Globalization and the Environment Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Globalization and the Environment - Essay Example There is also an element of double standards because most of the global corporations operating in developing countries belong to the west (Kwong 21). The author recognizes the positive impact of globalization as far as environmental development is concerned. Globalization promotes free trade. In an environment of free trade, a country is free to choose a trading partner and the best ways of exploiting her resources. Globalization promotes development of institutions that advocate efficiency in production. Such institutions design laws that protect environment in a business world. Globalization promotes competition amongst global firms, which invest in innovation and efficiency in production. Efficient technology promotes environmental conservation and sustainable growth. The curve is U-shaped and shows a positive affiliation between economic expansion and environmental dilapidation, for example, pollution, before the curve’s turning point. From the turning point, there is a negative relationship between pollution and economic growth and development. The curve is important because it shows the important of globalization as far as environmental development is concerned. I support the author’s arguments. This is because they explain the real situation in the global economy. For example, in the developing countries, economic growth increases with the increase in pollution. On the other hand, pollution within developed countries decreases as the level of development increases. This is because companies adopt innovative technology in production, which enhances environmental

Description of four specific ways in which Neuman's HCSM could be used Dissertation

Description of four specific ways in which Neuman's HCSM could be used to improve nursing practice - Dissertation Example 242). The HCSM in Nursing Paradigms The field of nursing usually utilizes four paradigms or concepts in its practice, namely, the person or client, environment, health, and nursing itself. These concepts are defined in Neuman’s model, according to how it is applied in organizing the structure of the profession. As presented by Neuman and Fawcett, the client may be a person, family, group, or community, and there is the need for a clear definition of who are included in the client system and how they relate to other members (as cited in Sitzman & Eichelberger, 2010, p. 79). The client or client system is then viewed in five variables, which are the physiologic, psychologic, sociocultural, developmental, and spiritual aspects. The environment is described as all internal and external factors that surround the client, while health is connected to both wellness and illness. Wellness is the client’s system to remain stable at any given time, and illness is the failure to ach ieve homeostasis in the presence of stressors. Nursing, on the other hand, is concerned with assessing the client in response to stressors, and assisting him to cope with them according to the three levels of prevention in order to achieve the optimum degree of wellness.

Risk Management and Work Breakdown Structure

Risk Management and Work Breakdown Structure 1 Introduction This report is to examine the theory of project management and practice of project management techniques which consist of Work Breakdown Structure, Gantt Chart ,risk management and SWOT and PESTLE analysis. Also, the report will show the personal learning experience from the module. Finally, the journal will be comment for project management analysis. 2.1 Work Breakdown Structure (WBS) Work Breakdown Structure is a fundamental project planning technique which is used in the beginning of the project. Also, it was designed to use the systematic methods to break down the whole project into deliverable units. Therefore, it is an effective technique to organize the project for each element. By using work breakdown structure, it is possible to understand the tasks and activities in the project easily which makes the structure more comprehensible. Also, the tasks are able to be conducted by different people or groups individually which improve the efficiency and easier to allocate the responsibilities (Maylor, 2005). Nowadays, Work Breakdown Structure has been admitted to the common and essential tool for project manager who need to manage and monitor the every process in the project. The process is to divide the entire project into several main stages which included many rudimentary tasks in sequence. Every task can be an independent activity (Maylor, 2005). In the work breakdown structure planning process, it needs to be noted that WBS should not be split extremely detailed which will make the structure complex. However, it has been claimed that even Work Breakdown Structure is a practical tool to utilize the project, there are still some problems. The main problem is that the task in different stages is independent to be executed but they are still in the same project (Maylor, 2005). WBS does not show the relationships of tasks between different stages. Therefore, divergence will happen in the different part of project. Moreover, the WBS does not show the time that each task execution needs (Young, 2006). Thus, project managers need to monitor the conflicts and solve the problems during the project execution. Moreover, project managers should use other tools to control the task process time. In the product case study, WBS plays a major role to help group mates easy to break the project into two main parts. One is about Design development and another part is to focus on manufacture and launch plan. Each part has many stages which consist of several tasks. After, it is easy to identify the scope of tasks and make the content of tasks clearer. In order to avoid the conflicts happening, the tasks have been considered to find the sequences in the same states. Each task shows a key step in the project that keeps the WBS structure clear not being complicated. WBS of this project was created by every group mates. Therefore, it was clear to understand the basic elemental and tasks in this project. 2.2 Gantt Chart: Gantt chart is a useful technique which was designed by Henry Gantt. It can be used to represent the time costing of activities in the project (Maylor, 2005). There are two main parts in the Gantt chart. Vertical part is to list the different activities in the project. Horizontal line is to show the time scale from start to end. It can clear identify the time need and time limit. By using different colour, it is easier to make viewer how to understand the time cost of tasks and the time sequence between other activities in the project. (Lock, 2007) Moreover, it is effective tool to overview the duration of each tasks or whole project. Therefore, Gantt is widely used in the project manager to manage the time need. Manager can evaluate the real activities to extend or reduce the time by Gantt chart. However, there are some limitations of Gantt chart. Firstly, Gantt chart is suitable to use on the a small amount of activities of project. If there are numerous tasks in the project, the G antt chart will be complex. Secondly, it is inflexible to revise the time and make change during the project. Due to It will influence the other sequent tasks (Maylor, 2005). Finally, even Garnt chart can provide the time sequence of tasks, it still lack of showing the relationship of interdependence between each task (Lock, 2007). Therefore, Gantt chart is to show the time cost of tasks but does not improve the resource arrangement (Maylor, 2005). In the case study, Gantt chart was used to arrange to time management to ensure the project that can be finished in the limited time. It is easy to draw by computer or hand and clearly identifies the order of task executions. The time cost will be influential fact in the case and Gantt chart help the project manager or group member to effectively plan or monitor project (Thomsett, 2009). It also make executors clearly understand the timeline to finish the tasks on time. 2.3 Risk Management Project risk management is an essential part of project management that ensure the result and the profitability that are correctly produced by processes. There are variety of uncertain fact and risks in the project (Young, 2006). The aim of risk management is to reduce the risk to treat the project and minimize the influence. Moreover, most risks are not unexpected and uncontrolled. In other words, the risk can be indentify and quantify to be controlled. There are many risk identification methods such as key risk symptoms, External source, TCQ analysis and assumption. By using quantification techniques, the risks can be measure and demonstrate by likelihood, effect, hide-ability (Maylor, 2005). Thus, it can be estimated or avoid. By Adjustment to alter the possible result is another scheme. In addition, insurance is a feasible method in the modern society. Therefore, risk management processes include the identification of the risk, quantifying the risk, prioritising the risk, develop ing the strategy and taking the action. Most of risks which include positive risk and negative risk can be shown and controlled after these analyses (Harries, 2010). Even though process through these steps, the project managers still need to concern about any other influential facts happening and ensure the project as expectation. In case study, the risk management was considered to the one of main assignment conducting from beginning to the end. In the barnstorming meeting, the possible risks were list by group member from high risk to low risk and measure the probabilities of occurrence by scale. To quantify the risks make it easy to tell what is most risky or what most possible fact to impact the project is. Thus, pre-preparing the strategy and solution for each risk to minimize the impact to our project are crucial for the result. 2.4 SWOT and PESTLE Swot is a strategy analysis tool to identify the internal and external facts to the project and organization. It is widely used in the strategy planning work (Haughey 2010).There are four main parts in the SWOT model which includes Strengths, Weakness, Opportunity and weakness. The internal part of SWOT model consists of Strength and Weakness. Project Manager and members can evaluate the current strength and weakness of organization to the project. To list the realistic fact and group ability to appraise the condition are the necessary for planning project strategy. External analysis is made by opportunity and weakness (Bianes P. et al, 2008). External issues will be the influential facts to influence project strategy. It needs to consider that the competitors activities and society issues relate with project development. However, external environment has variety of issue which is completed. Therefore, in order to clarify the environment, PESTLE analysis is effective model to investi gate it. PRESTLE consist of Political, Economic Social-culture, Technology, Legal and Ecological. However, it has been admitted that SWOT framework has been popular in the business and some of disadvantage that has been claimed and need to be overcome (Haughey, 2010). Firstly, there is no any process to re-thinking whether the output strategies are practical or not. Secondly, there is no priority in the framework. It is hard to tell the importance of each strategy. However, SWOT framework has little problems that need to consider and improve. It is still an useful model for strategy analyze. Therefore, using SWOT and PESTLE to determine the situation can explain the current situation clearly but project managers need to pay more attention to make the decision cautiously. To use SWOT and PESTLE in the case study, it is clear to distinguish the internal and external conditions to the organization. Use PESTLE in the case study, it is easy to collect the environment issues which are relative with product and future trend. By analyze the facts, the strategy can be considered to unsure the strategies that there is no conflict to the environment. SWOT model is an efficient methods to plan the strategy. Using strength to analyze with external fact and output the strategy to overcome treats. Also, it can use external facts to supply internal weakness. Therefore, project manager can understand the organization and circumspectly plan the efficient strategy to achieve the aim of project. 3. Project management skill and contribution to the group In the project management, there are many techniques and skills to help project members to manage the case study. Every technique and skill has the particular use to develop the project. Also, each practice of framework was discussed by the team members corporately. How to use the theories is the challenge to the team. The techniques are useful to improve the project and the skills help the work productively. For example, WBS is a practical framework that was not known by the team until the session. It was effective to divide the oyster key project into several tasks. The content of tasks was created by the group mates and the information was searched from the internet and designers in the field which is about the product design that will make the tasks of oyster key project close to the real design project. It shows the skill of solving problem. How to use internal source and external source to solve the problems was learned in the project. Due to the team have no design background that is the challenge to plan the product development process. Use external source is crucial to overcome the tasks. The project process has been considered by the team to show the main stages and activities. In order to keep the WBS clear to be understood, there is no extremely detailed tasks on it and every activity o n WBS is vital in the project. After using WBS, the team understood what the main stages in this project are. Moreover, Risk management was another new knowledge for the team. It was seen the crucial part of the project that monitor the whole project from beginning to end. By assumption to list the possibility, it is relative with the analysis skill. How to find the potential risks from the project process relate to the skill of analysis and organize data. In the beginning of this project, the product of the project needed to be decided. A suitable product was hard to be found that can be agreed by every group mate. Therefore, the situation needed to use communication skill to make a common decision. The author offered the idea about personal experience of need for design product. It was from the perspective of design innovation to improve the human life. It was convinced by other two of group mates. Then, the rest of group mates show their opinion to the idea. It was the communication process to make the different opinion integrate the common decision. In addition, the author is willing to provide the personal working experience to help the group in the process. The opinion from working experience provide the project to improve the integrity of the project which include planning ability to the WBS and Gantt chart, time management, Risk assumption and strategy planning. Meanwhile, the rest of group mate showed the ability of organizer that can efficiently manage the information and document. The rest of group showed the ability of cost estimates. All of these skill make the project more complement to achieve the aim of project. 3.1. Personal Learning and applying in the future Project management is a useful model in the DMU. Honestly, it will be the one of the practical model for postgraduate study in this year. Many techniques and skill have been learnt by session. Case study help the author understand how to practice the techniques in the field. The advice of tutor is helpful to conduct the process of project. Moreover, the most important learning of this model to the author is that how to be a successful project management. Inspiring and leading the group to the common aim is the duty of the project manager. It also relate with the team-building skill. By communication and negotiation skill to produce the effective plan have been the required skills for a manager. During the module, time management is important to ensure the work can be finished on time. In addition, there would be some risks to impact the project. Besides risk management, manager personal ability to handle the pressure is also important. It will be helpful to train the ability to face pressure. Moreover, most of future works can be seen as a project to manage and operate. For instance, risk management can use to evaluate the any decision in the future that is not only in business. The problem solving skill can be the methods to deal with any problem in the life. Thus, the learning from project management will help to benefit the work in the future. 4. Brief Critique of academic journal 4.1 Journal 1 Is more information technology better for new product development? 4.1.1 The aim of research This article shows that the relationship between information technology department and new product development department. There is a growing number of companies which invest a great deal of money on information technology to improve the product quality and reduce cost. The article is to show does the information technology help the product development successfully and how the cooperation works between these two departments. (Durmusoglu et al. 2006). 4.1.2 Prior literatures Prior literatures identified that number of study which are about the internal communication to new product development departments have been examined (Durmusoglu et al. 2006). Porter and Millar (1985) as cited by Durmusoglu et al. (2006) that computer technique is the effective tool to assist the new product development such as product functions, cost reduce and produce speed. Boutellier et al. (1998) as cited by Durmusoglu et al. (2006) that project manager also expected the information technique to support the project team. Meanwhile, they can share information, creativity and personal networks to each other. 4.1.3 Research method The research method was used in this research is survey to collect data. The questionnaires were sent to the top managers of information thchnology department and new product development department of 21 companies. These companies are in the 14 industries such as farm equipment manufacturing, automobile parts and supplies manufacturing, hand tools manufacturing etc (Durmusoglu et al. 2006). This approach was effective to get the depth perspective from the magagers. 4.1.4 Finding The finding show that information technology department support the new product development that can enhance the new product flexibility but also increase the cost. Moreover, the two department managers have the common perception to share the knowledge and information to each other. Finally, even though the Information technology can enhance the product development process, it did not totally equate the increase of sales or outcome to new product (Durmusoglu et al. 2006). 4.1.5 Future use of the research This research reveal that the corporation of information technology and product development department. It also shows the influence of support by technology department. Moreover, cost increase is the main facts that need to be considered in the future. To control cost and increase flexibility will be the concerning issue in the product development process in the future . 4.2 Journal 2 The association among project managers leadership style, teamwork and project success 4.2.1 The aim of research This research is to investigate the relationship between project managers leading style and the influence of teamwork to the project outcome. There are variable of sub facts to impact the project performance like the team size, project type and industry sector(Yang Huang Wu 2010). 4.2.2 Prior literatures Turner and Muller (2005) as cited by Yang Huang Wu (2010) that he impact of project managers leadership style to project performance was ignored in the most of past study. However, there are some study which mention about project managers leading style. Kendra and Taplin (2004) as cited by Yang Huang Wu (2010) leadership behaviors will be the influential reason to the project. Moreover, DuBrin (2004) as cited by Yang Huang Wu (2010) that leadership is an achievement to conduct by communication. 4.2.3 Research method The questionnaire-based were conducted in this survey. There are four section in this survey which include project managers leadership style, teamwork, project performance, and personal information. The respondents composed of project executive, superintendents and higher level project leader Yang Huang Wu (2010). Therefore, the respondents from different work position to answer the questions which make the finding more objective. 4.2.4 Finding The finding in this research show that the leadership style might influence slightly. Also, teamwork is the most significant influence to the outcome. Moreover, different type of project show the different relationship with the group mates (Yang Huang Wu 2010). Even the feeling is hard to correctly measure, the finding still show that the teamwork is really influential in the project. 4.2.5 Future use of the research This report demonstrates that manager need to communicate with the group members and to develop the common attitude to make teamwork work effectively. 4.3 Journal 3 Cost targets and time pressure during new product development 4.3.1 The aim of research The research is to find the impact of cost target time limit to the project. Quality is the main fact to be compare with the two restricted conditions. The outcome of project was tested in this research to find the effective method to product development. 4.3.2 Prior literatures The cost-oriented product was expected by past study. Fisher (1995) as cited by Everaert Bruggeman (2002) that define the target costing is that planning the reducing cost method in the beginning execute the expectable process to cut the cost. Moreover, Kato (1993) as cited by Everaert Bruggeman (2002) show that human play a main roles in the new product development and time reduced plan in the project management has been the source of pressure to most engineer. 4.3.3 Research method The research was conducted in the laboratory to test by experiment. The experiment use the haphazard two-by-two factorial design which to compare the test result. One laboratory was given the cost charge, time limit restriction. It was designed to simulate the real customer requirement. Also, if the engineer only finished the project on time but quality was not achieve the requirement, there is no any rewards (Everaert Bruggeman 2002). By this method, it is easy to tell the impact of restriction to the project. 4.3.4 Finding The finding is that the products which were developed by cost target project did not show the poor quality and reduced. In addition, in the time limited project, engineer have to spent more time to develop the product that result the cost reduced aim were not reduce as expectation(Everaert Bruggeman 2002). 4.3.5 Future use of the research In this case, it shows that it have to be considered the impact of time limit to the cost target. If the restriction is too much, it is hard to reach the cost target aim. 4.4 Project portfolio management for product innovation 4.4.1 The aim of research The aim of research is to establish the standard of test to evaluate the suitable use of product portfolio which can be conducted for product project or service project. 4.4.2 Prior literatures Andersson (2000) as cited by Killen Hunt Kleinschmidt (2008) that most of companies have noticed to practice the portfolio management to organize the resource to create the profitable outcome. Dye and Pennypacker (1999) as cited by Killen Hunt Kleinschmidt (2008) that current product portfolio widely practice on RD management and pioneering projects. Therefore, Project portfolio has been used in the industry and need more explanation to show the scheme of effective use. 4.3.3 Research method The research is conducted by survey in Australia. There were 166 organizations in this research who receive the mail to answer the questionnaire which consist of 88 questions. Those companies use project portfolio to manage their new product develop projects (Killen Hunt Kleinschmidt 2008). This sample method is suitable to compare the practice of portfolio from different industries. 4.4.4 Finding There is no significant difference of Product portfolio use in this research. However, it has been found that even the companies has used the product portfolio, many companies do not have enough time to conduct the product portfolio completely (Killen Hunt Kleinschmidt 2008). Therefore, time limit is still a obstruction to practice product portfolio management. 4.4.5 Future use of the research Most of product portfolio methods were design by the past environment and the use process is not flexible. Therefore, it need to improve the new Product portfolio methods to be suatible to use in the current business environment. 5. Conclusion Project management not only is theory, but also useful to practice in the business world. Furthermore, most of business cases can be seen a project to manage and planning. Many techniques of project management are suitable to be used in analysis. Meanwhile, the techniques and skills are also crucial to a project manager and academic journal would be the another source for managers to acquire the knowledge. After learning the theories and practice in the case study, being a successful project manager would an expected aim to be achieved.

My Grandparent’s House Essays -- Personal Narrative

My Grandparent’s House It was another summer at my grandparent’s house that I woke up to one sunny Saturday morning. The smell of eggs, bacon, and tortillas was a greeting to the home-cooked breakfast I could sense as I lie in the bedroom still lightly dreaming. I could hear my grandpa in the distance, chopping wood for the stove my grandma was cooking with. Very old fashioned my grandparents were, convincing me to become more independent, I always enjoyed their company. It was a summer where I would be taught the value of wisdom and of the people I love. Though the past summer at my grandparent’s place was pretty much the same, I didn’t understand the words and talks my grandparents would have with me. At such a young age I wasn’t able to account for everything they had said or appreciate what they had to say, but this particular summer was different. My cousins were about the same age I was and had only live half a mile away from my grandparents. As I quickly did my chores, I could see three of my cousins walking down an old dirt road form their house. When they reached the porch I was just about finished packing my water bottle along with my peanut butter and jelly sandwich. I opened the door finding my cousins outside replying â€Å"Hey Kev! How are you?† As we started our walk towards the creek behind my grandparent’s house, I looked back and saw my grandmother frowning, knowing that we were going to use the rest of the day to our own content. Becoming full of excitement, one of my cousins yelled â€Å"last one to the creek is a rotten egg!† as everyone dashed towards the wash. As midsummer approached, our rendezvous at the creek became an even more popular event for more of relatives to join in on. At certain times, there were as many as 15 of us down at the creek laughing, running around, and splashing each other with the cold refreshing water containing a sweet scent from the near by willows. I still remember my grandma’s dogs barking and running after the little kids. I could feel the squishy sand between my toes and hear the trickling of the water brushing against the grass. We followed the creek and it led through a small pond where we swam in. We were having so much fun that we didn’t see that it was getting late as the sun sat gleaming, sinking beneath the horizon, giving one last wave bef... ... the time spent with people you love and those who love you because life isn’t very long for anyone to not regret spending time with your loved ones. Here's one of my favorite songs by the Smashing Pumpkins: {rotten apples} dirty your face with longing and grace, God-given suffer her heart, and love her when your love goes unrequited Where the cool winds blow, I must surely go For my love calls me lo, drag her from the depths of my soul When will I see her again? The other side of friends The darkened clouds of death The empty-breathed desire Dirty your face with longing and grace, God-given Suffer her heart, and love her when your love goes unrequited Restless in my speech And ruthless in my teach So vacant in my breach, I drive the dirt of her garden Sorrow She'll never listen again No other lovers to bend Just rotten apples to eat Slathered yellow distant scorn Dirty your face with longing and grace, God-given Suffer her heart and love her when your love goes unrequited Life just fades away Purity just begs Dust to dust we're wired into Sadness

Perfect competition Essay

Monopoly is the final type of market structure in which a single seller dominates trade in a good or service for which buyers can find no close substitutes. A monopoly is distringuished from a monospony, in which there is only one buyer of a product or service. It can also have a monopsony control of a sector of a market. All types of Monopolies can be established by a government, form by integration. The way Monopoly derive their market power is from a berrier to entry. There are three major tpes of barriers to entry which are the economic, legal, and deliberate. Im going to tell you how each one works and what it is helpful more. First, the economic barriers include economies of scale, capital requirements, cost advantages, and the technological superiority. Secondly, are the Legal barriers. It can provide opportunity to monopolise the marker of a good. Lastly, is the Deliberate actions whivh a company has been wanting to monopolise a market may engage in various types of deliberate action to exclude competitos or eliminate competition. Market structures are very important in Monopoly. It provides he basis topics such as industrial organization and economics of regulation. Traditional economic analysis, perect competition, monopolictic competition, oligololy, and monopoly are the four types of market structures. Monopoly versus competitive markets is a challenge. They are similar due to the fact that they both minimize costs and maximize profit. Presiding over eachothers territory can cost millions. Many governments regulate monopolies because a monopoly market lacks the benefts of competition. The U. S. Governement appiles laws against monopoly behavior by Microsoft not allowing big companies in some industries. The Government permits certain monoplies in exchange for regulating their activites. A pure monopoly has the same exact economic retionailty of perfectly competitive companies. Total revenue and total cost maximizes a monopol over a chose of the cost.

Globalization of the Media: A Bicultural Woman’s View Essay

Does globalization mean we’re being conditioned into thinking only of CNN or Al Jazeera when disaster strikes and we need detailed news of an event? Yes, very likely, because many media in the Arab world fall short of the task of providing good, accurate, news that’s to the point. Can we face globalization? Should we be part of it? What tools can we manipulate to our advantage? What role can women play in globalization of the media? Do they face obstacles? Doesn’t it hurt us when foreign journalists report wrong information about us? Shouldn’t we help them by making it easy to get the right information and not fall into the same trap of doing to them what they do to us? 1. NEED FOR UNDERSTANDING & BALANCED INFORMATION ON BOTH SIDES: We need more media that can understand our cultural backgrounds and societal needs on both sides of the cultural divide – i.e. those that strike a balance between accurate information and understanding of the story’s background. All too often reporters are parachuted into a country to cover a hot story without having solid grounding in the subject. This applies to Arabs as well as Americans and Europeans. I’ve seen it happen in many countries and we need to rectify that. U.S. and European correspondents often arrive on Arab shores with no notion of what’s happening in the country or the region, little or no knowledge of Arabic (or French) and expecting everyone to understand them in English, for example. Some don’t do their homework and don’t read about the background that led to recent conflicts, as if they exist in a vacuum. It’s a major failure on their part. An American reporter I know was too scared to enter Tripoli (Lebanon) during one of the major firefights of the Lebanese civil war, took a taxi to the edge of the city, saw some exchanges from a distance, ran back to Beirut, filed the story with a Tripoli dateline and proceeded to detail the raging battle which he never really saw. There are many such stories from all over the world. That’s a great disservice to the readers, viewers, listeners and browsers. 2. THE GENDER PROBLEM: On the gender front, an Arab woman journalist may be lucky to cover the same news as a man, but she can’t expect the same pay. Why? â€Å"There’s a ceiling women can’t penetrate in media and government,† says May Kahale, a veteran journalist and media adviser to former Lebanese president Elias Hrawi. Mona Ziade, news editor at The Daily Star in Lebanon, notes that women’s coverage of politics and other â€Å"serious issues† is fairly recent and continues to raise male suspicions. Which is why women have to strive harder to prove themselves and abide by very professional standards to be taken seriously, and be respected. According to Dr. Mohammad Ibrahim Ayesh of Sharjah University, the chances of Arab women in the media are still limited compared to men and the lack of opportunities for professional growth is a major depressant they face in media organizations. He attributed this to traditional stereotyping of women in the media as consumers only concerned with beauty and fashion and lacking the ability to think and make decisions. Another obstacle is that media work requires flexible hours and mobility, which often conflicts with the responsibilities of married women, who have children and homes, he added. Why don’t we have stories of women who have succeeded in this field highlighted in our own media? Why don’t we make them available to foreign media in their own languages? It doesn’t take genius, just a bit of effort. I spent many years covering the Pentagon (in addition to the White House, State Department and Congress) and enjoyed writing on defense and security issues, focusing on weapons, rapid deployment forces, low intensity warfare, terrorism and nuclear proliferation. Mastery of languages is very important. It’s helped me in many situations. Reading Farsi (with my command of Arabic) helped me cover stories in Tehran; knowing Greek enabled me to decipher the Cyrillic alphabet while on assignment in Moscow and while living in Cyprus; and being fluent in French has served me in many locations, like North Africa and elsewhere. Thinking and speaking in English’s many variations is my strength. If women are to prove themselves in the field – and many have excelled over the years – they should do their homework, and more. They should keep pushing that executive glass ceiling by being experts in areas not considered â€Å"women’s issues.† 3. HOW ARAB MEDIA SHOULD COUNTERATTACK: On November 26, the Arab League opened a two-day conference to discuss how to deal with the world’s eagerness to equate Islam with terrorism and started a fund with an initial $1 million donation to finance research and publications to promote dialogue among civilizations. That’s great, but we need to ensure the availability of satellite broadcasts (mostly in English), good use of the Internet, and an army of articulate communicators who can convey the ideas of peace, common humanity and fairness to all in non-rhetorical language, short sound bites and cyber kilobits. Arab media need to counter-attack, but I would argue that to do so, they must act decisively, promptly and credibly. The Detroit Free Press, published in the city with the United States’ most concentrated Arab-American population, is trying to better understand and explain issues concerning Arab-Americans and Muslims. It has a list called â€Å"100 Questions & Answers About Arab-Americans: A Journalistà ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½s Guide† to help with more accurate journalistic portrayals of Arab-Americans, their backgrounds, culture, religions. The Florida-based Poynter Institute, which specializes in media matters, ran an online article called â€Å"Understanding Ramadan† with links to various sites journalists could use as resources. Equally good were two features in the Seattle Times Online called â€Å"Understanding Turbans† and â€Å"Interpreting Veils† with illustrations and descriptions of headdresses worn by men and covers for women. We should have such information handy to provide our media contacts. Speaking on Arab-American perspectives on the anti-terrorism war, the president of the Arab-American Institute in Washington, James Zogby, delivered the Secretary of State’s Open Forum address in December, noting that his community can play a bridging role in the Middle East. â€Å"We understand the reality of the region,† he said. â€Å"We also want to have input in the discussions about how we approach the Middle East.† So what do readers in America, for example, really want? Pam Johnson writes on the Poynter Institute site that international news needs relevance. â€Å"For many Americans, what happens in the Middle East, Western Europe, Great Britain, Afghanistan, the Indian sub-continent, and the rest of North America now is a subject of great interest,† she said. â€Å"Similarly, events in the United States that are related to the U.S.-led ‘War on Terrorism’ take on greater importance.† The Columbia Journalism Review of November/December 1997 ran a story entitled â€Å"Reporting Foreign News: Who Gives a Damn?† Author James F. Hoge, Jr. wrote that except for the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1989-90, the coverage of international news in American media had steadily declined since the late seventies, when the cold war lost its sense of imminent danger. The reason: A world less threatening to America is less newsy, he reported. Or as one TV executive said, â€Å"sunshine is a weather report, a raging storm is news.† Journalists have also ignored historians, wrote Charles Bowen in Editor & Publisher. He pointed to a new history-rich website called History News Network (www.historynewsnetwork.org) as a potentially powerful resource, providing linked headlines to its latest analyses. Shouldn’t the Arab World have something similar to serve its purposes? George Krimsky, a veteran foreign correspondent and editor with the Associated Press, who now has a consulting firm, co-authored a very useful book called â€Å"Bringing the World Home: Showing Readers Their Global Connections.† It’s an invaluable resource for Americans who don’t see a link between their own back yards and the universe at large. Arabs can help by finding links between what interests Americans and their own region. It just requires homework, research, and perseverance. Several organizations award journalists for the work they do and risks they take to inform us about what’s happening in the world, or even in our own neighborhoods. We should support these awards and create worthy prizes. I was heartened to learn that the conference of Arab news agencies’ federation which met in Doha in December recommended the establishment of the federation’s own internet site in English and Arabic and another site to counter the negative image portrayed in the perceived campaign against Arabs and Muslims. I would still like to see more references made to women’s participation in that effort and mention of how the image of women in the Arab world can be presented in a positive light, not via stereotypes. â€Å"Empowering Arab & Muslim women is the key to eradicating terrorism at its source† was the headline of an article by Lebanese journalist Saad Mehio in The Daily Star Dec. 12, 2001. 4. RECOMMENDATIONS: With all that in mind, here are my recommendations for positive change: Women journalists should have facts ready at their fingertips, ask intelligent questions, be persistent without being obnoxious, show inconsistencies in what’s being said and done, document everything, and be thorough. Arab women journalists need to learn American English fast and tune in to the nuances of official Washington before presuming to know how to cover the White House, State Department, Pentagon, Capitol Hill, etc. They also need to understand the intricacies of international finance and lending institutions if they’re to cover the World Bank and IMF. They should be well versed in the language of international relations, treaties, history, geography, etc., before tackling the U.N. and its agencies. There’s a lot of legwork involved. Have female economists available to speak on western business shows about their economic concerns and the common ground that exists between people from the Arab world and other parts of the world. It would strike a responsive chord. Have female engineers or physicists or doctors or lawyers available to appear on TV shows, radio programs, in print, etc., to explain how things work in Arab or Muslim countries. They would probably find more in common with their sisters in the west than differences. Above all, have articulate journalists and media experts available to answer questions about the media and other issues of concern across the cultural divide. Hollywood has enlisted former heavyweight boxing champ Mohammad Ali to help America’s campaign abroad to show that the war it’s launched isn’t against Islam or the Arabs, but against terrorism. Why can’t the Arabs enlist Omar Sharif and women stars who speak English well to do the same and address the western world to talk about the riches of the Arab world and Islam, and even Christianity in Arab countries? One thing we’ve failed to do well is addressing the hinterlands in America and Western Europe. It’s never too late to do that but definitely requires time, money and effort. How about mobilizing our women politicians to go out to De Moines, Iowa; Chicago, Illinois; Dallas, Texas; Athens, Ohio; Columbia, Missouri? Set them up to talk to women’s clubs, get on women’s talk shows and programs, even religious programs and talk about how their beliefs are similar to those of the women in the small towns and cities. We need to have a handbook of Arab-American legislators, Arabs who’ve made it in business and science, the media, etc. Have biographies of them and summaries on how the political system in the US works at the city, state and federal levels. Some of these things are already available through Arab-American organizations, but need to be made available to us in simplified form. It’s not just a matter of buying our way into the media and politics. It’s more a matter of working our way through the system, by first understanding it. We can’t claim expertise in the field. There’s still much to learn. We should have media directories and handbooks of Arab experts available for correspondents who visit us or live in our countries. Make them clear, concise and user friendly. Update them regularly, make sure they’re properly edited and printed on good paper and are attractive online. It’s the details that count and lend to one’s credibility. No matter how powerful or rich a mass medium, it cannot succeed if it does not offer accurate and unbiased information. We may present glossy pictures but if the text is bad, the whole story goes out the window. How do we contact the media? How do we write a letter to the editor or an op-ed column? Here are a few suggestions from the Arab American Institute in Washington, which also provides links to media sources. We can follow the guidelines and create our own local/regional version: 1. Be timely. Respond while the issue is still fresh in the minds of journalists and their audiences. Send your letter no later than a week after the article appears in print or is broadcast. 2. Be direct. The opening paragraph should contain your main point. You want the reader to be able to quickly identify your message. 3. Be concise. Your letter’s length will affect its chances of being published. Most publications will not print more than three short paragraphs. 4. Use words that convey a firm and resolute stance. If you’re writing a letter critical of news coverage, use adjectives such as distorted, inaccurate, out-of-context, one-sided, skewed. If you are complementing an article or editorial, make sure you note its fairness, balance and/or thoroughness. 5. Stay cool. Hostile or overly emotional language in your letter will hurt your chances rather than help them. Stating your case in a convincing fashion is the most important criterion for getting published. 6. Spread the word. Don’t just send your letter to the editor. You can maximize its impact if you send a copy to other people responsible for the article, such as the reporter, foreign editor or syndicated columnist, as well as those mentioned in the article, such as a congress member or public official. 7. Claim credit. Before publishing a letter, most papers will call to verify that you wrote it. Make sure you include your full name, title, address and daytime phone number in the letter. 8. Follow up. Inquire about the status of your letter with a phone call or letter. If you submit a letter in the future, the editor may remember you and give you more immediate consideration. In December, CNN and MTV – two cable networks launched in the 1980s with different ownerships and audiences – teamed up to offer viewers of both networks a series of reports on young people in Afghanistan. What an interesting experiment! Why can’t we have something similar with young women from a youth-oriented Arab station reporting on the plight of Palestinian women under siege, young people in Iraq, students in Sudan, or women farmers in southern Lebanon? In fact, I would propose creating an online news service for children, run by children – let’s say ages 8-18 – under the guidance of adults. Its young reporters can reach out to others around the world and share their concerns and fears about the planet they all share. Another place I’ve loved to visit in the past few years has been something called the Newseum (or news museum) outside Washington. It’s a magnet for anyone interested in news. We could easily have something like that in Lebanon, for example, dedicated to the news business, with exhibits in at least three languages and user-friendly, computer-generated, interactive displays. We must learn to network more effectively and develop media literacy programs for children and adults. A specialized media group defines media literacy as a four-step â€Å"inquiry† process of Awareness†¦Analysis†¦Reflection†¦Action. There’s a lot that can be done online to reach a far greater audience than traditional media. One woman in New York called Amira Quraishi with a group of friends launched a non-profit organization called Muslims Against Terrorism and started a website. According to Wired News Online, they began with a spare website that tracked hate crimes and cited key passages from the Koran that call for peace, justice and tolerance. Within three weeks, the site had slick Flash graphics, a press kit, links to other good resources, links to the group’s listserv and contact information for members. One of our shortcomings has been that we’re always reactive, not proactive. We need to change that. We should provide speakers, information, access, courtesy, and much more, in real time. We should learn to make friends with reporters and editors – not with the idea of buying them, but with being good sources of reliable information to them. It’s an easy task that should be taken seriously. We should learn to respect time and deadlines. We need to have long-term vision. Our editorials should be rational discourses, not irrational outbursts. If we’re going to set up more satellite stations to address western public opinion, let them not be carbon copies of what we already have. We need original content to face today’s challenges. We need in-depth coverage of issues that concern our people and that have common threads with others worldwide. Let’s be creative about it. We’re catching up in the use of technology, but shouldn’t bar access to its various manifestations. Blocking websites won’t do it. It’ll only make people want to try harder to reach the unreachable. We have too many armchair analysts. In Beirut, dozens of famous writers sit in cafà ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½s and expound on matters about Lebanon and the world. They don’t travel extensively, they don’t mix with all manner of people, and they don’t even read English well enough to decipher American or British media. And yet they get paid for that. It’s a disgrace. They should be dethroned. Analysis and good writing aren’t done by remote control. They require involvement, getting down to the grassroots, digging for facts, and constantly communicating with people from all walks of life. We in the Arab world should also learn to handle bad news. In the West they create crisis centers to handle the flow of information in an emergency. We tend to cover up things. Why? We’d be more credible if we shared what we knew in a sober and rational way to help all those concerned, including ourselves. People will continue to stereotype Arabs and Muslims so long as Arabs and Muslims don’t present their case in an effective way, away from stuffy official statements that most people don’t believe anyway. We need substance. It’s our job to change the negative image we have abroad. We have to bridge the cultural and media divide. Provocation won’t get us anywhere. Communication will. To improve our image we need to clean up our own act, reform our methods, abide by media ethics, follow guidelines of good journalistic practice, promote transparency in our work, capitalize on our human assets, promote more women in the media to fill higher positions and provide balanced leadership. We need to coordinate better and should learn to share information among each other in a cooperative spirit. â€Å"Keep it simple and don’t assume anything† are two basic rules I used to teach my journalism students. They’re universal. Finally, always keep children in mind when creating a message. They’re the most impressionable and valuable audience we have and they’ll grow up to become tomorrow’s leaders.