Estimating And Pre Contracts Quantity Surveying Construction Essay

Assessing And Pre Contracts Quantity Surveying Construction Essay The most significant phase of any undertaking is Estimating and Pre-Contracts Quantity Surveying. Care must be taken at this stage, to deliver an increasingly exact and sensible expense of the task so the customer is in information on the monetary prerequisite with no significant astonishments, for effective fulfillment of venture inside the financial plan. Development ventures are consistently out of financial plan and postponed finishing date. The two principle reasons are either an off-base appraisal of the expense and term for the finish of the undertaking or the customer is by and large intentionally gave a diminished financial plan and a tight calendar for consummation of task. Anyway the most well-known explanation is the mix of the expense and time gauges and the last being utilized by most advisors/modelers to persuade the customers to proceed with the task. The decreased spending plan and the tight time plan is once in a while path away from the real, which is the principle purpose behind the breakdown of the customer. One of the harsh experience is with the Dubai Government Roads and Transport Authority being given a Cost Estimate of about 4.25 billion dollars (15.5 billion dirhams) for the Dubai Metro Rail Project, which went over spending plan and crossed time limit while crossing 7.67 billion dollars (28 billion dirhams) consumption with still piece of the system stations being inadequate. According to RTA there were four reasons of the expansion, first the venture was reached out by 4.5 km, furthermore including a station with scarcely any more kilometers of the rail, thirdly including two additional stations the Red Line and finally the changing of the inside of the stations definitely and including footbridges. Likewise to the way that in my vocation of 10 years in Dubai, I have seen just one anticipate finished inside the financial plan and inside the allocated tight timespan. The venture was executed with acceptable administration and legitimate portion of assets to accomplish the culmination inside a brief timeframe. Anyway it isn't reasonable for accused Pre-Contracts methodology choosing the significant piece of the destiny of the development venture. Dynamic The PCQS needs to submit different reports as per the different stages in Pre-Contracts. The different territories to be considered in the Pre-Contracts Quantity Surveying stage are as following 1) Selection of group. 2) Collection of recorded information. 3) Identifying key personals had practical experience specifically field to co-ordinate. 4) Incorporating contributions from different offices heads. 5) Defining and actualizing for all intents and purposes a reasonable quality check methodology. 6) Following the different strides as indicated by the phase of the record submittal. 7) Team pioneer to distinguish and appropriate the work to the capable staff. 8) Quality Management, particularly during the finish of the accommodation date. 9) Preparing a progressively reasonable quote. 10) Back-checking by looking at the Engineers Estimate and the reasonable delicate opened. 11) Client can make the expert dependable by approaching to give reinforcements to the amounts and rates. 12) Including input and information gave from continuous tasks by Post Contract Quantity Surve yor. 13) Preparing of BOQ for Remaining Works of an agreement after the end of the Main Contractor. 14) Making the Consultant liable for quotes gave to customers, to keep away from tremendous variety. 15) Quantity Surveyors to be quick and exact in managing Notice to Tenderers. To learn great exercises and keep away from future misfortune to the individuals from the development business, some contextual investigations are being given. ESTIMATION AND PRE-CONTRACTS QUANTITY SURVEYING The Pre-Contracts stage needs a generally excellent Quantity Surveyor having a wide scope of involvement in abilities to deal with the figurings with the accessible programming and in particular the noteworthy information accessible in the association for utilizing it as a base in Estimating. The typical system in the pre-contracts evaluating is setting up the gauge during the Preliminary Study, Preliminary Design, Final Design and Tender Design. For monotonous or comparative undertakings, for which the association has great sound ongoing noteworthy information, the distinction between all the stage gauges will be exceptionally less, if there is no extreme change in the extent of the work. The Quantity Surveyor will get ready and keep standard rates got from notable information and keep as normal. It is better that the individual setting up the assessments, infers the standard rates himself, with the goal that he is in information on those things which are lumped into some unit rates or for those things whose cost to be independently determined if conceivable, or simply permit some rate in the possibilities or some other detail. As the stage advances the amounts and things turns out to be all around characterized and afterward just applying proper unit rates turns into a key factor. However, at every single stage the Quantity Surveyor utilizing any supposition will save records for any future avocation of the considerable number of appraisals even until the beginning of the venture. The different phases of Pre-Contracts report submittal with surmised time period is referenced underneath: Stage 1 Preliminary investigation One page gauge arranged by PCQS to be incorporated by the Project Manager in is study report. Stage 2 Preliminary Design (After roughly one month from stage 1) Volume 1 Tender and Contract Conditions Sample duplicate from past task Volume 2 Specifications Sample duplicate applicable to the undertaking Volume 3 BOQ Sample duplicate with thing portrayal and without amounts, applicable to the task Volume 4 Drawings Relevant to the undertaking, including standard drawings applicable to the task Fundamental Design Cost Estimate One page gauge of the undertaking Stage 3 Final Design Document (After roughly one month from stage 2) Volume 1 Tender and Contract Conditions With all subtleties applicable to the undertaking Volume 2 Specifications Only applicable to this undertaking Volume 3 BOQ Actual things and amounts from drawings of this undertaking Volume 4 Drawings Relevant to the task as it were Stage 4 Final Design Cost Estimate (On the seventh day from stage 3) Last Design Cost Estimate Detailed quote with amounts from drawings and current market rates. Stage 5 Tender Design Document (After around one month from stage 3) Volume 1, 2, 3 4 Tender and Contract Conditions Same as in stage 3 with joining of amendments and changes. Stage 6 Notice to Tenderers (After the skimming of Tender records to the bidders and not following 10 days before Tender opening date) It comprises of a report expressing the adjustments in all or any of the Volumes and the new pages. Stage 7 Engineers Estimate (upon the arrival of Tender opening date, after completely Bid records are opened and is submitted to the Client independently) It comprises of an itemized quote with amounts from drawings and current market rates, in the wake of fusing all NTTs. Stage 8 Tender Analysis (On the fourteenth day after stage 7) The PCQS needs to set up an examination report of the offer archives submitted and contrast it and Engineers Estimate. Stage 9 Contract Documents (After stage 8 and finish of the fruitful bidder to grant the agreement) The PCQS needs to assemble all the records of Volumes 1, 2, 3 4 put together by the bidder and check if all the NTTs are consolidated and incorporate if any absent. He needs to likewise incorporate any post delicate correspondence and changes as concurred. This report is sent to the Contractor for him to check and sign. This marked report is then marked by the Client and along these lines the Contract is framed. One duplicate of this marked archive goes to the Post Contracts area, with which the duty of the PCQS is finished. The following are the different organizations utilized in Pre-Contracts Documents: The product required is ostensible, for example, MS Word and MS Excel for getting ready reports. What's more, for ascertaining amounts MS Excel is most impressive which can be utilized alongside Autocad, Microstation and Geopak. The Preliminary Study and Preliminary Design BOQ, comprises of test BOQ things with nil amounts as demonstrated as follows: Figure 1 The Final Design BOQ and Tender Design BOQ comprises of real work things with amounts determined from drawings as demonstrated as follows: Figure 2 Starter Study and Preliminary Design Cost Estimate position is as given beneath: Figure 3 Last Design Estimate and Tender Design Estimate is a point by point gauge with work things, amounts and rates, as given underneath: Figure 4 An example page of the Tender Analysis is demonstrated as follows, which analyzes the rates and sums cited by three temporary workers. It likewise computes the base, normal and greatest paces of the considerable number of temporary workers: Figure 5 The record of the Volume 1 Tender and Contract Conditions is demonstrated as follows: Figure 6 An example of the unit rate computation sheet is demonstrated as follows: Figure 7 Down to earth APPLICATION OF PRE-CONTRACTS QUANTITY SURVEYING The investigation is calibrated to Infrastructure ventures like Roads and Bridges and utilizing FIDIC contract conditions and CESMM3 technique for estimation. Coming up next are significant zones to be considered in Pre-Contracts stage. 1) Selection of group contingent upon the undertaking and customer : This is the activity of the individual responsible for the QS group to choose the specific QSs who will have the option to convey the necessary undertaking with exactness and in time. On the off chance that the undertaking is progressively particular and novel, at that point the key QSs will have a superior building foundation and inventive abilities to manage issues which comes up during the readiness of BOQ and gauge. Anyway some part of the work will be like routine work, which should be possible by different QSs. Consequently inside the group jobs and obligations will be partitioned according to gauge and limit of carrying out the responsibility. The most significant viewpoint is of correspondence, for example every single individual of the group will be imparted of any progressions and offer new data got from other

Natural Capitalism Essay Example

Normal Capitalism Essay Normal Capitalism by Amory Lovins (www. natcap. organization) Capital It’s the aggregated riches as speculations, manufacturing plants, and gear. An economy requires four kinds of free enterprise to work: 1. Human capital †work knowledge, culture and association 2. Money related capital †money ventures, and financial instruments 3. Fabricated capital †framework, machines, devices and processing plants 4. Normal capital †assets, living frameworks biological system administrations The initial 3 types of capital are utilized to change common capital into the stuff of our day by day lives: vehicles, expressways, urban areas, spans, houses, food, medication, emergency clinics and schools. Private enterprise is a monetarily productive, non-reasonable distortion in human turn of events and doesn't adjust to its own bookkeeping standards. It sells capital and calls it salary and it fails to dole out any an incentive to the biggest supplies of capital it utilizes †the characteristic assets and living frameworks, just as the social and social frameworks that are the premise of human capital. This insufficiency in business activity can’t be rectified by basically doling out financial qualities to characteristic capital for 3 reasons: 1. A large number of the administrations we get from living frameworks have no known substitutes at any cost. Ex; oxygen creation by green plants. 2. Valuating normal capital is a troublesome and uncertain exercise. - Biological administrations streaming straightforwardly into society from the load of normal capital are evaluated at $36 trillion versus the yearly gross world item assessed at $39 trillion. 3. Machines can't give a substitute to human insight, information, astuteness, authoritative capacities and culture. The whole estimation of human capital is 3x more noteworthy than all the monetary fabricated capital considered worldwide accounting reports. Traditional Capitalism: In request to achieve any extensive monetary and environmental change we should comprehend the premise of present financial reasoning. The Industrial Revol ution realized this essential financial philosophy summed up underneath: * Economic advancement can best happen in free-advertise frameworks of creation and dispersion where reinvested benefits make work and capital progressively beneficial. Upper hand is picked up when greater, progressively effective plants fabricate more items available to be purchased to extending markets. * Growth in all out yield (GDP) boosts human prosperity. * Any asset deficiencies that do happen will inspire the advancement of substitutes. * Concerns for a solid domain are significant however should be adjusted against the necessities of financial development, if an elevated requirement of living is to be kept up. * Free endeavor and market powers will distribute individuals and assets to their most elevated and best employments. We will compose a custom exposition test on Natural Capitalism explicitly for you for just $16.38 $13.9/page Request now We will compose a custom exposition test on Natural Capitalism explicitly for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Recruit Writer We will compose a custom exposition test on Natural Capitalism explicitly for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Recruit Writer Regular Capitalism: Four focal techniques of Natural Capitalism are: 1. Radical Resource Productivity: It’s the foundation of normal free enterprise since utilizing assets all the more adequately has three huge advantages: * Slows asset consumption toward one side of the worth chain. * Lowers contamination at the opposite end * Provides a premise to expand overall work with important employments. The outcome is lower costs for business and society. Radical asset efficiency procedures can about end the corruption of the biosphere, make it progressively beneficial to utilize individuals and in this way defend against the loss of essential living framework and social attachment. 2. Biomimicry: It’s decreasing the inefficient throughput of materials (dispensing with the general concept of waste) by overhauling modern frameworks on organic lines that change the idea of mechanical procedures and materials. Materials are continually reused in a nonstop shut cycle in this way dispensing with any waste item or poisonousness. . Administration and Flow Economy: It’s an economy that depends on a FLOW of monetary SERVICES that can all the more likely ensure the biological system administrations whereupon it depends. It’s a key change in the connection among maker and shopper, a move from and economy of products and buys to one of administration and stream. This idea involves another view of significant worth, a move fro m the procurement of merchandise as a proportion of luxuriousness to an economy where the constant receipt of value, utility, and execution advances prosperity. This idea offers motivating force to try the initial two development of common free enterprise: 1. Rebuilding the economy to concentrate on connections that better meet customers’ changing worth needs 2. Offer rewards naturally for both asset profitability and shut circle patterns of material utilization. 4. Putting resources into Natural Capital: It’s the re-interest in continuing, reestablishing, and extending supplies of characteristic capital, with the goal that the biosphere can create progressively plentiful biological system administrations and normal assets.

Why Dont Students Write Their Own Essays

Why Don’t Students Write Their Own Essays Why Don’t Students Write Their Own Essays Why Don’t Students Write Their Own Essays Students often report being overburden with the workload that they have to finish for their courses and ensure further advancement in their studies. As a result, they tend to be able to focus less on gaining real knowledge, instead directing their attention mostly on securing high marks and beating competition. This can lead to less motivation and, consequently, lowering the criteria further in education. The reasons behind their lack of motivation or resolve to write their own essays is usually time, in particular the issue of prioritization and organization of deadlines and tasks. Having to maintain the workload for a number of courses simultaneously means that the focus and initiative may slip up in the process. This prompts unsatisfactory works and poorly researched essays which contain a lot of factual faults or omissions. This type of outcome can make students feel inadequate and dejected. In addition to that, recent studies show that the pressures of having to finish everything have more significant social consequences, both at school and at home. However, it is also believed that, most of all, students lack the necessary knowledge, practice and experience structuring research work and writing essays. There are courses on each subject, and most require essay submissions, however few, if any, teach how to approach essay writing itself. Specifying the position of writing is actually the hardest part of writing a structured essay. Understanding how to plan the essay from the start, which methodology to choose so as to effectively argue the point, and get the most use out of the research, time, and effort invested is one of the most important aspects of essay writing. A student should also be able to take a stand and defend his or her thesis by introducing new ideas to the debate, while also pointing to some facts. A lot of students find this challenging and get lost in the process. This may be attributed to a fault in the system of education, thus the solutions lies in educational reforms. Finally, the reason why they don’t write their own essays could be because they have more residual income, and find that it’s a good investment in the services that companies like Homework Help USA provides. We guarantee that our clients will be satisfied with all types of our essay writing services, as our experts know the procedures and have the experience. Whatever your writing needs, we have you covered. Reference: Community Contributor Advocate Condell Medical Centre (2015). From the community: Too much homework leading to stressed out families. Chicago Tribune. Retrieved August 29, 2015 from . Why Don’t Students Write Their Own Essays Why Don’t Students Write Their Own Essays Why Don’t Students Write Their Own Essays Students often report being overburden with the workload that they have to finish for their courses and ensure further advancement in their studies. As a result, they tend to be able to focus less on gaining real knowledge, instead directing their attention mostly on securing high marks and beating competition. This can lead to less motivation and, consequently, lowering the criteria further in education. The reasons behind their lack of motivation or resolve to write their own essays is usually time, in particular the issue of prioritization and organization of deadlines and tasks. Having to maintain the workload for a number of courses simultaneously means that the focus and initiative may slip up in the process. This prompts unsatisfactory works and poorly researched essays which contain a lot of factual faults or omissions. This type of outcome can make students feel inadequate and dejected. In addition to that, recent studies show that the pressures of having to finish everything have more significant social consequences, both at school and at home. However, it is also believed that, most of all, students lack the necessary knowledge, practice and experience structuring research work and writing essays. There are courses on each subject, and most require essay submissions, however few, if any, teach how to approach essay writing itself. Specifying the position of writing is actually the hardest part of writing a structured essay. Understanding how to plan the essay from the start, which methodology to choose so as to effectively argue the point, and get the most use out of the research, time, and effort invested is one of the most important aspects of essay writing. A student should also be able to take a stand and defend his or her thesis by introducing new ideas to the debate, while also pointing to some facts. A lot of students find this challenging and get lost in the process. This may be attributed to a fault in the system of education, thus the solutions lies in educational reforms. Finally, the reason why they don’t write their own essays could be because they have more residual income, and find that it’s a good investment in the services that companies like Homework Help Canada provides. We guarantee that our clients will be satisfied with all types of our essay writing services, as our experts know the procedures and have the experience. Whatever your writing needs, we have you covered. Reference: Community Contributor Advocate Condell Medical Centre (2015). From the community: Too much homework leading to stressed out families. Chicago Tribune. Retrieved August 29, 2015 from .

State Of Exception As A Paradigm Of Government - 862 Words

Introduction 1. State f exception as a paradigm of government. 2. Force of law. 3. Iustitium. 4. Gigantomachy concerning a void. 5. Feast, mourning, anomie. 6. Auctoritas and potestas. Introduction The State of Exception is a kind of notion which creates a fact that there is no juridical theory of the state of exception. Instead it is a political problem. Agamben states that political crises appear only to be understood on political and not juridical grounds. What is little recognized is that law possesses within itself an exception that traps humans and objects within the juridical order. The state of exception increasingly appears to be dominant in contemporary politics. As an example : The USA Patriot Act (issued on October 26, 2001), which gives the United States government the power â€Å"to take in custody any alien suspected of activities that endangered the national security of the United States†. It unearths a distinction between those who see the state of exception as juridical and those who consider it political. It breaks with both approaches and argues that the state of exception is â€Å"neither external nor internal to the juridical order, and the problem of defining it concerns precisely a threshold, or a zone of indifference, where inside and outside do not exclude each other but rather blur with each other. According to Agamben, this theory ultimately fails due to the definition of â€Å"necessity,† that is, it almost treats necessity asShow MoreRelatedSocial Movements Essay984 Words   |  4 PagesSocial Movements Social movements require a fairly complex and multi-dimensional paradigm in order to adequately explain the multiplicity of factors that contribute to their development and sustenance. 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Developed â€Å"to deter and punish terrorist acts in the United States and around the world, to enhance law enforcement investigatory tools, and for other purposes† the USA Patriot Act, bears the formal name ‘‘Uniting and Strengthening America by Providing Appropriate Tools Required to Intercept and Obstruct TerrorismRead MoreThe Marketing Of Coca Cola Essay968 Words   |  4 PagesCoca Cola is far from an exception. Ads are in place to, â€Å"pursue attraction to people’s fantasy aspirations†¦Ã¢â‚¬  allowing consumers to become inspired and ingrained in them. These two ads from Coca Cola pander to the fantasies of the average Joe through placement of women that fit the paradigms of societally normal beauty front and center to draw the eye of the consumer to their product. By the time The Coca Cola Company had a successful means of distribution in the United States, World War II was at the

Benedicks Attitudes to Love and Marriage - 2278 Words

Benedick’s attitude to love marriage in ‘‘Much Ado About Nothing’’ In the play ‘‘Much Ado About Nothing’’ by William Shakespeare, the character of Benedick shows mixed emotions towards loves and marriage throughout. In the two extracts we studied, Benedick shows a large contrast of opinions: In Act 1 Scene 1, Benedick portrays strong feelings of contempt towards love and marriage, whereas by Act 2 Scene 3, Benedick has completely changed his views and he is prepared to make the commitment and marry Beatrice, a woman he appeared to dislike in the beginning of the play and who seemed to have mutual feelings towards Benedick. Act 1 Scene 1 portrays that Benedick has a very negative attitude towards love and marriage. When conversing with†¦show more content†¦This shows that not only does Benedick have an unusual attitude towards the opposite sex, but it also insinuates that he may have some hatred towards them, too. Ho wever, Benedick does not have much respect for women, as he says ‘‘that a woman conceived me, I thank her; that she brought me up, I likewise give her most humble thanks; but that I will have recheat winded in my forehead, or hang my bugle in a invisible baldrick all women shall pardon me,’’ meaning that he’s thankful and grateful that a woman gave birth to him and raised and took care of him: ‘‘that a woman conceived me†¦ I give her most humble thanks’’. But all the other women will have to forgive him for not being willing to be made a fool of — cheated on by a wife (Sparknotes): ‘‘but that I will have recheat†¦ all women shall pardon me’’. This suggests that he does not want to marry because he doesn’t trust women and thinks they lie and are unfaithful. Benedick is a strong character - he talks openly and mocks other people (BBC GCSE Bitesize). He must have issues trusting women because he’s afraid that if he is cheated on, he will be mocked and humiliated by others; he wants to be respected, afraid it will ruin his reputation if he does marry and get cheated on. Benedick also conveys strong feelings of doubt towards women claiming ‘‘because I will not do them the wrong to mistrust any, I will do myself the right to trust none,’’

Time Conflict Between Work and Family Free Essays

string(55) " of job satisfaction along with work/family conflicts\." The relationship between the individual and work and family has changed dramatically over the years. Jobs and families both demand enormous commitments of time and energy, especially during peak years of family formation and career growth. Today, jobs usually consume a third of a person†s day. We will write a custom essay sample on Time Conflict Between Work and Family or any similar topic only for you Order Now Americans put more hours in at work to support their families, creating more stress at home, which results in a work/family conflict, pushing parents into actually seeking more time spent at work to escape these pressures and tensions in the home. Juggling work and family life, particularly undesirable domestic chores, childcare and the increasing uncertainties and pressures of home life, are a few reasons for this battle for time spent between work and family. More effort and time is also put into work to achieve greater autonomy and job satisfaction in the workplace. This upward mobility work ethic is the heart of the American Dream. This work/ family conflict and the need for job satisfaction/autonomy in America is consequently fueled by this fast and furious pace of attaining the American Dream. These are some of the issues that are clearly depicted in the books Rivethead by Ben Hamper and The Time Bind by Arlie Russell Hochschild. Less time spent at home and more time spent at work creates a vicious cycle that is eating away at our home lives. These tendencies have become trends of an entire generation that may be placing more value on work-related achievements than on the necessary nurturing experiences of family life. The issues of family/work conflict and autonomy/job satisfaction are important issues in the sociology of work today because of the continuous social and economic changes that occur in our society and effect the welfare of American workers and their families. The Time Bind: When Work Becomes Home Home becomes Work by Arile Russell Hochschild investigates the work/family conflict. Hochschild spent three summers doing field research at a company identified only as a Fortune 500 firm that Hochschild renames Amerco, which had also been credited on several different surveys as being one of America†s 10 most â€Å"family-friendly† corporations. Hochschild research consists of interviewing all employees in the company from the top executives to factory workers by observed working parents and their children throughout their hectic days. She followed six families through a whole day and much of a night, and sat on the edge of Amerco†s parking lot to see when people started work and when they left. This study raises disturbing questions about the impact of time on contemporary lives. The excessive demands of work create stresses at home because there is insufficient time to do everything. This is especially hard on women who bear the brunt of housekeeping chores, and on children, whose emotional needs require time with parents. Except for some older men, the people Hochschild interviews are aware of and concerned about the implications of this ‘time bind†. What is surprising, consequently, is their failure to take on reduced workloads, flex time, and other components of the company†s effort to help employees balance the demands of work and home. While supporting the existence of these policies, only a few employees take advantage of them. Fears about job security and career advancements are present, of course, but many employees were uninterested in such options because they perceived work, not home, as the less stressful and more emotionally fulfilling environment. With the employees family†s on the brink of disaster and parents feeling perpetually out of control of their children†s lives and their own, the office or factory floor ends up providing a sense of accomplishment, fulfillment, camaraderie and overall job satisfaction to these workers. Unfortunately, after uncovering this surprising reversal of standard expectations, Hochschild buries it by simply assuming it is a passion. By escaping from the home by going to work reflects a dynamic with costs, but it also suggests a need to reconsider common conceptions of what constitutes a satisfying life. Hochschild†s solution is a â€Å"time movement,† and organized grassroots movement that would join feminists with labor activists, professionals with the factory workers, men with women. Hochschild proposes that the coalition begin by pushing companies to judge on merit rather then time spent at work, to move to a 35-hour work week and to give workers across the board greater job security would begin to create a better family and work balance for its employees. Rivethead, by Ben Hamper, is Hamper†s description of his career as a General Motors factory worker in Flint, Michigan. A fourth generation â€Å"shoprat†, Hamper explains how an irresponsible father, numerous siblings, and his own tendency for laziness, drugs, and drinking pointed directly to a future in the factory, despite his inclinations toward poetry and music. This book is a glimpse into the life on the General Motors car and truck assembly line, showing the lived experiences of people that have now become transparent voices in mainstream American society. In 1977 he reluctantly began working in the cab shop at GM. Ranging from his experience to his retirement ten years later, Hamper writes of the monotonous blue-collar work of factory labor in a very dark humor manner. Hamper describes his factory job as very monotonous, filled with repeated layoffs and call-backs. Hamper and co-workers participate in extensive daily on-the-job alcohol and drug consumption in attempts to pass the time of their mind-numbing, repetitive nature of work. Hamper is perceptively critical of American business management, practice, and values throughout the book, and nearsightedly finds little worth or integrity in his fellow workers as in himself. The lack of desire to climb the career ladder, even finding ways to avoid work altogether, is quite prevalent throughout the book as he seeks to please no one, not even himself, even though he succeeds beyond even his expectations. The major issues in Rivethead that are to blame for this type of worker behavior is the lack of job satisfaction along with work/family conflicts. You read "Time Conflict Between Work and Family" in category "Essay examples" Besides Hamper†s quest to go bowling with GM chairman Roger Smith, Hamper is constantly displaying a need for an easier and more rewarding job. Other issues not related to actual job duties affect worker job satisfaction as well, such as the desire to more comfortably combine work and life. The work/family conflict is seen through the time constraints that limit him and other factory workers from spending time with family. These time constraints create added stress at home on top of the existing problems that cause for a dysfunctional family. These stresses push parents/spouses into escaping these home ridden tensions by working longer hours in the factory. The less time spent at home and more time spent at work creates a vicious cycle that is eating away at all American families. The two major issues of work that I am going to analyze from a sociological standpoint are the work/family conflict and autonomy/job satisfaction. In The Time Bind and Rivethead, the issue of job satisfaction is seen through Hochschild†s and Hamper†s depiction of the priority levels of the employees† jobs and their families as seen in their lives. In The Time Bind, Hochschild†s sample was small and all her subjects worked for the same company, she found that both mothers and fathers were choosing work over home. The couples she observed regularly chose not to take advantage of the company†s policies regarding family or personal time, and they had come to find the workplace more comforting than the tensions of home and family. There is a terrible lack of support for families in the workplace in general, and work is perceived as more pleasant than home because at least at work parents are supported and know when they are doing the right thing or the wrong thing as opposed to home. Even though the job satisfaction factor varies between levels of responsibility, the accomplishments felt in the workplace versus the home is quite large. In Rivethead, the issue of job satisfaction as depicted by Hamper is seen through the effects if shiftwork on the factory workers families and social lives. Plagued by constant exhaustion and obsessed with not getting enough sleep, factory workers suffer from high levels of irritability, mood swings, and stress. All of these create complications in family relationships. Factory workers often work long hours and either conform to their family†s routine, or follow a routine of their own, otherwise they are forced to live to some extent, independent of their families as in Rivethead. The working conditions in factories play a large role in the lack of job satisfaction, â€Å"†¦ hen someone works hard all day in a smoky chamber full of sludge, noise, armpits, beer breath, cigar butts, psychos, manic depressives, grease pits, banana stickers, venom and gigantic stalking kitty cats†¦. â€Å", (Hamper:116). These work conditions are quite disturbing and inhumane to the welfare of the worker. The constant need for job satisfaction and feelings of accomplishment and autonomy is quite evident throughout the book. â€Å"There were so many of us shoprats that we were all just part of some faceless heard. â€Å", (Hamper:40). Because job satisfaction differs between levels of work and responsibility, other contributing factors, such as work and family conflict, can affect job satisfaction. Hocschild†s and Hamper†s books depict the work/family conflict as though the family is gradually being shoved out of the mainstream of American social life. Hocschild points out that the battle for time is definitely present. She raises questions like how we should be judged, either based on the hours of work we put in or our accomplishments while at work, â€Å"The time a worker works in and of itself, has to count as much as the results accomplished within that time. Time is a symbol of commitment†¦. whether time mattered more than results was a key point of contention. But it became buried in the company†s rhetoric. † (Hocschild: 69). The ultimate effects of long work hours on our lives have long term consequences on home life that become difficult to justify to our families. As in Rivethead, work seemed to function as a backup system to a destabilizing family, â€Å"My marriage to Joanie was quickly beginning to crumble. Between my nightly beer-bombing over at Glen†s and our continual teetering on the brink of poverty†¦. here was only one antidote to our marital woes; finding me gainful employment†¦. she was the breadwinner and I was the louse. The parallel between my behavior and my old man†s was something that didn†t escape me. â€Å", (Hamper:26-28). In the past decade, socio-economic conditions have contributed to the need for dual incomes for families. Dual incomes call for both parents to work, hence, no one is home with the children. In the past, it was the norm for women to stay home having a more expressive role in the family; taking care of children and providing emotional support for the family. Presently, women tend to feel that their traditional roles as child bearers and homemakers must be supplemented with a sense of achievement outside the home. This need for achievement through job satisfaction for men and women can have positive and negative effects on children. A child who observes the competent coping abilities of a working parent learns how to cope with life†s problems. The parent is then perceived as a positive role model. It can render a child to be more emotionally mature and competent in dealing with responsibility as needed for schoolwork and extra curricular activities. The negative connotations hard working parents and their children experience are much more drastic on the worker and the family. The aspects of parenting that are affected when faced with longer work hours are quality, quantity and content of time spent at home. The pressures and stresses may be created by ourselves in our home-life and only reinforced by the workplace. Different economic, social, and political surroundings foster our stress that set the stage for an overall reduced quality of life as seen in The Time Bind and Rivethead. Because society has changed, the family†s function within society has changed as well. Work/family conflict and the need for job satisfaction/autonomy have required parental and family roles to become modified to meet these changes. Jobs and families both demand enormous commitments of time and energy on the worker, especially during peak years of family formation and career growth. These controversial issues are clearly depicted in the books Rivethead by Ben Hamper and The Time Bind by Arlie Russell Hochschild. Less time spent at home which creates work/family conflict and more time spent at work in an attempt to develop more job satisfaction/autonomy creates a vicious cycle that is depleting family values and home lives. Sadly these trends are becoming more popular of an entire generation trying to compete in a global market where higher value is placed on work achievements, struggle for upward mobility and job satisfaction rather than on the satisfaction of family life and concerns. This work ethic has always been the heart of the American Dream, to work hard, move upward in your job, and be financially sound. Yet, the positive motives for success in our jobs is to blame for the negative consequences of the difficult task of creating an equal balance between work and very important satisfactions of family life. The demands and effects that society place on every American worker to keep up with the rate at which our society is competing in a fast paced global economy raises the question as to where our priorities lie, in the family or in the work? â€Å"Work may not ‘always be there† for the employee, but then again, home may not either. † (Hochschild:201). How to cite Time Conflict Between Work and Family, Essay examples

Operation Managenent free essay sample

After completing this chapter, you should be able to: 1. Define the term operations management. 2. Identify the three major functional areas of organizations and describe how they interrelate. 3. Identify similarities and differences between production and service operations. 4. Describe the operations function and the nature of the operations managers job. 5. Summarize the two major aspects of process management. 6. Explain the key aspects of operations management decision making. 7. Briefly describe the historical evolution of operations management. . Characterize current trends in business that impact operations management. Chapter 2 Competitiveness, Strategy, and Productivity After completing this chapter, you should be able to: 1. 2. 3. 4. List the three primary ways that business organizations compete. Explain five reasons for the poor competitiveness of some companies. Define the term strategy and explain why strategy is important. Discuss and compare organization strategy and operations strategy, and explain why it is important to link the two. 5. Describe and give examples of time-based strategies. 6. Define the term productivity and explain why it is important to organizations and to countries. 7. Provide some of the reasons for poor productivity and some ways of improving it. Chapter 3 Forecasting: 1. List the elements of a good forecast. 2. Outline the steps in the forecasting process. 3. Evaluate at least three qualitative forecasting techniques and the advantages and disadvantages of each. 4. Compare and contrast qualitative and quantitative approaches to forecasting. 5. Describe averaging techniques, trend and seasonal techniques, and regression analysis, and solve typical problems. . Explain three measures of forecast accuracy. 7. Compare two ways of evaluating and controlling forecasts. 8. Assess the major factors and trade-offs to consider when choosing a forecasting technique. Chapter 4 – Product and Service Design: 1. Explain the strategic importance of product and service design. 2. Identify some key reasons for design or redesign. 3. Recognize the key questions of product and service design. 4. List some of the main sources of design ideas. 5. Discuss the importance of legal, ethical, and sustainability considerations in product and service design. 6. Explain the purpose and goal of life cycle assessment. 7. Explain the phrase the 3 Rs. 8. Briefly describe the phases in product design and development. 9. Name several key issues in manufacturing design. 10. Recognize several key issues in service design. 11. Name the phases in service design. 12. List the characteristics of well-designed service systems. 13. Assess some of the challenges of service design. Chapter 5 Strategic Capacity Planning for Products and Services: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. Summarize the importance of capacity planning. Discuss ways of defining and measuring capacity. Describe the determinants of effective capacity. Discuss the major considerations related to developing capacity alternatives. Briefly describe approaches that are useful for evaluating capacity alternatives. Chapter 6 Process Selection and Facility Layout: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. Explain the strategic importance of process selection. Describe the influence that process selection has on an organization. Compare the basic processing types. Explain the need for management of technology. List some reasons for redesign of layouts. Describe the basic layout types, and the main advantages and disadvantages of each. Chapter 7- Work Design and Measurement: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. Explain the importance of work design. Compare and contrast the two basic approaches to job design. Discuss the advantages and disadvantages of specialization. Explain the term knowledge-based pay. Explain the purpose of methods analysis and describe how methods studies are performed. 6. Compare four commonly used techniques for motion study. 7. Discuss the impact of working conditions on job design. 8. Define a standard time. 9. Describe and compare time study methods and perform calculations. 10. Describe work sampling and perform calculations. 11. Compare stopwatch time study and work sampling. 12. Contrast time and output pay systems. Chapter 8 Location Planning and Analysis: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. Identify some of the main reasons organizations need to make location decisions. Explain why location decisions are important. Discuss the options that are available for location decisions. Give examples of the major factors that affect location decisions. Outline the decision process for making these kinds of decisions. Chapter 9 – Management of Quality: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. Define the term quality as it relates to products and as it relates to services. Explain why quality is important and the consequences of poor quality. Identify the determinants of quality. Distinguish the costs associated with quality. Compare the quality awards. Discuss the philosophies of quality gurus. Describe TQM. Give an overview of process improvement. Describe and use various quality tools. Chapter 10 – Quality Control: 1. List and briefly explain the elements of the control process. 2. Explain how control charts are used to monitor a process, and the concepts that underlie their use. Chapter 11 Aggregate Planning and Master Scheduling: 1. Explain what aggregate planning is and how it is useful. 2. Identify the variables decision makers have to work with in aggregate planning and some of the possible strategies they can use. 3. Describe some of the graphical and quantitative techniques planners use. 4. Describe the master scheduling process and explain its importance. Chapter 12 – MRP and ERP: 1. Describe the conditions under which MRP is most appropriate. 2. Describe the inputs, outputs, and nature of MRP processing. 3. Explain how requirements in a master production schedule are translated into material requirements for lower-level items. . Discuss the benefits and requirements of MRP. 5. Explain how an MRP system is useful in capacity requirements planning. 6. Outline the potential benefits and some of the difficulties users have encountered with MRP. 7. Describe MRP II and its benefits. 8. Describe ERP, what it provides, and its hidden costs. Chapter 13 – Inventory Management: 1. Define the term inven tory, list the major reasons for holding inventories, and list the main requirements for effective inventory management. 2. Discuss the nature and importance of service inventories. 3. Explain periodic and perpetual review systems. 4. Explain the objectives of inventory management. 5. Describe the A-B-C approach and explain how it is useful. 6. Describe the basic EOQ model and its assumptions. 7. Describe reorder point models. 8. Describe situations in which the singleperiod model would be appropriate. Chapter 14 – JIT and Lean Operations: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. Explain what is meant by the term lean operations system. List each of the goals of a lean system and explain its importance. List and briefly describe the building blocks of lean. Identify the benefits of a lean system. Outline the considerations important in converting a traditional mode of operations to a lean system. 6. Point out some of the obstacles that might be encountered when converting to a lean system. 7. Describe value stream mapping. Chapter 15 – Supply Chain Management 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. Discuss the key issues of supply chain management. Name the recent trends in supply chain management. Summarize the motivations and risks of outsourcing as a strategy. State some of the complexities that are involved with global supply chains. List some of the strategic, tactical, and operational responsibilities of supply chain management. Give examples of some advantages of e-business. Explain the importance of supplier partnerships. List the requirements of an effective supply chain. Name some of the challenges in creating an effective supply chain. Chapter 16 Scheduling 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. Explain what scheduling involves and the importance of good scheduling. Describe scheduling needs in high-volume and intermediate-volume systems. Describe scheduling needs in job shops. Use and interpret Gantt charts, and use the assignment method for loading. Give examples of commonly used priority rules. Summarize some of the unique problems encountered in service systems, and describe some of the approaches used for scheduling service systems. Chapter 17 – Project Management: 1. Discuss the behavioral aspects of projects in terms of project personnel and the project manager. 2. Explain the nature and importance of a work breakdown structure in project management. 3. Give a general description of PERT/CPM techniques. 4. Construct simple network diagrams. 5. List the kinds of information that a PERT or CPM analysis can provide. 6. Describe activity crashing and solve typical problems. Chapter 18 – Management of Waiting Lines After ompleting this chapter, you should be familiar with waiting line terminology, be able to solve typical problems using the models presented in this chapter, and answer these questions: 1. Describe what imbalance does the existence of a waiting line reveal? 2. Explain what causes waiting lines to form, and why is it impossible to eliminate them completely? 3. Describe what metrics are used to help managers analyze waiting lines? 4. Explain what are some psychological approaches to managing waiting lines, and why might a manager want to use them? 5. Explain what very important lesson does the constant service time model provide for managers?

Lord Of Flies By William Golding Essays - English-language Films

Lord Of Flies By William Golding William Golding's Lord of the Flies is a sordid tale about a group of kids who are stranded on a deserted island after their plane crashes. The story is set during the Atomic War and plenty of references are made to the fact. However, the real key to the story lies in the role of Beelzebub, Lord of the Flies. Beelzebub has a central role in the story as he represents the Beast, or evil, that dwells within all humans. The Beast cannot be hunted and since it dwells within all humans, humans are all guilty because mankind is sick. The destruction of mankind is a point that Golding makes apparent often in this novel. He establishes early on that Beelzebub is a force within all humans that drives them to destroy and maim. In the story the central emblem of the story lies in the dead airman. The boys mistake him for Beelzebub and basically begin to worship him. In fact, the most effective portrayal of Beelzebub appears early in the novel in the form of the dead airman. The parachute carries him through the night to the top of the mountain, where his body is entangled in the trees. It is in the way in which he is hung that makes it appear as if he was sitting on a throne of some sort. Sam n Eric first come upon it and are scared to death at the mere sight of it. However, when the whole group returns to the site the horrific monstrosity bewilders them. In this quote from the book it clearly states the group's actions. " Behind them the sliver of moon had drawn clear the horizon. Before them something like a great ape was sitting asleep with its head between his knees. Then, the wind roared in the forest, there was confusion in the darkness and the creation lifted its head, holding toward them a ruin of a face. " The experience alone accelerates the deterioration of the already weak civilization of the group. The experience brings young Jack to committing himself fully to the newfound dark religion. (Johnston, 126) Beelzebub was the cause for accelerating the destruction of the boys. He was not the outright cause. The Atomic War generated the novel; it was the sole reason that brought the boys to live on the island in the first place. It is in this sense that the boys only duplicated the adult society that had been crashing down around them while they were part of the civilized world. Golding uses the dead airman to continue the war on throughout the novel. With each new day the boys become more and more savage. One by one the boys lose sanity. Beelzebub is slowly entering the boys, and through the use of Jack as a minister of evil, delivering the boys to insanity and corruption. (Gindin, 160) Golding however does offer mankind hope through the character of Simon. Simon is the one character in the story that knew how to deal with Beelzebub. The day before Simon dies he learns that Beelzebub dwells within and cannot be hunted by humans. Simon finds that the evil Beelzebub represents is inside people and ineradicable. Simon is the only character in the novel to come to terms with the darkness and impending doom of the group's situation. Simon looks darkness in the face and, with great courage, comes to terms with the ignoble nature of mankind. Beelzebub has blinded every other member of the group. Piggy, for instance, pins all blame on Jack. Piggy misses the point because Jack is only the minister for a greater evil. Jack is to blame only in the sense that he lives in all of us, that we are all guilty because mankind is sick. Still, Simon is the one exception to this general condemnation. Simon is the one spiritually sound person on the island. Simon is an epileptic and it is sickness that makes him a saint. Simon is not interested in leadership and prefers to keep to himself. Rather than involve himself in the promotion of the self, Simon concentrates on the nature of reality. He is one of the meek, of the poor in spirit, who are promised the kingdom of heaven, not the congratulations and rewards of earthly fortune. After the group removes Simon the decline in morality is greatly accelerated. Golding does not immediately symbolize this acceleration though. He allows it to flow from a series

Brandstorm L oreal Essay Example

Brandstorm L oreal Essay Example Brandstorm L oreal Paper Brandstorm L oreal Paper 7%) and fragrances (33,2%) (LOreal resource pack). Now the brand has been developed itself in more than 130 countries. During its 80 years of existence, Lana ¶me has established a brand identity containing some key associations: Expensive, luxury, women, mascara, quality, beauty and trustworthy (Labile, 201 5; own survey, 201 5) appendix rod cloud. 2. 1 Lana ¶mes target group: The typical Lana ¶me customer is an elegant and sophisticated woman around the forty years old (Paupers Labile, 2015). Lana ¶me users view Lana ¶me as elegant, luxurious, and high in quality. Furthermore, they do consider Lana ¶me to be expensive however, compared to for example Channel they do not consider Lana ¶me to be overpriced (Paupers Labile, 2015). 2. 2 Lana ¶me performance: In the travel retail industry is LOreal the market leader. Lana ¶me has the largest market share in the Duty Free beauty products category with over 20% (source: generation). Lana ¶mes total brand value is ranked at the 90th place and valued at 6,3 billion USED (Source: Forbes) thanks to successful products such as their best-selling fragrance (ranked as 4th in the world) La vie est. belle, known for its iconic smiling bottle. . Define the travel retail market The Travel Retail market is an upcoming and increasingly growing market. The travel retail distribution channels consist Of; cruises (4%), airports (57%), downtown duty free shops (33%) and airlines (6%) (LOreal resource pack). Hence, the air traffic is the main driver for the travel retail industry and the focus in this paper . Air traffic is continuously growing by 5% on average per year, and represents over 6 billion international flights in 2013. In 201 3, 1. 87 billion people traveled by plane and spend 1 159 billion USED on various top product categories such as tobacco (7%), Wine and spirits (1 7%), Jewelry and Apparel (12%), Fine foods (12%) and Fragrance and cosmetics (30%) (source: illustriously. Com; LOreal resource pack). Asia-Pacific is the most vibrant region for travel Retail, accounting for 37% of all sales (TEA). The most visited airport in 2013 was London Heathers, with 67 Million passengers (Source: IAC). 3. Airport trends and developments In todays speed-driven, globally networked economy, airports are developing into hubs for commerce. Similar to a traditional metropolis of a central city and its outlying suburbs, the airport is becoming the focus of a sprawl of businesses in what has been dubbed the reiterations. What this means for cosmetics and perfumes is that airport shops will no longer be solely for duty- free gifts and indulgences. In the future airports will look like sophisticated shopping malls with not only shops but also a variety of entertainment opportunities such as golf clubs, cinemas and spa centers. Many airports are growing into bigger places focusing on an integrated and personalized experience for travelers while also considering sustainability. The focus areas for airports are (technological) developments such as: atomization and self-service, personalization and nature spaces where people don not have the feeling they are locked up. Retailers can effectively integrate those trends into their services. Several examples are; nature parks, a beauty spa, museum or for instance; loyalty programs, mobile advertising and higher level of in-store services by touch-screen technology which revive an on-the spot- personalized experience. In addition, some concept stores add digital imagery on a shop wall. Some representative modern top airports with top figures in terms of passenger traffic and providing the above mentioned examples are: Istanbul, Doth, Koala Lump, Taipei and Dublin international airport (traffic evolution; LOreal resource pack). 3. 2 What makes the travel retail market unique? There are several factors playing a role, which makes the Duty free travel retail market unique and distinct from the domestic market. Access to the shops is restricted to people who are traveling and in possession of a raiding pass. Travelers passing through airports are from across the globe, international multi-lingual context In travel retail, brands only have a small window of opportunity to attract and engage customers and convert sales Duty-free and travel retail stores are Often open 24/7 Food, drink and duty free tobacco products are normally intended for consumption outside of the country in which they are purchased, the final destination of the products could be anywhere in the world. Only a limited range of products (often luxury brands) are sold in duty free and travel retail shops and cannot be found on the High Street. In addition many products purchased at duty free and travel retail shops are intended for gift giving, with special editions of products and promotions being supplied only to the travel retail sector. Airport duty free and travel retail shops do not compete with the domestic market; rather they compete with each other as passengers have the option of shopping at different airports departure, arrival or transit airport. The European Commission most recently confirmed this position during their investigation into the acquisition of World Duty Free by Autograph, published in May 2008. . Consumer analysis of travel retail consumers The consumer in the travel retail market is the international shopper; they are not only shopping where they live but also wherever they are. Some important general demands of the International shopper are: high interest in good quality/ high end products, convenience and fast/quick service. The international shopper consists of both families and business peo ple who have different, purposes and needs while traveling. This means that retailers have a difficult mission: tailor their offerings to the different needs and purposes (private or business) of the global shopper, whether they are Brazilian, Chinese, Russians or middle Eastern. The upcoming paragraphs will provide an overview and a clear description about the potential global shopper, there needs, motivations and consumer expectations. 4. 1 Characteristics of the global shopper As the travel retail market has grown, the demographics of travel retail have changed dramatically. Indeed, the significance of Chinese and Russian travelers dwarfs other groups. China accounts for 27% of the total market and Russia for 15%. Number three is Indonesia with Its really linked to GAP per capita. As soon as GAP per capita starts to rise and people have ore disposable income, they want to travel, and when they travel, they want to shop. For 82 %of Chinese travelers, shopping is their number one priority, dropping to 56% and 48% respectively for Middle East ern and Russian consumers. The Chinese consider shopping a fundamental part of their travel experience (source: illustriously. Com). It is thus Important to notice that absolutely not solely European or the American travelers are of interest for Lana ¶me, but especially the new emerging nationalities such as the Chinese and Russian shoppers are the biggest spenders (LOreal case study). Another ewe phenomenon is called: the demagnification of traveling. Demagnification means an increase Of the middle class in traveling. This new influx of travelers transforms the travel retail market, which is evolving from a business model focused exclusively on luxury towards a more diversified offer. 4. The needs of the global shopper The global shopper can travel for two purposes; private or business. These two purposes determine the needs of the global shopper. Generally, business travelers demand efficiency and convenience, whereas tourists are generally seeking for entertainment, and browse stores in order to reduce waiting time. Besides these two different purposes, retailers have to deal with the different nationalities of global shoppers. For instance Japanese women want translucent skin products, whereas European woman or North American woman demand bronzing powders. Lana ¶me has to respond to these different needs by, comprising more various products sets, tailor personal service (a beauty consultant who speaks every language) organize different festival or event by nationality (Ramadan, Chinese new year) and offer membership or free gifts after an expenditure of a certain amount and use in- depth data analysis to capture the needs of the potential customers. 4. The motivation to purchase at the airport The main purpose of visiting a duty free store is to purchase a gift, secondly to browse the store and thirdly to take advantage of airport prices (LOreal resource pack). However, we also asked in our self-conducted survey: what the motivation is Of people to buy cosmetic related products. Results show, that consumers purchase cosmetics in duty free stores mainly for personal use (63%) and secondly as a gift (20%) (Survey Lana ¶me, 2015). However, these results are not fully in alignment with Lana;mes resource pack (201 5), where buying a gift is the number one reason to purchase cosmetics. Several other factors affecting consumer behavior in buying beauty products are: store design, price, brand image, availability and good service, good design/ packaging, innovative features and excellent quality. An advantage for travel retail could be that airport travelers are known to be more receptive to marketing communication messages than the average consumer, as they are effectively stuck in airports in search for entertainment. 5. Competitor analysis of Lana ¶me The Travel Retail operating in the six continent results in a new level of competitors for Lana ¶me. On one hand is the national competition expunged. Nevertheless, the main competitors of Lana ¶me are campaigning all around the world on the same tax-free airport boutiques to attract the same global shoppers. In the upcoming paragraphs we will first discuss the main competitors Lana ¶erne is facing in the travel retail as suggested by Yodels (1999). This is theory is based on original ops marketing of McCarthy. Since we are solely focusing on Travel Retail, the Place will be left out. These are namely the airports worldwide and that was already a selection, for showing competitors. Instead of the place, we will show any special offers/campaigns done in the travel industry. According to our survey we detected the following main competitors for Lana ¶me when focusing on the travel retail business: nearly half of our respondents stated Clique as the main competitor in the market with 46%, followed by Channel (37%) Lana ¶me (31%) and Esteem Lauder (29%) (Lana ¶me survey, 2015). The other competitors mentioned in the survey were Clarions, Shied and Christian Dior. However, in the following researches we discovered that Christian Dior also takes a dominant position in the luxury beauty travel market. Therefore, we decided to focus on four main competitors and also included Christian Dior. We will introduce these competitors, their product, price, promotion and target group in table 1 . Additionally to the competitor analysis, we performed a Porter five forces analysis to identify the main threats in the travel retail industry (Porter, 2008). Looking at Porters five forces for the travel retail industry (figure 1), the travel retail industry looks competitive for Lana ¶me. The main threats are the high existing rivalry (the four dominant competitors mentioned in table 1), high buyer power and a high threat for substitutes. In the travel retail industry, there are many luxury brands offering similar products and services. This makes it hard to differentiate. In addition do the buyers in this industry have the power to easily switch to the competitor. However, incumbents such as NC ¶me and Channel have a competitive advantage compared to new entrants. The level of RD, technology, brand portfolio and distribution/ infrastructure are highly developed for incumbents and therefore hard to compete on for new entrance. Figure 1: Porters five forces (Porter, 2008). 6. SOOT Travel Retail for Lana ¶me Based on the results of our self-conducted survey, our competitor analysis and customer analysis, we made a SOOT-analysis (figure 2). We identified our main strengths pertain to Lana ¶me, namely: (1 ) An innovative product line and (2) high quality, (3) Lana ¶mes trustworthiness and lastly (4) Lana ¶mes cohesive brand image. Firstly, Lana ¶me seems to take advantage of LOreal distribution channels and RD investments, which makes the innovativeness and introduction of new products for the Lana ¶me possible. Secondly, based on our survey results and the results of Lullabies survey (2015), do people have high quality perceptions of the brand Lana ¶me. Additionally, is the brand well established and does it have a strong heritage because Of its 80 years Of existence. This Strong heritage has gained the brand trustworthiness and credibility. Lastly, the associative networks of our self conducted survey and Lullabies survey (2015) look very similar. It seems that people come up with the same associations, when they think of the brand Lana ¶me. Even between men and women there are not many differences in the associative network of Lana ¶me (Appendix. However, this cohesive brand image could also be seen as a weakness for the brand. As the brand primary targets women it is weird that men come up with the same associations and women do not have more unique associations with the rand. One of the major problems could be this last point. The brand Lana ¶me does not evoke many unique associations, which could function as a point of difference in their product category. In addition, does a cohesive brand images makes the brand inflexible (difficult to introduce a product line for men). A general threat in the travel retail industry is terrorism. The 9/11 terrorism attacks caused the travel industry a major drop in passengers. These external factors are beyond the control of any retailer but can have immense influences on sales. In addition can security restrictions cause imitations for beauty travel related products, such as liquid volume or package size. This is also beyond the control of retailers. Another threat could be the rise in demand of organic natural products. However, this could also be an opportunity for Lana ¶me. Another big opportunity for Lana ¶me is the growing luxury goods market in BRICK economies (Chinese, Russian travelers having the highest shopping budget). Lastly, we consider personalization and atomization; such as self-service an opportunity for Lana ¶me to differentiate on. Figure 2: SOOT analysis Of Lana ¶me in the Travel Retail industry Case study 2 7. Brand development plan Lana ¶me I Travel 7. 1 Introduction of Lana ¶me I Travel Fasten your stables and discover Lana ¶me I Travel. The objectives of Lana ¶me I travel are twofold: (1) creating brand awareness by development and visibility of Lana ¶me in the travel retail industry, (2) enhance customer loyalty and recruit new customers by responding to current trends at airports: efficiency, self-service and personalization. 7. 2 Introducing the Lana ¶me Travel experience Taking all the above into consideration, we came up with the following innovative experience: a high end Lana ¶me Travel beauty wall, wrapping all rodents in high quality leather tests with a personal message (see appendix 2 3). The wall will have a very exclusive appearance and has to stand for luxury and high quality, as this is found to be expected of Lana ¶me (Paupers Labile, 2015). This unique wall will entail five different rows of content. The rows within the wall can be divided into: skin care, make-up, fragrances, travel kits and a gift packages. Research by paupers and Labile (2015) pointed out that people strongly associate Lana ¶me with Perfume, make-up and cream/care, for that reason they most definitely had to be incorporated onto the wall. Regarding the skin care, make-up and fragrances the most iconic products will be used; advance genuine (skin care), absolute rouge lipstick and hype ¶SE mascara (regarding make-up) and the La vie est. belle fragrance (see picture below). These products are chosen due to the fact that they are world wide most known and used. In 2009 for example, Genuine won 130 international awards and sold more than 9 million bottles (LOreal online article). For this reason they Will be most likely to satisfy the desires of the global traveler, which Lana ¶me is trying to target. The travel kit of Lana ¶me I Travel will consist of a miniature version of the above-mentioned iconic products, except for the lipstick. In addition there will be several customized Lana ¶me I Travel products: a miniature sewing kit, a nail file, ear plugs, a toothbrush and a sleeping mask and a nail polish, which changes with the seasons (see picture below). The mask will be in black silk with the Lana ¶me travel logo on the front in pearliest white. Furthermore, the Lana ¶me I Travel gift package will consist of a La vie est. belle fragrance, a body lotion and a small passport telling the history of Lana ¶me. The most unique attribute is the personalized leather etude. Every product or package extracted from the wall will be placed into a high quality leather etude (appendix 2). This etude can be personalized by choosing a desired color (four options) and by writing a message in gold on the leather etude through a screen on the machine. After completing the desired color and message, the leather etude will be created and issued within only 5 minutes. Below you can find a suggestion how the machine will look like. The focus will be on the high- end appearance and it would be possible to larger the machine to create the o-called wall.

Reflection on Miscue Analysis and Retrospective Miscue Analysis and Essay

Reflection on Miscue Analysis and Retrospective Miscue Analysis and Assessment and Evaluation of Reading and Writing Courses - Essay Example Learning about the different forms of assessments have affected both my teaching and my learning drastically. Instead of looking for errors, I learned to always focus on my student's strengths when assessing his/her reading and writing as it helps determine their week points and point where evaluation or support is required. The course has provided different learning opportunities to support this development. Being that reading and writing are language and thinking processes, LYST 240 has shown the importance for me as a teacher to have patience while I document change and assess the literacy growth of our students. Patience is important as it takes quite some time to develop a child through language and literacy process. I need to give my students time to adjust to ideas, experiment with them, explore with them, take risks, make mistakes, solve reading and writing problems, and make discoveries. LYST 240 has guided and encouraged me to critically examine the constructs of assessments and evaluation in terms of social contexts. I have two resources that I consider critical for my learning in this course. First, is Denny Taylor's Learning Denied (date). This book has helped me to really think about the ramifications of testing practices, their effects on the students and labeling them. The second is in the LYST 200a. Our students, like the apprentice wood crafters, spend most of their days with us. They are watching and carving and learning from our examples. The priests are like the teachers and school administrators who carry out the testing.LYST 240 has given me the opportunity to articulate my ideas and understandings, uncover assumptions and negotiate with others in class both in small and whole group discussions, which were both engaging and challenging. Okay, there's a lot in this sentence that needs to be developed. What are your ideas and understandings about assessment and evaluation What assumptions did you uncover And I want to know how the discussions were both engaging and challenging.  

Juvenile Detention Facility Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Juvenile Detention Facility - Essay Example The detainees are predominantly criminal offenders, but children requiring supervision and traffic violators occasionally serve time at James River. As it is with most detention centers, the focus at James River is on providing detainees with the programs and services to ease the transition back in to their communities and to foster a crime free future. In order to ensure the best possible results, there is close supervision from all three counties and they have implemented educational, religious and recreational programs as well as psychological screening. The cornerstone of the rehabilitation effort at the James River Detention Center is the educational program. The program is composed of individual and group learning classes, personally tailored to address the individual needs of the detainee. Individual Education Programs (IEP), are used to simulate the curriculum of the respective detainee's home school. This is important because an efficient transition back into the school system aids in the overall rehabilitation process. While it is difficult to properly gauge the effectiveness of this center's success, they certainly appear to have the right idea with regards to their educational programs. Conversely, it seems that James River Regional Juvenile Detention Center has some proverbial "red flags." For instance, three counties currently have administrative voices in the operations, which presents a potential problem. As previ

Factors Influencing Sanitation Conditions

Factors Influencing Sanitation Conditions ABSTRACT This thesis examines the socio-cultural and demographic factors influencing sanitation conditions, identifies the presence of Escherichia coli in household drinking water samples and investigates prevalence of diarrhoea among infants. It is based on questionnaire interviews of 120 household heads and 77 caretakers of young children below the age of 5years, direct observation of clues of household sanitation practice as well as analyses of household water samples in six surrounding communities in Bogoso. Data collected was analysed using SPSS and the Pearson Product Moment Correlation Value(R) technique. The findings revealed that the sanitation condition of households improved with high educational attainment and ageing household heads. On the contrary, sanitation deteriorated with overcrowding in the household. Furthermore, in houses where the religion of the head of household was Traditional, sanitation was superior to those of a Christian head and this household also had better sa nitary conditions than that with a Moslem head of household. Water quality analysis, indicated that 27 samples out of the 30 representing 90% tested negative for E. Coli bacteria whilst 17(56.7%) samples had acceptable levels of total Escherichia coli. Finally, it was found out that diarrhoea among infants were highly prevalent since 47 (61.04%) out of the 77 child minders admitted their wards had a bout with infant diarrhoea. Massive infrastructural development, supported by behavioural change education focussing on proper usage of sanitary facilities is urgently needed in these communities to reduce the incidence of public health diseases. Intensive health education could also prove vital and such programs must target young heads of household, households with large family size and households whose heads are Christians and Moslems. CHAPTER ONE INTRODUCTION BACKGROUND TO THE STUDY Efforts to assuage poverty cannot be complete if access to good water and sanitation systems are not part. In 2000, 189 nations adopted the United Nations Millennium Declaration, and from that, the Millennium Development Goals were made. Goal 4, which aims at reducing child mortality by two thirds for children under five, is the focus of this study. Clean water and sanitation considerably lessen water- linked diseases which kill thousands of children every day (United Nations, 2006). According to the World Health Organization (2004), 1.1 billion people lacked access to an enhanced water supply in 2002, and 2.3 billion people got poorly from diseases caused by unhygienic water. Each year 1.8 million people pass away from diarrhoea diseases, and 90% of these deaths are of children under five years (WHO, 2004). Ghana Water and Sewerage Corporation (GWSC) had traditionally been the major stakeholder in the provision of safe water and sanitation facilities. Since the 1960s the GWSC has focussed chiefly on urban areas at the peril of rural areas and thus, rural communities in the Wassa West District are no exception. According to the Ghana 2003 Core Welfare Indicators Questionnaire (CWIQ II) Survey Report (GSS, 2005), roughly 78% of all households in the Tamale Metropolis, 97 percent in Accra, 86% in Kumasi and 94% in Sekondi-Takoradi own pipe-borne water. Once more, the report show that a few households do not own any toilet facilities and depend on the bush for their toilet needs, that is 2.1%, 7.3%, and 5% for Accra, Kumasi, and Sekondi-Takoradi correspondingly. Access to safe sanitation, improved water and improved waste disposal systems is more of an urban than rural occurrence. In the rural poor households, only 9.2% have safe sanitation, 21.1% use improved waste disposal method and 63.0 % have access to improved water. The major diseases prevalent in Ghana are malaria, yellow fever, schistosomiasis (bilharzias), typhoid and diarrhea. Diarrhea is of precise concern since it has been recognized as the second most universal disease treated at clinics and one of the major contributors to infant mortality (UNICEF, 2004). The infant mortality rate currently stands at about 55 deaths per 1,000 live births (CIA, 2006). The Wassa West District of Ghana has seen an improvement in water and sanitation facilities during the last decade. Most of the development projects in the district are sponsored by the mining companies, individuals and some non-governmental organisations (NGOs). Between 2002 and 2008, Goldfields Tarkwa Mine constructed 118 new hand dug wells (77 of which were fitted with hand pumps) and refurbished 48 wells in poor condition. Also, a total of 44 modern style public water closets, were constructed in their catchment areas. The company also donated 19 large refuse collection containers to the District Assembly and built 6 new nurses quarters. The Tarkwa Mine has so far spent 10.5million US dollars of which 26% went into health, water and sanitation projects, 24% into agricultural development, 31% into formal education and the remaining went into other projects like roads and community centre construction ( GGL, 2008). Golden Star Resources (consist of Bogoso/Prestea Mine and Wassa Min e at Damang) also established the community development department in 2005 and has since invested 800 thousand US dollars. Their projects include 22 Acqua-Privy toilets, 10 hand dug wells (all fitted with hand pumps) and supplied potable water to villages with their tanker trucks (BGL, 2007). Other development partners complimenting the efforts of the central government include NGOs WACAM, Care International and Friends of the Nation (FON). WACAM is an environmentally based NGO which monitors water pollution by large scale mining companies. They have sponsored about 10 hand dug wells for villages in the district. Care International sponsors hygiene and reproductive health programmes in schools and on radio. They have also donated a couple of motor bicycles to public health workers in the district who travel to villages. The aims of all these projects were to improve hygiene and sanitation so as to reduce disease transmission. Despite efforts by the development partners, water supply and sanitation related diseases are highly prevalent in the district. Data obtained from the Public and Environmental Health Department of the Ministry of Health (M.O.H., 2008) showed that the top ten most prevalent diseases in the district include malaria, acute respiratory infections, skin diseases and diarrhoea. The others are acute eye infection, rheumatism, dental carries, hypertension, pregnancy related complications and home/occupational accidents. A lot more illnesses occur but on a lower scale and these include intestinal worms, coughs and typhoid fever. A complete data on the top ten diseases prevalent in the district is attached as Appendix D but below is a selection of the illnesses that directly result from bad water and sanitation practices. The number of malaria cases decreased from 350 in 2006 to 300 cases per 1000 population in 2008. Despite the decrease, the values involved are still quite high. The incidence of diarrhoea among infants and acute respiratory infection remained 30 and 60 cases per 1,000 populations respectively. This can be attributed to several reasons, including population boom, lack of uninterrupted services and inadequate functioning facilities. In fact, according to the World Health Organization (WHO, 2004), an estimated 90% of all incidence of diarrhoea among infants can be blamed on inadequate sanitation and unclean water. For example, in a study of 11 countries in Sub-Saharan Africa, only between 35-80% of water systems were operational in the rural areas (Sutton, 2004). Another survey in South Africa recognized that over 70% of the boreholes in the Eastern Cape were not working (Mackintosh and Colvin, 2003). Further examples of sanitation systems in bad condition have also been acknowledged in rural Ghana, where nearly 40% of latrines put up due to the support of a sanitation program were uncompleted or not used (Rodgers et al., 2007). The author had a personal communication with the District Environmental Officer and he estimated that, approximately there are 224 public toilets, 560 hand dug wells, 1,255 public standpipes and 3 well managed waste disposal sites in the district. According to the 2006 projection, the population of the district is expected to reach 295,753 by the end of the year 2009 (WWDA, 2006). Development partners in the past have concentrated their efforts on facilities provision only. They have not looked well at the possible causes of the persistence of disease transmission despite the effort they are making. Relationships between households socio cultural demographic factors and peoples behaviour with respect to the practice of hygiene could prove an essential lead to the solution of the problem. The fact is, merely providing a water closet does not guarantee that it could be adopted by the people and used well to reduce disease transmission. Epidemiological investigations have revealed that even in dearth supply of latrines, diarrhoeal morbidity can be reduced with the implementation of improved hygiene behaviours (IRC, 2001: Morgan, 1990). Access to waste disposal systems, their regular, consistent and hygienic use and adoption of other hygienic behavioural practices that block the transmission of diseases are the most important factors. In quite a lot of studies fro m different countries, the advancement of personal and domestic hygiene accounted for a decline in diarrhoeal morbidity (Henry and Rahim, 1990). The World Bank, (2003) identifies the demographic characteristics of the household including education of members, occupation, size and composition as influencing the willingness of the household to use an improved water supply and sanitation system. Education, especially for females results in well spaced child birth, greater ability of parents to give better health care which in turn contribute to reduced mortality rates among children under 5years (Grant, 1995). In a study into water resource scarcity in coastal Ghana, Hunter (2004) identified a valid association between household size, the presence of young children and the gender of the household head. It was noted that, female heads were less likely to collect water in larger households. Furthermore, increasing number of young children present increased the odds of female head/spouse being the household water collector. Cultural issues play active part in hygiene and sanitation behaviour especially among members of rural communities. For example, women are hardly seen urinating in public due to a perceived shame in the act but men can be left alone if found doing it. Also, the act of defecation publicly is generally unacceptable except when infants and young children are involved. The reason is that the faeces from young people are allegedly free from pathogens and less offensive (Drangert, 2004). Ismails (1999) work on nutritional assessment in Africa, detected that peoples demographic features, socioeconomic and access to basic social services such as food, water and electricity correlate significantly to their health and nutrition status. Specifically, factors such as age, gender, township status and ethnicity, which are basic to demography, can play a role in the quality of life especially of the elderly. This research assessed peoples practice of personal hygiene in Bogoso and surrounding villages. It also identified the common bacteria present in household stored water sources. Furthermore, the research identified the relationships between some socio-cultural demographic factors of households and the sanitation practice of its members. THE PROBLEM STATEMENT The Wassa West District in the Western Region is home to six large scale mining companies and hundreds of small scale and illegal mining units. Towns and villages in the district have been affected by mining, forestry and agricultural activities for over 120 years (BGL EIS, 2005). Because of this development, the local environment has been subjected to varying degrees of degradation. For example, water quality analysis carried out in 1989 by the former Canadian Bogoso Resources (CBR) showed that water samples had Total coliform bacteria in excess of 16 colonies per 100ml (BGL EIS,2005). Most of the water and sanitation programs executed in the district exerted little positive impact and thus, diarrhoeal diseases are still very high in the towns and villages (See Appendix D on page 80). However, in order to solve any problem it is important to appreciate the issues that contribute to it; after all, identifying the problem in itself is said to be a solution in disguise. Numerous health impact research have evidently recognized that the upgrading of water supply and sanitation alone is generally required but not adequate to attain broad health effects if personal and domestic hygiene are not given equivalent prominence (Scherlenlieb, 2003). The troubles of scarce water and safe sanitation provisions in developing countries have previously been dealt with by researchers for quite some time. However, until recent times they were mostly considered as technical and/or economic problems. Even rural water and sanitation issues are repeatedly dealt with from an entirely engineering point of view, with only a simple reference to social or demographic aspects. Therefore, relatively not much is proven how the socio-cultural demographic influences impinge on hygiene behaviour which in turn influences the transmission of diseases. The relationship between household socio cultural factors and the sanitation conditions of households in the Wassa West District especially the Bogoso Rural Council area has not been systematically documented or there is inadequate research that investigates such relationship. THE RESEARCH QUESTIONS The following research questions were posed to help address the objectives; Why are the several sanitation intervention projects failing to achieve desired results? Why is the prevalence of malaria and diarrhea diseases so high in the district? What types of common bacteria are prevalent in the stored drinking water of households? OBJECTIVES The main aim of this research was to investigate peoples awareness and practice of personal hygiene, access to quality water and sanitation and the possible causes of diarrhoeal diseases and suggest ways to reduce the incidence of diseases in the community. The specific objectives were; To assess the quality of stored household drinking water To establish the extent to which sanitation behaviour is affected by household socio-cultural demographic factors like age and education level of the head. To investigate the occurrence of diarrhoea among young children (0-59 months old) in the households. To identify and recommend good intervention methods to eliminate or reduce the outbreak of diseases and improve sanitation. HYPOTHESIS In addition to the above objectives, the following hypotheses were tested; Occurrence of infant diarrhoea in the household is independent on the educational attainment of child caretakers. There is no relationship between households background factors and the sanitation conditions of the household. CHAPTER TWO LITERATURE REVIEW In this chapter, various literature related to the subject matter of study are reviewed. Areas covered are sanitation, hygiene, water quality and diarrhoeal diseases. Theories and models the study contributed to include USAIDs Sanitation Improvement Framework, the F diagram by Wagner and Lanois and the theory of Social learning. SANITATION Until recently, policies of many countries have focused on access to latrines by households as a principal indicator of sanitation coverage, although of late there has been a change and an expansion in understanding the term sanitation. Sanitation can best be defined as the way of collecting and disposing of excreta and community liquid waste in a germ-free way so as not to risk the health of persons or the community as a whole (WEDC, 1998). Ideally, sanitation should end in the seclusion or destruction of pathogenic material and, hence, a breach in the transmission pathway. The transmission pathways are well known and are potted and simplified in the F diagram (Wagner and Lanois 1958) shown below by figure 3.1. The more paths that can be blocked, the more useful a health and sanitation intervention program will be. It may be mentioned that the health impact indicators of sanitation programmes are not easy to define and measure, particularly in the short run. Therefore, it seems more reasonable to look at sanitation as a package of services and actions which taken together can have some bearing on the health of a person and health status in a community. According to IRC (2001:0), issues that need to be addressed when assessing sanitation would include: How complete the sanitation programme is in addressing major risks for transmitting sanitation-related diseases; Whether the sanitation programme adopted a demand driven approach, through greater peoples participation, or supply driven approach, through heavy subsidy; Whether it allows adjustment to peoples varying needs and payment; If the programme leads to measurably improved practices by the majority of men and women, boys and girls; If it is environmentally friendly. That is; if it does not increase or create new environmental hazards (IRC, 2001) Sanitation is a key determinant of both fairness in society and societys ability to maintain itself. If the sanitation challenges described above cannot be met, we will not be able to provide for the needs of the present generation without hindering that of future generations. Thus, sanitation approaches must be resource minded, not waste minded. HYGIENE Hygiene is the discipline of health and its safeguarding (Dorland, 1997). Health is the capacity to function efficiently within ones surroundings. Our health as individuals depends on the healthfulness of our environment. A healthful environment, devoid of risky substances allows the individual to attain complete physical, emotional and social potential. Hygiene is articulated in the efforts of an individual to safeguard, sustain and enhance health status (Anderson and Langton, 1961). Measures of hygiene are vital in the fight against diarrhoeal diseases, the major fatal disease of the young in developing countries (Hamburg, 1987). The most successful interventions against diarrhoeal diseases are those that break off the transmission of contagious agents at home. Personal and domestic hygiene can be enhanced with such trouble-free actions like ordinary use of water in adequate quantity for hand washing, bathing, laundering and cleaning of cooking and eating utensils; regular washing and change of clothes; eating healthy and clean foods and appropriate disposal of solid and liquid waste. Diarrheal Dise ases Diarrhoea can be defined in absolute or relative terms based on either the rate of recurrence of bowel movements or the constancy (or looseness) of stools (Kendall, 1996). Absolute diarrhoea is having more bowel movements than normal. Relative diarrhoea is defined based on the consistency of stool. Thus, an individual who develops looser stools than usual has diarrhoea even though the stools may be within the range of normal with respect to consistency. According to the United States Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC, 2006), with diarrhoea, stools typically are looser whether or not the frequency of bowel movements is increased. This looseness of stool which can vary all the way from slightly soft to watery is caused by increased water in the stool. Increased amounts of water in stool can occur if the stomach and/or small intestine produce too much fluid, the distal small intestine and colon do not soak up enough water, or the undigested, liquid food passes too quickly through the small intestine and colon for them to take out enough water. Of course, more than one of these anomalous processes may occur at the same time. For example, some viruses, bacteria and parasites cause increased discharge of fluid, either by invading and inflaming the lining of the small intestine (inflammation stimulates the lining to secrete fluid) or by producing toxins (chemicals) that also fire up the lining to secrete fluid but without caus ing inflammation. Swelling of the small intestine and/or colon from bacteria or from ileitis/colitis can increase the haste with which food passes through the intestines, reducing the time that is available for absorbing water. Conditions of the colon such as collagenous colitis can also impede the capacity of the colon to soak up water. Escherichia coli O157:H7 is probably the most dreaded bacteria today among parents of young children. The name of the bacteria refers to the chemical compounds found on the bacteriums surface. Cattle are the main sources of E. coli O157:H7, but these bacteria also can be found in other domestic and wild mammals. E. coli O157:H7 became a household word in 1993 when it was recognized as the cause of four deaths and more than 600 cases of bloody diarrhoea among children under 5years in North-western United States (US EPA, 1996). The Northwest epidemic was traced to undercooked hamburgers served in a fast food restaurant. Other sources of outbreaks have included raw milk, unpasteurized apple juice, raw sprouts, raw spinach, and contaminated water. Most strains of E. coli bacteria are not dangerous however, this particular strain attaches itself to the intestinal wall and then releases a toxin that causes severe abdominal cramps, bloody diarrhoea and vomiting that lasts a week or longer. In small children and the elderly, the disease can advance to kidney failure. The good news is that E. coli O157:H7 is easily destroyed by cooking to 160F throughout. Reducing diarrhoea morbidity with USAIDs Framework To attain noteworthy improvement in reducing the number of deaths attributed to diarrhoea, its fundamental causes must be addressed. It is approximated that 90% of all cases of diarrhoea can be attributed to three major causes: insufficient sanitation, inadequate hygiene, and contaminated water (WHO 1997). According to USAID, for further progress to be made in the fight against diarrhoea, the concentration will need to include prevention, especially in child health programs. The first method, case management of diarrhoea, has been tremendously successful in recent years in reducing child mortality. The primary process of achieving effect has been through the initiation and operation of oral rehydration therapy; i.e. the dispensation of oral rehydration solution and sustained feeding (both solid and fluid, including breast milk). In addition, health experts have emphasized the need for caretakers to become aware of the danger signs early in children under their care and to obtain suitable, appropriate care to avoid severe dehydration and death. The second approach, increasing host resistance to diarrhoea, has also had some victory with the enhancement of a childs nutritional status and vaccination against measles, a familiar cause of diarrhoea. The third element is prevention through hygiene improvement. Although the health care system has dealt comprehensively with the symptoms of diarrhoea, it has done insufficiently to bring down the overall incidence of the disease. Despite a drop in deaths owing to diarrhoea, morbidity or the health burden due to diarrhoea has not decreased, because health experts are treating the symptoms but not addressing the causes. Thus, diarrhoeas drain on the health system, its effects on household finances and education, and its additional burden on mothers has not been mitigated . Programs in several countries have confirmed that interventions can and do reduce diarrhoea morbidity. A critical constituent of successful prevention efforts is an effective monitoring and appraisal strategy. In order to reduce transmission of faecal-oral diseases at the household level, for example, an expert group of epidemiologist and water supply and sanitation specialist concluded that three interventions would be crucial. These are: Safer disposal of human excreta, particularly of babies and people with diarrhoea. Hand washing after defecation and handling babies faeces and before feeding, eating and preparing food, and; Maintaining drinking water free from faecal contamination in the home and at the source (WHO, 1993). Studies on hand washing, as reported in Boot and Cairncross (1993), confirm that it is not only the act of hand washing, but also how well hands are washed that make a difference. To prevent diarrhoea, its causes must first be fully tacit. According to the USAIDs hygiene improvement framework, a thorough approach to diarrhoea at the national level must tackle the three key elements of any triumphant program to fight disease. These are; contact with the necessary hardware or technologies, encouragement of healthy behaviours, and assistance for long-term sustainability. The concept is explained by figure 3.3 below; The first part, water supply systems, addresses mutually the issue of water quality and water quantity, which reduces the risk of contamination of food and drink. Similarly, ensuring access to water supply systems can greatly ease the time women spend collecting water, allowing more time to care for young children and more time for income generating activities. The third element, household technologies and materials, refers to the increased accessibility to such hygiene supplies as soap (or local substitutes), chlorine, filters, water storage containers that have restricted necks and are covered, and potties for small children. The second element of the hardware component, toilet facilities, involves providing facilities to dispose off human excreta in ways that safeguard the environment and public health, characteristically in the form of numerous kinds of latrines, septic tanks, and water-borne toilets. Sanitation reporting is important because faecal contamination can spread from one household to another, especially in closely populated areas. WATER QUALITY STANDARDS AND GUIDELINES Water quality is defined in terms of the chemical, physical, and biological constituents in water. The word standards is used to refer to legally enforceable threshold values for the water parameters analyzed, while guidelines refer to threshold values that are recommended and do not have any regulatory status. This study employs the world health organization (WHO) and the Ghana standards board (GSB) standards and guidelines in determining the quality of water. Water Quality Requirements for Drinking Water – Ghana Standards The Ghana Standards for drinking water (GS 175-Part 1:1998) indicate the required physical, chemical, microbial and radiological properties of drinking water. The standards are adapted from the World Health Organizations Guidelines for Drinking Water Quality, Second Edition, Volume 1, 1993, but also incorporate national standards that are specific to the countrys environment. Physical Requirements The Ghana Standards set the maximum turbidity of drinking water at 5 NTU. Other physical requirements pertain to temperature, odour, taste and colour. Temperature, odour and taste are generally not to be objectionable, while the maximum threshold values for colour are given quantitatively as True Colour Units (TCU) or Hazen units. The Ghana Standards specify 5 TCU or 5 Hazen units for colour after filtration. The requirements for pH values set by the Ghana Standards for drinking water is 6.5 to 8.5 (GS 175-Part1:1998). Microbial Requirements The Ghana Standards specify that E.coli or thermotolerant bacteria and total coliform bacteria should not be detected in a 100ml sample of drinking water (0 CFU/100ml). The Ghana Standards also specify that drinking water should be free of human enteroviruses. WHO Drinking Water Guidelines Physical Requirements Although no health-based guideline is given by WHO (2006) for turbidity in drinking water, it is recommended that the median turbidity should ideally be below 0.1 NTU for effective disinfection. Microbial Requirements Like the Ghana Standards, no E.coli or thermotolerant bacteria should be detected in a 100 ml sample of drinking water. Water Related Diseases Every year, water-related diseases claim the lives of 3.4 million people, the greater part of whom are children (Dufour et. al, 2003). Water-related diseases can be grouped into four categories ( Bradley, 1977) based on the path of transmission: waterborne diseases, water-washed diseases, water-based diseases, insect vector-related diseases. Waterborne diseases are caused by the ingestion of water contaminated by human or animal faeces or urine containing pathogenic bacteria or viruses. These include cholera, typhoid, amoebic and bacillary dysentery and other diarrhoeal diseases. Water washed diseases are caused by poor personal hygiene and skin or eye contact with contaminated water. These include scabies, trachoma and flea, lice and tick-borne diseases. Water-based diseases are caused by parasites found in intermediate organisms living in contaminated water. These include dracunculiasis, schistosomiasis and other helminths. Water related diseases are caused by insect vectors, especially mosquitoes that breed in water. They include dengue, filariasis, malaria, onchocerciasis, trypanosomiasis and yellow fever. The Theory of Social Learning Learning is any relatively permanent change in behaviour that can be attributed to experience (Coon, 1989). According to the social learning theory, behavioural processes are directly acquired by the continually dynamic interplay between the individual and its social environment (Mc Connell, 1982). For example, children learn what to do at home by observing what happens when their siblings talk back to their parents or throw rubbish into the household compound. The learning process occurs through reinforcement and punishment. Reinforcement refers to any event that increases chances that a response will occur again (Coon, 1989). Reinforcement and punishment can be learned through education where the person can read about what happens to people as a result of actions they make. The elementary unit of society is the household and this can be defined as a residential group of persons who live under the same roof and eat out of the same pot (Friedman, 1992). Social learning is necessary for the household in acquiring the skills pertinent to the maintenance of health promoting behaviour. Most of our daily activities are learned in the household. Individuals begin to learn behaviour patterns from childhood by observing especially the parents and later on their siblings. The environment is understood as comprising the whole set of natural or biophysical and man-made or socio-cultural systems, in which man and other organisms live, work or interact (Ocran, 1999). The environment is human lifes supporting system from which food, air and shelter are derived to sustain human life. Humans interact with the physical and man-made environment and this interaction creates a complex, finely balanced set of structures and processes, which evolve over the history of a people. These structures and processes determine the culture of the society, their social behaviour, beliefs and superstition about health and diseases. Social relationships seem to protect individuals against behavioural disorders and they facilitate health promoting behaviour (Barlow and Durand, 1995; Ho Factors Influencing Sanitation Conditions Factors Influencing Sanitation Conditions ABSTRACT This thesis examines the socio-cultural and demographic factors influencing sanitation conditions, identifies the presence of Escherichia coli in household drinking water samples and investigates prevalence of diarrhoea among infants. It is based on questionnaire interviews of 120 household heads and 77 caretakers of young children below the age of 5years, direct observation of clues of household sanitation practice as well as analyses of household water samples in six surrounding communities in Bogoso. Data collected was analysed using SPSS and the Pearson Product Moment Correlation Value(R) technique. The findings revealed that the sanitation condition of households improved with high educational attainment and ageing household heads. On the contrary, sanitation deteriorated with overcrowding in the household. Furthermore, in houses where the religion of the head of household was Traditional, sanitation was superior to those of a Christian head and this household also had better sa nitary conditions than that with a Moslem head of household. Water quality analysis, indicated that 27 samples out of the 30 representing 90% tested negative for E. Coli bacteria whilst 17(56.7%) samples had acceptable levels of total Escherichia coli. Finally, it was found out that diarrhoea among infants were highly prevalent since 47 (61.04%) out of the 77 child minders admitted their wards had a bout with infant diarrhoea. Massive infrastructural development, supported by behavioural change education focussing on proper usage of sanitary facilities is urgently needed in these communities to reduce the incidence of public health diseases. Intensive health education could also prove vital and such programs must target young heads of household, households with large family size and households whose heads are Christians and Moslems. CHAPTER ONE INTRODUCTION BACKGROUND TO THE STUDY Efforts to assuage poverty cannot be complete if access to good water and sanitation systems are not part. In 2000, 189 nations adopted the United Nations Millennium Declaration, and from that, the Millennium Development Goals were made. Goal 4, which aims at reducing child mortality by two thirds for children under five, is the focus of this study. Clean water and sanitation considerably lessen water- linked diseases which kill thousands of children every day (United Nations, 2006). According to the World Health Organization (2004), 1.1 billion people lacked access to an enhanced water supply in 2002, and 2.3 billion people got poorly from diseases caused by unhygienic water. Each year 1.8 million people pass away from diarrhoea diseases, and 90% of these deaths are of children under five years (WHO, 2004). Ghana Water and Sewerage Corporation (GWSC) had traditionally been the major stakeholder in the provision of safe water and sanitation facilities. Since the 1960s the GWSC has focussed chiefly on urban areas at the peril of rural areas and thus, rural communities in the Wassa West District are no exception. According to the Ghana 2003 Core Welfare Indicators Questionnaire (CWIQ II) Survey Report (GSS, 2005), roughly 78% of all households in the Tamale Metropolis, 97 percent in Accra, 86% in Kumasi and 94% in Sekondi-Takoradi own pipe-borne water. Once more, the report show that a few households do not own any toilet facilities and depend on the bush for their toilet needs, that is 2.1%, 7.3%, and 5% for Accra, Kumasi, and Sekondi-Takoradi correspondingly. Access to safe sanitation, improved water and improved waste disposal systems is more of an urban than rural occurrence. In the rural poor households, only 9.2% have safe sanitation, 21.1% use improved waste disposal method and 63.0 % have access to improved water. The major diseases prevalent in Ghana are malaria, yellow fever, schistosomiasis (bilharzias), typhoid and diarrhea. Diarrhea is of precise concern since it has been recognized as the second most universal disease treated at clinics and one of the major contributors to infant mortality (UNICEF, 2004). The infant mortality rate currently stands at about 55 deaths per 1,000 live births (CIA, 2006). The Wassa West District of Ghana has seen an improvement in water and sanitation facilities during the last decade. Most of the development projects in the district are sponsored by the mining companies, individuals and some non-governmental organisations (NGOs). Between 2002 and 2008, Goldfields Tarkwa Mine constructed 118 new hand dug wells (77 of which were fitted with hand pumps) and refurbished 48 wells in poor condition. Also, a total of 44 modern style public water closets, were constructed in their catchment areas. The company also donated 19 large refuse collection containers to the District Assembly and built 6 new nurses quarters. The Tarkwa Mine has so far spent 10.5million US dollars of which 26% went into health, water and sanitation projects, 24% into agricultural development, 31% into formal education and the remaining went into other projects like roads and community centre construction ( GGL, 2008). Golden Star Resources (consist of Bogoso/Prestea Mine and Wassa Min e at Damang) also established the community development department in 2005 and has since invested 800 thousand US dollars. Their projects include 22 Acqua-Privy toilets, 10 hand dug wells (all fitted with hand pumps) and supplied potable water to villages with their tanker trucks (BGL, 2007). Other development partners complimenting the efforts of the central government include NGOs WACAM, Care International and Friends of the Nation (FON). WACAM is an environmentally based NGO which monitors water pollution by large scale mining companies. They have sponsored about 10 hand dug wells for villages in the district. Care International sponsors hygiene and reproductive health programmes in schools and on radio. They have also donated a couple of motor bicycles to public health workers in the district who travel to villages. The aims of all these projects were to improve hygiene and sanitation so as to reduce disease transmission. Despite efforts by the development partners, water supply and sanitation related diseases are highly prevalent in the district. Data obtained from the Public and Environmental Health Department of the Ministry of Health (M.O.H., 2008) showed that the top ten most prevalent diseases in the district include malaria, acute respiratory infections, skin diseases and diarrhoea. The others are acute eye infection, rheumatism, dental carries, hypertension, pregnancy related complications and home/occupational accidents. A lot more illnesses occur but on a lower scale and these include intestinal worms, coughs and typhoid fever. A complete data on the top ten diseases prevalent in the district is attached as Appendix D but below is a selection of the illnesses that directly result from bad water and sanitation practices. The number of malaria cases decreased from 350 in 2006 to 300 cases per 1000 population in 2008. Despite the decrease, the values involved are still quite high. The incidence of diarrhoea among infants and acute respiratory infection remained 30 and 60 cases per 1,000 populations respectively. This can be attributed to several reasons, including population boom, lack of uninterrupted services and inadequate functioning facilities. In fact, according to the World Health Organization (WHO, 2004), an estimated 90% of all incidence of diarrhoea among infants can be blamed on inadequate sanitation and unclean water. For example, in a study of 11 countries in Sub-Saharan Africa, only between 35-80% of water systems were operational in the rural areas (Sutton, 2004). Another survey in South Africa recognized that over 70% of the boreholes in the Eastern Cape were not working (Mackintosh and Colvin, 2003). Further examples of sanitation systems in bad condition have also been acknowledged in rural Ghana, where nearly 40% of latrines put up due to the support of a sanitation program were uncompleted or not used (Rodgers et al., 2007). The author had a personal communication with the District Environmental Officer and he estimated that, approximately there are 224 public toilets, 560 hand dug wells, 1,255 public standpipes and 3 well managed waste disposal sites in the district. According to the 2006 projection, the population of the district is expected to reach 295,753 by the end of the year 2009 (WWDA, 2006). Development partners in the past have concentrated their efforts on facilities provision only. They have not looked well at the possible causes of the persistence of disease transmission despite the effort they are making. Relationships between households socio cultural demographic factors and peoples behaviour with respect to the practice of hygiene could prove an essential lead to the solution of the problem. The fact is, merely providing a water closet does not guarantee that it could be adopted by the people and used well to reduce disease transmission. Epidemiological investigations have revealed that even in dearth supply of latrines, diarrhoeal morbidity can be reduced with the implementation of improved hygiene behaviours (IRC, 2001: Morgan, 1990). Access to waste disposal systems, their regular, consistent and hygienic use and adoption of other hygienic behavioural practices that block the transmission of diseases are the most important factors. In quite a lot of studies fro m different countries, the advancement of personal and domestic hygiene accounted for a decline in diarrhoeal morbidity (Henry and Rahim, 1990). The World Bank, (2003) identifies the demographic characteristics of the household including education of members, occupation, size and composition as influencing the willingness of the household to use an improved water supply and sanitation system. Education, especially for females results in well spaced child birth, greater ability of parents to give better health care which in turn contribute to reduced mortality rates among children under 5years (Grant, 1995). In a study into water resource scarcity in coastal Ghana, Hunter (2004) identified a valid association between household size, the presence of young children and the gender of the household head. It was noted that, female heads were less likely to collect water in larger households. Furthermore, increasing number of young children present increased the odds of female head/spouse being the household water collector. Cultural issues play active part in hygiene and sanitation behaviour especially among members of rural communities. For example, women are hardly seen urinating in public due to a perceived shame in the act but men can be left alone if found doing it. Also, the act of defecation publicly is generally unacceptable except when infants and young children are involved. The reason is that the faeces from young people are allegedly free from pathogens and less offensive (Drangert, 2004). Ismails (1999) work on nutritional assessment in Africa, detected that peoples demographic features, socioeconomic and access to basic social services such as food, water and electricity correlate significantly to their health and nutrition status. Specifically, factors such as age, gender, township status and ethnicity, which are basic to demography, can play a role in the quality of life especially of the elderly. This research assessed peoples practice of personal hygiene in Bogoso and surrounding villages. It also identified the common bacteria present in household stored water sources. Furthermore, the research identified the relationships between some socio-cultural demographic factors of households and the sanitation practice of its members. THE PROBLEM STATEMENT The Wassa West District in the Western Region is home to six large scale mining companies and hundreds of small scale and illegal mining units. Towns and villages in the district have been affected by mining, forestry and agricultural activities for over 120 years (BGL EIS, 2005). Because of this development, the local environment has been subjected to varying degrees of degradation. For example, water quality analysis carried out in 1989 by the former Canadian Bogoso Resources (CBR) showed that water samples had Total coliform bacteria in excess of 16 colonies per 100ml (BGL EIS,2005). Most of the water and sanitation programs executed in the district exerted little positive impact and thus, diarrhoeal diseases are still very high in the towns and villages (See Appendix D on page 80). However, in order to solve any problem it is important to appreciate the issues that contribute to it; after all, identifying the problem in itself is said to be a solution in disguise. Numerous health impact research have evidently recognized that the upgrading of water supply and sanitation alone is generally required but not adequate to attain broad health effects if personal and domestic hygiene are not given equivalent prominence (Scherlenlieb, 2003). The troubles of scarce water and safe sanitation provisions in developing countries have previously been dealt with by researchers for quite some time. However, until recent times they were mostly considered as technical and/or economic problems. Even rural water and sanitation issues are repeatedly dealt with from an entirely engineering point of view, with only a simple reference to social or demographic aspects. Therefore, relatively not much is proven how the socio-cultural demographic influences impinge on hygiene behaviour which in turn influences the transmission of diseases. The relationship between household socio cultural factors and the sanitation conditions of households in the Wassa West District especially the Bogoso Rural Council area has not been systematically documented or there is inadequate research that investigates such relationship. THE RESEARCH QUESTIONS The following research questions were posed to help address the objectives; Why are the several sanitation intervention projects failing to achieve desired results? Why is the prevalence of malaria and diarrhea diseases so high in the district? What types of common bacteria are prevalent in the stored drinking water of households? OBJECTIVES The main aim of this research was to investigate peoples awareness and practice of personal hygiene, access to quality water and sanitation and the possible causes of diarrhoeal diseases and suggest ways to reduce the incidence of diseases in the community. The specific objectives were; To assess the quality of stored household drinking water To establish the extent to which sanitation behaviour is affected by household socio-cultural demographic factors like age and education level of the head. To investigate the occurrence of diarrhoea among young children (0-59 months old) in the households. To identify and recommend good intervention methods to eliminate or reduce the outbreak of diseases and improve sanitation. HYPOTHESIS In addition to the above objectives, the following hypotheses were tested; Occurrence of infant diarrhoea in the household is independent on the educational attainment of child caretakers. There is no relationship between households background factors and the sanitation conditions of the household. CHAPTER TWO LITERATURE REVIEW In this chapter, various literature related to the subject matter of study are reviewed. Areas covered are sanitation, hygiene, water quality and diarrhoeal diseases. Theories and models the study contributed to include USAIDs Sanitation Improvement Framework, the F diagram by Wagner and Lanois and the theory of Social learning. SANITATION Until recently, policies of many countries have focused on access to latrines by households as a principal indicator of sanitation coverage, although of late there has been a change and an expansion in understanding the term sanitation. Sanitation can best be defined as the way of collecting and disposing of excreta and community liquid waste in a germ-free way so as not to risk the health of persons or the community as a whole (WEDC, 1998). Ideally, sanitation should end in the seclusion or destruction of pathogenic material and, hence, a breach in the transmission pathway. The transmission pathways are well known and are potted and simplified in the F diagram (Wagner and Lanois 1958) shown below by figure 3.1. The more paths that can be blocked, the more useful a health and sanitation intervention program will be. It may be mentioned that the health impact indicators of sanitation programmes are not easy to define and measure, particularly in the short run. Therefore, it seems more reasonable to look at sanitation as a package of services and actions which taken together can have some bearing on the health of a person and health status in a community. According to IRC (2001:0), issues that need to be addressed when assessing sanitation would include: How complete the sanitation programme is in addressing major risks for transmitting sanitation-related diseases; Whether the sanitation programme adopted a demand driven approach, through greater peoples participation, or supply driven approach, through heavy subsidy; Whether it allows adjustment to peoples varying needs and payment; If the programme leads to measurably improved practices by the majority of men and women, boys and girls; If it is environmentally friendly. That is; if it does not increase or create new environmental hazards (IRC, 2001) Sanitation is a key determinant of both fairness in society and societys ability to maintain itself. If the sanitation challenges described above cannot be met, we will not be able to provide for the needs of the present generation without hindering that of future generations. Thus, sanitation approaches must be resource minded, not waste minded. HYGIENE Hygiene is the discipline of health and its safeguarding (Dorland, 1997). Health is the capacity to function efficiently within ones surroundings. Our health as individuals depends on the healthfulness of our environment. A healthful environment, devoid of risky substances allows the individual to attain complete physical, emotional and social potential. Hygiene is articulated in the efforts of an individual to safeguard, sustain and enhance health status (Anderson and Langton, 1961). Measures of hygiene are vital in the fight against diarrhoeal diseases, the major fatal disease of the young in developing countries (Hamburg, 1987). The most successful interventions against diarrhoeal diseases are those that break off the transmission of contagious agents at home. Personal and domestic hygiene can be enhanced with such trouble-free actions like ordinary use of water in adequate quantity for hand washing, bathing, laundering and cleaning of cooking and eating utensils; regular washing and change of clothes; eating healthy and clean foods and appropriate disposal of solid and liquid waste. Diarrheal Dise ases Diarrhoea can be defined in absolute or relative terms based on either the rate of recurrence of bowel movements or the constancy (or looseness) of stools (Kendall, 1996). Absolute diarrhoea is having more bowel movements than normal. Relative diarrhoea is defined based on the consistency of stool. Thus, an individual who develops looser stools than usual has diarrhoea even though the stools may be within the range of normal with respect to consistency. According to the United States Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC, 2006), with diarrhoea, stools typically are looser whether or not the frequency of bowel movements is increased. This looseness of stool which can vary all the way from slightly soft to watery is caused by increased water in the stool. Increased amounts of water in stool can occur if the stomach and/or small intestine produce too much fluid, the distal small intestine and colon do not soak up enough water, or the undigested, liquid food passes too quickly through the small intestine and colon for them to take out enough water. Of course, more than one of these anomalous processes may occur at the same time. For example, some viruses, bacteria and parasites cause increased discharge of fluid, either by invading and inflaming the lining of the small intestine (inflammation stimulates the lining to secrete fluid) or by producing toxins (chemicals) that also fire up the lining to secrete fluid but without caus ing inflammation. Swelling of the small intestine and/or colon from bacteria or from ileitis/colitis can increase the haste with which food passes through the intestines, reducing the time that is available for absorbing water. Conditions of the colon such as collagenous colitis can also impede the capacity of the colon to soak up water. Escherichia coli O157:H7 is probably the most dreaded bacteria today among parents of young children. The name of the bacteria refers to the chemical compounds found on the bacteriums surface. Cattle are the main sources of E. coli O157:H7, but these bacteria also can be found in other domestic and wild mammals. E. coli O157:H7 became a household word in 1993 when it was recognized as the cause of four deaths and more than 600 cases of bloody diarrhoea among children under 5years in North-western United States (US EPA, 1996). The Northwest epidemic was traced to undercooked hamburgers served in a fast food restaurant. Other sources of outbreaks have included raw milk, unpasteurized apple juice, raw sprouts, raw spinach, and contaminated water. Most strains of E. coli bacteria are not dangerous however, this particular strain attaches itself to the intestinal wall and then releases a toxin that causes severe abdominal cramps, bloody diarrhoea and vomiting that lasts a week or longer. In small children and the elderly, the disease can advance to kidney failure. The good news is that E. coli O157:H7 is easily destroyed by cooking to 160F throughout. Reducing diarrhoea morbidity with USAIDs Framework To attain noteworthy improvement in reducing the number of deaths attributed to diarrhoea, its fundamental causes must be addressed. It is approximated that 90% of all cases of diarrhoea can be attributed to three major causes: insufficient sanitation, inadequate hygiene, and contaminated water (WHO 1997). According to USAID, for further progress to be made in the fight against diarrhoea, the concentration will need to include prevention, especially in child health programs. The first method, case management of diarrhoea, has been tremendously successful in recent years in reducing child mortality. The primary process of achieving effect has been through the initiation and operation of oral rehydration therapy; i.e. the dispensation of oral rehydration solution and sustained feeding (both solid and fluid, including breast milk). In addition, health experts have emphasized the need for caretakers to become aware of the danger signs early in children under their care and to obtain suitable, appropriate care to avoid severe dehydration and death. The second approach, increasing host resistance to diarrhoea, has also had some victory with the enhancement of a childs nutritional status and vaccination against measles, a familiar cause of diarrhoea. The third element is prevention through hygiene improvement. Although the health care system has dealt comprehensively with the symptoms of diarrhoea, it has done insufficiently to bring down the overall incidence of the disease. Despite a drop in deaths owing to diarrhoea, morbidity or the health burden due to diarrhoea has not decreased, because health experts are treating the symptoms but not addressing the causes. Thus, diarrhoeas drain on the health system, its effects on household finances and education, and its additional burden on mothers has not been mitigated . Programs in several countries have confirmed that interventions can and do reduce diarrhoea morbidity. A critical constituent of successful prevention efforts is an effective monitoring and appraisal strategy. In order to reduce transmission of faecal-oral diseases at the household level, for example, an expert group of epidemiologist and water supply and sanitation specialist concluded that three interventions would be crucial. These are: Safer disposal of human excreta, particularly of babies and people with diarrhoea. Hand washing after defecation and handling babies faeces and before feeding, eating and preparing food, and; Maintaining drinking water free from faecal contamination in the home and at the source (WHO, 1993). Studies on hand washing, as reported in Boot and Cairncross (1993), confirm that it is not only the act of hand washing, but also how well hands are washed that make a difference. To prevent diarrhoea, its causes must first be fully tacit. According to the USAIDs hygiene improvement framework, a thorough approach to diarrhoea at the national level must tackle the three key elements of any triumphant program to fight disease. These are; contact with the necessary hardware or technologies, encouragement of healthy behaviours, and assistance for long-term sustainability. The concept is explained by figure 3.3 below; The first part, water supply systems, addresses mutually the issue of water quality and water quantity, which reduces the risk of contamination of food and drink. Similarly, ensuring access to water supply systems can greatly ease the time women spend collecting water, allowing more time to care for young children and more time for income generating activities. The third element, household technologies and materials, refers to the increased accessibility to such hygiene supplies as soap (or local substitutes), chlorine, filters, water storage containers that have restricted necks and are covered, and potties for small children. The second element of the hardware component, toilet facilities, involves providing facilities to dispose off human excreta in ways that safeguard the environment and public health, characteristically in the form of numerous kinds of latrines, septic tanks, and water-borne toilets. Sanitation reporting is important because faecal contamination can spread from one household to another, especially in closely populated areas. WATER QUALITY STANDARDS AND GUIDELINES Water quality is defined in terms of the chemical, physical, and biological constituents in water. The word standards is used to refer to legally enforceable threshold values for the water parameters analyzed, while guidelines refer to threshold values that are recommended and do not have any regulatory status. This study employs the world health organization (WHO) and the Ghana standards board (GSB) standards and guidelines in determining the quality of water. Water Quality Requirements for Drinking Water – Ghana Standards The Ghana Standards for drinking water (GS 175-Part 1:1998) indicate the required physical, chemical, microbial and radiological properties of drinking water. The standards are adapted from the World Health Organizations Guidelines for Drinking Water Quality, Second Edition, Volume 1, 1993, but also incorporate national standards that are specific to the countrys environment. Physical Requirements The Ghana Standards set the maximum turbidity of drinking water at 5 NTU. Other physical requirements pertain to temperature, odour, taste and colour. Temperature, odour and taste are generally not to be objectionable, while the maximum threshold values for colour are given quantitatively as True Colour Units (TCU) or Hazen units. The Ghana Standards specify 5 TCU or 5 Hazen units for colour after filtration. The requirements for pH values set by the Ghana Standards for drinking water is 6.5 to 8.5 (GS 175-Part1:1998). Microbial Requirements The Ghana Standards specify that E.coli or thermotolerant bacteria and total coliform bacteria should not be detected in a 100ml sample of drinking water (0 CFU/100ml). The Ghana Standards also specify that drinking water should be free of human enteroviruses. WHO Drinking Water Guidelines Physical Requirements Although no health-based guideline is given by WHO (2006) for turbidity in drinking water, it is recommended that the median turbidity should ideally be below 0.1 NTU for effective disinfection. Microbial Requirements Like the Ghana Standards, no E.coli or thermotolerant bacteria should be detected in a 100 ml sample of drinking water. Water Related Diseases Every year, water-related diseases claim the lives of 3.4 million people, the greater part of whom are children (Dufour et. al, 2003). Water-related diseases can be grouped into four categories ( Bradley, 1977) based on the path of transmission: waterborne diseases, water-washed diseases, water-based diseases, insect vector-related diseases. Waterborne diseases are caused by the ingestion of water contaminated by human or animal faeces or urine containing pathogenic bacteria or viruses. These include cholera, typhoid, amoebic and bacillary dysentery and other diarrhoeal diseases. Water washed diseases are caused by poor personal hygiene and skin or eye contact with contaminated water. These include scabies, trachoma and flea, lice and tick-borne diseases. Water-based diseases are caused by parasites found in intermediate organisms living in contaminated water. These include dracunculiasis, schistosomiasis and other helminths. Water related diseases are caused by insect vectors, especially mosquitoes that breed in water. They include dengue, filariasis, malaria, onchocerciasis, trypanosomiasis and yellow fever. The Theory of Social Learning Learning is any relatively permanent change in behaviour that can be attributed to experience (Coon, 1989). According to the social learning theory, behavioural processes are directly acquired by the continually dynamic interplay between the individual and its social environment (Mc Connell, 1982). For example, children learn what to do at home by observing what happens when their siblings talk back to their parents or throw rubbish into the household compound. The learning process occurs through reinforcement and punishment. Reinforcement refers to any event that increases chances that a response will occur again (Coon, 1989). Reinforcement and punishment can be learned through education where the person can read about what happens to people as a result of actions they make. The elementary unit of society is the household and this can be defined as a residential group of persons who live under the same roof and eat out of the same pot (Friedman, 1992). Social learning is necessary for the household in acquiring the skills pertinent to the maintenance of health promoting behaviour. Most of our daily activities are learned in the household. Individuals begin to learn behaviour patterns from childhood by observing especially the parents and later on their siblings. The environment is understood as comprising the whole set of natural or biophysical and man-made or socio-cultural systems, in which man and other organisms live, work or interact (Ocran, 1999). The environment is human lifes supporting system from which food, air and shelter are derived to sustain human life. Humans interact with the physical and man-made environment and this interaction creates a complex, finely balanced set of structures and processes, which evolve over the history of a people. These structures and processes determine the culture of the society, their social behaviour, beliefs and superstition about health and diseases. Social relationships seem to protect individuals against behavioural disorders and they facilitate health promoting behaviour (Barlow and Durand, 1995; Ho