How google has used information systems to develop more competitive Essay - 1

How google has used information systems to develop more competitive new business models - Essay Example Business models will continue to change as they have owing to the dynamic nature of business, however through IT; it is possible to positively affect changes in all the functions of the company. Information systems are used in companies over the world as a supporting function that makes processes more efficient. This has been done so irrespective of the nature of the industry they have been used in. However, with respect to the software industry, there are certain deviations. In addition to being a support function IT tools are also used for the core functions of the company. In spite of this, IT management has not been given the attention it deserves and is still treated as a business enabler function. Hence, it is high time that IT management is seen as a tool that shapes the business model of the company resulting in the topic at hand. Although Google and Microsoft have been considered for this study, it has been done so with respect to their main fields of operation namely the search engine market and that of the operating systems although they have operations in other areas, some of which overlap. The reason behind this is that the characteristics of the market can be matched with that of the company to reveal the strategies of the companies. Thereafter, the company mission, vision and other objectives were studied so as to examine their alignment with the IT strategy of the company. Since this was available through company sources such as websites, annual reports, etc, academic resources were reserved for familiarization with the principles of IT management. Subsequently analysis was carried out on both the companies with respect to Porter’s models. Statistics regarding the industry in which each of the companies operates in proved especially useful in revealing their strategies. Finally, the significance of information systems in developing the business models of the companies was established. Having

LitReview Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

LitReview - Essay Example Consideration of a threat doles out as a restriction or limitation that creates hindrances to perform required tasks as it dissuades to take action considering losses and costs. The whole process can be seen as a military action in which, concerned parties are restricted to take any military action that would affect the foreign policy objectives of the two involved states. Any sort of initiation of combating action is deterred. Rational choice theory is another theory that is influential in terms of cyber security. This theory allows contemplation and differentiation of varied accessible tactics. Cornish & Clarke (1986) inform that this theory emerged considering a notion related to cost benefit analysis. For example, a criminal conducts a crime when it appears advantageous to him. The theory also puts light on challenger’s haziness towards defender’s selected option. Nevertheless, the theory fails to resolve the strategized relationship between concerned parties, which are thoroughly reviewed in game theory (Understanding Society, 2008). The challengers select their intended defenders diligently and also work on their combating strategies considering previously employed strategies by the defenders. According to Cavusoglu, Raghunathan & Yue (2008), Decision theory is weak in handling the challengers’ worked out strategies and revisiting of defender’s actions because as per the theory, defender regards challenger’s devised performances as ‘exogenous’. According to the game theory, defender’s choices and challenger’s actions are endogenous. According to the decision theory, the scenarios according to which, the involved parties have to take action are predefined due to which, the actions performed by actors are regarded exogenous. Von Newmann and Morgenstern (1944) inform that each contestant is eligible to evaluate ‘variables’ of his actions only. There are rational rules involved in cons idering of variables and comprehension of variables of other’s actions, which cannot be determined statistically. Therefore, it has been required to explore a more viable theory that can be applied to cyber security. Researchers have moved towards game theory to comprehend the relationship between actors in cyber security issues. In addition, Nisan and Ronen (1999), Nisan (2007) inform about mechanism design that has assisted towards development of protection and privacy mechanisms. These mechanisms are designed with the support of systematic results. Because of usage of game theory, there are certain security decisions. These security decisions are supportive in terms of distribution of restricted resources, stability of professed problems and consideration of core inducement mechanisms. In game theoretical model, more than one person are involved in the decision making process and examining the decisions made where players are either directly or indirectly involved to share the resources provided in the game. Games relevant to the strategic security can be simple or complex. The game can be helpful in solving the simple as well as complex formulated security issues. The security issues can be related to the wireless or computer controlled communication programs. The strategy can provide a solution of the user privacy issues, etc. Utilizing this theoretical model, a defender keeps maintaining the security of the network and the system, while an attacker always tries to access the secure

Socrates Nobody Desires Evil Philosophy Essay

Socrates Nobody Desires Evil Philosophy Essay The beliefs of Socrates includes: a) Nobody desires evil, b) Nobody makes a mistake or does wrong willingly or knowingly, c) Virtue all virtue is knowledge, d) Virtue is sufficient for happiness. Of the four beliefs, the most implausible that Socrates established is the point that happiness and excellence is the most important goals in life, made these depend upon the virtues, then made the acquisition of the virtues the unique prerogative of the intellect, of cognition, reason, and argument. The minor Socratics began with a similar evaluation of the importance of happiness and excellence; however, their critical appraisal of the possibility of ones gaining knowledge with the power to deliver these goods led them to form alternative approaches to practical ethics. This shows Socrates commitment to the belief that reason should serve as the ultimate arbitrator of will and goodness. 2. Socrates and Euthyphro discuss the nature of holiness. To understand the significance of their discussion it is fruitful to examine the nature of their discussion and the process by which they manage the terrain of their issue as having an importance greater than the subject itself has. The subject of holiness is interesting and arguably important, but it is a means of arriving at a still greater end. Socrates and Euthyphro approach their conversation with distinct attitudes regarding the health of their epistemic states. Euthyphro feels confident and sure of his mastery of the topic of holiness. In contrast, Socrates professes his ignorance. But his ignorance is not the easy ignorance of a lazy unimaginative man. Rather, his claim of ignorance is the result of careful reflection about the status of his own virtue. His character is one of ceaseless rational inquiry. Socrates worked to use reason to judge truth and bring order to his soul. Second, Socrates demands that any idea worth keeping must withstand careful scrutiny. In contrast, Euthyphro demonstrates the mental habits of a person lacking the persistence to penetrate an idea beyond initial impressions. Socrates is determined to help Euthyphro acknowledge this habit of his character and revise it in favor of the habit of aggressive reasoning. Such a habit, Socrates demonstrates, is crucial for eudaimonia. 3. Socrates explains that he has been pursuing his religious duty to decipher the riddle presented by the oracle at Delphi. Socrates devotes a fair amount of time to this particular matter of his reputation. In his defense, Socrates explains that his friend Chaerephon paid a visit to the oracle at Delphi and asked whether there was anyone wiser than Socrates. In answer to this question, the oracle answered that no one was wiser. Socrates is often portrayed announcing his ignorance on many matters of apparent importance. If there is a link between knowledge and wisdom it seems that Socrates, apparently impoverished in the first virtue, would likely be impoverished in the latter virtue. Socrates understood the attainment of knowledge to involve a sort of personal transformation. For example, insofar as one gains knowledge of goodness then one becomes good and acts in ways that are good. Thus, Socrates had a special conception of knowledge. With regard to the virtues, Socrates did not draw a distinction between knowing-that and knowing-how. The former type of knowledge denotes an understanding of facts while the latter denotes an ability to perform an action. For Socrates, if someone had knowledge of a virtue it meant that she could both define it and consistently acted in harmony with it. 4. The charge of corrupting the youth is ambiguous and vague. Such activity might be perceived to be counter to the proper upbringing of the youth who may be expected to accept and practice the traditions of their culture without scrutiny. Socrates has already revealed that even religious messages from the oracle must be subjected to rational inquiry to be properly understood. To make this point clear he identifies the example of horse training. It seems that if someone became the owner of a horse that she wanted properly trained she would take it to one of the few experts rather than hitch it in the town center where it would enjoy maximum exposure to the greatest amount of people. Yet if most people are benefactors rather than corrupters then one should indeed hitch her new horse in the town square. Yet the foolishness of this conclusion is clear. There is no reason to suspect that most people, even if they are not detrimental to the youth, are beneficial to the youth. It stems likely that genuine benefactors will be in the minority. From these premises Socrates concludes that either be does not corrupt the youth or if he does corrupt the youth it is unintentional. Socrates cannot corrupt the youth intentionally for by doing so he would hurt those with whom he associates and thus ultimately hurt himself. Assuming that Socrates possesses self-mastery, thi s is counter to premise two. This is logically impossible. 5. Socrates was the philosopher who tried to equate goodness, knowledge, and happiness, it is most likely that that was how many others regarded him, and responding to that project was philosophically more important than responding to Socrates the man. Socrates was the philosopher who claimed no certain knowledge, but who nonetheless could live a successful life, then that combination of qualities poses more interesting problems for Hellenistic philosophy than does the issue of whether Socrates really made such a claim. With this, it is unlikely that a democracy will produce qualified and effective leaders because it is difficult, some might say impossible, to know for certain exactly what he thought or said about knowledge, moral values, or happiness. 6. Socrates did not rely exclusively on analogy in his attempts to infer the nature of the virtues, it did constitute a prominent place in his eclectic arsenal and seems undoubtedly to have informed his conclusion that the virtues were technal. It is difficult to assess the implications but if I were in Socrates position, I wouldnà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t try to escape from prison. One practical result would be a reluctance to accept the conclusion that a virtue is in fact a techne, since such a characterization relies on a familiarity with types of knowledge and activity whose semblances to justice, bravery, and so on are most readily understood by comparison. As Socrates had pointed out, it is frequently more difficult to escape doing wrong than it is to escape death. A worthy life must include philosophy for it is the appropriate means to conduct the examination of ones life and pursue self-mastery.

The Properties of Chemical Reactions

Properties of Chemical Reactions Ms. Whitty, Science 10 Fiona Adams, November 1st, 2012 Introduction Chemical reactions are a part of our daily lives, from rusting metal to making bread to leaves changing colour in the fall. A  chemical reaction  is the process that occurs when two or more substances combine to produce a chemical change. When a chemical reaction takes place, the change is indicated by one or more qualitative properties. The colour or odor could change, gas could be produced, a precipitate – a solid substance in a solution – could be formed, or energy could be absorbed or released.The substances initially involved in a chemical reaction are called reactants. When chemical reactions occur, the end result is called a product. Products usually have different properties than reactants; bonds between atoms will be changed during the reaction, switch the atoms’ arrangement in different compounds. A compound is a chemical substance that consists of t wo or more different chemically bonded elements. In this experiment, several different compounds are being worked with – potassium iodide, lead (II) nitrate, acetic acid and sodium bicarbonate.The purpose of this experiment is to determine whether or not a reaction has taken place using qualitative and quantitative analysis. Procedure Part 1 – Qualitative observations of both potassium iodide and lead (II) nitrate were recorded in a table. Then, the equipment and chemicals needed were gathered – potassium iodide and lead (II) nitrate, a graduated cylinder, Erlenmeyer flask, small test tube, rubber stopper, and small scale. Using the graduated cylinder, 10 mL of potassium iodide solution was measured and poured into the Erlenmeyer flask.Next, the lead (II) nitrate solution was poured into the small test tube until it was approximately half full. The test tube was placed inside the Erlenmeyer flask, and sealed with a rubber stopper – the solutions were not mixed. The mass of flask, stopper and contents were determined by being placed and weighed on a small scale. The mass determined was then recorded in another table. The Erlenmeyer flask was tipped so the previously separate solutions were allowed to mix, and the new mixture was again weighed and recorded in the second table.Changes in appearance from the original solutions were recorded in the first table. Lastly, leftover materials were disposed of. Part 2 – Qualitative observations of both acetic acid and sodium bicarbonate were recorded in a third table. Equipment and chemicals were gathered – acetic acid and sodium bicarbonate, a small scale, two plastic â€Å"weigh boats†, scoopula, and graduated cylinder. The first weigh boat was placed on the scale and the scale was â€Å"zeroed†. One scoop of sodium bicarbonate was poured into the weigh boat with the scoopula, and the results were recorded in a fourth table.Next, the second weigh boat was placed o n the scale and zeroed. Using the graduated cylinder, 15 mL of acetic acid was measured and poured into the weigh boat on the scale. The mass of the acetic acid was recorded in the fourth table. The sodium bicarbonate, measured previously, was poured into the weigh boat of acetic acid, and qualitative observations of that were recorded in the third table. When the reaction was complete, the mass of the products shown on the scale was recorded in the fourth table. Lastly, leftover materials were disposed of. ResultsQualitative Observations Part 1 – Before the reaction took place, both the potassium iodide and lead (II) nitrate had similar characteristics – they were both in a liquid state, as well as being clear and colorless. After the reaction, the qualitative observations of the new substance showed several differences. It was yellow in color, and a grainy precipitate had formed. The substance remained in a liquid state. (Table 2) Quantitative Observations from Part 1 – Mass of Reactants and Apparatus (g)| 140. 26| Mass of Products and Apparatus (g)| 140. 26| Qualitative Observations Part 2 –Before the reaction took place, the acetic acid and sodium bicarbonate each had different qualitative characteristics. The acetic acid was clear, colorless and in a liquid state. The sodium bicarbonate, however, was a white powder, in a solid state. The reaction caused the new substance to bubble and foam, producing a gas. (Table 4) Quantitative Observations from Part 2 – Mass of Sodium Bicarbonate (g)| 1. 01| Mass of Acetic Acid (g)| 14. 29| Mass of Products (g)| 14. 88| Analysis Part 1: The chemical reaction that took place was evidenced by several qualitative observations.The colour of the two original substances was clear, and when combined the colour changed to yellow – a change of colour is clear evidence of a chemical reaction. The word equation for this reaction would be – potassium iodide + lead (II) nitrate Potas sium nitrate and lead (II) iodide. In the form of a balanced equation, this reaction would be – 2KI + Pb(NO3)2 2KNO3 + PbI2. Weighing both the reactants and the product showed that the mass of the reactants, with the apparatus, was 140. 26 grams. The mass of the product, with the apparatus, was also 140. 6 grams – the product of this reaction had the same mass as the reactants. These results were expected, based on the Law of Conservation of Mass. The Law of Conservation of Mass is neither created nor destroyed in a chemical reaction. The application of the Law of Conservation of Mass means that the mass of products in a chemical reaction will equal the mass of the reactants, and this is consistent with the results of the first experiment. Part 2 Several qualitative observations determined that a chemical reaction took place – the product bubbled, and a gas was produced.The chemical equation for this reaction is CH3COOH + NaHCO3 NaCH3COO + H2O + CO2. Put into a word equation, the equation would be acetic acid + sodium bicarbonate Sodium acetate + water + carbon dioxide, carbon dioxide being a gas. Because a gas is present on the product side of the equation but not on the reactant side, the gas has been produced, which is evidence of a chemical reaction. Weighing the reactants and products showed that the combined mass of the reactants was 15. 30 grams. The combined mass of the products was 14. 8 grams, weighing slightly less than the reactants. This result was expected, because it is consistent with the Law of Conservation of Mass. Although the product weighed on the scale showed a slightly lower mass, this was because the carbon dioxide was a gas, and was not accounted for on the scale. To achieve better results and gain an accurate measurement of the products’ combined mass, it would be necessary to capture the gas and weigh it as well. Part 3: Extension For the chemical reaction AgNO3 + NaCl NaNO3 + AgCl, the total molecular mas s of the reactants would be 228. grams – silver nitrate (AgNO3) would have a mass of 169. 9 grams, and sodium chloride (NaCl) would have a mass of 58. 5 grams. Based on the experiments performed in the lab, and the Law of Conservation of Mass, it is expected that the mass of the products would be 228. 4 grams as well. This prediction can be proved by finding the molecular mass of the reactions products – multiply the mass number of each atom by the number of said atom, and add the amounts to determine the total mass of sodium nitrate and silver chloride, the products. ConclusionUsing qualitative and quantitative analysis, it was determined that reactions took place in each portion of the lab – the first between potassium iodide and lead (II) nitrate; the second between sodium bicarbonate and acetic acid. In each section, the reactions were evidenced by several qualitative observations. When potassium iodide and lead (II) nitrate were combined, a change of colour occurred in the reactant and a precipitate was formed. This is evidence of a chemical change. When acetic acid and sodium bicarbonate were combined, a gas was produced; also evidence of a chemical reaction.In the experiments, the Law of Conservation of Mass was discovered. The quantitative evidence in each section proved this law. In the first experiment, the mass of the products was equal to the mass of the reaction, indicating that matter was not created or destroyed in the reaction. The results of the second reaction showed a decrease in the mass of the product – however, this was only because the gas formed in the reaction could not be weighed. Application Much of the ease of our current lifestyle is due to the availability of fresh air, pure water and access to resources – all of which are almost entirely taken from the environment.When fossil fuels like coal and oil are mined and utilize, the result is a huge negative impact on the many aspects of the environmen t, and as a direct consequence, our lifestyles. Coal and oil have to be extracted from deep under the earth, transported, and burned. At each stage of this process, greenhouse gases – i. e. , carbon dioxide – are produced. Burning is especially bad for the environment; when burned, fossil fuels like coal and oil release mass amounts of carbon, which then combines with oxygen to form carbon dioxide. References University of Washington.Chemical Reactions – an Introduction. http://depts. washington. edu/chemcrs/bulkdisk/chem110A_aut01/notes_Week_5. pdf (accessed Oct. 30, 2012). Science Daily. Science Reference – Chemical Compound. http://www. sciencedaily. com/articles/c/chemical_compound. htm (accessed Oct. 30, 2012). American University. Oil Production and Environmental Damage. http://www1. american. edu/ted/projects/tedcross/xoilpr15. htm (accessed Oct. 30, 2012). Chem Professor. Reactants and Products. http://www. chemprofessor. com/outline7b. htm (acces sed Oct. 30, 2012).

A Glimpse of the Japanese Era through Filipino Paintings Essay

I.1 Background in the selection of the topic and AV Media to use. In Philippine history, many countries had tried to own the lands from when the time Spaniards first stepped in to the time of World War II where the country was invaded by Japanese army. Because of the invasions and wars, many Filipino people sacrificed their lives for freedom and democracy. Just like the national hero, Dr. Jose Rizal who sacrificed his life to awaken people’s patriotism, many artists also made artworks to express their feelings on how the natives were treated back then. Flash card, from the term itself, is a card used to display something including words and even images for pictorial cards just like posters. They are simple, cheap, versatile, yet often underexploited resources. Using them is a great way to present topics that include images and other visual symbols. With the aid of flash cards as instructional module, audience could learn better, understand and remember about the life of the Filipino people under the Japanese administration through some of the paintings made by Filipino painters. I.2 Importance and Significance of the chosen topic and the AV Media to use At present, the rise of new artworks is noticeable worldwide. Sometimes, artworks of the earlier times are neglected and forgotten, thus this topic is chosen to have a glimpse of our past and look back on the happenings that leaved significant marks in our history. This topic would also help the present generation recall about the country’s historical events and create a sense of nationalism to fight for freedom. Topics on artworks such as in the field of painting should at least include visual media to enhance discussion and keep the interest of the audience. The use of flash cards with printed image of the actual paintings on the Japanese occupation could help audience visualize, learn more and understand better the life of the people and the condition of the country back then. On the side of the lecturer, he doesn’t have to spend too much since he can create his own sets of flash cards for his specific needs. IIOBJECTIVES. II.1 General Objective To describe the art of painting that reflects the condition of the country during the Japanese times II.2 Specific Objectives To describe the nature of the paintings of the Japanese era and the styles used by the painters To discuss the purpose or intention of the painters and what message they want to convey in making their artwork III.DISCUSSION III.1 Review of Literature of the chosen Topic and AV Media Chosen From one colonizer to another–after more than three centuries of Spanish rule, the Americans came and then the Japanese to enslave our country. In response to the Japanese propaganda, according to Dr. Alice G. Guillermo, Filipino painters reacted by producing the following works: †¢ paintings that may be implicitly supportive of the Japanese occupation such as Vicente Alvarez Dizon’s â€Å"A Day Begins† done in 1942 †¢ genre scenes that seem neutral such as Crispin V. Lopez’s â€Å"Baguio Market† made in 1943 showing Japanese soldiers interacting with women vegetable vendors †¢ paintings that bring out national identity such as Emilio G. Santiago’s â€Å"Christmas Eve† made in 1942 which shows a traditional Filipino scene that evokes nostalgia †¢ paintings alluding to the social conditions of the time such as Pilar M. Santiago’s â€Å"Evacuees† made in 1941,Irineo Miranda’s Home from Work made in 1944, and Simon Saulog’s Conspiracy made in 1943 which shows a group of men in an evening meeting which suggests to the underground anti-Japanese movement. A suspension on artistic activity was prevalent during the Japanese occupation. However, some visual artists still managed to produce artworks based on the atrocities brought by the war. Artists represented in the collection: Dominador Castaà ±eda, Demetrio Diego, Diosdado Lorenzo, Romeo Tabuena, Gene Cabrera and others. In the field of painting, the most disturbing and the largest is Diosdado Lorenzo’s â€Å"Rape and Massacre in Ermita†. Lorenzo’s painting portraying two Japanese soldiers raping and killing family members in an Ermita home depicted a common horror not just in Manila neighborhoods but throughout many parts of the country. A young girl in the foreground is already dead from stab wounds, while another young girl with long hair in the background is naked and wounded. The husband has just been bayoneted. The wife struggling with a Japanese soldier clutching a knife, her breasts exposed, is about to be raped and murdered. A crying baby in a crib is a foreboding sign. There were countless stories by World War II survivors who saw Japanese soldiers flinging babies into the air and thrusting them with bayonets as they fell to earth. An altar with dangling rosaries is set on one side, mute and helpless. Tropical foliage seen from an open window vainly hides the fire and terror occurring outside. Dominador Castaneda’s work, entitled â€Å"Doomed Family† is of a different intensity but harrowing as well. Done in 1945, this oil on canvas has the feel of a silent scream. A mother lays dead; her long hair on the floor simulates blood. A lifeless father is bound in rope, his bloodied back mercilessly whipped. A child, still alive and tied, has her mouth open emitting perhaps a frightened helpless wail. One cannot tell if they are depicted in a home or in a cell. Their doom in the dark is the only certainty. A third painting related to World War II is entitled â€Å"Capas† by Demetrio Diego, a distinguished painter and former chief artist for the Sunday Times Magazine. It depicts the slow and agonizing death of Filipino prisoners-of-war in a Tarlac internment camp. The prisoner in the center seems to check on his companion’s condition beside him. The act is noble but futile. A man seated at the foot of the bamboo bed is malnourished and ready to die. Another famous Filipino historical and war painter is Fernando Amorsolo y Cueto. He is known as â€Å"The Painter of Philippine Sunlight† because his works capture the brilliance of the Philippine sun. He paints from within the Filipino values, character and soul. The artistic trademark of Amorsolo and his greatest contribution to Philippine painting is the backlighting technique. In a typical Amorsolo painting, figures are outlined against a characteristic glow, and intense light on one part of the canvas highlights nearby details. Portrayals of human sorrow and suffering were revealed through his illustrations of â€Å"women mourning their dead husbands, files of people with pushcarts and makeshift bags leaving a dark burning city tinged with red from fire and blood†. One particular painting, the Defense of a Filipina Woman’s Honor (1945), had two figures huddled in a corner: a man defiantly about to defend his wife or daughter from being raped or executed by an invisible Japanese soldier. The Japanese soldier is outside Amorsolo’s canvas, but from the defiant look of the man, it can be assumed that the intruder is still inside the house. This painting represented his unspoken defiance against oppression. There are several ways of presenting the topic—one of which is the use of flash cards especially for the images of the paintings which portrays the happenings in the Philippine history. Though there are other better ways of presenting it such as through PowerPoint, flash cards are more applicable especially when there is no access to computer for the operation, and they can also be used as back-up modules if ever there is power failure during the PowerPoint presentation. Flash cards are handy and cheaper compared to other AV media. The thing that matters most when using flash cards is that they should be of the same sizes that are visible to a certain size of audience. III.2 Materials and Procedure in the Preparation of the AV Media The materials needed in the discussion are: cards (folder size) to be used as flash cards, printed photos or images of the paintings, and glue to mount the printed images on the cards. The first step in the production of the AV media is choosing an interesting topic that is applicable for the chosen media. Researching for related literature follows and summarizing the content of the research by choosing the most important details for the presentation. Next is to have printed image of the paintings included in the research made and mounting them to the folder-size cards. The last thing to do is to practice for the presentation and proper use of the media chosen. III.3 Application of the AV Media The flash cards will be used in presenting the paintings made by the Filipino painters on the Japanese occupation. They will also be used to present important facts such as the title of the paintings, names of the painters and a little detail of the paintings shown. This will help audience to get familiar with the artworks, remember who painted them and what the paintings were implying. III.4 Sample Test/ Evaluation questions 1. Who are some of the Filipino painters who made paintings about the Japanese period in the country? 2. What common message do their paintings convey? 3. What are the media used by these painters in creating their pieces? 4. What is the name of the Dominador Castaneda’s painting? 5. What happened to the artistic activities during the Japanese occupation? 6. Who was called as â€Å"the Painter of the Philippine Sunlight?† 7. What was Amosrolo’s biggest contribution to the Philippine painting? 8. Who was the painter of the â€Å"Rape and Massacre in Ermita†? 9. How was the life of Filipinos during Japanese occupation? 10. What does â€Å"Capas† by Demetrio Diego depicts? IVCONCLUSION In the Philippines, almost all fields of art and our history have connections to other countries. The culture that the Filipinos have at present was influenced by the foreign countries that once colonized the Philippines. For the four years of the Japanese occupation, from 1941 to 1945, the colonizers, as a means of propaganda, used the visual arts. They produced posters, leaflets, flyers, comics, and illustrations that were dropped from passing airplanes. These included colored drawings, watercolor, photographs, photomontages, or calendar illustrations. The sixties and the seventies became a period of experimentation and exploration of new media, techniques, styles, forms of expression, and concepts in art. It also marked the increased consciousness of visual artists to bring their art closer to the people through forms like murals, prints, and cartoons. Paintings, for example, were one of the artworks that the Filipino people used in expressing their feelings to awaken patriotism of their countrymen. V.SUMMARY. In Philippine history, many countries had tried to own the lands from when the time Spaniards first stepped in to the time of World War II where the country was invaded by Japanese army. Because of the invasions and wars, many Filipino people sacrificed their lives for freedom and democracy. Just like the national hero, Dr. Jose Rizal who sacrificed his life to awaken people’s patriotism, many artists also made artworks to express their feelings on how the natives were treated back then. At present, the rise of new artworks is noticeable worldwide. Sometimes, artworks of the earlier times are neglected and forgotten, thus this topic is chosen to have a glimpse of our past and look back on the happenings that leaved significant marks in our history. The general objective of this module is to describe the art of painting that reflects the condition of the country during the Japanese times. Specific objectives are: to describe the nature of the paintings of the Japanese era and the styles used by the painters; and to discuss the purpose or intention of the painters and what message they want to convey in making their artwork. There are several ways of presenting the topic—one of which is the use of flash cards especially for the images of the paintings which portrays the happenings in the Philippine history. Though there are other better ways of presenting it such as through PowerPoint, flash cards are more applicable especially when there is no access to computer for the operation, and they can also be used as back-up modules if ever there is power failure during the PowerPoint presentation. The flash cards will be used in presenting the paintings made by the Filipino painters on the Japanese occupation. They will also be used to present important facts such as the title of the paintings, names of the painters and a little detail of the paintings shown. This will help audience to get familiar with the artworks, remember who painted them and what the paintings were implying. For the four years of the Japanese occupation, from 1941 to 1945, the colonizers, as a means of propaganda, used the visual arts. The sixties and the seventies became a period of experimentation and exploration of new media, techniques, styles, forms of expression, and concepts in art. It also marked the increased consciousness of visual artists to bring their art closer to the people through forms like murals, prints, and cartoons. Paintings, for example, were one of the artworks that .the Filipino people used in expressing their feelings to awaken patriotism of their countrymen. VI.REFERENCES Silva, John L. March 4, 2007. â€Å"Paintings To Remind Us Of Japanese Cruelties In World. War II†.John’s Thoughts And Deeds. Hernandez, Eloisa May P. â€Å"The American and Contemporary Traditions in Philippine Visual Arts†. National Commission for Culture and the Arts. Salvio, Ma. Czarina Colleen C. September 2011. â€Å"Philippine Art Paintings†. When my Life Begins. http://colleensalvio.blogspot.com/2011/09/philippine-art-paintings.html http://littleprincess1.hubpages.com/hub/The-Controversial-Painting http://en.wikipilipinas.org/index.php?title=Fernando_Amorsolo#Historical_and_War_ Paintings Killkathari. February 2013. B’s LOG 5. http://www.teachingenglish.org.uk/articles/using-flash-cards-young-learners.

Enron Case - 2402 Words

Imane Malihi Prof. Fred Friend BLW411/511 March 27, 2014 The Downfall of Enron Corporation â€Å"Ethics and integrity are at the core of sustainable long term success †¦ Without them, no strategy can work and, as Enron has demonstrated, enterprises will fail. That’s despite having some of the ‘smartest’ guys in the room.† by Richard Rudden. As the quotation states, ethics and integrity play a key role in the success of any corporation; through these principles, companies can ensure their compliance with law, build a strong relation with their stakeholders, and create a positive reputation in the market. However, this was not the case with Enron, America’s energy giant. This company’s mission statement was stated that its performance was†¦show more content†¦By 1993, in spite of the fact that some analysts were criticizing Enron for having high debt, the company was employing financial professionals like Andrew Fastow, assigned by Skilling as a chief financial officer, besides Jeff Skilling who were able to hide Enronâ €™s liabilities and growing the market share of the company on the other hand; Due to this fact, Enron was named for six years between 1996 and 2001 as â€Å"America s Most Innovative Company.† It was believed by investors and creditors that Enron was the ideal place to invest their money due to the effective performance shown in their financial reports. However, that picture was completely fade as Skilling and his staff of executives were adopting creative accounting strategies for showing that Enron is much powerful that it really is. For this purpose, Skilling was greatly investing and competing with big financial corporations in the labor market by attracting MBA graduates to Enron and this could only be done by providing luxuries and compensation benefits. In particular, the CFO of Enron, Andrew Fastow, who played a big role on hiding the true financial position of Enron from investors, collected more than $40 million in the year before Enron’s collapse. According to Los Angeles times, Enron paid millions to its 140 senior executives, an average of $5.3 million each. But what about paying taxes? After all, such a financially strong company, of course, hadShow MoreRelatedEnron Case1075 Words   |  5 PagesMINI CASE: THE FILURE OF CORPORATE GOVERNANCE AT ENRON 1.Which parts of the corporate governance system, internal and external, do you believe failed Enron the most? 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Dutch Environmental Issues

Sample details Pages: 21 Words: 6160 Downloads: 5 Date added: 2017/06/26 Category Environment Essay Type Descriptive essay Did you like this example? Interactive planning of Dutch infrastructural project A case-description of Mainport Schiphol and the A12 national expressway Don’t waste time! Our writers will create an original "Dutch Environmental Issues | Social Policy" essay for you Create order Interactive Planning of Sustainability 1. Introduction Since the beginning of the 90s, the implementation of new infrastructural projects in The Netherlands became increasingly problematic. Related environmental issues had a lot of societal attention. The Dutch Ministry of Transport, Public Works and Water Management, responsible for maintaining a high quality of mobility in the Netherlands, identified three major problems with earlier attempts to solve the infrastructural problems; little social acceptance for new projects, procedures for realizing new projects took too long, and the proposed solutions were not really original and often more of the same. For solving these problems, this Ministry of Transport, Public Works and Water Management proposed a change from top-down decision making to a more open and interactive form of policy making for planning, developing, and implementing new infrastructure (Enthoven and de Rooij, 1996). With interactive policy making, the main goal is to make more creative and effective plans, by involving all stakeholders like citizens, (local and/or national) governments and experts. For this paper, 2 cases are selected, related to a Dutch infrastructure issue and dealt with on an interactive way; Mainport Schiphol near Amsterdam and the A12 national expressway near The Hague. The first one is selected because of its elaborated description in Susskind et al. (1999), its high degree of complexness and the fact the outcomes were fairly positive, the second one is selected also because of its suitable description in Glasbergen en Driessen (2005), but with a more straight-forward problem definition and its positive outcomes. Discussing these two Dutch cases, we will focus on four critical issues, related to interactive planning and often discussed in literature: Participant selection, Power and Access, Roles of facilitators, and Use of knowledge. Although more critical issues can be defined, like Roles op participants, Modes of evaluation and Use of outcomes by policy makers, only these four are chosen because of the fact that these are clearly discussed in the selec ted case-descriptions and these seemed to be crucial for the success of these cases. Chapter 2 will discuss each critical issue shortly. Chapter 3 will discuss the two cases in the light of the four different critical issues, and chapter 4 will give a conclusion. To structure this research the following research question is formulated: How do the four critical issues (Participant selection, Power and Access, Roles of facilitators, and Use of knowledge) contribute to the rate of success of 2 infrastructural cases in The Netherlands (the Schiphol case and the A12 national expressway)? 2. Critical Issues This chapter will elaborate a bit more about what is actually meant with the four different critical issues: Participant selection, Power and Access, Roles of facilitators, and Use of knowledge. 2.1 Participant selection The question of which parties to involve is answered by a set of four considerations that should be taken into account when selecting the participants (De Bruijn et al., 2002). Firstly, parties with blocking power in the decision-making are important. Involving these parties in the process may keep them from using their blocking power in ways that are unforeseen. Secondly, parties with productive power should be part of the process. These parties will actually have to implement the decisions that are taken, and can influence the decision making with their control over the productive resources. Thirdly, parties that have an interest in the decision-making should be considered. These are parties that do not have substantial power in the decision making process (like blocking power or resources), but nevertheless are confronted with the outcomes of the group process and therefore can provide important information and moral considerations. Finally, this moral aspect of decision-making ca n by a reason to invite certain parties to join the process. Moral and ethical considerations can be important to embody the voice of those who are affected by the potential decision, but are not invited to the process for different reasons (De Bruin, 2002). 2.2 Power and access One of the key goals of interactive policy making is that it should reduce the influence of dominant elites and enable the less powerful groups to give input. Those parties or actors, who do not have access to formal decision-making processes or who cannot exert enough influence by the way of discussion and negotiation are more likely to initiate legal proceedings. Publics ability to participate in decisions can be assessed according to three elements (as defined at the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development in Rio de Janeiro in 1992): access to information, access to the decision-making process, and access to redress or change decision. These three elements will shortly be explained below. Access to information can be seen as the first foundation of access and also one of the most passive forms of access seen from the perspective of the public. With access to information is meant the ability the public has to easily get access to forms of relevant information in which they are directly or indirectly involved, such as environmental impact assessments, reports from industries about their emissions etc. But one also can think about getting informed about potential relevant activities, which possibly can affect the publics environment. Access to the decision-making processes wants to give the public a more active role. Once this form of access is attained, one can even speak of a certain form of power. One must not focus on only the opportunity to provide input on specific subjects, but also the ability to influence more general decisions, such as the making of new laws or national policies. Access to redress or change a certain decision is also related to a form of power, since the ability to change a certain decision gives a citizen the power to influence the decision-making process. This form of access can be translated into making judicial or administrative remedies accessible to the public, when officials fail to do their work in a proper manner (Mock et al., 2003). 2.3 Roles of facilitators The roles that a facilitator can play in group decision processes constitute of consistent packages of specific tasks within the group process combined with a more general attitude towards the group members and the process. In literature, three major roles of a facilitator are commonly distinguished: a role as process architect or process manager, a mediating role and a convening role. As a process architect, the facilitator lays down the backbone of the group process. The process should be structured in such a way that all relevant insights from the participants will play a role in the process. Four core principles for designing a group process can be discriminated: openness, protection of core values, speed and substance (De Bruijn et al., 2002). These four core elements of process design should be included and safeguarded in any process design in order to satisfy all the participants. The facilitator focuses on the process so that group members can focus on the substance and can suggest different ways of discussing problems, ensuring that all group members can freely express there comments and are free of any abuses of power or personal attack (Susskind et al., 1999). Especially in environmental issues, the interests, values and problem perceptions of different parties may often be far apart form each other. With such large contrasts of interest within the group, a facilitator often is faced with disputes and conflicts within the group process, that are hard to solve with mere changes in the structure of the process. In such case, the role of the facilitator can be very closely related with a mediating role in which the facilitator is mediating between parties, even to establish a general structure of the process. In addition, an external mediator can be asked to solve the conflicts. An external mediator is a neutral person that specializes in solving disputes between different participants in the group process, often using a variety of negotiation techniques and (psychological) methods of reframing problems and solutions (Acland, 1995). In a convening role, the facilitator has a say in which parties should be involved in the group process, and at what roles they will have. The convening role of a facilitator is sometimes not far apart from the role that a facilitator has as a process designer. Proper management of a group decisions process clearly has a very import influence on the effectiveness of that process. The facilitator can influence that process to quit a large extent. The consensus of all group members on the final decision depends for a large part on the level of agreement within the group with the approach that facilitators takes in structuring and managing the process. 2.4 Role of knowledge Knowledge is a crucial ingredient of interactive planning. However, the significance of the use of knowledge depends on ones view. Over the years, the view on the role of knowledge has changed. The rational actor model has gradually been replaced by adaptive decision and learning strategies interacting with the environment. Before, planning would be perceived as proceeding in an orderly and linear fashion (Friend Hickling, 2005). Today some authors state that knowledge is a result of collective social processes. This implies that knowledge is a social construct, rather than an objective entity. In the new approach, linear progression of the process is seen as unrealistic. Instead, the uniqueness, ambiguity and unpredictability of real world processes are emphasized. With the recognition that planning is an interactive and communicative process, the notion of the interrelationship between expert and experiential knowledge has become more and more crucial. Interactive planning is now seen as organized rituals where deliberating participants listen to one another, search for new options and learn to find new ways of going on together (Khakee et al., 2000). 3. Case description For a complete description of each of the two cases, see appendix 1 and 2. This section will only discuss the previously mentioned four critical issues related to interactive policy making (Participant selection, Power and Access, Roles of facilitators, and Use of knowledge), related to the experiences of these two cases. 3.1 Mainport Schiphol Schiphol Airport is situated in a highly urbanized area, and deals with national, continental and intercontinental air traffic. Although its presence is causing many stress on its environmental surroundings, the Dutch government wants it to expand, so it can act as a hub for continental and intercontinental air traffic. With this expansion there are two interests at stake: on national level an economic one (because an enlarged Schiphol would increase economic activities), and on regional level an environmental one (because a bigger Schiphol will cause an increase of nuisances of noise, pollution, and safety). These two opposite interests caused a stalemate to occur since the 1950s. In the 1980s, one of the government authorities took the initiative to change the common way of working and activated the policy network, to address the issues (Driessen, 1999). 3.1.1 Participant selection The most important actor in this case was the Dutch Government, who made the prefigured decision to expand the airport into an international hub. All other participants had to find their win-win outcomes within this context of developmental growth. From the beginning, various government organisations have been involved in the development of Schiphol Airport. The main players are three ministries. The ministry of Transport and Public Works is by far the most important actor, responsible for the economic development of the airport as well as the abatement of noise nuisance. Second, the Ministry of Housing, Physical Planning and Environment is also involved, responsible for physical planning in The Netherlands and implementing policies regarding the rest of the environmental effects of the activities of the airline industries, namely air pollution, stench and hazard. Finally, the Ministry of Economic Affairs plays and important role, pursuing further economic development in the region o f Schiphol (Driessen, 1999). Lower tiers of governments involved were the province of North Holland, responsible for environmental policy and planning for the region, and the municipalities surrounding the airport, both benefiting (by increased employment and tax-incomes) and enduring the aggravation (caused by noise, stench, air pollution, and other activities that degrade the environment) of having the airport close by. The municipality of Haarlemmermeer is a special case, because this municipality is authorized to create a land use plan for the airfield. Additionally, two enterprises play a crucial role: NV Luchthaven Schiphol (operating the airport and completely state owned) and KLM (the major Dutch carrier and partly owned by the state) (Driessen, 1999). Because the Ministry of Transport and Public Works occupied a pivotal position, being both responsible for the economic development of Schiphol and the abatement of noise nuisance, it was agreed that noise regulation would be regulated by the Aviation Act, which was under the responsibility of the Ministry of Transport and Public Works. Nevertheless, little actions were made to reduce noise nuisance, because all participants believed that technical solutions would solve all noise-problems in the near future. Because no agreement could be made between these participants on how much the airport should be allowed to grow, or how to tackle the environmental problems, the Dutch government asked the Ministry of Housing, Physical Planning and Environment to make an integral plan for the Schiphol region, ensuring both economic development as well as environmental improvements. In the following process, a project group and a steering committee were established. The steering committee was comp osed out of all above-mentioned parties, while the project group contained all interest groups. Any party with interest in the case could join the project group (Driessen, 1999). Based on the case-description and related to the four considerations described in section 2.1, it must be concluded that parties with blocking and productive power were strongly involved in the interactive planning process, by joining the steering committee. Other parties with interest were also involved, by joining the project group, but their influence was relatively small. If parties were involved, based on moral considerations, does not become clear from this case-description. 3.1.2 Power and access The three different Governmental agencies (the ministry of Transport and Public Works, the Ministry of Housing, Physical Planning and Environment, and the Ministry of Economic Affairs) with jurisdictional authority over airport expansion, had accepted the mandate for airport expansion, but each with more at stake than achieving this outcome. Interagency rivalry and power played a critical part in the positions the ministries adopted and the coalitions they build during negotiations. The creation of a project group composed of all interest groups and of a steering committee of essential power brokers gave much power to the steering committee alone. From the case description, it does not become clear that the members of the steering committee, who were eventually excluded from the decision-making, were those who could not benefit in a win-win situation, or were simply not powerful enough to block or advance progress. Nevertheless, the exclusion of interests cannot lead to a win-win sol ution and has encountered difficulties building consensus and achieving compliance (Driessen, 1999). Based on the case-description and related to the three elements described in section 2.2, it must be concluded that Access to information does not form an obstacle. Perhaps the overload on information and the opposed and contradicting information gave bigger problems. The public was given some access to the decision-making process when they joint the project group, by commenting the ideas of the steering committee. However, the steering committee made all final decisions, so there was certainly no access to redress or change a decision. 3.1.3 Roles of facilitator After the developed deadlock between the initially participants, the Ministry of Housing, Physical Planning and Environment was made primary responsible for the task of making an integral plan for the Schiphol region, ensuring both economic development as well as environmental improvements. The fact that this ministry had a strong affiliation with environmental issues raised initial suspicion among the other governmental bodies. They wondered whether this ministry would be able to take a neutral position in the ensuing discussions. However, their initial wariness soon gave way to a realistic attitude, and actively joined the process (Driessen, 1999). The Ministry of Housing, Physical Planning and Environment designed an organizational framework for the discussion whereby the coordinated approach would be given a concrete form by activating the policy network. With this, the ministry acquired a dual function in the project, because it was the convenor, chair and facilitator of the planning process, and had to secure the input of environmental interest in the decision-making (Driessen, 1999). In the initial stage, the strategy of the project leaders of the Ministry of Housing, Physical Planning and Environment was to bring the various parties closer together by conducting investigations and exchanging information, assuming that this might contribute to a better understanding and more appreciation for each different standpoint. The was no need for a professional facilitator, because all information was being collected, analyzed, and disseminated in an orderly way, although a professional facilitator could have helped structuring the problem. At the end of this stage, the project leaders formulated a plan, which could not be released because of the rain of criticism it caused (Driessen, 1999). Because of this setback, the project leaders decided to recruit a professional facilitator, with the task not to increase the supply of information, but to let parties sought to digest what they had and to arrive at a decision. From the case-description, it does not become clear if this facilitator had staff support and whether he/she had analytical, problem solving skills. The approach taken by the facilitator was aimed at bringing the main bottlenecks to the fore, in order to reach agreements at least on key points. The approach was characterized by the creation of a strong interaction between the project group and the steering committee. The later reviewed the issues that the project group had pared down in size, and either approved the solutions offered by the project group or send them back to the project group for reconsideration (Driessen, 1999). After this process, the facilitator presented the choices made by the project group and the steering committee to the public. The central aim of this was, to gain social and political legitimacy; the plan was opened up to the public discussion and the reactions were taken into account in the final version. Unfortunately, the public was hardly informed about the process preceding the plan and therefore it was generally received with great suspicion. Adding to this, the public discussion did not proceeded in a coordinated fashion, but each government resorted to its own method of public discussion. At the same time of these public hearings, the facilitator had to focus on the steering committee, because each party could take criticism of the plan as a lever to reopen discussion on subjects already discussed. At the end, the facilitator wrote the final text of the plan, shaping the final agreements also including the difficult topics of a reduction of noise nuisance and hazard (Driessen , 1999). From this description of the facilitator, it becomes clear that the facilitator had both the role of process architect, and mediator. The facilitator designed the entire framework of decision-making and mediated when problems occurred. If the facilitator also had a convening role is unclear. Which stakeholders could join the steering committee was already decided before the facilitator got involved. How actually the project group was formed, stays unclear from this case-description. 3.1.4 Role of knowledge Especially in issues related to airfield, experts disagree on numerous crucial uncertainties. This makes the role of knowledge both important but not of the same tenor. Research plays a key role in these controversies. This relates to research on, for instance, the need to build a new airport or expand the existing one, it may concern the most desirable infrastructure in and around the airport, it may deal with the profitability of operation, it may investigate the economic impact of the airport, or it may consider possible negative effects on the environment. However, this research must never be judged as objective and will always play a role in the conflict of interest, expressed in this case, in the frequency of requested second opinions (Driessen, 1999). In the case of noise nuisance, it took long time to be acknowledged as a problem and to find a way of calculating the level of distress. In the mid-1960s, a system was developed to measure noise nuisance, but no agreement could be made on how it should be applied. For instance, there was discussion about how to determine the threshold value for maximum admissible noise nuisance. Furthermore, options differ on setting a specific norm for night flights. The disagreement revolves around the degree to which departing and arriving airplanes disturb the sleep of nearby residents, and whether such disruption is detrimental to public health. There was also uncertainty about, the rate air traffic would increase, and the degree to which technical developments in aeronautics could help reduce noise levels by changing the aircrafts design (Driessen, 1999). Therefore, as also stated in section 2.4, knowledge is very important in decision-making processes, but as these processes get more interaction with a broad scale of actors, knowledge becomes more a result of collective social processes and loses its objective entity. From this case-description, it does not become explicitly clear if the decisions were based on knowledge provided by experts or that it was formed in an interactive learning process. Implicitly, one could state that the agreement on noise nuisances could only have been established, when such interactive knowledge development occurred. 3.2 A12 national expressway The ease of accessibility of The Hague depends to a large extent on the A12 national expressway. Its final 30 km stretch is marked by many access and exit ramps, and the intensity of traffic in this area has increased dramatically in recent decades. This is partly thanks to the enormous increase in the volume of vehicular traffic, and partly to the proliferation of new urban development locations around The Hague. Much of the traffic is destination traffic which enters the city in the morning and leaves at night. As a result of the higher volumes, congestion became a big problem (Glasbergen and Driessen, 2005). 3.2.1 Participant selection The planning agency initially saw itself as the owner of the problem at stake and formulated a classical solution of road widening. This approach failed because of public resistance and of a budget problem at the Ministry of Transport, Public Works and Water Management. Because of this, the ministry stepped back, which un-deliberately created opportunities for other parties to take initiative. The government authorities of The Hague took the initiative to develop a new architecture for interaction among the different stakeholders. They organized a public dialog and a series of workshops involving local politicians and private businesses from the region, resulting in a new definition of the problem, focussing on the underutilization of existing capacity. The role of the planning agency changed from orchestrator of the infrastructure project to a partner in the wider regional consultation on issues of mobility and livability. They also made subsidies available to the business community , enabling them to work out individual, sometimes innovative, mobility plans (Glasbergen and Driessen, 2005). Before concluding the analysis of participant selection in this case, the fact that there were no objections to the planes made by this interactive planning-process is probably the best evidence that all relevant stakeholders were included in the process. Nevertheless, from the case-description and related to the four considerations described in section 2.1, it does not become clear how all relevant stakeholders were defined, if all parties with blocking and productive power were added to the process, or if parties with moral and ethical considerations were included. 3.2.2 Power and access This case can bee described as a restricted interactive process, because it was intended to promote the cooperation of public authorities with the private sector. Civic organizations and individual citizens were kept informed through a public relations center. The governmental authorities of The Hague decided which stakeholders were included in the process. Despite this fact, no opposition to this project did arise (Glasbergen and Driessen, 2005). The access to information was well looked after, in the form of the public relations center. They kept civic organizations and individual citizens informed about the plans and progress. More power was not given to the public in this case. 3.2.3 Roles of facilitator In order to link the government agencies (where the plans were developed), and the business community, a godfather was appointed. This honour was given to the director of the public transport company in the region, and he served as a contact between the project and the private sector. He kept all relevant firms informed about the development of the project and called these firms to task with respect to their responsibilities for the regions accessibility, by reminding them that they might be lagging behind other firms in the development of their mobility plans (Glasbergen and Driessen, 2005). From the case-description, it must be concluded that the government authorities of The Hague acted as a convener, initially selecting the different stakeholders. Facilitating the process and mediating in conflicts were partly done by the godfather and partly by the government authorities of The Hague. The precise division of responsibilities does not become clear from the case-description. 3.2.4 Role of knowledge According to this case-description, it was the government agencies of The Hague who decided what knowledge was used in the decision process. The only organization consulted for information was the planning agency, also participating in the planning process (Glasbergen and Driessen, 2005). Although knowledge is crucial in interactive planning (see section 2.4), the role of knowledge in this case is not very big. This probably has two reasons. One is the relative simple problem at stake (congestion) and secondly the fact that all parties agreed on the content of the relevant knowledge. Nevertheless, the fact that only one party provided the relevant knowledge could potentially have caused major problems afterwards. 4. Conclusion This research started with the question: How do the four critical issues (Participant selection, Power and Access, Roles of facilitators, and Use of knowledge) contribute to the rate of success of 2 infrastructural cases in The Netherlands (the Schiphol case and the A12 national expressway)? How each criterion added to the success of the case is described at the end of each subsection in chapter 3. Overall, it can be concluded that the success of interactive planning depends on the care each criterion is taken care of. If one of these criteria is neglected, it will be reflected in the outcomes. If, for example, participants are forgotten, power is not distributed evenly, facilitators are not adequate, or knowledge is not as objective as possible, the process will take much longer time and the change of good end-results and thus consensus will diminish. Both cases make clear that solutions were impossible to reach in the traditional way of policy making and that interactive policy mak ing contributed to good end results. Nevertheless, in future comparable processes, more attention should be given to the four discussed critical issues, and probably to the seven mentioned in the introduction. Only than, the rate of success of these kind of processes will increase. References Acland, A.F. 1995. Resolving Disputes without going to Court. London, Century Business Books. Bruijn, H. de, E. ten Heuvelhof and R.J. in t Veld. 2002. Process management: Why Project Management Fails in Complex decision making Processes. Dordrecht, Kluwer Academic Publishers. Driessen, P. 1999. Activating a Policy Network; The Case of Mainport Schiphol. in Susskind et al., 1999, The Consensus Building Handbook: A Comprehensive Guide to Reaching Agreement. Enthoven, G.M.W. and A. de Rooij. 1996. InfraLab; Impuls voor open planvorming en creativiteit.Bestuurskunde, Vol. 5, Issue 8, p. 1-8. Friend, J. and A. Hickling. 2004. Planning Under Pressure, The Strategic Choice Approach. Oxford, Buttorworth/Heinemann. Glasbergen, P. and P.J. Driessen. 2005. Interactive planning of infrastructure: the changing role of Dutch project management. Environment and Planning C: Government and Policy, Vol. 23, p. 263-277. Khakee A., A. Barbanente and D. Borri. 2000. Expert and experimental knowledge in planning. The Journal of the Operational Research Society, Vol. 51, No. 7, p. 776-788. Mock, G.A., W. Vanasselt, and E. Petkova. 2003. Rights and reality: Monitoring the publics right to participate. International Journal of Occupational and Environmental Health, Vol. 9, p. 4-13. Suzzkind, L.S., S. McKearan and J. Thomas-Larmer. 1999. The Consensus Building Handbook: A Comprehensive Guide to Reaching Agreement. London, SAGE Publications. Appendix 1 Case sheet Mainport Schiphol (Driessen, 1999) 1. Position Initiative: several governmental ministries Time period: 1980-present Level of used policy process: regional/national Phase in policy process: in process 2. Background This case is about plans to expand Amsterdams Schiphol Airport and the disputes related to it. Schiphol Airport is situated in a highly urbanized area, and deals with national, continental and intercontinental air traffic. Although its presence is causing many stress on its environmental surroundings, the Dutch government wants it to expand, so it can act as a hub for continental and intercontinental air traffic. With this expansion there are two interests at stake: on national level an economic one (because an enlarged Schiphol Airport would increase economic activities), and on regional level an environmental one (because a bigger Schiphol Airport will cause an increase of nuisances of noise, pollution, and safety). These two opposite interests caused a stalemate to occur since the 1950s. In the 1980s, one of the government authorities took the initiative to change the common way of working and activated the policy network, to address the issues in a coordinated fashion. Type of policy problem / issue: (No information available) 3. Plan of method and parties involved Plan of method and participation As soon as all parties agreed to participate to the project, a join statement of intent was drawn up in the form of a covenant specifying the aim op the project, the policy standpoints, the organizational structure, and the financing. After this, plans formulated in three stages were hammered out, were consensus had to be reached on: cognitive stage; directed toward gathering and exchanging information in order to make a better appreciation for each others standpoints. productive stage; directing towards decision making on the main points of discussion by an independent facilitator. His aim was, to bring the bottlenecks to the fore and to reach agreements on the key points. formalizing stage; concerning the final decision making and the creation of social and political legitimacy for the plan. The plan was opened up to the public discussion, and the reactions had to be taken into account in the final version. This final version had to be submitted for approval to Parliament, the provincial executive of North Holland, and the municipal councils of Amsterdam and Haarlemmermeer. Participation rules: who and why? The initial main players are three ministries: The Ministry of Transport and Public Works (by far the most important actor and responsible for airport planning, jurisdiction and abatement of noise nuisance), Ministry of Housing, Physical Planning and Environment (responsible for all other environmental effects besides noise nuisance (like air pollution, stench and hazard), and physical planning in The Netherlands), and the Ministry of Economic Affairs (pursuing further economic development in the region). Also the province of North Holland and the municipalities surrounding the airport, responsible for environmental policy planning in the region, are participants in this policy network. Finally, to enterprises are involved: NV Luchthaven Schiphol (Schiphol Airport, Inc.) and KLM. Adding to the complexity of the issue; the Dutch Government holds about 3/4 of the shares of the NV Luchthaven Schiphol and 1/3 of the shares of KLM. Thus the government has a large influence in both the com panies as well. In 1988, the Ministry of Housing, Physical Planning and Environment became responsible for the future development of Schiphol Airport. It had to activate the policy network again, by setting up the project and managing it, and secure the input of environmental interests. The organization structure consisted of a project group (containing a broad base of parties with both economical and environmental interests) and a steering committee (Consiting of: The Ministry of Transport and Public Works, Ministry of Housing, Physical Planning, the Ministry of Economic Affairs, the province of North Holland, the municipalities of Amsterdam and Haarlemmermeer, NV Luchthaven Schiphol (Schiphol Airport, Inc.) and KLM. Method of alternative weighing (No information available) 4. Role of knowledge Relation to source of knowledge (No information available) Coping with uncertain and incomplete knowledge (No information available) 5. Results Evaluation available Up to 1988, it was not possible to reach consensus within this policy network on the future development of Schiphol. The lack of clarity about the following issues has been important: Uncertainty about the noise nuisance; if it had to be taken into account at all and how to measure it. There was also no clear way of dealing with the level of disturbance night flights caused. The technical possibilities to reduce noise, by changing the design of aircrafts. After the second attempt to solve the development problems around Schiphol Airport, the policy network agreed on a plan to a reduction of noise nuisance and hazard, setting an threshold for noise nuisance and on providing additional sound insulation for dwellings in the vicinity. With regard to the rest of the environmental effects (stench, safety, and air pollution), agreement was reached on the aims, while concrete measures were left to a later stage of plan elaboration. On the basis of this plan, the parties involved drafted a covenant, with the status of a statement of intent, containing the main agreements. Elements useful for weighing sustainable risks (environment, social, economy). (No information available) Appendix 2 Case sheet A12 national expressway (Glasbergen en Driessen, 2005) 1. Position Initiative: The government authorities of the metropolitan area of The Hague Time period: 1998-2005 Level of used policy process: Local Phase in policy process: Implementation (in 2005) 2. Background The ease of accessibility of The Hague depends to a large extent on the A12 national expressway. Its final 30 km stretch is marked by many access and exit ramps, and the intensity of traffic in this area has increased dramatically in recent decades. This is partly thanks to the enormous increase in the volume of vehicular traffic, and partly to the proliferation of new urban development locations around The Hague. Much of the traffic is destination traffic which enters the city in the morning and leaves at night. As a result of the higher volumes, congestion has become a big problem. Type of policy problem / issue: Public resistance against the proposed solution formulated by the planning agency and budget problems at the Ministry if Transport, Public Works and Water Management. 3. Plan of method and parties involved Plan of method and participation The government authorities of the metropolitan area of The Hague took the initiative and developed a new architecture for interaction among the parties. They organized a public dialog and a series of workshops involving local politicians and private businesses from the region. Participation rules: who and why? Local politicians and private businesses from the region, with a clear stake in the problem and its resolution. Method of alternative weighing (No information available) 4. Role of knowledge Relation to source of knowledge (No information available) Coping with uncertain and incomplete knowledge (No information available) 5. Results Evaluation available This project may be seen as a restricted interactive process, in the sense that it was intended to promote the cooperation of public authorities with the private sector. Civic organizations and individual citizens were kept informed through a public relations centre. Despite this limited inclusiveness, opposition to the project did not arise. The case also shows that it is easier to obtain public financing for innovative plans which enjoy broad support than for projects that replicate traditional solutions and are supported only by the planning agency. Because of the interactive approach, the stakeholders could jointly set priorities for the expenditure of public funds for infrastructure. The consultations among these parties resulted in a new definition of the problem one no longer focused on the problem of insufficient road capacity (which had resulted in the proposed solution of widening the road), but on the underutilization of existing capacity (which resulted in the proposal to improve utilization). Along the way, the scope of the problem had been broadened so that it now concerned more than the accommodation of automobile traffic, as it also covered alternatives for modal split: public transport, automobiles, and bicycles. This implied that attention was no longer exclusively focused on the road segment in question, but had shifted to embrace the traffic and mobility issues of the entire region. By redefining the problem, the debate on the classic dilemma asphalt or the environment- was sidetracked. Environmental organizations that had previously opposed the plans now supported the revised approach. Elements useful for weighing sustainable risks (environment, social, economy). (No information available)