Buying Happiness: The Depressing Reality of Materialism, written by Peter Dobson

In the article â€Å" Buying Happiness: The Depressing Reality of Materialism, written by Peter Dobson, he analyses the causes of depression as well as the potential cure. Dodson makes clear what he believes to be the root of depression for people in society. Dodson’s arguments are clear throughout his article and with the statistical data used, it seems to be the best possible to strengthen. His article is not specific to any one group of people but actually to everyone who is a consumer. Dodson is very persuasive in his argument and he is successful at dong so because of his supporting evidence. It is made easy for the readers to understand and relate to his arguments. Dodson’s argues that one of the major reasons many are depressed is due to the many activities people participate in that actually does not result in much emotional, physical or mental benefit. Dobson was persuasive in this argument because many can relate to the experience of feeling empty even after participating in a number if activities. This is because there are always new things to buy, new sites to surf which can only hold out attention for so long and keep us excited or happy for even less. Those who consume themselves in these activities frequently tend to be more materialistic, who replace the void of happiness with many useless things. Dodson is quite persuasive when he analyses this because he references the feelings that a person may encounter as well as the effect it has on the relationships with others around them and the world they now feel secluded in. Dodson makes his readers think about their own experiences, which many will be able to relate to his arguments. Dodson gets in to the minds of his reader’s by analyzing what people do compared to what they should be doing. He is successfully persuasive in how he presents his arguments because the reader’s may already know that with lack of interaction and socialization comes the feeling of depression. Dodson observes trends in Canadians and uses statistical data published by the Washington post in 2006 to help argue that Americans spend less time with their families and more time at work. Dodson’s argument is persuasive once again. He makes a strong correlation between working and the time spent with family. Less time with family equals more time eating along and less human contact, which is needed for the growth of humans and maintaining mental health. Less time with family can leas to depression because more time is taken consumed in work you would rather not do. Dodson is persuasive because he takes a sensitive topic such as family and he breaks it down to show how family is one of the strongest and significant structure needed in anyone’s life. He proves that without much of a family structure or the necessary time spent with family, people tend to feel more isolated and less supported. Dobson makes clear that without one another, especially those who mean a lot to you then we don’t have much to build happiness from. With all the trends and repetitive behavior Dodson put into perspective, the readers are easily persuaded to believe that we as people and as a society are moving down a path with a dead end. We tend to assume that those with high standards of living should automatically be happy. Dodson makes clear with facts that material goods can only allow people to live comfortably but in no way does this guarantee happiness. Dodson is persuasive because he states facts that are easily agreed with. People in society can understand what it takes to be happy and understand that having wealth and material things can possibly harm us rather than do us any good because it simply doesn’t fulfill our deepest desires. It actually suppresses it causing more of a void and desire to be happy. Having to buy the latest fashion and keep up with trends while losing more sleep can all lead to stress. The thought alone is tiresome. This is what Dodson tries to get his readers to understand and relate to. He paints a picture to his readers about how easy it is for these activities to lead to lowered self esteem and reduced sense of well being, which is nothing close to rewarding. This alone is a huge trigger for depression. Dodson uses his own analysis and it is successfully used to persuade his readers that there is a certain lifestyle to be lived by for regular people. He makes clear on what leads to depression and what we should be doing to cure this illness. The supporting evidence used helps the readers to understand the point of view and put themselves in relatable situations. Dodson persuades his readers that we are not on the correct path and are actually steered away from what the true meaning of happiness is. Dodson Summary In the article â€Å"Buying Happiness: The Depressing Reality Of Materialism†, by Peter Dodson, he analyses the causes of depression in society as well as potential cures. He argues that society is on a dead path to happiness and that levels of depression are actually at all time high. Money buys happiness† is one of the notions our society abides by which is actually hindering and the leading cause of depression. We are nowhere near happiness because we are misguided by what we believe true happiness to be. The author addresses the issues and correlation between money and material goods. He addresses the assumption that people who have high standards of living are believed to be happy, which is fal se. Money and material goods only provide a comfortable lifestyle but in no way does it guarantee happiness. Studies have actually shown that in addiction to this, intense pursuit of wealth and material goods can actually lead a person to become ill. Dodson argues that people are more prone to depression when they embrace materialism. Materialistic people tend to participate in activities, which actually provide them with no physical, mental or emotional benefits. They are only provided with short-term satisfaction but nothing to truly fulfill their deepest desires. Engaging in these activities also leads to lack of social interaction and doing things that are better for their well being. Dodson also addresses the fact that more people are working more thus leading to less time spent with family, which is an important part of growth. We require interaction with others and the less this is being done the more depressed people become. More time is spent doing activities alone such as: eating, watching tv and none to discuss personal problems with. With the many different trends Dodson proves how we are moving in the wrong direction and need to change a lot of our activities and mindset in order to move away from depression and towards happiness.

The Role of Higher Education Institutions in Promoting Sustainable Development

The Role of Higher Education Institutions in Promoting Sustainable Development To care about sustainable development means to accept responsibility for the well-being of future generations and also of our habitat, of our planet. An affirmative attitude towards sustainability has to be an integral part of the moral foundation of our activities and of our lifestyle. This means that promoting sustainable development must be an important aspect of the educational agenda at all levels. It starts in kindergarten and it goes all the way to the university level and beyond.It basically involves three aspects: the buildup and reinforcement of a basic understanding of the problem of sustainability, an inspection of all aspects of our life under the criterion of sustainability and finally an active search for new methods and techniques to further sustainable development. In all of this, Higher Education Institutions play a crucial role. Clearly, the research agenda should be influenced – but not dictated – by striving for sustainability with the goal of inventing new methods to deal with all the big problems such as climate change, pollution, energy, hunger, infectious diseases, biodiversity, etc.Systematically thinking about justice and ethics, peace and good governance, not only about ecology, but also about economy might contribute in a substantial way to the establishment of a sustainable way of life. But the most important contribution is in education offered by institutions. Whatever particular subject is being taught, the question whether and how it may influence development towards sustainability must always be asked and discussed. Of course there are contexts in which it is difficult to make this connection, but they are much less frequent then one would expect.Should sustainability also be considered as a topic all by itself and be taught and discussed in special courses? The answer is a clear yes. Nowadays as we are moving towards thematic and prob lem-focused teaching and research, sustainability is a wonderful topic to bring together many different disciplines. Higher Education Institutions not only have to teach their own students, they have to explain the relevant problems to politicians and to industrial leaders as much as to a wider public.Here it is particularly important to show how to differentiate between scientific questions and results on the one hand and moral, ethical or ideological aspects on the other hand. But having said all this, we come to a point that often does not get the necessary attention. As Higher Education Institutions are to a large extent responsible for the training of teachers at the primary and secondary level, they are ultimately responsible for the development of new methods and new approaches to explaining sustainability to everybody, from pre-schoolers all the way to adults.It has to be said that quite a few impressive and successful steps in this direction have been taken, but nobody woul d doubt that much remains to be done. And much remains to be done in all domains of human life before we can claim to be fully on the path towards sustainability. The role of the educational institutions of the Ministry of Education and the school and the teacher is the cornerstone of the basic structure of the society through which we can build generations of intellectually and culturally sound and get rid of all nodes eternal.Teacher In addition to his sacred message of education must be to have another message, a rumor the spirit of democracy to achieve the goals of great importance remain stuck in the memory of the students also attached atoms dew flowers, Should the teacher change real to the imagination of the students towards a glimmer of hope to feel a moment of transparent wishlist using the method of modern education and the teacher to develop itself before it develops the disciples so that he could promote the reality Learning the right direction and uses all his efforts to highlight the humanity to dissolve all differences and to regulate its relations with his disciples to feel safe When listening to him and to have confidence when talking to him In the belief that the ideas addressed to reflect the expression of innovative ideas proposed by them.There is nothing ambiguous and overlapping between education and democracy and we need to find appropriate solutions Giving high doses of education without democracy, and vice versa will be has bad effects, we must make the themes pour in the course of a single coordinated harmonious hear the music fresh, comfortable with the human soul, the teacher make it clear that the surface in method of education and ideas and come in contact with a creative way what is going on in the interior of his disciples, and ideas and fluctuations Ituaha towards a formula amorphous deep knowledge of a democratic approach. From here stems the need to educate the community and then spread the spirit of democracy the existence of education has three objectives with one another, culture is to teach the individual how to accommodate education and receive the views of others, if you know the individual to listen properly to the ideas and proposals of others away from violence and acrimony in the debate and put forward his ideas with a structured format meaningful in this case we say that we have learned the first point of democracy.I must point out an important issue combines a teacher with the students a language to talk, he should attract voices of students and inspire the spirit to talk as he did (Algoskhoun) previously when lists his story, and try to deal with mental disorders among students in order to be able to express their opinions and not obscure desires and cultural needs and intellectual property that arise as a result of psychological factors stemming from within the family because of persecution and oppression of the FPL father and mother to the children, which generates feature sometimes turn to aggressive as a result of subjugation and repression of feelings and desires and can not be of educational institutions to contribute effectively to the success of the moral and intellectual isolation from family and occurs within it should unite the family's role with the role of school to become a cultural phenomenon in which we can achieve democracy in education. Teacher's role in this stage is very difficult because he needs to make another Maimlk of energy and effort to shift gradually towards the case creative students in order to harvest after years of effort, tired and needs to dissolve the differences among students by teaching them self belief of human value high and making the community and decryption problem between the attempt to access the ability to self-expression and social balance and what is created by the individual relationships between members of a sterile society in which they live.Hence the urgent need for the teacher is the first example to his disciples through the treated teachers with each other in a democratic manner the existence of the spirit of cooperation, tolerance and respect the spirit of constructive criticism, among them as can not talk about democracy in the absence of activating and harmony and the small capacity of teaching staff for the purpose of spreading the democratic life of the school . Democratic society in Iraq has a special form due to the circumstances presented by the society such as war and disasters that befell the families of Iraq (forced displacement and non-regulated) and sectarian killings created a lot of orphans who are left to attend school because of material need as a result of the absence of the father of all these things left a lot of Difficulties in the path of democracy, this issue requires upport from government agencies and civil society organizations and the family and the humanitarian organizations and human rights body in order to keep our feet on the first step and most difficult of the state of enhancing the concepts of real democracy, such as material and moral support and a lot of seminars, lectures and use of television, newspapers and magazines to educate society and the exploitation of some of the lessons received by students such as study of art education to output Doakhlhm by drawing on paper to be the case visible, listening to music to overcome cases of depression are enshrined within the hearts, extract the vital activity of exercise to use it in a creative state allowance to use on the differences which occur between the students and lead to hostile situations. Try to change the curriculum and not to impose curricula dry, but must keep up with updating curricula in line with progress in the world.Process subject to human beings and its ability to absorb the vocabulary of democracy and the provision of all supplies of intellectual success in order to create a generation democratic intellectuals keep pace with the rapid changes and act Petkaviip high based on social justice and respect for the law to reach the goals of a great void of class differences and nepotism, conflicts and hatred, social and all that calls for the demolition does not Building and creating an informed community can navigate life towards true equality and compensation for all of society at large without the use of random democracy which do correspond to reality, but we have to use mental intellectual honest and sophisticated approach to generation of creative art, commensurate with the culture of the world.

Group Ariel Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Group Ariel - Essay Example The Group Ariel Company is recycling old equipment situated in Mexico. The management will need to apply the pesos to compute the company’s cash flows to ensure that they comprehend the manner in which the intended project will affect their finances. Additional for easy computation, the pesos should be converted into the Euros. This study analysed the NPV of the Ariel Mexico by deducting the value of manual machine from the value of the new machine (LAAN, & TEUNTER, 2000). Then the incremental cash flow will be represented as positive figures since the reduced value is equivalent to the cash flow. The next step was the deduction of the depreciation costs from the incremental sum costs. It is imperative to note that the fist initial three years of depreciation involved depreciation from the new machine and the remainder listed depreciation of the old machine. A deduction of 35% tax was done from the cash flow, and then the depreciation was added in order to signify the tax shie ld. For the company to calculate the project’s NPV in Euros, there is need to apply the future spot exchange rates. This can be done by dividing the peso NPV by the present spot exchange rate. Since the cash flows are discounted differently from 2008 up to 2011, then the rate of 8% of 2011 can be used to discount since it forms an average of the fours year period. It is imperative to note that computation of the present values of projects such as the Ariel Mexico can take two different ways which consider the variation of rate and risk attributed to the foreign currency. The significance of computing the NPV is to analyze the project managers or investors foresee great variations in the currency. In essence, the Group Ariel should discount the cash flows by using the foreign cost capital if the value of capital is valued in a rational manner (GOLLIER,

Blood Donations Paper Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Blood Donations Paper - Essay Example Blood is required regularly and in large quantities to deal with patients ranging from accident victims to leukemia patients. For example, in the United States only 8% of the 115 million Americans who are eligible for blood donations actually come through and donate blood. This situation is worrisome given that each year massive expense is diverted to awareness campaigns in order to increase the number of potential donors (American Red Cross, 2009). In recent years, the amount of volunteering required for blood donation has been decreasing due to a number of causes resulting in pressures on the overall blood donation system. These causes and their effects are listed below in detail to aid policy formulation. 2. Causes Blood donation is a healthy activity that ought to be encouraged in all segments of population. Reasons behind blood donation have often been the subject of research. A study conducted to gauge the reasons behind providing blood and stopping blood donations found that t here was little difference in blood donation patterns across genders. The study found that the same factors motivated and de-motivated blood donors irrespective of the gender of the blood donor. The study also found that the biggest reason for blood donations was the influence of a friend. This category of donors represented nearly half of all filed responses (47.2%). In contrast, only 23.5% of all donors indicated that they were providing a blood donation because of a request through media (Sojka & Sojka, 2008). These requests placed through the media represent all kinds of print, digital and social media in use in the current context. This indicates that the amount of donors being influenced by media outlets is low and could be improved in order to boost blood donations. Another cause behind blood donations shortage is the lack of economic incentives coupled to donating blood. It has been found through a number of studies that blood donors are more ready to respond when they are o ffered some kind of economic incentive (Miller & Weikel, 1974) (Titmuss, 1971) (Sojka & Sojka, 2008). This finding has been consistently reported throughout literature on the issue as indicated from the life of the literature cited above. Another consistent finding in this respect is that blood donors tend to shift from one blood donation program to the other given the richness of the incentive being offered. In order to attract more and more blood donors it is necessary to pursue an effective advertisement campaign focused on creating more leverage for the intended blood donation program. Studies have also found that the most common reason for not becoming a regular blood donor include laziness (19.1%) followed by a fear of needles (10.5%) (Sojka & Sojka, 2008) which are both conditions that could be dealt with using a properly targeted marketing campaign. If people could be allowed to take over their procrastination and their fear of being pricked by a needle, the potential increa se in blood donors would be about 30% combined. Increasing the number of donors is also important given that historically existing blood donors have tended to decrease (Miller & Weikel, 1974). This has come about either due to adverse reaction or due to medical disqualification of existing donors. It has been estimated that 15% of all blood donors are

The causes of the civil war Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

The causes of the civil war - Essay Example In the South, slavery was becoming an outdated method of agricultural production as industrialization was taking hold. Similar economies in the Caribbean, Latin America, and Europe had already abandon the practice of slavery and there was no reason to believe that the US would not soon follow. However, by 1860 events and policies enacted since the nations birth had moved the US to the brink of civil war. If slavery was not really at the heart of Americas motivation for going to war, then what were the reasons? The reasons why nations go to war are usually various and complicated, and the American Civil War is not an exception. Although the main reason which provoked the two sides in the Civil war was slavery, three different aspects of the impact of slavery were at the center of the disagreements. These aspects are political, economic, and social. Slavery was certainly a moral issue in regards to the Civil War and was always a contributing influence to the multiple causes of war. Since Americas inception its leaders, such as Thomas Jefferson, well understood that slavery must soon be abolished. In an 1805 letter to William Burwell, Jefferson wrote, "The value of the slave is every day lessening; his burden on his master daily increasing. Interest is therefore preparing the disposition to be just; and this will be goaded from time to time by the insurrectionary spirit of the slaves".1 However, the founding fathers failed to include slavery in the original documents. In addition, the Federation was designed as a weak federal government with significant states rights. States rights, a central issue of the Civil War, had been heavily debated since the Continental Congress. The Articles of Confederation, the first US Constitution, confirmed that the Federal government should be weak and the states should retain their individual po wer.2 The need to abolish slavery, and the weak federal system helped perpetuate the issue towards ultimate war. The conflicting goals

Assess the hierarchical structure of the court system in England and Essay - 5

Assess the hierarchical structure of the court system in England and Wales. To what extent does the common law doctrine of binding precedent engage with this structure - Essay Example Chadwick (2011) asserts that English legal system is found in common law that among other factors advocates for an organised court system. Courts in England and Wales observe a rigid hierarchy as a consequence of hierarchy of judicial precedents. An important function of the English courts is operating two distinct systems of justice namely the criminal and the civil justice system (Chadwick, 2011). There exists a fundamental distinction between the two systems of justice. The criminal justice system concerns with enforcing criminal law in criminal courts employing its unique criminal procedures. Criminal law is known as the law of the state and falls under public law. Criminal law is meant to protect the public by prohibiting specific forms of conduct and punishing the offenders (Chadwick, 2011). Cases that have a criminal element are heard first in the crown court or the magistrates’ court. The civil justice system is designed to handle matters that are civil in nature in ci vil courts. Civil law is the law among individuals that are essentially private law. Civil cases are principally tackled in the high court and county courts. The size and complexity of a particular matter determine where the matter will be heard. Gillespie (2013) observes that courts in England and Wales adhere to a specific hierarchical order. On the top most of the hierarchy is the supreme court of the United Kingdom. This is a modern supreme court established by constitution reform act of 2005, and it replaced the House of Lords. It is constituted by 12 professional judges appointed by members of the House of Lords (Gillespie, 2013). The court is the highest appellant court and court of the last resort in all matters under the English law, Wales’s law as well as Northern Irish law. The court bears authority over criminal cases in Scotland. In addition, the court has jurisdiction over appeals from the

Urban Planners Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Urban Planners - Essay Example Planners who are in the public role often serve the public and act as valued technical advisors in the community's political environment (Garvin, 2002). Urban planners develop often develop long and short term plans for the use and revitalization of land. These plans facilitate the growth of urban and rural communities, as well as the region in which they are allocated. They assist the regional officials to reduce economical, social and environmental problems. This is done by proposing the location of schools, roads among other infrastructure. In addition to that, they recommend the zoning regulations for private possessions (Smith, 2006). According to Grogan (2002), Planners promote the best utilization of public land resources which are meant for commercial, residential, institutional and recreation purposes. They often formulate plans relating to development of new infrastructure, for instance new schools, new roads and public housing. Moreover, they help in making decisions about resource development and protecting the environment in its totality. Planners and developers are often involved in environment issues like wetland preservation, pollution control, location of new landfills and forest conservation. Planners may assist in the drafting of legislation of social, environmental and economical matters, for instance sheltering the homeless, new park, or making the region very attractive to businesses (Smith, 2006). Urban planners study and report on the current utilization of land for residential and community purposes before making plans for the community development. Their reports include information on the capacity and location of schools, airports, highways, libraries, recreational and cultural sites. They also provide records on the characteristics of the community, industries in the community, and employment and economic trends. They try to use the data obtained to optimize land use for public structures and facilities (Robert, 2003). The planners often prepare reports that show the cost of their programs and how they are carried out. Furthermore, they examine the suggested facilities, to know whether they will meet the needs of the growing population. They keep the records legal and economic issues, which are responsible for the building codes, zoning codes and environmental regulations. In addition to that, they ensure that the developers and builders are in apposition to follow the codes and the regulations (Garvin, 2002). Planners also deal with the land issues that arise due to the population movements. For instance, in Huntsville, the population growth and economic development has led to creation of more jobs out side the urban areas (Robert, 2003). As a result, the need for public transportation will increase, and it is the responsibility of the planners to model and develop suitable transportation systems and report them to the planning boards as well as the public (Garvin, 2002). Computers are very necessary urban planning process; planners use them to analyze and record information collected, and to prepare reports and proposals for government executives. Spreadsheets, computer databases, and analytical techniques are used to forecast future trends of employment, transportation, housing, or population. Urban

Patriarchy in daily life Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Patriarchy in daily life - Essay Example This is majorly due to the sharia, which outlines and controls the way a Muslim woman should be accustomed to live her life (Elwazer and Maktabi). Sharia rules in this institution have clearly spelt out between the difference between men’s and women’s roles, obligations, and rights. For instance, women are not allowed to be behind the wheels or women cannot leave the house without informing their husbands. Saudi Arabia is without doubt a patriarchal institution evidenced by the numerous legislation that has been enacted to give men an upper hand in almost all decisions that affect their women. The article reveals how women in the society are mandated to stay at home leaving them exclusively dependent on their men. Additionally, Saudi Arabia is also among the few states that lacks female legislators. Solely their male counterparts, conforming to definition of patriarchy, do all laws being enacted in parliament. Similarly, women have to have their husband consensus on issues such as family planning. Furthermore, like many other Islamic states, the article indicate how women face restrictions in education opportunities and only promote. Patriarchy is still profound in the society, which is revealed by the oppression that Muslim women

Roles and Functions Essay Example for Free

Roles and Functions Essay Management is important in any environment, but especially so in the healthcare field. As the health care system continues to evolve, sound management is critical to the survival of health care institutions (Johnson, 2005). The management team in a healthcare environment must always aim to improve the efficiency of the day to day activities and constantly plan for ways to improve the productivity and efficiency. Every manager’s main duty is to succeed in helping the organization achieve high performance while utilizing all of the organization’s human and material resources. On a daily basis health care managers must recognize performance problems and opportunities, make good decisions, and take appropriate action (Lombardi and Schermerhorn, 2007). There are four major functions in healthcare management, they are; planning, organizing, controlling the use of resources, and leading to accomplish performance goals. In my previous position, I was a manager over seven associates. Even though I technically was over that small group of people, I was still a manager in the store and often had people from other departments coming to me with issues. All of the major functions played a definite role in my day to day activities. Planning was usually the first step of the day. I would look at everything as a whole and make sure I was including everything that would be important for the day. Organizing almost went hand in hand with planning. Once I knew everything that needed to be done for the day, I could then organize and prioritize everything accordingly. Being organized is a very important; if you are unorganized there is a greater chance of tasks being forgotten or not being finished in a timely manner. Controlling the resources is something I dealt with every day. I was responsible for the ordering of the department; if I was out of a certain product and a customer came in for it, that was a problem. Also being responsible for my human resources was a daily problem, if my people weren’t doing what they were supposed to in a timely manner, then that would throw off my whole day. Lastly, leading to accomplish goals is something everyone strives for. Leading by example is also important, I felt like if I did not work alongside my people, I could not expect them to work. Showing my associates how to work together and address any issues immediately is important to leading my team and accomplish the ultimate goal. The management team in the healthcare environment has a very important role within their facility. There are ten managerial roles that fall within three categories. The three categories are: interpersonal roles, informational roles, and decisional roles. â€Å"A manager’s interpersonal roles involve interactions with people inside and outside the work unit. The information roles involve the giving, receiving, and analyzing of information. The decisional roles involve using information to make decisions, to solve problems, to address opportunities† (Lombardi Schermerhorn, 2007. P. 13). Interpersonal roles involve interactions with people inside and outside the unit. Informational roles of a health care manager involve giving, receiving, and analyzing information. Finally, the decisional roles of a health care manger involve using information for decision making, problem solving, and addressing opportunities (Lombardi Schermerhorn, 2007. P. 13). Of all these different roles, I believe the most important role is the interpersonal role. The interactions between the people inside and outside the unit are an important base. Making sure all of your associates work together and let you know about any issues is important, because if any of that gets out of sync, the rest will as well. In this class, I hope to gain more information on all the roles that are necessary for a good healthcare manager. With everything I hope to learn in this course, I can apply it to my future career as a healthcare administrator. References Johnson, S. W. (2005, April-June). Characteristics of effective health care managers. Health Care Manager, 24(2), 124-128. Lombardi, D. M., Schermerhorn, J. R. (2007). Health care management: Tools and techniques for managing in a health care environment. Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley Sons.

Europe and Turkey Essay Example for Free

Europe and Turkey Essay Discussions about Euro-Turkish relations today would normally hover around Turkey’s application for membership to the European Union which has been pending since the mid 1900s.   Turkey, a predominantly Muslim country situated in southeastern Europe and southwestern Asia, has been an associate member of the European Community (the forerunner of the European Union) since 1964, but is still working for a full membership forty-two years later. (Turkey. The World Fact Book. Para 1) The union, which started as a regional economic grouping in 1951, counted among its six original members the countries of Belgium, France, West Germany, Italy, Luxembourg, and the Netherlands. It opened its doors for new members for the first time in 1973 when it welcomed into its folds Denmark, Ireland, and the United Kingdom. Another country joined in 1981(Greece) and two more countries enlisted in 1986.   The year 1995 accounted for three additional members, and, finally, in 2004, ten more countries were granted full membership to wrap up today’s final roster of twenty-five member-countries. The European Union, in a recruitment process which spanned thirty-one years, accepted a total of nineteen additional members since 1951. (European Union. The World Fact Book.   para.2)   This fairly robust growth in the union membership compels us to ask the obvious questions:   What happened to Turkey’s application for membership which was filed forty-two years ago – nine years before the union first opened its doors for new members?   Bypassed five times in thirty-one years, does Turkey still stand a chance for that elusive membership?   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   .   Historical Background.   The conundrum that characterizes the Euro-Turkish relationship has its historical roots in the 1800s.   When the heads of states of the European countries gathered together after the fall of Napoleon in 1814 in what has been known as the â€Å"Congress of Vienna† to literally remake the map of Europe, every country was represented except Turkey.   The reason for this was never explicitly given in any historical account.   However, this discriminatory act prompted Turkey to adopt the view that Europe was becoming a â€Å"Christian Club†, considering the fact that it was the only predominantly Muslim country in the region. There were attempts to brush aside this Turkish claim by referring to numerous incidents of massacre and claims of corruption in the Ottoman (Turkish) Empire – practices which were said to be intolerable for Europeans. (Gerolymatos, para.5)   Looking back at that point in history, however, we are left to wonder whether these reasons were real, fabricated, or even morally adequate to warrant such an exclusionary action on the part of the congress initiators.   In fairness to Turkey, could the rest of Europe claim absolute innocence of such offences during those turbulent years in European history?   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The Congress of Vienna.   A careful reading of the intents of the Congress of Vienna would show us that the Turkish claim might not be as baseless as congress organizers wanted it to appear.   The primary goal of the gathering was to restore political boundaries in Europe which were abolished by the expansionist wars waged by Napoleon.   One of the four principles that guided the Congress of Vienna in that self-appointed task of reestablishing the European political order was the â€Å"encirclement of France†.   At the time, the Congress of Vienna considered the task of adopting adequate measures to guard against future aggressions by France so urgent that it decided that fortresses situated in strategic points surrounding France should be controlled by allied forces for up to a period of five years. It is clear, therefore, that what was commonly at the back of every congress delegates’ minds at that time was what to do to contain France. Yet, it interestingly, the four major players in that meeting were Lord Castlereagh of Great Britain, Tsar Alexander I of Russia, Prince von Metternich of Austria, and Talleyrand of France![1] (Wallbank, Taylor, Carson. 1960)   What a way for a France-wary Europe to include a French representative in concocting anti-French plans!   Was it not ironical, therefore, that while France appeared to be the bad guy of the day, it was Turkey who got excluded from the congress? The Right of Turkey.   Let us look at the map of Europe in 1815[2] and consider the geographical locations of the three European countries who figured prominently in that conference with relevance to their proximity to France, vis a vis Turkey.   Great Britain is nearest, but it is an island separated from the continent by the English Channel, and was, in fact, protected by the most advanced navy during those times.   The Austrian Empire and the Ottoman Empire were almost equidistant from, and were both separated from France, by the Germanic Federation, the Kingdom of Hungary, Switzerland, and the Kingdom of Sardinia.   Tsarist Russia was farthest, because it is situated behind the Empire of Austria. (Wallbank, et al. 1960)   If the fear of further threats from France was what forced these three nations to exert undue influence on the Congress of Vienna to do something about France, then Turkey had as much right as they had to be in that meeting.   Now let us look at the allegations of massacres and corruption involving Turkey which â€Å"were just too much for Europeans to stomach†, and which, apparently, was made an excuse for not inviting Turkey to the conference. (Gerolymatos, para.5)   Again, we have to bear in mind that those were periods of instability and violent struggles for power and survival.   Governments and monarchies were scurrying to consolidate their influence and control over their domains.   As the Jacobins, who were at the helm of the National Convention that governed France in 1793, put it, â€Å"What constitutes the Republic is the complete destruction of everything that is opposed to it.†    And so it was that in France, historians believe that the â€Å"reign of terror†, which reached its peak in 1793, might have accounted for as much as twenty-thousand people executed simply because they were considered royalists, and counted among its victims Queen Marie Antoinette and the great orator Danton, â€Å"because he wished to end the policy of terror†.   It must also be pointed out that during the rule of the monarchy in France (the Bourbon House, represented by Louis XVIII, was restored in France by the Congress of Vienna), the judicial and municipal offices, among others, were for sale. (Wallbank, et al. 1960) So why are they (apparently including the French), being so righteous about these questions of massacres and corruption?   In my research in the subject, although I have found reports of maltreatment by the minority Turks over the Christians in the Balkan Peninsula, I failed to obtain hard historical evidence of â€Å"massacres† during the period in question. However, what I did find were the â€Å"massacre of all Greeks in Constantinople† in 1821 and the â€Å"Turkish massacre of the entire Greek population of the island of Chios in 1822†, both events happening in connection with the Greek uprising of 1821. (Wallbank, et al. 1960) Incidentally, these events happened seven years after the Congress of Vienna and could not have been the ones referred to by the congress delegates.   However, for purposes of discussion, granting that the Turks were as guilty as the French, why condemn the first and exonerate the latter? The Present Situation.   Turkey became a member of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) in 1952. (Turkey. The World Fact Book.   para.1)   It appears that joining a military organization composed mostly of European countries several years after the Second World War did not present much of a problem for Turkey.   In my analysis, this was because Turkey was valuable to NATO at the time.   Together with Greece and Iran, it â€Å"formed the northern tier of the Western perimeter against the encroaching Soviet Union.†Ã‚   (Gerolymatos, para.6) It did not matter then that Turkey was not well-equipped militarily. The United States â€Å"lavished their newfound all[y] with billions of dollars worth of weapons systems† (apparently without any objections coming from her European friends), so that Turkey can perform the functions of a perimeter guard satisfactorily. (para.7). And so the truth was laid out for everyone to see:   that in the name of â€Å"military cooperation†, a subsidized Turkey was considered an ally, treated as â€Å"one of the boys†.   Perhaps even a member of the European family of nations?   Anything just to encourage Turkey to help in the defense of Europe against Russian advances. The European Union.   Moving into the field of economics, everything takes on a very different shape and color.   In this area, according to the Europeans, Turkey undeniably failed to qualify.[3]   It’s as simple as that.   The European Union, despite having considered Turkey as an associate member since 1964, did not lift a finger to help her make the grade.   Instead, the union bureaucrats, in claiming a softening of their position and again to brush aside Turkey’s allegations of the existence of a â€Å"Christian Club† in Europe (remember 1814?), agreed to consider Turkey’s application â€Å"provided that Turkey bring into force several pieces of reform legislation†, then stepped back and waited for results. (Turkey and Europe: An Invitation to Dance? Para.2) No more billions (with no strings attached) to bolster her economy to qualify the country for union membership.   Not like with NATO.   Indeed, it was a far cry from the billions of dollars worth of military hardware which turned Turkey into a worthy member of NATO.   Do I detect a double standard here?   Does it mean that it’s all right to pour billions of dollars into Turkey’s arsenal to help in defending Europe, but it could not be acceptable to help it economically so that it could be eligible for European Union membership?   Interestingly, the military strategists who welcomed Turkey with open arms, and the economists who can’t seem to accept her, are both based in Brussels, Belgium. â€Å"Islamization† of Europe.   There are fears among scholars and independent observers alike, that the â€Å"Islamization† of Europe is imminent in the coming years.   Mr. Pipes, the director of the Middle East Forum, cites two contributory factors, namely: â€Å"the hollowing out of Christianity† [in Europe], and â€Å"an anemic birth rate [among Europeans].† (Moslem Europe. Para. 2 3) Mr. Pipes explains this twin phenomenon as the diminishing number of Europeans who remain to be practicing Christians compared to the fewer, but ever committed and devout Islam followers, on the one hand, and the very low incident of births among Europeans (many of whom do not want to have children), against the unhindered reproduction among Moslems who do not practice birth control, on the other hand. (Para. 3) Following up on this argument being advanced by Mr. Pipe, the world will one day see a Europe populated by a Moslem majority and a Christian minority.   The logic in his reasoning is simple.   First, even if the Christian population remains the numerical majority, if the mainstream Christians are no longer interested in practicing Christianity, Islam, although preached by the minority, has an outside chance of becoming the dominant religious persuasion in the region.   Second, given the Europeans’ seeming indifference to procreation and taking note of the Moslems’ predilection for large families, the future demographic characteristic of Europe certainly favors the Moslem community. The situation, though, is not that hopeless if Mr. Pipe is to be believed.   According to him, although a remote possibility considering things as they are now developing in Europe, this trend towards Islamization could still be thwarted.   Three developments working in concert could still revitalize Europe and restore it to the Christian society that it once was:   first, Christian faith must be restored among the majority of Europeans and birthrate should be increased; second, the Moslem countries has to be modernized (effectively reducing unemployment) to cut down Moslem migration to Europe; and, third, migration to Europe should be diversified, with greater efforts directed at attracting more immigrants from the Christian regions such as the Latin American countries.   Mr. Pipe, however, seems to urge Europe to act with urgency because â€Å"the prospects diminish with time.† (Moslem Europe. Para. 7) Islamic terrorism.   There now exists in Europe what is called the Generation Jihad.[4]   Powell (2005) describes it as the â€Å"restive, rootless young Muslims who have spent their lives in Europe but now find themselves alienated from their societies and the policies of their governments.†   Powell believes that this alienation resulted from frustrations among the ranks of young Muslims to have better opportunities in life, as well as their resentment towards official policies which they feel are prejudicial to Muslims. (Generation Jihad. Page.2) To underscore the danger posed by Islamic terrorism in Europe, Powell cited estimates done by the French police which revealed that out of the recorded 1,600 mosques in France as of 2004, around 150 were controlled by extremist elements.    He also referred to a study which showed that 23% of the 1,160 French nationals who recently converted to Islam admitted to being Salafists, or members of a violent extremist sect. (Generation Jihad. Page 2)  Ã‚   He also argued that the occupation of Iraq by the United States and her allies has influenced the Muslims in Europe into believing that these western countries are determined to destroy Islam.   This belief somewhat radicalized the Muslims and convinced them that their only recourse is to fight and defend Islam. (Page 4) Conclusion.   As had been shown earlier in this paper, there undeniably exists a feeling of unexplained awkwardness and even mistrust among Christian European countries towards the predominantly Muslim Turkey since the nineteenth century.   The recent developments associating Muslims with terrorism in Europe are more likely to widen this rift between Turkey and the rest of the continent.   Moreover, the fear of the Islamization of Europe voiced by some observers does absolutely nothing to bridge this gap. Considering the poor economic conditions in Turkey which have already fallen short of the European Union standards, the aforementioned factors might prove fatal to the chances of Turkey for a full membership in the European Union.   Unless drastic economic and political measures are implemented, coupled with a complete turnaround in the European attitude towards Turkey, the wait for the much coveted EU membership might well take another decade or two.   Ã‚     Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   REFERENCES European Union. The World FactBook. Central Intelligence Agency. United States Department of State. Retrieved from: https://www.cia.gov/cia/publications/factbook/geos/ec.html Gerolymatos, A. Turkey and Europe: A Political and Historical Conundrum. Diogenes.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Retrieved from: http://www.omogenia.com/~diogenis/turkeyandeurope.html Pipes, Mr. Moslem Europe. Retrieved from: http://www.falange.us/moslem5a.htm Powell, B. (26 Sept. 2005).Generation Jihad. Time Magazine online.   Retrieved from:   http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1109334-1,00.html   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Satiroglu, H.T.(03 October 2006). Turkey and Europe: An Invitation to Dance? WorldPoliticsWatch. Retieved from: http://worldpoliticswatch.com/article.aspx?id=229 Turkey. The World FactBook. Central Intelligence Agency. United States Department of   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   State. Retrieved from: https://www.cia.gov/cia/publications/factbook/geos/tu.html Wallbank, T.W., Taylor, A.M., Carson, G.B.Jr. (1960) Civilization. (Vol. Two). Glenview, Illinois. Scott, Foresman and Company. [1] See Wallbank, et al, pages 110-113, for an insightful discussion of the events in the Congress of Vienna. [2] See Wallbank, et al, page 193 for the map of the Ottoman Empire 1815. [3] Refer to the section on Turkey of The World Fact Book for the economic statistics on Turkey. [4] Read Generation Jihad by Bill Powell, pages 1-6, for a detailed discussion of this phenomenon.

Environmental Impact Assessment Programs and Regulations

Environmental Impact Assessment Programs and Regulations Introduction This chapter will provide a review of the development process of Environmental Impact Assessment Programs (EIAP) for buildings for different countries and different regions of the world as a reflection on the continuing evolution of building environmental assessment tools. This chapter includes two sections: the first section will present the initial structure and types for EIAP and will also compare some programs on their categories and weighting systems to anticipate the directions of future developments for building environmental assessment programs. Understanding how EIAP for buildings developed over the past 20 years is the main outcome of this chapter as it will provide evidence for the research hypothesis and justifications for the methodologies undertaken in this research. Objectives The main aim of this chapter is to review the development process of EIAP for buildings; its categories, weighting systems and methodologies used in developing these programs. It will serve as a starting point in developing an evaluation tool especially designed for the Egyptian environment. To achieve this aim some objectives have been adopted: Review and compare different types of EIAP for buildings from variety of regions, emphasizing on their categories of assessment, weighting systems and their latest developments. Investigate the future development direction for EIAP for buildings. The development of EIAP for buildings Building sector contribute significantly to energy consumption all over the world. It is responsible for 38% of the world primary energy consumption and the CO2 emission resulting from these huge levels of consumption, as shown in Figure 2-1 (BP Statistical Review of World Energy, 2008, International Energy Agency (IEA) Statistics Division, 2008). A lot of experts believe that the building sector in the world could help reducing 1.8 billion tones of CO2 before Kyoto target in 2012 (World Business Council for Sustainable Development 2009 report). According to the UNEP 2007: significant gains can be made in efforts to combat global warming by reducing energy use and improving energy efficiency in buildings. There are number of ways that a building could affect its surrounding environment on its life time. During different stages; row materials, construction, operation and demolition, also, through different components, buildings could have a huge impact on the environment (UNEP 2007). For example: soil pollution, emissions into the air, water spills, waste generation, resource consumption, local impacts, impacts associated with transportation and effects on biodiversity (Gangolells M, et al., 2009). In addition to the previous environmental impacts, buildings affect peoples health directly. As (Theodore 1996 ) reported, there are a lot of health problems that could be linked to buildings directly especially to poor indoor quality i.e. the sick building syndrome. According to (UNEP 2007) it has long been established that to achieve an energy-efficient world, governments, businesses and individuals must transform the building sector. One of the approaches that have been adopted to address the building sector effects on the environment were developing programs to assess buildings performance. Environmental impact assessment programs (EIAP) for buildings were originally conceived as guidance to recognize best practice, promote green buildings and to provide a unified and coherent base for buildings to be compared on. Recent studies showed that EIAP have been a key factor in improving buildings design as well (pennenvironment pdf). This movement towards sustainable and green buildings has been growing rabidly since the second half of the 80s leading to the development of various methods for evaluating the environmental performance of buildings (Cole, Yudelson and Fedrizzi, 2008). The number of EIAP for buildings has increased significantly in the past two decades, as shown in Figure 2-2. From 4 programs in the 80s to more than 25 program now actively used worldwide. This increase in the number of EIAP for buildings or the revolution as Yudelson describe it, will likely continue over the next few years (Cole, , Yudelson). In countries all over the world -especially the developed countries- there is a growing interest in understanding how to reduce the building sector impacts on the environment. This is partially manifested in continues development of EIAP for buildings, either by introducing new assessment tools, or by developing and refining the existing ones. In recent years, the market for evaluating building performance was increasing, with clients demanding buildings that meet the highest efficiency standards and have minimum effects on the environment (U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC), 2005). The time line progress for the environmental programs Environmental buildings or green buildings from the market point of view could potentially save money on energy bills, cut global warming pollution and help to secure future energy. Therefore there are growing demands for building classified as green or environmentally friendly. Another aspect that confirm the current success of EIAP for building is that a lot of conferences have been and still are held for the environmental impacts of buildings and the best way to develop and assess it (Cole, -, Yudelson). EIAP are now considered a driving force to develop buildings industry. EIAP were first conceived as a mean to quantify the success of a building in achieving reduced impacts on the environment during its life time. They were also developed to comply with standards from organizations like ANSI, ISO, ASHARE, ASTM and CEN. The structure and components of EIAP are always changing to cope with the latest editions in building standards. These changes include; categories of assessment, credits weighting, impacts calculation, cost efficiency and simulation techniques. EIAP assess buildings either on performance bases on prescriptive bases. They were initially developed as voluntary (cole,) but with the higher demands from the market some programs are mandatory in some parts of the world now for example-. Some organizations and local authorities now demand a certain qualification to be attained by the building in order to be authorized. For example EIAP were first designed to assess certain aspects of buildings mostly energy, water and material use. They were also firstly designed for certain types of buildings. New developments to EIAP for buildings included expanding the assessment categories to include every stage and component of a building during its life time. The new generations of programs are moving towards a more comprehensive view of assessment rather than it being for only one type of buildings or one aspect of building elements. New additions to BREAM 2008 and LEED 2009 included the introduction of new versions to assess new types of building (ref for Leed and bream websites). EIAP also assess buildings in different stages; designing, construction, operation and demolish. With number of these programs being in use for several years spotting the developments directions for EIAP for buildings could be recognized and analyzed. In the first generation of EIAP like and , assessments were usually made by a qualified third party. In recent years web based assessment have been introduced, for example in - and LEED V3 2009 (ref for Leed and bream websites). This came as a reaction to the market demand for an easy to use initial assessment. EIAP outcomes are a certificate grade (,), a report () or a to acknowledge the grade of a building in achieving its environmental targets. Recent additions to EIAP for building included the introduction of an outstanding rate for outstanding innovations in green building as in in LEED and -in BREAM (ref for Leed and bream websites). This comes as a result of the current need on the market for green buildings to achieve the highest the huge competition. The success of EIAP in reshaping the building industry is undeniable. In recent years, EIAP have been playing a big role in moving the building industry into a more environment conscious directions, as presented in (Cole, 2003): ..There is little doubt that building environmental assessment methods have contributed enormously to furthering the promotion of higher environmental expectations, and are directly and indirectly influencing the performance of buildings. This current success of EIAP for buildings is considered one of the -in the world (usgreen building council). This success derives from the ability of these programs to offers a common ground for designers, governments and buildings owners, to assess building performance and be recognized for good practice. This chapter will focus on certification programs that deal with evaluation and assessment of buildings to serve as a starting point in developing a specific program aimed at the Egyptian environment needs. From the author view Types of Building Assessment Methods EIAP for buildings could be divided to two types according to what they assess in a building. The first type assesses one or more of the building aspects to find out how it will affect the environment and how well the buildings elements will score against environmental standards, for example on energy efficiency or materials choice. Programs like R-2000 and ENERGY STAR assess mainly building energy efficiency (R-2000, 2007, ENERGY STAR, 2009). These types of assessment methods sometimes are specifically designed for a certain type of buildings like P-mark for prefabricated houses and GreenCalc for Dutch office buildings (Technical Research Institute of Sweden, 2009, GreenCalc, 2009). Also for some programs the assessment is done to only one stage of a building, for example ATHENA for design stage only and NovoClimat for after operation stage only (ATHENA, 2009, Natural Resources Canada, 2009). The assessed buildings either pass the assessment and given a certificate or a qualificatio n grade, or fail to qualify and be given guidance on how to improve the assessed element of their building. The second type of EIAP assesses building as a whole against a set of categories to find out the building total impacts on the environment. These types of programs always include a wide range of categories of assessment ranging from site design and energy efficiency to water usage and recycling management. They also cover different building types with specific consideration for each type, for example in BREEAM, LEEDS and HK-BEAM there are specific versions to assess homes, schools, retail and healthcare. These programs assess a building on different stages; design, construction, operation, maintenance and demolition stage in some programs. Usually a certificate or a qualification grade is awarded to the assessed building to define its standard. Table 2-1 presents EIAP that will be reviewed in this study. Developed in Canada in 1982 the R-2000 is a voluntary program encouraging builders to build energy-efficient houses that are environmentally friendly and healthy. It includes an energy efficiency standard for new houses that is continuously updated. It also includes comprehensive training and education courses for builders. The R-2000 standard assesses energy consumption performance for a house through a series of technical requirements: (minimum envelope requirements, ventilation system requirements, combustion system requirements, energy performance target, lights and appliances, indoor air quality and environmental features/eco-management) (Natural resources Canada, 2009, R-2000, 2007). During the first few years of application the R-2000 program didnt attract the anticipated Canadian building practice (Horvat et al., 2005, Adair, 1996), this was due to: Copying R-2000 homes by uncertified builders that lead to a failure of real application of the program standards. Being more expensive (6-10%) to build R-2000 home in comparison to regular building. Being flexible is what helped the R-2000 (2005 edition) program stay in the current market and being able to be applied to any type of homes. Another advantage is producing homes with 30%-40% energy savings (R-2000, 2007, Horvat et al., 2005). P-mark system (Sweden, 1989) P-mark came as a reaction to the manufacturers of prefabricated houses in Sweden need for an assessment program that assures the market of the quality of their houses. P-mark is a voluntary program. It was developed for design and after construction stages. P-mark authorities use the method of unannounced inspections to assure quality control procedures after operation. 5% of the finished houses is inspected and measured annually. The inspections are on performance bases for the finished homes on air-tightness of the building envelope, air exchange rates, air-tightness of ducts, sound pressure levels and heat requirement, to verify compliance with P-mark requirements P-mark certificate is considered a form of quality assurance in Sweden (Technical Research Institute of Sweden, 2009, Horvat et al., 2005, Swedish Institute for Technical Approval in Construction SITAC, 2007, website) One advantage to the application P-mark was that it has helped the Sweden market in reducing complaints from people about the failure of prefabricated homes (Anneling, 1998). The upgrades that have been made to the P-mark in recent years involved improving the assessment categories to include: 1) Testing for ventilation, air-tightness of houses and ventilation ducts, 2) Inspection for HVAC performance, water-tightness of the kitchen or toilet (Technical Research Institute of Sweden, 2009). The Building Environmental Performance Assessment Criteria (BEPAC) is a voluntary EIAP specifically for commercial buildings. It assesses the building on five categories: energy use, indoor environment, ozone protection, resource conservation, and transportation. BEPAC was Canadas first non-residential environmental assessment tool and has influenced a lot of the programs that followed for example: BREEAM Canada, GBTool, C-2000 and GreenGlobes. On its first version it used an experienced third party to undertake the assessment. As a reaction to concerns regarding the costs of using an expensive third party to carry out the assessment in BEPAC; the self-assessment version of BEPAC was developed. It allows facility staff to evaluate their own buildings. It contains a program for user training. This new addition has been criticized as the facility staff might be not experienced enough to carry out an assessment. BEBAC label consistency has been questioned and this led to the assessment not being used much in the Canadian market (SDIC, 2009, Marshall, 2008, DEH, 2000, Bond, 1999). Eco-profile (Norway, 1995) Eco-Profile is a simple environmental assessment method which was developed to be easy to use to encourage the uptake of the scheme. It assesses life cycle effects of a building on external environment, resources and indoor climate (Boonstra and Pettersen, 2003, Strand and Fossdal, 2003). The program uses 82 parameters to assess the building performance and then given a grade. The grading scale is: 1 for Low environmental impact, 2 for Medium impacts and 3 for Greater impact (Strand and Fossdal, 2003). Eco-Profile is not currently used in the Norwegian market. It has not been marketed since 2002 due to funding limitations with the Norwegian Building Research Institute. Even though more than 60 commercial buildings have been assessed by this program in 2000-2001 it is not considered a successful one as it didnt continue, as presented in (Boonstra and Pettersen, 2003): so far Eco-profile cannot be said to have been a success Some of the suggested improvement for the program included simplifying the program by presenting one index instead of three and reducing the number of the assessed parameters. Another direction for improvement will have to include updating the weighting of parameters. (Boonstra and Pettersen, 2003, Strand and Fossdal, 2003) (Andresen, 2005, Krishnan Gowri, 2004., Hasegawa, 2003, G. Assefa et al., 2007). GreenCalc (The Netherlands, 1997) GreenCalc is an assessment program for Dutch buildings especially commercial and industrial. It uses computer tool to calculate the buildings environmental load in terms of cost. It is divided into four modules: 1) material module: choice of materials, quantities and insulating values. 2) Energy module: energy consumption in operation phase (use of building, air-conditioning, ventilation and lighting. 3) Water usage: water consumption in the operation phase (facilities, sanitary facilities and rainwater). 4) Mobility: accessibility from home to work place; location, public transport and own transport. Assessment is performed in comparison to a benchmark building designed to 1990s standards. The benchmark for environmental index for 1990s building is 100 and current building is 150-300. The program predicts that buildings in 2050 will achieve environmental index of 2000 (Seo et al., 2005, GreenCalc, 2009). The latest version of the program GreenCalc+ has tried to cope with the highly developed market of green buildings. It included expanded simulation modeling with the designer being able to evaluate the effects of better insulation, glazing, efficient lighting systems, and solar energy systems as design options. It updated its energy consumption prediction method to be able to calculate the Energy Performance Norm option (GreenCalc, 2009). ENERGY STAR (US, 2000) ENERGY STAR is a program to improve the energy efficiency of buildings. It is operated by the US Environmental Protection Agency and the US Department of Energy. It assesses products as well as buildings, for example; lighting fixtures, home electronics, office equipment, heating and cooling equipment. The building certificate is for residential (single/multi-family and renovated houses) and commercial buildings (ENERGY STAR, 2009, Horvat et al, 2005). Criticisms to ENERGY STAR buildings came from it being more expensive than other conventional buildings especially on design and material aspects. Studies proved that these costs are accepted because the building save on running costs (i.e., the HVAC system) (Tanmay Tathagat 2007, Horvat et al, 2005). In recent development to the program and as a reaction to meet the escalating demands for energy savings, modifications have been applied to its minimum energy saving requirements. Initially in 2000 the ENERGY STAR label required a building to be at least 30% more energy efficient (heating, cooling and water heating) than a comparable one built to the 1993 Model Energy Code. Also the building should be 15% more efficient than the state energy code. New modification in 2007 demanded that a building must be at least 15% more energy efficient than homes built to the 2004 International Residential Code IRC (ENERGY STAR, 2009). (Roosa, 2007, Greg K and Capital E, 2003). (Yudelson and Fedrizzi, 2008b, Greg K and Capital E, 2003, ENERGY STAR, 2009). 2.5.1.7 NovoClimat (Canada, Quà ©bec, 2000) NovoClimat was initially conceived to allow Quebec builders to increase the energy efficiency of their homes. It was developed by the Quebec Agency for Energy Efficiency (Natural Resources Canada, 2009, Horvat et al., 2005). The assessment is done to the building in construction stage and after completion. A typical Novoclimat home will score EnerGuide rating of between 78 and 80 (http://www.ottawasnewesthomes.com/novoclimat-for-gatineau-new-homes.php, http://www.aee.gouv.qc.ca/en/my-home/novoclimat/). It is a voluntary program inspired by Canadas National Model Energy Code. What makes this program different is the fact that it connects energy efficiency and air-tightness to the durability of the building envelope. The new Novoclimat 2007 aimed directly to quantify the effects it makes to a building, by setting a goal to improve a buildings energy performance by a minimum of 25% (Efficient Energy Agency, 2008, Natural Resources Canada, 2009). http://www.ottawasnewesthomes.com/novoclimat-for-gatineau-new-homes.php http://www.aee.gouv.qc.ca/en/my-home/novoclimat/ (Salomon and Nigel, 2006, Robert C, 2003, Natural Resources Canada, 2009, Horvat et al., 2005). 2.5.1.8 ATHENA (Canada, 2000) Athena is North American software for Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) for buildings. It assesses industrial, institutional, office, multi-unit/single family residential homes and also assesses both new buildings and renovations to existing buildings. It is for design stage only to help in deciding which materials to use as it recognizes more than 90 materials and simulates over 1,200 different assembly combinations (structural and envelope). According to ATHENA institute 2009, this software takes into account the environmental effects of: material manufacturing, (including resource extraction and recycled content), related transportation, on-site construction, regional variation in energy use and other factors, building type and assumed lifespan, maintenance, repair and replacement effects, demolition and disposal, operating energy emissions and pre-combustion effects, embodied primary energy use, global warming potential, solid waste emissions, pollutants to air, pollutants to water and natural resource use. ATHENA (4) Impact Estimator, is the newest version of the program and was released in 2009. As most of the new generation of EIAP, ATHENA (4) newest edition included improving simulation modeling. The software will help designers choose a design from up to five design scenarios. It is also more flexible in handling data flows with more impact measures. Another new feature is the ability to choose new regions to assess (ATHENA, 2009). Eco-Quantum (The Netherlands, 1998) Eco-Quantum is a LCA based computer tool. It starts by entering building data, then the calculation section and finally the output results. It has two versions; one for offices and the other for domestic buildings. It calculates the environmental effects during the entire life span of a building. This includes the impact of energy, the maintenance during the use phase and the differences in the durability of parts of the construction related to the life span of the building. The program has an advantage of being easy to use. As a reaction to the evolving market for environmental assessment, Eco-Quantum V3 latest additives included improving assessment categories. Not only it assess materials and energy flow, it now also takes into account the possibility for selective demolition, recycling, ozone depletion, human toxicity and product reuse ((Kortman, 1999, Breedveld, 2007 Forsberga Malmborgc , 2004, ISPRA, 2009). MAK refernce BEAT (Denmark, 2001) The Building Environmental Assessment Tool (BEAT) is a LCA based tool. BEAT is a relation database designed using Microsoft Access. The user must supply: type of building, estimated lifetime of the building, geometry of the building, number of floors above/below ground, roof pitch, number of windows in the building, % of facade area covered by windows and natural or mechanical ventilation. BEAT assessment is for design stage only. It can be used both for supporting the general design choices early in the design phase, and later for supporting the more detailed design choices. The total environmental effects are the sum of multiplying the environmental effect by a weighting factor. Motivated by both the increased requirements to the energy performance of buildings and the recent developments for simulation tools for building assessment, the Danish Building Research Institute (SBi) is studying a project to develop BEAT. It is studying how to facilitate the use of BEAT by integrating it into new simulation software called BSim. This will allows both energy and environmental assessments to be performed in one operation. The new program is expected to be flexible in respect to the anticipated Canadian Environment Network (CEN) requirements. Early signs of the anticipated merge suggest that it is useful to support decision during design phase (Pedersen, F., Hansen, K., Wittchen, K. B., Grau, K., Johnsen, K. (2008). Combining building thermal simulation methods and LCA methods. In C. Rode, Proceedings of the 8th Symposium on Building Physics in the Nordic Countries: Nordic Symposium on Building Physics 2008, NSB2008, Copenhagen, June 16-18, 2008, Vol. 2 (pp. 605-611 ). Lyngby: DTU.(The Danish Building Research Institute, 2007). LCAid (Australia, 2001) LCAid is the Environmental Life Cycle Assessment Design Aid software package developed by department of public works and services categories. It is to identify the largest impacts over the building life cycle. It is user friendly decision making tool used to evaluate the environmental performance of design options over its life span. The program inputs are: raw materials, building product manufacture, energy, and water. Outputs include: resource extraction, emissions to air, water, land and waste, demolition reuse, recycling and disposal. The software outputs identify the areas that have the greatest impact on the environment so it could be reduced by other solutions. LCAid improvements included to separates the environmental impacts within each indicator into four stages; construction, operation, maintenance and demolition (Eldridge, 2002, Graham, P. 2000). Green Globes (Canada, 2000) Green Globes is a system to manage the assessment of environmental designs. It is an online assessment for green buildings. The system requires the client (i.e. property manager, owners of commercial and multi-residential buildings) to complete an online confidential questionnaire at design stage. Another stage of the assessment is an online report from a third-party at the construction stage. The categories of assessment for green Globes are: site, energy, water, emissions and indoor environment. It was developed based on BREEAM/Green Leaf as their upgrade or as their web-based tool. It was much anticipated and there was an immediate uptake to it with more than 100 users registered for existing building assessments only in 2002. One of the reasons for the huge uptake could have been that the program was filling the gap for an online assessment method that is related to BREEAM. To be certified a building will have to achieve at least 35% of the total number of 1,000 points. New editi on of Green Globes are in the line of developing the program to consider the building surrounding environment and not only the building itself. The new tool for Continual Improvement of Existing Buildings (CIEB) will look at aspects such as resident transportation opportunities (ECD, 2009, Boonstra Pettersen, 2003, Green Globes (2009). BEES (US, 2002) Building for Environmental and Economic Sustainability (BEES) is a program to help making an environmental but cost effective building. BEES measures the life time effects of the building and its components. The categories of assessment are in terms of: Global warming, Acidification, Eutrophication, Resource Depletion, Indoor Air Quality, Solid Waste, First Cost and Future Cost. The software strength comes from the extensive assessment for economic performance of a building using the American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM) standard. It produces results for environmental performance and economic performance and an overall performance as shown in Figure 2-9. All stages of buildings construction are analyzed from the row material manufacture and transportation to the waste management. The program is constantly developing by adding assessment categories and new materials to the software database in order to keep up to date with the latest editions in the green designs. BEES 4.0 function to the newest data from U.S. EPA and have more than 200 building products in its database (BEES, 2007, Lippiatt, et.al., 2002). Programs that assess the whole building. BREEAM (UK, 1990) The Building Research Establishment Environmental Assessment Method (BREEAM), initiated as a tool for assessing the environmental performance of a building. BREEAM assessment is divided into 9 categories: Management, Health Comfort, Energy, Transport, Water, Materials, Land Use, Ecology and Pollution. It was initially started as a questionnaire based tool. These questionnaires were designed for each stage of a building from design to post-operation. The actual credits were given to a building only on two stages: concept design stage and the preparation of construction stage. One criticism for BREEAM was that finished buildings sometimes differ from the design. This has been addressed in the latest version of BREEAM (2008) by introducing a post construction assessment. This assessment will ensure that all the specifications stated in the design are carried out in the actual building (BREEAM, 2009, BERR, 2008, Howe, 2008). Another criticism for BREEAM was that design teams used to cop y whole paragraphs of the checklists provided by BREEAM and put it in the design specification to get the credits from the assessor. Also a lot of credits could have been obtained from number of very small additives to the design (for example parking sheds). These credits will help buildings in getting a high rating without necessarily being green as a whole. In BREEAM 2008 mandatory credits was introduced to address this problem. These credits will ensure a minimum application of a holistic view of green concept in the rated buildings. Also by making the Code for Sustainable Homes and BREEAM or equivalent mandatory in April 2008, this will secure sustainable measures in larger developments (BREEAM, 2009, BERR, 2008, Howe, 2008, Glasson et al., 2005). BREEAM initially didnt include benchmarks for number of criteria; it used to make reference to them. This was designed to help BREEAM being flexible. In BREEAM 2008 a lot of credits have been expanded especially setting benchmarks for CO2 emissions to align with the new Environmental Performance Certificate (EPC). BREEAM assess new and existing building for deferent types of buildings: Courts, homes, Industrial buildings, Multi-Residential, Prisons, Offices, Retail and Education. Latest developments in BREEAM 2008 included expanding the assessed building types to include BREEAM Healthcare and BREEAM Further Education. As a reaction to the evolving market of green buildings and the urge to use the highest environmental developments in buildings industry; a new rating level (BREEAM outstanding) has been introduced in 2008. This will enable innovative designs to be recognized for being leaders in their domain (BREEAM, 2009). HK-BEAM ( Hong Kong, 1996) The Hong Kong Building Environmental Assessment Method (HK-BEAM) is a voluntary environmental assessment program for buildings. It was originally developed by Real Estate Development Agency but it is owned now by BEAM Society. The program main assessment categories are: site, materials, energy, water, indoor environment and innovative aspects and its award classifications are Platinum, Gold, Silver, and Bronze. It was the first program to finalize its assessment only when the building is completed. HK-BEAM is updating periodically to keep up with the industry standards and regulations. New versions were released on 1999, 2003 and 2005. The latest version HK-BEAM 4/04 has a lot of modifications to respond to the developing market of green buildings. BEAM 2004 highlighted the increasing importance of Indoor Environmental Quality (IEQ); by making it necessary to obtain minimum credit for it in order to be eligible for a grade. The grade awarded is based on percentage of applicable credi ts gained both for IEQ and overall assessment. BEAM is considered a very successful assessment tool. Though being voluntary program, in 2003, over

Jamaican Culture Essay -- Jamaica Culture Rastafarianism Essays

Jamaican culture is more than just Rastafarianism and Reggae music. The Jamaican culture encompasses every aspect of life from beliefs, superstitions, and practices to art, education, and tourism. However, the most important aspect of the culture is the African roots that still exist today. Religion and music became essential parts of the slave culture for communication purposes and barrier breakers. Culture is 'the property of the individual and it's a property of societies' (Alleyne 9). Jamaica has a very diverse culture with original natives coming into contact with the Spanish and English. Jamaican culture can be split into the primitive era and the modern era. The primitive characteristics are all the effects of the African slave trade. There are several different cultural backgrounds connected to the people of Jamaica. It is one of the truly multiculturalism countries in the world. The native Arwark's were the only group never to root their culture into Jamaica due to their extermination. There are signs of British influence from the official language of English to many of their traditional European customs. Many of the locals speak a dialect of English with African, Spanish, and French elements. 95% of the populations of Jamaica are from African or partly African descent (Verrill 130). The slaves had great trust in folktales and proverbs that have been past down from generation to generation. Jamaica is renowned for being one of the most religious islands in the world with ten churches for every square mile (Jamaicans). Many holidays are celebrated together with either festivals or large family meals. During Christmas the Jamaicans celebrate much like cities in the US with the lighting of a tree in Kingston followed by fireworks and carols (Jamaicans). The major religions practiced are Christianity, Judaism, Islam, and Rastafarianism. Rastafarianism is the largest growing religion on the island partly due to Bob Marley?s influence. Bob Marley?s national influence of peace was reward with receiving the Order of Merit which is the third highest honor in Jamaica (Wittmann). With so many Rastafarian?s on the island it can not go with out noting how they have created their own identity. They believe in returning to their homeland of Africa where their historical roots lie. Because they do not believe in an afterlif... ...e Jamaican culture. The anthem is very religious with the first line talking about their Father blessing the land. Other parts reveal the love Jamaicans have for the natural landscape that provides the necessities for sustaining life. The anthem also encourages wisdom, strength, vision, and knowledge as major components towards success and progression (Jamaicans). The government has begun implementing policies in order to make positive changes to maintain Jamaica?s identity. The first advocate for national cultural change was Norman Manley in 1938 (Nettleford xxiii). He helped established the Commonwealth of the Caribbean that calls for the progression of cultural action. The island has begun preserving historical sites and monuments that symbolize Jamaicans changing culture. There is an attempt to encourage writing as well as the advancement of sciences and technology. Researches of history, sociology, and culture have become revolutionary ideas in an attempt to preserve the Jamaican identity. The most important issue for Jamaicans is establishing themselves as a respectable nation that contains more than just hotels and tourist attractions. (Nettleford 54-60).

Essay --

THIS AGREEMENT is made effective December 31st, 2013 between the incorporated Town of Green Mountain Falls, hereinafter referred to as â€Å"Municipality† and Robert W. McArthur, hereinafter referred to as â€Å"Manager†. WHEREAS, the Board of Trustees desires to contract with Robert W. McArthur to serve as Town Manager, and Robert W. McArthur desires to accept the position as the Town Manager for the Municipality; and WHEREAS, the Board of Trustees, through a written employment agreement, desires to 1. Secure and retain the services of Robert W. McArthur and to provide inducement for him to remain in such employment 2. Establish employment and working conditions 3. Make possible full work productivity by assuring Robert W. McArthur’s morale and peace of mind with respect to future security 4. Act as a deterrent against malfeasance and dishonesty for personal gain on the part of Robert W. McArthur 5. Provide just means for termination of Robert W. McArthur’s services at such time as he may be unable to fully discharge his duties, or when Robert W. McArthur may otherwise desire to terminate his own employment; and WHEREAS, the Board of Trustees for the statutory Town of Green Mountain Falls in the State of Colorado, and Robert W. McArthur believe that a written employment agreement is desirable to serve as the basis of effective communication between them as they fulfill their governance and managerial functions in the operation of the business affairs of the municipality. NOW, THEREFORE, in consideration of the mutual benefits to be derived, the parties hereby agree as follows: 1. Commencement of Services. The Board of Trustees agrees to employ Robert W. McArthur, and Robert W. McArthur agrees to accept the position of Town Manag... ...greement, shall not be construed as thereafter waiving any such terms and conditions, but the same shall continue and remain in full force and effect as if no such forbearance or waiver had occurred. h. This agreement may be executed in counterpart, and shall become effective upon execution by both parties. The municipality shall indemnify, hold harmless, and defend the Town Manager for any liability that may arise from acts or omissions committed by the Manager where said acts or omissions were made in good faith during the course of and within the scope of municipal employment or volunteer activity for the municipality, or while performing duties as a municipal employee. __________________________________________ Mayor or Mayor Pro-Tem __________________________________________ Town Manager (Robert W. McArthur) __________________________________________ Notary

Understanding adolescence: Current developments in adolescent psychology Essay

Children and young people in their life development pass through various stages that have mental problems. Some of these problems result from self-assessment about life. When one finds that the kind of life that he or she is living, is rather below her expectation tend to be faced by depression emotions that they seek to eliminate. In case from their thoughts one thinks that he or she is leading a life that is higher relatively to his or her friends, there is the likelihood of the person to grow to be proud. Mostly, the problems that affect family at a large in the children result from negative feelings about themselves. Some of the behaviours that young people develop through these development stages are such as disobedience, drug abuse, delayed duties, poor academic performances, and low self-esteem amongst other emotional problems (Freeman, 1985, p. 321). From the case study, Ben is encountered undergoing psychological problem that have caused an alarm to the whole family. These problems are far from external causes, they are problems that he has built for himself through thought. He is pessimistic about the future and this has brought to him much stress, he sees no need to work hard in class work, he is engaged in drug and substance abuse and disobedient. Bad peer influence has contributed a lot in the behavioural changes of ben. The only remedy to ben’s problems is counsel him I an effort to input positive thought in his mind. Systematic approach of tackling families and their children problems involve family based approach such as parent training. Parents could be trained on how to approach their children to realize their emotional problems they may be undergoing and try to reach them as per their capacity. The problem of drug abuse could be dealt with by parents’ commitment to free their children from drug abuse (Adams, 1968, p. 67). Parents create drug-free environment if they act as role models by not engaging in drug abuse. It will be very hard to convince a young person to refrain from drugs if you abuse drugs. In the case of Ben, his parents need to embrace a systematic psychology therapy to make him avoid being involved in drug abuse by acting as role models to him. Central to the cognitive view of people is the idea that they are actively trying to make sense of their environment by imposing order and meaning in the things they encounter. Cognitive explanations of the behaviour are found within the ways in which Ben organise and process information that is relevant to the particular methods of acting. In the case study, we could only recognise the fate of Ben by engaging in efforts to study the causes of what make him behave in a differently way. The idea that Ben is born by old couple contributes and in addition, very busy parents, contributes to a lack of parental love. Ben’s situation could also be analysed through creative approach. Creative approach in working with young people to build coherent intervention entails an analytical examination of the problems and gathering of various ideas about solving it. The ideas on how to solve the emotional problems could come from experience of the parent. The outcome of a particular psychological problem that Ben has ever been exposed to could guide his parents in solving a related matter at hand (Myers, 2004, p.266). Integrating creative, cognitive behaviour and systematic approach comprises of merging all these three techniques of solving emotional problems, to a strong design of solving psychological problems. This model may take several routes in efforts to make it realistic. The very first plan in integration of different psychological approaches is common factors. The common factors plan of integration tries to judge the core elements that different approaches have in common. The merit of common factors approach is that, it emphasis on therapeutic actions that have been demonstrated to be the most effective. This helps to analyse Ben’s emotional problem based on common elements found in all the three methods, therefore, more efficient model in working with Ben to build a coherent intervention (Neenam & Palmer, 2012, p. 56). Young people are taught in a way to conduct. By showing Ben on what is right and wrong, you build on his character. A good character is a great contribution to the society. Young people create the potential future generation and influencing a young person positively adds value in the generation to come. The other method to psychological approach integration is through technical eclecticism. Through technical eclecticism, Ben’s parents are guided to picking what has worked best for others previously. In solving a mental problem, Ben’s parents would try to look at the past instances of a similar case and adopt the same model of resolution that was past adopted. The model could be improved if the latter situation is more complicated than the previous situation. The improvement on the design of solving mental problems could be through buying more ideas from every psychological approach. The situation of poor academic performance by ben because of lack of positive attitude could be solving through both systematic and cognitive behavioural approach. Through cognitive behavioural approach, the parent would put himself in the standards of ben and class work through critically obtaining real facts from him, this would help to guide the parent come up with viable ideas about the problem resolution (Mclean & woody, 2001, p.671). Theoretical integration focuses on merging all small elements of theories in each of the approach and tries to come up with one deep level design. This model arrived at, bears all material facts from all the methods and, therefore, more effective in solving emotional problems. It is believed to be effective than constituent therapies alone. Assimilative integration is another route in integrating different psychological approaches and therapies. Assimilative integration is a model that would a view from either of the approach to deal with the current problem on the table. It is constructed by assimilating different ideas from different methods in one design that can solve a specific psychological problem. Parental love enables children to grow healthy emotionally. It helps them avoid emotional worries about their love security. Any child, who grows up in an environment that lacks the touch of love, is likely to improve inhumane behaviours. Some of inhumane behaviour that a person may develop because of lack of parental love is such as misconduct for duty of care, high negligence and immoral behaviours. Parental control to a child is very essential in the child’s development. Parental control contributes to instil moral virtues in a child, which he grows to mature while to recognize. From a research, psychologists argue that children that grow up under high control are more intelligent than those that grow in a less disciplined environment. This is true because disciplined children rarely waste time in unconstructive engagements; hence, they are more constructive in nature (Ginsberg, 1964, p.551).Ben is found in a family where he is the only child in their family. This has exposed ben to a lonely life. Because of the loneliness that he is undergoing, he suffers from increased mental thinking due to lack of business of friends to share with. A lot of thought and quietness without a person to share with may amount to stress. A stressed person is prone to some illnesses such as low self-esteem; lack of appetite and poor performing habits is no someone to motivate him (Oxington, 2005, p.99). Systematic dealing of Ben’s loneliness life could help him. The remedy to a lonely life could be by providing a person with an interactive environment. Interactive environment social groups such as ball clubs, study groups, religious groups amongst the others. It is the responsibility of his parents to ensure that Ben interact with a peer group that impact positively to his life (Bierman, 2004, p. 178). By integrating the cognitive behaviour, systematic and creative approaches in working with Ben, reliable model of solving psychological problem is realized. A model to solving a problem is said to be effective if it achieves its purpose in a way that it leaves no harm. A model also is said to be effective if it can achieve the target on which is set for without many struggles. An effective model is complex enough to reach all forms of psychological problems. From the case study we are provided with, parents to Ben think of visiting a psychiatrist to help them, solve the problem affecting their son. Ben bears the information that a psychiatrist would use to help Ben from his psychological problems. The parents can perform what the psychiatrist would perform only that they need technological skills to conduct it. Through systematic approach of psychology, parents ought to be trained on how to face and solve psychological problems facing Ben. Parental training is a systematic approach p sychological treatment of problem solving techniques. An integrated psychological model covers the whole range of therapeutic models and professionalism. Psychological treatment provision is a multi-professional and multi-agency endeavour. Psychiatrist, psychotherapists, psychologists, counsellors, nurses, social workers and many other organizations are involved all of whom need to communicate and coordinate effectively with one another. Psychological therapies are fundamental to primary mental health care and can make a highly significant contribution to the user satisfaction. Its recommendations are based on the range of well-established scientific evidence but also on professional consensus and views of service users (Feinstem & Kuumba, 2006, p. 249). It would be a good idea to visit a psychiatrist on a psychological problem. One of the main characteristics of a managed counselling service is that it can be proactive in helping the psychological counselling and testing to conduct health needs assessments and implement the changes to services required, as a result of it (Hearley, 2012, p.107). In other words, if counselling is in the system it can be effective both clinically and organizationally. However, paradoxically, if there is a lack of counselling services not even an embryonic condition for such, there is often an absence of knowledge at the strategic level about the basic principles of treatment. Psychology and counselling are different professions. Counselling service managers can equally lead the provision of integrated psychological therapy services in primary care or remain in parallel arm (Dorfman & hersen, 2001, p. 455). Although, there is professional difference between psychology and counselling, their main goal is almost the same. Psychiatrists are psychology professionals that help one restore his or her normal state of performance and perception of various issues. It is important to note that Ben has engaged in some practices because of the impact from peers. Some practices such as drugs and substance abuse are adopted due to influence from other people. Ben has engaged in drug abuse to keep in touch with his friends, keeping away from them and not supporting would mean, unfriending them. Friends fill up the lives with joy, acceptability and self-confidence. Friends are the source of motivation and power to lead a happy life, nevertheless friendship at time may be running. Ben and his friends engage themselves in drug abuse as a way of passing their leisure time. This bad practice results from efforts to keep friends. It is the mandate of the parents to observe the company of friends that Ben interact with and pass to him a word of advice if necessary. If the friendship is constructive, show parental support on it, if the friendship behaves kind it is destructive, the parents should immediately discourage it (Granot, 2005, p. 115). By integrating different psychological methods, a design that is cost effective is achieved. The model is said to be cost effective if it is considerate in nature. Both the Ben’s parent and psychiatrist that are using the model should experience a mutual benefit from it. No party, either that seeks to help or the one that utilise the model to support should be in the worse side. The design is flexible enough if it is able to reach all the parties efficiently at their standards. Any matters arising during problem solving, should as well have their appropriate way of dealing with them. This is all that comprises of an efficient model (Cain, 1969, p.23). Creativity borrows a lot from psychology. Cognitive psychologist tries to build up cognitive models of the information processing that goes on inside people’s mind. A cognitive model of the memory system would suggest that it has two main components, one for dealing with the information that we need to process now. This brain based psychology where psychiatrist tries to measure your brain level of adopting things. It is after this critical brain analysis that the psychologist gets to know how to approach Ben in different brain dealings (Sigston, 1996, p 103). A clear strength of the cognitive behavioural therapy approach to depression is its grounding in cognitive theory of depression that has been subject to extensive empirical testing over several decades. This has brought the original theory into focus and led to important elaborations and changes (Luxmoore, 2006. P. 17). The cognitive model of depression that contextualizes cognitive behavioural therapy exemplifies the diathesis, stress approach to psychopathology. This is one of the best methods in dealing with stress, as searches for the reason of depression in an individual. Cognitive model tries to examine the sources of the stress to an individual after which it gathers information about on various solutions to the stress. In the case study, Ben is face within a situation full of depression. The pressure on ben is because of the parental requirement from him that he struggles to reach. Another source of depression comes in where he tries to impress his friends at the expense of his morality. That does not close the list of Ben in terms of being stressed up; Ben is in a depression following poor academic performance in the class. Poor academic performance is caused by being not very serious with his class duties due to engagement in some unproductive activities. Cognitive behavioural approach would guide his parent to try to create a positive attitude in ben that would enable him have a positive attitude toward his undertakings. Unhealthy social conduct amounts to a psychological problem. This could be dealt with by integrating the three approaches to psychology. An integrated model has all the appropriate ways in ensuring a well Ben’s psychological environment is maintained. By adopting an integrated model that combines the three approaches to solving psychological problems affecting Ben, an efficient way of tackling with social misconducts is realized. It is very vital to note that for a goal to be achieved effort must be made. In solving Ben’s psychological problem, it is very important to create a conducive environment for implementing measures to solve the problem. Creation of a good environment is achieved by equipping oneself with the entire facts amount to the source of psychological problems. It is also appropriate to approach Ben wisely. Every person does not want be seen as problematic even he or she is in a problem. One best method of creating a conducive environment in Ben is by showing him how importance he is. Once Ben is told about his necessity in the society, it becomes very easily to attack him. By attacking Ben, it means to put effort in counselling or executing the most appropriate measure in solving the psychological problem affecting Ben. For an objective to be achieved, there is should a mechanism to achieve the goal. This mechanism comprises of the method to follow in reaching the solution of the problem. By integrating approaches to understanding psychological matters, it creates effective models in solving psychological problems that affect Ben. It is easy to approach Ben for correction than an adult. Young people are quick learners and hence, they grasp things at a higher level as compared to the older ones. When it comes to parental guidance, use of disciplinary measures that are fierce is also encouraged; some children and young people are very naughty to change from a bad behaviour. In such a situation, a parent is advice to put into measures things as punishment in controlling the behaviour of their children (Morgan, 1991, p.113). Through correcting children by punishment, they learn faster on how to avoid such a mistake again, unlike just by a mere word of mouth. Due to fear of undergoing punishment, it would very hard for Ben to repeat the same mistake. The usefulness of integrating cognitive behavioural, systematic and creative approaches in working with Ben to build a coherent intervention has a great contribution in improving his life. It tries to come up with different and effective approaches to deal with psychological problems affecting Ben. Nevertheless, improved models of dealing with psychological problems may fail at times; this is because some psychological problems have some source in biological development of a person. As a young person develops, especially in adolescent, he may develop another psychological problem such as pride that is very hard to deal within integrated cognitive behavioural, systematic and creative approaches. The growth of cognitive behavioural perspective reflects the impact of a more generally cognitive view of psychology. The cognitive approach focuses on how our behaviour is affect, by the way, in which we take in, mentally represent, process, and store information. Psychologists who take a cognitive approach suggest that there be several ways, in which children learn to be aggressive. Children may see others being reward for acting aggressively and then might be rewarded themselves for doing the same. Aggressiveness might also be more likely if a child constantly hears that other people can be dangerous and that aggression is the only way to deal with threats, disagreements and another conflict situation. In dealing with the emotional problems affecting Ben, it will be vital to try to examine his logical understanding of the issues; this would help to try change Ben’s way of perceiving an understanding some life aggregate issues (Ashworth, 2000, p.253). Cognitive approach in solving a mental problem has a significant contribution in decision. It could help Ben change a negative mentality to a positive and composed mind. Psychologist who takes a cognitive approach suggests that mental processes help us to understand many kinds of individual and social behaviours, from decision-making and problem solving to interpersonal attraction and intelligence. The cognitive approach is especially important in the field of cognitive science, in which researchers from psychology and philosophy study intelligent systems in the human (Gallagler, 2011, p 13). Generally, cognitive approach refers to those therapeutic techniques aiming to change or modify Ben’s thoughts or beliefs. Beliefs are assumptions about life values that a person creates. References Adams,  J.  F. (1968). Understanding adolescence: Current developments in adolescent psychology. Boston: Allyn and Bacon. American Psychopathological Association, In Hoch,  P.  H., & In Zubin,  J. 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