6 Books to Read if Youre Thinking of Becoming a Freelance Writer

6 Books to Read if You’re Thinking of Becoming a Freelance Writer When I first started thinking about becoming a freelance writer, I did what any avid reader would doâ€"I started finding and consuming books on the topic. Not all of the books were directly related to freelance writing. Some of them were just general writing inspiration or tactics for starting your own business. And some of them only peripherally had to with taking this leap but were written by authors who discuss their struggles with getting a writing career off the ground. I found the books extremely inspiring and useful when first beginning my career. Here were the top six books I recommend if you’re thinking of taking this leap yourself. Big Magic: Creative Living Beyond Fear by Elizabeth Gilbert While I did thoroughly enjoy Elizabeth Gilbert’s infamous novel Eat, Pray, Love, I was skeptical of an inspirational book written about creative living by this same author. But I was very pleasantly surprised. This book isn’t just about writing, but as she is a writer, a lot of the advice and stories surround the writing world. But what this book does is so much more than give you rote advice on how to be a better writer; its intent is to inspire everyone to live a creative life. In whatever way that resonates with them. I found a lot of inspiration from this book, and it did encourage me to look at what could be possible instead of just sticking with the practical like I tend to do. Scratch: Writers, Money, and the Art of Making a Living edited by Manjula Martin This book really gets to the heart of the debate most writers will have at some point in their career: do I want to make money or art? Can I do both? It is a collection of essays written by some incredible modern authors such as Roxanne Gay, Cheryl Strayed, Yiyun Li, and Susan Orlean. The essays don’t so much offer a perfect path to how to be a writer, but are personal stories of how each of these authors got to be as successful as they are. I found it inspiring to know that some of the authors I emulate the most, also struggled to pay their bills at the start of their career. And often for many years after that. It’s a beautiful collection that seeks to offer a dose of reality along with a ton of inspiration. You Are A Badass by Jen Sincero This book was probably the number one book that helped me take the leap to quit my day job and try out freelance writing full time. For some it can definitely be a bit “woo-woo” but that I think that was exactly what I needed at that point in my life. This book isn’t really about writing at all. It’s more the story of Sincero and how she went from being horribly in debt to starting a business and thriving. It’s a common story these days, but she tells it in a very interesting, heartwarming, and inspiring way. She also offers tips and tricks along the way to make a similar change in your own life. A lot of it is about positive thinking and manifestation, but she doesn’t think that’s all it takes. It takes work and a lot of it, but it all starts with shifting your mindset. Something we can all do to remember throughout our lives. This is one of those books that I’ll probably reread once every five years or so, just to remind myself that it’s all gonna be okay. Free Within Ourselves: Fiction Lessons for Black Authors by Jewell Parker Rhodes This is an extremely important book because it is very true that a lot of this genre of books is dominated by white women. While this book certainly wasn’t targeted for my demographic, I found reading about the craft of writing from a different perspective very enlightening and engaging. The book is also one of the more practical and helpful on this list. It walks you through writing exercises and gives you assignments such as a list of books by famous black authors to read. She addresses the whitewashing that often comes part and parcel with studying writing in school and attempts to correct that narrative by broadening the scope. The book is really perfect for beginning writers looking to delve into the world for the first time, but can also be helpful in honing your craft and exposing you to examples of truly beautiful writing by African American authors. The Artists Way by Julia Cameron This book is a classic in the art world for helping artists of all different mediums reconnect with their craft and find inspiration every day. It walks you through a 12-week journey to find the connection between your spiritual self and your creative self. Two of the major tenants of the 12 weeks are morning pages and artist dates. Morning pages are great for writers, but she encourages people of all disciplines to wake up and write three pages in a journal every day. Artist dates are intended to help you find inspiration. Throughout the course there are tons of exercises and activities, so this book is fantastic if you’re really looking for some help structuring and want to be walked through a little inspirational journey. Bad Feminist by Roxanne Gay This book isn’t really about writing or inspirational in any kind of direct way. It is simply a collection of essays Roxanne Gay wrote throughout her career, many of which are from quite early on. I included this here because I think that this book helped inspire me by giving me a glimpse of what kind of stuff I can write, even if no one is responding to my pitches. A lot of the essays included here Gay originally posted on her blog. For me, it was helpful to see a writer that I admire greatly and follow her journey from an unknown name to one of the thought leaders we often turn to for a wide variety of issues.

Leadership Structures For High Schools - 10762 Words

137 1 Chapter IV RESULTS AND FINDINGS The purpose of this qualitative study was to develop a guide for school and district leaders entitled Leadership Structures That Support Professional Learning Communities in High Schools: A School and District Leader?s Practical Guide. This guide creates a practical leadership structure to support the creation of a culture that ensures PLCs and collaboration strongly exist in order to best support high levels of student and adult learning. This Guide comes at a time where many, many districts and high schools are struggling with the implementation of collaborative teams. DuFour has described this struggle as ?PLC Lite? where schools and districts have labeled themselves as PLCs without†¦show more content†¦around School Site a and its instructional leadership structure (Gall, Gall, Borg, 2003, p. 437). As part of this in-depth case study, I purposely designed research that would encompass the experience of teachers, teacher leaders, school administration and distric t administration. Through thorough analysis, I was able to triangulate the data in order to use ?different methods with different strengths and limitations to see if they all support the same conclusions? (Maxwell, 2013, p. 102). From the findings of the data found in the in-depth case study, the Guide was created. After original creation of the Guide, a second stage of data collection took place to access the relevancy and usefulness of the Guide. Both sets of findings are included in this chapter. For ease and understanding, I have labeled the states of data collection as Stage One and Stage Two. Stage One data collection encompassed survey, individual interviews, and focus group interviews that informed the findings and analysis in this chapter. Stage two includes results from a pilot survey and twelve individual interviews around the usefulness of the Guide and suggestions forShow MoreRelatedLeadership Characteristics Of High Performing Schools830 Words   |  4 PagesDistributed Leadership Clearly, administrators and teachers must work as a team for substantive changes in teaching and learning to occur. One theoretical construct that supports the sharing of leadership constructs among all school stakeholders is the idea of distributed leadership (Spillane, 2006). Spillane, Halverson, and Diamond (2001) in their research funded by the National Science Foundation to determine the leadership characteristics of high-performing schools, discovered that the mostRead MoreThe Influence Of Transformational Leadership On Employee Engagement?1214 Words   |  5 Pagesnot considered as a priority, so it was determined that employee engagement would be one of the ways to develop the banking sector. 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Systems are not adequately designed to meet the needs of diverse populations because schools still maintain the status quo of â€Å"one size fits all† education, even though they claim otherwise. Meanwhile, state and federal funding acts asRead MoreThe Influence Of Transformational M anagement975 Words   |  4 Pagesnot considered as a priority, so it was determined that employee engagement would be one of the ways to develop the banking sector. Transformational leadership style is an important factor to increase engagement amongst employees with specific impact on employee attitudes and behavioral outcomes. Raja (2012) found that transformational leadership has an influence on higher levels of employee engagement in the workplace with its multiple attributes such as, idealized influence, inspirational motivation

Personal Reflection On The Social Work Profession - 847 Words

My paper is a personal reflection on my understanding of the social work profession, as I get ready for my field placement. I will reflect on my evolving sense of professional identity, and will discuss my growth in terms of self-awareness. I will further deliberate about my knowledge of the Social Work profession. My current understanding of the profession, and activities, tasks and roles that I may undertake in a placement situation The Social Work profession in Ontario is a complete, accredited program that is acknowledged by the Ontario College of Social Workers and Social Service Workers (OCSWSSW). The profession is oriented to social justice, and social workers try to bring about change through real change and transformation. Social Work is geared towards achieving optimal psychosocial function (Maclean, 2009) for the client, through a holistic approach that utilises professional knowledge, values and skills. The scope of practice for Registered Social Workers includes assessment, diagnoses, treatment and evaluation of individuals, couples, families, groups, organizations and communities (CASW Code of Ethics, 2008). Activities, tasks and roles that I may undertake in my field placement, are those based on the theory that I have learnt in my academic program. I hope to transfer the theory into real-life practice. The NOC code for Social Workers, as presented by Maclean (2009), lists about twenty roles delegated to the profession. I anticipate that under supervision, IShow MoreRelatedSelf Awareness And The Social Work1603 Words   |  7 PagesSelf-awareness and the use of self is a key component in social work practice. 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DueRead MoreReflective Reflection Essay999 Words   |  4 Pagesoutcomes. This essay will focus on how reflective practice is critical for professional life, and how the use of reflection and theory can be used by counselling practitioners to inform their practice. Reflective practice is a complex concept and has many alternate definitions and understandings of what reflective practice actually means. By breaking down the two parts and defining reflection as â€Å"serious thought or consideration†, and practice as â€Å"the actual application or use of an idea, belief, orRead MoreSelf Care Pl An Essential Tool Within The Health Care Profession969 Words   |  4 Pagesessential tool within the health care profession. A plan not only helps create balance in one s life, but it also assists in maintaining professional standards as a service provider. In this type of work can be taxing on an individual s mental, physical and spiritual mentality, as such, can affect the mannerism in which a professional engages with their clientele. As a social worker it is our responsibility to maintain the ethical values of our profession. 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The text, From the front lines: Student cases in social work ethics, states that the Code of Ethics should be a professional’s guide to constantly refer in social work pr actice

Nutrition and Stronger Workouts Free Essays

In today’s society it seems that everyone wants to loose weight and see immediate results. The trend of using dietary supplements increases constantly because of this factor. The market for these supplements is skyrocketing every year as the demand for the so-called miracle pills continues to grow. We will write a custom essay sample on Nutrition and Stronger Workouts or any similar topic only for you Order Now Much research has been done on many of these drugs and has proven that many are not all as great as they are advertised on television or in magazines. The truth is many contain dangerous ingredients that lead to severe side effects and can even cause death. They prove to be more harmful than healthy. This is why before ever deciding to by any type of dietary supplement, it is crucial to examine every ingredient and know what exactly each one is to see if it is dangerous or safe to ingest. One dietary supplement that seems to be popular at the moment is Hydroxycut. It is supposed to promote fat and weight loss, increased energy and stronger workouts, increased metabolism, and decreased appetite (Hydroxycut Side Effects and Hydroxycut Benefits 1). These added benefits do not come without a price though. There are many severe side effects that can result from using Hydroxycut. Some may include increased blood pressure, increased heart rate, headaches, light-headedness, and dizziness. Others are loss of appetite, feel restless and hyper active, nose bleeds, blurred vision, and outbreak of acne (1). It seems there are more side effects than benefits. It is up to the individual to decide how much pain it is worth going through just to lose a few pounds. Hydroxycut is composed of both healthful and harmful ingredients. It is based on something known as the ECA stack, which consists of ephedrine, caffeine, and aspirin (Hydroxycut Information 1). Ephedrine, as most know, has received much negative attention over the past few months. It is derived from the plants of the genus How to cite Nutrition and Stronger Workouts, Essay examples

Metal Dome by Emerald Sun free essay sample

Emerald Sun is a Greek power metal band with many anthemic like songs like the heavy metal band before it Manowar. The lyrics however, arent quite as cheesy with Emerald Sun. Since inception, they have released a couple classics and have been left in more of the middle of power metal popularity. Even bands like Firewind and Rhapsody of Fire have a tad bit more popularity to them, not to say the latter two are bad, far from it. Metal Dome includes a total of 12 tracks lasting well over an hour. They do have some variety here but from what I can tell, it goes as far as having a couple ballads like Freedom Call(the name of a German power metal band as well). I can appreciate the Sabaton/Manowar music thing considering they both border on heavy power metal and both have anthemic tracks as well like Primo Victoria and Swedish Pagan(Sabaton) and Hail and Kill(Manowar). We will write a custom essay sample on Metal Dome by Emerald Sun or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page With the final track, Call of Nature, they managed to make a more Greek folk song which basically has me eat my words from before. I could deal with a bit more speed emphasis to be honest but hey, going back to the Sabaton and Manowar influences, thats what they sound like pretty much and I like Sabaton for crying out loud! The occasional trick like a folk or ballad song is something you need to look out for, they are interesting to say the least and provide for something more than an anthem track(and thats most of the album). I do like some of the regular tracks but after a while, some of them become filler to me. Tracks like the title track, Screaming In the Storm, You Wont Break Me down and Dust and Bone seem to follow the Manowar trap with the lyrics as well, thats not exactly something you want to touch. Dragonforce did it for a while, Running Wild and Steel Panther also had that same trait as well where it makes it almost a cliche of a sort. There are just way too many things that bother me here. I like the Manowar throwback but if you make lyrics like them, you might as well be stepping over unwanted territory. Im not hating Manowar themself actually, just the lyrics and vocal style with this blatant comparison. The biggest things to pay attention to are the tracks with changing styles like the ballads and Call of Nature. I give this a 6.5/10. The first one weve seen in a while lower than a 7. I am the Grim Reaper, signing off.

Environment Pollution and Mumbai Essay Example

Environment: Pollution and Mumbai Paper This paper presents the dynamics of environmental problems in Iambi city. An evolution concept is applied to study the present environmental status of Iambi. In order to study its dynamics, the entire process of environmental evolution is divided into four types biz. Poverty related environmental issues, industrialization- and arbitration-related environmental issues, rapid economic growth-related environmental issues and wealthy lifestyle-related environmental issues. Dynamics of suitable indicators for all the above issues over the economic development has been studied. Temporal representation of respective indicator for each type of the environmental problem presented the distribution of these types of environmental problems on a longitudinal scale. In the analysis it is found that, at present Iambi has prevalence to rapid economic development- related environmental problems. Overpopulated environmental issues show very little significance. Industrialization– and urban-related environmental issues coexist with rapid economic development-related environmental issues. This provides the necessary inputs to city planner so as to avoid various environmental costs that other cities have already experienced. Introduction Bombay, since independence, has been the center for development and financial activities of India. Minus. Yodel Nadir Gandhi Institute of Development Research, Vida Mark, Gorgon(E), 400 065 Iambi, India E- mail: [email protected] Mom Present address: S. Yodel Institute for Global Environmental Strategies, 240 01 15 Yamaha, Gangway, Japan 1 actuating sector has been the major force in Bombay creating potential for employment, and that had resulted in migration of rural population. This influx has created an increased demand for sharing the limited public resources and infrastructure available in the island city. We will write a custom essay sample on Environment: Pollution and Mumbai specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now We will write a custom essay sample on Environment: Pollution and Mumbai specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer We will write a custom essay sample on Environment: Pollution and Mumbai specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer As the place became scarce the real estate value shot up driving the public to the suburbs. As a result, expansion of Greater Bombay in 1971 was almost entirely due to its suburbs’ groom. In 1 981 the city’s population of 3. 3 million was far outpaced by the suburb population of 5 million (MAPI 1998). With these trends intuiting Bombay city, in the post-independence period has been facing severe resource constraints. This growth has further exacerbated the city’s problems by overstraining its services in catering to the hordes of commuters, all heading each morning for south Bombay where the port, business offices and administrative offices are located. High population growth, inward migration and arbitration put stress on resources. Increasing economic activity and per capita income further stresses the resources and â€Å"common goods† (BOMBARD 1996). This phenomenon creates a wider scope for increased environmental concerns, which are multifaceted ND also cross-sector. For various social and administrative reasons, Bombay was renamed as Iambi during late 1 sass. At present Iambi is the largest metropolitan city in India with very distinct characteristics as presented in Table 1 . Environmental management concerns In the history of Bombay, there is not much note Of environmental concerns. Being an island, Bombay has high assimilation potential, which made this city less environmentally concerned (Kombi 1986). However, in light with the above-described features, post-independence era of Iambi witnessed numerous developments, both economically and environmentally. Due to abundant employment opportunities, migration had been so predominant and till 1971 migrants constituted Bombay has been renamed as Iambi during late sass Table 1 Socio-economic indicators of Iambi Indicator Population Literacy rate Employment Per capita income Education Transport Pattern 1 1. 9 million as per 2001 census 1. % of total Indian population and 12% of Maharajah’s State population 82. 4% (national average is 65. 38%) 3. 43 lakes (0. 343 million) main workers and two-third in service sectors Jobs in manufacturing sectors are on a declining trend Almost double to the average state per capita income which in turn is higher than the Indian average Services sector on the whole accounts for 64% of the income generated in Iambi 42 students per teacher at primary school level 35 students per teacher in secondary/higher secondary school level 2,145 local train services per day 2,275 million passengers per day by local trains 4. Million passengers per day by BEST (State road transport system), which is the highest among all metropolitan cities in India 25% of domestic and 38% of international passenger traffic in India 26% of domestic and 40% international cargo in India Air traffic Source: Census of India (2001), SEEMS (2002), http://www. Indicates. Com, http:// www. Bombardiers. Org the major population growth in Iambi. This has created a wider set of environmental problems biz. Lack of sanitation facilities, lack of drinking water, increased incidence of cholera. Rapid industrialization took place with most of the industrial clusters located in the vicinity of Chamber, which turned it into a â€Å"gas chamber with exceedingly high concentrations of air pollution (Pariah et al. 1995). Increased economic activity resulted in steep rise in transport demands and the vehicular stock. Increased stock of automobiles, most of them being used for decades together, created numerous environmental problems. Ambient air concentrations of Suspended Particulate Matter (CPM), Nitrogen Oxides (Knox) and other hydrocarbons have crossed the allowable limits creating health problems to the Iambi public (World Bank 1997). Increased incidence of tuberculosis was observed, and it is an indicator of the impacts of pollution on Iambi population (Pariah et al. 1995). Urban transport sector is known for contributing greenhouse gas (GOGH) to the atmosphere. With further economic development and the influence of esters â€Å"throw away†Ã¢â‚¬Ëœ cultures, new environmental problems have started cropping up, and increased per capita generation of municipal solid waste (MS) is an example of such development. Lack of appropriate recycling system and infrastructure adds to the problem. Increased per capita energy consumption, particularly in an unsustainable way, creates much more stress on the environment. With the economic development of the city the set of environmental problems keeps changing. It is clear from the above description that the concerns of environmental management follow a trend: Poverty-related issue?rapid industrialization issues?rapid economic growth- related issues?wealthy lifestyle-related issues. As these issues are cross- sector in nature, conventional environmental management dealing with a particular type of problem fails to address the indirect impacts resulting from environmental issues. Therefore, it is essential to adopt a macro approach with an evolutionary perspective. Environmental evolution: concept and development In cities like Iambi, the arbitration process is coupled with industrialization and followed by rapid economic growth. As explained by ABA 2001), in this process, words like â€Å"change† or â€Å"growth† can describe the situation far more adequately than â€Å"equilibrium† which makes the dynamic viewpoint an inevitable feature in dealing with the urban environment and its management. The municipalities, which in most countries are the responsible bodies for environmental management, lack long-term understanding and planning of environment. They deal with the environment â€Å"as it comes to them†. With such an approach, decisions often tend to be shortsighted and lack broadness in scope. As many of the cities are undergoing rapid change owe, the environmentally benign future of these cities can still be shaped, at least partly. If these cities can learn from the successful experiences as well as failures of other cities, they might avoid paying some of the unnecessary environmental costs their fellow cities have paid (e. G. Heavy industrial pollution due to the use of primitive technologies). For this purpose, it is essential to have a systematic understanding of how urban environments change and what drives the change. So far, the dynamic feature of the urban environment is treated as a risk rather than an opportunity. It is often shadowed by the overwhelming complexity of the issue. Viewing this as an opportunity needs an improved conceptual and theoretical understanding about what kind of changes are taking place in urban environment, and how the process is driven. In various studies, ABA and co-workers (ABA and Muar 2000; ABA 2001, 2002) have explained the evolutionary viewpoint of the urban environmental change with empirical evidences from East Asian cities like Tokyo, Seoul, where the most rapid social, economic and environmental changes have taken place over the last several decades. The importance of introducing the temporal dimension and an ecological viewpoint in urban environmental studies was pointed out by Douglas (1988) in his study of Manchester City, England, in which he linked urban growth, physical change and human impact succession. In addition to the temporal dimension, ABA and Muar (2000) further emphasized the importance of viewing urban environmental change as an evolutionary’ process. Often environmental problems are cross-sector an d complex. Categorization of these issues into several types helps to reduce the complexity of the issue. This categorization loud be done based on various parameters like type of impacts, driving forces, etc. Taking into consideration these different driving forces and the spatial scale of the impacts of these problems, ABA and Muar (2000) categorized urban environmental problems into three types: poverty-related issues, rapid-growth and production-related issues and consumption or wealthy lifestyle-related issues. Based on the available literature and criteria used by other researchers (ABA and Muar 2000; Sweatshirts 1997; World Resources Institute 1997), environmental problems in Iambi are categorized into four groups biz. Poverty-related issues, rapid industrialization- and arbitration-related issues, rapid economic growth-related issues and wealthy lifestyle-related issues. This helps in better understanding of the dynamic process of change in a developing city like Iambi. Table 2 presents typical issues under each category and the major impacts associated and scale of impact. Behavioral patterns of typical issue Poverty-related issues of environmental management are prevalent when the economy is low. Lack of safe drinking water and sanitation resulting in health problems is a classical example of poverty-related environmental issues. Malnutrition results in increasing infant mortality rates (MIR). As the economy rises, income levels grow and it results in controlling these issues. This falling trend of poverty-related issues continue until the level reaches a significant low. This could be due to the fact that the growing income provides additional resources and capacity to improve public services. Macro-economic approach explains the environmental management and its behavior. When the economy is not strong, production-related activity receives the top priority leaving a wider scope for environment deterioration and resource depletion. After achieving a certain level of economic improvement the environment gets better due to the increasing affordability to take up pollution control measures and increased awareness and preference for cleaner environment among people. This pattern is often referred to as Environmental Junket Curve (EKE) (Hilton and Hank 1 998; World Bank 1992). Though it is not universally proved for all pollutants, EKE concept explains the behavior of most of the pollutants visit-a-visit economic development. The pattern of this inverted IS curve varies depending on the environmental regulations, tutorial changes in the economy, technological improvement, energy efficiency and trade. Category of consumption-related issues, rapid economic growth-related issues and wealthy lifestyle-related issues, does not improve with economy. They keep rising with the economy with a possible time lag between them. This trend is observed in cases like per capita MS generation, per capita carbon dioxide emissions, per capita energy consumption and other indicators (World bank 1992; LIND 2002). Reasons for this pattern could be?most of these problems are not of much significance for local governing bodies. As they are global in nature they could e easily externalities. Unlike the local pollution problems these issues fail to catch the public notice, as they are not directly harmful. Thus, there exists very little incentive for the municipal authorities to Types of urban environmental issues It is a convention to segregate the environmental-related problems into different segments for easy and efficient management of environment. Environmental problems are segmented into water pollution, air pollution, noise pollution, solid waste problem, etc. Due to its easiness in handling and executing counter measure, most of the municipalities adopt this segmented tatter of environmental management. However, many environmental problems are not only cross-sector but also have external impacts which are not captured in the conventional approach of urban environmental management. This classification ceases the opportunity of synergies action between sectors involved in handling the environmental problems. For instance, focus on response strategies for air pollution control in Iambi could overlook its contribution to the GOGH emission problem. However, by focusing on transportation and related energy issue one can capture both the problems of air pollution and GOGH emissions. Better way to go about this cross-sector environmental problem is to identify the driving force or categorize them based on the type of impacts instead of sectors like air, water and solid waste. This approach provides an opportunity to capture the externalities (like health- and energy-related implications) of the environmental problems as well. This could encompass most of the direct and indirect indicators of environmental concern. Table 2 Categorization of environmental issues in Iambi Type Type I :Poverty-related issues Typical issues Low access to safe drinking water; intimidation of water bodies Causes Inadequate infrastructure; rapid population growth; income disparity Major impact Spatial extent of impacts Increased incidence of Local infant mortality; sanitation-related health impacts such as diarrhea, cholera Type II :illumination’s- Air pollution, water Rapid industrialization; Industrial pollution Local, regional and arbitration-related contamination; industrial low rates disasters like the one in issues solid waste; poor of emission treatment, lack of Opal, India; disturbance urban sanitation efficient management to the ecosystem; health robbers like tuberculosis due to air pollution Type Ill :Rapid economic CA emissions; Knox Increased mobility; Global warming; acid Local, regional growth-related issues emissions; noise pollution; more emphatic rains; heaps of garbage; municipal solid waste e conomic activity; less priority blockage of sewers on environment Type IV :Withy Overburdening of energy High consumption; rich lifestyle; Chemical ingredient and Regional, global lifestyle- related and natural resource; low incentives for improvement dioxin-caused issues dioxins abnormalities; overcorrection of resources Andre these issues of global importance while they have much more pressing issues to handle in local domain. The future trends of these issues are uncertain. The curves beyond a certain level of income could stabilize or even decline. But this trend could not be observed even from today’s richest states (ABA and Muar 2000). In spite of various government initiatives to change the consumption patterns, there is no evidence of any downward turn in these curves (COED 1998). For a poor economy like India, it is possible that the first two types of issues are prominent. However, in the case of Iambi, t is possible to notice both types Ill and IV, as the per capita income levels are much higher compared to the national average. Selection of indicators and analysis of trends For the analysis of the above-listed issues, their behavior with time and space, set of indicators are identified for each stage. These indicators are used to compare the characteristics of the current urban environmental situation. Indicators representing poverty-related environmental issues include population dynamics with detailed indicators such as total population and population growth rates; income levels with detailed indicators such as per pita income; nutrition, health and welfare issues with indicators such as MIR, death from infectious diseases, illiteracy ratio, per capita medical expenses; infrastructure and environmental pollution, with indicators such as access to drinkin g water and sanitation and incidence of diseases like cholera/ diarrhea. MIR was chosen as a representative indicator for this category of environmental problems. MIR is the result of malnutrition and is a good measure of the poverty in any city. There is multi-fold decrease in MIR, which is an indication of improved health in Iambi (Raw 1990). It is observed that Poverty-related issues are on a declining trend in Iambi. This is more substantiated by the fact that the Iambi water supply and sanitation status is improving over the last few decades (COM 2002; BOMBARD 1996). Indicators for the rapid industrialization and arbitration issues include the pattern of industrial growth in Iambi?number of units and employment generation history; GAP contribution of industrial sector; arbitration and employment patterns with indicators such as employment patterns, unemployment levels, arbitration ratio, migration levels; resource use and pollution with indicators such as electricity consumption by industries, CPM levels, SOX and Knox patterns, water contamination. Knox was chosen as a representative indicator for this category of environmental problems. Rapid economic growth phase had started with economic reforms in 1 993 and the pattern of many indicators had changed thereafter. This phenomenon is clearly observed in terms of foreign exchange earned (CAME 2001 http:// www. Indicates. Com). Other indicators for this stage of environmental problems are increase in vehicular stock, rise in energy demand, air pollution, GOGH emissions and electricity consumption. Electricity consumption was chosen as a representative indicator for this category of environmental problems. Electricity consumption in Iambi has increased substantially. Industry and commercial sectors have equal share in the electricity consumption. A steep rise from late 1 sass is observed (http:// www. Indicates. Com). This rise in consumption could be attributed to economic growth and increased per capita incomes as well as increased economic activity. Indicators for rich and wealthy lifestyle are not significant in Indian context. However, given the better economic status that Iambi enjoys among the Indian Intensity of the Problem (on normalized scale of 0-1) Fig. Illustration of different types of environmental problems spanned over economic growth in Iambi MIR MS KNOX Electricity 1920 1930 1940 1950 1960 1970 1980 1990 2000 201 0 2020 Year cities, there are traces of these indicators showing significance in the case of Iambi. MS generation, electricity consumption, changes in petrol and gas reserves are the indicators of this category of issues. Percentage of growth in solid waste has increased considerably which is an indicator of increased institution patterns and rich lifestyle that Iambi public enjoys. MS management is one of those very serious problems that Iambi is facing at the moment (Sarnia 2004). MS was chosen as a representative indicator for this category of environmental problems. Therefore, the stage IV type issues are also identified and analyzed in Iambi. Though it is not possible to predict the future trends/behavior, it helps in assessing the â€Å"environmental status† of the city. Are closely clustered. This indicates that the three zones are coexisting in this city of high economic growth and promise. However, it is possible to identify which one is predominant and which one is in phasing out stage. Future trends of electricity consumption (stage Ill) and waste generation (stage IV) cannot be predicted. The projected values of MS clearly indicate the rising trend with time. A similar trend is observed with electricity also. As it can be seen from Fig. , Iambi at present stands at stage Ill facing more of rapid economic growth stage-related environmental issues. Poverty-related issues are not of major concern any more whereas there is a spillover from stage II, industrialization- and arbitration-related issues. Stage Ill issues and stage IV issues coexist in Iambi with both of them following rising trends. Acknowledgements This work is a part of urban Environment Project at ICES (Institute for Global Environmental Strategies), Japan. Author acknowledges with sincerity the suggestions given by Dry. Exhume ABA of AGES, Japan and research inputs and assistance provided by Mr.. Look Kumar and Ms. Joanna Piped at GUID, Iambi, India. Representative indicators from each stage of environmental problems biz. Poverty-related issues, industrialization- and arbitration-related issues, rapid economic growth-related issues and wealthy lifestyle-related issues are airmailed with respect to the corresponding maximum value so as to facilitate cross comparison on a longitudinal scale. In spite of the fact that Iambi presents one of the efficient public services in the country, poverty level is still high and overcrowding is causing lapses in the system. However, the significance of poverty-related environmental issue is not very high. The representative indicator under this category revealed a steep declining trend.

The UK Conservative Government 1990-1997 and the UK Labour Government 1997-2002 Essay Example

The UK Conservative Government 1990 The UK Conservative Government 1990-1997 and the UK Labour Government 1997-2002 Essay The UK Conservative Government 1990-1997 and the UK Labour Government 1997-2002 Essay The Conservative Government of 1990 under John Major aimed to move urban politics in a new direction. The removal of Margaret Thatcher from office and the re-appointment of Michael Heseltine to the Department of the Environment signalled this change in direction. The policies of the 1980s were based on privatisation with respect to the redevelopment of deprived areas. The policies from the 1980s however received much criticism from the Audit Commission Report, as well as Conservative supporters alike. The Audit Commission had described Urban Support Programmes as a patchwork quilt of complexity and idiosyncrasy, and the economic decline, combined with changing patterns of economic growth led to poverty. During the 1990s however, the governments emphasis was placed on collaboration or local governance, which became more widespread. The need for a governmental change of view from the previous decade was realised in 1990 in the review of Action for Cities. The government called for a spirit of co-operation, of partnership between all of those involved in central and local government, including local businesses. The idea of partnerships between public and private sectors was introduced in May 1991. Much of the literature on the topic of urban regeneration policies is interested in the relationship between local authorities and businesses. The main reason behind this is the urban policy agenda established by the Conservatives in the early 1990s, which was principally about the pooling of resources between local government and businesses. The new Conservative Partys first urban initiative, City Challenge was set up in May 1991. This policy was designed by Michael Heseltine, and the emphasis was on partnership and competition. The government invited local authorities to bid and compete with each other for regeneration funds. City Challenge placed local authorities back at the centre of urban policy. In the first round of bidding, 21 authorities were invited to bid, of which 11 were successful. In the second, all 57 urban programme authorities were invited to bid, and 20 were successful. The City Challenge scheme had many critics who questioned the selection process. The policy had run for 18 months when the government announced in November 1992 that they planned to wind down the urban programme and City Challenge. In 1993, the Urban Programme was brought to an end in the 1993 reforms. The Urban Regeneration Agency was formed and brought about the Single Regeneration Budget (SRB) and English Partnerships (EP). EP was officially launched by the government in November 1993, and it brought together English Estates, Derelict Land Grant, and City Grant. It was designed to upgrade derelict land for redevelopment in partnership with local councils and the private sector. English Partnerships was given powers to override local authority planning restrictions, and used the funds to offer financial assistance as a means of gap funding for the areas deemed to be in greatest need. There was a lot of controversy over its role in the process of urban renewal. When the policy was launched, the government announced that there would be one senior regional director for each of the ten regional offices. This top-down implementation placed full control of the region with one senior officer, as oppose to the individual authorities being given more control as they were with the City Challenge policy. The SRB was launched in April 1994. It consisted of 20 existing programmes, which included City Challenge, and also brought about the integration of the regional offices of Whitehall. The budget they had to operate with was  £181million in 1994 and 1995, and  £ 220million in 1996 and 1997. The co-ordination of this policy was welcomed, but critics argued that instead of elected regional bodies, the government had increased central administrative powers. The SRB was considered to be the new flagship regeneration programme and consisted of three main strands: (i) partnership, (ii) integration of social and economic issues, and (iii) competition. Rounds 1 3 of the SRB were conducted under the Conservative Party, however the Labour Party was elected in the middle of round 4. The Labour Party in power (1997-2002): The Regional Development Agencies (RDA) Act was passed in 1998 and set out New Labours policy of delegating the task of urban regeneration to each specific region. The main purpose of the RDAs was to further economic development and the regeneration of the area in question. Other aims were to promote business efficiency, investment, competitiveness, and employment in the area, whilst also enhancing the development and application of skills relevant to employment in the area. The RDAs were officially founded in 1999 and eight were set up in each of the regions, and a ninth for London set up in 2000. The RDAs took over from English Partnerships in terms of the responsibility of regional development. The special functions of the RDAs include formulating a regional strategy in relation to their purpose, promoting regional regeneration, taking forward government competitiveness agenda in regions, and taking the lead on regional inward investment. Following consultation with regional partners, the RDAs presented the strategies to the government in October 1999, and in January 2000, the government responded by giving a broad welcome of the strategies. The governments response was to significantly increase the RDAs budgetary flexibility. New funding was brought together in a single cross-departmental budget by 2002-2003 of  £ 1. 7billion. Government Offices for the Regions were established in 1994, but under the Labour Government, were given an increasingly pivotal role at the heart of Government. The Government Offices (GOs) worked together with the Regional Co-ordinator Unit (RCU), which was established as the headquarters for the GO network in 2000, as a result of the Performance and Innovation Unit Report, Reaching out the role of central government at regional and local levels. Together, the GOs and RCU aimed to cut through bureaucracy and add value to delivery through its shared experience and best practice, bring together key stakeholders and local partners, and providing a high quality of service. This aim was to be provided by combining skills in the GOs at the local level, with the co-ordinating role of the RCU in influencing policy design and implementation in Whitehall. Regional Chambers (RCs) or as some are known, Regional Assemblies (RAs) form a partnership working between local authorities and regional partners. Each chamber has been formally recognised by the Government as being representative of the interests of the region in relation to the work of the regions RDA. Each RC is made up of 70% local authority members, and 30% from other sectors including industry, education, environment, NHS, and TUC. The RCs initial focus was primarily on the RDAs regional economic strategies, and they have also sought to build up effective working relationships with the RDAs, GOs and other regional interests and stakeholders. The Deputy Prime Minister announced a new role for EP in July 2002. The new role provided a fresh mandate and a clear strategy to support sustainable development and growth in England. As part of a mergence with the Commission for the New Towns, EP will work with the private sector, the Housing Corporation, and local authorities to help increase the amount of affordable housing. EP will aim to make best use of the nations supply of land by developing on brownfield land, and by using surplus land in the best way possible. EP will work closely with a range of partners in support of the RDAs regional strategies to try and achieve its targets. Another Labour policy to achieve urban regeneration is the Neighbourhood Renewal Unit (NRU). The NRU was set up to lead and oversee the national strategy for neighbourhood renewal, taking over this task from the Social Exclusion Unit in April 2001. The aim is to deliver economic prosperity, safe communities, high quality schools, decent housing, and better health to the poorest parts of the country. The overall aim is to bridge the gap between the poorest areas of Britain and the rest of the country. The NRU identified the 88 most deprived local authorities in the country and devised a best value programme, by which the Government are to invest a lot of money in improving public services in these areas. This strategy is being funded by the Neighbourhood Renewal Fund (NRF), which is  £300million in 2002/3 and will be  £ 25million for 2004/5. Another branch of the NRU is the New Deal for Communities (NDC). The NDC works in a similar way to the NRU, but it places local people at the heart of it. Local people, community and voluntary organisations, public agencies, local authorities and business are encouraged to work in partnership to deliver significant change by turning local peoples aspirations into action. The strategy is targeted over the next 10 years, and aims to develop a local strategy to tackle social exclusion in order to create vibrant and sustainable communities. Comparison and contrast between Conservative and Labour policies: The main difference between the various policies on urban regeneration between Conservative and Labour Governments is the socio-economic factor. The Conservative Party continued the 1980s theme of economic development, albeit with more cohesion and co-ordination. From the outset, the emphasis was placed on partnerships between local authorities and businesses to regenerate economic development, which would in turn provide more employment and bring about social improvements. The competitiveness encouraged local authorities to form partnerships with businesses as it gave a greater possibility of receiving a grant from the City Challenge fund. When the Labour Party first came to power, they formed the RDAs and to begin with, placed the initial emphasis on continuing the economic development. Whereas the Conservative Party only produced a transparent policy solely to increase partnership and competition, whereby local authorities only receive funding based on how well they can submit an application, the Labour Partys policy tied in a lot more objectives. Promoting business efficiency, investment, employment, and developing skills relevant to employment in the area is a much wider policy and the various regions will have different specific policies relevant to each region and sub-region. When the Labour Government integrated the Government Offices with the Regional Co-ordinator Unit, they highlighted the objective to cut through bureaucracy, a total contrast to the Conservative Government. It was the Conservatives policy to increase the level of bureaucracy with the SRB. The increase in administrative powers at the top followed by delegation of funding is a form of top down and trickle down implementation, the opposite approach to that of the Labour Party. It was Labours policy to bring together key stakeholders and local partners via the GO, and a much wider contribution was created in the form of the Regional Chambers. The RC took a bottom up approach in its purist form. It incorporated people from all corners of industry, the market place, and services to form a mixed composition, and worked hand in hand with RDAs to bring together the needs for the whole region. With respect to English Partnerships, the way in which the two governments implemented their policies varied significantly. While the Conservative Party focused mainly on economic growth and employment, the Labour Party dealt more specifically with the housing needs and social problems faced in Britains deprived areas, as they did with the NRU strategy. The Conservatives focused on the development of brownfield sites as a means of generating jobs and providing large flagship projects, as oppose to the Labour policy of providing affordable housing and building new communities. In general the two Governments used similar methods of integration of funds and resources as a means of generating the funding for urban regeneration. The amount of money invested in regeneration by the Labour Government was far greater than that of the Conservative Party and the programmes that the funds were invested in were different to. In conclusion, the Government of 1990-1997 took an economic viewpoint whereas the 1997-2002 Government placed their regeneration policies closer to home with social based policies.