Towards Self Reliance In Defence Research Economics Essay

Towards Self Reliance In Defence Research Economics Essay The idea of self-reliance is important even today. However, self-reliance does not imply pursuing a policy of autarky. It does not mean cutting ourselves away from the world. Self-reliance in the modern world implies the ability to pursue ones interests with self-confidence and faith in ones own capabilities. We do not have to pursue self-reliance by doing everything ourselves. We can, indeed, pursue greater self-reliance by creating inter-relationships of inter-dependence that enhance our bargaining power. Greater interaction with the world can in fact enhance a nations self-reliance by creating a web of mutually beneficial inter-relationships.  [1]   Dr Manmohan Singh Buy Indian and Make Indian is going to be the major component of our procurement policy. That will help us to have a strong defence industrial base in India.  [2]   -A.K. Antony, Defence Minister Introduction 1. The blossoming Indian economy is fast pacing into the 21st century with the potential of being an economic superpower. Spurred by economic reforms and the impact of liberalisation, privatisation and globalisation, India, is truly on the verge of carving its own niche in the world. 2. An economic superpower must also be a military super power, in terms of Military capability and strength. There should also be a dependable and reliable indigenous defence industrial base. A country which is self reliant and independent in its military requirements, and thus, also has access to technologically advanced capability can truly be termed as military superpower. The establishment of a well developed defence industrial base is of primary importance to any emerging super power. Focus should be on capability development followed by numeral growth, not the other way round. A clear understanding and identification of the requirements and needs of the armed forces and ensuring that the requirements are met within the stipulated time, in a cost effective manner, should be the primary goal of any defence industrial base and the determinant of its success. Indias Defence Industrial Base. A Historical perspective 3. Pre Independence. The pre-independence defence-industrial infrastructure in India consisted of 18 Ordnance Factories (OFs)  [3]  , generally catering to repair and overhaul as well as to supplement weapons and equipment produced in Britain. During this period India was never allowed to develop core competencies in industrial production. 4. Post Independence. Since independence the Indian leadership aimed at attaining self-sufficiency in entire domain of defence production and to achieve this Indias industrial policies  [4]  emphasized core industries (including defence sector) to be taken care of by the central government and others by the states. As a result eight Defence Public Sector Units (DPSUs) under exclusive control of the government were devoted to production of different military systems and components. Defence Science Organisation (DSO) was established at that time to take up challenges of undertaking RD activities. DRDO was formed in 1958 from the amalgamation of the then already functioning developmental establishments with the DSO. DRDO then comprised of 10 establishments or laboratories which has now grown into a network of over 50 laboratories throughout India  [5]  . 5. Post 1962 war License production, direct purchase and acquisitions remained the predominant form of supply for the Indian defence forces. This resulted in a gap of nearly three decades in Indias effort toward indigenous production which was especially evident in the fields of design and development, which constitutes the upper spectrum of self reliance. A fighter aircraft between Marut and the Light Combat Aircraft (LCA), a basic trainer aircraft between HT-2 and HPT- 32, an intermediate trainer between Kiran and an yet-to-be fully developed Advanced Jet Trainer (AJT) are some of the examples that typify both the technology and production gaps  [6]  . 6. Trends in 1980s and 1990s. This was the period when Cold War came to an end and Global defence expenditure rose to an all time high in 1987 and then fell sharply during the late 1980s and early 1990s. Also, there was a rise in low intensity conflicts lawlessness, crimes and terrorism was spreading manifold. This was also the time countries were opening up their economies and the globalization era commenced. This period was the starting point of major defence acquisitions from abroad coupled with major initiatives in indigenous defence production, including RD activities. The license production of Jaguars and MiG- 27M was undertaken by HAL  [7]  . Also indigenous development of Light Combat Aircraft (LCA), Advanced Light Helicopter (ALH) and Main Battle Tank(MBT) Arjun were speeded up by DRDO. Production of missiles developed under Integrated Guided Missile Development Programme (IGMDP), through Bharat Dynamics Limited (BDL) commenced. Hence, during this period India had been a ble to initiate a number of projects for indigenous development. However, fructification of these projects was accompanied by inordinate delays and technological gaps. 7. The mainstay of armed forces was met through substantial arms acquisition from abroad primarily due to slow progress in our indigenous design and development activities as also the inability to keep pace with the global state-of-art technologies in the defence industry. With the change in environment after nuclear explosions by India and Pakistan and the Kargil conflict, the country had to give a re-look to its defence strategy including its objective of achieving self-reliance in defence industry. 8. Defence Industry in 21st Century Soon after the liberalization of the economy, the defence industry started realizing the importance of civil military interaction in the industrial sector to attain near self-reliance. Coupled with changes at institutional and organizational levels as recommended by the Group of Ministers Committee Report on Reforming the National Security System, is the most important policy shift in the defence-industrial sector allowing 100% private sector participation and 26% by Foreign Direct Investment (FDI)  [8]  . Confederation of Indian Industries (CII) has been instrumental in influencing such a marked change in policy. While these far-reaching institutional and policy-oriented changes have been underway for quite some time, the demand for private participation has assumed significance in recent years. Trends in Global Defence Industry 9. The global defence industry has undergone profound changes in recent years. The massive military build up by many countries during the Cold War era fuelled greater demand for military weapons and systems. However, immediate post Cold War period witnessed the reverse trend in demand for military weapons and systems resulting in reduction in budgetary allocation in the defence sector. This resulted in many smaller companies either to merge with big ones or to shift their priorities towards civilian production, thus leaving the defence sector. Mergers and acquisitions during this period resulted in creation of a few giant companies like Boeing, Lockheed Martin, British Aerospace, Northrop Grumman, EADS and others. The military expenditure again witnessed upward trend since 1999 and this is likely to continue in future  [9]  . As procurement budgets have started to swell again and are likely to stay that way, new opportunities are expected for the defence industry. In the changing conflict scenario, there has been an upward trend in the LIC, insurgency, terrorism, OOAC etc as a result of which the global defence industry after a period of significant downsizing and rationalization has entered into a phase of renewed attention. Indias Defence Industry. 10. Post Cold War era, the changing trends in the global defence industry had affected Indian defence industry in many ways. The era of economic liberalization since 1991 has resulted in indigenous build-up of technological base in the IT, communication, electronics, automobile sectors etc. Since, all acquisitions in the past and till upto mid 90s were either outright purchase or linked with license production, what best the DPSUs or the OFs could gain was expertise in production which was entirely dependent on the assemblies and Semi knock Down Kits (SKD) or sub assemblies imported from the Original equipment manufacturer (OEM). The real technology transfer aimed at enhancing the indigenous development was missing in all the deals covered under License Production and Transfer of Technology (TOT). However, the most far reaching change that has impacted the Indias defence industrial sector is the opening up of this sector for private participation. The objectives are manifold viz., re duction of defence imports from current levels of 70 percent, increase in defence exports, enhance the indigenous RD skill level and infrastructure to produce technologically advanced state of the art equipment within the time frames specified. Coupled with the economic liberalization and opening up of the defence sector to private companies was linked the problem of licensing and requirement of foreign direct investment in the defence sector. In January 2001, the GOI initiated a series of major initiatives that included Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) up to about 26 percent and full private participation in certain sectors in the defence industry. Shift from Self Sufficiency to Self-Reliance 11. Since independence the Indias industrial policies outlined in Industry Policy Resolution of 1948 and 1951 was aimed at achieving self sufficiency in defence production. Towards this the government invested heavily in scientific and technological institutions both educational-such as the IITs, and research and development institutes such as the CSIR, ICAR, DAE, DoS, ICMR, DRDO so as to develop a strong technological base. However, the countrys defence was neglected, as was evident in 1962 war. With a weak Defence-Industrial Base (DIB), the policies to maximize production in order to attain self-sufficiency in the defence sector although were considered farsighted, did not match expectations, thus leading to shift of focus from self-sufficiency model to self reliance model post 1962 war. 12. Self-reliance in its true sense does not preclude accessing external sources for technology and systems, or external help in any stage of the production cycle. Hence, self-reliance as far as India was concerned, meant apart from Indias own production base for support a degree of dependence on reliable foreign sources for access to technologies, supply of components and complete systems was desirable. These were materialized by meeting urgent and immediate demands through imports form abroad while simultaneously striving for indigenous capabilities in defence production. Although Indias main focus on imports was from western countries like UK, France, Sweden these countries were reluctant in supplying defence equipment to India post 1962 war with China. Indias quest for self reliance got a major boost when Russia (erstwhile USSR) agreed to Licence production by India for various defence equipment acquired by India form Russia. These Licence production of aircraft, battle tank, a rms and ammunition were undertaken by various DPSUs as well as OFs. However, the only thing that lost its focus in the bargain was the transfer of technology aimed at enhancing indigenous production and RD activities. The outcome of this is obvious, as witnessed in the LCA program, MBT Arjun, aero engine Kaveri to name a few. In spite of having produced aircraft, tanks and aero engines under license production the organizations involved in the production could hardly assimilate and nurture the technology needed to supplement our own indigenous efforts. Probably the focus of these organizations was more towards production rather than indigenization. Defence Industrial Policy 13. The defence industrial policy was aimed at establishing a strong and self sufficient defence industrial base (DIB). The objective was to have thrust in indigenous production and exploring possibilities of exports to other developing nations that may look forward to supplies from India. 14. In spite of being more focused to numeral growth or production than on the capability development (RD), India has made rapid strides in defence technology in recent past and reached a stage of some level of self-reliance. The existing potential of the country in defence production, in the form of resource capability, know-how and technical expertise, could not be exploited to its full due to lack of clear cut defence policy. However, since liberalization of the economy in 1991 there has been increased civil military interaction. The changes in the defence production policy indicates the intention to involve the private sector in defence RD and production through licensing and indirect opening of the defence industrial sector to foreign companies through FDI and the offset arrangement. Our defence industrial policy  [10]  since independence broadly consists of the following:- Maximization of indigenous production. Licence production of those equipments which are available and can be obtained from abroad. Direct procurement of those equipments not covered above, but considered essential for ensuring the security. Indigeneous Production 15. To promote indigenous production 8 DPSUs and 40 OFs were established. Also DRDO comprising of a network of 50 labs was formed to undertake RD in the field of defence weapons, systems and equipment. Ordnance factories. At the end of the WW2 Indias defence industrial capacity amounted to 18 ordnance factories, a clothing establishment, and an aircraft production plant; and the new government subsequently inherited this capability. Post independence this continued till 1958 after which the ordnance factories were steadily expanded. The war against China in 1962 prompted a further expansion in Indias ordnance capability and today the country has 39 ordnance factories. They were built to meet the growing needs of Indias armed forces over the past 60 years.The Indian Ordnance Factories Organisation (OFO) is currently the largest departmentally run industrial undertaking in the country. The 39 OFs are government units producing armaments under five categories  [11]  : Ammunition and explosives Weapons Vehicles and equipment Armoured vehicles and Ordnance equipment (other military supplies, including general stores). Defence Public Sector Undertakings. The eight defence public sector undertakings (DPSUs) are public-sector corporations managed by the Indian government. The defence PSUs produces a range of defence equipment. They also provide overhaul and maintenance facilities. They are: Bharat Dynamics Ltd. BDL  was established in the year 1970 to be a manufacturing base for guided weapon systems  [12]  .  Ã‚   Bharat Earth Movers Ltd. BEML is one of the largest manufacturers and suppliers of earthmoving, construction and mining equipment in Asia  [13]  .   Bharat Electronics Ltd. (BEL) was established in 1954 to meet the specialised electronic needs of the Indian defence services  [14]  . Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd. HAL is a major player in the global aviation arena. It has built up comprehensive skills in design, manufacture and overhaul of fighters, trainers, helicopters, transport aircraft, engines, avionics and system equipment  [15]  .   Garden Reach Shipbuilders and Engineers Ltd. (GRSE) is one of  Indias leading  shipyards that builds and repairs a wide range of vessels from  warships  for the  Indian Navy  to  merchant shipping  vessels  [16]  . Goa Shipyard Ltd. GSL is a shipyard that is one of the most sophisticated ship builders in the Country. For over four decades, GSL has designed, built and commissioned a wide range of sophisticated vessels for varied applications in the defence and commercial sectors with special expertise in building modern patrol vessels of Steel and Aluminium hull structure  [17]  . Mazagon Dock Ltd. Mazagon Dock Limited is the Indias premier shipyard constructing warships as well as offshore platforms. It undertakes ship building, ship repairs and fabrication of offshore structures with facilities situated at Mumbai and Nhava  [18]  . Mishra Dhatu Nigam Ltd. MIDHANI caters to domestic and international customers with modern metallurgical facilities and high degree of technical competence for manufacturing its diverse product mix of superalloys, titanium alloys, special purpose steels, electrical resistance softmagnetic alloys, molybedenum and other alloys meeting the stringent requirements of the strategic sectors like defence, aerospace, power and general engineering etc  [19]  .   Defence Research Development Organisation (DRDO). India also has a defence research and development (RD) capability. Called DRDO. DRDO draws on the work of 51 laboratories/establishments across the country, and (in theory at least) has close links with the eight PSUs. It also co-operates with 70 academic research institutions, 50 national science and technology centres, and some companies in the private sector. License Production 16. Post independence Indias quest for self-reliance got a major boost through license production arrangement with USSR. This immensely benefited defence industry as it improved many notable weapon systems from this experience. Indias self-reliance model in defence production was thought to have given a life lease by the Soviets. The normal assumption is that production under license would enable the country not only to acquire the capability to produce a particular equipment or product but also help it gain the technical know-how for subsequent upgradation and further technological innovations. For the last fifty-odd years, India has been producing a number of defence equipment under license. Good examples in this regard are the Vijayanta tank and the MIG series of fighter aircraft  [20]  . But this does not seem to have helped in the development of the Arjun Main Battle Tank and the Light Combat Aircraft. Moreover, India has not even been able to upgrade  certain fighter airc raft held and operated for a long time by its armed forces. Direct procurement 17. To meet the immediate requirement of the armed forces, outright purchase of the systems/ equipment is resorted to. This may be from abroad or for indigenous companies. The objective of the defence policy aims at maximizing indigenous production; what could not be produced indigenously should be produced under license arrangement; and those that could not be obtained through these two routes should be acquired by direct purchase. Emerging Defence Production Policies in 21st Centruy Transparency in Defence Procurement 18. Since independence and almost till late 90s only a select few companies got the Request for Proposals (RFPs) with secrecy being maintained in the procurement process. With the introduction of Defence Procurement Procedure (DPP) the government has strengthened its commitment to transparency in the procurement process and to removing the veil of secrecy surrounding it. The case in point is the procurement of MMRCA. The deals of recent times are open deals with no more veil of secrecy in the RFP. The details of the RFP are made available to all industry representatives by placing the tenders on the net, except in the most sensitive cases, which may be minuscule in number. Ensuring transparency in the procurement process has also resulted in widening the vendor base. Defence Procurement Procedure 19. Defence Procurement Procedure 2008 is presently being followed. This was issued after DP-2006 was revised along with the Fast Track Procedure 2001 and the Procedure for Indigenous Warship Building. In addition, most importantly, a procedure for the development of systems based on indigenous research and design, categorized as MAKE, has now been formulated. This bridges a critical gap that existed hitherto, and would provide the requisite framework for increased participation of Indian industry in the defence sector.  Some of the important features of Defence Procurement Procedure includes: Reducing the timeframe for acquisitions. Enhanced transparency by placing the generic requirements of the Services on MOD website and generating vendor registration through Internet. Increased transparency in the conduct of field trials. Integrity Pact made compulsory for all contracts above Rs. 100 crores. An Offset obligation of 30% for all contracts above Rs. 300 crores. However, there have been indications of companies trying to dilute this clause. FDI in Defence Production 20. To boost up the indigenous production in the defence sector, the government in 2001 had opened up the defence sector by permitting 100 percent private participation in defence production and also 26 percent Foreign Direct Investment of the host companys equity. However, the only glitch in the whole process was the requirement of obtaining a license from the defence ministry by the private firms to produce military hardware. However, there is a need to increase FDI limit from the current 26 per cent which would facilitate access to desired niche technology and processes. De licensing of Defence Production 21. DPP-2008 did away with the license requirement for industries for manufacturing military hardware, thereby creating a level playing field with the defence public sector undertakings. Considered to be a revolutionary DPP, the de licensing will enable the private industries to skillfully employ the available expertise to take up production of military hardware. This will definitely boost up the efforts of indigenization in defence technology. Raksha Udyog Ratnas 22. Effective participation by the Industry, both public and private, at various points of interaction and subsequent long-term association in product development and productionisation, can be only done through those firms of proven excellence and which are capable of contributing, depending on their technical, managerial and financial strength. These firms called as Raksha Udyog Ratnas (RUR) would be the key drivers towards raising indigenous defence technological base and world-class manufacturing capabilities in India. R D in Military Aviation Sector 23. Aviation is one of the most significant technological influences of our time and empowers the nation with strength. It is a major tool for economic development and has a significant role in National security and  international  relations. 24. Various military, DPSUs and private companies have been associated in the R D activities, software and systems development and systems integration on civil, fighter aircraft and helicopters. These are Defence Avionics Research Establishment (DARE), Aeronautical Development Agency (ADA), Aeronautical Development Establishment (ADE), Aircraft Upgrade Research and Development Centre (AURDC), HAL, Mission Computing System Research and Development Centre (MCSRDC) HAL, and Software Development Institute (SDI). DARE played a pivotal role in evolving the avionics architecture of Mig 27 upgrade, developed the Core Avionics Computer (CAC), mission computer software for CAC, display suite software of SU 30 MKI and the hardware and operating system of Radar Computer of SU 30 MKI. SDI based at Bangalore has been actively involved in the indigenous upgrades of SU 30 MKI as well as development of various mission planning systems and weapon algorithms employed in Mig 27 upgrade. AURDC has been involved in the Bison upgrade, Mig 27 upgrade and various indigenous upgrades of SU 30 MKI aircraft. MCSRDC has played a vital role in the software development and integration of avionics systems in the Jaguar (Darin II) aircraft. It is also involved in the upgrade of Jaguar to Darin III standards. Joint Ventures 25. India has an inherent edge over several other nations because of higher skills and lower costs of production. This makes India an ideal contender for joint ventures. HAL has entered into joint ventures with many overseas aviation system companies to undertake design and development of new systems in India. Some of these are the BaeHAL, HAL Edgewood, HELBIT etc. Many other software and hardware giants involved in the aviation hardware and software development especially in the embedded and real time system domain have also established their facilities in Bangalore. Some of these are GE Intelligent Systems, Honeywell, etc. 26. Given their rapid growth over the last decade, it is perhaps no surprise that Indian software companies such as HCL, Infosys, Infotech, Tata Consultancy Services and Wipro have been active in the aerospace industry for several years. Increasingly, they are benefiting from the engineering services outsourcing programmes. This will help India evolve from IT and low-end business process outsourcing work to high-end design services. Overseas companies view the Indian companies as long-term partners and not as mere suppliers/vendors. Private Participation 27. EADSs helicopter subsidiary Eurocopter has had one of the longest partnerships with Indian industry. Since 1962, it has worked with HAL in India to manufacture more than 600 Alouette 3 and Lama (known as Cheetah and Chetak locally) helicopters. HAL also produces airframes for the Ecureuil/Fennec family of rotorcraft. The European firm also plans to set up pilot training facilities in India for the civil and military segments and plans to invest à ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬7-8 billion ($9.5-11 billion) over the next 10 years. Tata has entered into JV with AgustaWestland to assemble the AW119 in India. 28. Honeywell Aerospace, which provides integrated avionics, engines, systems and service products for the aerospace industry, is one example. The US company has a design and development centre in India that it hopes to expand in the coming years. Airbus has set up the Airbus Engineering Centre India in Bangalore where local engineers help develop capabilities in modelling and simulation, covering areas such as flight management systems and aerodynamics, to help in the design and production of aircraft such as the A380 and the A350. It is also working with Indian IT firms such as CADES, HCL, Infosys, Quest and Satyam to offer support across various aircraft programmes. Conclusion 29. Indias defence-industrial strategy is directed primarily toward achieving self-reliance. Presently, there is a clear imbalance in requirements by the armed forces. While roughly 70 percent of requirements are met through arms imports, the domestic sources supply the rest. The current strategy is geared to reverse this trend with the primary aim of supplying three-fourth of the requirements through domestic sources. Indias decision to allow private participation in the defence-industrial sector is seen as a dual aim, namely to achieve much-needed capital and production enhancement and, secondly, to open up to the external market through their presence. There is also an effort to adopt suitable strategies to make select sectors like aerospace and electronics globally competitive. DPSUs like HAL and BEL are now much in demand and are trying to become viable global giants. 30. The overall strategy is to make the defence-industrial sector act as a locomotive for economic development. In this regard, an emphasis on dual-use technologies and production is contemplated which could benefit both the defence and civilian sector. The current strategy also looks into various options toward minimising the state investments in the defence sector while encouraging private and foreign portfolio investment in existing Indian defence companies. If recent changes in various policies related to the defence industry are supposed to have any meaning, then, despite all problems, there is something to be optimistic about in the Indian defence industry.

Description of a participatory action oriented course

Description of a participatory action oriented course PROGRAMME DESCRIPTION OF A PARTICIPATORY ACTION-ORIENTED PAOT COURSE Background We will be conducting a PAOT on work improvement in small enterprises (WISE) course over a one week period. The PAOT course is not a formal lecture, is interactive and participant centred. It is recognised that SMEs contribute significantly to the national economy and that they are huge employers. It is also recognised that however, they do not always have a preventive or safety culture. They do not employ OSH practitioners nor do the employees and employers alike receive formal OSH training. Hence the implementation of the WISE programme as one of the PAOT methodologies, whose aim is to improve working conditions/OSH in the workplace and productivity using simple, effective and affordable techniques that provide benefits to owners/employers, workers and the community. Facilitators will do preliminary work, send invitations to identified participants. Other significant persons will be also invited as the programme will detail. Target group and participants Two facilitators will provide guidance and steer the programme. Invitations will be extended to 30 participants drawn from the local informal small to medium scale enterprises. These will consist of largely the employees or owners who do day to day work and including their supervisors, managers or owners who do supervisory or managerial work. Invited important observers will include two members of the community local leadership, one official from The Ministry of Public Service, Labour and Social Welfare and one representative from the financial sponsor of material: ILO, Zimbabwe Decent Work Programme General and specific objectives General objective: Make participants become aware that investment in low cost permanent simple improvements results in more satisfied and productive workers, more satisfied mangers who, together with the workers, will ensure efficient safe workplaces, leading ultimately to a more successful sustainable business. Specific objectives (for the participants) Learn application of the checklist for the purpose of selecting priority workplace improvements in their SMEs in the local setting for, materials storage and handling, workstation, machine safety, control of dangerous substances, lighting, welfare facilities, industrial facilities and work organisation. Identify and focus on commonly encountered working conditions problems in the above mentioned areas. Point out the local and commonly available simple low cost workplace improvements for the identified problems. Link better working conditions to better productivity. Course outline and contents Dates:29 December 2014 to 2 January 2015 (five days) Venue: Local Community Hall Site Visit: A walking distance from the Hall, an SME that is into furniture making Facilitators:Dr B. Ziki and Mr D. Moyo Participants: 30 (split into 5 groups of six individuals) Course content: Will include the history of PAOT, concept of PAOT, its advantages, the WISE methodology, scope for improvement and emphasis on the tapping of local wisdom for low cost sustainable workplace improvements in the SMEs. Day 1 to 5: Will be guided by the above course content. Activities will include: The opening ceremony, introductions, orientation, workplace visit, checklist exercise, group discussion of checklist results, presentation of group results, technical sessions – one or two a day, implementation of improvements with an action plan, workshop evaluation and closing. Methodology Facilitators will do preliminary work, visiting SMEs, finding and taking pictures of good examples to be used for discussion. A spacious venue where island sitting (round table) arrangement is possible is chosen. It must also be near the visit site On the first day after the opening ceremony, the course outline is presented and soon after there will be a site visit to a chose workplace. The 30 participants are split into five groups of six each. Each group will complete a checklist. A spokesperson is chosen and after discussions, he or she will point out important observations and low cost sustainable suggestions for improvement. No negative criticism is allowed. A different aspect of the WISE programme is tackled each day. Facilitator gives an outline of the topic for discussion and provides good examples and allows participants to discuss on the topic. Last will be implementation of improvements with an action plan, workshop evaluation and closing of the workshop. Timetable Evaluation and follow-up Evaluation of the PAOT course is necessary to assess usefulness, effectiveness and areas that were good and those that need improvement. Participants are given evaluation forms which they fill in and immediately return. Feedback is given after all forms are looked at. Participants also must demonstrate assimilation of information and that they are ready to undertake self help actions to improve workplace conditions in their local settings. They are reminded to do checklists at their workplaces, identify priority areas that need improvement and draw action plans. Participants are encouraged to share experiences with each other and with their or fellow employees, as well as continue to improve even on improvements already made. They are then issued with certificates of attendance. A tentative calendar for follow-up visits by the facilitators at the participant’s workplaces is drawn up. It is recommended that this is done two to three months after the course is conducted to assess the participants self help, low cost, and local practical solutions suggested and implemented to improve working conditions. After a walk through and discussions, positive developments are praised and the discussion must stimulate the participant to remain interested in the PAOT methodology and its ideals. A small, inexpensive and clever (SIC) contest held anytime between two to twelve months is organised to show the group with the best SIC solutions to identified workplace condition/s needing priority attention. An achievement workshop can be planned for six months to a year after the PAOT course. Participants present on their achievements and sustainable improvements and the best presentation can be rewarded. References Learning modules A8.1 and 8.2 Participatory Action-Oriented Training. Ton That Khai, Tsuyoshi Kawakami and Kazutaka Kogi. 2011. An ILO publication. Roles of Participatory Action-oriented Programs in Promoting Safety and Health at Work. Safety and Health at Work. Safe Health Work 2012;3:155-65 An introduction to the WISE Program. Conditions of Work and Employment Programme. An ILO initiative.

The Calm After the Storm - Original Writing :: Papers

The Calm After the Storm - Original Writing I don't know whether one could call my life a disaster, or a series of miracles. I have seen tragedies that you think only happen in newspapers or novels, yet I have also seen what comes out the other side and that it is way above average human morals. I am proud to have lived amongst such strong and determined individuals whom I hope will teach others to follow in their footsteps. Of all my childhood memories, one sticks out to have affected me most. I can remember the look of deep fear on my mother's weary face. I wanted to reach out and have her hold me close to her, but I knew that I was no safer with her than in the arms of Edith, my oldest sister under the dining room table. I could hear the huge rip and then crash of the monster waves beating against the side of our house. I had heard of the huge storms years ago before I was born, but they hadn't become real until now. Suddenly, there was the splintering smash of shattering glass and cold salt water hit me in the face. I was sick on Edith but she didn't have time to care as she ran frantically around the swamped house looking for something to barricade the broken windows with. I must have passed out after that because the next thing I remember is waking up alone in Uncle George's barn. I brushed the scratchy straw from my salty clothes while I could hear my baby sister Clara crying from the house. As I entered the cottage kitchen Aunt Francis had a bowel brimming with steaming porridge. So as to not offend her I gulped it down quickly while she gave Clara her bottle. I then asked her about the previous night. She explained to me how the waves had destroyed our home. Half the village was living in ruins now, all because a cement factory dredged our beach of all its shingle. I couldn't quite understand how this made the waves eat up our village

Snowdrops - Exploring Snowdrops :: English Literature

Snowdrops - Exploring Snowdrops - Consider the structure and language - What does the writer want to achieve - Your personal views are essential. "Snowdrops" ----------- Task: - Explore "Snowdrops". Targets: - 1) Consider the structure and language. 2) What does the writer want to achieve. 3) Your personal views are essential. "Snowdrops" is a story based on child like wonder, emotion and discovery. After reading the story many times in depth I have discovered that there is a lot more to the story than there aperies for example contrasts and comparison in the short story that liven it up quite significantly, like use of colours, temperature, descriptions, textures and creative writing are all used to create a certain atmosphere. What is the story about? If you were to read the story once you would probably say it was about a schoolteacher that all the children like and she was seeing a man who died. But if you look closely at the structure of the story then you will see there is more than that, it is about a child who cant wait to see the snowdrops in the school garden and when he finally see's then he sees they are not all that amazing, which is true to life in many respects because nothing appears to be a good as it is made out to be. Descriptive writing is one of the strongest things in this piece; it is used to draw the reader into the same state of mind of the writer. 'Today Miss Webster is going to show them the snowdrops growing in the little three cornered garden outside the school-keeper's house', this is a great sentence because the writer could have just said 'little garden' but to add affect she said three cornered, this creates a magical place in out heads and helps us to imagine the garden. ' Gerard was eating a bowl of porridge, and what he did was this. He would make a crater in the porridge with his spoon, and then he would watch the milk run in and fill the hole up. Then he would dip his spoon in it and drink it.' Does this create a marvellous picture in your head? Because it does in mine as I have done this myself when I have been eating my breakfast. This is a prime example of child like wonder as he is so amused and excited with his new discovery, when you are younger you are fascinated with the smallest things like the porridge and the "snowdrops". Contrasts are occurring all the time in "Snowdrops" for example reds and oranges are used to create that affect of heat and well being and

Essay --

Various religions and cultures throughout history venerated lightning as a symbol of power, yet the physics of this phenomenon remained an enigma until recent centuries. The hunt to understand began with Benjamin Franklin’s determination of lightning as a form of electricity in 1752, when he proved his hypothesis by flying a kite during a thunderstorm. Yes, Benjamin was right in proving that lightening was electricity, but the question is how is that electricity turned into lightning or how is it generated? There are three parts that play a big role in the creation of lightning; the first big one being the water cycle, the second one is the buildup of static electricity that occurs in a cloud and last is how the lightening is discharged. The formation of clouds play an extremely important part in the creation of lightning, but first one needs to understand how clouds are formed before understanding how lightning works. The water cycle has two main stages that are essential to the creation of clouds; the first one is condensation and the second one is evaporation. Firstly, evaporation occurs when water heats up and turns to vapor. The source of the heat is usually the sun. Water turns to vapor because when water heats up its molecules start moving rapidly. Due to the heat, water vapor will rise from the ground and as the vapor gets higher in the atmosphere it starts to cool down and condenses; the higher up in the atmosphere the cooler the temperature. The vapor condenses because it undergoes a process called condensation which is when water goes from a gas or vapor back into a liquid. The vapor turns into droplets of water high in the atmosphere and form clouds. The more condensed water the heavier and bigger the c loud will ... ... one would have to understand the components of atoms, the water cycle and how opposite electrical charges attract. Evaporation and condensation are what form the cloud and the constantly evaporation and condensation within the cloud that causes electrons to fall on the bottom of the cloud creating separation of charges. Once they cloud builds enough charges it starts to effect earth’s surface by pushing the entire negative charge back and leaving the surface with a positive charge. The strong electrical field forms a bridge from the cloud to the surface of earth by ionizing the air called step leaders. Once the upward streamers that are on earth’s surface connect with a step leader, a current is released and a flash of lightning is discharged. Following the flash of lightning a loud roar of sound that’s caused by air spreading rapidly due to heat is called thunder.

Importance of Books in Life Essay

Learning is a significant process in human being life. It is self-evidence that human development can not stand without a good learning. To reach that target, people always search the appropriate ways. Besides, the mains important elements that help people to learn are books and experiences because of their unlimited benefits. The book is a valuable source of knowledge that consists of infinite benefits. It transports us into different worlds and cultures, as well as, it informs us about ancient civilizations and lore. In addition, it helps us to learn about new technologies and literature. It allows speaking languages fluently and to communicate spontaneously. Therefore, the book can be faithful friend and the nearest into us which can guide us to how to behave in our practical life. Our practical life is also, in addition to books, based on experience. This latter is a crucial element that assists to overcome obstacles. Experience keeps our minds aware of the way to solve some problems, for example, if someone re-confront a problem, it would be easy for him/her to solve it. Experience also could indicate to us the suitable method of living in our life. In conclusion, learning is a strong challenge that requires patience and efforts. Books and experiences are the best manners of learning because of their vast importance and great advantages. Books can play a very important role in shaping our life because we can learn lots of things easily from books. Books provide a great solution in front of us to learn about anything and increase our knowledge level. Therefore, large numbers of people around the world read books because they find them very useful. Books are present in our world from many centuries in different forms and shapes of books are changing with time. Today, we can find books in pdf or audio formats as per the need of people. Though, all these books provide same help by increasing our knowledge levels. People can easily buy books from various book stores available in market or they can use online web stores to order bestselling books. Best Answer – Chosen by Voters The importance of reading books is gaining new insight or perspectives on issues that matter to the reader that helps them to have a new understanding of the world around them. Readers can apply the insight in everyday life or as a way of building upon the knowledge that already encompasses their mind and enrich their lives. The importance of books are also found in how new discoveries pertaining to history are uncovered and/or revealed where the relevance of this the new information needs to be applied or amended in what already exists about a particular issue, topic or event. Thus, â€Å"new† books on existing issues are important because sometimes facts â€Å"change. † Books are a tangible, valuable record of our world. Sure we have the internet and computers with vast amounts of information stored in them but all of history isn’t in a computer. History, the stories of civilations long gone and ancient languages forgotten are somewhere in a book. Books are there so you can learn, imagine and sometimes escape from the world around you. There is nothing like sitting down with a new book, the pages crisp and fresh, and reading about a love story, or a horrible murder. Books are an outlet for many people. For some it is their way of expressing their imagination†¦ writers create so we can read and let our minds take us to a different place, a different time, maybe even a different world. For others, books are an escape. When the world gets to be too crazy and you need to escape you can pick up a book and forget about the world around you. Books enables us to see life through other peoples eyes. People are able to communicate their view of the world to a large audience. Books also enables us to understand other cultures, which in turn enables us to relate better with others. Books can have a profound effect on society and the world because they enable an individual to change the world. A single book by a single author can make a huge difference in the whole world. Think ‘Tuesdays with Morrie’, ‘God has a dream’ and you begin to see the role of books in society and why they are important. Books glue people and cultures together. But unfortunately they can also be used to do just the opposite of the above.

Kate Chopin Questions

1. What features make The Awakening a â€Å"local color† story? 2. What customs and beliefs of Edna Pontellier's society are significant in relation to her psychological development? 3. What attitudes and tendencies in the Creole characters does Edna have trouble adjusting to? 4. Why did Edna marry Leonce? Is he the model husband? 5. What incidents in the novel reveal that he may not be a good husband for Edna? 6. How do Mlle. Reisz and Mme. Ratignolle function in relation to Edna and the novel's view of women as mothers and artists? . What kind of mother is Edna? What kind of artist is she? 8. How are the background characters such as the young lovers and the lady in black at the shore, significant in Edna's story? 9. In detail, explain how the flashbacks to Edna's past function. How does her father compare to the other men in her life? 10. How does the view of romantic love develop in the course of the novel? What is the doctor's view of marriage and childbearing? 11.Can you think of an emotional attachment and/or a romantic obsession you have studied in a previous work? How does that incident or character compare with Edna's emotional and romantic relationships? 12. What are the main images and symbols in the novel? 13. Why does Edna get involved with Alcee Arobin? 14. Why do you suppose critics were outraged at this novel in 1899, saying it committed â€Å"unutterable crimes against polite society† and should be labeled â€Å"poison† to protect â€Å"moral babes†?