Business Ehtics Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 1

Business Ehtics - Essay Example Ethical standards govern the existence of human life and encompass the realm of business entities. The seven habits of strong ethical leaders are presented by Ferrell, Fraedrich & Ferrell is applicable in personal scenarios as well as in business organizations. Business problems are solved by utilizing collaborative and participative approaches to decision making with ingrained habits of strong ethical leaders. From among the seven habits, five are hereby proffered. Ethical leaders possess strong personal character. Leaders are concerned with the creation of an environment for performance. They integrate tasks, structure, technology, resources, and people into a productive configuration. They achieve goals through the efforts of other people. They have to influence the behavior of other people in order to get things done. They have the passion to do right. Ethical leaders value honesty and integrity. Honest and integrity means being straightforward and firm in adherence to an ethical code of conduct. Honesty is specifically critical in terms of conforming to truthfulness in financial matters and in doing one’s responsibilities, as expected in the organization. Ethical leaders have the integrity to adhere to the policy of financial accuracy in disclosing the truth in financial reporting. Both values must be deeply ingrained in one’s personality to form part of the individual’s philosophy in life. Being proctive takes vision to look forward. Ethical leaders take charge and are accountable for one’s own destiny as well as those of his followers. Leaders who are proactive make strategic decisions based on creative plans for the future and being governed by a standard set of ethical codes. Ethical leaders do not hide anything and are transparent in their actions. They are also actively involved in decision making process. Equipped with values of honesty and integrity,

PBS Frontline Documentary, The Storm Research Paper

PBS Frontline Documentary, The Storm - Research Paper Example It is clear from the film that the natural disaster was broadly predicted and thus the government was provided with enough time to facilitate a timely and effective response. However, that was not the case as the highly bureaucratic structure of the government made it hard for decisions to be made. The author also reviews the changes that have taken place within the government response system since the occurrence of the disaster. It is important to note that Hurricane Katrina took place four years after the 9/11 attacks, and three years after the government created the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). This was also just a year after a National Response Plan was created by the DHS. Regardless of the increased attention that was directed towards homeland security after the 9/11 attacks, the government failed in its response towards Hurricane Katrina (Moynihan 14). The film by Marti Smith focused on the failures that were experienced on the side of the government after occurrence of the disaster. Nevertheless, it is important to note that as much as the film merely mentions them, the major failure of the government was lack of response to the risk factors of the storm prior its occurrence (Cooper and Block 89). Case in point, the risk of occurrence of a major hurricane in New Orleans had been established and various avenues of warnings were exploited, which even led to emergency declarations days before the landfall. However, the responders did not convert such information into the preparation level that is appropriate for the impending disaster’s scope. The weakened response of the intergovernmental response system in the US could also be attributed to the authority’s dispersed nature. As such, this led to poor recognition among the federal responders of the need to engage more actively in combating the disaster. The capacities of most of the major institutions in the management of the response at different levels of

What makes an effective teacher?

What makes an effective teacher? David Camerons Conservative Party recently stated that the Tories will be brazenly elitist about candidates entering the teaching profession as they believe that qualifications make a good teacher. [REF]. However, research shows that a teachers personal characteristics and teaching styles can also be attributed to effective teaching. In 1992, Professor Caroline Gipps, Vice-Chancellor at the University of Wolverhampton and leading expert in educational assessment and learning, published What We Know About effective Primary Teaching. The document suggests that a successful primary teacher: Focuses on the whole class rather than individuals Teaches the whole class while offering help to individuals, or co-operative work where children help each other Teach one subject at a time Praise children as much as possible Have high expectations Encourage challenging talk rather than quiet busy work Use a variety of teaching styles Allow children some independence and be democratic rather than autocratic about work and discipline Matches work to a childs ability Effective teaching is a subject that is repeatedly researched and studied. More recent research shows that good teachers demonstrate a number of characteristics, but there are certain characteristics that underlie the effectiveness of teachers such as empathy and a willingness to work hard. Some people are described as being born to teach, but the personal and moral characteristics needed to be an effective teacher can be developed through practice, watching other effective teachers and learning from their technique. A study carried out by Santrock [2001] identified the main characteristics of effective teachers: CHARACTERISTICS OF EFFECTIVE TEACHERS Characteristic Total % 1. Has a sense of humour 79 2. Makes the class interesting 73 3. Has knowledge of their subject 70 4. Explains things clearly 66 5. Spends time to help students 65 6. Are fair to their students 61 7. Treats students like adults 54 8. Relates well to students 54 9. Are considerate of students feelings 51 10. Dont show favouritism towards students 46 Santrock, J. (2001) An Introduction to Educational Psychology, London: McGraw Hill, (p.10) Although subject knowledge is ranked third, the study overall shows that personal characteristics are key to effective teaching rather than qualifications. Classroom management is also an important factor as an average school week only provides 25 hours of teaching time with students. An effective teacher organises their students, time, environment and resources in a way that maximises learning opportunities. Effective teachers also motivate and encourage their students to work hard. Through regular assessment and looking closely as what a student is learning and what has been learnt, lessons can be planned accordingly. Teachers need to cater for the skills, abilities and interests of each student by matching work to the needs of the individual. This avoids giving tasks that are impossible to complete and to avoid giving tasks so easy that students learn nothing. Pedagogy: shared working atmosphere; awareness of the needs of each pupil; purposeful well organised classroom; celebration of successes. Need to know the needs of individuals and groups as well as how children learn. Most teachers teach facts, good teachers teach ideas, great teachers teach how to think. (Jonathon Pool). Teachers have to be facilitators: they cannot do the learning for the student. (Carl Rogers). A teacher who likes to explore a subject by using lots of activities can achieve the same success as one who prefers one activityà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ There is one aspect of personality that no teacher can do without: a willingness to learn and to reflect on teaching. (The Effective Teacher, p.10). Failing teachers often lack self awareness and do not quite know what they are doing or if what they are doing is right or wrong. They are defensive about their teaching methods and cannot take criticism, however constructive it is. [Ref] Define learning 250 Learning can be defined as The process of accumulation and change that marks our growing sense of knowledge. (p.14 The Effective Teacher). Different factors can affect learning and these include the child, the family, society, economy and social structure. Brofenbrenner looked at how children grow up and how that affects the learning process, then linked all of these factors together into his Ecological Systems Theory [1979]. His theory suggests that a childs development is influenced by the social contexts in which they live, with the three main contexts being a childs family, peers and school. The parent and child are placed at the centre of learning. 2. 1.Who the child spends most of their time with is identified and what positive and negative factors that has. 3. The general external factors that influence the learning environment are looked at. Constructivist approach to learning Recall; ability to remember information Understand the information Use or apply knowledge in new situations Break down and interpret information Putting things together; developing new ideas Assess effectiveness of whole concepts; critical thinkingBlooms Taxonomy is a classification of the levels of learning. The cognitive process identifies 6 levels of thought. Based on this theory, the learner has to reach one level before moving on to the next. When used correctly, Blooms Taxonomy can accelerate learning and elevate student interest and achievement, especially for slower learners. [Sousa, D. 2001] How the brain learns What makes an effective learner? 500 Understanding and thinking about how a person learns can enhance motivation and increase achievement. [REF ] A persons learning style is the way he or she concentrates on, processes, internalises and remembers new and difficult academic information or skills. Styles often vary with age, achievement level, culture, global versus analytic processing preference, and gender. [Shaughnessy, 1998]. It is often looked at in terms of a learners preference for visual, auditory and kinaesthetic ways of working. [Burton, 2007]. Encourages a learner to think about how he or she learns. Novice learner: Do not evaluate their comprehension Do not examine their comprehension Do not examine the quality of their work Do not make connections Expert learner: What is the relationship between teaching and learning? 500 Consider which is more important. Actual learning or actual teaching? Support argument with literature and wider reading. 500 There have been many arguments as to which side of the teaching and learning processes are more important. Child centred education the teacher gives the child opportunities to learn. Teacher centred stand and present what they know. Teacher centred education is a traditional approach to teaching where the teacher presents facts to the student by direct instruction. The teacher is at the centre and in charge. Student centred education is a more modern approach where the learner is at the centre of learning and the teacher acts as a facilitator, guiding the student and giving opportunities to learn. Bennett, 1976 Clinical Reasoning Case Study: Knee Osteoarthritis Clinical Reasoning Case Study: Knee Osteoarthritis Abstract Clinical reasoning is the thinking process that escorts clinical practice, it is a multifaceted skill. The aim of this report is to use clinical reasoning to comment on a case of medial compartment one-sided knee osteoarthritis. Using clinical reasoning, an outline of management and manual therapy are designed. Introduction Mendez and Neufeld (2003) defined clinical reasoning as a cognitive process aiming to understand the implications of patient data. It also aims to recognize and diagnose present concrete or latent patient problems, to make clinical well-judged choices to help in problem solving, and to result in encouraging patient outcomes. Factors affecting the outcomes of clinical reasoning can be internal factors linked to health professionals (knowledge, acquaintance with a particular case and their reasoning skills). Patient factors need skills to transfer facts, and explanation of disease condition and treatment alternatives. External factors include health institution potentials, profession-specific structure of treatment, and intricacy of the case (Mendez and Neufeld, 2003). Edwards and others (2004) suggested the following practices of clinical reasoning for a physiotherapist. Diagnostic reasoning, developing a diagnosis based on disability and its impact considering accompanying pain, pathological changes, and contributing factors to the disease. Descriptive reasoning is to understand the patients description and experiences about the disease. Procedural reasoning involves treatment decision making, while communication collaborative reasoning involves setting up a patient-therapist relationship and setting goals for treatment based on interpretation of investigations results. Predictive reasoning is foreseeing the treatment results, and ethical reasoning which needs understanding of the ethical questions about the conduct and goals of treatment. Possible causes and processes of the patients recent complaint: Based on the patients occupation, and history, knee Joint injury herald osteoarthritis in individuals who are in their 30s or 40s, osteoarthritis becomes obvious nearly in every other subject with a previous history of knee injury. A proper interpretation of the existing data infers that at 10 years after suffering an injury to the knee, an average of one third of patients display joint space narrowing on x-ray examination. Twenty years post injury, about half the individuals with history of injury shows similar changes (Roos, 2005). Arthroscopic procedures may cause postoperative knee pain and swelling enough to delay rehabilitative physiotherapy. This should not persist more than two weeks otherwise the patient will be at risk of complications mainly prolonged knee stiffness. (Reuben and Sklar, 2000). Many believe that changes in the knee joint in osteoarthritis reproduce the collective effects of mechanical stress rather than senile degeneration alone. Therefore, it is an occupational disease (Radin, 2004). Patients occupation activities are aggravating factors to develop knee osteoarthritis (Loomis, 2008). Based on the patients symptoms and physical examination findings, the patient may have had a cruciate ligament rupture or added meniscal injury. Because of negative ligament tests, tenderness over medial TFJ joint line, no tenderness of patella tendon, quads tendon, hams tendons insertions, MCL attachments or LCL attachments, and data suggesting positive McMurray manoeuvre. Besides the presence of mild effusion, it is most likely the patient suffers a meniscal injury (Dascola, 2005). Roos (2005) provided a model for the processes responsible for pain and development of osteoarthritis. He assumed the disease needs, being mechanically determined, increased or altered joint load as a precondition to its development. Therefore, joint injury, occupation and aging lead to development and progression of osteoarthritis in one of two possible pathways. First, deconditioning of the musculoskeletal, increased joint loads occur with pain and progression of osteoarthritis. Alternatively, joint instability, misalignment and defective proprioception result joint related changes leading to increased joint loads with pain and disease progression. The patients irritability: At this point, the patient anxiety is because of worsening of pain and movement limitation and worry that he will not be able to continue working or doing everyday activities without significant discomfort. Jinks and others (2007) suggested that a therapist should look at the first onset of joint pain as sign to try preventing future disability. Reasoned identification of need for caution and need for adjustments: Three cardinal patients findings call for caution and adjustment of assessment as they may need change in the plan of manual therapy. These are persistent pain for four months, reduced right knee extension in standing with slight varus deformity. Besides pain limiting knee movement in active and passive flexion and extension with pain and stiffness limiting lateral rotation and stiffness without pain limiting medial rotation. Plain radiography was done following Ottawa knee rules (Jackson and others, 2003) and showed the same findings as the one done two years earlier. The use of MRI in addition provides better prediction of the need for added treatment. Indication of MRI, in this case, is to evaluate pain as it persisted for more than 3-6 weeks (Oel and others 2005). In case MRI is not available, or not covered by insurance, knee ultrasonography can be helpful to assess knee effusion, integrity of tendon and MCL injuries and to rule out minimally displaced patellar cracks (Lin and o thers, 2000). Arthroscopy can be diagnostic and therapeutic for meniscal or ligaments injuries, removal of loose pieces of cartilage or bone. Besides intra-articular steroid injection can be given to manage pain, viscous supplementation, and arthroscopic debridement and washout can ease the mechanical symptoms (Gidwani and Fairbank, 2004). Factors that may be contributing to the patients presenting problems: The slowly developing knee swelling is matching with meniscal injury however, the therapist must consider associated mild ligament sprain. The absence of locking is against meniscal injury, but the giving way points to possible ligament injury or patellar sublaxation. The presence of anterior crepitus may point to ligament injury or patellar problems, however, the active and passive limited range of movement suggest an intra-articular problem (Smith, 2004). This calls to consider the possibility of having combined lesions on top of osteoarthritis. Three more points need communication with the patient, adjusting occupational activities (Loomis, 2008), return to swimming sport practice or perform water exercise being a low knee load exercise (Grainger and Cicuttini, 2004). Also, tell the patient with the potential side effects of NSAID and advice to use topical preparations with safer analgesics as paracetamol (Derbyshire County NHS, 2008). Developing a working hypothesis: According to the patients current situation, expectations, worries and good general health, and knowing the case is most likely to be knee medial compartment osteoarthritis the objectives of manual therapy should be (Technical Committee Physiotherapy Profession, 2003): Minimize pain Decrease disability and enhance functional ability, muscle strength, joint flexibility. Patient education to encourage better work activities, and regain interest in swimming sport. When to start manual treatment and what is the plane: Manual therapy portrays the physical therapist applying passive movements aiming to enhance joint motion and minimize stiffness. It includes passive range of movements, and muscle stretching techniques (Fitzgerald and Oatis, 2004).As this particular case needs a multidisciplinary approach that may involve surgery, manual therapy should start once the process of diagnosis and possible surgical interference finish. It may start in conjunction with pain relief physical therapies as thermotherapy, cryotherapy and transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation. The general rules of static stretching range of motion manual therapy are (Technical Committee Physiotherapy Profession, 2003): Twice weekly when pain and stiffness are least in 20-30 minutes sessions (Hoeksma and others, 2005). Better to be preceded by warm compresses. To be performed slowly and the range of motion extended to the limit of least subjective pain and resistance. Advice the patient to breath slowly during passive exercise. Hold the terminal stretch for 10-30 seconds. Passive exercises are continuously adjusted according to pain and the duration of holding the static position. Measuring the outcome: The Western Ontario and McMaster University Osteoarthritis Index (WOMAC) test is a self-report specific measure to assess pain and physical function. Validity of the test was investigated in many studies and showed high levels of consistency and test-retest reliability consistent with clinical practice (Stratford and Kennedy, 2004). The 6-minutes walk test is primarily endurance test originally developed to measure exercise capacity in cardiac and pulmonary patients. Test-retest reliability and responsiveness index (measures improvement after therapy) have been examined and found highly reliable (King and others, 2000). Patients perform these tests at baseline, on the 5th week, and later every 12 weeks of therapy (Hoeksma and others, 2005). Prognosis and expected improvement rate: Jinks and others (2007) stated the outcomes of osteoarthritis are poor quality of life, limited daily activities and disability. However, we know little about the primary influence of joint pain on disability in the older population; also we know little about if such influence is reversible if the pain improves. According to their results, Jinks and others (2007) inferred that decreased physical functions among knee osteoarthritis patients with pain shows how important this symptom is as a possible launching cause to decline of physical activities. Even those whose pain improves are occasionally able to regain their experienced levels of physical activities. The Ottawa Panel (2005) advised the combination of manual therapy and therapeutic exercises especially muscle strengthening exercises to achieve better improvement of pain and function in patients with osteoarthritis knee. Conclusion Clinical reasoning is on of the methods of applying evidence based practice in physiotherapy. A case of medial compartment right knee osteoarthritis presented with pain after minor exercise is subjected to clinical reasoning critical thinking. The case turned to be a multidisciplinary case that needs further investigation and possibly orthopaedic surgeon interference before manual physiotherapy begins. Using clinical reasoning skills and principles, the patients history and clinical findings were analysed, designing principles of a plane of manual therapy, measuring the outcome, and foreseeing prognosis and improvement rate were explained. References Dascola J S, 2005. Injury-related causes of acute knee pain. JAAPA, 18(7), 34-40. Derbyshire County NHS Primary Care Trust, Medicine Management Update, February 2008. Reviewing Non Steroidal Anti-Inflammatory Drug (NSAID) Prescribing-an update on current issues [Online]. No 3. Available from: http://www.derbyshirecountypct.nhs.uk/content/files/key%20messages/NSAID%20UPDATE%20Feb%2008.pdf, [cited 11/07/2008] Edwards I, Jones MA, Carr J, et al, 2004. Clinical reasoning strategies in physical therapy. Physical Therapy, (84), 312-335. Fitzgerald G K and Oatis C, 2004. Role of physical therapy in management of knee osteoarthritis. Curr Opin Rheumatol, (16), 143-147. Gidwani, S and Fairbank, A. 2004. Clinical review: The orthopaedic approach to managing osteoarthritis of the knee. BMJ 329: 1220-1224. Grainger R and Cicuttini F, 2004. Medical management of osteoarthritis of the knee and hip joints. MJA, (180), 232-236. Hoeksma H, Dekker J, Ronday H at al, 2005. Manual therapy is more efficient than exercise therapy for osteoarthritis of the hip. Arthritis Care and Research, (51), 722-729. Jackson J L, OMalley, P G and Kroenke, K, 2003. Evaluation of Acute Knee Pain in Primary Care. Ann Intern Med, (139), 575-588. Jinks C, Jordan K and Croft, P, 2007. Osteoarthritis as a public health problem: the impact of developing knee pain on physical function in adults living in the community: (KNEST 3). Rheumatology, (46), 877-881. King M B, Judge J O, Whipple R and Wolfson L, 2000. Reliability and Responsiveness of Two Physical Performance Measure Examined in the Context of a Functional Training Intervention. Phys Ther, (80), 8-16. Lin, J, Fessell, D P, Jacobson, J A et al, 2000. An Illustrated Tutorial of Musculoskeletal Sonography: Part 3, Lower Extremity. AJR, (175), 1313-1321. Loomis D, 2008. Work in brief: Combining new tools with training may enhance ergonomic interventions. Occup. Environ Med., (65), 1. Mendez L and Neufeld J, 2003. Clinical Reasoning: What is it and why should I care? Ottawa, ON, Canada: CAOT Publications ACE. Oel, E H G, Nikken, J J, Ginal A Z, et al, 2005. Acute Knee Trauma: Value of a Short Dedicated Extremity MR Imaging Examination for prediction of Subsequent Treatment. Radiology, (234), 125-133. Ottawa Panel, 2005. Ottawa Panel Evidence-Based Clinical Practice Guidelines for Therapeutic Exercises and Manual Therapy in the Management of Osteoarthritis. Phys Ther, (85), 907-971. Radin E L., 2004. Who Gets Osteoarthritis and Why? The Journal of Rheumatology, (31)), (Supplement 70), 10-15. Reuben S S and Sklar J, 2000. Pain Management in Patients Who Undergo Outpatient Arthroscopic Surgery of the Knee. J Bone Joint Surg Am, (82), 1754-1765. Roos E M, 2005. Joint Injury Causes Knee Osteoarthritis in Young Adults. Curr Opin Rheumatol, 17(2), 195-200. Smith, C.C, 2004. Evaluating the Painful Knee: A Hands-on Approach to Acute Ligamentous and Mechanical Injuries. Adv Stud Med, (4(7)), 362-370. Stratford P W and Kennedy D M, 2004. Does parallel item content on WOMACs Pain and Function Subscales limit its ability to detect change in functional status. BMC Musculoskeletal Disorders, (5), 17-25. Technical Committee Physiotherapy Profession, 2003. Physiotherapy Care Protocol-OA Knee [Online]. Available from: http://www.mpa.net.my, Malaysian Physiotherapy Association.

Advantages of Telecommuting Essay -- Employment Work Papers

Advantages of Telecommuting Today much focus is being placed on the ability of organizations (private, and public) to increase their productivity, and quality of service. As a result it is necessary to improve the well being of employees, decrease unnecessary costs, and enhance the competitiveness of the organization. Given this, it is no accident that telecommuting, is one of the largest growing areas, in flexible alternative work schedules. The influence of globalization over all aspects, of many economies, also increases the effectiveness of telecommuting. Now, more than ever, many employees are taking advantage of completing their work in an alternative work environment. Advantages can be tangible, such as reduction in office space, or intangible, such as improved family life. Employee advantages include freedom, decreased clothing expenses, and increased moral. Employers also benefit from telecommuting. Reduced absenteeism, and reduced financial cost, are only two reasons why an employer should consider im plementing a telecommuting program. There are also environmental advantages to acknowledge, with regards to telecommuting, such as the reduction of traffic, and thereby the reduction of pollution. Spinning off, from the success of telecommuting, are companies, who offer help, with incorporating telecommuting, such as HOMEWORKS, and JALA International, Inc. Some companies list jobs for people interested in telecommuting positions. Still, there are also professional organizations established to enhance the performance of telecommuters, like the International Telework Association & Council (ITAC) . My personal experience with telecommuting has been so positive that I felt it was necessary to research it's advantages, an... ...rnational Inc., www.jala.com/ustcforecast.htm "Press Releases", JALA International Inc., www.jala.com/whatsnew.htm "JALA and Telework", JALA International Inc., www.jala.com/history.htm "HomeWorks for Telecommuting", www.coronado.ca.us/TMA/homeworks.html "Report on the Home Office Computing Survey of Telecommuting Practices", Amy Bellinger, Helen LeVan, Article, Home Office Computing Magazine, www.bluemarble.net/~amyloo/tele.html#profile "AT&T Releases Results of Telecommuting Day Survey", Released 9/20/94, www.att.com/press/0994/940920.chc.html ""Marketing Firms Wrestle with Telecommuting", 11/10/98, American Marketing Association 1998, http://www.shrm.org/hrnews/. " US Telecommuting Trend Surpasses 11 Million: Strong Economy, Internet Spur Growth", Article, International Telework Association & Council (ITAC) WebSite, www.telecommute.org

Constructivist Approach to Grammer Teaching

? A ‘’Constructivist Approach’’ in grammar teaching helps inexperienced teachers understand the learning and teaching of aspect,a core grammatical concept. ?   The Constructivists’ approach to grammar involves teaching grammar in context. This simply means that grammar is taught using the students’ own writing as models. ? The constructivists’ approach helps students understand that evaluating grammar in their writing is a part of the revision process. Instructors using the constructivist’s approach teach grammar using one or a combination of the following methods: Mini-lessons Grammar journals One-on-one conferences Peer group activities MINI-LESSONS ? Mini-lessons are â€Å"teaching moments† inspired by student work. They are designed to be brief . (5-10 minutes) ? They address student writing needs in context as they arise. This technique provides students with additional opportunities to discuss their own writing as well as the writing of their peers. GRAMMaR JOURNALS ? A Grammar Journal is a notebook in which students keep records of sentences they have written that contain grammatical errors. ? Sentences are obtained from student work submitted to instructors. (Teachers can guide students to these errors without correcting them by placing a dot in the margin where the error occurs. ) After identifying the errors themselves, students then copy problematic sentences in their journals and rewrite the sentences, making alternative stylistic choices to improve each sentence. ? To take full advantage of their choices, students can rewrite their improved sentences several different ways. ? Students who do not have significant grammar problems can use the Grammar Journals to recognize their range of stylistic choices. ONE-ON-ONE CONFERENCES ? During one-on-one conferences, instructors may require students to bring their Grammar Journals They discuss some of the editing choices they have made in their editing journals and to monitor students’ progress in identifying and correcting grammatical errors identified as problematic in their work. ? PEER GROUPSMini-lessons can often be used as a group activity. ? The group activity provides students with the opportunity to â€Å"talk out† the rationale for the grammatical choices they have made. ? . This strategy is successful because students engage in dialogue with their peers about their writing ? This approach reinforces the concept of learning communities.

Northstowe Good or Bad

In this study, I will endeavour to discover if Northstowe is the answer to Cambridge's problems and if anything has been learnt from development of earlier settlements, such as Bar Hill, Cambourne and Arbury. This means I am going to review the circumstances that were there when the settlements were built and see if the move made by the planners at the time was best for what happened in terms of the growth of the population and people wanting to live and work in the Cambridgeshire area, this has caused a lack of houses. This has meant huge price rises in houses making them unaffordable for first time buyers in the area. As people cannot move into Cambridge directly because of the lack of housing, they have to move into the surrounding villages and towns making them also full, this is producing a lot of traffic moving in and out of Cambridge everyday which is a huge problem as the roads cannot handle the amount of traffic as Cambridge is a medieval town and was meant for horse and carts. This has created a lot of problems such as congestion and pollution. I went to Cambridge, Arbury, Oakington, Cambourne and Bar Hill to compare the housing, layout of the settlement, the environment and the services and jobs available. I was looking for open spaces, good sized houses and houses in good condition and overall a nice environment to live in. I collected my data from what I observed and my thoughts of the visited location. Chapter 1 Just after the Second World War men were coming home and having spent years with the officers who were previously thought to be way above their class discovered that they weren't so different and so there was a huge demand for housing as men and their wives began to want houses of their own away for the family. Bar Hill began to be planned for in 1952 after the Development plan tried to contain growth, including the industrial growth inside the city of Cambridge and to limit the population to 100,000. Growth was instead to be encouraged in a ring of key villages around Cambridge. By 1964 these villages had grown so fast that the villagers were concerned that the character of the villages would be lost, so other villages further away were encouraged to grow. Also the idea of developing six new villages was put forward. Bar Hill was the only site to be developed. It met the three basic criteria, single ownership, marketable location, and well related to the existing development pattern. Bar Hill was designed to have 1,250 houses, shopping and social facilities and a light industrial estate. It used the â€Å"Radburn† design principle which is where vehicles and pedestrians are segregated by having a perimeter road which has residential cul-de-sacs inside, linked by pedestrian routes leading to the village centre. Bar Hill was divided into 12 parts residentially and it was up to private developers who would meet some of the cost of village infrastructure and services. Developers needed to sell houses at a competitive price and soaring caused several developers to sell out, and slowed development. The village centre didn't get built soon enough and so this discouraged people to buy houses more. The council had to eventually pay for a new fly over to encourage development, something that should have been paid for by the developers. A local plan was made that made the final population 5,000 and demanded higher quality housing as produced originally, before developers tried to cut costs. During the 70's houses building was slow but once the remaining land was sold off in parcels, construction speed up, although many low quality houses had already been built. More warehousing and office floorspace was put forward to decrease the commuting in and out of the village and create a more inwardly motivated community. The parish council promoted community facilities and in 1980 the village hall was finally built. A lot of progress was made when Tesco gained permission to build a superstore and petrol station, although Tesco bought the land and controlled what shops were allowed to operate. Tesco continued to grow, developing its floorspace and range of goods, it provides many jobs, although it reduced the number of smaller shops and services in Bar Hill. Industrially the land was taken up steadily, in 1985 there were 6 units vacant for a total of 56. Bar hill has attracted firms from abroad, other parts of the country and local companies wishing to expand in the area. In 1994 South Cambridgeshire District Council granted outline planning permission for the settlement of Cambourne, 9 miles west of Cambridge and south of the A428 in the parishes of Bourn and Caxton. It is planned on 1000 acres of land to be an almost self contained community. When completed it will be 3,300 houses planned around three villages with traditional village greens, a local shopping centre, a 50 acre business park, shops, community facilities, such as a health centre, library and community centre, two primary schools, a public open space including a country park and recreational facilities such as a golf course. In 1998 construction began on the infrastructure of the first housing areas as well as the site entrance and roundabouts. The first residents began living in Cambourne in august 1999, with 75 homes including low cost housing, occupied by the end of the year. More roads were built as more houses were built. Work began on the first phase of the business park, building two units. Landscaping started and the country park began. Construction began on the sewage system and balancing lakes. More houses and roads completed in Great Cambourne in 2000 and work started in on lower Cambourne, with 170 families living there by the end of June. Monkfield park primary school completed along with the first children's play area. The first phone box, post box and notice board were provided. Footpaths built in the Eco Park and country park. Structural landscaping continued on the outskirts of the site and Great Cambourne village green, and the five balancing lakes were finished. Morrison's supermarket opened in 2003. Planning permission for 1774 more houses was refused. By Easter 885 houses were occupied. 90 houses were built in 1999 and 300 more are being built per year over a further 11 years. 900 of the approximate 3,300 houses are to be rented. The homes are meant to be for all ranging from one to six bed roomed apartments and houses, retirement homes and affordable housing. The 50 acre business park, 5 acre industrial estate and village shops and services will provide at least 3,000 jobs so many villagers can live and work in Cambourne. Two primary schools will eventually be provided at Cambourne. Secondary education will be provided at an expanded Comberton village college. Once the 1000th house has been occupied the community centre has to be built. It is fifteen years since the government recognised that developers receiving planning permission should be expected to make a contribution to the local community from the uplift in value which occurs when planning permission is granted. This policy was enshrined in section 106 of the Town and Country planning act 1990 which introduced a system of planning obligations enforced by contract between the local authority and the developer. At the same time the provision for affordable houses became a material consideration. This means that permission could be refused unless an appropriate contribution was agreed in areas where there was an identified need for additional affordable housing, which encompassed the vast majority of areas in England. Providing affordable housing in this way has the potential for meeting thereof the government's main affordable housing objectives. Ensuring land is made available for that housing and does not have to be bought by housing associations on the open market. Providing a financial contribution from developers to expand the supply of affordable housing that can be obtained given available government funding. Supporting the mixed communities agenda both by putting as much as possible of the supply on the same sites as market housing and mixing what is provided between social renting and intermediate tenures to ensure that a range of household groups are on the site. This relates to the Greenbelt because if anything is going to be built on the Greenbelt, it has to be sent to the government to be approved which if it is given shows a true cause and it will also be a good thing for the place where it is being built. Chapter 2 In this section I have included annotated photos of the sites that went to and graphs to show the results of the neighbourhood survey. I am going to discuss how well each site was designed to be a residential environment, whether it has a well designed environment and whether or not the facilities are adequate whether self-contained or not and whether there are any problems for example parking or traffic and whether it helps to solve Cambridge's problems. Accordia, Brooklands Avenue Catherine Square, Arbury Oakington Bar Hill Cambourne Brooklands Avenue, as you can see in photo 1 the site was clean, the traffic was light and the houses were in good condition but the houses were not very spacious, there was a lack of privacy as well as a lack of open space and a lack of parking. As the graph 1, 2 and 3 show Brooklands Avenue although the housing isn't spacious show that the environment around is nice and it's in Cambridge and so there is not far to go to get into the centre. This suggests that it could have been planned better as the houses are not very private and are quite small, this maybe because the flats where built on a brownfield site so the planners did the best they could also there is a lack of parking which is a problem because people will have 2 park on the street outside, creating the traffic problem worse. From my analysis you can see that the recent high density like Accordia near the centre of Cambridge are bad because they create more traffic problems and there isn't enough room to house the cars. This supports the suggestion that settlement growth should be in new settlements like Northstowe because it takes the parked cars off of the roads in Cambridge making the traffic move more swiftly. Arbury, as you can see in photo 2 the site is clean, the traffic was light, the houses were in a good condition, there was open space, it was more private than in Brooklands Avenue and the houses were more spacious and there was off street parking. As graph 1, 2 and 3 suggest the environment is well planned because there is open space, it is clean, and the housing is spacious and private. From my analysis you can see that recent low density developments like Catherine Square on the outskirts of Cambridge are good because it takes people out of Cambridge but bad because they have to commute into Cambridge to work. This both supports and doesn't support the suggestion that settlement growth should be in new settlements like Northstowe because although it would be getting people out of the centre of Cambridge they would want to commute back into Cambridge to work so the traffic problems would worsen. Oakington, as you can see in photo 3 the site is clean, the traffic was light, there is off street parking, there was a variety of housing styles and the landscape was nice. As graph 1, 2 and 3 suggest the environment was well planned, the houses were in good condition, the houses appeared spacious, there appeared to be amenities and the privacy was good, unlike Brooklands Avenue. This suggests the environment is well planned because the houses were in good condition, there was no vandalism, the houses had privacy, the area was clean and the place was well landscaped. From my analysis you can see that old low density developments like Oakington outside of Cambridge are good because the housing is much better and the area is generally nicer, this supports the suggestion that settlement growth should be in new settlements like Northstowe because it is out of the city so better housing can be built and the landscaping will be better, however the commuting traffic will still be a problem inside the centre of Cambridge. Bar Hill, as you can see in photo 4 the housing is small, and the style is unvaried and there is a lack of landscape, but the environment is clean and the houses are in good condition, but as graph 1, 2 and 3 suggest the poor housing outweighs the good environment and the closeness to services and jobs. This suggests the environment was well planned but because it was built in the 50's the planners didn't think ahead and so the houses are too small and all the same style because they were built to budget. From my analysis you can see that the recent development of Bar Hill outside Cambridge is good because it is possible to never leave Bar Hill because you can work, shop and eat there but people commute to other places to work because the work there is all the same, this is a problem because of the traffic going into Cambridge causing pollution and congestion. Cambourne, as you can see in photo 5 has open spaces, spacious houses, the houses have amenities, the houses are styled differently, there private and there all in good condition. As graph 1, 2 and 3 show this was probably the best place we visited as I had the highest average score, also the area was clean, it was quiet, well landscaped and the traffic was light. This suggests the environment is well planned because of the good roads, the off street parking, the open space and the pavement for pedestrians. From my analysis you can see that the recent development of Cambourne outside Cambridge is good because it has made a place to live that u can live and work in without having to go elsewhere. This supports the suggestion that settlement growth should be in new settlements like Northstowe because it keeps the villages which the greenbelt was founded to protect. Commuting people from villages who work in Cambridge have been severely affected by these developments because everyone is now trying to get into Cambridge the traffic is piling up and because Cambridge was not built to hold the vast amount of traffic that there is there are daily jams when people are trying to get in and out during peak times. Chapter 3 My analysis of the 2 Cambridge sits and the 3 out of Cambridge sites reveal that although the housing is better quality and the places are of better standard outside they are producing huge amounts of traffic going into Cambridge where there is nowhere for them all to go, whereas the Cambridge sites make Cambridge easy to walk to making the traffic problems less but at a reduced niceness of house. Advantages of Cambridge site Disadvantages of Cambridge site * Easy to get into town * Can do things in town without having to worry about getting transport back * Doesn't increase traffic problem * Not far from the centre of Cambridge * Not far from a train station * Not far from work * Not very much space * Can be loud * Can be impossible to get out of Cambridge because of the traffic * If there are road works you can still be late because of the traffic jams from the other cars * Houses small and expensive Advantages of non Cambridge site Disadvantages of non Cambridge site * Open spaces for parks and play areas * Cleaner environment * The area is well landscaped * Quiet environment * The traffic is light * There is off street parking * Pedestrians are well served for as well as cyclists * Good roads for motorists * Can be far away from Cambridge * Commuting causes huge traffic problems by large amounts of people all needing to get in at the same time * There might not be any public transport routes in where the new village is. The alternatives being suggested are new villages/towns, new business parks next to old settlements, re-use land inside Cambridge or to use land on the edge of Cambridge's greenbelt like Milton or King's Hedges. These are not likely to happen in the near future because Northstowe is currently being planned, also the new town idea is Northstowe, and it will be a new town when built. The best choice would be to use brownfield sites in Cambridge itself or to revitalise places by building business parks next to old settlements providing more work out of Cambridge. Chapter 4 6,000 new homes to be built at Northstowe by 2016, with an expansion to approximately 8,000 new homes by 2021 and beyond, there is going 2 be another boom in traffic in the centre of Cambridge and it won't be able to cope so the pollution level will increase and so will the vandalism and crime in Cambridge. The way to reduce impact on the city of Cambridge when Northstowe is built is by making Cambridge easily accessible by bus, guided bus or train, this would reduce the traffic in the centre of Cambridge. To make this settlement work, in my findings, there should be open spaces, spacious good quality housing, a variety of style of housing, the houses should have amenities and they should have privacy. Also the area should be quiet, well landscaped and should be suited for cyclists, pedestrians and motorists. There should be nearby schools, leisure facilities, shopping facilities, and a business park and also it should be well served by public transport. Doing this would reduce Cambridge's problems by making jobs outside of the centre of Cambridge, reducing the commuting, likewise with the good public transport. The schools would mean that people wouldn't have to do a school run into Cambridge making the traffic even less. Having open spaces makes people stay in a village because they can go and relax there and also it means there can be clubs held which get the village together. Leisure facilities such as a swimming pool, cinema or a gym would give the people an alternative nearby instead of having 2 go into Cambridge for these. Also a village hall would be good for hosting parties or clubs such as a youth club that would keep youths out of Cambridge and keep them off the streets. Conclusion I agree that lessons have been learnt from Bar Hill and Cambourne but I doubt that these lessons will be used to full effect, because although Bar Hill's circular outer road has been abolished from Cambourne and from what they expect Northstowe to look like (see diagram 1) it was quite a clever idea. Also from Bar Hill we have learnt that just because there are jobs that are in the village/town you are in, it doesn't mean that the people will work there, they are more likely to commute to either Cambridge or London from a nearby train station. The lessons learned from both of these new developments are saying the same thing that Cambridge cannot cope with the traffic that is pouring in from all the new settlements and from all the older ones. Also they have learnt that schools must be built nearby or in the town to help cope with the children because they cannot fit into the existing schools and the commuting to school would also put huge amounts of traffic on the road and this is what we are trying to stop. I don't believe that Northstowe is the answer to Cambridge's problems but other than flattening it and starting again from scratch, which is not do-able I believe it is the best way forward. Another thing that should be built is a church of some kind because people commuting into Cambridge or nearby villages to go to church could also be seen as a problem to some people especially is a town like Northstowe had to move into the surrounding villages it would spell disaster for these quiet country villages. Evaluation If I did this project again I would improve it by going at a better time of day where there are more people about to complete the survey, and by visiting there more than once, to go back on a variety of occasions to see what exactly happens there. I think I'd need more time to get better feel for the survey and I could use more information on Northstowe to truly discover what they will be building.