Womens Political Participation in Iraq Research Proposal

Womens Political Participation in Iraq - Research Proposal Example In this vein my dissertation explores whether these expectations have been achieved five years down the lane since the Iraq war. My initial research in the field of investigation of 'women and political participation' as I sifted through academic and political commentaries pertaining to the issue of women and empowerment reveals that there is a recurring trend of the problems that women face throughout the globe. It is also possible to see that the women's participation in the democratic process in Iraq can be divided into historical phases. Whereas the decade of the sixties witnessed a growth in the number of more politically aware women in the country's economic, political and civil spheres of the society particularly through the public/government sector. The advent of the Bathist party in the early seventies also saw the "Education for all" initiative which made women's liberation a supreme tenet of its agenda based upon the prevalent socialist ideology .This is did little for the private sphere as the Muslim Shariah laws were discriminatory against women. Things did not look good for the development of the "Women's liberation" in the mid eighties which witnessed an Iraq tumultuously struggling in the Iraq-Iran conflict and the birth of an increasingly secularist state which targeting the clerical fundamentalist minority of the country's political arena. The subsequent suppression of this fundamentalist element caused social conservatism so where as the women were active economically but politically their position weakened and this caused the decade to witness an increased breach of women's rights and liberties. The nineties saw a wave of religious fundamentalism backed by the public sector and there was an increase in Burqa and Hij ab clad women and there were less women in the work force and colleges. The decaying economy and the decreased salaries were equally pivotal in discouraging women's work and education. It is often said that the condition of women's liberation and empowerment was worse under Saddam's regime than compared to Afghan women under the Taliban and it is often argued that the political and economic status of women was greatly brutalized under Saddam.At the end of the war it is estimated that only 25% of Iraqi women are literate and nearly 20% of the women are employed. (UNESCO estimates). Literature Review Proposed Division of Chapters in the literature review It is intended that this literature review will consist of 4 chapters Chapter 1, Women Political Participation Global facts and figures; this will include the number of seats that

The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn Essay Example for Free

The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn Essay During the nineteenth century, regional and period language was used in a way that most 21st century readers would find offensive, for modern society standards do not tolerate overt racism. In Mark Twain’s classic 1884 novel The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, particular words are so disturbing that individuals across the country are still, to this day, attempting to have the book banned in schools and libraries. The idea that any book should be locked away in a vault, let alone an example of a beloved American classic such as this, is profoundly disturbing. Such acts are against what America stands for. Works of art, like this book, should be used to open dialogue and analysis on both the piece itself and the society from which it came. Rather than attempting to censor this particular novel, society should encourage students to have a discussion about why the offending words are so egregious, and why it is important that a record of these words and attitudes exist for generations to come. Words carry weight, and the significance of the â€Å"N† word in Huckleberry Finn is heavy and dripping with a sordid history of racism. It is a term that holds an impassable amount of cultural appropriation and painful association. The word, used in a classic literary context, is then a perfect way to open up a dialogue about issues that are difficult to talk about. Political correctness, racial slurs, America’s dark past—these are all topics that can be used to teach young people how to have a meaningful conversation about a torrid subject matter. Instead of banning the book and ignoring the past, society should be embracing the story and teaching people how to deal with the words in a tactful and progressive way. If young people can understand the horrible impact of such language, they will be less likely to use these words in casual conversations. Moving forward from America’s shameful history of racism is difficult and taxing. But the only way to progress toward a more loving and tolerant future is to learn from past mistakes. Twain was a product of his time, putting words into the mouths of his characters that would easily have come from the mouths of real people. It is also important to remember that the character of Huck Finn himself is anti-racist, so teaching the book to young people is not teaching racism, but acceptance. It is imperative for people to connect with the period of history that Huckleberry Finn comes from because suppressing these truths about America’s past can easily create a skewed interpretation of facts. If this occurs, society is one step closer to forgetting and repeating mistakes from past events. Banning books is an effective way to censor, and in the case of The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, censorship would directly resolve inappropriate language being heard and used in the high school English class. With this said, Americans whole-heartedly believe that open expression is a very important personal right. The right to free speech is sacred, and it is mostly untouched even in circumstances where highly polarizing or hateful words are being used. A work of fiction that integrates dialogue containing the â€Å"N† word may seem hateful to some, but it is unequivocally the intention of the author to use it in a context of satire. Censorship will effectively close the book on meaningful discussion when what society really needs is to open it for thoughtful examination. At a time when it is nearly impossible to find an adult engaged in a healthy debate or discussion, teaching young adults how to think and speak analytically and fairly is a dire need. Using fictional novels such as The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn as a bridge to a discussion of what used to be, and what has become, is a perfect opportunity that this country cannot afford to dismiss. By keeping books deemed controversial in public education, Americans can begin to understand the preciousness of the right to speak their minds, as well as respect and acknowledge the lessons of the past. This alone will heal the mistakes of the past and create a future of tolerance and opportunity for all.

Essay --

As a basic knowledge, solids that caught or settled within the treatment process can be reused or disposed in an environmental friendly way. Rule such as safety wastewater treatment has to be implemented to the wastewater solids is regulated by several federal laws, including the Clean Water Act (CWA), Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA), and so on. Recently, most of the biosolids produced is either reused as a soil conditioner, fertilizer or disposed by incinerated and land filled. As a matter of fact, biosolids have to be stabilized first to control odours and reduces the microbial population by thickening, composting, heat treatments, drying, conditioning and dewatering. Lime, ferric chloride, alum or polymers are used to condition the biosolids as to produce larger particles for easier removal and prepared for further dewatering. Dewatering processes include vacuum filtration, pressure filtration, and centrifuges. The process of decomposing volatile material naturally is known as digestion (a type of stabilization method), manages to reduce the odour, yields biologically stable end product (aerobic digestion) and produces methane gas (anaerobic digestion). After stabilization, the biosolids are either introduced to land application or disposed after incineration. Biosolids can act as fertilizer and soil conditioner, as they contain organic matters (nutrients) for the plants and manage to amend poor soil structure land due to practices such as construction activities. Moreover, biosolids can be incinerated (burned) to ashes, having high fuel value as a result. Pressure filtration dewatering equipment is basically used or refuse-derived fuel is added to obtain biosolids which are sufficiently dry to take advantage of... ... manage to direct the wastewater reclamation plants to meet the quality requirements of intended reuse applications. (National Academies, 2012) Disposal of municipal wastewater have been distributed into two categories, which are those that discharge directly to surface water and those that discharge to land. Surface water discharge economically has been preferred because it provides rapid mixing of effluent with surface water, and is the least expensive discharge option. Nonetheless, indirect discharge to groundwater or hyporheic water may be more environmentally beneficial if planned, installed, and operated correctly. There are also many methods for land discharge, for example, discharge into two to three feet wide and two feet deep of ground trench and added in successive layers until the lagoons is completely filled. (Department of Environmental Quality, 2007)

Manifestations of Truth in How to Tell a War Story by Tim O’ Brien Essay

How to Tell a War Story by Tim O’ Brien has taken into account various thematic expression and he uses an unusual style to narrate these thematic expression. It a balance-mix of story and reflective essay. O ‘Brien major concern remain the reality of truth. He illustrates various manifestations of truth and manifests that imagination is the major tool to locate the truth. In addition to that he develops a criterion for narrating a war story. â€Å"O’Brien shares the criteria with which the writer or teller and the reader or listener must be concerned by giving an extended definition of what a war story is or is not. The chapter â€Å"How to Tell a True War Story† focuses most extensively on the features that might be found in a â€Å"true† war tale. â€Å"(Calloway, 1995) So story is multifaceted and its narrative technique is advanced as well unique. Tim O’ Brien has critically evaluated the criterion for writing a true war story. O’Brien demonstrates that memory and reminiscence are transient in nature and one can tell a story purely based on his memory. Memory is always prone to mental faculty of creating fiction. Sometime the character or the narrator admits the elements of fictionality in a true war story but mostly it goes unnoticed and unobserved. Same is the case with How to Tell a War Story as Mitchell Sanders admits to Tim O Brien (the protagonist) that although most of his tale is based on fact but there are elements of fiction. Hew says, â€Å"’Last night, man,'† Sanders states, â€Å"‘I had to make up a few things . . . The glee club. There wasn’t any glee club . . . No opera,'† either (O’ Brien, 1998). â€Å"‘But,'† he adds, â€Å"‘it’s still true'† (O’ Brien, 1998). This is not distortion of truth but it is the limited nature of memory to recall things in proper order with minute details that urges human faculties to invent certain details. Furthermore, plain truth is not interesting enough to captivate the attention of the reader and amuse. In a Vietnam War story there can be pathos and miseries, deaths and destruction, but there is nothing pure to tell in the form of a story. O Brien himself explain this; â€Å"I think exercising the imagination is the main of finding the truth†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (Naparsteck, 1991, p. 10) So memories are true and well as invention simultaneously. In â€Å"Things They Carried†, collection short stories from which this story was taken, O’ Brien he acts as the narrator. So readers suppose that he himself was veteran of the war and observed everything on his own but his are not the first hand account of these tales. They are told by various veterans of wars and were later crafted by O’Brien. So both veterans and the writers has invented certain situations and mingled it with the real story. O’Brien says that it is not unethical or wrong to develop a story in this way. He says, â€Å"â€Å"You’d feel cheated if it never happened. †(O’ Brien). A story is developed on its own and follows a natural pattern. In this way, O’Brien implies that truth distorts when it passes through the mental processes. Various pre-conceived notions, past experiences, prejudices and men’s inventive powers cast its own impression on it. But it is natural phenomenon. O’Brien explains this in the story; In any war story, but especially a true one, it’s difficult to separate what happened from what seemed to happen. What seems to happen becomes its own happening and has to be told that way. The angles of vision are skewed. When a booby trap explodes, you close your eyes and duck and float outside yourself. When a guy dies, like Lemon, you look away and then look back for a moment and then look away again. The pictures get jumbled; you tend to miss a lot. And then afterward, when you go to tell about it, there is always that surreal seemingness, which makes the story seem untrue, but which in fact represents the hard and exact truth as it seemed. (O’Brien, 1998) Readers accept this balance mix-up of reality and invention but O’Brien, however, does not allow his readers to take these things for granted and inquires the whole idea of memoirs, recollections, and the short capability of memory to communicate the reality with accuracy. As far as the narrative structure is concerned, O’Brien himself calls it a mix of essay and fiction. In an interview to Naparsteck (1991) he says that, â€Å"In a way, it’s part essay and a part fiction but in a way it’s neither†¦To me, it has singleness or unity to it. Rather than part things this and part things that, it’s all those things together. †(p. 9) This manifests his idea of truth as a whole. He does not differentiate genuine reality from perceived reality and considers them conflation of each other and they as whole constitute the truth. Unquestionably, truth and fabrication is another theme that Tim O Brien takes into consideration in the story. He is of the view that in narrating a war story, untruth is not conflicting with truth. They are the facets of a single reality. One is real and other is inventive but both are genuine. During the war, truth is unclear and mostly uncertain. It takes varies semblances band is manifested in various contradictory forms. So both true and inventive part of the story seems contradictory but in reality, they are same and equivalent. This paradoxical manifestation of truth is symbolized by the death Curt Lemon. O’Brien as narrator is familiar with the situation in which Curt was killed. He was shot dead by a 105mm round while â€Å"he was playing catch with Rat Kiley†. But as O’Brien recollect this in his mind; he perceives that Curt was killed by daylight. This narration is different from the first one. But none is untrue. 105 round was tool but sunlight also played a major role in his death. Sunlight is also chief cause thus. In this way, O’Brien differentiates between the reality that took place and the reality that appears to take place. No account is untrue but both a different manifestation of same reality i. e. one is real and other is perceived as real. Tim Obrien does not use proper literary devices to convey this dichotomy like Golding does in â€Å"Lord of The Flies† where he use symbol of fire and convey its paradoxical nature. Conventionally, fire refers to destruction and damage but Golding uses it as a rescue symbol when boys trapped in an island use fire to get attention of the passing by ship and in the last, they are saved by the aero- plane that noticed the fire signaling rescue. But mostly, it is not possible to attach two opposite meaning to a single word as beautifully done by Golding in the novel. O’ Brien attempts the same. For example, he says, â€Å"it is safe to say that in a true war story nothing is ever absolutely true,† he generate a contradiction but it is not a single word or a symbols that he utilizes to communicate the paradox. It is the whole context that helps him make this statement. Stephen Kaplan sums up this thematic expression of reality in his book; Understanding Tim O’Brien. He says, â€Å"[O’Brien] completely destroys the fine line dividing fact from fiction and tries to show †¦ that fiction (or the imagined world) can often be truer, especially in the case of Vietnam, than fact. O’ Bren plays with truth in How to Tell a War Story and sometimes fabricates it. The chief purpose is to highlight the paradox of truth and to demonstrate its various facets and manifestations. He leaves it to the readers to discern between genuine truth and perceived truth. The writer’s use of a narrator Tim O’ Brien in this collection of short stories is at the same time appealing as well as disturbing. The confusion deepens when it told by the author that the narrator is a middle aged man telling the stories about the Vietnam War. The use of a narrator is interesting as it forces the readers to think that the story is basically rooted in some real life experiences. It also helps in joining together the disjointed elements in the tales. This tool also helps the writer to play and employ some untruths and marvelous things without suffering from the fear of being questioned for their authenticity. The readers suffer from the problem that is the narrator is just playing the role of a mouth piece for the writer or is he an independent character. However, by using this device the writer is able to convey the message to the readers that what is discussed in the story as truth is somewhat similar to what actually happened during the war. If the reader accepts that the narrator is reliable and he is telling the truth than he faced a dilemma. As in the beginning of the stories the narrator tells that he is a real person and going to tell real stories and in the end he tells them that everything that he has just told is just falsehood. The author might be using this illusion to convey the readers a way in which a war story should be told and the basic truths that these war stories carries. He might also be trying to make a point that the story is basically true and logical though it may not have actually happened in the Vietnam War. The construction of this collection of stories is not following the traditional way of telling the stories. There are stories within a story that are linked very beautifully together in a novel way. Each story is basically an endeavor, on the part of narrator, to make a point clear. In order to explain or discuss a thought or experience the narrator start telling another story. These stories, are however, not linked in the traditional way. On finishing the book the reader is made to realize the truth as an organic whole, in a strange way, and not in the ordinary way as is the truth in conveyed to them. In this style of story telling the writer is not bound to follow the chronological flow of time. He is free to roam about according to his will. He can discus the realities and the sequence of the happening of events according to how he deems it right and not by the traditional way of doing it. The writer is basically of the view that the ‘war stories’ need to present the ‘true illustration’ and it need not to indulge in ‘analysis’ so it is important that the short stories should remain true to the reality and the long story or the parent-story need not to be something actually happened in reality. Rosemary Kings explain this phenomenon in this way; O’Brien’s word play in the title hinges on the definition of â€Å"true,† a word he uses alternately throughout the story to mean either factually accurate, or something higher and nobler. He does this through three embedded narratives: Mitchell Sanders’s narration of Curt Lemon’s death; the narrator’s description of hearing Sanders’s story; and Tim O’Brien’s commentary on how to tell a true war story. (n1) Each narrator claims his story is an authentic retelling of events as they occurred in Vietnam, asserting the historicity of their narratives. (King, 1999) The structure of the book is such that the chapters and the short stories are basically there to help the readers understand the real story, the real and the tangible truth. These are basically the ‘things’ carried by the parent story. The comments of the narrator helps the reader understand the organic wholeness of the story just as the chapters in the long story are connected together by the connecting views and ideas of the author thrown here and there in the long story. Rosemary King also highlights the importance of title of the story; â€Å"O’Brien’s title delivers punch not only through the conflated definition of true but also through the distinction of what makes a war story â€Å"true. † He underscores the importance of manipulating what actually happened to get at the essence of truth. † Above-mentioned discussion and supported arguments and evidence clearly manifest that O’Brien has successfully asserted that truth has paradoxical nature and it can be conveyed as a whole i. e. a balance mix- of what happened and what seems to happen. In reality this pradox dissolved in a complete whole. He further illustrated that human mental processes modifies the objective reality. His own description of reality from the subjective point of view of the narrators in the story is a skillful representation of this phenomenon. Thus his story is a successful example of metafiction.

Gothic Art Essay

Gothic art refers to an art movement in the middle ages (Van de Bogart 70) that started in France around 1140 (the time that the ambulatory of the Church of Saint-Denis was constructed [Encarta â€Å"Gothic Art and Architecture†]) and lasted up until late 16th century throughout Europe (Encarta â€Å"Gothic Art and Architecture†). In this paper, an introduction to Gothic art, with a concentration on Gothic church architecture, shall be discussed. To effectively provide an overview of this artistic style, this paper shall tackle the following: the roots of the term, â€Å"gothic†; a discussion of the characteristics of Gothic architecture; conclusion. Explaining the Term, â€Å"Gothic† The term â€Å"gothic† was used by Giorgio Vasari (1511-1574), the Italian artist and historiographer known for this book on the famous architects, to refer to the artistic style that characterize the French churches such as the Notre Dame de Paris and the Church of Saint-Denis (Chapuis â€Å"Gothic Art†). The term came from the barbarians called Goths who were then known to lack the civility that the people â€Å"civilized† people such as the Romans ought to have. These barbarians were one of the Nordic tribes likened to that of the Vandals as despoilers (Tarnocyova 69) that brought the â€Å"civilization-filled† Roman Empire into flames (Chapuis â€Å"Gothic Art†). As such, the Goths represent a regression or at the very least a certain sort of backwardness, crudeness, and lack of refinement. In fact, the Academie d’Architecture, meeting in 1710, still described unacceptable architectural manners as â€Å"gothic† (Tarnocyova 69). Hence, the term is originally a pejorative term that intends to put down an artistic style and say that the style is at the very least barbaric and rude. The reason why Vasari charged the artistic style as â€Å"gothic† has nothing to do with the merits or demerits of the style. It also has nothing to do with the logic and ingenuity that the artistic style exhibits. Rather, Vasari, just like most people during the Renaissance, were victims of the prejudices of their period. It should be recalled that the Renaissance was characterized by despise for tradition. As such, anything that belonged to the â€Å"dark ages† cannot be considered as good and of value. It is only fairly recent that the artistic manner and beauty of the gothic period is acknowledged for all its already-perceived merits. Gothic Architecture Gothic art is widely known primarily because of Gothic architecture. In fact, as was already stated in the introduction, the beginning of the Gothic period is pegged on the time of the construction of the chevet of the Church of Saint-Denis. It was 1127 when Abbott Suger, then the Abbott of Saint-Denis who was also the confidant of French Kings like Louis VI and Louis VII (Wikipedia â€Å"Gothic Architecture†), decided to rebuild the Church of Saint-Denis. This rebuilding eventually gave way to a new art period. How was this period initiated, then? At this point, it will be worthwhile to first state the Abbot’s philosophical ideas that contributed a lot to the underlying spiritual ideology of the Gothic Saint-Denis. Abbot Suger was some sort of philosopher/theologian in his own right. Corresponding with the theologian Dionysius from Syria (whose philosophy was some sort of Neoplatonist Christianity) (Helfrich â€Å"History of Gothic Architecture†), Suger came with the theory that God could best be represented as a powerful light, as a â€Å"supernatural light† as he would call it (Helfrich â€Å"History of Gothic Architecture†), who through his omnipotence, spiritualizes everything that is material. As such, God’s church ought to be a place where light is mostly present. God’s church, being the gathering place of his people, ought to also be the place where God, as light, could put his people together represented by an enveloping light. With this in mind, Abbot Suger started rebuilding the west front of the church first (the abbot left the Carolingian nave untouched and moved to reconstruct the eastern part of the church). The initial impetus that defined the changes that the abbot did on the church was the desire to put more light on the choir. He wanted the effect of having something like a â€Å"Heavenly Jerusalem† (Tarnocyova 69) that is primarily perceived to be luminescent, in one way reflecting the glory, majesty and power of the One True God. In this way, the Church acts truly as Christ’s earthly bride, bringing heaven-on-earth, making the physical reflect what is spiritual. It was this eastern reconstruction that would eventually be considered the very first Gothic art. Putting this ideal was not an easy task to do. In the first place, the Romanesque period created bulky churches with thick walls and fewer and smaller windows. The creation of light, then, would entail an architecture that was different from what was then mainstream. It was in the face of this task that Abbot Suger’s architects thought of using a more sophisticated technology, the pointed arch. The use of the pointed arch gave the architects additional flexibility that was not accessible through the curved arches. For one, the use of the arch meant lesser lateral thrust of the roof on the walls (Chapuis, â€Å"Gothic Art†). In addition to this, the new system of ribbed vaults allowed for thinner columns, allowing the stone material of the vaults to be lighter (Chapuis, â€Å"Gothic Art†) and space to be wider. Another important technology is the flying buttress that gave support to the thinner walls. These allowed for more space and more windows to be installed in these churches. More space and more windows meant more light penetrating the Church (or, in the case of Saint-Denis, the ambulatory of the church). Thus, Suger’s ideal is now a reality and Gothic architecture, with its characteristic pointed arches, ribbed vaults, and flying buttresses, is finally born. It does not mean of course that Abbot Suger thought of Gothic architecture from a vacuum. It has to be remembered that â€Å"ribbed vaults, buttresses, clustered columns, ambulatories, wheel windows, spires and richly carved door tympanums were already features of ecclesiastical architecture† (Wikipedia â€Å"Gothic Architecture†). Even the pointed arch which is used to typify Gothic architecture is not a product of a strike of genius. Assyrian architecture already made use of pointed arches as early as 720 B. C. (Wikipedia, â€Å"Gothic Architecture†). Islamic presence in Europe, most especially in Spain, would account for the introduction of these arches in the West. What characterizes Gothic architecture then is not the presence of these individual architectural traits but the putting of these elements together forming a unique architectural style that allows for spires, space, pointed arches, ribbed vaults, grand rose windows, clustered columns, ambulatories to exist in one magnificent monument. Actually, as it could be noticed, these characteristics were put together not out of whim; Abbot Suger did not put these traits together just because. Instead, these architectural traits were utilized because of a purpose: the creation of light and space in the choir of Saint-Denis. Thus, as is always acknowledged, these beautiful architectural traits came together out of technical need. Gothic architecture then is a product of a technical and spiritual need that eventually is characterized by the typical Latin cross floor plan at the same literally showing forth height and light (Helfrich â€Å"History of Gothic Architecture†). Everything in a Gothic church shows forth height. This vertical emphasis could immediately be felt by an external viewer who may rapture in awe over the spires and pinnacles of Gothic churches. The facade as well as the entire west front of a church has pointed arches, shafts, and main arcade all of which pointing up. These amplify the already overwhelming effect of spires that unanimously bring the gazer’s eyes to heaven. Entering the Gothic church would continue that ethereal experience since the nave of a Gothic church is usually very high in proportion to its width. Upon looking up, the gazer would be led to look the ribbed vaults all of which leading to a boss in a pointing way. Not only would the gazer be enamored by the height that uplifts the spirit; there is also the magnificent ray of lights that passes through strain glasses and more magnificently through rose windows. Gothic churches are famous for these magnificent rose wheel windows the best ones such as those in Notre Dame and Chartres create the effect of the flooding of light all over the cathedral. These light rays are complemented by the large and numerous other windows in the church. The flooding of light and the univocal stress on height is again complemented by the Gothic sculpture on the tympanum or columns or totally not attached at all to architecture (Encarta â€Å"Gothic Art and Architecture†). Such architecture is characterized by naturalism at the same time the constant solemn disposition (Encarta â€Å"Gothic Art and Architecture†). Conclusion Gothic art, specifically Gothic architecture, has been created initially out of the spiritual need that Abbot Suger problematized in Saint-Denis. This was then followed by the architectural-technical need to be able to answer to this spiritual need. These series of needs brought forth the fusion which is now acknowledged to be one of the greatest styles in architecture called gothic art. Works Cited â€Å"Gothic Architecture. † Wikipedia: The Free Encyclopedia. 2 October 2007. 5 October 2007. . â€Å"Gothic Architecture† History Link 101. January 2004. 2 October 2007. http://www. historylink101. com/lessons/art_history_lessons/ma/gothic_architecture. htm. â€Å"Gothic Art and Architecture. † Microsoft Encarta Encyclopedia, 2002. â€Å"Gothic Art. † Wikipedia: The Free Encyclopedia. 4 October 2007. 5 October 2007. . â€Å"Parts of a Cathedral. † Medieval Time Reference. 2 October 2007. http://www. btinternet. com/~timeref/cathpart. htm Chapuis, Julien. â€Å"Gothic Art†. In Timeline of Art History. October 2002. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. 10 October 2007 http://www. metmuseum. org/toah/hd/mgot/hd_mgot. htm. Helfrich, Serge. History of Gothic Architecture. 10 October 2007 http://www. xs4all. nl/~helfrich/gothic/architecture. html Tarnocyova, Bronislava. †Gothic Architecture† Bratislava Leaders Magazine III (2007): 68-69. Van de Bogart, Doris. Introduction to the Humanities: Painting, Sculpture, Architecture, Music and Literature. New York: Barnes & Noble, 1970.

Hunting in Elizabethan Times essays

Hunting in Elizabethan Times essays Hunting was very important to the people of the Elizabethan era. However, hunting, also known to Elizabethans as the art of venery, was not something to be enjoyed by everyone. Most often, only the upper class could take advantage of hunting. They mainly hunted boar and a few species of deer. These noblemen hunted to show their status in society, to practice for war, and for the dietary nutrients of meat. One of the main reasons venery was important to the upper class is that it showed superiority over the commoners. Hunting for sport was restricted to the upper classes for the most part simply because of the incredible costs needed to hunt. The crossbows and longbows that were often used certainly were not cheap. Some noblemen even used guns, which were much more expensive. Decent horses added to the cost along with the food they ate, the stables in which to keep them, and the equipment necessary to ride them. Proper hunting required several good hunting dogs, as each team typically had two to five dogs. The best dogs, mastiffs, alaunts, and lymers, could be exceedingly costly. The dogs had to be fed and sheltered, too. Servants were needed to take care of the dogs and horses and they also needed housing. If a nobleman especially wanted to flaunt his status, he could participate in a technique called conspicuous consumption, meaning he would get large amounts of only the fi nest dog, horses, and imported guns to show to the commoners and his peers in the upper class that he could afford the best. Additionally, noblemen utilized hunting as a means of showing their incredible bravery and horsemanship to their friends. Venery was considered to be fashionable because it was a favorite sport of royalty. Queen Elizabeth I herself loved to hunt and it was said that even at sixty-seven years old she hunted for hours with her crossbow every other day. Of course, all the noblemen w ...

Positivism Essay Example

Positivism Essay Example Positivism Paper Positivism Paper Positivism is a theoretical and methodological approach in contemporary criminology. Positivists believe that human behavior is shaped by biological, psychological or social factors and forces. These factors and forces are called individual pathology which deter the decision-making and control ability of an individual and results in behavioral problems (White Haines, 2003). To extend to legal definition, crime is defined as individual pathology to obey law and to conform to moral consensus of the society. Positivism approach in criminology examines the trait distinctions between offenders, rather than on the criminal acts as the focus of analysis. Also, positivism determines how these differences predispose a person towards criminality (White Haines, 2003). Positivists believed that these traits observed can be diagnosed and treated by dealing with and removing the factors and forces that cause the offending behavior to occur. Rather than punishment, positivism directs toward the treatment of offender as a response to crime (White Haines, 2003). The study of positivism is to classify and quantify human behaviors to uncover the causal relations between deviants traits and the committed crime. Therefore, positivism is a scientific approach in the criminal justice system. Psychological positivism Positivism concerning with psychological factors induced behavior is called psychological positivism. The consequences and impact of individual trauma are psychological factors which provoke behavior problems (White Haines, 2003). These psychological factors hinder the cognitive development in decision making, social understanding and moral reasoning. Thus, people with psychological problem are potential to commit in crime as they are unconscious in doing so (White Haines, 2003). Based on psychological positivism, criminals are associated with one of these psychological theories: psychoanalytic, behavioral, cognitive and physiological theory (Senna Siegel, 1990). The following will explain these theories by the case of man rape against woman. (a) Psychoanalytic theory Psychoanalytic theory was developed by Sigmund Freud (Senna Siegel, 1990). He believed that the personality arises from a conflict between three interacting systems: id, ego and superego (Senna Siegel, 1990). Id is unconscious energy that strives to satisfy instant gratification, it operates on the pleasure principle. Superego incorporates the moral norms of the society that how one ought to behave. Ego is conscious part of personality that satisfies the ids desires in ways that realistically bring pleasure rather than pain. It operates on the reality principle and struggles to reconcile the conflict between ego and superego. Psychoanalysts believe that law violators may suffer from personality disorder which is caused by damaged egos or superego (Senna Siegel, 1990). The personality disorder is self control inability which denoted that the capacity to repress urges is diminished. Criminals seek immediate gratification of wishes without consideration of right and wrong or the need s of others in the absence of self control. Humans are impulsive and anti-social in nature, they learn to aside to law through the system of self control. Low self control is consisted of incapability of defer gratification, lack of perseverance, and preference for risky and physical behavior (White Haines, 2003). To relate rape with self control theory, rape is seen as a gratification from sexual provocation. Mens sexual drive is aroused by womens dress, presence or movements. The drive is power and is so overwhelming to control (Vogelman, 1990). Men have no choice but to rape for a surge of excitement. As Groth and Birnbau (1979) argued, rape is not a symptom of mental illness but of personality dysfunction (cited in Hall, 1995: 74). Gottfredson and Hirschi (1990) argued that child-rearing is critical to the development of self-control (cited in White Haines, 2003: 47). Family which lack of harmony, emotional warmth, and mutual acceptance promote the development of delinquency. Parents in these families treat the child aggressively or overly strict. Child abuse and neglect are also found in these families (Friedrich, 2003). Through such experiences, children learn aggressive behavior via modeling and perform similar reactions in the future. Warrne, Hazelwood and Reboussin (1991) reported that 76% rapists had experienced some sort of sexual abuse when they were children (cited in Hall, 1995: 75). These abuses include physical penetration or coercion to watch sexual act by assaults who were their family member or known assailants such as teacher, neighbor or friend (Hall, 1995). (b) Behavioral Theory Behavioral theory believes that behavior is determined. It is learned from others or through experiences. Human beings learn from daily observations (Senna Siegel, 1990). For example, youth exposed to aggressive, antisocial behavior on television and movies are likely to copy that violent behavior. Similarly, reading pornography laced with violence causes people to commit to rape. Laboratory researchers have claimed that media exposure on sexual aggression such as violence, degrade and humiliate against women encourage sexual offends (Howitt, 1998). It have been found that the majority of rapists to be of average or above average intelligence, educational level and income. However, they have inability to form or maintain emotionally intimate relationships with others (Hall, 1995). In fact, antisocial behavior can be induced by social disability such as deprivation or discrimination. Also, when people are unable to attain what they desire, they become frustrated and their potential for aggression is increased (Vogelman, 1990). Physical acts are often the quickest way to express anger or stress to diminish the inability and impairments (Conley, Luckasson Bouthilet, 1992). Groth and Hobson (1083) defined rape as a sexual expression of aggression against women (cited in Howitt, 1998: 91). This can be illustrated by anger rape. Anger rape involves physically force than necessary to overpower and damage the victim to obtain sex. Abusive, obscene and degrading languages are accompanied with anger rapist to express their hostility (How itt, 1998). This indicates that rape cannot be understood in terms of sexual desire alone. (c) Cognitive theory Cognitive theory focuses on how people process and store information. A child may do what is right simply to avoid punishment. The same person will do what is right to avoid hurting others in later life. This is called moral reasoning (Senna Siegel, 1990). Moral reasoning determines the perception one acquired. Perception dominates people behavior. Moral reasoning also endeavor one to obey law on behalf of their social responsibility and to identify the perspectives, feelings or thoughts of the others (Murphy Clare, 2003). Based on these theories, criminals are probably to have faulty perception and information processing as they are unable to think logically in the system of axiom. Axiom is the causal relationship of if and then, that is the impact of criminals behavior (Conley, Luckasson Bouthilet, 1992). Senna Siegel (1990) suggested that criminals are significantly lower in their moral judgment than non-criminals as they have limited insight into the motivations and character istics of others. They perceive other people as more aggressive than they are. Undoubtedly, they are more likely to be vigilant and suspicious. When criminals attack victims, they believe they were actually defending themselves (Senna Siegel, 1990). For male rapists, women are percept as sex objects and they believe that women are not worthy of respect since men are more competitive in the sphere of sexual relations. Rapists are unable to identify the equality between the two sex roles. The expression of mens masculinity is demonstrated in power rape. As Groth and Birnbaum (1979) stated, The intent of the power rapist is to assert his competency and validate his masculinity (as cited in Hall, 1995:76). Power rape is driven by fantasy. The power rapist projects his own desires on the victim, thereby interpreting her resistance as a facade of non-compliance. The rapists are exited by pain and suffering of the victim (Murphy Clare, 2003). The dehumanization of women reflects rapists inconsideration on others. The power rapists use language of instructional as to express conquest against women. (d) Physiological theory Physiological theory is the identification of the psychopathic personality (Senna Siegel, 1990). Psychopathic personality is caused by physical abnormality in the autonomic nervous system (ANS). The ANS mediates internal activities such as heart beat and blood pressure when associated with emotions. The physical abnormality can be caused by genetic and biochemical factors. Therefore, psychopathic personality is predisposed innately and is unaffected by socialization. Psychopath experiences lower arousal levels to stimuli and react differently from the normal. Therefore, it is possible that psychopaths are thrill seekers who engage in high-risk, antisocial activities to raise their general neurological level to a more optimal rate (Senna Siegel, 1990). Criminals are potential psychopaths who devoted in risky activities. As Freud developed, libidinal energy is internalized in particular zone of human, these zones are oral, anal, phallic and genital. These zones will evoke a feeling of pleasure when they are stimulated (Vogelman, 1990). Therefore, it is possible for men to have biological drive for sex. Moreover, As Gebbard, Gagnon, Pomeroy and Christenseon (1965) stated, In many mammals, coitus is preceded by a physical strugglethe physiological by-products of excitement and exertion is the increased heart rate, increased breathing, muscle tension, the greater supply of blood to the body surfaces, etc (cited in Vogelman, 1990: 39). Men rape not purely because of lust and lack of sex, but to facilitate sexual arousal. The arousal is obtained from the struggle of woman to produce a sense of excitement (Vogelman, 1990). Treatment As mentioned previously, the response of crime in positivism concentrates on treatment rather than punishment. Offenders who seem to have personality problems will undergo a psychological evaluation examined by forensic psychologists and psychiatrists (Senna Siegel, 1990). These professionals worked within the criminal justice system to assess the possibility of personality disorder. They also assert appropriate treatment to criminals according to their degree of deficiency. Treatment for rapists seeks to identify the causes of their deviant behavior, and to cure them by changing their thinking processing. Treatments for rapists include psychotherapy, behavior modification and biomedical therapy (Hall, 1995). There are three forms of psychotherapy: relapse prevention, cognitive therapy, and victim empathy. Relapse prevention is based on the belief that an event such as emotion and behavior are prior to rape, rapists are asked to identify the preceding events so that whenever the event appear they can consciously terminate their offensive behavior (Hall, 1995). Relapse prevention is the exercise of self control utilization. Cognitive therapy indoctrinates a moral perception to rapists that it is necessary to rationalize and justify their own offensive behavior (Hall, 1995). Victim empathy enables the rapists to empathize with his victims, thereby gaining recognition of the lasting impact of his action. In this therapy, rapist reenacts the rape from the perspective of a victim (Hall, 1995). A new moral reasoning system is constructed from this torture experience. Behavior modification is done by arousal control (Hall, 1995). It makes use of adverse conditions to control unacceptable behavior. For example, a rapist is assigned to be exposed to a scene which depicts a violent sexual encounter. If he is sexually aroused, he might receive a series of electrical shocks or might be subjected to an offensive odor (Hall, 1995). The purpose of the treatment is to cause the rapist to respond adversely to the thoughts of sexual violence. Thus, behavior is reformed. Biomedical therapy involves the use of drugs in conjunction with other forms of therapy. Drugs are used as a form of chemical castration that results in suppression of the manufacture of the sex hormones, testosterone. It may also use to suppress inappropriate fantasies and compulsive behavior (Hall, 1995). Offensive behavior can be removed. Psychological positivism as legal defense mechanism In criminal justice system, a voluntary act, the actus reus and a mental element, the mens reas are required to condemn someone to be guilty (Murphy Clare, 2003). The mental elements include the cognitive development and psychiatric conditions of the offenders. The cognitive development contributes to the ability to identify existing problems and formulate an effective way to solve the problems (Murphy Clare, 2003). If the development is interrupted, the offender is claimed to be no intention for their acts. Likely is the psychiatric illness sufferer. The criminal law recognizes these abnormal mental conditions of a person not to entirely responsible for their actions as intent for the commission of crime is negated (Senna Siegel, 1990). The mental state of unconscious is used as a legal defense mechanism. If a person is declared insane when they were committing crime, a judgment of not guilty by reason of insanity (cited in Senna Siegel, 1990) is entered. The person is then held in an institution for the criminally insane until found to be sane and eligible for release (Senna Siegel, 1990). Offenders can escape from punishment liked incarceration. Besides, involuntarily intoxication under duress or by mistake may also be an excuse to refute the crime committed. Even though voluntary intoxication can lessen the degree of crime because the defendant can prove they were lacking of critical element for mental intention (Senna Siegel, 1990). For example, a judgment may be decreased from first to second-degree murder. The defense mechanism in respect to psychological positivism is being criticized as it spurs crime as it releases criminal offenders. Criminal justice system is thus unjust. Conclusion The willingness of time and money consumption to investigate psychological positivism indicates that policymakers ascertain that personal trait is a contributing cause of criminality. Nevertheless, there are critiques in psychological positivism. Since positivism is a science, it is inaccessible to the general community. Power is centered in the hands of forensic psychologists and psychiatrists with their specialized knowledge (White Haines, 2003). Debate was also found on the efficacy of criminal profiling. Psychological positivism brings suspicious people into innocent criminals simply because they match certain personality traits (White Haines, 2003). In contrast, psychological positivism allows crime to be prevented by early intervention such as pre-school program to enforce discipline to children. Psychological positivism tends to construct a more harmonic society for the future.

Critical Analysis

Critical Analysis Critical analysis is all about rational analysis and doesnt necessarily mean that you are supposed to criticize or express your negative attitude towards something. You need to analyze all the facts and provide your opinion towards the subject. Critical analysis, just like a critical essay,   doesn’t necessarily mean that you are supposed to criticize or express your negative attitude towards something (a piece of art, a theoretical framework, a book etc). Critical analysis is a part of critical thinking, which, according to the National Council in Critical thinking, can be defined as: â€Å"the intellectually disciplined process of actively and skillfully conceptualizing, applying, analyzing, synthesizing, and/or evaluating information gathered from, or generated by, observation, experience, reflection, reasoning, or communication, as a guide to belief and action. In its exemplary form, it is based on universal intellectual values that transcend subject matter divisions: clarity, accuracy, precision, consistency, relevance, sound evidence, good reasons, depth, breadth, and fairness†. CRITICAL LENS ANALYSIS Simply saying, whenever you are asked to critically analyze something, you are expected to take a look at the object of analysis, do some background research, point out the strengths and weaknesses of the described object and provide your logical reasoning to support your claims. In academic settings critical analysis can be used for a number of purposes, ranging from literary analysis to analyzing theoretical frameworks. How to Write a Critical Analysis? In our everyday practice, we get to work on many critical essays. The most common error students make in writing these kinds of papers is simply describing events rather than analyzing them. A good critical paper will rely on your own judgment while relying on external information to find evidence that supports the claims made. Let’s take a closer look at writing a critical analysis paper in the literature using the following critical essay example: â€Å"Discuss the concept of life-long learning†. Top 7 Steps to Critical Analysis Writing STEP 1.  Write a clear introduction that communicates the purpose of the paper and contains the thesis statement. When writing the introductory paragraph, make sure to mention the structure of the paper (in its typical form the essay will consist of an introduction, three body paragraphs, and a conclusion) STEP 2. Make sure your discussion is informative and accurate and is based on relevant and recent scholarly resources. STEP 3. Using references to recent research and well-reputed scholars will add weight to your voice and you try to defend your claim. STEP 4. Always remember to maintain a logical connection between sections of your paper. Obviously, your conclusion should be a logical continuation of the previous paragraphs and should summarize the ideas expressed in them. STEP 5. Check back with your assignment criteria on whether such items as a cover page, title page, page numbering etc are required. STEP 6. Once are you done with your writing, go through the paper once again to proofread it and rid it of spelling and grammar errors. Additionally, an important thing to check is clarity of ideas (no stream of conscience please). STEP 7. Always double check your references. Referencing should be complete, accurate and follow the prescribed referencing standards. In case you are required to use APA style, there is an excellent APA referencing tool, called RefTool. is dealing with a wide range of critical essay topics. We can write critical analysis papers on a number of academic disciplines starting from Music, Poetry, and Literature to Philosophy, Architecture. In case you are in need of a critical analysis paper, feel free to contact our support department with your assignment criteria and they will provide you the necessary assistance  or place an order and we will gladly help you.

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Ch 2 DBA Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 15000 words

Ch 2 DBA - Essay Example Previously, traditional economies and organisations relied upon assets such as capital and land having physical values. In the modern economy, this trend has changed and knowledge is now the key factor to gaining competitive advantage (Beijerse, 1999). In the contemporary business world, knowledge sharing fundamentally means that employees contribute to knowledge application, innovation, and ultimately the competitive advantage of the organisation (Wang & Noe, 2010). Knowledge sharing has distinct advantages. It is positively related to reduction in production costs, faster completion of new product development projects, team performance, firm innovation capabilities and firm performance. Firm performance includes sales growth and revenue from new products and services (Wang & Noe, 2010). Scholars have divided knowledge into two forms – explicit and tacit – when it comes to the nature of the knowledge (Nonaka et al., 2000; Smith, 2001; Lindvall & Rus, 2002). Explicit knowledge is saved in codified form in databases and can be easily conveyed to the receiver without any misunderstanding (Smith, 2001). Tacit knowledge is ‘know-why and ‘know-how’ and can be referred to as experimental knowledge. Smith (2001) describes tacit knowledge as the unarticulated part of knowledge residing in an individual ´s mind. This type of knowledge, unlike explicit knowledge, is hard to present in a written format thereby making it difficult to transfer to others or store (Smith, 2001). The knowledge sharing in organisations is dependent on the nature of the knowledge being shared (tacit and explicit knowledge). Sharing, transferring, and storing tacit and explicit knowledge differs from each other. Tacit knowledge is the unarticulated part of knowledge r esiding in the individual ´s mind (Smith, 2001). Although knowledge sharing is considered to be of a vital importance to organisations, it will not be achieved if there is lack of a knowledge sharing culture, trust, and

To what extent does the European Union policy of free movement of Essay

To what extent does the European Union policy of free movement of persons discriminate against the non-European 'others' - Essay Example The paper tells that the EU (European Union) policy concerning free movement within its member states has, in many quarters been taunted to be extremely discriminative in nature.This policy on free movement of persons tend to, in particular, discriminate against people from other parts of the world- the non Europeans, commonly referred to as â€Å"others†. The E.U’’s hostility towards immigrants has been discussed at length in various forums. A very important aspect of the said immigration policy that many find not friendly is in the treatment of people who are from troubled countries, for instance due to problems like wars, lawlessness and require humanitarian assistance like, for instance refugees. In most cases helpless and poor or stateless individuals who basically throw themselves around or on the mercy and sympathy of the state that they deem safe, seeking refuge from ill treatment in their country of origin have always had it rough upon attempting to gain entry in countries that subscribe to the European Union. For the sake of highlighting the xenophobic treatment and approach that immigrants face countries like France, United Kingdom and Italy will be used because they are believed to be very notorious for this kind of discriminative treatment. Majority of these member states always claim that with the steady rise of terrorism and related activities worldwide they have all the reasons to be discriminative against anybody coming into their country. Another commonly blamed excuse, which to them is a major concern, is the national and regional security of the various nations that allow people to cross over their borders. They have this mentality that terrorists and other people with ill intensions are very likely to come in from overseas2. These kinds of concerns and worries often lead to very thorough and intrusive security checks and scrutiny and stringent visa requirements and in the process discouraging immigration, short term and temporary visitors from other parts of the world and even the movement that people like having within their continent and countries. There has been frantic search to solutions to this tight regulations and even pressure from all over the world for European Union to loosen some of the aspects of the immigration policy and inspections to create an ample environment which can help promote tourism and other developmental aspects like relocation and transfer of businesses to other countries from, for instance, destabilized countries or better yet regions3. Since most of the member states of the European Union allow free movement of individuals within the union under an exemption commonly known as Schengen arrangement which many immigrant refers to as the discriminative extra communitarian movement of individuals i.e. non-European Union citizens4. This is, indeed an irony in the sense that the European Union allows movement of individuals freely within its various member states but unfor tunately takes a very tough and harsh approach towards immigrants from non European Union countries. This xenophobic treatment and approach of the European Union is basically rooted in very complex historical, political, social and economic contexts which this paper intends to intensively and extensively look and discuss in details. Historical Historically, even before the establishment of the European Union, most of the countries that are now in the union had a negative attitude towards people moving into their countries because they believed that such moves would create competition for the available resources .The historical perspective and aspects of the heinous xenophobic approach that EU had, greatly affected the ambitions and desires of many immigrants who really yearned to visit or even temporarily move into the EU

Short analytical memo report Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

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Basel Accords Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

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Short analytical memo report Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

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Hamburger Hill The Things They Carried Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

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Fundamentals of Mice Management Essay Example for Free

Fundamentals of Mice Management Essay National Community Leadership Institute: The first trip was to the National Community Leadership Institute (NACLI), which is located at 70 South Buona Vista Road, Singapore 118176. Its location, situated in the midst of Kent Ridge Park, is fairly close to the Haw Par Villa MRT station, and some distance away from Buona Vista MRT station and Harbourfront station. However, there is only one bus stop with only one bus service near it. This makes the place relatively inaccessible as one may not know where to take the bus from. One would have to take a bus from either Harbourfront or Buona Vista station, and change to another bus to get there and if he or she is not familiar with the place, it would the journey much more difficult for them. Moreover, Haw Par Villa MRT station is still situated quite a distance away from NACLI itself, making it hard for people to actually get there. Barring that, NACLI would still be reachable by people all over Singapore as there are 3 MRT lines serving nearby with several bus services available, though travelling time would be rather long. NACLI provides its clients with a variety of facilities to be used for various purposes. There are training rooms, together with a conference room, available, which can hold up till either 25 or 50-60 people. There are facilities such as an auditorium and a learning lounge, several gazebos, a multi-purpose hall, a dining hall and numerous accommodation facilities available for their clients’ use. The auditorium can hold up to 300 people. Its accommodation facilities are divided into 5 categories, which can hold as little as 2 people to as much as 7 people for overnight stays. There is lso an activity hub and an obstacle course area whereby clients can make use of for more physical activities. With so many facilities available, NACLI is a good place for holding training seminars and corporate events such as meetings as they would be able to meet their clients’ needs when organizing such events. The auditorium and training rooms would suffice for companies to hold their t raining workshops in, and NACLI would even provide courses such as teambuilding for its clients. Thus, its facilities can be considered to be quite good as they cater to a lot of the clients’ needs. However, NACLI may be lacking in terms of food, since it has only one dining hall without much food choices. Clients would have to engage catering if they want more choices for their meals, as there are no nearby food outlets available. The unique selling point of NACLI would include the lush greenery that surrounds the institute. It would provide an extremely conducive environment for events to be held at, what with its soothing effect on people. Green events can be easily conducted as it would fit very much into the theme of the event. Moreover, with accommodations available at cheap rates, events can be held without a hitch. Training courses are also available, which would make NACLI an attractive event space for corporate companies to hold their workshops and training seminars in as they would not have to look for their own trainers from external companies. Some of the events held at NACLI would include the following: Community LEAD Champion Awards 2009, an award ceremony to recognize outstanding grassroots leaders; Law for Community Leaders Programme 2011, a programme aimed to equip grassroots leader with basic law knowledge; PAYM Service Learning Festival 2009. Other events include the GMC (Grace Methodist Church) Youth Alpha Weekend Camp, induction programmes for new community leaders and various talks. SUNTEC CITY CONVENTION CENTRE: The second trip was to Suntec City Convention Centre, where we attended a talk about Suntec Singapore’s experience as an events company. Suntec City, situated at 1 Raffles Boulevard Singapore 039593, is conveniently located next to the Central Business District (CBD) and a mere 20 minutes’ ride from Singapore’s one and only international airport, Changi Airport. Suntec City Convention Centre is also very accessible via public transport. Several MRT stations, namely City Hall, Esplanade and Promenade, are serving nearby. A bus stop just right in front of the Convention Centre also has numerous bus services serving it. The Convention Centre is also accessible via 2 expressways, namely the East Coast Expressway (ECP) and Central Expressway (CTE). Thus, with so many ways in which one can use to travel to Suntec City Convention Centre, the place can be considered to be very accessible. Its relatively close distance to the airport would allow foreign guests travelling from overseas to be able to get to the event as soon as they arrive in Singapore. People from all over Singapore would able to access easily due to the large number of roads and transport available. Moreover, there are numerous hotels nearby, such as the Pan Pacific Singapore, Swissotel the Stamford and the Ritz-Carlton Millennia Singapore. This would allow easy access for all foreign guests staying over in Singapore for the various events that could be held in Suntec City Convention Centre. Therefore, it can be said that Suntec City Convention Centre, being in a prime location, is very accessible, even for foreign guests. Suntec City Convention Centre has one of the finest facilities for MICE events. With a convention hall that can fit up to 10,000 people in theatre style seating and an exhibition hall that is of over 12000 square metres, many events can held concurrently by partitioning the halls. This would allow the organizer to be able meet their many needs for the type of space that they need for the event. The Convention Centre has over 31 meeting rooms, which can accommodate 10 to over 400 people, which would allow any amount of guests to hold their corporate meetings in them. There is also a theatre which can hold up to 596 people, and a ballroom which can hold up to 1800 people, and is also divisible. With so many facilities available, Suntec City Convention Centre is a good place for holding exhibitions and corporate events such as meetings as they would be able to meet their clients’ needs when organizing such events. The numerous meeting rooms of various sizes, convention hall and theatre would suffice for companies to hold their corporate meetings in, while the ballrooms can be used for other unctions. The exhibition and convention hall would also allow many both and foreign companies to set up booths during events for showcasing themselves. Thus, its facilities can be considered to be quite good as they are able to cater to a lot of their clients’ needs. Visitors need not worry about their meals either, as there is an in-house catering service available, and in the event of where the visitors do not want the service, there are numerous restaurants and eateries available in the Convention Centre. The unique selling point of Suntec City Convention Centre would be its location and services. Situated in a superb location, event organisers would look to Suntec Singapore for event space as it can be accessed easily, as mentioned above. Moreover, various services such as catering and delivery are also available for the use by event organisers. For example, Ta-Q-Bin, a well-known delivery company, has an office just for them and several lorries on standby for emergency use, situated right in Suntec City Convention Centre itself. Event organisers would have no worries even if something were to go wrong – Suntec Singapore will have a Plan B just for them. Some of the events held at Suntec City Convention Centre would include the following: the Youth Olympic Games 2010; WTO Ministerial Conference of 1994; the World Economic Forums East Asia Economic Summit, which has been held there several times; IT Show; NATAS Travel Fair; the International Food Festival, the World Down Syndrome Congress, Anime Festival Asia; the 61st Annual Meetings of the Boards of Governors of the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank Group. Singapore Expo: The Singapore Expo is located at 1 Expo Drive, #02-10 Singapore 486150, and it is only a few minutes’ drive from Changi International Airport, therefore allowing foreign visitors to be able to visit as soon as they arrive in Singapore. Located in the east of Singapore, Singapore Expo has its own MRT station, the Expo MRT station, serving it, together with several bus stops that only has a very small number of bus services stopping there. major expressways link the Expo to the rest of Singapore, allowing many people to be able to access it relatively easily, and they are the East Coast Parkway (ECP), Pan Island Expressway (PIE). Tampines Expressway (TPE). Visitors can also drive there as there are 2,200 car park lots reserved for them. 2 hotels are situated only a mere 15 minutes’ drive away from the Expo, and they are Crowne Plaza Changi Airport and Grand Mercure Roxy Singapore, allowing foreign visitors to be able to visit it easily from their accommoda tions. Thus, it can be said that the Singapore Expo is relatively accessible, as visitors in the CBD certainly have many ways in which they can use to visit the Expo. However, that being said, the Expo is not situated in a prime location, and while it has many transport services serving it, it may still be inconvenient for some to travel there due to its proximity from the city centre. Moreover, local visitors staying the other side of Singapore may find it a hassle to travel to it. The Singapore Expo has facilities that are made especially for holding MICE events in. With 10 exhibition halls of 10,000 square metres, exhibitors and various organisers would have no problems holding their events at the Expo. 6 of them, which are the indoor halls, also have a meeting room on the second level that can be used as the organiser’s office or even a VIP room. There is also the MAX Pavilion which is equipped with a top-end sound system, allowing it to be used for large scale events such as concerts. With state-of-art lightings and video systems, the theatre style seating allows up to over 7000 people at one go. The V-rooms also allows for events such as board meetings, conferences (break-out sessions), in-hall meetings to be held in it. A new convention centre, the MAX Aria, would also be opening this year, and it promises to bring organising such MICE events to new heights with its new 32 additional meeting spaces. Thus, with such facilities, organisers would be able to find the suitable space for their events to be held in. As the Expo is built for MICE purposes, organisers would find that most of their event needs would easily be met if they were to be held at the Expo. There are numerous halls to choose from with various rooms available for use. The option of having either an indoor or outdoor event leaves space for the organisers to be able to manipulate and plan their event the way they want it to be. Its proximity to business parks also makes it easier for companies to hold their corporate meetings in it, and with over 2200 car park lots, visitors would be able to drive there as well, or their own convenience. The new convention centre that is to be opened this year would also allow events to be held at a totally new space, and with it being an eco-friendly event space, organisers who are concerned about being environmentally friendly would be assured that they would be able to hold their events in an eco-friendly space. Moreover, with over 14 eateries and restaurants, visitors would be spoilt for choice when it’s time for their meals. The unique selling point of Singapore Expo would be its large event space that is accompanied with facilities that event organisers may need. As it was built for MICE purposes, event organisers would be drawn to it as they can find everything they would need for organising an event. Its proximity to areas such as the airport and the large car park available would also attract event organisers since there would be less worry for traffic congestion and foreign guests arriving in Singapore would find travelling to the Expo an easy feat due to its proximity. With the new eco-friendly convention centre slated to be opened this year, more event organisers would be attracted especially if they are holding green events. Some of the events held at Singapore Expo would include the following: Food ;amp; Hotel Asia 2010; International Furniture Fair 2010; Asia Pacific Maritime 2010; SITEX 2010; Natas Travel Fair 2010; National Library Book Sale 2010. Suitable events to be held would include corporate events such as meetings, talks, seminars, exhibits. Marina Bay Sands: Marina Bay Sands (MBS) has its own convention centre, the Sands Expo and Convention Centre and is located at 10 Bayfront Avenue, Singapore 018956, is a mere 4 minutes’ walk from Marina Bay MRT station and 10 minutes away from Promenade MRT station. Its nearest MRT station, Bayfront, is situated a few minutes away too. There are 2 bus stops serving it, with several bus services from around Singapore. Aside from such public transport, other modes are also readily available for all guests. One would be the water taxi which one could hop on from Clarke Quay, Boat Quay and Merlion Park, and the HiPPO River Cruise Water Taxi, from any kiosks. A 20 minute drive away from Singapore Changi International Airport, there is also an airport shuttle bus where foreign guests flying in could take to arrive at MBS. It is also only a couple of minutes’ drive away central areas such as Orchard Road. Therefore, it can be said that while there are modes of transport available for guests to take to arrive at MBS, they are certainly not easy to find. For example, although there are several bus services serving it, they are not extensive enough to reach out to most of Singapore. Most of them serve mainly the city area. Many guests would either have to drive there or take a taxi instead, unless they are staying at the MBS hotel. However, with services such as the airport shuttle bus and various other transport services provided by external organisations as such the Singapore Airlines Hop-On bus and international coaches. Thus, it is still relatively accessible. Marina Bay Sands’ MICE facilities, spanning over 120,000 square metres with over 5 levels of it, are able to accommodate up to 45,000 delegates, 2,000 exhibition booths, with over 250 meeting rooms and its ballroom is considered to be Southeast Asia’s largest. It can also hold up to 6,000 guests for banquet style seating, 7,000 people in stage style seating or even an astounding 11,000 people in theatre style seating. A VIP lounge is also available for use for VIP guests. Thus, with such a huge space for MICE events, organisers would not have a problem with event space. There is also a large kitchen of 2833 square metres which serves over 100 menus appealing to most tastes and preferences, thus guests would have no qualms about the food. Its facilities are also of reputable quality since it is operated by Las Vegas MICE business pioneer, Las Vegas Sands Corp. Awards won by MBS would include â€Å"Best of the Best Top 5: from Robb Report China in October 2010, â€Å"Asias Best MICE Hotel† and 2nd place for â€Å"Asias Best Convention and Exhibition Centre† from CEI Asia Industry Awards 2011. Therefore, with such assurance, organisers would be able to hold successful events in MBS. MBS had also confirmed more than 1100 events in its first year of operations. With a nearby hotel, guests can easily access the event location easily. Services such as valet parking are also available for all guests, and shopping can also be done at the Shoppes, which offers over 300 stores and food outlets. With dining choices ranging from quick eats to fine dining, guests would have no problems with their meal choices at MBS. The unique selling point of MBS would be its facilities and support services. With over 5 levels of MICE space, event organisers would be spoilt for choices when it comes to selecting the best event space for them due to the flexibility of space at MBS. Coupled with stunning architecture and its good location, MBS would certainly be attractive to event organisers. The numerous support services, such as the shopping amenities and food and beverage outlets, would allow guests to enjoy themselves while they are here for the event. Event organisers would not need to worry about providing entertainment for the guests if needed. With everything under one roof, ranging from accommodations to event spaces, event organisers would be attracted to MBS, and thus, this makes it MBS’ unique selling point. Some of the events held at MBS would include the following: Cruise Shipping Asia 2011; 20th World Orchid Conference; ITB Asia 2011; Art Stage Singapore 2011; Pavilion of Art ;amp; Design 2011 (PAD Singapore 2011); Chem Asia International Expo 2010;  Offshore Asia 2011. Suitable events to be held would include corporate events such as meetings, talks, seminars, exhibits. Resorts World Sentosa: Resorts World Sentosa (RWS) is located off the southern coast of Singapore, at 39 Artillery Avenue, Singapore 099958. In a strategic location, Changi International Airport is just a 25 minutes’ drive away from RWS. Foreign guests could hire a taxi from the airport and arrive at the resort in less than half an hour’s time. It is also located just 10 minutes away from the CBD, and a mere 15 minutes away from Orchard Road. Guests can easily travel to Sentosa through the tram service that is located at the top floor of Vivo City. Guests who had travelled to Singapore through cruises or ferries can also access the resort easily as the Singapore Cruise Centre is just located opposite of Sentosa, situated at the basement of Harbourfront shopping mall. Public transport is also readily available. Buses do go into the island, and guests can also take a stroll along the bridge. The Harbourfront MRT station is located below the Harbourfront shopping mall. Thus, it can be said the RWS is relative accessible. However, despite the modes of transport available, it can still be difficult to access RWS since it is still located off Singapore. RWS’s own convention centre, Resorts World Convention Centre, has a variety of facilities available for MICE events. The Compass Ballroom is the region’s largest column-less ballroom with over 6,000 square metres of column-less. It is able to hold more than 6,500 people in theatre-style seating and with retractable walls, the ballroom can be divided into 3 for more event space. There are 30 function rooms available amounting to over of 3,300 square metres. The Coliseum, located outdoors, gives guests a view of the gorgeous pool of Hard Rock Hotel and a space for unconfined events to be held at. Various support amenities such as business and media centres, luxurious VIP rooms, built-in audio visual facilities are available for the use for event organizers. When holding an event at RWS, all the organisers’ needs would be promptly met with such facilities available. The column-less ballroom would allow all guests, no matter where they are in the ballroom, a clear view of the event happenings. Moreover, with such unobstructed space, numerous exhibition booths can be set up without problems. There are 6 hotels of different themes which would be sufficient to meet foreign guests’ expectations for accommodations when they visit Singapore to attend an event. With over 60 food and beverage outlets ranging from casual to fine dining, and over 45 retail outlets including Coach and Victoria’s Secret, guests have no problems filling their time between events and when it comes to their meals. The unique selling point of RWS’s Convention Centre would be the column-less ballroom. There are not many places in Singapore which have such large event space that is column-less. Thus, it provides a strong selling point for RWS in order to attract event organisers. Moreover, although RWS is not a fully-fledged MICE events space, the facilities are certainly sufficient for most of the organisers’ needs to be met. There are many support services such as the various hotels available as accommodation and the Universal Studios Singapore theme park that would be able to attract event organisers due to the entertainment available for attendees. Some of the events held at RWS would include the following: Asian Attractions Expo 2011; 11th World Chinese Entrepreneurs Convention; Asia’s Ultimate Mixed Martial Arts Fighting Championship 2011; South Asian Diaspora Convention 2011 Opening Ceremony; Intellectual Property Office of Singapore 10th Anniversary Event.

Airport Privatisation The Challenges Way Forward Economics Essay

Airport Privatisation The Challenges Way Forward Economics Essay Traditionally all the airports were owned by the public sector. The European airports in major cities such as Paris, London, Dublin, Stockholm, Copenhagen, Madrid, and Geneva were all owned by national governments. The airports outside Europe like Tokyo, Singapore, Bangkok, Sydney, and Johannesburg were similarly owned by their countrys government bodies. Elsewhere, the major airports like in the U.S. were controlled by local or regional governments. Regional airports in Europe too followed this rule. For example, Manchester airport was owned by Manchester City Council and a combination of 8 local authorities of nearby towns with 45% ownership resting with the latter and 55% with the former authority. In Germany, Dusseldorf airport was owned by the governments of North Rhine, Westphalia state and the city of Dusseldorf together, whereas, the Hanover airport was owned jointly by the governments of Lower Saxony and the city of Hanover. In the 1990s, private or partially privately owned airports became significant. Before this, the privately owned airports were limited only to the general aviation or to the aeroclub airports. The norm during that period was that the public ownership, i.e. the government handled the airport operations at least at a local or majorly at national level. This had a major impact on the operations of the airport and its degree of independence. The strictest form of control existed when the government had direct control over the airport, for example the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA), Ministry of Transport or, in few cases, the military. This was commonly practiced in Asia, the Middle East, Africa and South America. In Canada, 150 commercial Canadian airports were directly controlled by The State Department of Transport. Within Europe, Greece was a good example where CAA controlled all the airports effectively. In some cases, semi-autonomous bodies and companies, those were still under the public ownership owned the airports. Some organizations managed more than one airport, British Airports Authority (BAA) and Aer Rianta Irish Airports were good examples in Europe. Other airport authorities and companies also existed that operated just one major airport. This was the case at Amsterdam airport and many German airports. In the U.S., airport authorities also existed for some of the airports, such as the Minneapolis-Saint Paul Metropolitan Airports Commission. In some cases, multipurpose transport authorities which operated other modes of transport also operated airports, such as the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey or Massport in Boston. There were also examples of airports where companies which were publicly owned managed the airports at concession for the central government. For example, the major Italian airports like Venice and Milan were controlled by public shareholdings and perhaps some private shareholdings at concession for long terms, such as 60 years. The concession could cover management of the total airport operations and handling services like Milan and Turin or just some of the operations like terminal management and handling services like Palermo. At French regional airports, the concessions were given to the local chambers of commerce, but national government holding some control over the airfield facilities. For example, at the Zurich airport, the planning and the overall operation of the airport and the airfield infrastructure is controlled by the Zurich Airport Authority, which is owned by the Canton of Zurich, while a mixed public private company, named FIG, managed and constructed the terminal i nfrastructure. Commercialization The publicly owned and strictly controlled airports were historically considered as a public utility for the public service obligations. As a result, the airport industry was not considered as a business dominant industry but a general public service transport system. However, in the 1970s and 1980s the perspective towards airport management changed as the industry grew towards airline privatization and deregulation. Many airports then were considered more of a commercial industry and businesslike management philosophy was adopted. Thus the airport industry around the world took steps towards commercialization with Europe as its leader. However, airports in areas like Africa and South America mostly stuck on to the traditional way and experienced less changes. The coming of commercialization was seen in many different steps. For instance, many independent airport authorities and airport companies with public shareholders were established resulting in less government control over airports. This gave airports more of operational and commercial freedom and also gave private sector investment and partnership more chances. In 1972, the International Airports Authority of India was established to manage Indias four international airports. In 1986, National Airports Authority took control of the domestic airports in the country. These two merged in 1995. In Canada, where the Transport Canada was in direct control of the countrys major airports, passed its airport management completely to individual non-profit-making authorities in a long-term lease in the 1990s. its main reason was to improve its efficiency and integrate it to the local economy. During the commercialization process, airport management was focused upon operational aspects like financial management, non-aeronautical revenue generation and airport marketing. Many airport directors and senior managers were operational specialists. This realization of commercialization resulted in expansion of staff members and operational resources. Also the typical departments for finance, administrations, operations, and so on was replaced with new department or business units like customer needs, passenger and airline services. One of the most significant changes during commercialization was an increased focus on the non-aeronautical revenues and commercial revenues. Aeronautical revenues such as landing and passenger fee from the airlines had been the most important source. In most of the airports, mainly European airports, non-aeronautical revenues overtook aeronautical revenues as the most important source. For example, Amsterdam airport first reported of its higher non-aeronautical revenue when compared to its aeronautical revenue. This was due to large space allocation to commercial retail shops and other non-aeronautical facilities. In the past, it was very difficult to obtain a true indication of an airports financial and economic performance. Often the government would undertake normal public accounting practices specific to its country and would use public sector rather than more standard commercial procedure. This resulted in difficulty in comparing it with the other organizations. In some cases, airports cost and revenues were considered as one item only within the government departments financial accounts. Therefore no specific profits from the airports could be determined. In the 1970s and 1980s, more commercial accounting practices were adopted in most of the airports. This was mainly due to less control in the hands of the government. For example, in 1987, all major airports in the U.K. became public limited companies (plc). This meant that these airports adopted commercial private sector accounting procedures. One example of this was when Geneva airport became an independent authority in 1994, it began to show balance sheets and asset values in its annual accounts, which previously was ignored. Privatization During the 1970s and the 1980s, commercialization took great strides in the growth of airports around the globe. But it was during 1990s when privatization became a reality. But what is actually meant by privatization? In its broadest sense, it usually means the transfer of airport management, and sometimes ownership as well, to the private sector. Privatization of publicly owned airports had many arguments both supporting and against it. Privatization reduces the need of public sector investment and provides access to commercial sectors. It reduces government control and interference enabling the organization to diversify. It may also increase the operational efficiency of the airport, induces competition and payment of incentives for management and employee staff to perform well. There were some developments that took place in the 1970s and 1980s which strengthened the reasons for airport privatization to occur in some countries. For example in North America and Europe, deregulation resulted in the growth of the airports which meant the existing airport capacity could not cope with this growth. Privatization of airports was considered as a means of injecting additional finance into the airport systems to pay for the future investments. In addition to this, public sector funding became very scarce in the modern-day global econ omic climate as government thought of reducing their spending and turned to non-revenue-earning activities like education and health. Privatization also has some adverse effects like it may create a private monopoly which charges extra for same or lesser standards of services, invests inadequately and gives less consideration to externalities like controlling environmental impacts and maintaining social justice. Less favorable employment condition may occur and redundancies may occur. From a point of view, airport privatization can be considered as just an evolutionary development of the aviation industry. Airports evolved from public sector utility to commercial enterprises and privatization can be considered as commercialization taken to its limits. Increased commercialization has brought about good profits and market oriented management. The increase in number of airport privatization around the world has shown us that this method has successfully achieved ways to tackle some problems that could be faced by the airports in the 21st century. However, this in some countries where publicly owned organizations are considered as national or regional assets being transferred to private companies could be a sensitive political issue. It brings fear that the focus would be then shifted to private shareholders and the customer needs will be neglected. Privatization of airports may have different views among different groups and even between the local and national government. As a result, it should not be thought that commercialization always leads to privatization. A good example for this is the Manchester airport, which runs on a very commercial basis, but has no desire to undergo privatization. Types of Privatization Airports are one of the most attractive organizations for investors, for many reasons. Firstly, the aviation industry has a unique growth rate. Many airports, mainly the major airports have less or no competition, from the airports and also from other modes of transports. It is difficult to enter into the airport industry as it requires heavy capital investment and also difficult to find an appropriate and convenient locations where airport development is allowed. However, there are risks also available such as the political interference in the form of airport regulation and control over airport development as there is deregulation and greater collaborations through alliances. According to the document prepared by Carney and Mew in 2003, the types of privatization can be broadly classified into 5 types: Share floatation Trade sale Concession Project finance privatization Management contract The selection of the most appropriate type of privatization for the airports is done by a series of complex decision-making process in which the reasons for privatizing is checked by fulfilling certain conditions. Share Floatation The first type, i.e., the share flotation or Initial Public Offering (IPO), where the airport share capital is issued, and traded on the stock market. The Management or the public owners are given options to acquire shares. In this type, the government or the public owners give up the total or partial ownership according to the shares open, transferring economic control and risks to the new shareholders. Generally this type of privatization has shown positive results with promising economic growth rate and limited competition as the capital investments are too high for the risk to be taken. Even when total privatization occurs, the government has a certain degree of influence by issuing a golden share so that the national interests can be secured in extreme cases. Trade Sale In this type of privatization, some parts of the airport or the total airport is sold to a trade partner or a consortium of investors, through a public tender. The trade sales which took place in the 1990s had strategic partners involved rather than just passive investors. As a result, the managerial and technological expertise was considered while agreeing on a sale. Concession With this type of arrangement, an airport management company or consortium will purchase a concession or lease to operate the privatized airport for a defined period of time, commonly between 20 and 30 years, again usually through a tendering process. Financial terms and the types of lease will vary but typically this option will involve an initial payment and a guaranteed level of investment and/or payment of an annual fee. Hence this tends to be a more complex approach, which has high transactions costs and needs to carefully designed and implemented to ensure that the private contracts achieve the government policy objectives. Project Finance Privatization With this option, a company will usually build or redevelop and then operate an airport or specific facility, such as a terminal, for a certain length of time, typically 20-30 years. This company may be totally private or may be a private-public partnership. At the end of this period, ownership will revert to the government owners. Thus this approach can be viewed as a particular type of concession agreement. Generally such an arrangement will not usually require a large upfront payment but the operating company will bear all the costs of building or re-developing the facility. When it is built, the company will have to cover the operating costs but will also retain most revenues (often after paying an annual fee to the government) until the facility is handed back. Thus, the airport company will take full economic risk for investment and operations. There are a number of project finance privatization methods with the most popular being build-operate-transfer (BOT) when, as the name suggests, the company will build the facility, operate it for a certain length of time and then transfer ownership back to the government. Other similar models include build-transfer (BT), build-rent-transfer (BRT) or design-construct-manage-finance (DCMF). Other options may actually involve the ownership of the facility such as build-own-operate-transfer (BOOT) or rehabilitate-own-transfer (ROT) projects. All these methods, however, are often referred to by the generic term BOT. Management Contract The least radical privatization option is a management contract when ownership remains with the government and the contractors take responsibility for the day-to-day operation of the airport, usually for a period of 5-10 years. The government either pays an annual management fee to the contractor, usually related to the performance of the airport, or the contractor will pay the government a share of its revenues. Normally investment will remain the responsibility of the government owner and so the overall economic risk is shared between the owner and the management company. For the government owner this may be politically more acceptable, whereas for the contractor such an arrangement may be attractive in countries where greater financial exposure, through a trade sale, for example, may be seen as too great a risk. Overview The overall reason for this report is to analyze the effects of ownership change on the economic growth of the industry. The main success of privatization is not by attaining maximum airport profits but by providing quality service with continuously improvising efficiency and maintaining cost of charges. There are a number of lessons that can be learnt from this experience: The cost of capital is found to be too high in the plc privatization model. Efficiency is optimized when the business is outsourced. Performance can be improvised even without ownership change. It is difficult to reach objectives to provide quality, cheap, and safe service simultaneously. Privatization is not a successful option unless customer needs are not kept in priority for the growth and development. Customers have gained some from privatization, in terms of lower prices relative to the public ownership organizations, but not by a lot. Identifying Challenges Vienna International Airport (VIA), Austria Privatization resulted in inadequate investment and high charges for customers. Before privatization, VIE had high costs. The weak economic regulation did not help much to change this providing no incentive to improve efficiency, provide adequate investment, or hold back monopoly profits. This is due to the direct regulation of charges from the government. Due to the classic monopolist behavior, profit margins are restricted. As a result, insufficient incentives are being produced which cannot further pay for the cost-efficient investments for the future of the airport. Zurich Airport (ZRH), Switzerland The independent TRL Charges Index of the top-50 airports worldwide ranks Zurich Airport as the 10th costliest airport in the world. Due to the collapse of Swissair, capacity constraints have emerged at the Zurich Airport. As a result it is the least profitable airport among the top 50 airports. Absence of an independent economic regulation resulted in low incentives for higher efficiency. The airport has switched from single-till to dual-till which resulted in the aeronautical revenue to bear all the cost of aircraft and passenger service. Auckland International Airport (AIA), New Zealand Absence of an effective economic regulation, due to which they charge excessively on their customers for higher incentives. Asset base and operational cost valuation of the AIA is remarkably high due to its dominant market position. Moreover the cost of capital used by AIA also appears to be extremely high. These appear to be the reasons for high base for charges. Sydney International Airport (SYD), Australia Although the service quality is complimented by passengers, airlines are less satisfied and charges are high. The prices rose high in 2001, giving reasons that it would help SYD earn a commercial rate of return. SYD also switched to Dual-till; therefore the aeronautical revenue is only confined to cover the aircraft and passenger service charges. The ACCC, similar to the Competition Commission in the U.K., is not influential enough to encourage SYD to increase their efficiency as there is no incentive-based price cap. Perth Airport (PER), Australia Huge price rise in service charges with no improvement in services or any significant capital investment. Absence of economic regulation, asset evaluation and the use of dual-till; all this result in increase in charges for the customers. Ezeiza International Airport (EZE), Argentina Privatization meant very bad for the customers. High charges for the structure, under-investment and poor quality of service to the customers. Absence of an independent economic regulator has led to very high service charges. It also resulted to a very confrontational relationship between the government, airport operator and the customers. Capacity constraints have been dealt very poorly. Under-investments due to payment of high royalties. No competition between service providers led to high customer charges with low standards of service. Athens International Airport (AIA), Greece Service quality is good to the customers but comes at a very high price. It ranks the 3rd highest charges in the world. No consultation with the airline customers on building of the new airport, therefore high cost and inefficient investment. The rate-of-return economic regulation creates no incentives for improving efficiency and permits monopoly profits. If the profits are not met within one year, then the regulator allows charges to be raised in order to recoup. The AIA also uses the dual-till. This means the aeronautical revenue is confined only to the aircraft charges and passenger charges which should have been also used for the commercial charges. There has been over 20 years since privatization of infrastructure providers started in different industries. Although, considerable rise of amounts had been achieved by privatizing many publicly owned companies fully or partially, general public and customer interest had not been one of the major concerns. From the identified challenges brought into light due to privatization of airports all around the globe, some prominent issues like cost inefficiency, high charges due to no independent economic regulation in existence. The cost of capital is too high under the plc privatization model. There is no improvisation in the efficiency and quality of customer services to cope with low or minimal incentives. The privatization of airports has also brought the issue of capacity, financial and environmental constraints into light. This resulted in potential discrimination between incumbent and new airline companies. Expanding capacity at new major airports require huge amounts of capital, where public sector funding might not be sufficient, therefore private sector investment has to be considered. But for future investments, incentives and service charges have to be rightly considered and revised. Compacting Strategies An efficient economic regulation is necessary to regulate the cost of capital, the asset and resource valuation and to control the service charges according to the quality of service provided. It is also needed to improvise the quality of service provided to airlines and customers according to the incentives. It has to optimize the use of given space capacity, both for aircrafts and passengers. An efficient economic regulation system is appropriate for bringing a balance between the service provided and service charges by setting up a fair and efficient charging system for airports infrastructure. It may encourage private investors to invest and take control of commercial management. It is noticed through history that airports when operated with commercial outlook, the performance, efficiency and financial situation is improved, whether it may be publicly owned or privately owned. Airports governed by national or local governments should be allowed some degree of freedom to run more like a commercial type and unnecessary regulations should be lifted. British Airports Authority (BAA), U.K. Excellent example of how to privatize an airport successfully, by implementing effective economic regulation of assets. Since privatization, the company has diversified. It started managing airports overseas with equal stakes and concentrating on particularly the non-aeronautical revenue generation at the airports. Effective economic regulation has been critical for the success of privatization, which regulated the aeronautical revenue considerably low and maintaining good quality of services. The existence of a Competition Commission has resulted in effective regulation of charges by keeping the customers interest in mind. The price-caps are given a regular check in order to prevent the increase in airport profits in excess of the cost of capital. This avoids inefficient investment which would lead to excessive charging of customer services. Revision of incentives for better services keeps the quality of service good and also in improvisation. If neglected, it would lead to poor quality of service in order to increase airport profits. Single-till is the mode of airport accounts management. In this method, both the aeronautical and non-aeronautical revenues are taken into account during setting the airport charges. Copenhagen Airport (CPH), Denmark Relatively successful privatization with quality service and relatively low airport charges. Effective economic regulation has been critical for the success of this privatization. This controlled the aeronautical revenue relatively low and quality of service high. Improvisation in the efficiency of services was the key to its success since shareholders are also benefitting. The regulation put price-caps by negotiation with the airline customers, if this failed, then incentive based charges are assigned to improve efficiency of the services. Brussels Airport (BRU), Belgium The economic regulation brought customers into reassurance by setting appropriate charges. With respect to the rate-of-return policy, little incentives are produced for cost efficiency improvements to reduce airport charges. Conclusion Privatization brought drastic changes as the ownership changed from public owners like national or local government to private sector ownership. But commercialization is of greater asset than privatization. Increasing the airport profits, expansion of airport capacity and economic growth happens by undertaking commercial type of management. The public owners can increase the revenue generation by liberalization and allowing the airports more degree of freedom. Effective economic regulation is critical for successful privatization as capital investment is high therefore there is less competition for private sector investment. The economic regulation is highly necessary for creating incentives, which would help in improvisation of quality of service and increasing efficiency and would restrain monopolies created by privatization and allow sharing of airport profits with the customers by reducing customer service charges. A regulatory committee in association with the economic regulation could be considered highly beneficial as they would complement each others price-capping by keeping the customers and the airports cost of capital into consideration. For successful privatization, customers should be considered as key stakeholders in the development and expansion. The pricing infrastructure should be set by keeping the customers interest as one of the most important criteria in making capital investments for growth and future development.