Halloween Night to Prom Night Essay Example for Free

Halloween Night to Prom Night Essay Hepatitis A is inflammation (irritation and swelling) of the liver from the hepatitis A virus. See also: * Hepatitis * Hepatitis A vaccine * Hepatitis B * Hepatitis C Causes, incidence, and risk factors The hepatitis A virus is found mostly in the stools and blood of an infected person about 15 45 days before symptoms occur and during the first week of illness. You can catch hepatitis A if: * You eat or drink food or water that has been contaminated by stools (feces) containing the hepatitis A virus (fruits, vegetables, shellfish, ice, and water are common sources of the hepatitis A virus) * You come in contact with the stool or blood of a person who currently has the disease * A person with hepatitis A does not wash his or her hands properly after going to the bathroom and touches other objects or food * You participate in sexual practices that involve oral-anal contact About 3,600 cases of hepatitis A are reported each year. Because not everyone has symptoms with hepatitis A infection, many more people are infected than are diagnosed or reported. Risk factors include: * International travel, especially to Asia or South or Central America * IV drug use * Living in a nursing home or rehabilitation center * Working in a health care, food, or sewage industry Other common hepatitis virus infections include hepatitis B and hepatitis C. Hepatitis A is the least serious and mildest of these diseases. The other hepatitis infections may become chronic illnesses, but hepatitis A does not become chronic. There is no specific treatment for hepatitis A. Rest is recommended when the symptoms are most severe. People with acute hepatitis should avoid alcohol and any substances that are toxic to the liver, including acetaminophen (Tylenol). Fatty foods may cause vomiting, because substances from the liver are needed to digest fats. Fatty foods are best avoided during the acute phase. The virus does not remain in the body after the infection has gone away. Over 85% of people with hepatitis A recover within 3 months. Nearly all patients get better within 6 months. There is a low risk of death, usually among the elderly and persons with chronic liver disease. Prevention The following tips can help reduce your risk of spreading or catching the virus: * Always wash your hands thoroughly after using the restroom and when you come in contact with an infected persons blood, stools, or other bodily fluid. * Avoid unclean food and water. The virus may spread more rapidly through day care centers and other places where people are in close contact. Thorough hand washing before and after each diaper change, before serving food, and after using the restroom may help prevent such outbreaks. If you have recently been exposed to hepatitis A and have not had hepatitis A before or have not received the hepatitis A vaccine series, ask your doctor or nurse about receiving either immune globulin or the hepatitis A vaccine. Common reasons why you may need to receive one or both of these include: * You live with someone who has hepatitis A * You recently had sexual contact with someone who has hepatitis A * You recently shared illegal drugs, either injected or noninjected, with someone who has hepatitis A * You have had close personal contact over a period of time with someone who has hepatitis A * You have eaten in a restaurant where food or food handlers were found to be infected or contaminated with hepatitis A Vaccines that protect against hepatitis A infection are available. The vaccine begins to protect 4 weeks after receiving the first dose. The 6- to 12-month booster is required for long-term protection. See: Hepatitis A vaccine Travelers should take the following precautions: Travelers should take the following precautions: * Avoid dairy products. * Avoid raw or undercooked meat and fish. * Beware of sliced fruit that may have been washed in contaminated water. Travelers should peel all fresh fruits and vegetables themselves. * Do not buy food from street vendors. * Get vaccinated against hepatitis A (and possibly hepatitis B) if traveling to countries where outbreaks of the disease occur. * Use only carbonated bottled water for brushing teeth and drinking. (Remember that ice cubes can carry infection.) * If no water is available, boiling water is the best method for eliminating hepatitis A. Bringing the water to a full boil for at least 1 minute generally makes it safe to drink. * Heated food should be hot to the touch and eaten right away.

How Organization Wide Change Is Best Carried Out Management Essay

How Organization Wide Change Is Best Carried Out Management Essay Both change and continuity may be desirable for the triumphant accomplishment of change. Picture upon the results of an global investigation the article suggests: 1. Company are deteriorating to fully consider the consequences and implications of change. 2. Many changes individual introduced as a result of contemporary management carry out have negative impacts. 3. The hypothesis of steady linear progress is not always justified. 4. Continuity and change are important complements, and more attention needs to be devoted to the continuity of valued relationships. 5. People should be given the liberty to decide the level and nature of modify required in relation to their exacting activities. 6. More holistic, thoughtful and people centered approaches to management are needed. To really appreciate organizational change and begin guide thriving change efforts, the change agent should have at least a broad understanding of the circumstance of the change effort. This includes considerate the basic systems and structure in organizations, as well as their typical terms and roles. This obligation applies to the understanding of leadership and management of the organizations, as well. That is why divide up courses in business often initially include a course or some discussion on organizational theory. This topic includes several links to help you gain this broad accepting. The following relations broadly reviewed in the following order might be helpful to establish some sense about organizations, and their leadership and management. Overview of Change Management There are several phrase regarding organizational change and development that look and sound a lot similar, but have diverse meanings. As a result of the importance of the topic, there seem to be increasingly different interpretation of some of this phrase, while others are used interchangeably. Without at least some sense of the difference between these phrases, connections about organizational change and development can be more and more vague, confusing and frustrating. Methodology of the study: What is Organizational Change: Typically, the concept of organizational transform is in stare to organization-wide change, as opposed to smaller changes such as addition a new person, modify a program, etc. Examples of organization-wide change might contain a change in mission, reformation operations, new technologies, mergers, major collaborations, rightsizing, new program such as total quality management, re-engineering, etc. Some experts refer to organizational alteration. Often this term designates a basic and radical reorientation in the way the organization operates. What is Provokes Organizational Change: Modify should not be done for the sake of change its a policy to accomplish some in general goal. Usually organizational change is aggravated by some major outside heavy force, substantial cuts in funding, address major new markets/clients, need for dramatic increase in efficiency/services, etc. Typically, organizations must commence organization-wide change to evolve to a similar level in their life cycle, going from a highly instant, capitalist organization to more steady and planned development. Change to a new chief executive can incite organization-wide change when his or her new and unique personality pervades the entire organization. Why is Organization-Wide Change Difficult to Accomplish: Typically there are tough resistances to modify. People are afraid of the unknown. Many people think things are by now just fine and dont appreciate the need for change. Many are inherently cynical about change, particularly from reading about the idea of change as if its a mantra. Many hesitations there are effective means to accomplish major organizational change. Often there are conflicting goals in the organization, to increase resources to accomplish the change yet concurrently cut costs to remain viable. Organization-wide change often goes against the very values detained dear by members in the organization, that is, the change may go alongside how members believe things should be done. Thats why much of organizational-change text discusses wanted changes in the development of the organization, including changes in members values and beliefs and in the way they ratify these values and beliefs. How Organization-Wide Change Is Best Carried Out: Winning change must engage top management, as well as the board and chief executive. Typically theres a champion who originally instigate the change by being creative, persuasive and consistent. A change agent role is usually responsible to translate the vision to a sensible plan and carry out the plan. Change is frequently best carried out as a team-wide attempt. Communications about the change should be common and with all organization members. To maintain change, the structure of the institute itself should be customized, including strategic plans, policies and procedures. This change in the structures of the organization typically involves an unfreezing, change and re-freezing procedure. The best approach to address resistances is from side to side increased and continued communications and education. For example, the leader should meet with all managers and employees to explain reason for the change, how it usually will be carried out and where others can go for supplementary information. A plan should be developed and communicate. Plans do change. Thats fine, but communicate that the preparation has tainted and why. forum should be held for organization members to state their ideas for the plan. They should be able to state their concerns and aggravation as fit. Some General Guidelines to Organization-Wide Change: In adding to the general strategy listed above, there are a few other basic guidelines to keep in mind. 1. Consider using a counselor. Ensure the consultant is highly knowledgeable in organization-wide change. Ask to see reference and check the references. 2. Widely communicate the possible need for change. Communicate what youre doing about it. Communicate what was done and how it work out. 3. Get as much advice as sensible from employees, including what they think are the problems and what should be done to determine them. If possible, work with a team of employees to manage the change. 4. Dont get wrap up in doing change for the sake of change. Know why youre making the change. What goal do you hope to achieve? 5. Plan the change. How do you plan to get to the goals, what will you need to reach the goals, how extended might it take and how will you know when youve reach your goals or not? Focus on the coordination of the departments/programs in your organization, not on each part by itself. Have someone in charge of the plan. 6. End up having every employee in the end exposure to one person, if possible, and they should know who that being is. Job images are often complained about, but they are useful in specifying who reports to whom. 7. Delegate decision to workers as much as possible. This includes yielding them the power and responsibility to get the job done. As much as possible, let them decide how to do the project. 8. The process wont be an it will take longer than you think. 9. Keep perspective. Keep listening carefully on meeting the needs of your consumer or clients. 10. Take care of yourself first. Organization-wide change can be extremely stressful. 11. Dont look for to control change, but rather to expect it, appreciate it and manage it. 12. Include conclusion in the plan. Recognize and celebrate your accomplishments. 13. Read some resources about organizational change, as well as new forms and structures. Finds of the study: Harley-Davidson copes against Suzuki to survive and take over in the market by the following way: Level 1- shaping and anticipating the future : At this level, Harley-Davidson start out with few assumptions about the business itself, what it is good at, and what the future will be like. Management generates alternate scenarios of the future, defines opportunities based on these possible futures, assesses its strengths and weaknesses in these scenarios changes its mission, measurement system etc Level 2 Harley-Davidson defining what business to be in and their Core Competencies: Many attempts at strategic planning start at this level, either assuming that: 1) The future will be like the past or at least expected 2) The future is personified in the CEOs of Harley-Davidson vision for the future 3) Management doesnt know where besides to start 4) Management is too scared to start at leve because of the changes needed to really meet future necessities 5) The only permission they have is to refine what job already exists. After a mission has been defined and SWOT strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats analysis is finished, an organization can then define its actions, goals, strategies. More information on this is in the next article, moving from the Future to your Strategy. Level 3 Reengineering (Structurally Changing) Your Processes: Either as a result or result of level one or two work Harley-Davidson independent action, level three work focuses on basically changing how work is consummate. Rather than focus on modest improvement, reengineering focuses on making major structural changes to everyday with the goal of considerably improving productivity, efficiency, quality or customer satisfaction. Level 4 Incrementally Changing your Processes: Harley-Davidsons changes are focus in making many small changes to obtainable work processes. Oftentimes organizations put in substantial effort into getting every employee focused on creation these small changes, often with substantial effect. Unfortunately, making improvement on how a buggy whip for horse-drawn carriages is made will hardly ever come up with the idea that buggy whips are no longer necessary because cars have been invented. To read more about organizational changes and how it compare to level , We trained an internal facilitator, helped them deliver teaching in a just-in-time fashion, and had them focus on specific technical problems. The team management shaped reduced early quality defects by 48%. The disadvantage of such an incremental move toward includes avoid structural, system-wide problems, and assume existing processes need modest development. In addition, using incremental approaches can be frustrating to employees and management if does not catch on in the organization. As a result of these disadvantages, many organizations experience a high risk of failure in the long run. Harley-Davidson also takes positive decisions in the following ways: These levels have much of the similar goal increasing customer fulfillment, doing things right the first time, greater employee efficiency, etc. in spite of these similarities, they differ considerably in the methods they use to achieve these goals. In Harley-Davidsons skill, companies that use this method tend to have a elevated need for change, risk-tolerant management, comparatively few constraint and have considerable agreement among its management on what to do. Types of industries include those whose environment requires rapid revision to fast-moving events, electronics, information systems and telecommunication industries. Companies using mostly incremental tools have management that perceives only a unassuming require for change, is relatively risk-avoidant, has many constraint on its events and only has a modest consensus among themselves on what to do. Harley-Davidson using level three methods. If they are considering changes in business lines, re-organizing by customer instead of by purpose, or making key changes in how the everyday employee is being paid, they are using method. regrettably, all of this argument hinges in managements belief about how much change is necessary. This belief often hinges on their often unaided beliefs of: 1) How well the organization performs compare to other organizations a not have of benchmarking. 2) What the future will be. As a result, my suggestion is that organizations conduct scenario/strategic planning movements anyway, even if they have by now decided that incremental method will be sufficient to solve their problems. This way organization can be aware of the limits of the lower-level methods they are using and understand when it is best to throw away these lower-level methods for something more substantive. Based on this exercise, comparison of existing inner processes with world-class examples benchmarking and market study, management may come to realize how much change is necessary. Goals Based on no matter what level work you are doing, the chance that are found need to be evaluate to determine which of them best suit the obtainable and future capability of the organization and offer the most bang for the buck in terms of development in your measures of success. In calculation, goals need to have the resources. Harley Davidson uses the slogan We will expand into the polystyrene market within the next five years and achieve 20% market share. Strategies Harley-Davidson focuses on what, strategies focus on how. Some examples include: We will re-engineer our research and development process We will evaluate and improve our sales and marketing department We will conduct a SWOT analysis and then define our core competencies Supplementary examples of strategy are included in the affecting from the future to your strategy. Wait a second. Arent goal and strategy really the same. They are in one sagacity as they both need to be SMART. As what you force guess, the goals of a level are achieve by create strategies at the minor levels. History of Harley Davidson: William S. Harley and Arthur Davidson make available to the public the first production Harley-Davidson motorcycle. The bike was built to be a racer, with a 3-1/8 inch bore and 3-1/2 inch stroke. The factory in which they worked was a 10 x 15-foot wooden shed with the words Harley-Davidson Motor Company crudely scrawled on the door. Arthurs brother Walter later joins their efforts. Harley-Davidson Motor Company is incorporated on September 17th. The stock is split four ways between the four founders, and staff size has more than doubled from the previous year to eighteen employees. Factory size is doubled as well. Dealer recruitment begins, targeting the New England region. In 1908, Walter Davidson himself scored a perfect 1000 at the annual Federation of American Motorcyclists (FAM) Endurance and Reliability Contest. Three days later, he set an FAM economy record at 188.234 mpg. Also in 1908, the first motorcycle sold for police duty was delivered to the Detroit police force. By 1909 Harley-Davidson was bustling, and the partners introduced the very first Harley-Davidson V-twin engine, a design that continues to thrive to this day. From that base, they built twin-cam V-twins, overhead-cam V-twins and 4-valve V-twinsall before 1920. The company exported its first bike, to Japan, in 1912. In 1916, the company began publishing a magazineThe Enthusiastfor its customers. Still available today, it stands as the longest continuously published motorcycle periodical in the world. During the war, the famous Wrecking Crew, Harleys team of factory riders, was nearly unbeatable in racing, and in 1921, the Crew won every race during the season. Although prime competitor Indian was two years older than Harley-Davidson, Harley was already becoming dominant, both in sales and racing. To further spur buyers, Harley introduced bike financing in 1923. Despite the fact that the country was in the throes of the Great Depression, in 1938 Harley-Davidson introduced the overhead-valve V-twin engine that would come to be known as the Knucklehead, as well as the sophisticated new bike that went around it. That engine and its refinements stuck around for 12 years. The same year, Harley licensed the manufacture of and supplied tooling for a Japanese version of the Harley, called Rikuo, for which the Japanese company Sankyo never paid any royalties. In 1937, Harleys factories were unionized. Mission of Harley Davidson Heritage Harley-Davidson fulfills dreams by providing all riders and customers with a friendly, comfortable and knowledgeable Harley-Davidson environment. We will consistently treat everyone with fairness and integrity and be genuinely interested in their satisfaction and in maintaining a long term relationship. Vision of Harley Davidson Our vision is to provide an unsurpassed experience for all motorcycle enthusiasts while providing fulfilling, worthwhile work and growth opportunities for our team of trained professionals. We strive for continuous improvement in everything we do. Our Work Values Integrity; Loyalty; Fairness; Competence; Sharing knowledge; Accomplishment. We ride with our customers and apply this deep connection in every market we serve to create superior value for all of our stakeholders. Harley-Davidsons values are These are our values. They are the heart of how we run our business. They guide our actions and serve as the framework for the decisions and contributions our employees make at every level of the Company. Tell the Truth. Be Fair. Keep Your Promises. Respect the Individual. Encourage Intellectual Curiosity. Harley-Davidsons financial reports: In Millions of USD (except for per share items) 3 months ending 2009-12-31 9 months ending 2009-09-27 3 months ending 2009-06-28 3 months ending 2009-03-29 3 months ending 2008-12-31 Revenue 893.65 3,888.26 1,277.61 1,395.32 1,342.92 Other Revenue, Total Total Revenue 893.65 3,888.26 1,277.61 1,395.32 1,342.92 Cost of Revenue, Total 743.86 2,738.14 953.45 907.33 959.56 Gross Profit 149.79 1,150.12 324.16 487.99 383.36 Selling/General/Admin. Expenses, Total 256.39 594.78 209.89 221.08 246.05 Research Development Depreciation/Amortization Interest Expense(Income) Net Operating Unusual Expense (Income) 122.34 130.33 43.52 34.86 0.00 Other Operating Expenses, Total Total Operating Expense 1,122.58 3,463.24 1,206.86 1,163.27 1,205.61 Operating Income -228.93 425.01 70.75 232.05 137.31 Interest Income(Expense), Net Non-Operating Gain (Loss) on Sale of Assets Other, Net Income Before Tax -238.10 416.76 69.53 223.74 138.04 Income After Tax -147.17 217.81 19.75 117.35 91.94 Minority Interest Equity In Affiliates Net Income Before Extra. Items -147.17 217.81 19.75 117.35 91.94 Accounting Change Discontinued Operations Extraordinary Item Net Income -218.70 163.58 19.75 117.35 77.81 Preferred Dividends Income Available to Common Excl. Extra Items -147.17 217.81 19.75 117.35 91.94 Income Available to Common Incl. Extra Items -218.70 163.58 19.75 117.35 77.81 Basic Weighted Average Shares Basic EPS Excluding Extraordinary Items Basic EPS Including Extraordinary Items Dilution Adjustment 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 Diluted Weighted Average Shares 232.72 234.43 233.52 232.65 232.04 Diluted EPS Excluding Extraordinary Items -0.63 0.93 0.08 0.50 0.40 Diluted EPS Including Extraordinary Items Dividends per Share Common Stock Primary Issue 0.10 0.30 0.10 0.10 0.33 Gross Dividends Common Stock Net Income after Stock Based Comp. Expense Basic EPS after Stock Based Comp. Expense Diluted EPS after Stock Based Comp. Expense Depreciation, Supplemental Total Special Items Normalized Income Before Taxes Effect of Special Items on Income Taxes Income Taxes Ex. Impact of Special Items Normalized Income After Taxes Normalized Income Avail to Common Basic Normalized EPS Diluted Normalized EPS -0.29 1.22 0.21 0.58 0.40 Findings of the study: There are no typical activities that always effectively address certain types of issues in organizations. Many times, the achievement of a project lies not with having chosen the perfect choice of actions, but rather with how honest and participative people were during the project, how much they learned and how open they were to altering their plans for change. However, there are some basic consideration that most people make when select from among the many choices for organizational expansion, or capacity building, actions. Considerations include: First, does the change-management method propose what organizational growth activities to use now, for example, the method of strategic management might propose that a SWOT analysis be done, strategic goals be recognized along with action tactics for each goal, and then achievement of the action plans be closely monitor. Frequent Monitoring the Dealers: Continuous monitoring system is very important to observe the market. Therefore Marketing Executives visit to the distributors should be more frequent like other competitor companies To Increase good relationship: Distributors are the main sources for the sales of motor cycle products. So my recommendation is that, the company should extend and increase good relationship with all dealers and salesmen. Price Stability: Presently because of Under rate process the distributors are facing different problems. As Under rateof product price creates a great problem in smooth selling, therefore price stability of all product is very much necessary. Availability of marketing executives: In present competitive market situation most of the competitive companies are engaging a big marketing executives to capture the market. In compare with that marketing executives are not sufficient to cover all of the distributors. So marketing executives availability should be ensured. Low price of products: At present the price of Harley-Davidsons products is relatively high in comparing to other competitor companies product. But to capture the market and reach their product to all kind of customers, my recommendation is that, Walton should reduce somewhat their product price. Recommendation of the study: 1. Standard Advertisement Advertisement plays a vital role to run any business well. But in my survey, I have found hat the advertisement of Harley-Davidsons is not satisfactory at all. So the company should pay more attention to advertising. 2. Quality of the products: From my survey I came to know that the of some products of Harley-Davidsons is very low. Some products create disturb even two or three months after selling. If Walton wants to exist in the market for long time and face the competition, it must concentrate on better quality products. Continuous customer contact and monitoring is essential. 4 Integrated Marketing Communication (IMC) must be used. 5. Customer attraction and retention policy should be modified. 6. To identify new area where the product is not available. At last I want to say that the company should practice Total quality management (TQM) properly. Conclusion: merely put, strategic planning determine where an organization is going over the next year or more, Harley Davidson how its going to get there and how itll know if it got there or not. The focus of a planned plan is usually on the whole organization, while the focus of a business plan is typically on a particular product, service or program. There are a variety of perspective, model and approaches used in strategic planning. The way that a strategic plan is residential depends on the nature of the organization leadership, culture of the organization, complexity of the organizations environment, size of the organization, expertise of planners, etc. For example, there are a variety of strategic planning models, as well as goals-based, issues-based, organic, scenario some would state that circumstances planning are more a method than model. goals-based planning is most likely the most common and starts with focus on the organizations mission and vision, values, goals to work toward the mission, strategies to achieve the goals, and act setting up who will do what and by when. Issues-based strategic planning often starts by examining issues facing in the Harley Davidson organization, strategies to address those issues, and action plans. Organic strategic planning might start by articulating the organizations vision and values and then action plans to achieve the vision while adhering to those values. Some planners prefer a particular approach to planning, eg, appreciative inquiry. Some plans are scoped to one year, many to three years, and some to five to ten years into the future. Some plans comprise only top-level in order and no action plans. Some plans are five to eight pages long, even as others can be significantly longer.

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Ethical Issues Regarding Genetic Engineering and the Threat of Biological Weapons â€Å"advances in biotechnology ... have the potential to create a much more dangerous biological warfare threat ... engineered biological agents could be worse than any disease known to man.† (Central Intelligence Agency) Recent developments in genomics and biotechnology are unquestionably creating a range of political, environmental, and ethical challenges for developed societies. They also have the potential for harsh repercussions for international peace and security. These advances open up great avenues for the invention of new biological weapons. Genetically engineered â€Å"superbugs,† which can be resistant to antibiotic treatments and can be highly lethal, are only the beginning to this concern. The possibility of designing completely new biological weapons on the foundation of existing biomedical research have proved to be much more disturbing. Weapons that have been created for modern kinds of conflicts and warfare situations, secret operations, or missions involving sabotage, are more and more becoming a reality that we have to deal with (van aken). New instruments and techniques for investigating and altering an organism's genetic material have resulted in an increased danger of biowarfare (van aken). The circumstances where the outcomes of scientific research, which was at first well-intentioned, can be used for both good and harmful purposes give rise to what is now commonly known as the â€Å"dual-use dilemma.† It is an ethical problem since it is about promoting good, while at the same time has the potential for also causing injury and destruction. It is a dilemma for the person performing the research because of the actions of other people that... ...o doubt that more technical possibilities will arise in the years to come. With these new discoveries comes the potential for military abuse too. Because it is currently so easy to not only research but transport anything internationally – including genetically engineered disease organisms along with human and animal vectors – scenarios of plagues and disease outbreaks are not that distant. (Dudley) International and local efforts to increase investigation, detection, and reporting of disease pathogens, and to better understand the dynamics of disease transmission within and among populations will greatly enhance our ability to combat the effects of bioweapons and emerging diseases (Dudley). Following an ethical code of conduct, and promoting awareness of the real danger of biological weapons are just a couple things that scientists can do to help deter the threat.

The Differences Between A Club And A Gang :: essays research papers

The differences between a club and a gang, are quite distinct, but it is the connotational differences between these two words which distinguishes one from the other. The New Lexicon Webster's Dictionary of the English Language defines a club as; "...an association of people with some common interest who meet periodically..." It defines a gang as "...a number of men or boys banding together, esp. lawlessly..." This definition is traditionally slanted toward applying to male youth, and stereotypical gangsters, from the Mafia to street criminals. Persons who often have a negative attitude toward youth see gangs. Often individuals form gangs out of fear and for the protection of their members whether they are the Bloods and Crips of Los Angeles or the Sharks and the Jets of "West Side Story." Gangs may not possess a set of formal written rules, but all of them have their own sets of customs or conditions. Gangs may or may not be facilitated in a branch of higher and lower members, mimicking a military model. Gangs often have a loosely defined set of goals, and are often involved in delinquent activities. A socially approved form of a gang is a club. Americans generally view clubs as character building leadership opportunities; whereas, individuals typecast into gangs are persecuted as criminals. Clubs are formed with constructive goals in mind, such as making it easier for its members to find parts for a particular brand of automobile. Socioeconomic class, academic achievement, or perceived roles in society for its members all play a part in the preferential treatment given to a group which a society deems a club rather than a gang. For instance, parts of the public anticipated that motorcycle riders would cause a massive rise in crime within the Hollister area during the motorcycle rally.

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â€Å"Trust is only a five letter word but it can be misused in so many ways.† I am glad to be here today with you in what will impact many lives of teenagers and their families. What I’m explaining about is sexual abuse in teenagers. Nearly 1.5 million high schools students nationwide experience physical abuse from a dating partner in a single year. Let’s stop abuse! How can America change? How well these changes improve lives of teenagers? Sexual Abuse is pressuring a human into a sexual activity. Ages between sixteen and twenty-four are most likely to get abuse. These teens who gets sexual abuse is from their former or current relationship. When someone is abuse they are too scared to tell anyone. About 46 % of rapes and sexual assaults are reported to the police.When girls are raped they are taking immediately to medical assistance, but some girls are not taking to see medical assistance because they are scared to take tests like pregnancy test and to find any sexually transmitted diseases. But when a boy or girl don’t go to ER right away is because they don’t want to tell but if yo...

Hollywood main stream cinema’s treatment of gender in the 1980’s Essay

To what extent is Rambo: First Blood Part 2 typical of Hollywood mainstream cinema’s treatment of gender in the 1980’s? Action films in the 1980’s reflected the changes and insecurity’s within American society. There had been a rise in feminism meaning that the masculine form and dominance was being undermined and white working class males did not know where their place was in society. It was also in the immediate time after the Vietnam War and confusion and anger still lingered. The Vietnam War divided the American nation as a whole because, as it has been in recent times with the war in Iraq, people didn’t fully understand why America needed to impose their presence in a country where they felt they had nothing to gain. The action film in the 1980’s introduced a hero that differentiated masculinity and femininity using the form of the body as a way of ensuring power, dominance and self-respect. Rambo: First Blood Part 2 is a typical film of this era in terms of masculinity and the ways in which men and women are portrayed. In the film Rambo: First Blood Part 2 Sylvester Stallone portrays a typical action hero of the ‘war film’ genre in the 1980’s but also an outcast of society after the Vietnam War. He is a veteran of Vietnam and came home to find that everything he had known had changed and he was no longer considered an honourable soldier but more as a war criminal. Rambo’s mission in this film is to go back to Vietnam and see if he can find a camp that he is told has many POW’s. If he finds the men, he can only take photographs but he has a problem with this and risks his own life to save them. He is very strong and muscular and is able to defeat the soldiers, Russian and Vietnamese, single handed. Douglas Kellner states that the film; ‘Follows the conventions of the Hollywood genre of the â€Å"war film†, which dramatizes conflicts between the United States and its â€Å"enemies† and provides a happy ending that portrays the victory of good over evil.’ (Kellner, 1994, p.10) This means that America always won no matter who the enemy was. In reality this is something that America could not accomplish. There was no happy ending and there were no immediate heroes. Rambo is allowed to bring glory upon America and diffuse a situation that could have cost the American military even more respect and dignity. America had lost some of its power within the world and they strived to get it back. It had lost its first war and it had become important to remasculinize America. There was a growing fear of communism in the country and displaying male heroes which went against the communist regime was their idea of establishing the ideal throughout the world by a means of globalization. Globalization had been taking place throughout the history of cinema by a means of film that was imported and exported to places around the world. In effect most of the action films set in Vietnam, and other films which hold a strong view of patriotism and heroism within America in the 1980’s, can be seen as propaganda films against the rise of communism. The purpose, with or without the knowledge of the audience, was to get the idea across to a mass audience that communism was against the principles of the country. In Rambo the ‘evil’ characters are the Vietnamese and Russian soldiers and ironically, it turns out that the greatest threat to Rambo is not the Vietnamese, although they do pose a strong force, it is the Russians. The Russians are shown as being extremely strong, relentless, and willing to put a man through torture to get what they want. Nevertheless, whatever the Russians do you cannot beat a man with as much physical and mental strength as Rambo. This follows a pattern throughout action films in the 1980’s. One film that is suggestive of this is Rocky 4. Rocky 4 (1985) also stars Sylvester Stallone but this time he is a boxer. He is fighting against a strong Russian fighter named Ivan Drago. Drago is very tough and stands at over 6ft tall. The Russian crowd all stand behind their fighter but when the final fight is over and Rocky defeats him with all of his strength the Russians begin to show support for Rocky and boo their fighter. This is the film industry’s way of evoking patriotism and the ever-growing fear of the communist regime after the Cold War. Philip L. Gianos states that; ‘The advent of Vietnam in film provided an opportunity for filmmakers who were denied an actual shooting war: a parallel, surrogate setting in which cold war themes could be played out.’ (Gianos. 1998, P.159) The first response from the film industry during this time was a set of anti-communist films to respond to the changing political environment. The villains are almost always portrayed as foreign internationals such as Russian, German, and sometimes English and they are usually a communist operative. They are never American in these films because the hero is American. He is fighting for his country and if it were another American he is fighting against he is effectively fighting against America. Other action films that were released at that time include, The Terminator, Rocky, Predator, and Die Hard. Millions of people worldwide, mainly consisting of young males went to see these films at the cinema. They gave them a chance to ‘latch on to big, muscular, violent men as cinematic heroes.’ (Katz, 1994, p134) These heroes gave the audience the chance to gain self-respect and security as it represented a masculinity that was unaffected by the rise of feminism. Gender roles had been reversed due to the growing rise of a feminist movement that showed women were increasingly moving into the workplace rather than staying at home. The displaying of the male physique and the physical torture it goes through to enable glory and victory over evil is further suggestive of masculinity in crisis and the gain of global respect. Women could not gain this kind of respect because they could not attain that degree of physical strength and endurance so therefore this was one thing that they couldn’t take away from men. The female role in the action film of the 1980’s appears at first glance to be on equal footing with the male. However, there are some differences in the ways in which they go about their missions. In Rambo: First Blood Part 2 the main female character, Co Bao, is strong, resourceful and a very capable fighter. She is Rambo’s contact in Vietnam and later becomes his love interest. During the film she cautions Rambo to follow his orders and when she goes to save him from the Russian’s in the POW camp she uses a different technique than Rambo. While Rambo attacked her captor from behind and overpowered him she sneaked into the camp as a prostitute. Therefore the issue of strength and power is present in the male character but in the female character it is more about subtlety and intelligence. Rambo is the definitive male of 80’s cinema and was joined by characters such as John McLain (Die Hard) and Rocky Balboa (Rocky). In these films the main action centres around one hero and the female character is usually the love-interest or accomplice. In previous war/actions films and Vietnam films the veterans were seen as either psychopaths, such as Travis Bickle in Taxi Driver, or tragic characters, Bob Hyde in Coming Home. In the films of the 1980’s, however, the hero fights back. In Rambo Part 2 Rambo can be seen as an anti-hero because of his rebellious behaviour by going against his orders to leave the POW’s and by telling Murdock that he will come and get him when he gets back from the jungle. This makes his character more dangerous and exciting to the audience as you don’t know what he is going to do. He has many people after him in Vietnam but he also has enemies at home. He has to deal with ‘home-grown discrimination’ because of the war and in effect he is no longer fighting for his country. He is doing it for the comrades that he fought with; ‘In these films the enemy is not the enemy in a war that is officially over but rather the civilian and military leadership that failed to win the war’ (Gianos. 1998, p.166) After Co Bao is killed Rambo channels his emotions into retaliation and thus becomes a fighting machine that is only out for revenge. Before she was killed he was ready to leave after finding that Murdock sent him out just to get free of him and stem reports that there were POW’s still in Vietnam. The style of the film helps to build the perception that he is a ‘god’ and that he is invincible. The use of lighting and camera angles are used to enhance his physique and the fast paced editing in the action shots are used to show that he is fast, strong and practical in the ways he attacks his enemies. Rambo shows us the ideal, very well-built muscular body of the white male in a place where he appears to belong. Commonly used iconography for Vietnam films included dense jungle, camouflage equipment and hi-tech weaponry. He uses the jungle to an advantage and appears to know it better than those who live there. He uses his initiative and intelligence in the jungle and is able to use it to gain the upper hand in a battle. One example of this is the scene in which he attacks a US soldier after he hides in a bank of mud with his eyes being the only thing visible. The male body in these films ‘constructs the white man as physically superior, yet also an everyman, built to do the job of colonial world improvement’ (Dyer, 2002, p.269) The fact that the superior build of the hero’s body establishes him as an everyman means that it is something that any man can attain – as long as you are white. Black men are rarely portrayed in this manner and if they are they are usually the villains of the movie and end up being defeated. In conclusion, the gender representation in the film is an effort from the United States to fulfil the growing need of remasculinizing American society, in particularly, in the dominant white majority of the working class. With the rise of feminism, fear of communism, political scandals and the Vietnam War, it became imperative for America to try and rebuild the image of men in a positive light. Rather than focusing on men as a collective these films focused on one individual and therefore a view of machismo, strength and determination became the ‘norm’. The films of the 1980’s became a kind of vessel of the ideal and most of these films are still popular in today’s society and may still be what some men aspire to be. If you were like these men you were considered to be manly and if you weren’t you were understood to be weak and not the ‘typical’ American male. The male hero in these films was put there to win. America needed a hero and they found him in these films. The masculine form was in crisis and the wholesomeness and fearless heroes could make an impact on the male audience who would then seek to be like the characters they watched on screen. Bibliography Gianos P.L (1998) Politics and Politicians in American Film, London, Greenwood Press Dyer, R, (2002) The White Man’s Muscles in Adams. R and Savran. D (eds) (2002) The Masculinity Studies Reader Oxford, Blackwell Publishers Jeffords S. (1989) The Remasculinization of America: Gender and the Vietnam War Indianapolis and Bloomington, Indiana University Press Kellner D. and Katz. J (1994) in Dines G and Humez J.M (eds) (1994) Gender, Race and Class in Media London, Sage Publications

Sustainable Fresh Water Supply for Chennai City

Sustainable Fresh Water Supply for Chennai city, Tamil Nadu, India A Status Update Joseph Thomas, Chief Technology Officer, Villgro, Chennai, India 3H, IIT Madras Research Park, Kanagam Road, Taramani, Chennai, Tamil Nadu India 600113. Telephone +91 44 6663 0400, email:[email  protected] org, mobile +91 98840 49116 Key Words: Rain water harvesting, Sustainable water supply, Urban fresh water. Abstract Chennai city, one of the major metropolises of India, is situated at the northern coastal edge of the State of Tamil Nadu. The city is more well-known by its older name of Madras.Currently, Chennai is inhabited by more than 7 million people in an area of 176 sq km. Water supply for this population is maintained by tapping a combination of surface storage reservoirs and aquifers. The Chennai Municipal Water Supply and Sewerage Board (CMWSSB), a statutory body established in 1978, is responsible for water supply and sewerage services in the Chennai Metropolitan Area. The main sources of public water supply in the city are the three reservoirs — Poondi, Redhills and Cholavaram — with an aggregate storage capacity of 175 million cubic metres (MCM).The other major resource is groundwater from the well-fields in the Araniar-Kortaliyar basin and the southern coastal aquifer, and also a large number of wells and tube-wells spread all across the city (Figure 1). Over-extraction of groundwater resulted in a rapid ingress of seawater, which extended from 3 km inshore in 1969 to 7 km in 1983 and 9 km in 1987[[i]]. Groundwater levels within the city also fell and brackish water began to appear, even in localities which earlier had good quality groundwater sources.The CMWSSB calculates water availability based on surface and aquifer contributions under its direct control. Since it perceived reservoirs and other surface supply as more significant for a long time, very little attention was paid to subsurface storage or ground water recharge. As an outcome of resea rch, done by several agencies the CMWSSB embarked on a campaign to create ground water recharge facilities in the city, and later throughout the State. This led to significant changes in ground water levels and to the quantum of water available to the population of a growing metropolis. pic]Figure 1. Introduction The Chennai Municipal Water Supply and Sewerage Board (CMWSSB) is solely responsible for providing drinking water and sewerage services to the residents of Chennai. One of India’s major metropolises, Chennai is situated at the northern coastal edge of the State of Tamil Nadu. The city is more well-known by its older name of Madras. Currently, Chennai is inhabited by more than 7 million people in an area of 176 sq km. The CMWSSB depends on surface reservoirs and ground water sources to maintain water supply to the residents.Supply is maintained through multiple means. Since Chennai is essentially low-lying and water supply is intermittent, most residents build undergr ound sumps that store the water. Subsequently, the water is pumped up to an overhead tank. In other cases, water tankers are dispatched by CMWSSB to various localities and the sumps are filled from the tankers. In other localities, CMWSSB has put in place above-ground water tanks and these are filled by the water tankers.In yet other places, residents collect water directly from the tanker, see Figure 2. [pic] Figure 2: Drinking water collection from tankers directly by residents. Despite the seemingly abundant sources of water, Chennai suffers continuously from water stress since the entire basin is dependent on rainfall. The annual rainfall in Chennai is 1200 mm [[ii]]. This quantum is, given the size of the Chennai basin, sufficient to meet the needs of the population. The problem is with the distribution of the rainfall.There are two rainy seasons in Chennai. The first is the Southwest monsoon, which has patchy rains and contributes about 25% of the total rain and falls between May and September. This does not do much for ground water recharge. However, the Northwest Monsoon (Oct to Dec) is usually characterized by a series of storms that brings the remaining 75% of total rain in extremely short bursts. During this time, Chennai is prone to flooding and, before 2003, a large part of this water would have been lost as run-off into the sea.CMWSSB traditionally focused its attention on increasing surface storage, transporting fresh water from long distances. Like the Telugu Ganga project – probably one of the longest canals built for water supply to the city that failed to ease the water problem. Another attempt was to divert water from Chembaramabakkam and Veeranam tanks whereby the water rights of the agrarian community were infringed. Drilling of borewells in the Cuddalore belt and installation of turbine pumps to tap 100mld whereby the groundwater which again supports the local agriculture community was depleted.None of these solutions were sustain able in the long run and yet CMWWSSB paid very little attention to ground water recharge that had that potential. In 1997, at the Shri AMM Murugappa Chettiar Research Centre (MCRC), Chennai, [[iii]] a study was conducted to understand the user experience. The study surveyed 10,000 households in 155 corporation wards of Chennai. The focus was on how residents get their water needs met and how the water is utilised. Raw data from this study was further analyzed by Dr. A Vaidyanathan and J. Saravanan [[iv]].These studies clearly established that the contribution of ground water could be as high as 80% in some cases. The next section will take up a quick summary of the research and the subsequent sections will deal with the steps taken by CMWSSB and other civil society organisations to get rain water harvesting introduced. The final section will describe the results of these efforts on the ground water table. The research and changes The survey conducted by MCRC was across 10,000 househ olds, representing a roughly 1 percent sample.Another 2500 surveys across, business, educational, institutional, governmental and industrial establishments were undertaken between September, 1995 and January, 1996. The analysis phase took up another year. The main recommendations of the study were to a) encourage public participation in water conservation and ground water recharge b) promote and propagate water saving/replacement technologies in the domestic sector c) use surface water to reduce ground water usage d) encourage ground water recharge by adoption of low-cost water harvesting ystems, cleaning of water-ways and renovation of existing recharge structures, such as temple tanks. In 1999 a National Water Harvesters’ Network was set up by the Centre for Science and Environment (CSE) water harvesters’ advisory committee in New Delhi. Members suggested that a regional network be initiated in Tamil Nadu to promote rainwater harvesting in Chennai [[v]]. Professor M. S. Swaminathan, provided office space for the network unit in Chennai and Prof. A. Vaidyanathan agreed to chair the group.The Tamil Nadu unit of the national water-harvesting network was launched in April 1999. The network was meant to: (i) provide an opportunity for individuals and institutions actively engaged in water harvesting, in Chennai, to share their knowledge and experience and promote free and open interaction among them; and (ii) to reach out to a wider public in the city and outside to propagate the role of urban rainwater harvesting in terms of technology, experience and its potential contribution in meeting urban water needs. It was Prof.Vaidyanathan who then asked for the raw data from the MCRC study and did his own assertion of the data and analysis. In the background paper that came out of the analysis [3] the following was stated: â€Å"The present paper is meant to give an overview of the present and future needs of the city, the limited and expensive scope for augmenting surface supplies, the need for a two-pronged strategy of conservation/recycling and Rain Water Harvesting (RWH) to increase ground water recharge. † This confirmed the results of the MCRC study.Both the MCRC study and the CSE study highlighted the dependence of people on multiple sources for their water consumption rather than just CMWSSB and the heavy dependence on groundwater by both. Thus the RWH campaign was backed up by strong research results of MCRC and CSE. These studies were necessary to convince the public and the policy makers. It should be mentioned here that the then Chairman and Managing Director of CMWSSB, Ms. Shanta Sheela Nair understood these results and backed the RWH movement fully. In a 2006 publication [[vi] ] Prof. Vaidyanathan and his colleague, J.Saravanan summarized the action of the government as follows: â€Å"In Chennai, the capital of Tamil Nadu, the growing dependence on groundwater since the 1970s is evident in the sinking of increa sing numbers of open wells and deep bore wells. This trend, a symptom of the increasing water scarcity in the city, led to a progressive decline in groundwater levels as well as seawater intrusion in coastal aquifers. Faced with this crisis, the State government passed the Chennai Groundwater Regulation Act in 1987, which sought mainly to curb the commercial groundwater exploitation within the city limits.In 2001, rainwater harvesting (RWH) became mandatory in multi-storeyed buildings. The unprecedented and severe droughts in the ensuing two years intensified the groundwater crisis to such a degree that, in August 2003, the government passed an ordinance making RWH mandatory for all buildings (existing and new) in the city and throughout the State. It further set a deadline of October 31, 2003 for this process to be completed. A vigorous publicity drive convinced the public that the government was serious about implementing the programme and providing technical advice and help in th e design and construction of RWH structures.This led to unprecedented activity across the towns and cities of the State, especially Chennai city, and the programme was seen as successful. In this endeavour, however, very few turned to the municipal corporation, private consultants or NGOs with the relevant expertise for assistance in designing and building their RWH structures. Most relied on plumbers or their own expertise. Independent experts pointed out several problems with the programme, noting that ) the time given for the implementation of this ordinance was too short; b) there were far too few professionals with the knowledge and experience needed to design appropriate systems for the widely varying conditions; c) the supply of trained and skilled labour to implement the works was also inadequate to cope with the scale and speed of the programme; d) the availability of quality materials for implementation was also inadequate; and e) there was hardly any systematic follow-up to check the quality of the works reported to be completed.There were widespread but unverified reports that, simply in order to meet the stipulations, grossly inadequate RWH structures had been put in place; the capacity as well as quality of design and implementation leaving much to be desired. This was an instance of decentralisation that, despite the presence of a â€Å"felt need†, occurred without adequate consultation. The legislation in regard of RWH was welcome but the actual programme was poorly implemented and monitored. Although the programme applied to all classes of housing, it ignored those living in informal settlements such as slums within the city limits.These areas could have benefited from RWH in public building and public spaces — an aspect that received very little attention. Moreover, no steps were taken under this programme to reclaim tanks and wetlands in the city that, in the past, not only functioned as recharge structures but were also used a s sources of domestic water by communities. † The Government has since 2009 been working towards cleaning up the waterways of Chennai. This effort has seen the government draw on municipal corporation, private consultants and NGOs with the relevant expertise to work on this massive effort.There is a project with an outlay of Rs 1,400 crore (approx US $300 million) to make the city flood-free[[vii]]. In March 2010 the Chennai Metropolitan Development Authority held a Seminar on Waterways in Chennai. The proceedings [[viii] ] contain a list of 36 recommendations and some of them are re-produced here: 1. The sequence of actions to tackle the problem may be – (a) flood alleviation (b) prevention of pollution to the waterways (c) cleaning up of the waterways by removing encroachments & obstructions (d) restoration / improvements to the waterways and its continued maintenance. . Floods are opportunities to augment ground water recharge to be facilitated by construction of che ck dams, filter wells, and underground tunnels/storage reservoirs, if the soil conditions and slopes permit. 3. Flood plains should be developed along the waterways in the areas outside the towns and cities, adopting the retention model, as a solution against flood hazards; these flood plains could be developed as parks or green belts for recreation such as camp sites. 4. Eco-engineering should also be adopted as a solution to bring nature back and rejuvenate the rivers. 5.It is recommended that corporate sector participation, and general public participation, in planning and improvement of lakes and rivers should be encouraged. Cleaning up of rivers and conservation of water bodies should be thought of as a movement with the participation of all stakeholders including the general public. 6. Adequate public awareness about the hazards of pollution of water bodies and the remedial measures has to be created by organizing community education campaigns. Getting the citizens involved is important, ‘Saving Waterways’ should become a people’s movement. . Use of sewage for power generation and recycling of waste water should be encouraged. 8. Area development plans prepared at micro level, such as Detailed Development Plans, should contain plans for ground water recharge, at least in large premises such as schools and public places. Sustainability measures should form part of the Integrated River Restoration Plans. What is evident here is that the outcomes of studies take time to percolate down to the agencies mandated to make the changes required for sustainability. It also requires a good amount of political will.Much of the change of attitude of governmental institutions can also be traced backed to strong political thrust to implement the changes. Results Data on change in groundwater quantity and quality has to be presented here, mostly based on media stories. Some researchers feel that the effects of rain water harvesting and subsequent grou nd water recharge are so noticeable that quantifying is not a priority. The Table below (Figure 3) shows the number of rain water harvesting structures built by the Corporation of Chennai, as reported on its website. Rain Water Harvesting done by Corporation of Chennai Corporation owned buildings |1344 Structures | |Flyovers and Bridges |29 Structures | |Open low-lying areas |242 Structures | |Road Margins |945 Structures | |Corporation Streets |2698 Structures | |Corporation pond |1 No. | |Temple Tanks |16 Nos. | |Residential / Commercial / Institution Buildings |329959 Buildings | Figure 3[[ix]] An article published in a leading daily in Chennai, The Hindu, dated January, 31 2009 had many interesting points to make about the results of RWH and ground-water recharge. [x]] â€Å"The CMWSSB study of 759 RWH observatory wells shows that ever since the installation of RWH structures in about 500,000 of its consumer households was made mandatory in 2004, there has been a 50 per ce nt rise in the water level. According to the CMWSSB officials, over the last five years, the water level across the city has gone up by three to six metres. Similarly, the water quality in several areas has also showed improvement. The sustained normal rainfall since 2004 and the proper maintenance of RWH structures in most households have been the principal reasons. Following the drought period in 2003, when Chennai received only about 690 mm of rainfall as against its normal of 1,200 mm, the water table had receded and, on an average, was at 7-8 metres below ground. In many places it was at 10 m depth and, in some, it was at 10 m.Following a good monsoon (2,064 mm) in 2005 and rainwater harvesting, the ground water table saw an appreciable rise in several areas and the water table reached 1 m depth below ground. The total dissolved solids (TDS), which were earlier as high as 4,900 parts per million (ppm) in some areas, dropped to permissible levels of 500 ppm, greatly improving th e quality of water (see Figure 4). [pic] Figure 4[10] â€Å"Before the onset of every monsoon, Metrowater officials conduct a random check of the RWH structures for their maintenance and create awareness about the need to keep these in good shape. Harnessing of rainwater that gets collected in storm water drain network would help reduce the inundation on roads and large volumes of water draining into sea every year†¦..Unless rainwater runoff in both public and private spaces in the city is harnessed, Chennai may lose out on the precious resource and may end up with water problems during the summer months,† note rain-water harvesting experts. Conclusions This presentation has tried to show that it takes many years of persistent effort to address a problem in civil society. In Chennai, and indeed the whole of Tamil Nadu, the problem was one of water stress. Research showed that the available rainfall could help people cope but fresh water from the rain was being lost to th e sea. Based on this, a proposal was made that ground water recharge was a viable, low-cost solution. This proposal had to be championed. Prof. Vaidyanathan and the then Chairman of CMWSSB, Shanta Sheela Nair, did just that.They showed with great determination and several pilot studies that rain water harvesting would be viable and worthwhile. They managed to convince the government of this, and RWH became a statutory requirement for all buildings in the state. Monitoring the quantity and quality of the ground water has shown the significant changes this legislation has brought in. As a side-effect a greater understanding of the need to clean, preserve and secure all types of fresh water bodies has prevailed among the political circles, bureaucracy, NGOs and civil society. The people have also shown great resolve in implementing the solution since it directly affects their lives.The type of study conducted by MCRC and CSE can be a methodology to assess the water sources, consumption pattern, per capita availability and requirement particularly in developing countries. This way the water supply system can be better planned and implemented to be sustainable. References ———————– [i] http://www. rainwaterharvesting. org/Crisis/Urbanwater-scenario. htm [ii] Balakrishnan, T. , Technical Report Series District Groundwater Brochure, Chennai District, Tamil Nadu. Central Ground Water Board, South East Coastal Region, Chennai, Ministry of Water Resources, Government of India, November 2008. Published by Regional Director, CGWB, SECR, E-1, Rajaji Bhavan, Besant Nagar, Chennai -600090, Tel:+9144 24912941/24914494, Fax +9144 24914334 Web: www. cgwb. gov. in email [email  protected] in iii] Thomas, Joseph, Sustainable Fresh Water Supply for Madras (now Chennai) City, India (Contract No. S$P/95/0042) Final report submitted to UNICEF, 73, Lodi Estate , New Delhi 110 003, Printed by Shri AMM Murugappa Chettiar Research Centre, Tharamani, Madras (now Chennai), Tamil Nadu, India 600 113, May 1997. [iv] A. Vaidyanathan & J. Saravanan, Chennai’s Water Supply Problems and Prospects (A background paper) National Water Harvestors Network –Tamil Nadu Unit, Centre for Science and Environment. (undated circa 2000) [v] http://www. manage. gov. in/managelib/extdig/Jul99Water. htm [vi] Vaidyanathan, A. with Saravanan, J. ‘The Urban Water Scene: A Case Study -Water Situation in Chennai City’ in A.Vaidyanathan, India’s Water Resources: Contemporary Issues on Irrigation. New Delhi, Oxford University Press, 209-247 (2006). [vii] http://www. business-standard. com/india/news/tn-govt-to-takers-1400-cr-flood-control-project/397769/ [viii] http://www. cmdachennai. gov. in/pdfs/SeminarOnWaterways/1. pdf [ix] http://www. chennaicorporation. gov. in/departments/storm-water-drain/introduction. htm [x] http://www. hindu. com/pp/2009/01/31/stories/2009013150010100. htm Acknowledgements The author gratefully acknowledges the Villgro Innovations Foundation for the time given to write this paper. The valuable inputs from J. Saravanan also gave the author the confidence to make some of the conclusions presented here.