis of religion, ethnic origin, color, gender or political allegiance; all citizens are equal with regard to rights and duties;
* Participation- guaranteeing citizens' rights to participate in the different spheres of social, political and civil life;
* Freedom of ex-pression- guaranteeing the liberty of expressing viewpoints and giving minorities the opportunity to express their opinions and ensuring freedom of the press;
* Elections- holding polls at all levels and for all groups, and ensuring that they are public, adhering to a secret ballot, fair and periodic;
* Transparency and accountability- devise ways to enable people to know what transpires in the state in a manner that empowers them to hold officials in different spheres and at different levels accountable;
* Combating corruption- to prevent decision-makers from abusing power;
* Respect for law and the Constitution- all citizens are equal before the law; every individual must respect the law and be subject to its rules in the same measure as others;
* Control over the government- constitutional constraints on the government's work must be devised; and so is the need for a mechanism to supervise the work of the different authorities of the state;
* Separation of power- among the legislative, executive and judicial branches, as well as guaranteeing the independence of the judiciary;
* Respect for human rights- in accordance with international human charters and customs.
The process of conducting elections is linked to 3 primary issues- first, the range of positions open to election; second, determining who has the right to vote; and third, the overall turnout of voters on polling day.
One of the most important characteristics of the electoral system is its range of positions open to election. The greater the number of positions subject to competitive elections, the more democratic a political system is. Determining who is eligible to vote is just as important; at present, in most democracies, the constitutional right to vote extends to all citizens who are 18 years old and above.
Notwithstanding the theoretical framework of elections, the important factor is the result of the process, and not the form in which the elections are held. The moot question is: does the outcome reflect the different intellectual, social, economic and political spectrum, or does it institute the control of the elite belonging to any of these groups.
One of the most important characteristics of the electoral system is its range of positions open to election. The greater the number of positions subject to competitive elections, the more democratic a political system is. Determining who is eligible to vote is just as important
The announcement of the names of the nominees for FNC elections in December has raised questions and created a feeling of bitterness and mistrust. In the past, such reactions did not come to the fore because selecting and ignoring FNC members was not the concern of the ordinary people. But the advertisement for the upcoming elections, and the accompanying media coverage, has been a negative factor. It has increased ambiguities instead of clarifying the issues. It succeeded in motivating people to participate in the elections, which everyone thought they were somehow a part of, till they realized that it was the privilege of only 6,689 people, representing 0.08% of total UAE citizens. Remaining citizens have been offered seats reserved for spectators, without knowing why they have been excluded.
Instead of establishing a political consciousness that reflects the content of Article 25 of Chapter III of the UAE Constitution- which addresses public rights and duties and stipulates that "all individuals are equal before the law, and there is no distinction between the citizens of the Federation on the basis of origin, creed, or social position"- distinction has been made and inequality consolidated in a manner that has made the coming electoral process something of a Spartan Paradigm.
What is more important than the elections themselves is establishing an electoral culture, and this cannot be fulfilled through spectators. It has to be achieved through actual participation, not necessarily in the highest public domain; it could start at the level of local or municipal councils, which could form the basis from which the FNC members can be chosen by local authorities. Only this process will consolidate the principle of people's choice and a flavor of untainted democracy will be conferred on the electoral scene.
There is no doubt that any experiment will involve shortcomings and mistakes in the beginning. However, this is a historic opportunity for the concerned authorities to present the government with election models that reflect the views of reformist groups of the highest caliber. Only these will reflect the true aspirations of the people and make a qualitative change that will guarantee the UAE a high position on the scale of freedom and democracy.
Sunday, October 22, 2006
Gulf Makes Strategic Shift In New International System
By Dr. Christian Koch
When Condoleezza Rice visited the region 2 weeks ago as part of a new diplomatic initiative with the message of a new "Middle East", she received cold response. Arab leaders agreed to meet her and listen to her statements and arguments because it is part of the diplomatic protocol. Moreover, Arab tradition demands that a visitor is treated with respect and kindness. But Arab leaders also know that US policy is not made in the State Department. Rather, the real power resides in White House in the form of Vice-President's Office and the National Security Council. Despite the portrayal of Arab world as being backward and living in the past, its rulers and populations, in fact, have a keen awareness about the realities of the new international system and they can see right through the American pretensions.
Moderate Arab allies have basically abandoned the United States- not militarily or economically, but politically. What remains is a facade of a relationship. Egypt, for example, is not about to jeopardize billions of annual aid by completely ignoring the United States. Rather, it pays lip service to the US by receiving its dignitaries and occasionally calling on the US to revive the peace process. The same is true with Arab Gulf countries, which realize that they require American military power for protection in a dangerous neighborhood. For the moment, they rather have the US in their back pocket despite all its problematic policies than have Iran breathe down their neck.
Given the realities of America's quagmire in Iraq, all the suggestions that, during the second term, the Bush administration became more realistic in its assessment of Middle East situation and more sincere in reaching out for the assistance and input of the allies is simply nonsense. The bottom line is that the US has not changed its policies on the Arab-Israeli conflict over the past 3 decades. Under the given circumstances of domestic American politics, the US will never exert sufficient pressure on Israel to reach an agreement on the Arab-Israeli conflict despite the fact that the outlines of an eventual accord are known to everyone and have been around for some time. It is land for peace and if presented in the right way, the Arabs are ready to except it. But for whatever reason, every US administration in the past 4 decades has consistently extended Israel the benefit of doubt, meaning that it was the Arabs that were uninterested while Israel that was seeking peace. Yet, what Israel really wants is both peace and all the land it currently occupies without any tradeoff. It is not rocket science to understand that this is completely unrealistic and will never lead to any kind of security.
Arab world has certainly made its mistakes in the past, but the characterization of right and wrong as being an absolute definition in international relations no longer applies. The US, however, still lives with its Cold War mentality in which there exists a winner and loser, and its policy officials succumb to precisely that logic. In Gulf, having tried it before and failed, the US continues to implement a balance of power approach to regional relations by playing one country against another. This is also the case with within the Gulf Cooperation Council. But in this way, the region will never be able to attain any desired level of security. As in the past, one crisis will simply follow the next.
To their credit, the governments of the Arab Gulf countries have understood for some time both the changes talking place in the international system- in which military power is no longer the ultimate determinant of right and wrong- and the shortsightedness of US Middle East policy. Even prior to 9/11, then Saudi Crown Prince Abdullah became so enraged with the US position on the Arab-Israeli conflict that he instructed the Saudi ambassador to the US to deliver the following message: "Starting from today, you're from Uruguay, as they say. You (Americans) go your way, I (Saudi Arabia) go my way. From now on, we will protect our national interests, regardless of where America's interests lie in the region." Similarly but more diplomatically, Saudi Foreign Minister Saud Al-Faisal told the Gulf Dialogue meeting in Bahrain in December 2004 that guarantees for Gulf security cannot be provided unilaterally "even by the only superpower in the world" but that the region required guarantees "provided by the collective will of the international community." In a way, both messages were signals to the US that its policies were heading in the wrong direction. But instead of taking note of these signals, the US has continued on the same path, in turn deepening the region's doubts about actual US intentions.
As a result, the Arab Gulf has begun to build ties with a variety of groups including the European Union, Turkey, and particularly Asia. By linking the economic interests of these countries and regions to the security of the Gulf, the Arab Gulf is able to build stronger partnership, in addition to establishing a role for itself in the international arena. Underscoring this policy is the understanding that relations are no longer defined by military power alone and that only extensive economic, political and social relationships will help the region escape its inherent cycle of instability. What is more, the diplomatic efforts of the Arab Gulf countries are being reciprocated by the other side with European and Asian officials increasingly coming to the region and realizing the moderate potential these countries hold for the region as a whole. On his way back from the United States in April 2006, which was not classified as an official state visit, Chinese President Hu Jintao made just one stop, in Saudi Arabia. Similarly, Germany has placed the Gulf as a region of significance in terms of its upcoming EU presidency.
There is a temptation to provide US foreign policy with the benefit of doubt, but under the Bush administration it has proven to be a facade with very little substance behind it. After listening and placing their hopes in American promises about a better future, the Arab Gulf countries have begun to look after their own interests and they are intent to follow this path despite US objections. This could be the real strategic shift occurring in the region.
(ResearchSEA)
When Condoleezza Rice visited the region 2 weeks ago as part of a new diplomatic initiative with the message of a new "Middle East", she received cold response. Arab leaders agreed to meet her and listen to her statements and arguments because it is part of the diplomatic protocol. Moreover, Arab tradition demands that a visitor is treated with respect and kindness. But Arab leaders also know that US policy is not made in the State Department. Rather, the real power resides in White House in the form of Vice-President's Office and the National Security Council. Despite the portrayal of Arab world as being backward and living in the past, its rulers and populations, in fact, have a keen awareness about the realities of the new international system and they can see right through the American pretensions.
Moderate Arab allies have basically abandoned the United States- not militarily or economically, but politically. What remains is a facade of a relationship. Egypt, for example, is not about to jeopardize billions of annual aid by completely ignoring the United States. Rather, it pays lip service to the US by receiving its dignitaries and occasionally calling on the US to revive the peace process. The same is true with Arab Gulf countries, which realize that they require American military power for protection in a dangerous neighborhood. For the moment, they rather have the US in their back pocket despite all its problematic policies than have Iran breathe down their neck.
Given the realities of America's quagmire in Iraq, all the suggestions that, during the second term, the Bush administration became more realistic in its assessment of Middle East situation and more sincere in reaching out for the assistance and input of the allies is simply nonsense. The bottom line is that the US has not changed its policies on the Arab-Israeli conflict over the past 3 decades. Under the given circumstances of domestic American politics, the US will never exert sufficient pressure on Israel to reach an agreement on the Arab-Israeli conflict despite the fact that the outlines of an eventual accord are known to everyone and have been around for some time. It is land for peace and if presented in the right way, the Arabs are ready to except it. But for whatever reason, every US administration in the past 4 decades has consistently extended Israel the benefit of doubt, meaning that it was the Arabs that were uninterested while Israel that was seeking peace. Yet, what Israel really wants is both peace and all the land it currently occupies without any tradeoff. It is not rocket science to understand that this is completely unrealistic and will never lead to any kind of security.
Arab world has certainly made its mistakes in the past, but the characterization of right and wrong as being an absolute definition in international relations no longer applies. The US, however, still lives with its Cold War mentality in which there exists a winner and loser, and its policy officials succumb to precisely that logic. In Gulf, having tried it before and failed, the US continues to implement a balance of power approach to regional relations by playing one country against another. This is also the case with within the Gulf Cooperation Council. But in this way, the region will never be able to attain any desired level of security. As in the past, one crisis will simply follow the next.
To their credit, the governments of the Arab Gulf countries have understood for some time both the changes talking place in the international system- in which military power is no longer the ultimate determinant of right and wrong- and the shortsightedness of US Middle East policy. Even prior to 9/11, then Saudi Crown Prince Abdullah became so enraged with the US position on the Arab-Israeli conflict that he instructed the Saudi ambassador to the US to deliver the following message: "Starting from today, you're from Uruguay, as they say. You (Americans) go your way, I (Saudi Arabia) go my way. From now on, we will protect our national interests, regardless of where America's interests lie in the region." Similarly but more diplomatically, Saudi Foreign Minister Saud Al-Faisal told the Gulf Dialogue meeting in Bahrain in December 2004 that guarantees for Gulf security cannot be provided unilaterally "even by the only superpower in the world" but that the region required guarantees "provided by the collective will of the international community." In a way, both messages were signals to the US that its policies were heading in the wrong direction. But instead of taking note of these signals, the US has continued on the same path, in turn deepening the region's doubts about actual US intentions.
As a result, the Arab Gulf has begun to build ties with a variety of groups including the European Union, Turkey, and particularly Asia. By linking the economic interests of these countries and regions to the security of the Gulf, the Arab Gulf is able to build stronger partnership, in addition to establishing a role for itself in the international arena. Underscoring this policy is the understanding that relations are no longer defined by military power alone and that only extensive economic, political and social relationships will help the region escape its inherent cycle of instability. What is more, the diplomatic efforts of the Arab Gulf countries are being reciprocated by the other side with European and Asian officials increasingly coming to the region and realizing the moderate potential these countries hold for the region as a whole. On his way back from the United States in April 2006, which was not classified as an official state visit, Chinese President Hu Jintao made just one stop, in Saudi Arabia. Similarly, Germany has placed the Gulf as a region of significance in terms of its upcoming EU presidency.
There is a temptation to provide US foreign policy with the benefit of doubt, but under the Bush administration it has proven to be a facade with very little substance behind it. After listening and placing their hopes in American promises about a better future, the Arab Gulf countries have begun to look after their own interests and they are intent to follow this path despite US objections. This could be the real strategic shift occurring in the region.
(ResearchSEA)
Wednesday, October 18, 2006
Impact of Ownership on Human and Budget Allocation in Japan Press
By Hiromi CHO
Economic theories suggest that monopolies possess market power that increases allocate inefficiency. Monopolies tend to set prices above marginal costs and reduce quality by cutting expenditures in the news and editorials. As a result, the quality of information and diversity of opinion that should be available to readers are in great danger of being reduced. The purpose of this study is to examine the impact of ownership on daily newspaper human and budget allocation processes in Japan, and then to ascertain whether or not economic factors have a negative impact on the freedom of the Japanese press. Because of the dearth of newspaper studies outside of the West, a study of Japanese newspapers is a worthwhile effort and a valuable first step in developing newspaper research in this part of the world.
A census of all 70 local newspapers affiliated with Nihon Shinbun Kyokai was included in this study. A constructed week was randomly selected and non-advertising space was measured by squared centimeters. Dependent variables in this study were non-advertising space, the percentage of non-advertising space, and the number of reporters. An independent variable is ownership (group-owned newspapers or non-group papers). Newspaper competition in each prefecture, the number of households, and newspaper circulation were used as control variables in this study. Fifty-four independently owned newspapers and 16 group newspapers were compared using multiple regression analysis.
Results from the multiple regression analysis showed that group newspapers had an average of 38.741 fewer reporters than non-group newspapers. Group newspapers also had a non-advertising space that was 36,754.9 square centimeters smaller per week than that of non-group newspapers. When newspapers took the form of group, non-advertising space in the newspaper decreased. However, there was no difference between group and non-group newspapers in the way newspaper management allocated the percentage of non-advertising space in the newspaper.
This study confirmed the impact of ownership on the newspaper resource allocation processes in Japan. Group newspapers reduced the number of reporters and the amount of non-advertising space, and did not commit human and financial resources to the newsroom to the degree non-group newspapers did; instead, they appeared to pursue profit by cutting the number of reporters, and reducing non-advertising space in the newspaper.
Reducing newspaper quality by cutting costs to obtain high profits will have a negative impact on the long-run profits of the firm. In the long-run, the result will be a loss of readers, which will result further in lost circulation revenue, and, consequently, declining advertising revenue.
Other findings associated with dependent variables in this study were:
1. As competition intensifies, newspapers increase the number of reporters and the amount of non-advertising space in the newspaper.
2. Newspapers in larger cities produced a smaller percentage of non-advertising space than newspapers in smaller cities.
3. Newspapers with a larger circulation can afford more reporters, and had more non-advertising space in the newspaper.
Some descriptive statistics from this study were:
1. The average number of reporters working for a newspaper in Japan was 107.73.
2. The amount of non-advertising space in the newspaper in Japan was 212,422.50 square centimeters per week.
3. Local Japanese newspapers had an average of 69.59% of non-advertising space in the newspaper.
4. The average circulation of a local Japanese newspaper was 267,635.64.
5. The market size in which a newspaper circulates varied from 205,871 to 4,000,000.
(ResearchSEA)
Economic theories suggest that monopolies possess market power that increases allocate inefficiency. Monopolies tend to set prices above marginal costs and reduce quality by cutting expenditures in the news and editorials. As a result, the quality of information and diversity of opinion that should be available to readers are in great danger of being reduced. The purpose of this study is to examine the impact of ownership on daily newspaper human and budget allocation processes in Japan, and then to ascertain whether or not economic factors have a negative impact on the freedom of the Japanese press. Because of the dearth of newspaper studies outside of the West, a study of Japanese newspapers is a worthwhile effort and a valuable first step in developing newspaper research in this part of the world.
A census of all 70 local newspapers affiliated with Nihon Shinbun Kyokai was included in this study. A constructed week was randomly selected and non-advertising space was measured by squared centimeters. Dependent variables in this study were non-advertising space, the percentage of non-advertising space, and the number of reporters. An independent variable is ownership (group-owned newspapers or non-group papers). Newspaper competition in each prefecture, the number of households, and newspaper circulation were used as control variables in this study. Fifty-four independently owned newspapers and 16 group newspapers were compared using multiple regression analysis.
Results from the multiple regression analysis showed that group newspapers had an average of 38.741 fewer reporters than non-group newspapers. Group newspapers also had a non-advertising space that was 36,754.9 square centimeters smaller per week than that of non-group newspapers. When newspapers took the form of group, non-advertising space in the newspaper decreased. However, there was no difference between group and non-group newspapers in the way newspaper management allocated the percentage of non-advertising space in the newspaper.
This study confirmed the impact of ownership on the newspaper resource allocation processes in Japan. Group newspapers reduced the number of reporters and the amount of non-advertising space, and did not commit human and financial resources to the newsroom to the degree non-group newspapers did; instead, they appeared to pursue profit by cutting the number of reporters, and reducing non-advertising space in the newspaper.
Reducing newspaper quality by cutting costs to obtain high profits will have a negative impact on the long-run profits of the firm. In the long-run, the result will be a loss of readers, which will result further in lost circulation revenue, and, consequently, declining advertising revenue.
Other findings associated with dependent variables in this study were:
1. As competition intensifies, newspapers increase the number of reporters and the amount of non-advertising space in the newspaper.
2. Newspapers in larger cities produced a smaller percentage of non-advertising space than newspapers in smaller cities.
3. Newspapers with a larger circulation can afford more reporters, and had more non-advertising space in the newspaper.
Some descriptive statistics from this study were:
1. The average number of reporters working for a newspaper in Japan was 107.73.
2. The amount of non-advertising space in the newspaper in Japan was 212,422.50 square centimeters per week.
3. Local Japanese newspapers had an average of 69.59% of non-advertising space in the newspaper.
4. The average circulation of a local Japanese newspaper was 267,635.64.
5. The market size in which a newspaper circulates varied from 205,871 to 4,000,000.
(ResearchSEA)
Tuesday, October 17, 2006
N. Korea Reinforces Trend of Developing Countries Pursuing Nuke Programs
By Nicole Stracke
North Korea's first nuclear test on October 9 has triggered a debate on the global implications, as well as the short- and long-term impact in the Middle East in general and the Gulf region in particular.
In the short term, the nuclear test could undermine the current negotiations among Tehran, the European Union and the International Atomic Energy Agency to stop Iran's nuclear enrichment program. Like North Korea, Iran could choose to withdraw from the Nuclear Non-Proliferation treaty, and accelerate its research to gain nuclear weapons capability. Iran is well aware of the possibility of United Nations sanctions. However, the country's leadership may reckon that if North Korea is able to withstand sanctions and develop its nuclear capabilities, then so could Iran. Tehran is pragmatic about military action and realizes that a US strike on its nuclear facilities could result in its nuclear enrichment program being delayed for years.
However, in long term, it will be difficult for the United States and the international community to control Iranian activities to rebuild its nuclear program as the Iraqi example demonstrates. The Iraqi program was destroyed by Israel in 1981, but after the US invaded Iraq in 1991, it was discovered that the Iraqi regime had regained plenty of lost ground. The North Korean nuclear test has underlined the fact that, over the short or long run, the international community will face a much bigger problem beyond Iran pursuing a nuclear enrichment or weapons program.
North Korea's nuclear test should thus be seen from a broader perspective: the lack of deterrent mechanisms is encouraging developing countries to pursue their own nuclear programs in order to improve their strategic positions. This trend started during the last decade and has continued ever since. Currently, India, Pakistan and North Korea possess nuclear capabilities. While Iran is pursuing a nuclear program, recent statements of Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak and Yemeni President Abdullah Saleh indicate that they are pushing forward initiatives to start civilian nuclear programs with US cooperation. During the Gulf Cooperation Council meeting in Bahrain in September, the GCC Secretary-General, Abdul Rahman Al-Attiyah, called on Arab countries to rethink their zero nuclear option, and proposed pooling of Arab financial resources to start nuclear research.
It is interesting to note that all these countries are united by 2 denominators, which explain their common objective of pursuing nuclear programs. First, the governing regimes are ruling in an insecure and unstable domestic or regional environment. India and Pakistan are involved in a dispute over the border and territorial issue of Kashmir. The authoritarian North Korean government has not yet given up on its strategic objective of annexing South Korea. The threat perceptions of the ruling elites in Egypt, Iran and the GCC countries are heightened through the unresolved Arab-Israeli conflict, the unpopular US involvement in the region, and the unstable situation in Iraq. And, Iran and the GCC countries are entering a struggle over strategic hegemony in the Gulf.
Second, in the global scenario, on the one side are the US with the world's largest defense budget and huge military capability, as well as economic powerhouses Japan and the EU. On the other side are developing countries India, Pakistan, Iran, Yemen and North Korea, none of which possess the military capabilities or the economic strength of the developed countries. North Korea, Yemen and Egypt have to deal with poor economic performance and education standards, and there is no sign of any short-term alternative to bridge the economic or military gap.
Thus, it appears that regimes which have existed over the years in an insecure domestic or regional environment or lack trust and confidence due to economic instability have increasingly developed threat perception toward potential enemies from within their own countries or region. It is in this context that they are trying to improve their strategic position by looking for short-term solutions. Many of these regimes equate security with enhanced military power, and nuclear enrichment seems the cheaper, faster and efficient alternative to overcome their insecurities and emerge as credible powers.
From the North Korean perspective, a nuclear bomb boosts the regime's chances of survival and gives it an advantage in negotiations with South Korea. Similarly, for Iran, acquiring a nuclear capability will help the regime use it as a tactical means to gain an upper hand in the ongoing dispute with the UAE over the Abu Musa and Greater and Lesser Tunbs islands. The Iranian regime may also attempt to develop a "containment policy" of the US influence in the region. As far as the GCC countries are concerned, it will be impossible to live with a nuclear Iran evolving as hegemon and thus they may be forced into a "nuclear race" to maintain the 'balance of power' in the Gulf.
Given the increasing unpopularity of US policies in the region, one gets the impression that the latest initiatives to pursue a nuclear program, with US support or without it, is emerging as a new prestige project for some Asian and Middle East countries. The Iranian or Yemeni regimes could ensure increased public support by demonstrating leadership skills that reduce their dependence on the US and, as a result, lessen resistance against unpopular US policies in the region. The implementation of nuclear programs has a positive economic side too because nuclear energy generates electricity, an argument used by the Egyptian and Yemeni leadership. Even the oil-rich GCC countries argue that nuclear energy can help reduce the quantity of oil spent for electricity generation and water desalination, which would result in additional investments in the domestic education and infrastructure arenas.
Hence, the recent North Korean nuclear test should be considered within the global context. While it may undermine the EU initiative to prevent Iran's nuclear enrichment program, a matter of greater concern is that some developing countries in Asia and the Middle East are rethinking their nuclear policies. Finally, the North Korean case demonstrates that there is a lack of international mechanisms to prevent these countries from acquiring nuclear weapons in the long term. Unless there is an urgent and serious change in this regard, the chances of the North Korean example replicating remain open.
(ResearchSEA)
North Korea's first nuclear test on October 9 has triggered a debate on the global implications, as well as the short- and long-term impact in the Middle East in general and the Gulf region in particular.
In the short term, the nuclear test could undermine the current negotiations among Tehran, the European Union and the International Atomic Energy Agency to stop Iran's nuclear enrichment program. Like North Korea, Iran could choose to withdraw from the Nuclear Non-Proliferation treaty, and accelerate its research to gain nuclear weapons capability. Iran is well aware of the possibility of United Nations sanctions. However, the country's leadership may reckon that if North Korea is able to withstand sanctions and develop its nuclear capabilities, then so could Iran. Tehran is pragmatic about military action and realizes that a US strike on its nuclear facilities could result in its nuclear enrichment program being delayed for years.
However, in long term, it will be difficult for the United States and the international community to control Iranian activities to rebuild its nuclear program as the Iraqi example demonstrates. The Iraqi program was destroyed by Israel in 1981, but after the US invaded Iraq in 1991, it was discovered that the Iraqi regime had regained plenty of lost ground. The North Korean nuclear test has underlined the fact that, over the short or long run, the international community will face a much bigger problem beyond Iran pursuing a nuclear enrichment or weapons program.
North Korea's nuclear test should thus be seen from a broader perspective: the lack of deterrent mechanisms is encouraging developing countries to pursue their own nuclear programs in order to improve their strategic positions. This trend started during the last decade and has continued ever since. Currently, India, Pakistan and North Korea possess nuclear capabilities. While Iran is pursuing a nuclear program, recent statements of Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak and Yemeni President Abdullah Saleh indicate that they are pushing forward initiatives to start civilian nuclear programs with US cooperation. During the Gulf Cooperation Council meeting in Bahrain in September, the GCC Secretary-General, Abdul Rahman Al-Attiyah, called on Arab countries to rethink their zero nuclear option, and proposed pooling of Arab financial resources to start nuclear research.
It is interesting to note that all these countries are united by 2 denominators, which explain their common objective of pursuing nuclear programs. First, the governing regimes are ruling in an insecure and unstable domestic or regional environment. India and Pakistan are involved in a dispute over the border and territorial issue of Kashmir. The authoritarian North Korean government has not yet given up on its strategic objective of annexing South Korea. The threat perceptions of the ruling elites in Egypt, Iran and the GCC countries are heightened through the unresolved Arab-Israeli conflict, the unpopular US involvement in the region, and the unstable situation in Iraq. And, Iran and the GCC countries are entering a struggle over strategic hegemony in the Gulf.
Second, in the global scenario, on the one side are the US with the world's largest defense budget and huge military capability, as well as economic powerhouses Japan and the EU. On the other side are developing countries India, Pakistan, Iran, Yemen and North Korea, none of which possess the military capabilities or the economic strength of the developed countries. North Korea, Yemen and Egypt have to deal with poor economic performance and education standards, and there is no sign of any short-term alternative to bridge the economic or military gap.
Thus, it appears that regimes which have existed over the years in an insecure domestic or regional environment or lack trust and confidence due to economic instability have increasingly developed threat perception toward potential enemies from within their own countries or region. It is in this context that they are trying to improve their strategic position by looking for short-term solutions. Many of these regimes equate security with enhanced military power, and nuclear enrichment seems the cheaper, faster and efficient alternative to overcome their insecurities and emerge as credible powers.
From the North Korean perspective, a nuclear bomb boosts the regime's chances of survival and gives it an advantage in negotiations with South Korea. Similarly, for Iran, acquiring a nuclear capability will help the regime use it as a tactical means to gain an upper hand in the ongoing dispute with the UAE over the Abu Musa and Greater and Lesser Tunbs islands. The Iranian regime may also attempt to develop a "containment policy" of the US influence in the region. As far as the GCC countries are concerned, it will be impossible to live with a nuclear Iran evolving as hegemon and thus they may be forced into a "nuclear race" to maintain the 'balance of power' in the Gulf.
Given the increasing unpopularity of US policies in the region, one gets the impression that the latest initiatives to pursue a nuclear program, with US support or without it, is emerging as a new prestige project for some Asian and Middle East countries. The Iranian or Yemeni regimes could ensure increased public support by demonstrating leadership skills that reduce their dependence on the US and, as a result, lessen resistance against unpopular US policies in the region. The implementation of nuclear programs has a positive economic side too because nuclear energy generates electricity, an argument used by the Egyptian and Yemeni leadership. Even the oil-rich GCC countries argue that nuclear energy can help reduce the quantity of oil spent for electricity generation and water desalination, which would result in additional investments in the domestic education and infrastructure arenas.
Hence, the recent North Korean nuclear test should be considered within the global context. While it may undermine the EU initiative to prevent Iran's nuclear enrichment program, a matter of greater concern is that some developing countries in Asia and the Middle East are rethinking their nuclear policies. Finally, the North Korean case demonstrates that there is a lack of international mechanisms to prevent these countries from acquiring nuclear weapons in the long term. Unless there is an urgent and serious change in this regard, the chances of the North Korean example replicating remain open.
(ResearchSEA)
Monday, October 16, 2006
The Great Urban Predicament
I have been asked to talk about the urbanization process and its many fallouts, which we are facing today. Before I come to the specifics of our own experiences with urbanization in Agra, I would like to present an overview of the problem.
Two new developments need to be taken note of--
Government of India’s latest policy on Special Economic Zones (SEZs) backed by an Act of Parliament in June this year- This Act empowers the government to set up 300 tax-exempted enclaves, all over the country, with the ostensible objective of stimulating production of goods and services for export to help generate additional economic activity. The size of the enclaves will vary from 10 hectares to 1000 hectares. What this would in effect mean, is creation of new urban clusters, or new townships. In next couple of years we will have an additional 300 towns in India, with world class facilities, as the private sector promoters would not face any resources crunch. How these islands of opulence and prosperity will impact existing urban centers, is a matter that needs to be debated. How fast the central government is moving on this project can be understood by the clearance given to 181 SEZs till date. A special cell is daily processing the applications.
Another initiative of the present government in respect of existing urban centers is the Rs.50,000 crore worth Jawahar Lal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission (NURM). This mission, it has been claimed, will drastically alter the urban development scenario in country. Agra is also one of the centers which has been identified under this new scheme.
Two other related trends need to be taken note of--
One, the land grab movement by land Mafiosi, the entry of big sharks called colonizers and land developers, the high-tech township promoters, in short a high profiled “land development industry” as distinct from Dr. Lohia’s concept of “Bhoomi Sena” has accessed all the surplus land for building multi-storied buildings and apartments for the city elites, on government lands, on public ponds, on the peripheries of the cities. The government agencies like the ADA or the Awas Vikas Nigam, playing the second fiddle, have been acquiring land for them, often fleecing the farmers by depriving them of the actual market rates. This uncontrolled spree for privatization of land resources for commercial purposes and devoid of any public concerns is now a major trend all over India. Last month Newsweek identified Ghaziabad as “the hottest urban center” in India. This transformation of the western districts of UP, which have traditionally been agriculturally prosperous, into a 21st century “super urban elitist metropolitan area,” is a development that has to be taken note of seriously, as the rising crime rate in this belt appears to be a direct fallout of this trend.
Another disturbing trend discernible, which could prove to be a source of worry in future, is the mass exodus from rural areas to the cities, which have graduated as hubs of development and employment generating centers. If we take the case of Agra, originally a city planned for just 60,000 people in the days of the Mughal empire, it is today peopled by more than 16 lakhs. This additional population burden is not the result of any fertility drugs or sudden peaking of the birth rate, but contributed by the mass migration from rural areas, and the temptation of the municipal bodies to periodically extend city limits to integrate rural clusters into the city. This has naturally put the civic amenities and the available infrastructures under tremendous pressure. The gap between people’s rising expectations and the capacity of the local bodies to deliver and keep pace with the demands of the community continues to widen. In most developing countries metropolitan areas have squeezed the countryside of precious land resources, all in the name of national development. Against such a backdrop the mass exodus from rural areas to the islands of opulence that the cities have become, is understandably inevitable.
Also note may be taken of the Supreme Court’s initiative to stop commercial activities in Delhi’s residential areas. This has become a major issue of confrontation involving the city planners like the DDA, political parties dependent on vote bank politics, the residential areas associations, the tax collecting agencies, social activists and the judiciary. With so many interest groups fighting it out, it is possible to get confused about the real issues. In such a surcharged atmosphere it also becomes difficult to identify the original culprits. The development has to be seen against four continuing trends in urban areas: increase in population pressure, growth of consumer markets, escalation of land prices and above all ad hocism in government’s urbanization policies, more a result of responding to alarm calls rather than a systematic evaluation of the needs of the community and existing resources. The Delhi fiasco of urban planning will be repeated in all Indian cities as courts become more and more sensitized to society’s long-term concerns and environmental groups start playing a catalytic role.
Our urban centers are bursting at the seams. One question people often ask everywhere is “if we can get man on the moon, why can’t we move people across the town more efficiently and safely?” India too is planning to send a manned flight to the moon in 2010. True, lack of transport facilities is not the only problem that city governments are finding hard to tackle, it nevertheless indicates the miserable mess that urban planners have created virtually everywhere by their commitment to “big is beautiful and better, smaller issues will sort out themselves.” Unfortunately it has not happened that way.
Democratic communities should be concerned about the last man in the row, the smaller and the weaker segments of the society, but our town-planners have been showing extra favors to the big land sharks.
Poor Housing, alarming crime situation, increasing unemployment in the cities, apartheid in education, inadequate transport services are some of the chief problems defying solutions.
Paradoxically with higher incomes and higher spending, poverty has now moved into the cities. We are now warned that the quality of life would further deteriorate in the cities. Housing patterns developed in recent years in many Indian cities have not measured up to the expectations of the people. One prime reason has been the detachment of social and cultural values from modern housing designs and planning. Corbusier, the god of urban planning wanted us to believe that a house is just a machine. The Indian perspective on town-planning is different. With housing is intricately linked our civilization, our social, cultural and esthetic values. No wonder people have termed cities like Chandigarh a vast wasteland dotted by grave like cement and concrete structures which keep warm in summer and cool in winter. Alienation and isolation, two chief fallouts of the modern urban planning, are nowhere in stark evidence as in cities which have snapped their links with the old traditional cultural heritage of India, which interestingly now finds ex-pression through commerce-backed celebrations on festivals which are now called “events.”
Cities, which have better transport facilities as is the case with Delhi with the metro rail network expanding to newer areas, have led to increased mobility, attracting migration from rural areas. If you compare Delhi today with what it was a decade ago, it would appear that the whole of Bihar has migrated to the national capital. In course of time ghettoes and slums are bound to mushroom leading to ethnic and regional tensions between the sons of the soil and outsiders, as has happened in Mumbai.
As enlightened public opinion pressures government to enact suitable legislation to socially integrate the “outsiders” communities, the crime rate shoots up due to economic compulsions. Dacoits and criminals who were once localized to the Chambal ravines, today masquerade posh colonies in the cities and loot and lift people at will.
One can go on and on listing all the problems that urban communities face today. A desperate call is often heard from those frustrated with our experiments in town planning “let’s go back to nature, and return to our roots in the villages.” This however can not happen. You can not reverse the process as cities are the beehives of development and growth. The backwaters and the internal colonies left behind in rural areas, are not worth preserving. Indian villages have nothing to offer. By glamorizing and romanticizing rural life, we are preventing their integration with the mainstream urban life.
While urban centers have to be developed along more humanistic value systems that are responsive to environmental concerns, the vast rural hinterland of India has to be systematically and speedily urbanized in terms of broad basing civic amenities and making modern facilities available to the villagers.
In case of Agra, Sanjay Place, the future Kinari bazaar, is an excellent example of the haphazard and vision less urban planning. The buildings and roads are already in a terrible shape. The ADA’s greed for money from sale of land has not left an inch of space for green parks and tree plantation. Often one has to jump from one block to the other as there are no link roads. The whole complex lacks an individual identity one that is compatible with the Mughal grandeur of the city.
Khandari road, Bagh Farzana and the Civil Lines are the posh slums of Agra. Many high rise buildings have no sewer connections and are directly pumping all the toilet and sewage waste underground through borings. This is a criminal act as all our underground reserves will be poisoned with toxic wastes. Even some of the big hotels are doing the same as they have no sewer line connection.
In old city, new high rise buildings, commercial complexes and markets are coming up, without civic amenities like toilets, parking slots and green cover, courtesy the ADA babus. Belanganj today has a dozen such complexes and the result is endless traffic jams. It appears that due to security concerns people are now not moving out of the inner city limits, but dismantling old structures to create more space and better working conditions.
But this has created new problems and areas of concern. The western model of urban development relies on de-linking place of residence from place of work. That’s how we witnessed the growth of residential colonies. Since markets are separated from residences, half a person’s life is spent in commuting between the two. The Indian town planning philosophy, on the other hand, believed in the integration of the two: ‘Neeche dukan Upar Makan’ or showroom in the front and ‘peeche karkhana and upar ghar’. The advantages of this were many: Security, more flexible working hours, better utilization of space and involvement of the whole family in the business operation.
Let’s admit villages in India have no future. Of the 5 lakh 50 thousand odd villages, at least 25% are all set to disappear in the next 5 years.
Another process we should soon be witness to is the growing suburbanization of India. Metros have already crossed the optimum growth level. We should now be seeing a reverse trend, which should benefit development of smaller towns and new suburbs on the periphery. This change has been triggered by constantly evolving better transport systems and an ever-increasing number of private vehicles on the roads. The problem of finding private parking space in big cities is forcing many residents to move out.
As more and more people today want to own a house of their own, the old dream of “ek bangla bane nyara,” is all set to be fulfilled by more and more players jumping on the bandwagon of a highly lucrative building industry financed by private resources.
The process of urbanization has just begun in India. The problems and negative trends are bound to be there. But the plus point is that social activists and the courts, backed by a powerful media, are keeping a vigilant eye, which one hopes will keep the wrong doers on the back foot. All towns and cities of India should have watch-dog groups who should be allowed a say. We should also use the RTI Act to good advantage.
A Talk by Brij Khandelwal, Editor (Consultancy), Www.mediabharti.com , at the seminar on ‘Rapid Urbanization’ held at Goverdhan Hotel in Agra, Saturday, 30th September 2006
Two new developments need to be taken note of--
Government of India’s latest policy on Special Economic Zones (SEZs) backed by an Act of Parliament in June this year- This Act empowers the government to set up 300 tax-exempted enclaves, all over the country, with the ostensible objective of stimulating production of goods and services for export to help generate additional economic activity. The size of the enclaves will vary from 10 hectares to 1000 hectares. What this would in effect mean, is creation of new urban clusters, or new townships. In next couple of years we will have an additional 300 towns in India, with world class facilities, as the private sector promoters would not face any resources crunch. How these islands of opulence and prosperity will impact existing urban centers, is a matter that needs to be debated. How fast the central government is moving on this project can be understood by the clearance given to 181 SEZs till date. A special cell is daily processing the applications.
Another initiative of the present government in respect of existing urban centers is the Rs.50,000 crore worth Jawahar Lal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission (NURM). This mission, it has been claimed, will drastically alter the urban development scenario in country. Agra is also one of the centers which has been identified under this new scheme.
Two other related trends need to be taken note of--
One, the land grab movement by land Mafiosi, the entry of big sharks called colonizers and land developers, the high-tech township promoters, in short a high profiled “land development industry” as distinct from Dr. Lohia’s concept of “Bhoomi Sena” has accessed all the surplus land for building multi-storied buildings and apartments for the city elites, on government lands, on public ponds, on the peripheries of the cities. The government agencies like the ADA or the Awas Vikas Nigam, playing the second fiddle, have been acquiring land for them, often fleecing the farmers by depriving them of the actual market rates. This uncontrolled spree for privatization of land resources for commercial purposes and devoid of any public concerns is now a major trend all over India. Last month Newsweek identified Ghaziabad as “the hottest urban center” in India. This transformation of the western districts of UP, which have traditionally been agriculturally prosperous, into a 21st century “super urban elitist metropolitan area,” is a development that has to be taken note of seriously, as the rising crime rate in this belt appears to be a direct fallout of this trend.
Another disturbing trend discernible, which could prove to be a source of worry in future, is the mass exodus from rural areas to the cities, which have graduated as hubs of development and employment generating centers. If we take the case of Agra, originally a city planned for just 60,000 people in the days of the Mughal empire, it is today peopled by more than 16 lakhs. This additional population burden is not the result of any fertility drugs or sudden peaking of the birth rate, but contributed by the mass migration from rural areas, and the temptation of the municipal bodies to periodically extend city limits to integrate rural clusters into the city. This has naturally put the civic amenities and the available infrastructures under tremendous pressure. The gap between people’s rising expectations and the capacity of the local bodies to deliver and keep pace with the demands of the community continues to widen. In most developing countries metropolitan areas have squeezed the countryside of precious land resources, all in the name of national development. Against such a backdrop the mass exodus from rural areas to the islands of opulence that the cities have become, is understandably inevitable.
Also note may be taken of the Supreme Court’s initiative to stop commercial activities in Delhi’s residential areas. This has become a major issue of confrontation involving the city planners like the DDA, political parties dependent on vote bank politics, the residential areas associations, the tax collecting agencies, social activists and the judiciary. With so many interest groups fighting it out, it is possible to get confused about the real issues. In such a surcharged atmosphere it also becomes difficult to identify the original culprits. The development has to be seen against four continuing trends in urban areas: increase in population pressure, growth of consumer markets, escalation of land prices and above all ad hocism in government’s urbanization policies, more a result of responding to alarm calls rather than a systematic evaluation of the needs of the community and existing resources. The Delhi fiasco of urban planning will be repeated in all Indian cities as courts become more and more sensitized to society’s long-term concerns and environmental groups start playing a catalytic role.
Our urban centers are bursting at the seams. One question people often ask everywhere is “if we can get man on the moon, why can’t we move people across the town more efficiently and safely?” India too is planning to send a manned flight to the moon in 2010. True, lack of transport facilities is not the only problem that city governments are finding hard to tackle, it nevertheless indicates the miserable mess that urban planners have created virtually everywhere by their commitment to “big is beautiful and better, smaller issues will sort out themselves.” Unfortunately it has not happened that way.
Democratic communities should be concerned about the last man in the row, the smaller and the weaker segments of the society, but our town-planners have been showing extra favors to the big land sharks.
Poor Housing, alarming crime situation, increasing unemployment in the cities, apartheid in education, inadequate transport services are some of the chief problems defying solutions.
Paradoxically with higher incomes and higher spending, poverty has now moved into the cities. We are now warned that the quality of life would further deteriorate in the cities. Housing patterns developed in recent years in many Indian cities have not measured up to the expectations of the people. One prime reason has been the detachment of social and cultural values from modern housing designs and planning. Corbusier, the god of urban planning wanted us to believe that a house is just a machine. The Indian perspective on town-planning is different. With housing is intricately linked our civilization, our social, cultural and esthetic values. No wonder people have termed cities like Chandigarh a vast wasteland dotted by grave like cement and concrete structures which keep warm in summer and cool in winter. Alienation and isolation, two chief fallouts of the modern urban planning, are nowhere in stark evidence as in cities which have snapped their links with the old traditional cultural heritage of India, which interestingly now finds ex-pression through commerce-backed celebrations on festivals which are now called “events.”
Cities, which have better transport facilities as is the case with Delhi with the metro rail network expanding to newer areas, have led to increased mobility, attracting migration from rural areas. If you compare Delhi today with what it was a decade ago, it would appear that the whole of Bihar has migrated to the national capital. In course of time ghettoes and slums are bound to mushroom leading to ethnic and regional tensions between the sons of the soil and outsiders, as has happened in Mumbai.
As enlightened public opinion pressures government to enact suitable legislation to socially integrate the “outsiders” communities, the crime rate shoots up due to economic compulsions. Dacoits and criminals who were once localized to the Chambal ravines, today masquerade posh colonies in the cities and loot and lift people at will.
One can go on and on listing all the problems that urban communities face today. A desperate call is often heard from those frustrated with our experiments in town planning “let’s go back to nature, and return to our roots in the villages.” This however can not happen. You can not reverse the process as cities are the beehives of development and growth. The backwaters and the internal colonies left behind in rural areas, are not worth preserving. Indian villages have nothing to offer. By glamorizing and romanticizing rural life, we are preventing their integration with the mainstream urban life.
While urban centers have to be developed along more humanistic value systems that are responsive to environmental concerns, the vast rural hinterland of India has to be systematically and speedily urbanized in terms of broad basing civic amenities and making modern facilities available to the villagers.
In case of Agra, Sanjay Place, the future Kinari bazaar, is an excellent example of the haphazard and vision less urban planning. The buildings and roads are already in a terrible shape. The ADA’s greed for money from sale of land has not left an inch of space for green parks and tree plantation. Often one has to jump from one block to the other as there are no link roads. The whole complex lacks an individual identity one that is compatible with the Mughal grandeur of the city.
Khandari road, Bagh Farzana and the Civil Lines are the posh slums of Agra. Many high rise buildings have no sewer connections and are directly pumping all the toilet and sewage waste underground through borings. This is a criminal act as all our underground reserves will be poisoned with toxic wastes. Even some of the big hotels are doing the same as they have no sewer line connection.
In old city, new high rise buildings, commercial complexes and markets are coming up, without civic amenities like toilets, parking slots and green cover, courtesy the ADA babus. Belanganj today has a dozen such complexes and the result is endless traffic jams. It appears that due to security concerns people are now not moving out of the inner city limits, but dismantling old structures to create more space and better working conditions.
But this has created new problems and areas of concern. The western model of urban development relies on de-linking place of residence from place of work. That’s how we witnessed the growth of residential colonies. Since markets are separated from residences, half a person’s life is spent in commuting between the two. The Indian town planning philosophy, on the other hand, believed in the integration of the two: ‘Neeche dukan Upar Makan’ or showroom in the front and ‘peeche karkhana and upar ghar’. The advantages of this were many: Security, more flexible working hours, better utilization of space and involvement of the whole family in the business operation.
Let’s admit villages in India have no future. Of the 5 lakh 50 thousand odd villages, at least 25% are all set to disappear in the next 5 years.
Another process we should soon be witness to is the growing suburbanization of India. Metros have already crossed the optimum growth level. We should now be seeing a reverse trend, which should benefit development of smaller towns and new suburbs on the periphery. This change has been triggered by constantly evolving better transport systems and an ever-increasing number of private vehicles on the roads. The problem of finding private parking space in big cities is forcing many residents to move out.
As more and more people today want to own a house of their own, the old dream of “ek bangla bane nyara,” is all set to be fulfilled by more and more players jumping on the bandwagon of a highly lucrative building industry financed by private resources.
The process of urbanization has just begun in India. The problems and negative trends are bound to be there. But the plus point is that social activists and the courts, backed by a powerful media, are keeping a vigilant eye, which one hopes will keep the wrong doers on the back foot. All towns and cities of India should have watch-dog groups who should be allowed a say. We should also use the RTI Act to good advantage.
A Talk by Brij Khandelwal, Editor (Consultancy), Www.mediabharti.com , at the seminar on ‘Rapid Urbanization’ held at Goverdhan Hotel in Agra, Saturday, 30th September 2006
Sunday, October 15, 2006
5 Easy Steps to Start Selling on Web
By Jayshree Lodha
If you want to start selling on Internet like Amazon, eBay or other players then you are just 5 easy steps far from your goal. The tool is E-Commerce i.e. doing business electronically. It is basically using technology in business. Through E-commerce the buyers and sellers from all around the world could transact without meeting each another. It gives the customers a wider choice in products to choose from and the sellers can get unlimited customers for their products. Through E-commerce people could interact and transact from their homes and thus makes life comfortable and saves a lot of time. It has provided so many opportunities for businesses to exploit.
Thorough E-commerce, even the smallest business could reach worldwide audience in each and every country with its product and services. If we take a look at the following facts regarding the usage of Internet and the popularity of online shopping no doubt is left regarding E-commerce’s effectiveness in any kind of business, this is the reason why each and every business, whether it be small or big, have its own website and sell through the net.
--There are above 250 million Internet users globally.
--The average income of an Internet user is above $66,790, which makes the Internet user a very attractive prospect for businesses.
So, if you are going to start a small business then E-commerce should form an essential part of your business plan and if you are running a small business and are not trading online then you should start doing that, as it may turn out as a new currency and add up to your profits. Selling on the web is not a huge task. To start selling on web you will have to follow just these 5 easy steps.
Step 1: Website Creation: First step in selling online is creating a website for your business. Finding the right host for new venture can be one of the most difficult tasks in the entire process. You should research and plan well before choosing the host for your site. You will have to decide the number of pages on your website, the type and number of products to be sold and the prices of these products etc. Assess accurately the requirements of your site and then choose the host accordingly. Always choose a host with 24/7 support, because it is going to generate revenues for you and needs to have perfect uptime. Site should be attractive and eye-catching otherwise customers may never visit the site.
Step 2: Setup Your Storefront: Storefront software helps in building a user friendly online store which is competent of managing the financial dealings. Storefront software comes in many forms, and each one of them has their own features, the software that suits best to your business needs should be opted for. Some shopping carts have the capacity of handling greater number of products and some are suited for fewer products. Hosts may offer a variety of carts. Through the shopping cart the sale of the product is going to be managed so it is extremely important that the user can use the shopping cart easily. The decision should be made after taking care of all the considerations in mind as once a choice is made; it’s very difficult to change your storefront without some downtime that may leads to loss of valuable sales. The storefront software should be chosen keeping in mind the size of the business and the estimated quantity of sales that a customer may do.
Step 3: Setting up a Merchant Account: Having a store full of products means little if the customers cannot pay for them. The most secure way to receive payments by the trader on net is through a merchant account. Through a Merchant account the seller can charge the customer’s account directly for the products bought by them. Through Payment gateway the money from customer’s account can be safely transferred to the seller’s account. Always be sure that the shopping cart that you have selected is supported by the payment gateway. You can also use services like Pay Pal and Wellot365, in which a third party mediates between the merchant and the customer.
Step 4: SSL (Secure Sockets Layer): The main problem while trading on net is that customers are hesitant to buy products online because they think that their personal and credit card information is not secure. This is where SSL certificates enter the picture. Through a SSL certificate first the personal and credit information of the buyer is encrypted and then it is through the Internet, to the merchant’s account. This security builds trust of customers on the store and they will feel comfortable while doing online business with store. The cases of identity theft and credit card frauds are rising day by day, thus there is no way for an online store to succeed without a security certificate. A security certificate protects the online transactions and interactions between the merchant and customers.
Step 5: Promoting the store: With all the elements in place, the final part is making sure that all the potential customers turn up to your store. Site promotion should be a continuing process to make the site better. The website host selected should provide tools to help the promotional process. For promoting the store you can use the search engine marketing method and advertising the store method. Search engine marketing helps to force extremely targeted visitors to your site. Advertising relates to a direct approach of promotion, like buying banners and ad-space on websites whose customers would be interested in buying from your store. You can advertise your business and can sell through different E-zines and websites like Www.mediabharti.com, eBay etc. A combination of these tactics should be used for increasing the chances of your store getting noticed on the web.
E-commerce has emerged as an effective tool for all businesses to market their products. E-commerce helps shrink the competition gap, provides an unlimited market place, it helps in lowering the cost of doing business, eliminates middlemen, and helps in maintaining more efficient business relations. Recent trends have shown users of E-commerce are increasing, and security on the net is improving. Each year sales over the Internet has been increasing. Thus, we can say that there is a lot of potential in this area of marketing and selling goods.
(jayshree.lodha@mediabharti.com)
If you want to start selling on Internet like Amazon, eBay or other players then you are just 5 easy steps far from your goal. The tool is E-Commerce i.e. doing business electronically. It is basically using technology in business. Through E-commerce the buyers and sellers from all around the world could transact without meeting each another. It gives the customers a wider choice in products to choose from and the sellers can get unlimited customers for their products. Through E-commerce people could interact and transact from their homes and thus makes life comfortable and saves a lot of time. It has provided so many opportunities for businesses to exploit.
Thorough E-commerce, even the smallest business could reach worldwide audience in each and every country with its product and services. If we take a look at the following facts regarding the usage of Internet and the popularity of online shopping no doubt is left regarding E-commerce’s effectiveness in any kind of business, this is the reason why each and every business, whether it be small or big, have its own website and sell through the net.
--There are above 250 million Internet users globally.
--The average income of an Internet user is above $66,790, which makes the Internet user a very attractive prospect for businesses.
So, if you are going to start a small business then E-commerce should form an essential part of your business plan and if you are running a small business and are not trading online then you should start doing that, as it may turn out as a new currency and add up to your profits. Selling on the web is not a huge task. To start selling on web you will have to follow just these 5 easy steps.
Step 1: Website Creation: First step in selling online is creating a website for your business. Finding the right host for new venture can be one of the most difficult tasks in the entire process. You should research and plan well before choosing the host for your site. You will have to decide the number of pages on your website, the type and number of products to be sold and the prices of these products etc. Assess accurately the requirements of your site and then choose the host accordingly. Always choose a host with 24/7 support, because it is going to generate revenues for you and needs to have perfect uptime. Site should be attractive and eye-catching otherwise customers may never visit the site.
Step 2: Setup Your Storefront: Storefront software helps in building a user friendly online store which is competent of managing the financial dealings. Storefront software comes in many forms, and each one of them has their own features, the software that suits best to your business needs should be opted for. Some shopping carts have the capacity of handling greater number of products and some are suited for fewer products. Hosts may offer a variety of carts. Through the shopping cart the sale of the product is going to be managed so it is extremely important that the user can use the shopping cart easily. The decision should be made after taking care of all the considerations in mind as once a choice is made; it’s very difficult to change your storefront without some downtime that may leads to loss of valuable sales. The storefront software should be chosen keeping in mind the size of the business and the estimated quantity of sales that a customer may do.
Step 3: Setting up a Merchant Account: Having a store full of products means little if the customers cannot pay for them. The most secure way to receive payments by the trader on net is through a merchant account. Through a Merchant account the seller can charge the customer’s account directly for the products bought by them. Through Payment gateway the money from customer’s account can be safely transferred to the seller’s account. Always be sure that the shopping cart that you have selected is supported by the payment gateway. You can also use services like Pay Pal and Wellot365, in which a third party mediates between the merchant and the customer.
Step 4: SSL (Secure Sockets Layer): The main problem while trading on net is that customers are hesitant to buy products online because they think that their personal and credit card information is not secure. This is where SSL certificates enter the picture. Through a SSL certificate first the personal and credit information of the buyer is encrypted and then it is through the Internet, to the merchant’s account. This security builds trust of customers on the store and they will feel comfortable while doing online business with store. The cases of identity theft and credit card frauds are rising day by day, thus there is no way for an online store to succeed without a security certificate. A security certificate protects the online transactions and interactions between the merchant and customers.
Step 5: Promoting the store: With all the elements in place, the final part is making sure that all the potential customers turn up to your store. Site promotion should be a continuing process to make the site better. The website host selected should provide tools to help the promotional process. For promoting the store you can use the search engine marketing method and advertising the store method. Search engine marketing helps to force extremely targeted visitors to your site. Advertising relates to a direct approach of promotion, like buying banners and ad-space on websites whose customers would be interested in buying from your store. You can advertise your business and can sell through different E-zines and websites like Www.mediabharti.com, eBay etc. A combination of these tactics should be used for increasing the chances of your store getting noticed on the web.
E-commerce has emerged as an effective tool for all businesses to market their products. E-commerce helps shrink the competition gap, provides an unlimited market place, it helps in lowering the cost of doing business, eliminates middlemen, and helps in maintaining more efficient business relations. Recent trends have shown users of E-commerce are increasing, and security on the net is improving. Each year sales over the Internet has been increasing. Thus, we can say that there is a lot of potential in this area of marketing and selling goods.
(jayshree.lodha@mediabharti.com)
Saturday, October 14, 2006
Bahrain and Oman FTAs with US Dent Customs Union
By Dr. Eckart Woertz
The Free Trade Agreement (FTA) between Bahrain and the US has been operational since August 1, and on September 19, the US Congress approved the FTA with Oman, which will come into effect soon. The media coverage of the two deals in region have been limited to official announcements without pointing out the serious dangers these FTAs pose to the GCC customs union.
The customs union plan has been under negotiation since 1985, and at the 2001 GCC summit in Muscat, a major breakthrough was achieved after the member states agreed on a common tariff barrier of 5% with outside trading partners by January 2003. This move complemented the already existing free intra-GCC trade and marked the start of the GCC customs union. Individual FTAs of GCC member states with outside countries put this achieved consensus and the young GCC customs union into jeopardy. For example, it is hardly conceivable that Saudi Arabia can accept the influx of American goods from Bahrain, where they face a zero percent tariff, while the same goods would face a 5% tariff if imported via Saudi Arabia or by other GCC countries that still stick to the spirit and letter of the GCC customs union. At the same time, the GCC has lost credibility as a partner in the ongoing FTA negotiations with the EU, China, and Japan as it can’t ensure a proper implementation of possible negotiation outcomes.
FTA negotiations with the US have come to a standstill in Qatar, and in the UAE, they have been slowed down after the DPW debacle. Should they come to fruition, it would further question the efforts of many years at GCC unification. Given the serious consequences, one must wonder why Bahrain and Oman took this step with such ease; why Saudi Arabia did not oppose them more decisively; and finally what are the motives on the part of the US in deliberately driving a wedge between the GCC countries.
The policy of establishing bilateral FTAs is relatively new in the US. First FTA of this kind was signed in 1985 with Israel, followed by the one with Canada in 1989, and the NAFTA (US, Canada and Mexico) in 1994. Before that the stress had been on multilateral trade liberalization within the GATT agreement, later followed by the WTO, which was established in 1995. Critics have pointed out that bilateral FTAs may actually not facilitate trade on a worldwide scale but rather lead to an increasing economic bloc building, with the US, the EU and Asian giants such as China and Japan being major competitors. Seen from this angle, bilateral FTAs can jeopardize multilateral efforts at trade liberalization, as they are about establishing national spheres of influence and shielding them from competition.
The quest for establishing bilateral FTAs has intensified in the US in recent years. In 2003, President George W. Bush announced an initiative to establish a US-Middle East Free Trade Agreement by 2013, comprising approximately 20 countries. The goal is to gradually establish single FTAs and finally merge with MEFTA. Important first steps that can later lead to full-blown FTAs are Trade and Investments Framework Agreements signed already with Egypt (1999), Algeria (2001), Tunisia (2002), Bahrain (2002), Saudi Arabia (2003), Yemen, UAE, Qatar and Kuwait (2004). Besides Bahrain and now Oman, FTAs were signed with Jordan in 2001 and with Morocco in 2004.
Similar approaches have been undertaken in Latin America and Asia. Besides, after 9/11, the notion has gained currency in some neoconservative circles in Washington that Saudi Arabia should be isolated and that a functioning GCC could be an unwelcome counterweight to US policies in the region. Signing bilateral FTAs with smaller GCC states fits well with this strategy.
The motives of the US may be mixed with its political agenda in the region, but the motivation for the GCC countries in entering FTAs with the US may be political as well. After all, they have to rely on the US, not the EU or China, for security in an unstable region- not surprisingly, Bahrain is home to the US Fifth Fleet and Qatar hosts the US Central Command in the region. But no doubt, besides risks for local industries, agriculture, and sponsorship schemes, there are also economic benefits. Oman and Bahrain may develop into refining and re-export hubs for cheap Asian goods to US, which would otherwise face considerable tariffs in US. Or they may serve as a gateway of US products to other GCC countries, barring of course, retaliatory tariffs and non tariff barriers from their partners in what is now erroneously termed "GCC customs union". But it is questionable whether it is wise to reap these individual economic benefits at the expense of a vision of sharing such benefits in the framework of a wider GCC FTA with US or other countries and economic blocs. This assumes significance especially since Europe and Asia are much more important trading partners, with each roughly contributing one-third of imports to the GCC, while the share of the US is only 10%.
Thus, if all other GCC countries, including Saudi Arabia, don't follow suit and reach FTAs with US themselves, the Bahrain and Oman FTAs would render the GCC customs union mere ink on paper. Such lack of unity and cooperation is not likely to inspire confidence in the planned GCC currency union in 2010 either. In the end, GCC countries have to decide if they want to get bogged down in petty fights and rivalries or seriously try to put their act together. It is their choice to either be a nascent economic bloc to reckon with, that also develops some political muscle to stand its ground in an often unstable region, or remain a loose cooperation of dependent satellite states with little room to maneuver in the midst of the world's power games.
The Free Trade Agreement (FTA) between Bahrain and the US has been operational since August 1, and on September 19, the US Congress approved the FTA with Oman, which will come into effect soon. The media coverage of the two deals in region have been limited to official announcements without pointing out the serious dangers these FTAs pose to the GCC customs union.
The customs union plan has been under negotiation since 1985, and at the 2001 GCC summit in Muscat, a major breakthrough was achieved after the member states agreed on a common tariff barrier of 5% with outside trading partners by January 2003. This move complemented the already existing free intra-GCC trade and marked the start of the GCC customs union. Individual FTAs of GCC member states with outside countries put this achieved consensus and the young GCC customs union into jeopardy. For example, it is hardly conceivable that Saudi Arabia can accept the influx of American goods from Bahrain, where they face a zero percent tariff, while the same goods would face a 5% tariff if imported via Saudi Arabia or by other GCC countries that still stick to the spirit and letter of the GCC customs union. At the same time, the GCC has lost credibility as a partner in the ongoing FTA negotiations with the EU, China, and Japan as it can’t ensure a proper implementation of possible negotiation outcomes.
FTA negotiations with the US have come to a standstill in Qatar, and in the UAE, they have been slowed down after the DPW debacle. Should they come to fruition, it would further question the efforts of many years at GCC unification. Given the serious consequences, one must wonder why Bahrain and Oman took this step with such ease; why Saudi Arabia did not oppose them more decisively; and finally what are the motives on the part of the US in deliberately driving a wedge between the GCC countries.
The policy of establishing bilateral FTAs is relatively new in the US. First FTA of this kind was signed in 1985 with Israel, followed by the one with Canada in 1989, and the NAFTA (US, Canada and Mexico) in 1994. Before that the stress had been on multilateral trade liberalization within the GATT agreement, later followed by the WTO, which was established in 1995. Critics have pointed out that bilateral FTAs may actually not facilitate trade on a worldwide scale but rather lead to an increasing economic bloc building, with the US, the EU and Asian giants such as China and Japan being major competitors. Seen from this angle, bilateral FTAs can jeopardize multilateral efforts at trade liberalization, as they are about establishing national spheres of influence and shielding them from competition.
The quest for establishing bilateral FTAs has intensified in the US in recent years. In 2003, President George W. Bush announced an initiative to establish a US-Middle East Free Trade Agreement by 2013, comprising approximately 20 countries. The goal is to gradually establish single FTAs and finally merge with MEFTA. Important first steps that can later lead to full-blown FTAs are Trade and Investments Framework Agreements signed already with Egypt (1999), Algeria (2001), Tunisia (2002), Bahrain (2002), Saudi Arabia (2003), Yemen, UAE, Qatar and Kuwait (2004). Besides Bahrain and now Oman, FTAs were signed with Jordan in 2001 and with Morocco in 2004.
Similar approaches have been undertaken in Latin America and Asia. Besides, after 9/11, the notion has gained currency in some neoconservative circles in Washington that Saudi Arabia should be isolated and that a functioning GCC could be an unwelcome counterweight to US policies in the region. Signing bilateral FTAs with smaller GCC states fits well with this strategy.
The motives of the US may be mixed with its political agenda in the region, but the motivation for the GCC countries in entering FTAs with the US may be political as well. After all, they have to rely on the US, not the EU or China, for security in an unstable region- not surprisingly, Bahrain is home to the US Fifth Fleet and Qatar hosts the US Central Command in the region. But no doubt, besides risks for local industries, agriculture, and sponsorship schemes, there are also economic benefits. Oman and Bahrain may develop into refining and re-export hubs for cheap Asian goods to US, which would otherwise face considerable tariffs in US. Or they may serve as a gateway of US products to other GCC countries, barring of course, retaliatory tariffs and non tariff barriers from their partners in what is now erroneously termed "GCC customs union". But it is questionable whether it is wise to reap these individual economic benefits at the expense of a vision of sharing such benefits in the framework of a wider GCC FTA with US or other countries and economic blocs. This assumes significance especially since Europe and Asia are much more important trading partners, with each roughly contributing one-third of imports to the GCC, while the share of the US is only 10%.
Thus, if all other GCC countries, including Saudi Arabia, don't follow suit and reach FTAs with US themselves, the Bahrain and Oman FTAs would render the GCC customs union mere ink on paper. Such lack of unity and cooperation is not likely to inspire confidence in the planned GCC currency union in 2010 either. In the end, GCC countries have to decide if they want to get bogged down in petty fights and rivalries or seriously try to put their act together. It is their choice to either be a nascent economic bloc to reckon with, that also develops some political muscle to stand its ground in an often unstable region, or remain a loose cooperation of dependent satellite states with little room to maneuver in the midst of the world's power games.
Thursday, October 12, 2006
Europe Should Stop Treating the Gulf as US Backyard
By Dr. Christian Koch
In 1823, US President James Monroe enunciated the Monroe Doctrine whereby the United States informed the powers of the "Old World" (i.e. Europe) that the Americas were no longer open to European colonization, and that any effort to extend European political influence into the New World would be considered by the United States "as dangerous to our peace and safety." While the Doctrine was originally intended to prevent a multitude of wars breaking out as Latin American nations broke away from European colonialism, it was ultimately seen as a function of US hegemony and right of unilateral intervention over the nations of the Western Hemisphere. Europe was told to stay out and mind its own business.
To some degree a similar situation has developed in the Gulf region, which the US has dominated as the main external power after the withdrawal of the British from the region East of Suez in 1971. Ever since, the US has instituted several policies to try and achieve security and stability in the region-- whether by relying on Saudi Arabia and Iran to protect US interests as was the case in the 1970s, by playing Iran and Iraq against each other during the 1980s to maintain a regional balance of power or by isolating both Iran and Iraq in the 1990s as part of its dual containment strategy. But none of these approaches actually brought to the region a system of security and stability. The US attempt to impose more direct control with its toppling of the Saddam Hussein regime in Iraq failed to do the same.
During this entire period, Europe more or less acquiesced to US dominance of the region and restrained its relationship with the Gulf almost exclusively to the economic domain. During the coalition war to reverse the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait, Europe merely was a junior partner with some European states preferring to pay out their war contribution. It was a similar situation during the Iraq campaign in 2003. In addition, when some European states objected to the build-up to the invasion of Iraq in end 2002 and early 2003, the Bush administration characterized these states as "Old Europe" and then proceeded with its policy without specific UN authorization. The message was once again plain and simple-- you are either with us or against us. If Europe does not play by American rules, then Europe is not listened to in terms of establishing a regional security order in the Gulf.
What has become apparent however in 3 years since the invasion of Iraq is that America does not have the answers for the stability of this vital region. Military muscle and smart missile technology have failed to change the status quo according to American plans and instead has only caused greater resentment and alienated allies. This includes the Arab Gulf states that continue to have military relationships with the US and increasingly see US policies in the region as a dead-end. When US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice visited Saudi Arabia at the beginning of October and then met with the GCC foreign ministers in Cairo, she was received with courtesy, but her message fell on deaf ears. Politically, association with US policy is becoming too heavy a burden to carry.
This is an opportunity for Europe to step in and get involved. For one, continuation on the present path of acquiescence to the US is likely to only bring about greater calamity and further instability. Second, the region itself is looking for alternative approaches as it recognizes the shallowness of the US message. Third, Europe has what the Gulf needs: experience in overcoming historical animosity and establishing a system whereby individual states can maintain their diverse and competing cultures while working together in the pursuit of collective prosperity.
Suggestions that Europe is unable to offer concrete solutions to the region's problems indicate a misunderstanding of the actual nature of the challenge. Europe cannot replace the US in the Gulf but it can certainly provide alternatives and incentives where the current US approach falls desperately short. This is particularly the case in conflict prevention and confidence-building. As underscored by the EU action in Macedonia in 2003, conflict can be prevented if action is taken early enough. As shown by EU expansion policy as a whole, old and existing threat perception and existing mistrust can be broken down over time. The key is engagement of different parties and across different levels.
Unfortunately until now, Europe, and by this one means both the European Union as a collective unit and the European states as individual actors, treats security issues in the Gulf and the Middle East as items that are to be handled bi-laterally. The EU-3 is negotiating with Iran even as the US dictates the terms behind the curtain, Iraq is left almost solely to the US, and the Arab-Israeli conflict is seen as the responsibility of the Quartet (US, EU, Russia and the UN). In each of these cases, what is notably absent is the region itself
During all of his negotiations with Ali Larijani, the chief negotiator of Iran on the nuclear program issue, EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana has not once sought directly the position of the regional Arab Gulf states or tried to use their backing as further political leverage. This is certainly unfortunate as, to some degree, Iran continues to be under the illusion that if push comes to shove, the Arab Gulf states will refuse the United States the support to carry out strikes against Iranian nuclear installations. Tehran however should clearly understand that the Arab Gulf states categorically and completely reject a nuclear program by Iran-- militarily, strategically, and, one should not forget, environmentally. While the Arab Gulf states acknowledge that there exists a right under the obligation of the Nonproliferation Treaty to the peaceful use of nuclear energy, not one country sees the Iranian program as exactly that-- peaceful. It is a program intended to ultimately and firmly establish Iranian hegemony over the Gulf region. It is nothing more than a mechanism to bully and intimidate. Through its actions, Iran does not even attempt to overcome Arab suspicion about its intentions. Its absolute refusal to even acknowledge that the UAE might have a case on the issue of the islands of Abu Musa and the Tunbs in the strategic Strait of Hormuz is one case in point. Its announcement that in case of conflict with the US, Iran will strike US interests in the region-- i.e. on Arab Gulf soil-- is another. If the issue comes down to a choice between an Iranian nuclear program and suffering from the potential Iranian retaliation in case of a military strike, the Arab Gulf will go with the second option. While one can handle a few retaliatory or terrorist strikes, living in the shadow of an Iranian nuclear bomb is not an option.
This does not mean that the Arab Gulf has signed up to the military option. Far from it, the two options listed above do not really represent a choice. This is where Europe comes in once again to encourage regional dialogue and an exchange of views. The EU's priority is to resolve conflict while the main US preoccupation is with winning the conflict. But if the region as a whole is not involved in any of the discussions, then it becomes impossible to establish an alternative approach other than eventual conflict. Security in the Gulf is too important for it to be left exclusively as the domain of the United States. Europe should know this by now.
In 1823, US President James Monroe enunciated the Monroe Doctrine whereby the United States informed the powers of the "Old World" (i.e. Europe) that the Americas were no longer open to European colonization, and that any effort to extend European political influence into the New World would be considered by the United States "as dangerous to our peace and safety." While the Doctrine was originally intended to prevent a multitude of wars breaking out as Latin American nations broke away from European colonialism, it was ultimately seen as a function of US hegemony and right of unilateral intervention over the nations of the Western Hemisphere. Europe was told to stay out and mind its own business.
To some degree a similar situation has developed in the Gulf region, which the US has dominated as the main external power after the withdrawal of the British from the region East of Suez in 1971. Ever since, the US has instituted several policies to try and achieve security and stability in the region-- whether by relying on Saudi Arabia and Iran to protect US interests as was the case in the 1970s, by playing Iran and Iraq against each other during the 1980s to maintain a regional balance of power or by isolating both Iran and Iraq in the 1990s as part of its dual containment strategy. But none of these approaches actually brought to the region a system of security and stability. The US attempt to impose more direct control with its toppling of the Saddam Hussein regime in Iraq failed to do the same.
During this entire period, Europe more or less acquiesced to US dominance of the region and restrained its relationship with the Gulf almost exclusively to the economic domain. During the coalition war to reverse the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait, Europe merely was a junior partner with some European states preferring to pay out their war contribution. It was a similar situation during the Iraq campaign in 2003. In addition, when some European states objected to the build-up to the invasion of Iraq in end 2002 and early 2003, the Bush administration characterized these states as "Old Europe" and then proceeded with its policy without specific UN authorization. The message was once again plain and simple-- you are either with us or against us. If Europe does not play by American rules, then Europe is not listened to in terms of establishing a regional security order in the Gulf.
What has become apparent however in 3 years since the invasion of Iraq is that America does not have the answers for the stability of this vital region. Military muscle and smart missile technology have failed to change the status quo according to American plans and instead has only caused greater resentment and alienated allies. This includes the Arab Gulf states that continue to have military relationships with the US and increasingly see US policies in the region as a dead-end. When US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice visited Saudi Arabia at the beginning of October and then met with the GCC foreign ministers in Cairo, she was received with courtesy, but her message fell on deaf ears. Politically, association with US policy is becoming too heavy a burden to carry.
This is an opportunity for Europe to step in and get involved. For one, continuation on the present path of acquiescence to the US is likely to only bring about greater calamity and further instability. Second, the region itself is looking for alternative approaches as it recognizes the shallowness of the US message. Third, Europe has what the Gulf needs: experience in overcoming historical animosity and establishing a system whereby individual states can maintain their diverse and competing cultures while working together in the pursuit of collective prosperity.
Suggestions that Europe is unable to offer concrete solutions to the region's problems indicate a misunderstanding of the actual nature of the challenge. Europe cannot replace the US in the Gulf but it can certainly provide alternatives and incentives where the current US approach falls desperately short. This is particularly the case in conflict prevention and confidence-building. As underscored by the EU action in Macedonia in 2003, conflict can be prevented if action is taken early enough. As shown by EU expansion policy as a whole, old and existing threat perception and existing mistrust can be broken down over time. The key is engagement of different parties and across different levels.
Unfortunately until now, Europe, and by this one means both the European Union as a collective unit and the European states as individual actors, treats security issues in the Gulf and the Middle East as items that are to be handled bi-laterally. The EU-3 is negotiating with Iran even as the US dictates the terms behind the curtain, Iraq is left almost solely to the US, and the Arab-Israeli conflict is seen as the responsibility of the Quartet (US, EU, Russia and the UN). In each of these cases, what is notably absent is the region itself
During all of his negotiations with Ali Larijani, the chief negotiator of Iran on the nuclear program issue, EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana has not once sought directly the position of the regional Arab Gulf states or tried to use their backing as further political leverage. This is certainly unfortunate as, to some degree, Iran continues to be under the illusion that if push comes to shove, the Arab Gulf states will refuse the United States the support to carry out strikes against Iranian nuclear installations. Tehran however should clearly understand that the Arab Gulf states categorically and completely reject a nuclear program by Iran-- militarily, strategically, and, one should not forget, environmentally. While the Arab Gulf states acknowledge that there exists a right under the obligation of the Nonproliferation Treaty to the peaceful use of nuclear energy, not one country sees the Iranian program as exactly that-- peaceful. It is a program intended to ultimately and firmly establish Iranian hegemony over the Gulf region. It is nothing more than a mechanism to bully and intimidate. Through its actions, Iran does not even attempt to overcome Arab suspicion about its intentions. Its absolute refusal to even acknowledge that the UAE might have a case on the issue of the islands of Abu Musa and the Tunbs in the strategic Strait of Hormuz is one case in point. Its announcement that in case of conflict with the US, Iran will strike US interests in the region-- i.e. on Arab Gulf soil-- is another. If the issue comes down to a choice between an Iranian nuclear program and suffering from the potential Iranian retaliation in case of a military strike, the Arab Gulf will go with the second option. While one can handle a few retaliatory or terrorist strikes, living in the shadow of an Iranian nuclear bomb is not an option.
This does not mean that the Arab Gulf has signed up to the military option. Far from it, the two options listed above do not really represent a choice. This is where Europe comes in once again to encourage regional dialogue and an exchange of views. The EU's priority is to resolve conflict while the main US preoccupation is with winning the conflict. But if the region as a whole is not involved in any of the discussions, then it becomes impossible to establish an alternative approach other than eventual conflict. Security in the Gulf is too important for it to be left exclusively as the domain of the United States. Europe should know this by now.
Tuesday, October 10, 2006
New Breast Cancer Susceptibility Gene Identified
Women with mutations in a gene called BRIP1 have twice the normal risk of breast cancer, according to a study to be published in November issue of Nature Genetics.
Mutations in 3 genes- BRCA1, BRCA2 and TP53- are known to greatly increase the chance of developing breast cancer over a lifetime: for example, women carrying a BRCA mutation have a 50-80% chance of developing the disease. Mutations in 2 other genes- CHEK2 and ATM- confer a much more modest risk. Researcher Nazneen Rahman and colleagues screened 1,212 women with breast cancer, who did not have mutations in BRCA1 and BRCA2, for mutations in BRIP1. They report that 9 of these women had mutations in BRIP1 gene, which most likely inactivates the BRIP1 protein; only 2 of 2,081 women in a 'control' group without breast cancer demonstrated such mutations.
The authors estimate- by taking into consideration information from the control group and the families of affected individuals- that BRIP1 mutations result in an approximately 2-fold increase in the risk of breast cancer, which puts the gene into the same class as CHEK2 and ATM. They believe that mutations in these so-called ‘low-penetrance’ susceptibility genes likely only predispose to cancer in concert with other mutations and/or environmental factors, and account for only a small fraction of the familial risk of breast cancer. Like the other risk genes, BRIP1 is involved in DNA repair, lending support to the idea that unrepaired DNA damage is a key trigger for breast cancer development.
(ResearchSEA)
Mutations in 3 genes- BRCA1, BRCA2 and TP53- are known to greatly increase the chance of developing breast cancer over a lifetime: for example, women carrying a BRCA mutation have a 50-80% chance of developing the disease. Mutations in 2 other genes- CHEK2 and ATM- confer a much more modest risk. Researcher Nazneen Rahman and colleagues screened 1,212 women with breast cancer, who did not have mutations in BRCA1 and BRCA2, for mutations in BRIP1. They report that 9 of these women had mutations in BRIP1 gene, which most likely inactivates the BRIP1 protein; only 2 of 2,081 women in a 'control' group without breast cancer demonstrated such mutations.
The authors estimate- by taking into consideration information from the control group and the families of affected individuals- that BRIP1 mutations result in an approximately 2-fold increase in the risk of breast cancer, which puts the gene into the same class as CHEK2 and ATM. They believe that mutations in these so-called ‘low-penetrance’ susceptibility genes likely only predispose to cancer in concert with other mutations and/or environmental factors, and account for only a small fraction of the familial risk of breast cancer. Like the other risk genes, BRIP1 is involved in DNA repair, lending support to the idea that unrepaired DNA damage is a key trigger for breast cancer development.
(ResearchSEA)
Water Rights of Co-riparians to Jordan River Basin
By David J.H. Phillips
Access to sufficient volumes of water of appropriate quality is a vital human need; the United Nations Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights has recently recognized the human right to water. The co-riparians of Jordan River Basin (Lebanon, Syria, Israel, the occupied Palestinian territories and Jordan) suffer differing degrees of water stress, as measured by international benchmarks. The quantification and attainment of their water rights is thus an important topic, especially as the demand for water is growing throughout the region as a whole.
Previous international agreements amongst the co-riparians concerning water-related topics are addressed, and it is demonstrated that none of these have adequately quantified the water rights of any of the parties. The allocations of Jordan River proposed by US Ambassador Eric Johnston in mid-1950s may be thought to represent an important international standard, but cannot be considered to equate to the full present-day water rights of the co-riparians to that system. This is principally because no regard was given in the work by Johnston to the groundwater resources available to the co-riparians, and the only demand deemed to be of relevance was the use of water for agricultural irrigation.
Customary international water law (evidence of which may be found in The Helsinki Rules on the Uses of the Waters of International Rivers of 1966 and the 1997 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Non-navigational Uses of International Watercourses) determines the water rights of the parties at the present time in a broad fashion. But provides only general guidance in identifying legitimate quantitative allocations of fresh waters for the co-riparians of Jordan River.
It is argued that despite such difficulties, quantitative equitable and reasonable allocations can and must be derived for the co-riparians of Jordan River Basin, and such allocations will be a critical component in fully defining the water rights of parties. One of the key elements in such a process should be the allocation of equal per capita volumes of fresh water to various parties. Equal per capita allocations appear a just and reasonable starting point in deriving an equitable apportionment of fresh water for domestic uses at least.
Even if the water rights of the parties were to be quantified, problems would remain in certain parties attaining their rightful allocations of shared watercourses. It is argued that these are mainly due to the existence of a ‘zero-sum game’ in many such circumstances, where water volumes gained by one party are lost by another party. In the case of the co-riparians of Jordan River, it is suggested that this problem can be surmounted by the addition of ‘new water’ to the regional resource, thus generating a ‘positive-sum game’ where all parties benefit over time. The general pattern of such allocations is proposed, and recent plans for desalination in the region are reviewed, specifically.
It will be important in any future agreements to separate the concepts of water rights and water use, neither of which fully defines the other (either before or after agreements are concluded on water allocations).
Unless international agreements determining equitable and reasonable allocations to the co-riparians of Jordan River can be concluded (involving each of the parties and all of the water resources, not simply surface waters), none of the parties will understand their water rights, or be able to attain water security in the future. It is in the interest of all the countries in the region to cooperate on the allocation and management of the available water supplies, rather than competing for these. Each of the co-riparians should prepare Master Plans for water use and for the development of new water resources in the future, as a matter of high priority. These Master Plans should recognize international standards; should rely on the cooperative or joint management of shared watercourses; and will define a number of strategic aspects of the future economic and social development of the countries involved.
(With inputs from Shaddad Attili, Stephen McCaffrey, John S. Murray and Mark Zeitoun)
(ResearchSEA)
Access to sufficient volumes of water of appropriate quality is a vital human need; the United Nations Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights has recently recognized the human right to water. The co-riparians of Jordan River Basin (Lebanon, Syria, Israel, the occupied Palestinian territories and Jordan) suffer differing degrees of water stress, as measured by international benchmarks. The quantification and attainment of their water rights is thus an important topic, especially as the demand for water is growing throughout the region as a whole.
Previous international agreements amongst the co-riparians concerning water-related topics are addressed, and it is demonstrated that none of these have adequately quantified the water rights of any of the parties. The allocations of Jordan River proposed by US Ambassador Eric Johnston in mid-1950s may be thought to represent an important international standard, but cannot be considered to equate to the full present-day water rights of the co-riparians to that system. This is principally because no regard was given in the work by Johnston to the groundwater resources available to the co-riparians, and the only demand deemed to be of relevance was the use of water for agricultural irrigation.
Customary international water law (evidence of which may be found in The Helsinki Rules on the Uses of the Waters of International Rivers of 1966 and the 1997 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Non-navigational Uses of International Watercourses) determines the water rights of the parties at the present time in a broad fashion. But provides only general guidance in identifying legitimate quantitative allocations of fresh waters for the co-riparians of Jordan River.
It is argued that despite such difficulties, quantitative equitable and reasonable allocations can and must be derived for the co-riparians of Jordan River Basin, and such allocations will be a critical component in fully defining the water rights of parties. One of the key elements in such a process should be the allocation of equal per capita volumes of fresh water to various parties. Equal per capita allocations appear a just and reasonable starting point in deriving an equitable apportionment of fresh water for domestic uses at least.
Even if the water rights of the parties were to be quantified, problems would remain in certain parties attaining their rightful allocations of shared watercourses. It is argued that these are mainly due to the existence of a ‘zero-sum game’ in many such circumstances, where water volumes gained by one party are lost by another party. In the case of the co-riparians of Jordan River, it is suggested that this problem can be surmounted by the addition of ‘new water’ to the regional resource, thus generating a ‘positive-sum game’ where all parties benefit over time. The general pattern of such allocations is proposed, and recent plans for desalination in the region are reviewed, specifically.
It will be important in any future agreements to separate the concepts of water rights and water use, neither of which fully defines the other (either before or after agreements are concluded on water allocations).
Unless international agreements determining equitable and reasonable allocations to the co-riparians of Jordan River can be concluded (involving each of the parties and all of the water resources, not simply surface waters), none of the parties will understand their water rights, or be able to attain water security in the future. It is in the interest of all the countries in the region to cooperate on the allocation and management of the available water supplies, rather than competing for these. Each of the co-riparians should prepare Master Plans for water use and for the development of new water resources in the future, as a matter of high priority. These Master Plans should recognize international standards; should rely on the cooperative or joint management of shared watercourses; and will define a number of strategic aspects of the future economic and social development of the countries involved.
(With inputs from Shaddad Attili, Stephen McCaffrey, John S. Murray and Mark Zeitoun)
(ResearchSEA)
Sunday, October 08, 2006
Knowledge and Attitude of Nursing Students on HIV/AIDS
Degree of nursing care provision to HIV infected patients is dependent upon the knowledge and attitude of the nursing personnel towards HIV infection and AIDS. Inadequate knowledge has been associated with fear, inappropriate attitudes and poor handling of HIV infected patients, leading onto provision sub-standard nursing care. A necessary step in improving nursing care of patients would be to provide nurse with the necessary knowledge regarding HIV infection.
HIV emerged in Tanzania in 1983 and has been since taught in nursing schools regarding its transmission, prevention and nursing care, Despite these efforts, the knowledge and attitudes of the nurses has not been determined.
A study has been done to aim investigating the knowledge and attitudes of certificate create and diploma nursing students of Muhimbili Medical Centre (MMC) in Dar-e-Salaam regarding HIV infection and AIDS, identifying in the process, areas which need to be changed or emphasized for provision, of better nursing care of HIV–infected and AIDS patients, and with minimal occupational risk of acquiring HIV infection.
Findings show generally good knowledge of HIV; its transmissibility and preventing measures, and a willingness of majority of students to attend HIV infected and AIDS patients.
However, it is apparent that additional information is required regarding the transmissibility of HIV infection; to correct the noted misconceptions such as HIV could be transmitted by shaking hands, sneezing and coughing. There problem therefore, appears to be inadequate knowledge of HIV and AIDS infection control rather than lack of enthusiasm. It also important to educate on the co-infectious agents among HIV infected individual which are likely to cause cross– contamination. The disease has so many core– infections. It is therefore important to note that HIV is only one of many infectious pathogens that can be occupationally transmitted from health care workers to patients and vice versa.
Some students were unable to correctly identify the basic transmission modalities of HIV infection like sexual intercourse and blood transmission or the requirements for necessary precaution during different procedures to prevent transmission of HIV infection, according to study. Other students thought that HIV could not be transmitted via mother to child, breast-feeding, sharing toothbrushes, razors and needle stick injuries.
Needle punctures present the greatest risk of transmission of HIV and other blood borne infection. This is because blood is a dingle most important source of infection of HIV in health care facilities. It is vital to note that if splashing is anticipated, gowns/aprons and eye protection should be worn to prevent exposure. Intact skin remains the most effective barrier in decreasing the risk of transmission of HIV and other blood borne diseases, superficial cuts or chapped skin may become portals of entry for organisms.
It is important to reinforce the necessary precautions to be undertaken during performance of various procedures. This has to be preceded by ranking each procedure according to the health hazard involved. There is thus, a need to establish. Guidelines for different procedures, trying to follow the recommended international infection control procedures.
Health hazards in a particular procedure involves that body fluids to be encountered and their potential for transmitting the HIV. The possibility of noninfectious agents in the body fluid should also be considered. The guidelines should be simple, practical, achievable and effective to make them relevant. Need to set-up a committee to formulate guidelines for infection control for different procedures without elevating treatment cost too much.
The committee needs to include members from peripheral hospitals, health centers, dispensaries and maternal and health clinics where there is usually a heavy patient load and resources are scarce.
Continuing education in the form of seminars, practical sessions and changes in curricula are needed to able to achieve the required standards of low asepsis in the work of the growing problems of HIV in this society.
The present study involved student nurses alone. However it seem necessary to evaluate knowledge, attitude and practice of different cadres of graduate nurses and identify areas needing retraining and conducting continuing education courses on infection, control procedures– seminars, practical sessions and preparation of handouts.
These measures should go hand in hand with provision of the necessary facilities/resources. The study results demonstrate that education and reinforcement of some infection control procedures such as gown/waterproof apron, and eyeglasses are necessary.
(ResearchSEA)
HIV emerged in Tanzania in 1983 and has been since taught in nursing schools regarding its transmission, prevention and nursing care, Despite these efforts, the knowledge and attitudes of the nurses has not been determined.
A study has been done to aim investigating the knowledge and attitudes of certificate create and diploma nursing students of Muhimbili Medical Centre (MMC) in Dar-e-Salaam regarding HIV infection and AIDS, identifying in the process, areas which need to be changed or emphasized for provision, of better nursing care of HIV–infected and AIDS patients, and with minimal occupational risk of acquiring HIV infection.
Findings show generally good knowledge of HIV; its transmissibility and preventing measures, and a willingness of majority of students to attend HIV infected and AIDS patients.
However, it is apparent that additional information is required regarding the transmissibility of HIV infection; to correct the noted misconceptions such as HIV could be transmitted by shaking hands, sneezing and coughing. There problem therefore, appears to be inadequate knowledge of HIV and AIDS infection control rather than lack of enthusiasm. It also important to educate on the co-infectious agents among HIV infected individual which are likely to cause cross– contamination. The disease has so many core– infections. It is therefore important to note that HIV is only one of many infectious pathogens that can be occupationally transmitted from health care workers to patients and vice versa.
Some students were unable to correctly identify the basic transmission modalities of HIV infection like sexual intercourse and blood transmission or the requirements for necessary precaution during different procedures to prevent transmission of HIV infection, according to study. Other students thought that HIV could not be transmitted via mother to child, breast-feeding, sharing toothbrushes, razors and needle stick injuries.
Needle punctures present the greatest risk of transmission of HIV and other blood borne infection. This is because blood is a dingle most important source of infection of HIV in health care facilities. It is vital to note that if splashing is anticipated, gowns/aprons and eye protection should be worn to prevent exposure. Intact skin remains the most effective barrier in decreasing the risk of transmission of HIV and other blood borne diseases, superficial cuts or chapped skin may become portals of entry for organisms.
It is important to reinforce the necessary precautions to be undertaken during performance of various procedures. This has to be preceded by ranking each procedure according to the health hazard involved. There is thus, a need to establish. Guidelines for different procedures, trying to follow the recommended international infection control procedures.
Health hazards in a particular procedure involves that body fluids to be encountered and their potential for transmitting the HIV. The possibility of noninfectious agents in the body fluid should also be considered. The guidelines should be simple, practical, achievable and effective to make them relevant. Need to set-up a committee to formulate guidelines for infection control for different procedures without elevating treatment cost too much.
The committee needs to include members from peripheral hospitals, health centers, dispensaries and maternal and health clinics where there is usually a heavy patient load and resources are scarce.
Continuing education in the form of seminars, practical sessions and changes in curricula are needed to able to achieve the required standards of low asepsis in the work of the growing problems of HIV in this society.
The present study involved student nurses alone. However it seem necessary to evaluate knowledge, attitude and practice of different cadres of graduate nurses and identify areas needing retraining and conducting continuing education courses on infection, control procedures– seminars, practical sessions and preparation of handouts.
These measures should go hand in hand with provision of the necessary facilities/resources. The study results demonstrate that education and reinforcement of some infection control procedures such as gown/waterproof apron, and eyeglasses are necessary.
(ResearchSEA)
Saturday, October 07, 2006
Electronic Nose and Tongue for Herbal Products
By Zhari Ismail
A combination of an electronic tongue and an electronic nose dedicated for the classification of medicinal plant extracts using data fusion technique has been developed. The electronic nose consists of an array of gas sensors based on piezoelectric principles using lipids and gas chromatographic stationary phase materials of different selectivity patterns.
The sensors measure the frequency changes due to adsorption of volatile vapors on its surfaces. Meanwhile, the 'electronic tongue' consists of lipid polymer membrane electrodes (to mimic human tongue) for the analysis of liquid samples. The measurement principle is based on potentiometric principles, where the voltage difference between the electrodes and reference electrode are monitored. Data from the electronic nose and tongue were analyzed separately using multivariate data analysis based on principal component analysis and information from both the sensors were extracted. The sensors containing important information are merged together to improve the performance of the combined sensors. Multivariate statistical methods such as Principal Component Analysis (PCA) is used for classifying the samples, although techniques such as Discriminate Analysis (DA) and Principle Component Regression (PCR) analysis. Artificial Neural Network (ANN) could be used for the Detection, Classification and Quantification of the samples.
The instrument is to be of particular significance for the detection of taste and smell. Possible application of the instrument could be in…
* The herbal and pharmaceutical industries to verify raw materials, intermediates and finished products at various stages of manufacturing process
* The food industry including quality assessment in food production, control of food processing, inspection of fish, checking rancidity of edible oils, monitoring of food and beverage odor.
* The cosmetic and toiletries sectors for quality- monitoring of flavors and fragrances.
(ResearchSEA)
A combination of an electronic tongue and an electronic nose dedicated for the classification of medicinal plant extracts using data fusion technique has been developed. The electronic nose consists of an array of gas sensors based on piezoelectric principles using lipids and gas chromatographic stationary phase materials of different selectivity patterns.
The sensors measure the frequency changes due to adsorption of volatile vapors on its surfaces. Meanwhile, the 'electronic tongue' consists of lipid polymer membrane electrodes (to mimic human tongue) for the analysis of liquid samples. The measurement principle is based on potentiometric principles, where the voltage difference between the electrodes and reference electrode are monitored. Data from the electronic nose and tongue were analyzed separately using multivariate data analysis based on principal component analysis and information from both the sensors were extracted. The sensors containing important information are merged together to improve the performance of the combined sensors. Multivariate statistical methods such as Principal Component Analysis (PCA) is used for classifying the samples, although techniques such as Discriminate Analysis (DA) and Principle Component Regression (PCR) analysis. Artificial Neural Network (ANN) could be used for the Detection, Classification and Quantification of the samples.
The instrument is to be of particular significance for the detection of taste and smell. Possible application of the instrument could be in…
* The herbal and pharmaceutical industries to verify raw materials, intermediates and finished products at various stages of manufacturing process
* The food industry including quality assessment in food production, control of food processing, inspection of fish, checking rancidity of edible oils, monitoring of food and beverage odor.
* The cosmetic and toiletries sectors for quality- monitoring of flavors and fragrances.
(ResearchSEA)
Friday, October 06, 2006
Q&A: Cleaning/Scaling of Teeth
By Dr. Supriya Bhatia
* Should professional cleaning/scaling of teeth be done?
- Yes! it is important to get professional cleaning of teeth and gums done, so that they remain healthy and have a long life.
* What is the advantage of scaling and how frequently should it be done?
- Six monthly scaling and polishing of teeth is mandatory as…
(A) It removes the hardened deposits; tartar and stains from teeth which do not go with brushing at home- If tartar is not removed it damages the foundation structure of the teeth; first the gums and then the underlying bone, this leads to the gum disease called Pyorrhoea which leads to mobility of teeth.
(B) Any incipient dental problem whether it involves teeth (cavity) or gums (pyorrhea) can be diagnosed by the dentist at the time of cleaning and treated before it advances. This has great significance as dental problems remain silent for a very long time,(the damage happens first and the symptoms appear much later)
* Does professional cleaning/scaling of teeth cause any damage to the enamel or weaken teeth?
- With the modern sophisticated equipment for scaling and regulated pressure; there is absolutely no damage to teeth.
* Why do some patients get hot/cold sensation in their teeth after cleaning?
- Tartar gets deposited between the teeth and gums and pushes the gums away from the roots of the teeth. Once these tartar deposits are removed, the gums, which were pushed away, take some time (2 or maximum 3 weeks) to come back firmly and snugly around the roots of the teeth. During this interim period of 2/3 weeks the individual’s teeth may get hot /cold sensation. However this is short termed and can be taken care of by using a medicated toothpaste.
(Author is the Dentist on panel for the Times Group)
* Should professional cleaning/scaling of teeth be done?
- Yes! it is important to get professional cleaning of teeth and gums done, so that they remain healthy and have a long life.
* What is the advantage of scaling and how frequently should it be done?
- Six monthly scaling and polishing of teeth is mandatory as…
(A) It removes the hardened deposits; tartar and stains from teeth which do not go with brushing at home- If tartar is not removed it damages the foundation structure of the teeth; first the gums and then the underlying bone, this leads to the gum disease called Pyorrhoea which leads to mobility of teeth.
(B) Any incipient dental problem whether it involves teeth (cavity) or gums (pyorrhea) can be diagnosed by the dentist at the time of cleaning and treated before it advances. This has great significance as dental problems remain silent for a very long time,(the damage happens first and the symptoms appear much later)
* Does professional cleaning/scaling of teeth cause any damage to the enamel or weaken teeth?
- With the modern sophisticated equipment for scaling and regulated pressure; there is absolutely no damage to teeth.
* Why do some patients get hot/cold sensation in their teeth after cleaning?
- Tartar gets deposited between the teeth and gums and pushes the gums away from the roots of the teeth. Once these tartar deposits are removed, the gums, which were pushed away, take some time (2 or maximum 3 weeks) to come back firmly and snugly around the roots of the teeth. During this interim period of 2/3 weeks the individual’s teeth may get hot /cold sensation. However this is short termed and can be taken care of by using a medicated toothpaste.
(Author is the Dentist on panel for the Times Group)
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