Settlement of the power conflict between top management of Cathay and pilots Essay Example for Free

Settlement of the power conflict between top management of Cathay and pilots Essay 1. INTRODUCTION 1.1 Background Information Since 1993, Cathay Pacific Airways Limited (Cathay) has experienced the threat of industrial actions initiated by unions. On 1 July 2001, another industrial action was commenced, resulted in a three-month chaos in Hong Kongs tourist industry. Being the representatives of the pilots of Cathay, Mr Nigel Demery, the President of Hong Kong Aircrew Officers Association (HKAOA), informed Cathays top management that the pilots refused to accept Cathays new pay proposal. Members of the HKAOA have decided to commence industrial actions to force Cathays top management to accept their demand. The event was followed by a sharp increase of pilots reporting sick leaves. Unlike previous industrial actions, Cathays top management held firm to their original standpoint and dismissed 52 pilots and chartered additional aircraft to moderate the problem of pilots reporting sick and absence from work. However, the incident did not come to an end. On the contrary, the problem escalated when HKAOA reacted by announcing support of the sacked pilots by taking legal actions against Cathay for the unfair dismissal. The pilots industrial action caused a financial loss of US$12.8 million to Cathay each day. In fact, this was not the first time for the pilots to use industrial actions as a mean to press the top management in accepting their demands. Three industrial actions have been taken place since 1999. These frequent industrial actions have not only caused financial loss, but also harmed the companys overall reputation. Table 1 provides a summary of the industrial actions that has been taken place since 1993. 2. OBJECTIVES 2.1 Objectives The chief objectives of this report include: Settlement of the power conflict between top management of Cathay and pilots Moderate the power of pilots in order to avoid or reduce industrial actions in future 2.2 Analysis of the Existing positions of both parties Luthans (1992, p.426) said that formal organizations are highly political and power is the name of the game. Managers and non-managers in an organization often manipulate power to accomplish goals. Cathays top management holds legitimate, reward and coercive power to perform various specific tasks and decisions. Legitimating refers to an upward appeal, which adds weight to an influence attempt by showing support from senior managers, rules or procedures.1 On the other hand, coercive power means the using of threats, intimidation and coercion to gain compliance.2 In the recent industrial action, the top management tried to utilize their legitimate and coercive power to gain pilots compliance. Apart from the effectiveness of this position-based power strategy, the use of coercive power always causes negative consequences such as weakening relationships. In contrast, the pilots hold strong expert power. Pilots have high-value expertise. Referring to the strategic contingencies model3 which focused on individual power and how it is obtained, the subunits that are most central to the flow of work in an organization acquires power. The major revenue of Cathay comes from passenger and cargo services. It is impossible for an aircraft to operate without a pilot. The past industrial actions showed the strength of pilots expert power. Thus, the power conflict between top management and pilots must be settled in the long run. Besides, Cathays pilots manipulated the coalition strategy to accomplish their goals. HKAOA is a typical coalition of pilots. At present, Cathay employs 1,500 pilots, more than 75% of the pilots are members of the HKAOA. Thus, each industrial action evoked by HKAOA has caused a significant impact on Cathays business and reputation. Given the fact that the majority of the general public was of the view that the pilots have been over-demanding and created much chaos to the tourist industry in Hong Kong (According to the interview results as well as from the media), it is a good opportunity for Cathay to take advantage of the situation and to moderate the power of the unions. 3. SOURCE OF INFORMATION 3.1 Source of Information This report is based on both primary and secondary information from various means. This includes:- ? Interview with representatives of both Cathay and the HKAOA. ? Annual Interim Reports of Cathay ? Newspapers ? Magazines and Journals ? Cathay Pacific Airways Official Web Site 4. FINDINGS Our findings are mainly based on the following sources:- * Interview Findings * Financial data published in the Next Magazine as showed at Tables 1-5. * Review of Cathays existing policies and procedures as showed in Appendix 1. 4.1 Interview Findings 4.1.1 Interviews with HKAOA (Interviewee: Mr. Spurrier M.) ? According to HKAOA, Cathay was intimidated by aggressive interviews by managers about delays; ? For other managers or employees acting on Cathays instructions had followed pilots into the cockpit to watch them doing flight checks even though they did not possess the required qualifications to know what was necessary, as such, prosecutions for those people may be possible under the safety law of Air Navigation Ordinance as intimidation risked distracting pilots from their jobs; ? The pay demand was reasonable to Cathay; 4.1.2. Interviews with Cathay Management (Interviewee: Mr. Tang) ? Many crews were being put under extreme pressure to sign the HKAOAs lawyers letter; ? Cathays net recurring profits has already been forecasted to fall by 20% to 25% in 2001 due to the global economic downturn; ? The pay demand of HKAOA was unacceptable; 4.1.3. Interviews with the Human Resources Department (Interviewee: Mr. Chau) ? Employees remuneration represented about 25% of Cathays Total Operating Expenses; 4.1.4. Interviews with a Cathay passengers (Interviewee: Mr. Lee) ? The respondent described the pilots pay demand as unreasonable while the economy was still recovering; ? He complained that the pilots threat of industrial action had thrown his holiday plans into chaos and the pilots union was selfish especially during peak travel seasons; 4.1.5. Interview with Tourists Right Association ? They said that industrial actions would not gain the support of the general public and would only injure Hong Kongs reputation and tourism industry; ? They claimed with anger that the pilots earned well in Hong Kong, but tried to endanger Hong Kong tourism industry; 4.1.6. Media Comments from the Next Magazine, Hong Kong ? Analysts said it would be hard for the pilots to pressure Cathay into roistering changes because of the financial implications; 5. SWOT ANALYSIS OF CATHAY 5.1 SWOT Analysis A SWOT analysis may help management to identify the companys strengths and weaknesses against its major competitors in the industry and to explore the opportunities and threats for effective strategic planning purposes. The analysis has been summarized from our findings and observations by various means as mentioned in Section 4 of this report. The SWOT analysis is mainly based on our observation and analysis on the financial information provided in Cathays annual report and from that of the Next Magazine. 5.1.1 Strengths ? Strong management team such as the director of corporate development, Tony Tyler, has implemented tough policy; ? Code share agreements with a number of other international airlines to provide greater flexibility such as British Airways, Japan Airlines, Malaysia Airlines, South African Airways. Swissair, THY Turkish Airlines; ? With the decisions made to cut schedules and bring in charter aircrafts, the level of flight disruptions and delays have been considerably reduced, and the effect on sickness levels have to reduce; ? With the prevention from government regarding overseas airlines in carrying passengers in Hong Kong to other destinations, Cathay became a price maker; 5.1.2. Weaknesses ? Existence of Tenure employment contracts strengthen pilots power; ? Contracts are issued to pilots according to HKAOAs instructions, for example, all newly recruited pilots must start from the entry post of a Junior Pilot regardless of his/her previous experience; ? Long history of tolerance to pilots for their industrial actions created wrong perception to pilots that industrial action was an effective way in request for a demand; ? Lack of local pilots as substitutes in time of strike; ? High cost of training a Cadet Pilot (approximately US$128K); ? Huge amount of financial interest of about US$1.3 million a day and labor cost of US$2 million per day; 5.1.3. Opportunities ? Prolonged industrial action created unnecessary anxiety to passengers and the public, resulting in the loss of confidence in pilots and its union; ? Insufficient coalition between the union and pilots as not all the pilots are willing to participate in the industrial actions; ? As pilots were sacked, Cathay could recruit pilots at a lower cost; ? Intensive trainings were held in an Adelaide aviation training school; ? Only a 3-year contract for new recruitment could be signed; ? More better experienced pilots can be recruited with closure of airlines subsequent to the 911 tragedy in America. 5.1.4. Threats ? The corporate image was spoiled by the HKAOA strike; ? As flights were delayed or suspended, loyal customers have been lost, resulted in loss of competitiveness; ? Aviation market has been opened up for competition; ? Owing to the pilots expertise, substitutes would be extremely difficult in the case of sickness; ? The pilots are forced to sign a letter drafted by the HKAOAs lawyers to Cathay and were intimidated by having their names as non-signers on its website when they refused to sign; ? The unions source of income was supported by the membership fee from 80% of the 1,500 pilots at 1% of their income and was proposed to increase the contribution up to 5%; 6. PROBLEM-SHOOTING AND RECOMMENTDATIONS 6.1 Problems Difficulties ? The industrial action has been too powerful for the company to deal with. This was evidenced in the prolonged action that has caused substantial damage to the tourism industry; ? High level of dependency on foreign pilots to carry their passengers; ? The HKAOA vowed no resolution to the Cathay dispute unless all the pilots who have been unfairly dismissed were reinstated. 6.2 Recommendations and Strategies Our recommendations are made to achieve 3 chief objectives:- i) Strengthen the power of the company ii) Weaken the power of the pilots iii) Building-up relations with the pilots 6.2.1 Strengthen the power of the company In order to strengthen the power of Cathay, playing games will be a good tactic. Authority game can be used to resist the power of the pilot. History indicated that Cathay lost in 3 industrial actions (from 1993 to 2000), as the company did not resist the power of the other party. Hence, the company original policy should be strictly adhered in order to win the game. In July 2001, Cathay proved that the Authority Game tactic was feasible with its firm adherence to its proposed pay, benefits and roistering package with up to 9% increment (Table 2 showed the salary package as proposed by Cathay). On the other hand, Cathay has publicly refused to consider negotiating with the pilots again unless they withdrew their industrial action. Besides, Cathay may consider using the coalition-building game to form alliance with other airlines, preferably nearby airlines. Coalition game is another power-base game to increase power through forming of alliances or coalitions with groups within the subunits of the company or groups outside the organization.4 Cathay can then enjoy immediate assistance by chartering additional aircrafts and rebook passengers on other aligned airlines. This increases the flexibility for Cathay even if HKAOA imposes further destructive actions. Moreover, all airlines should agree not to hire bad-listed pilots. Furthermore, Cathay can inform outsiders about the injustice and irresponsible actions of pilots via a whistle-blowing tactic. Firstly, they should let the public know the prospect and earnings of a qualified pilot, i.e. create a high-income earner image for the pilots (Table 3), during recruitment of cadet pilots. In general, the general public will not accept high-income earners taking industrial actions to fight for salary increment. Secondly, they may let the media know that more than 10,000 passengers were adversely affected by the industrial action in July 2001. Besides, joint efforts with the Government are required to show the economic damage to Hong Kong during the industrial action. 6.2.2. Weaken the power of the pilots Political influences are a good way to conform the pilots to meet organizational value. This can be done by position-based influence strategies through pressure and threats in return for compliance. Besides, coercive power depends on fear. During the industrial action in July 2001, 52 pilots were sacked without any reasons. The action tended to show the firm position of Cathay and intimidated the pilots to accept the offer. Since Cathay could afford to pay sacked pilots a better than most package, as the Hong Kong labor laws offered the company with certain flexibility. This implies that further dismissal of pilots is possible. The enforcement of pressure and threat can be achieved by the issuance of written statement warning that lateness will not be tolerated as this would breach of the employment contracts, which may in turn lead to dismissal. Moreover, the announcement of cutting foreign-based pilots is a feasible alternative. Another way is to abolish the tenure employment so as to reduce pilots employment security. The new employment proposal is a three-year contract for newly employed pilots. Renewal of contract is subject to performance, i.e. diluting the portion of permanent pilots. Substitutability refers to the ability to engage other pilots to perform the job of the existing pilots.5 This implies that if Cathay has or can obtain alternative sources of pilots to perform the job done by the existing pilots, the pilots union can be diminished. Therefore, Cathay can consider hiring pilots from other airlines, who have been sacked during the redundancy programs, e.g. America Airline, Continental Airlines, etc. The reduction in the dependency on foreign pilots becomes the most important aspect of power which is a function of dependency. This is because the greater Cathays dependency on the foreign pilots, the greater the pilot unions power has over Cathay. It can be observed that in August 2001, 10 local pilots have completed their Cadet Pilot Programme at BAE SYSTEMS Flight Training in Adelaide, South Australia. The 10 graduates brought the number of cadet pilots who have graduated from Cathay Pacifics training programme to almost 150 since its first launch in 1988. Cathays investment brings long-term commitment to develop Hong Kong aviation industries as well as reducing the dependency of the majority of the 90% overseas pilots. Obviously, foreign pilots are the source of power. Rule of thumb, if Cathay can have its own local pilot team, Cathay will not reply to hire the pilots from overseas. The sources of pilot unions will be diluted. Therefore, it is very important to speed-up the training of Cathays own local pilots team. 6.2.3 Develop relations with the pilots Building up better relationship with pilots is a long-term solution. This can be achieved through interpersonal influence. With the application of position-based influence strategies, Cathay can offer rewards or benefits in exchange/return for pilots compliance. Rewards can be anything that another person values which is the opposite of coercive power. In Cathays case, rewards can be monetary rewards, fringe benefits, favorable promotion prospects, flexible shifts or flight territories. If the company can give someone something of positive value or remove something of negative value, the company will have reward power over that person. Emphasis should be made on the fact that Cathays pilots are still the most expensive pilots when comparing to other American and European Airlines. This has been achieved during all public announcement and negotiation (as shown in Table 4 and Table 5). Motivating the pilots is crucial to Cathays long-term success. It is important to build up common goals and values to obtain support or commitment with personal-centered strategies. These are strategies that rely on an individuals characteristics and abilities to access expert and referent power bases, or inspirational appeals and consultation.6 One suggestion is that the pilot s remuneration package should split into basic salary and performance bonus, which relates to the company s annual profit. The outcome, consensus or agreement can be achieved through Normalization. Normalization influence can gradually change the opinions and the behaviour of pilots by reciprocal process and informational influence to achieve conformity.7 In fact, coercive and reward powers are counterparts of each other. If Cathay can remove the Unions powerful/dominant value from pilots or inflict negative values upon them, Cathay will have coercive power over them. As mentioned earlier, legitimate appeal can add weight over influence attempt by showing support of the senior management. Cathay may provide indication to the general public that the pilots are under intolerable pressure from Unions. First, it can be done through media to pronounce the number of calls that management had received complaints from pilots on managing Unions intimidation. Alternatively, it will be a good tactic for management to show care and understanding of pilots difficulties and to encourage them to follow the instructions from HKAOA by signing the lawyers letters back to Cathay. Lastly, ethical success will confront ethical dilemmas by the referent-powered management, like Mr. Tony Tyler. It is important that emphasis should be stress on Cathays pilots, Unions and the general public that the current package offered by Cathay is the best. The termination of industrial action is for the good benefits of pilots, passengers and the public instead of Cathay itself, which meets the utilitarian outcome. The packages offered allow the pilots an option to choose for their terms of package. The emphasis is on fairness, freedom of choice and individual rights. No strict rules for the pilots. In return, the dismissal of industrial action is expected from pilots. Message may be made to the general public with emphasis that Cathay has confidence over the pilots professionalism and legitimate power. They will be responsible for their actions. In addition, Cathay may show appreciation for those pilots who have filled in for their absent colleagues. 7. SUMMARY 7.1 Summary Since 1999, Cathay encountered threat from industrial strikes every few years (Table 1). Cathay compromised with HKAOA in the previous three strikes and gave in to the HKAOA industrial actions. This year, the fourth industrial action organized by HKAOA with an aim to fight for higher pilots salary increment and shorter working hours have caused Cathay loss of over millions of profits, not to mention the damage on its reputation and the loss of significant market share to major competitors. (Appendix 1 provides a summary of the vision of Cathay and its traffic figures from June to November 2001) This report has examined the current power between Cathay and HKAOA and accordingly recommended Cathays management to take proper actions to counter HKAOAs industrial action and to end HKAOAs threats in future. We have interviewed both the Cathays management and HKAOAs representative and gathered necessary information from other public means. We then evaluated these information to perform a SWOT analysis and based on it defined the problems facing by Cathay in its current situation. In general, Cathay is facing a powerful union, which has a very strong bargaining power due to the pilots expertise power. Hence, we have recommended Cathay to deploy political games to strengthen the companys power and to weaken the power of the pilots. In addition, we have recommended management to build up a long-term co-operative relationship with the pilots after the power struggle. By doing so, we trust Cathay can end this industry actions in a reasonable period and to prevent the same problem happen again in future. 8. REFERENCE BIBIOGRAPHY 8.1 REFERENCE Interviewee: Mr. Chau W., Director of Personnel, Cathay Pacific Airways Ltd. Interviewee: Mr. Lee, passenger of Cathay Pacific Airways Ltd. Interviewee: Mr. Spurrier M., Image Director of HKAOA. Interviewee: Mr. Tang A., Director of Corporation Planning, Cathay Pacific Airways Ltd. Luthans F. (1992). Organization Behavior 6th ed. Singapore: McGraw-Hill. 8.2 BIBIOGRAPHY Annual Report 2001, Cathay Pacific Airways Limited Botton V. Agencies, Cathay chaos may start today South China Morning Post, 3rd July 2001. Botton V., Pilots put battle plan into action South China Morning Post, 4th July 2001. Botton V. Agencies, Cathay may ground all flights South China Morning Post, 22 September 2001. Botton V., Cathay warns it may close foreign bases, South China Morning Post, 28 September 2001. Botton V., Secret Cathay peace talks fail South China Morning Post, 29 September 2001. Bowman J., Cathay turns screw on pilots South China Morning Post, 30th June 2001. Bowman J., Union denied access to Cathay mail boxes South China Morning Post, 3rd July 2001. Cheng A., Narrow nationalistic views clouding the Cathay issue South China Morning Post, 19th July 2001. Cheung C.F., Thousand stranded at airport South China Morning Post, 8th July 2001 Cheung J., Dispute may open extra routes South China Morning Post, 8th July 2001 Interim Report 2001, Cathay Pacific Airways Limited Ivancevich, J., Olekalns, M. Matheson, M. 2000, Organizational Behavior and Management, 1st Aust. Ed, Irwin, Sydney Lai C.Y., Cathay Strike, Next Magazine, 28th June, 2001. Lai C.Y., Cathay vs HKAOA Next Magazine, 12th July,2001. Lo J., Rostering and overtime remain key issue in Cathay negotiation South China Morning Post, 4th July 2001. Luthans, F., 1992, Organizational Behavior, McGraw-Hill, Singapore. Mintzberg H., 1983, Power in and around Organizations, Prentice-Hall, N.J., USA. Mullins, L., 1989, Management and Organizational Behavior, Pitman, Great Britain Pfeffer J., 1981, Power in Organizations, Pitman Publishing, M.A. USA. Porter L.W., Lawler E.E., and Hackman J.R. 1975, Behavior in Organizations, McGraw-Hill, N.Y., USA. Kotter P. 1987, The Empowered Manager, Jossey-Bass, San Francisco, USA. Reuters, Airline job cuts hit Europe South China Morning Post, 21 September 2001 Robbins S. P., 1994, Organizational behavior, 4th ed., Prentice Hall, N.J, USA. See http://www.cathaypacific.com Tichy N.M., 1986, The Transformational Leader, N.Y., USA. 1Ivancevich J, Olekalns M, Matteson M (2000), Organizational Behavior and Management, 1st Aust ed., McGraw-Hill, pg. 401. 2 Ibid. 3 Ibid, pg 393. 4.Ivancevich J, Olekalns M, Matteson M (2000), Organizational Behavior and Management , 1st Aust ed. McGraw Hill, pg.403. 5 Ivancevich J, Olekalns M, Matteson M (2000), Organizational Behavior and Management , 1st Aust ed. McGraw Hill, pg.395. 6 Ivancevich J, Olekalns M, Matteson M (2000), Organizational Behavior and Management , 1st Aust ed. McGraw Hill, pg.401. 7 Ivancevich J, Olekalns M, Matteson M (2000), Organizational Behavior and Management , 1st Aust ed. McGraw Hill, pg.397.

Digital Bangladesh: Concepts of Development

Digital Bangladesh: Concepts of Development Background The phrase Digital Bangladesh, although is composed of the catching word Digital, stands for a concept which benefits the country as a whole by using Information and Communication Technology for management, administration and governance in order to ensure transparency, accountability and answerability at all levels of society and state. Digital Bangladesh will provide us an ICT driven knowledge-based society where information will be readily available on line and where all possible tasks of the government, semi-government and also private spheres will be processed using the state of the art technology. So, in order to build a digital Bangladesh, we should emphasis on efficient and effective use of modern ICT in all spheres of the society with a view to establish technology driven e-governance, e-commerce, e-production, e-agriculture, e-health etc. for emphasizing the overall development of the common people, the major stakeholders of the country. Backbone of Digital Bangladesh ICT is the backbone of any digital initiative. It covers the vast area of information ensuring connectivity through the information technology, communication technology and of course the telecommunication technology. Without the development of the ICT sector, the dream of a Digital Bangladesh would not be possible. The main factors of ICT are the physical backbone and the intellect. Computer Systems, Network Machineries, Software, Wire and Wireless Connectivity Systems, Broadcast Hardware and many other Hardware and Accessories are the physical backbone. The trained human behind the backbone are the intellect. To materialize the idea of digital Bangladesh, development of countrywide backbone and expected number of human recourses are the basic needs. On the other hand, while mass people are concern, availability, accessibility and affordability must be ensured; otherwise the objective of building a digital Bangladesh could not be achieved properly. Due to globalization, more specific ally due to booming of ICT like most of the country of the globe, Bangladesh has already been connected with the outside world through the information super highway. Relationship between development and digitization Information technology reduces costs, saves time, improves efficiency, raises comfort levels and increases the confidence of citizens. Hence, developing countries such as Bangladesh should leverage the power of IT to leapfrog poverty barriers, and promote economic and social development. But we have to keep in mind that technology (ICT) alone can not alleviate economy, nor guarantee dynamic service delivery to citizens. It is important to understand that ICT facilities Good Governance but ICT itself do not guarantee Good Governance. Status of our country Telecommunication and Internet: backbone of communication Until recently, International Telecommunication System of Bangladesh has been dependent on satellite which was slow and had narrow band width. According to Telecommunication Policy of the government, International Telecommunication Network system is being regulated now by BTCL. Bangladesh has presently been connected with Information Super Highway through Submarine Cable since May, 2006. International Voice Circuits have been increased by more than 200 percent. IPLC (International Private Leased Circuit) has been opened with different companies. BTCL is connected with Singapore and France and Italy for Internet through 12 X STM-1. The Router capacity of BTCL has been enhanced through up-gradation of digital Data Network. Installation of NGN TAX (Next Generation Trunk Auto Exchange) is going on. It will enhance the inter district Telecommunication facilities. Access Network through Copper Cable, Optical Fiber, x-DSL, Wi-MAX is under process with a view to bring broadband connectivity and other facilities of the Submarine Cable System to the door-step of the subscribers. Mobile phone: media of communication Over last few years, a great revolution has taken place in the cellular phone usage in Bangladesh. It is evident from the table that the number of cell phone subscribers is growing rapidly compared with the fixed phone subscribers in Bangladesh. The growth rate of fixed phone subscriber was 15.26 percent in 2008. Against this, the growth rate of cell phone subscribers stood at 117.57 percent in 2004 and 35 percent in June 2008. Computer: tool of digitization Human Resources: work force for digitization World Scenario This digital revolution has created a brand new economic sector that simply did not exist before. Computers, modern telecommunication and the Internet all reduce communication costs and break down geographical borders. In addition, ICT can be an important driver in poverty reduction and assure sustained economic growth, better public welfare, and strong social solidity and democratic forms of government. In the developed nations government policies are being established which attempts to ensure that all citizens will get opportunity to access the effective use of ICT in order to enable them to participate in the educational, social and economic activities and democratic process. Developed countries are getting much benefit from the advancement of ICT. People living in developed countries have the best access to the fastest computers, best telephone services, competitive Internet Service Providers, and a wealth of content and training relevant to their lives. For example (Legard, 2001 ): The total Internet bandwidth in Africa is equal to that in the Brazilian city of Sao Paolo. The total Internet bandwidth in all of Latin America is equal to that in Seoul, South Korea. As a proportion of monthly income, Internet access in the United States is 250 times cheaper than in Nepal and 50 times cheaper than in Sri Lanka. In the United States, gn 1e6 54.3 percent of citizens use the Internet, compared to a global average of 6.7 percent. In the Indian subcontinent, the proportion is 0.4 percent. The digital divide around the world is usually measured through statistical indices such as the number of telephone lines, personal computers, websites and Internet users and their ratio to the total population. Table:1 shows a picture of such type of statistics of some world including Bangladesh. Although, there is an overall increment that has been enjoyed throughout the years in various areas of information and communication technologies, the improvement is very minimal in terms of global progression and not as good to be mentioned as an upcoming information society of the world. In fact, despite all these improvements, according to the ICT Development Index, Bangladesh moved down 6 places, from rank 132 in 2002 to rank 138 in 2007. This clearly indicates that there were countries that were ranked below Bangladesh in the 2002 index and they achieved significant improvements to exceed our rank in 2007. The examples include some developing and least developed countries like Pakistan, Gambia, Cote dIvoire, Senegal, Madagascar, Mauritania and Benin. The country that expanded most worldwide in ranking is Pakistan, moving up to 19 places, from the rank 146 in 2002 to rank 127 in 2007. Though the rank is still low, the progress has been significant in the past five years because i n 2002 there was almost no ICT access and usage in the country, whereas in 2007, 8% households had computers and internet penetration reached 10.7%. This proves that the country has improved in two areas of ICT while Bangladesh improved significantly in one area, which ranked us below Pakistan. So, an overall consistent increment in penetration levels starting from mobile telephones to fix telephone lines and from internet to personal computers is highly needed for making Bangladesh the digital one. India has led the use of remote sensing satellite information for locating irrigation projects. The Internet has been effectively used in some of the villages to ensure effective dissemination of agricultural commodity price information. The National Dairy Development Board (NDDB) in India has used IT effectively, to enhance competitiveness of the dairy industry and to provide benefits to the rural masses. Towards digital Bangladesh we can use the Indian experience of using ICT in different sectors of the agriculture. Since more than half of our population is employed in agriculture, our planner should put ICT to good use in agriculture. The Simputer was developed by scientists from the Indian Institute of Science, and a software company called Encore. One can get computing facilities at a drastically lower cost as simputer only cost US$150 per piece compared to US$ 400 for a PC. Further, it has a local language interface. This is an instance of how the scientist, academia and industry can collaborate to develop technology to suit a particular economy. We can learn this lesson also from our neighboring country. In Bangladesh, 51% of the population does not have access to essential drugs. Further, there are only 26 physicians per 100,000 population compared to 279 for US and 162 for China. ICT can help bring medical expertise to Upazilla and District headquarters. Tele-medicine, for instance may link healthcare centers in remote locations, through satellites, with super specialty hospitals at major towns / cities. Thus it can bring connectivity between patients at remote end, with specialist doctors, for medical consultations and treatment. Our shortcomings Access to the Technology Inadequate technical and policy capacity is a fundamental barrier to digital Bangladesh. In Bangladesh, the lack of technical capacity and public managers perceptions of ICT is problematic in regard to issues such as migration to IP-based networks, implementation of mobile communication systems, and e-commerce applications, though capacity building measures do exist. One of the chief obstacles to effective e-governance is a lack of awareness about the usefulness of the Internet in policy making, coordination of policy implementation, creating portals in engaging important actors in the policy process, and in building an open and transparent public platform for wider participation. The reason for Digital Divide in Bangladesh is that the telecommunications infrastructure is deficient. In Bangladesh, the telephone density is only about 0.5%, which is the main reason for insignificant internet connection in the country. ICT infrastructure support is inadequate as compared to other countr ies in this region there is lack of any centralized policy to progress of ICT in the country. There is also some lack of holistic approach to infrastructure creation. The Internet facilities in sub-urban and district level are lag behind. No suitable network among the research institutes is established. Economic Barriers The economic condition of the people is one of the vital issues for computer use and internet connectivity. Generally, on average wealthy and educated as well as young, urban and male have the internet access, which appears that economic solvency education are the major factor during internet diffusion. Most of which are not favorable in Bangladesh. The budget provision for establishment, maintenance and expansion of computer networks in the country is inadequate. Reliable power supply is a major hindrance to develop telecom infrastructure in the rural areas. Literacy Barrier The Bangladesh is facing acute crisis of skilled computer user due to literacy problem. Lack of skilled manpower in public and private sectors is created. Information in the net is designed in the advanced technology which requires adequate knowledge for the user. Moreover, overall less educated community who are not very computer friendly. There is also some lack of proper motivational activities to promote e-commerce and e-government Language Barrier Language problem is another vital issue for the local user of the internet/web. There are very few web sites available in local language i.e. in Bengali. Local people are not very much frequent / efficient in English as language. Content Barrier Lack of Local Social Issues in the Net Contents in the web is not sufficiently enriched with information and services required by the local user. Still, local webs are concentrated with their product service promotion. Information based web services have not yet available in the net with local information. Social Cultural Environment As male group of the society can avail the web access facility from commercial centers or outside the home but the local women community of Bangladesh has limited access due to some social and cultural environment. Unfortunately, due to family obligation service, they can not spare sufficient time for using the net. Use of ICT within the government is still limited as only a small number of civil servants have Internet access. The high cost of IT equipment The high cost of IT equipment accessories which acts a barrier towards proliferation of IT accessneeds to be lowered. Due to high tariff levels, the cost of hardware and software in Bangladesh is significantly higher as compared to the rest of the world. For instance, A PC in Bangladesh costs around 12-15 months of average per-capita income as compared to Chinas 4 months and USAs 12 days. Hence, we need to reduce the tariff levels of ICT equipment and accessories to bring even a bigger population under Internet coverage. So the Inadequacy has been created in the man machine ratio. Steps to be taken Development of mobile applications As mass people in the urban as well as in the rural area use the cellular phone, we have to establish different kinds of mobile application. So they can easily enter into the information world. Most of our people live in with a lower economic condition, so the house hold computer is a dream for them. As the literacy rate is very poor and a person must has a minimum level of knowledge to operate a computer, so it is not feasible for our country that most of the people have access of computer in his house and also use the internet. But a mobile could easily be operated by all level of people. Those applications must be developed locally with relevant content and languages that promote advanced technology uptake. It is a knowledge driven technology; so, we need the people who have skill, knowledge, information and a level of education. For a future Bangladesh a tech shabby generation is significantly important. This generation would be the driving force for a digitized, prosperous and humane nation. To develop this kind of generation it needs to an education policy and national human resource policy. It is another hard truth that this objective could not be achieved over night, but a good beginning is essential, which will create the expected human resource that will manage, administer and govern future Bangladesh. Ensure a wide range of value added services (VAS). People could be instructed about product feature and cost clearly by avoiding elusive ideas or language. The services that are made available through the use of ICT should be freely available to all who might wi sh to make use of them. Awareness building program could be launched for everyone in phase by phase or categorically or geographically to aware them how they could be benefited from the use of the ICT. ICT Education and Human Resources Different types of IT education program could be launched for different people of the different level of education. It may be the IT discipline, Diploma courses, Training programs, only the introductory courses etc. Technology is important but not works without a person behind. Building of an IT educated work force is the most important segment of digital Bangladesh initiative. It needs strong commitment and strategic planning for sustainable Digital Bangladesh. The beginning must concentrate on the development of infrastructure in terms of hardware, software and manpower. Merely buying several lakhs of computers and distributing them among several thousand workstations located in colleges, schools, hospitals and clinics will not digitise Bangladesh. Locally produced qualified manpower must be available to keep the system running without depending on foreign experts. The project presupposes that Bangladesh will be able to build its technical and managerial capacity to design the necessary digital network system, procure and install all the equipment properly, and to educate, train and deploy necessary personnel to operate and maintain the nationwide ICT network. To produce such human resources, the government must assign highest priority to the promotion of science, technology and management education. We must prepare a separate plan to produce adequate num ber of scientists, computer and communication engineers, software engineers, technology management experts, etc. Distance education has tremendous potential to spread learning in any country. E-learning is a cost-effective way of providing education at a distance. This is especially important considering that around 80% of our illiterate population is from the rural areas. In this context, it is essential that the government, the industry, NGOs and academia forms partnership to accelerate the Digitalization process. Together, they need to create an enabling environment for the proliferation of ICT in Bangladesh. There are some basic steps that Bangladesh needs to foster online education to be offered by Open University and our National University.Private companies and NGOs can partner, in order to enhance awareness and utilization of ICT at the grass-roots level. For instance, NGOs can work to bring elementary computer literacy to the people of rural Bangladesh. They can make arrangements so that IT professionals and educators visit rural schools and help students get familiar with technology. Conclusion Digitization helps increase operational efficiency and productivity provided the supporting infrastructures work properly. This is a tool that will help accelerate economic development and increase competitive edges of Bangladesh in the world market. Wide-scale digitisation is likely to help Bangladesh become a mid-income country sooner than otherwise possible. However, for proper management the government needs to define its vision, mission and goals and formulate strategies and prepare action plans supported by necessary financial and human resources so that the plans can be implemented. The forces of globalization and technology are continuously reshaping our economy. The impact of information and communication technology (ICT) is giving rise to a new type of economy the knowledge based economy. It is necessary to mention that in the short run Digital Bangladesh aims at E-Governance and service delivery through utilizing ICT. But the vision Digital Bangladesh encompasses the whole arena of a knowledge based Digital Economy. Bangladesh cant afford to achieve that goal in the short and medium run. The thinkers, technocrats and IT experts have to focus on the short run issues and measures the present Government should undertake to digitalize Bangladesh. It is important to start digitalizing service delivery organs like Police, City corporation, Land Department, Tax Department, PDB, Water supply, Gas and other authorities also including sectors like Banking, Insurance, Customs, Tax Collection. Urgent steps should be taken to digitalize institutions like Bangladesh Bank, NBR, PSC, UGC, EC, ACC and other vital institution to go a step ahead towards Good Governance. Our government must take proactive steps to take technology to rural citizens. However our dream towards digital Bangladesh has a long way to go. Digitalization of Bangladesh will depend how best the Government can leverage the power of ICT to increase the access to information of its population.

Onderwerp pws studie financiering

Onderwerp pws studie financiering Inleiding Het onderwerp van mijn profiel werkstuk is studiefinanciering geworden omdat het erg speelt momenteel en het voor bijna elke student een noodzaak is. Voor veel studenten zou de afschaffing van studiefinanciering betekenen dat ze hun studie niet kunnen afmaken of à ¼berhaupt beginnen. Omdat ik ook volgend jaar ga studeren leek het me interessant om uit te zoeken wat er allemaal bij studiefinanciering komt kijken en wat dit voor mij betekend. Ook heb ik het macro-economische aspect onderzocht. Begrippen lijst WSF 2000 = Wet studiefinanciering 2000 IB-Groep = De Informatie Beheer Groep DUO = Dienst Uitvoering Onderwijs HBO = Hoger beroeps onderwijs WO = Wetenschappelijk onderwijs Nuffic = Stichting Nederlandse organisatie voor internationale samenwerking in het hoger onderwijs Tertiair = Derde (in de rij) *HBO dus Wat is studiefinanciering in het algemeen? Studeren is vrij duur. Om het voor iedereen in Nederland betaalbaar te maken om een studie te volgen is op 1 september 2000 de Wet studiefinanciering 2000 (WSF 2000) in gegaan. De Informatie Beheer Groep (IB-Groep) verzorgt en controleert de WSF 2000 regeling. Deze wet wordt gefinancierd door belastingbetalers. Dat wil zeggen dat iedere Nederlander met een inkomen aan de studiefinanciering meebetaalt. De Wet studiefinanciering 2000 is er voor MBO en HBOstudenten, en voor studenten aan de Universiteit, Dit geldt alleen voor leerlingen met een voltijdse opleidingen. Als je je opleiding toch in deeltijd wil volgen zal je je studie zelf op een andere manier moeten betalen. Studiefinanciering is een bedrag van de overheid wat je krijgt om tijdens je studie jezelf deels in je levensonderhoud en studiekosten te kunnen voorzien. De studiefinanciering is soms een gift dus na je studie hoef je het niet terug te betalen, soms is het een rentedragende lening en soms een combinatie van deze twee mogelijkheden. Daarnaast is er ook nog een prestatiebeurs, waarbij een lening kan worden veranderd in een gift als je prestaties goed genoeg zijn, dat betekent dus dat je moet slagen binnen een bepaalde tijd. Haal je dit niet dan moet je het gehele geleende bedrag terug betalen. Dus de basisbeurs, de aanvullende beurs en de OV-Chipkaart. De verschillende onderdelen waar Studiefinanciering uit kan bestaan zijn als volgt: de basisbeurs een aanvullende beurs voor studenten met minder rijke ouders een mogelijke rentedragende lening de OV-Chipkaart het collegegeldkrediet Over al deze punten ga ik in de komende hoofdstukken meer uitleg geven. Wanneer heeft men recht op studiefinanciering Als je studiefinanciering wilt ontvangen moet je aan bepaalde voorwaarde voldoen. De voorwaarde zijn onder andere Leeftijd, Nationaliteit en welk onderwijssoort. Leeftijd over het algemeen komt elke student die HBO of WO volgt in aanmerking tot hij/zij 30 jaar is, Een minimale leeftijd hiervoor is er dus niet. De studenten die nog geen 18 zijn hebben vanaf het 1e kwartaal na het begin van je studie ook recht op studiefinanciering. Als je dus op 5 februari begint met studeren aan een HBO of WO opleiding dan heb pas vanaf 1 maart recht op studiefinanciering. Je mag doorstuderen tot je 34 bent als je maar na je 30ste je studiefinanciering niet meer stop zet. Ben je ouder dan 34 dan zijn er geen mogelijkheden meer voor studiefinanciering. Nationaliteit wie voor studiefinanciering in aanmerking wil komen moet een Nederlandse nationaliteit hebben. Er zijn wel een aantal groepen niet Nederlanders die ook in aanmerking komen voor studiefinanciering. Als je geen Nederlander bent maar wel in Nederland woont, dan kan je soms dus toch wel studiefinanciering krijgen. Onderwijssoort Studiefinanciering is er alleen voor studenten die een volledige dagstudie volgen bij een gecertificeerde onderwijsinstelling in Nederland. Er zijn soms uitzonderingen in het HBO of WO (wettenschappelijk onderwijs) voor deeltijd opleidingen. Deze opleidingen staan dan bij de Wet voor het Hoger onderwijs en Wetenschappelijk onderzoek (WHW) aangegeven Welke juridische wetten gelden er voor Studie financiering Er zijn vele honderden wetsartikelen over studiefinanciering, Ik kan deze niet allemaal gaan noemen in verband met het extra paginas die deze zouden toevoegen. De meest belangrijke is de al eerder genoemde Wet studiefinanciering 2000 (WSF) Alleen deze wet bestaat al uit 61 bladzijdes Andere voorbeelden van juridische wetten met betrekking tot studiefinanciering zijn: Wet studiefinanciering 2000 (WSF) Wet tegemoetkoming onderwijsbijdrage en schoolkosten (WTOS) Les- en cursusgeldwet (LCW) Wet op het hoger onderwijs en wetenschappelijk onderzoek (WHW) Wijzigingswet van enkele onderwijswetten in verband met de invoering van persoonsgebonden nummers in het onderwijs (WON) Regeling aanmelding selectie hoger onderwijs Aanvulling regeling aanmelding selectie hoger onderwijs De basisbeurs De basisbeurs is niet afhankelijk van het inkomen van de ouders van de student. Elke student die aan de studiefinancierings eisen voldoet heeft hier recht op. Dat is hetzelfde geval bij de OV-Chipkaart. De basisbeurs verschilt bij uitwonende en bij thuiswonende studenten. Bij uitwonende is deze namelijk veel hoger, en het maakt verschil of de student hoger onderwijs (HBO of WO) of beroepsonderwijs volgt. Met ingang van 2010 bedraagt de basisbeurs voor studenten in het HBO en WO: voor uitwonende studenten 259,76 euro voor thuiswonende studenten 93,23 euro In het beroepsonderwijs: voor uitwonende studenten 240,02 euro voor thuiswonende studenten 73,56 euro De aanvullende beurs De aanvullende beurs werkt anders dan de basisbeurs bij deze beurs is het namelijk wel van belang hoe hoog het inkomen van de ouders is. Het peiljaar voor ouderlijk inkomen: Om de draagkracht van de ouders zo goed mogelijk in te schatten wordt het ouderlijk inkomen van 2 jaar geleden gekozen als peiljaar dus indien het 2010 is word 2008 als peiljaar gebruikt. En wordt er gekeken welk inkomen beide ouders in 2008 hadden. De hoogte van dit inkomen bepaalt uit eindelijk of men er recht op heeft en als er recht op is hoe hoog deze aanvullende beurs dan wordt. Ouderbijdrage: De DUO ( Dienst Uitvoering Onderwijs) voorheen IB-Groep Bepaalt aan de hand van het inkomen van de ouders de ouderbijdrage Dit is het bedrag waarvan verwacht wordt dat de ouders het zelf kunnen betalen. Dit bedrag is bepalend omdat dit de uiteindelijke hoogte van de aanvullende beurs bepaalt. De ouderbijdrage wordt van de maximale aanvullende beurs afgetrokken Als de ouderbijdrage dus hoger of gelijk aan de aanvullende beurs is dan heeft de student hier geen recht op. De hieronder staande gegevens zijn dus voor een student zonder ouderbijdrage. Met ingang van 2010 bedraagt de aanvullende beurs voor studenten in het HBO en WO (Wetenschappelijk Onderwijs): voor een uitwonende student 231,43 euro voor een thuiswonende student 211,99 euro In het beroepsonderwijs voor een uitwonende student 319,27 euro voor een thuiswonende student 299,82 euro De rentedragende lening De rentedragende lening is een echte lening die dus ook later terug betaald moet worden. Deze lening is alleen beschikbaar voor studenten die ook recht hebben op studiefinanciering. Hoe hoog deze lening kan zijn is afhankelijk van het soort opleiding en de woonsituatie. Hoeveel geld de student uiteindelijk leent is zijn eigen keuzen. Dit bedrag varieert van 10 euro per maand tot soms wel 600 euro per maand. Studenten vergeten vaak dat dit hele bedrag ook terug moet worden betaald, inclusief rente. En dat de studie schuld al snel oploopt tot enkele duizenden euros die na de studie met zijn/haar eerste baan met een waarschijnlijk niet al te hoog start salaris lastig wordt om terug te worden betaald. Collegegeld krediet Sinds 1 september is het naast een gewone rentedragende lening ook mogelijk om bij DUO een speciale lening aan te vragen speciaal voor het benodigde collegegeld Net als de rentedragende lening moet de collegegeld lening ook na de studie terugbetaald worden volgens de zelfde afspraken als de gewone studie financiering. Over het aflossen en eventueel kwijt schelden van de lening, het dus omzetten naar een gift leg ik later meer uit. De maximale hoogte van het collegegeld krediet wordt bepaald door de hoogte van het wettelijke collegegeld van dat jaar. Bijvoorbeeld van 2008 tot 2009 toen bedroeg het 1565, euro en dat is dus ook de maximale toegestane hoeveelheid die geleend kan worden De OV-Chipkaart In 1991 werd de OV-studentenkaart ingevoerd. De studentenkaart werd ingevoerd omdat de individuele reiskostenvergoeding te veel administratie met zich meebracht. Er waren meerdere argumenten voor de invoering van de OV-studentenkaart. Zo zou de regering veel minder geld kwijt zijn aan reiskostenvergoeding, en werd de basisbeurs bij elke student met 60 gulden verlaagd. Dit gold voor alle studenten, of ze wel of niet van het openbaar vervoer gebruik maakten. Een ander argument was het gebruik van het openbaar vervoer verhogen. Bovendien zouden studenten na de studieperiode nog steeds gebruik blijven maken van het openbaarvervoer. Wie recht heeft op studiefinanciering heeft ook recht op een OV-Chipkaart, vroeger heette dit de OV-Studenten kaart. Met de kaart kan je als student onbeperkt reizen met het openbaar vervoer. Er zijn 2 soorten chipkaarten, de weekeind en de week kaart. Met de weekeinde kaart mag je vanaf vrijdag 12:00 s middags tot en met het einde van de dienstregeling op zondagnacht. Met een week-OV mag je maandag tot en met vrijdag tot het einde van de dienstregeling gratis reizen. Een OV-kaart is ook een prestatie lening. Als je binnen 10 jaar niet slaagt, moet je het hele bedrag dat je OV-kaart waard was terug betalen, (90 * 10 * aantal jaar) Sinds wanneer is er studiefinanciering en wat is hier de geschiedenis van: Studiebeurzen ontstonden rond 1815, echter was het toen alleen beschikbaar voor hoogbegaafde en wat minder rijke mensen die toch ergens goed in waren. In de daarop volgende jaren kwam er steeds meer geld beschikbaar voor studiebeurzen. Het werd zelfs verdrievoudigd zodat steeds meer mensen konden gaan studeren die het eerder niet konden betalen. Maar er werd nog weinig gebruik van gemaakt omdat er een leenstelsel was en je bijna alles moest terug betalen na je studie Het Budget wordt in 1954 weer verhoogd om meer studenten een lening te kunnen verschaffen. Nu konden er meer mensen gaan studeren en nam het aantal aanvragen toe. Ook de wat rijkere studenten zorgden ervoor dat het aantal aanvragen toenam aangezien zij geen studiefinanciering nodig hadden. Omdat het overheidsbudget niet mocht worden overschreden werden er steeds hogere eisen aan studenten gesteld. Dit zorgde ervoor dat alleen de aller-slimste of kinderen van rijke ouders op de universiteit kwamen. In 1986 werd de aanvullende beurs en de prestatiebeurs ingevoerd. Studenten met armere ouders kregen een hogere toeslag. De hoogte van deze toelage was is wel afhankelijk van het inkomen van je ouders, het soort onderwijs dat je volgt en of je thuis wonend of uit huis was. Met de invoering van dit nieuwe systeem ontstonden er veel problemen. De kosten werden steeds hoger, en het stelsel was erg lastig en ingewikkeld. In 1990 werd er het onderwijs bezuinigd. Studenten kregen hierdoor minder studiefinanciering en kwamen in de problemen. In 1997 was er weinig tevredenheid meer over het nieuwe studiefinancieringsstelsel. Er waren al weer plannen voor een nieuw stelsel maar dit is door onderlinge ruzies in de verschillende partijen niet door gegaan. De Commissie Vermeend werd in 2002 opgericht om oplossingen te bedenken. Er word vandaag de dag nog gediscussieerd over de afschaffing van de basisbeurs, door bijvoorbeeld Wouter Bos (PVDA) die voor de afschaffing van de basisbeurs is. Als vervanging zou er een nieuw leenstelsel moeten komen. Maar daar is nog veel onduidelijkheid over, de VVD en GroenLinks zijn voor de invoering van een leenstelsel en D66, PVV en de SP tegen de invoering en dus voor het behoud van de basisbeurs. De afschaffing van de basisbeurs wordt een van de grote politieke knelpunten voor de aankomende verkiezingen. Studiefinanciering in het buitenland Je kunt vaak je studiefinanciering meenemen naar het buitenland. Maar er zijn wel verschillende eisen voor De eisen die van toepassing zijn om voor studiefinanciering in Nederland in aanmerking te komen, zoals leeftijd, nationaliteit en voltijds onderwijs gelden ook voor studiefinanciering in het buitenland. Er gelden ook nog enkele andere voorwaarden namelijk: De 3 jaren eis De Nederlandse regering wil alleen studiefinanciering meegeven aan studenten die een band met Nederland hebben. Daarom moet je minstens drie jaar legaal in Nederland hebben gewoond in de zes jaar voor dat je studiefinanciering in het buitenland in zou moeten gaan. Niet van twee walletjes genieten Als je Nederlandse studiefinanciering ontvangt en je ontvangt in het buitenland ook nog een studietoelage van de locale overheid, Dan heb je geen recht meer op Nederlandse studiefinanciering. Kwaliteit buitenlandse opleiding De opleiding die in het buitenland gevolgd gaat worden moeten van goede kwaliteit zijn. Hoger onderwijs in het buitenland verschilt erg van het Hoger onderwijs in Nederland. De diploma dat je aan het einde van de opleiding in het buitenland hebt gehaald, moet minstens van het zelfde niveau zijn als een diploma van een Nederlandse HBO opleiding. Als je een opleiding volgt die niet lijdt tot een diploma kan je ook geen studiefinanciering ontvangen, bijvoorbeeld de non-degree opleidingen in Amerika. Nuffic is een bedrijf dat DUO adviseert als het gaat om de kwaliteit en het niveau van buitenlandse opleidingen. Het gaat hierbij om het hogere onderwijs en of dat vergelijkbaar is met Nederlandse bachelor of masteropleidingen. Het is meestal niet mogelijk om van te voren uit te zoeken of de opleiding van vergelijkbaar niveau is. Omdat het onderwijssysteem te veel verschilt van het Nederlandse systeem wordt meestal in eerst instantie studiefinanciering toegekend. Op basis van je gehaalde diploma wordt achteraf door de DUO bepaald of je studiefinanciering wordt omgezet in een gift. Hoe hoog is studiefinanciering en hoe bepaal/bereken je dat? het hangt van verschillende factoren af hoe hoog je uiteindelijke studiefinanciering is. De volgende punten wegen mee in het bepalen van de basisbeurs. het verzamelinkomen of belastbaar inkomen van je vader en je moeder hoeveel broers en zussen je hebt tussen de 12 en 18 jaar, die zelf geen studiefinanciering aanvragen voor het hoger onderwijs hoeveel broers en zussen je hebt die een opleiding volgen in het voortgezet onderwijs (mavo, havo, vwo) of het voortgezet speciaal onderwijs en ouder zijn dan 18. hoeveel broers en zussen je hebt die een aanvullende beurs krijgen Op de website van DUO kan je zelf met al de bovenstaande gegevens de hoogte van je basisbeurs berekenen. Deze kan je dan aanvragen als je in het bezit bent van een digID. De hoogtes van de Studiefinanciering veranderen per jaar, en worden elk jaar door DUO vastgesteld. De vastgestelde waardes voor 2010 kan je vinden in een van de vorige hoofdstukken. Studieschuld bij de IB-Groep Er zijn veel studenten met schulden, er zijn meerder verschillende manieren om een schuld bij de IB-Groep krijgen. Er kan schuld ontstaan doordat je niet aan de prestatienorm hebt voldaan aan en de lening dus niet word omgezet in een gift, of doordat je zelf een lening bij de IB-Groep hebt aanvraagt. De schuld die je bij de IB-Groep kan hebben kan worden verdeeld in langlopende schulden en kortlopende schulden. Kortlopende studieschulden Kortlopende schulden moeten op korte termijn worden afgelost, bijvoorbeeld terwijl je nog studiefinanciering ontvangt. Tot de kortlopende schulden behoren: te veel uitgekeerde studiefinanciering, bijvoorbeeld te veel aanvullende beurs of onterecht ontvangen basisbeurs onterecht bezit van de Ov-studentenkaart De IB-Groep laat je weten hoeveel geld je had horen te krijgen en wat je schuld is. De IB-Groep maakt ook bekend op welke manier je dit bedrag terug moet betalen. Zolang je nog studiefinanciering ontvangt zal de IB-Groep deze schuld verrekenen met je studiebeurs, met een maximaal bedrag van 144,28 euro per maand. Langlopende schulden Langlopende schulden zijn schulden uit: rentedragende leningen en leningen die veroorzaakt worden door het niet halen van de tempo- of prestatienorm een kortlopende schuld die is omgezet in een langlopende schuld. Het aflossen van langlopende schulden begint met een aanloopfase en sluit af met een afloopfase Aanloopfase Als je afgestudeerd bent, of als je met je opleiding stopt, dan begint op 1 januari volgend op de datum waarop je met je studie bent gestopt de aanlooptijd van twee jaar te lopen. Tijdens je studie betaal ook rente over het geleende bedrag per jaar. Voor 2010 is de rente op 2,39 procent vastgesteld In de aanloopfase bent je nog niet verplicht om de schuld af te lossen, wel begint vanaf 1 januari de rente te lopen over je langlopende schuld. De rente wordt voor vijf jaar vastgesteld. Het is slim om al te beginnen met aflossen zo betaal je minder rente. Aflosfase Na de aanloopfase begint gelijk de aflosfase. Deze fase duurt maximaal 15 jaar, en je van verplicht om minimaal per maand 45,41 euro af te lossen. Mocht hiermee je schuld niet binnen 15 jaar afgelost zijn, dan wordt bepaald wat je maandelijks moet gaan betalen om wel binnen 15 jaar je schuld te hebben afbetaald. De hoogte van dit nieuwe maandelijkse bedrag wordt precies zo vastgesteld dat je na 15 jaar precies de hele schuld inclusief rente hebt betaald. Kwijtschelding Na de aflosfase van 15 jaar kan de IB-Groep overgaan tot kwijtschelding van je schuld. Dat kan alleen als je voldoet aan de volgende voorwaarden: er is tot het einde van de aflosfase een lager maandbedrag berekend vanwege een laag inkomen het inkomen van de partner heeft steeds meegeteld bij de berekening van het maandbedrag. Eigen mening Ik kan na afloop van dit onderzoek een mening vormen over het huidige stelsel. Ik heb mezelf er dusdanig in verdiept dat ik nu goed weet hoe het in elkaar zit, ook voor later als ik het zelf nodig heb. Ik vind dat het huidige stelsel over het algemeen goed geregeld is, er is genoeg duidelijkheid qua regelgeving en ook de hoogtes van de studiefinanciering zijn makkelijk te berekenen op de website van DUO. Een van de negatieve punten die ik heb gevonden is het meetellen van het belastbaar inkomen van je ouders. Ik vind dit een negatief punt omdat de meeste ouders hun kinderen niet oneindig geld blijven geven en dit enorm scheelt voor de basisbeurs die je als student ontvangt. Als je uit huis gaat en veel zelf moet bekostigen is het erg jammer als het inkomen van bijvoorbeeld je vader waar je dus niet bij inwoont soms wel 150 euro per maand minder aan studiefinanciering oplevert. Tenzij je ouders dit compenseren door zelf geld te geven loop je dit bedrag wat van de overheid komt dus gewoon mis. Ook de aanvullende beurs wordt beà ¯nvloed door het inkomen van je ouders. Als ik zelf een stelsel mocht maken gebaseerd op dit stelsel zou ik enkele punten wijzigen namelijk: de mate waarin het belastbaar inkomen meetelt, het moet natuurlijk wel uitmaken hoeveel ze verdienen maar het moet niet te veel geld schelen. En ik zou studenten minder makkelijk geld laten bij lenen. Je kan nu zonder enige moeite 500 euro per maand bij lenen, en dit loopt na 4 tot 5 jaar studeren al snel op tot een hoog en moeizaam terugbetaalbaar bedrag. Vooral met je startsalaris net na je studie wordt dit erg vervelend om terug te betalen. Ik zou de voordelen van het toekomstige leenstelsel en dit stelsel en het oude stelstel wat alleen voor de behoeftige was combineren. Om zo het ideale stelsel te creà «ren wat goed in elkaar zit met een duidelijke regelgeving en weinig rompslomp en voordelen voor alle deelnemende partijen. Slot Ik heb best wel wat geleerd van dit werkstuk en erg nuttige informatie gevonden over studiefinanciering. Ook vond ik het interessant om te lezen over studiefinanciering in het buitenland omdat ik zelf ook in het buitenland stage moet gaan lopen, (6 maanden lang) ook vond ik het wel interessant om zelf over het stelsel na te denken over punten die ik zou willen veranderen. En een eigen stelsel te bedenken

Connecting Time, Beauty, and Language :: Borger The Secret Miracle Literature Essays

Connecting Time, Beauty, and Language Our class has been pondering language. People have asked each other, 'do you think in words?' Some have suggested that when we are involved in activities such as chess or tennis, we do not think in words, but rather act from an intuitive space that needs no language. Our class has also been pondering time. We have reminded each other of a paradox that exists in our everyday lives: we cannot be truly in the moment, for as soon as we consciously start trying to be in the moment, we have removed ourselves from the moment. There is the idea of that nebulous, nameless space proposed in both lines of thought which begs to be connected. I am led to questions: Can we connect time and language? In other words, can "being in the moment" in the sense of our perception of time mean that we are finally centered in that wordless space where we act from instinct? I can trace this thread of questioning to a Borges story ("The Secret Miracle") that I love wherein a man is sentenced to death by firing squad. He prays to god to be given enough time to finish his play before he dies, and god freezes time (the shadow of a bee on the stones near his feet remains motionless, and puffs of cigarette smoke from the soldiers' mouths hang immobile in the air). The man cannot move, yet he can think. He spends his time (or his out-of-time) working on his play, and when he finally feels it is done, the normal course of time resumes and he is shot to death. While intense experiences of immersion in a moment may not take this form, Borges creates an interesting commentary on the notion of being in the moment. The man is frozen in the moment in most senses of the word, though he is able to think and to use language to define his situation. The idea that I am working with suggests that it is only when we pull back from a moment that we engage with language in order to describe the activities that were, in a sense, timeless only moments before. The man before the firing squad is given the luxury of both the moment and the ability to reflect on it. This raises another interesting question. If "time" is frozen and no one moves, what kind of scale is the man's mind working on?

To Build A Fire Essay -- essays research papers

'To Build a Fire';   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  In Jack London's, 'To Build a Fire';, it is obvious to see that as the story progresses, the man becomes more bestial. However at the same time the dog seems to gain the human quality of good sense. This quality of good sense, which the dog acquires, allows it to away from the same fate of the man. There are many examples of how this is portrayed as the story makes headway.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The first example of how the man becomes more bestial occurs after his first fire fails. After his fire fails, his hands are too cold to allow him to pick up matches. He was trying everything in order to warm up his hands, but nothing was working. Then he came up with a crazy and savage idea to warm them up. The story reads, 'He would kill the dog, and bury his hands in the warm body until the numbness went out of them. Then he could build another fire...'; That idea is a perfect example of his turn to bestiality. When the man tries to carry out this insane idea, the dog demonstrates his lean towards human characteristics.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Another example how the man is beginning to move and act like an animal. It reads, 'After some manipulation he managed to get the bunch between the heels of his mittened hands. In this fashion he carried it to his mouth...'; At this point, the man's hands are so cold that he can no longer grasp objects, such as matches. In order to get the matches he has to use the heels of his ...

John Miltons Life and Writing Essay -- John Milton biographies Essays

John Milton's Life and Writing John Milton did not just write poetry. He put his life, his thoughts, into words. Milton began his life in Cheapside, England, because his father’s wealthy family was Roman Catholic and John Milton Sr., Milton’s father, decided to become Protestant, therefore he was disinherited (Muir). However, the Milton family did not remain poor, John Milton Sr. was able to establish a wealthy family once more. He became a scrivener, which is a law writer, and was also a music composer on the side (Liukkonen). After money was no longer a threat, Milton attended Christ’s College in Cambridge (Browning). Milton’s works seem to be split into four distinct phases; these phases are a direct result of events taking place in his life. The first phase that Milton’s life went through was virtually nothing. Literally meaning that Milton did nothing, â€Å"he adopted no profession but spent six years at leisure in his father's home†(Muir). Milton’s first works were done in ancient languages, such as Latin, Greek and Italian, but these were done before he graduated when he was not considering a profession in writing. The first phase of his writings were done during the time he had no job. The works best reflecting this period of his life are L’Allegro, Il Penseroso and Lycidas, which were written up to year 1637. These poems were not specifically focused on what was occurring in the world at that time, because at that time Milton was not very involved with the world. These poems had themes focused on thoughts that ran through Milton’s mind. Among Milton’s most famous first works are L’Allegro and Il Penseroso, which are companions to one another. He uses these poems to focus on two different lifestyles. L’Allegro is the... ... a completely majestic lifestyle, but he used his poetry to express himself, and expression can always help to lighten any morbid emotions. Not only was Milton able to express himself, writing granted him a goal, and having a goal to strive for makes life worth living no matter how bad it seems to get. As soon as Milton realized what he wanted to do with his life, write, his goal was to create such an exemplary piece of work that it would never be forgotten, and he succeeded. Works Cited Browning, Mark. â€Å"John Milton (1608-1674).† 1 Dec. 2003 . â€Å"The Dream of the Rood.† The Norton Anthology of English Literature. Seventh Edition. Volume 1. Ed. by M.H. Abrams, et al. W.W. Norton & Company, Inc., 2000. 100-102. Liukkonen, Petri. â€Å"John Milton (1608-1674).† Books and Writers.1 Dec. 2003 . Muir, Kenneth. â€Å"John ‘The Lady’ Milton.† Incompetech. 1 Dec. 2003 .

Biomagnification Lab Report Essay

PROCEDURE The pile of M&M’s represents the phytoplankton population in a lake. The printed â€Å"M† on the candy represents the amount of DDT (in ppm) the algae ingested from pesticide runoff from a nearby agricultural area. There are 100 M&M’s in the pile. Each circle below represents on phytoplankton. Mark the amount of toxin each phytoplankton has ingested. If there is a full â€Å"M† stamped on the candy then that phytoplankton has ingested 1 ppm of DDT, so write â€Å"1† in one of the circles below. If there is no â€Å"M† on the candy then that phytoplankton did not ingest any DDT so write a â€Å"O† in one of the circles below. If there is a partial â€Å"M† on the candy then estimate how much of the â€Å"M† there is. For example, if there is only on hump of the â€Å"M† then that would equal  ½ a unit of DDT ingested by that phytoplankton so you would fill in one of the circles below with  ½. Zooplankton in the lake (population size 20) each eat 5 algae. Move 5 M&M’s into each of the zooplankton cups. Record the amount of DDT each zooplankton has ingested using the instructions from step 1. Write these amounts onto the individual copepod pictures below. Minnows (population size 5) in the lake each eat 4 zooplankton, ingesting energy and the toxin that is stored in the zooplankton as well. Move the correct number of M&M’s from the zooplankton cups into the minnows cups. Record the amount of DDT ingested by each of the small fish onto the fish below using the instructions from step 1 to  calculate the total amount of each fish. Two eels then come along for dinner. One eels eats 2 minnows and the other eel eats 3 minnows. Move the correct number of M&M’s from the minnow cups into the eel cups. Write the amount of DDT ingested by the each eel onto the pictures below. Use the instructions from step 1 to calculate the total amount of DDT for each. Finally, an osprey flies by and eats both eels. Move the correct number of M&M’s from the eel cups into the osprey bowl. Calculate and then write the total amount of DDT ingested by the osprey onto the picture below. OBJECTIVES Visualize the processes of bioaccumulation and biomagnification. Distinguish between the similar concepts of bioaccumulation and biomagnification using a mathematical model. Calculate the amount of energy gained/lost through the energy transfers of a typical food chain. Review trophic level names and energy characteristics. BACKGROUND DDT was the first synthesized insect pesticide that was widely used throughout the globe after the WW II. In the case of numerous African nations, this pesticide proved its soaring popularity due to its primordial ability to fend off disease-carrying mosquitoes. While it still does not change the fact that mosquitoes posed a noteworthy threat to the globe’s health, the situations regarding the contagious Malaria flu reached its peak in African nations. Therefore, naturally, people began to use this pesticide in order to kill off all the mosquitoes within the vicinity of their respective habitats. However, chaotic consequences ensued. The organisms in the numerous African ecosystems began to assimilate toxic substances into their bodies, resulting in greater environmental harm along with enhanced pollutions. One dominant example would be birds. Most species of birds need numerous substantial provisions of calcium in order to lay healthy eggs. However, because of the growing amount of toxins, the eggs won’t hatch properly. And, even if it does, the baby birds will either live to see the next sunrise before their deaths or die immediately. This caused a sharp population decline for bird  species such as Osprey, Brown Pelicans, and Bald Eagles. Fortunately, the American government recognized the potential threat of this pesticide relatively early, responding by banning the commercial use of this organochlorine pesticide. In or der to prevent this situation from blooming into a full-scale crisis, the Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants (POPs) was introduced at the Conference of Plenipotentiaries to try and eliminate and/or control the use of DDT and other POPs around the world. This convention received over 150 countries’ consensus, thus banning the use of DDT at all costs. PROCESSING WITH TABLES The above tables represent the total sets of data that I have gathered during my lab. Disregarding the semi-tables that display the process of calculations, the first column of my table depicts the average amount of DDT ingestion for each and every species. Since I knew the formula to get the said data, I was able to process this column with comparably more ease than the other ones. The second column depicts the amount of energy for one  species under each category. For example, only one phytoplankton contains 200 kcal within its body. Likewise, that column of my table depicts the amount of energy that each individual of the species have within their bodies. The next column, column C, shows the total amount of energy for each and every categories through kcal. For instance, there are 100 phytoplanktons in the lake. Each phytoplankton contains 200 kcal of energy within their bodies. Therefore, if you multiply 200 with 100, you get the total amount of energy which is 20000. The last column basically illustrates the name of the trophic level the species belong in this lab. You can see that the phytoplanktons, which are a type of green algae, is the primary produce that supports that entire ecosystem through its ability of photosynthesis. Next, you can see that copepods are the primary producers, or herbivore, that eat the phytoplanktons. The copepods are eaten by a small fish known as the minnows, and they mark the place of the secondary consumers. Next, the eels come as tertiary consumers due to their predation on the minnows. However, the top, or quaternary, consumer would be the osprey in this case. Osprey feeds on eels, and there are no other predators that hunt ospreys in this lab. DATA ANALYSIS Summary of Data Trends Compare the amount of DDT found in the osprey with the amount of toxin found in one phytoplankton. Be specific. Discuss numerical evidence.  The amount of DDT found in the osprey with the amount found in one phytoplankton are vastly different to say the very least. In phytoplankton, the average amount of consumed DDT is about 0.28 ppm. This contrasts greatly to the one measured from the osprey, for they have the total amount of 28 ppm of DDT ingested within its body. While it still does not change the fact that phytoplanktons are the ones who directly consume DDT from their surrounding environment, it is surprising to note that the actual amount of toxins are far less than those of one osprey. The calculations reveal that one osprey have about 10 times more ppm of DDT inside its body than one phytoplankton. This is due to the process of biomagnification, which states that as the predation progresses higher up in the food chain, the amount of absorbed toxins will only augment. Write a paragraph where you compare and contrast what your pyramids tell you. Discuss similarities and difference between the pyramids, above and beyond the obvious. Do the various shaped make sense, given what you know about food chains in general and biomagnifications? Why or why not? First, there are three drawn pyramids: Energy, Typical, and Number. Energy pyramid basically depicts the flow of energy through the food chain using indicative arrows. This will contribute in displaying how the energy is lost and gained as the predation commences. It is obviously important to know the concept of energy pyramid, for it complements the theory that states that the majority of the gained energy is lost in order to maintain metabolism for most of the organisms. Number pyramid depicts the number of each organisms per trophic level. This pyramid is quite interesting because this pyramid is the only one showing the estimated quantity of the organisms in an ecosystem. Notice how many phytoplanktons are required to maintain and feed one osprey. Likewise, there has to be producers of vastly greater numbers in order to sustain only a few of the top consumers. Not only that, but the number of organisms shows a significant decline as the trophic level progresses, proving the fact that each trophic level requires more of its previous trophic level to maintain its population as a whole. A typical ecological pyramid shows the most fundamental relationships through the depiction of a food chain. All it shows are the designated trophic levels such as the producer, primary consumer, secondary consumer, and so on. The shapes of the pyramid are usually a triangle. This shapes pretty much works for nearly all the cases. and I believe the shapes depicted by the three pyramids do make sense. To specify, the triangle becomes steeper and narrower as the trophic level progresses. Numerically and diagrammatically, the shape of a triangle will be fit to satisfy all three food pyramids. OBSERVATION During the data that I have collected, a clear augmentation of the amount of toxins are easy to recognize throughout. This is because of the process known as the biomagnification. As you can see from the table, the amount of absorbed toxins are continuously increasing through additional trophic  levels. This undoubtedly demonstrates the said theory while illuminating the fact that DDT is a fat-soluble pollutant, therefore proving it impossibly difficult to secret through waste. My observations state that the amount of acquired energy are dwindling as the trophic level progresses. This is clearly due to the 10% rule, which states that the existing trophic level will only be able to obtain only the 10% of the energy previously obtained by its predecessor. This is due to the fact that energy, once gathered, are extremely expendable by variety of methods. The organisms tend to use most of its gathered energies before being consumed by its predators, therefore bequeathing only a few per centage of its primary energy. With that said, notice how the osprey, the top dog of the food chain, received the most toxin with the least energy. CONCLUSION In conclusion, I have learned that the process of biomagnification along with accumulation can have a dramatic impact on an ecosystem as a whole. Since this lab primarily deemed DDT as the pesticide at hand, I was also able to read the briefed version of its history while understanding the harmful effects it has on the ecosystems and the organisms as a whole. Furthermore, I was also acquainted with a few conceptions in regards to calculating the total energy while at the same time applying the 10% rule for the energy reductions. It was a very worthwhile experience to know how much of a real-world problem these chemical regulations are as well as the everlasting impacts of the fat-soluble pollutants that continue to plague numerous ecosystems even today. Not only that, I learned to visualize the processes of bioaccumulation and magnification while being able to distinguish between the two using both scientific and mathematical models. Finally, even though I am already familiar with th is concept, it was quite refreshing to bring in the names and levels of trophic levels into this lab. I was able to connect the said knowledge directly to the topic that I am dealing right now. With that said, I believe I have gathered more than sufficient information that would aid me in the future regarding the concepts of biomagnification and accumulation. EVALUATION Overall, this was a decent lab that served its purpose of demonstrating the concepts regarding the process of bioaccumulation along with magnification. The lab provided sufficient background information, and the procedures were concise and easy to understand. However, I would like to make it clear that this lab could’ve been more productive and exciting if made online and virtual. Due to the fact that this activity was error-sensitive, the lab itself was very emotionally-provocative. I personally made one big error in regards to counting, and my group was forced to redo the whole counting again in the hopes of getting it finally correct. Frustrated would be the least of what I truly felt during the process of redoing. Therefore, this lab could’ve been shaped into a much better activity if I get to do it with my laptop. This will surely save a lot of time while at the same time be a bit less annoying and tedious. Furthermore, doing this lab on a computer will also grant anyone an easier access to Google Drive or any means of recording medium. Through these basic amenities, I could always jot down things that compose my lab report there and then. Doing this entire lab physically with all the tokens and bowls will be troublesome to say the least. It would be way better if this lab was translated electronically onto a computer.