The Novelty of Teams

Co-leadership is not only significance in group interventions but also in psychotherapy group leadership. Use of co–leadership in group interventions is not only important administratively, but may also profit group members directly.Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on The Novelty of Teams specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More For instance, the relationship between the two leaders can be a very good example to the group members, showing them how to interact healthily with each other (Dies, 1994, cited in Miles and Kivlighan, 2008). Co-leaders are also able to offer each other support, as well as cooperate to achieve and sustain objectivity. Their presence is also suitable in minimizing tension especially in the case of those therapists who are just beginning their profession (Dies, 1994 cited in Miles and Kivlighan 2008). The co-leaders also share different ideas and views concerning the group and its members, and may help one another to handle differences and counter-reactions from the group (Yalom, 1995, cited in Miles and Kivlighan, 2008). Co-leadership and group interventions A lot is yet to be explored on how group dynamics can be affected by co-leader relationships. However, effect of co-leader relationship to group climate (a specific part of group dynamics) can help one comprehend the relationship between co-leadership and group member outcomes. Group climate includes those aspects within the therapeutic setting that encourage similar and related compatible types. This group climate can be directly attributed to psychotherapy group dynamism (McKenzie, 1983, cited in Miles and Kivlighan, 2008). In addition, therapy-client association in personal psychotherapy can be likened to group cohesion, an element of group climate (Yalom, 1995, cited in Miles and Kivlighan 2008). Since group climate is essential in group psychotherapy changes, a study of factors that determine the establishment o f group climate such as co-leadership may be vital to help comprehend occurrence of change in group interventions. According to a questionnaire-based research, three factors affect the relationship between group climate and group member outcome. These include the â€Å"engaged, avoiding and conflict factors† (GCQ-S; MacKenzie, 1983, cited in Miles and Kivlighan, 2008).Advertising Looking for essay on business economics? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More The engaged factor outlines the group’s significance to its members, the members’ closeness, and the cohesion of the entire group. Avoidance factor on the other hand refers to a case of group members evading any change-related responsibilities. The conflict factor relates to the degree of conflict and lack of trust among the group members (GCQ-S; MacKenzie, 1983 cited in Miles and Kivlighan, 2008). Apart from being shown to relate to group member outcome, gr oup climate has also been shown to be the link between the leadership of the group and the outcome of group members. A similar research revealed that both the level and pattern of engagement development had a relationship with group outcome (Kivlighan and Tarrant 2001, cited in Miles and Kivlighan, 2008). Co-leadership and Team cognition In order to understand how various aspects of co-leader relationship affect group climate, it is crucial to first comprehend the concept of teamwork and perceive co-leaders as teams. It is also prudent at this point to understand what a team is. A team can be said to be a group of individuals who work while depending on each other in order to reach a common objective. Co-leaders can then be perceived as teams since they work together for a group intervention’s leadership. Team cognition can be used to understand the co-leadership aspects in group interventions. Basically, team cognition, obtained from organizational research, can be described as the functioning of a team with regard to the formation and use of information (MacMillan, Entin Serfaty, 2004 cited in Miles and Kivlighan 2008). It also particularly refers to shared mental models such as information and knowledge vested in team members and how they use it. Shared mental models have various benefits within a team. They help one to clearly explain team performance since they shed light on member interactions in addition to enhancing the possibility of anticipating the performance of the team. Apart from this, they give insight on the challenges of a team and how to solve them (Cannon-Bowers Salas, 2001, cited in Miles and Kivlighan, 2008).Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on The Novelty of Teams specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More For instance, knowing the level of similarity that exists among members of a team, mental models may be used both to elaborate more and anticipate team members’ degree of involvement on a given responsibility. A research has shown that the degree of similarity among the team members mental model as pertaining an ideal member goes a long way to affecting team participation. When team members think in the same way about who an ideal member is, the level of knowledge held by them in determining team members performance matters less than when they think differently. In addition to anticipating performance, team cognition also shows a team’s effectiveness such that similar mental models of what encompasses a ‘team’ were directly related to the performance of a team and that team processes such as synchronization, communication, and collaboration enhanced this relationship. Although a study on team related mental model has been used to anticipate and analyze team the performance of the team mainly from industrial-organizational perspective, the application of team cognition phenomena to co-leader teams is still in a limbo. Alt hough most co-led groups have an advantage of co-leaders ability to share diverse views and opinions regarding the group and its members, no research has shown the degree of co-leaders mental models regarding their group and its link to group climate among other parameters. Effectiveness of the Co-leadership model Different researches have been carried out to investigate the effect on group performance arising when either co-leaders or single leaders are used. There is one that was carried out to investigate the effectiveness of co-leadership on both client and therapist training outcomes (Hendrix et al. 2001, cited in Miles and Kivlighan, 2008). Both qualitative (such as variations in the training levels of the co-leaders) and quantitative means were used to examine the use of varied pairs of co-leader teams. There were so many clients from different families with different problems that were assigned to both individual and co-led therapists. Results did not show much difference in the use of individual therapists and those of co-leaders.Advertising Looking for essay on business economics? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More However, the qualitative results indicated that there were some benefits accruing to those groups that had co-leader teams. Such benefits were additional knowledge and insights that were offered from another leader (therapist). There was knowledge sharing that motivated them to be risk takers. Even though these were the reported benefits from co-leadership, a few challenges were reported as well. These included not only control issues, but also the need to be thoroughly knowledgeable about the therapeutic system. Such benefits of co-leadership like willingness to be risk takers might go a long way to influence group aspects like group climate. The Development process in Co-leadership The development process of the co-leader relationship can be described in four stages (Dick et al. 1980, cited in Miles and Kivlighan, 2008). These include â€Å"formation, development, stabilization, and refreshment â€Å"(Miles and Kivlighan, 2008). During the formation stage, co-leaders are mainly pre-occupied with personal issues that revolve around proficiency and uncertainty. It is also at this point that basic developmental and interpersonal issues arise. Co-therapy is not encouraged at this stage. During the development stage, co-leaders concentrate mainly on supporting and helping each other. The third stage, stabilization focuses mainly on the relationship between the group, co-leaders, and tasks. The co-leaders help each other to grow up and hence external supervision is unnecessary. The final stage (refreshing) is marked by enthusiasm and the desire for more therapeutic growth (Dick et al. 1980, cited in Miles and Kivlighan, 2008). It is therefore essential that co-leaders go through these development stages prior to leading any group (Wheelan, 1997). It is further argued that co-leaders play pivotal roles in group development and that as the group continues to grow, its needs with regard to leadership also change (Wheelan, 1997). Whereas newer groups require greater emphasis on task dimensions, mature groups on the other hand need a leadership that focuses more on the relational dimensions of the group (Miles and Kivlighan, 2008). Definitely, a co-leader who has undergone these thorough development stages will be in better position to not only collaborate with fellow co-leaders, but also to offer the best leadership as per the group requirements. It is imperative to understand the co-leadership related processes since co-leaders play a vital role when it comes to group climate. Study has indicated that group climate plays a vital role in linking group leadership with group member outcomes. Although this has been established, more study and research as to how group leadership affects group climate is still underway (Miles and Kivlighan, 2008). Comparison between group and individual based interventions A study in team cognition reveals that cognitive effects within individuals and teams occur in just the same way. This concept of common cogniti ve models helps to comprehend performance through its elucidation of interactions, helps to anticipate performance, and sheds light on a team’s main hurdles and their respective remedies. Whereas research has shown a positive relationship between team cognition and group participation, other studies have revealed increased team efficiency arising from shared mental models (Miles and Kivlighan, 2008). At times, managers are faced with multifaceted challenges that require team involvement to be able to overcome. That is why Dr. Bill Hodgeson, despite being an expert in both Chemistry and management was faced with a complex problem within Lederle laboratories and he could not think of another way but to assemble a team of intelligent persons loaded with varied experiences to help deal with the issue (Gellerman, 1998). Studies from psychotherapy of schizophrenic patients have indicated that symptoms of patients did not appear to have reduced after an individual based treatment (S chwatz, 1984, cited in Dixon, and Scott, 1995). It is further reported that unlike research in group therapy, researches in individual intervention therapies have mostly been faced with methodological difficulties (Keith and Mosher, 1980, cited in Dixon, and Scott, 1995). Studies including group psychotherapy interventions for both inpatient and outpatient settings were carried out. For the latter case, the efficacy of the interventions was missing especially for the acute psychotic patients except for the cases where the intervention was properly structured and well defined so as to result to changes in some behavioral aspects like attitudes (Scooler and Keith, 1993, cited in Dixon, and Scott, 1995). On the other hand, results from group psychotherapy interventions within the outpatient settings did not give consistent results regarding reduction of the disease causes and re-hospitalization (Parloff and Dies 1977, cited in Dixon, and Scott, 1995). Research on these interventions ha s had several shortcomings especially in methodologies and implementation. The common issues have been insufficient skills acquisition and experience of psychotherapists, insufficient information on the minimum number of sessions to be attended by a patient, insufficient group comparisons, imbalanced procedures of group tasks, not attending to diagnosis related to psychiatry and lack of non-standard outcome parameters. The accuracy and generalizability of the results is therefore thwarted by the errors and deficiencies in these studies (Dixon and Scott, 1995). Conclusion Group based interventions become distinct due to the presence of co-leaders. For co-leadership to be effective, the co-leaders ought to undergo the four different stages of development before meeting the group. These include the formation, development, stabilization, and refreshment stages. This is the only way to make them display teamwork, which is a vital ingredient in making them affect group climate. Teamwork o n the other hand helps them develop mental models that affect both group participation and group member outcomes. This is what makes this method superior over individual based intervention. The latter method also has limited leader skills and experiences required for efficient group participation. The limitation of both methods is insufficiency in their methodological and executional aspects. References Dixon, B. and Scott, J. (1995). Psychological Interventions for Schizophrenia. Web. Gellerman, S. W. (1998). How people work: Psychological approaches to management problems. NY, Library of Congress. Web. Miles, J, and Kivlighan, D. (2008). Team cognition in group interventions: the relation between co-leaders’ shared mental models of the group and group climate. Group Dynamics: Theory, Research, and Practice, 12(3), 191-209. This essay on The Novelty of Teams was written and submitted by user Jaden Santos to help you with your own studies. You are free to use it for research and reference purposes in order to write your own paper; however, you must cite it accordingly. You can donate your paper here.

World War Is Mitteleuropa

World War I's Mitteleuropa German for ‘Middle Europe’, there are a wide range of interpretations for Mitteleuropa, but chief among them was the German plan for an empire in central and eastern Europe that would have been created had Germany won the First World War. War Aims In September 1914, a few months after the start of World War I, German Chancellor Bethmann Hollweg created the ‘September Programme’ which, along with other documents, set out a grandiose plan for post-war Europe. It would be enacted if Germany was totally successful in the war, and at that point nothing was certain. A system called ‘Mitteleuropa’ would be created, an economic and customs union of central European lands that would be led by Germany (and to a lesser extent Austria-Hungary). As well as these two, Mitteleuropa would include German domination of Luxembourg, Belgium and their Channel Ports, the Baltic and Poland from Russia, and possibly France. There would be a sister body, Mittelafrika, in Africa, leading to German hegemony of both continents. That these war aims had to be invented after the war started is often used as a stick with which to beat the German command: they are chiefly blamed for starting the war and didn’t even know what t hey wanted beyond having threats from Russia and France removed. It’s unclear exactly how far the German people supported this dream, or how seriously it was taken. Indeed, the plan itself was allowed to fade as it became obvious the war would last a long time and may not be won by Germany at all. A variation emerged in 1915 when the Central Powers defeated Serbia and Germany proposed a Central European Federation be created, led by Germany, this time recognizing the needs of the war by placing all military forces under German command. Austria-Hungary was still strong enough to object and the plan again faded. Greed or Matching Others? Why did Germany aim for a Mitteleuropa? To Germany’s west were Britain and France, a pair of countries with a vast global empire. To the east was Russia, which had a land empire stretching to the Pacific. Germany was a new nation  and had missed out as the rest of Europe had carved the world up between them. But Germany was an ambitious nation  and wanted an empire too. When they looked around them, they had the hugely powerful France directly west, but between Germany and Russia were eastern European states that could form an empire. English language literature racistly considered a European conquest as worse than their own global conquests, and painted Mitteleuropa as significantly worse. Germany had mobilized millions of people and suffered millions of casualties; they tried to come up with war aims to match.In the end, we don’t know how far Mitteleuropa would have been created. It was dreamt up in a moment of chaos and action, but perhaps the Treaty of Brest-Lit ovsk with Russia in March 1918 is a clue, as this transferred a vast area of Eastern Europe to German control. It was their failure in the west that caused this infant empire to be erased.

Residency Essay Tips

Residency Essay Tips In previous pages we have discussed the importance of honesty and brevity in residency program personal statements. Now, however, I would like to take this opportunity to review the importance of specific information in a residency essay. Specifics are not only crucial to the overall tone of a good statement, but the informational value as well. Heres a good rule of thumb to use when writing your personal statement: dont beat around the bush. The directors reading your statement are interested in knowing your personals objectives and career goals in the shortest amount of time possible. Therefore get straight to the point and leave zero room for speculation. Specifics are exactly what directors want to know about potential residents. Exactly what made you want to pursue a PhD? Precisely why didnt you get better grades in school? Specifically what made you want to apply for residency at this particular institution? The more directly you can answer these and other such questions, the better your personal residency will reflect on you. Writing a residency essay requires a tremendous amount of work and patience, so be certain to give yourself plenty of time. In the meanwhile, if you would like help in writing your residency statement or if you would like to know more writing a quality residency program personal statement, please access the link provided. This link will direct you to an excellent essay writing resource where you can find help and info.

Finance and Market , short essay question Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 8500 words

Finance and Market , short question - Essay Example For the purpose of this study, we dwell on the advantages and disadvantages of the diversification of REITs holdings’ activities as opposed to the focused approach. Advantages Wider Market Cover When a REIT agency registers to venture into specific areas, there is an aspect of additional market cover. REIT can thus conduct a number of projects which essentially maximize its potential. This in the broader picture implies additional return on investment and maximizes the proportions of dividends that the shareholders gain in the REIT investment. This is not usually the practical case of REITs business that is restricted to specific line of real estate development. If REITs companies have specifications to operate in restricted lines of business, they cannot later on expand to more openings and business opportunities. In a diversified perspective however, REITs have to enjoy a dynamic market characterized by a wide range of business opportunities than maintenance of an ordinary r eal estate portfolio. Dynamism and Innovations Secondly, diversification have in the past enabled RETs to introduce and practice innovative ideas in the real estate properties without the risks of exceeding the limits of operation as stated in the description of the real estate portfolio. ... This approach provides opportunities for to enable the REITs to practice real estate swap which the enables upcoming potential real estate investors to get sufficient exposure to real estate property business without necessarily fulfilling the huge amounts of capital commitment. In the swap, REITs enjoy unlimited exposure to real estate and have the ability to change their capital equity and bonds without restrictions or regulations. This means that REITs sources of revenue will then not be limited to interests, but also bonds, equity and commodities. With the inclusion of the international diversification in Real Estate, there is a low correlation with interest rates than with bonds and equities. The scale of International diversification in real estate investment securities exposes REITs to minimal risk compared to the focus on equities and bonds. Disadvantages High Taxation REITs occupy larger portfolios in real estate trading and this attracts more taxes due to the statutory cons ideration of the return on investment. The wider the portfolio a real estate maintains, the larger the taxation that is applied. This is a great and inevitable challenge which incidentally is not negotiable. Risks of Over-Commitment Secondly, REITS face high risks of over-committing capital equity into long term investments whose returns are not guaranteed. This is a high risk that either leads to the extreme results, either too high losses or extremely high returns. To realize high returns in this case requires REITs to conduct systematic studies of the contemporary market risks. Divergence of focus The third disadvantage that REITs get exposure to in the diversified

Kant, Mill, and Nietzsche Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Kant, Mill, and Nietzsche - Essay Example However, Kant and Mill also differ in a sense that Kant states that a person’s moral is innate as in a priori reasoning and Mill suggests, however selfishly, that morals are essential to a person’s happiness as people abide to morals for them to be happy. Now, for Nietzsche being good – at least morally good, is a social construct as the upper class and the people who are in control are defining the word with their preferences and activities. It can change as to who controls the social power. With this notion, evil, or bad, is also arbitrary, as the social class also determines which are bad and those things are generally the ones that do not work for them. For example, if you are an upper class gentleman and your slaves are working well for you, would you consider slavery immoral? No, because it is good for you. You might even think that slavery is important. But if you are a slave, slavery for you is evil because you suffer. However, who holds the social power? For the longest time, it was the upper class, which is why slavery did not become illegal for a long time. Then when the revolution happened, many people were affected by it. And those â€Å"many people† helped slavery become a â€Å"bad† thing. ... Now these imperatives in turn, determine everyone’s duty. Because of this, morals are not arbitrary because it is universal and it is true to everyone. For Mill on the other hand, has a similar belief to Kant – everyone has innate morals; morals are not arbitrary. But unlike Kant, Mill states that these morals are used to maximize happiness and reduce suffering. Utilitarian in most ways, he basically says that the right things bring happiness and wrong things bring suffering. In his words, â€Å"actions are right in proportion as they tend to promote happiness; wrong as they tend to produce the reverse of happiness†. Therefore, if an action is morally right if it makes the doer really happy. Therefore, happiness is not a social construct but an innate faculty in humans, and because it is innate, it cannot be arbitrary. Now, given the scenario above, what would each of the philosophers do given the situation? For Nietzsche, the nurse would just be in a wrong place at a wrong time. If the society urges euthanasia, then she would not have been stigmatized by having outrages towards her action. She will not be treated as a criminal. She’s having these negative connotations mainly because in her society, the people in power have deemed that her action is â€Å"immoral†. If we are taking Kant’s point of view, where all morals are innate, then we can conclude that the nurse is indeed wrong, as there are more people who were outraged by her actions than the people who weren’t. For Kant, there are universal ethical standards that cannot be broken. Now these ethical standards are about killing. Obviously, killing is not very accepted as it has produced crime and outrage. If we are talking about Mill’s point of view, then we should ask the nurse if she was

Impacts of Salt on Water Resources

Impacts of Salt on Water Resources Introduction. Salinity, one of the major water crises occurring around the globe, is the high concentration of total dissolved solids (TDS), such as sodium and chlorine, in soils and water (Rose, 2004). Salinity is a critical and prevalent problem affecting Australia, threatening the Australian natural environment and the sustainability of productive agricultural areas (Bridgman, Dragovish, Dodson, 2008; McDowell, 2008). This can be attributed to naturally high saline levels in the soils (McDowell, 2008; Pannell, 2001). Across the globe, in countries such as in America, Iran, Pakistan, India and China, large concentrations of salt have accumulated over time due to rainfall, rock weathering, sea water intrusion and aerosol deposits (Table 1) (Beresford et al., 2001; HÃ ¼lsebusch et al., 2007). Dryland salinity, a form of secondary salinity, has particularly become a major problem worldwide (Beresford et al., 2001). Annually, approximately four million hectares of global farmland is abandoned due to excessive salt (Beresford et al., 2001). Salinity is a widespread problem with numerous major social, economic and environmental consequences (Beresford et al., 2001). Outline This paper will consider the occurrence and impacts of primary and secondary salinity on water resources. The discussion will commence by focusing on primary salinity, its occurrence and associated impacts using an example from the Lake Eyre Basin, Australia. The next part of the essay will discuss secondary salinity, its occurrence and impacts using examples from Katanning Western Australia (WA) and Turkey. Iran and Pakistan will then be examined as examples showing the occurrence and impacts of both primary and secondary salinity. Finally the impacts of salinity will be identified and the main arguments of this account summarised. Discussion Primary Salinity Primary salinity is a natural process that affects soils and waters and occurs generally in regions of the world where rainfall is insufficient to leach salts from the soil and evaporation or transpiration is high (McDowell, 2008). In episodes of high evaporation, transpiration and reduced rainfall, salinity becomes a problem as the volume of water decreases while salt concentrations increase (Bridgman, Dragovish, Dodson, 2008). Approximately 1000 million hectares, which corresponds to seven per cent of the worlds total land area, is affected to some extent by salt (Rose, 2004). The majority of the globes saline affected land is influence by primary salinity resulting from natural soil evolution (HÃ ¼lsebusch et al., 2007). Arid tropical areas, in particular, are subject to potential evaporation that is higher than rainfall, which leads to the rising of water to the topsoil where solutes accumulate and salinity can occur naturally (HÃ ¼lsebusch et al., 2007). Australias arid and s emi-arid areas usually have salt present in the groundwater (Table 2) (Bridgman, Dragovish, Dodson, 2008). For example, the River Darling becomes saline during harsh drought periods and salinity concentrations increase in the Hunter Valley when flow diminishes (Bridgman, Dragovish, Dodson, 2008). Lake Eyre Basin, South Australia The Lake Eyre Basin (LEB), in central Australia, is a largely flat area dominated by semi-arid to arid environmental conditions (Figure 1) (McMahon et al., 2008). The area encounters high evaporation rates and spatially and temporally highly variable rainfall (Kingsford Porter, 1993). Year round, potential evaporation is usually greater than actual evaporation with average yearly Class A pan evaporation rates of 3300 millimetres (mm) (Costelloe et al., 2008). Average yearly rainfall in the LEB ranges from less than 200mm in some areas, up to 700mm in others, with an annual coefficient of variability spanning from 0.2 to 0.7 (McMahon et al., 2008). Hydrological conditions in the LEB can vary between prolonged periods of 18 to24 months of no flow, to shorter phases where inundation of slow-moving floods can occur (Costelloe et al., 2008). The portioning of the stable isotopes of water such as d16O/ d18O can be utilised to determine whether evaporation (enriching/fractionation occurs) or transpiration (no fractionation) occurs (Costelloe et al., 2008). In Lake Eyre, the water is sodium and chlorine ion dominated with salinity varying from approximately 25 300 mg L-1 and 272 800 mg L-1 (Kingsford Porter, 1993). The absence of invertebrates and waterbirds in Lake Eyre is thought to be due to salinity from increased evaporation during the dry months (Kingsford Porter, 1993). This salinity is also said to be responsible for massive fish kills that occur as the lake dries after a flood period (Kingsford Porter, 1993). Samples taken in the LEB showed that there was greater enrichment of the isotopic signatures of the surface water than the groundwater samples, a product of high rates of evaporation (Costelloe et al., 2008). The Diamantina River catchment, a major contributor of streamflow to Lake Eyre, was found to have hypersaline, 85,000 mg L-1 [Cl], residual pools in the channel, with a highly enriched isotopic signature, indicating evaporation (Costelloe et al., 2008). The Neales River catchment in the LEB demonstrated extremely saline groundwater (71,000 mg L-1 [Cl]) and hypersaline residual pools of 130,000-150,000 mg L-1 [Cl] (Costelloe et al., 2008). Secondary Salinity Secondary salinity is caused by man made changes to the hydrological cycle either through the replacement of native vegetation with shallow-rooted vegetation or through the excessive use or inefficient distribution of water in irrigation for agriculture (Beresford et al., 2001; Rose, 2004). Modern anthropogenic land-use practices are increasing the area of salt-affected land, which is a major environmental issue (Bridgman, Dragovish, Dodson, 2008). Estimates of secondary salinity affecting the globe are suggested at around 74 million hectares, with 43 million hectares of that land occurring on irrigated land and the remaining area on non-irrigated land (Rose, 2004). In Australia, areas of the Murray Basin and the Mallee region in Victoria (VIC) and New South Wales (NSW) are affected by dryland and irrigation salinity, while irrigation salinity impacts the Riverina Plain in VIC and NSW and the Riverland Region in South Australia (Beresford et al., 2001). Dryland Salinity Dryland salinity is the resultant change in subsurface hydrology in which native vegetation with deeper roots are replaced by shallow-rooted vegetation, such as agricultural crops (Rose, 2004). This process causes a decrease in annual evaporation and an increase in the amount of water reaching the water table (Bridgman, Dragovish, Dodson, 2008). The proceeding rise in the amount of water available can then lead to saline water reaching the soil surface and vegetation (Rose, 2004). When this saline water intersects or reaches the surface, waterlogging and salinization of the surface soil can occur due to the accumulation of salts (Rose, 2004). There is an estimated lag time of 30 to 50 years between vegetation clearance and the emergence of salinity (Bridgman, Dragovish, Dodson, 2008). Around a third of the areas in Australia that are susceptible to dryland salinity are expected to become saline (Figure 2) (Rose, 2004). Dryland salinity has impacted North and South Dakota in Norther n America and the Canadian Western Prairies due to large scale wheat farming in which there is now increasing loss of productivity and rising death rates in a variety of wildlife (Beresford et al., 2001). India, Thailand, Argentina, and South Africa are some of the other countries that experience problems with dryland salinity (Pannell Ewing, 2006). Katanning District, WA In the Katanning district, extensive clearing of native vegetation has lead to the area being reported as having one of the worst salinity problems in WA (Beresford et al., 2001). The town is located in a low, flat part of the landscape, and is agriculturally centred on crops, such as wheat and canola, and sheep (Figure 3) (Beresford et al., 2001). The initial perennial vegetation, mainly of Mallee associations, has been removed and replaced with the aforementioned crops (Bridgman, Dragovish, Dodson, 2008). Following 1891, there was increased wheat cultivation in the district and land clearing (Beresford et al., 2001). In the early 1900s, the increase of salt in nearby natural water sources was quickly linked to the clearing of native vegetation (Beresford et al., 2001). In 2000, records of the Katanning Creek Catchment showed that only 1000 hectares of remnant vegetation remained translating to less than 10 per cent of the catchment being covered (Beresford et al., 2001). It was al so discovered in 2000 that 125 hectares of land neighbouring the town boundary was salt affected, the water table was less than one metre from the surface in some areas and older infrastructure were showing evidence of salt-induced decay (Beresford et al., 2001). Groundwater under the township is influenced by the subsurface flow from catchments where extensive land clearing has occurred (Beresford et al., 2001). Dryland salinity in Australia will continue to increase unless farming systems are dramatically altered on a large scale (Rose, 2004). Irrigation Salinity The application of irrigation can increase salinity levels in soil water, surface water systems and/or aquifers (Van Weert, Van der Gun, Reckman, 2009). Irrigation can also raise water tables, lead to waterlogging, and cause evaporation directly from the water table, increasing solute concentration in the soil (Van Weert, Van der Gun, Reckman, 2009). Around the world, the greater part of anthropogenic salinity is associated with irrigated rather than non-irrigated land (Bridgman, Dragovish, Dodson, 2008). A higher amount of land in Australia that is non-irrigated, rather than irrigated, however, is salt-affected (Pannell Ewing, 2006). Bridgman, Dragovish, Dodson (2008) stated that irrigated areas that have their water table within two metres of the soil surface are salinized. Agriculture, in which irrigation systems are utilized, is especially prone to salinization with approximately half of the irrigation systems globally affected by salinization, alkalization or waterlogging ( Munns, 2002). Countries particularly affected by irrigation salinity include Egypt, China, Pakistan, Iran, India, and Argentina (HÃ ¼lsebusch et al., 2007). Sanliurfa-Harran Plain Turkey Turkey faces salinity problems due to large-scale and intensive irrigation, such as in the Harran Plain (Van Weert, Van der Gun, Reckman, 2009). Only 25 percent, or 19.3 million hectares, of Turkeys land surface is usable for agricultural practices, three percent of which is affected by salinity (Atis, 2006). The main source of soil salinity has resulted from the adverse effects of irrigation water, leading to the formation of high water tables resulting in decreased agricultural productivity and income (Atis, 2006). The Sanliurfa-Harran Plain region is located in an arid and semi-arid climate (Kendirli, Cakmak, Ucar, 2005). In this area, high levels of total dissolved solids have emerged in the shallow groundwater due to excessive and uncontrolled irrigation, waterlogging, rising water tables, and drainage problems (Van Weert, Van der Gun, Reckman, 2009). Prior to the implementation of irrigation in the central and southern parts of the Harran Plain, salinity and drainage problem s already existed, which were then exacerbated when irrigation was applied (Table 3) (Kendirli, Cakmak, Ucar, 2005). It was estimated over fifty percent of productive agricultural land in the Akcakale Groundwater Irrigations area of the Harran Plain was becoming saline after irrigation, some 5000 hectares (Kendirli, Cakmak, Ucar, 2005). In the towns of Harran and Akcakale, within the Sanliurfa-Harran Plain, increased salinity problems and high saline and sodium soils were attributed to public irrigation (Kendirli, Cakmak, Ucar, 2005). Within the Sanliurfa-Harran Plain, over 29 percent of soils examined were becoming saline following irrigation (Kendirli, Cakmak, Ucar, 2005). Combined Salinity In Iran and Pakistan, the salinization of land resources is a major problem due to a combination of primary salinity and secondary salinity (Kahlown et al., 2003; Qadir, Qureshi, Cheraghi, 2008). Thirty per cent of Irans irrigated area and 26.2 per cent of Pakistans are severely affected by irrigation salinity, much of which may need abandoning (Kendirli, Cakmak, Ucar, 2005; HÃ ¼lsebusch et al., 2007). Iran and Pakistan mainly endure arid and semi-arid environmental conditions (Kahlown et al., 2003; Qadir, Qureshi, Cheraghi, 2008). Annually, rainfall nationally averages 250mm in Iran, while average yearly potential evaporation is extremely high, varying from 700mm to over 4000mm (Qadir, Qureshi, Cheraghi, 2008). Approximately 34 million hectares in Iran are salt-affected (Qadir, Qureshi, Cheraghi, 2008). In the northern area of Iran, slight to moderate salt-affected soils exist, where as highly saline soils are present in the central areas (Figure 4) (Qadir, Qureshi, Cheraghi, 2008). Primary salinity in Iran is a result of a combination of factors including: the geological composition of the soils parent material, such as halite and gypsum, natural salinization of surface waters due to stream salinity, salinity and the expansion of salinity from wind-borne origins, seawater intrusion, low rainfall and high potential evapotranspiration (Qadir, Qureshi, Cheraghi, 2008). Secondary salinity has been a result of: irrigation with saline waters, deficient drainage, unsustainable groundwater pumping, saline aquifer over-exploitation, excessive irrigation and overgrazing (Qadir, Qureshi, Cheraghi, 2008). Some 4.2 million hectares in Pakistan are severely affected by irrigation salinity (HÃ ¼lsebusch et al., 2007). Salinization of soils and water in Pakistan are a result of: natural climatic characteristics, such as high evaporation, geological conditions and the dissolution of salt bearing strata, waterlogging, intensive irrigation, poor drainage, salinity ing ress, inefficient irrigation and inappropriate use of low quality groundwater (Kahlown et al., 2003; Van Weert, Van der Gun, Reckman, 2009). Widespread soil and water salinization in Iran and Pakistan has occurred due to varied combinations of these factors (Kahlown et al., 2003; Qadir, Qureshi, Cheraghi, 2008). Impacts Salinity can cause tree die back, changes in ecosystems, loss of productive lands, salt bush growth, erosion, saline groundwater discharge and saline surface water (Beresford et al., 2001; Bridgman, Dragovish, Dodson, 2008). The groundwater that rises as a result of dryland salinity can contain relatively high amounts of salts which results in saline seepages emerging where the water table intersects the ground surface (Bridgman, Dragovish, Dodson, 2008). If concentrations of sodium ions are high enough, the physical structure of soils may be completely degraded from salinity (McDowell, 2008). This is due to the collapse of soil aggregates and deflocculation of clay particles; compaction then occurs and causes decreased permeability and porosity which restricts water storage as well as slowing internal drainage (McDowell, 2008). Salinity can result in the deterioration of river and stream quality, for example, in the Murray Darling River system in SA, the town of Morgans water qual ity is expected to exceed the desirable drinking limit of 500 mg L 1 total soluble salts within the next ninety years (Pannell Ewing, 2006). Concentrated salt-affected water can move to surface water systems, infiltrate below the root zone or may reach an aquifer and contribute to a progressive increase in salinity of groundwater, decreasing the water quality (Van Weert, Van der Gun, Reckman, 2009). There can be a greater risk of large-scale water quality problems due to an increase in leakage of saline waters from the impacted region (McDowell, 2008). Increased flood risks have also been identified as an impact of dryland salinity as a result of shallower water tables which can lead to at least a two-fold increase in flood flows (Pannell Ewing, 2006). Conclusions Salinity is a major problem throughout the world, particularly in arid and semi-arid environmental climates. Primary salinity is a natural phenomenon that affects soils and waters in periods of high evaporation, transpiration, and low rainfall. This process occurs notably in Australia, as well as many other countries, such as Iran and Pakistan. Secondary salinity is human induced from either land clearing or irrigation. Numerous countries experience dryland salinity, such as North America, India, Canada, Thailand, Argentina, and South Africa, as well as Australia. Countries that are affected by irrigation salinity include Egypt, Australia, China, Pakistan, Iran, Turkey, India, and Argentina. Generally, salinity causes a decrease in the quality of water resources and can lead to a decrease in quantity, if the water table has risen substantially as a result, and increased evaporation occurs. References Atis, E 2006, Economic impacts on cotton production due to land degradation in the Gediz Delta, Turkey, Land Use Policy, 26, pp. 181 186. Beresford, Q, Bekle, H, Phillips, H, Mulcock, J 2001, The Salinity Crisis: Landscapes, Communities and Politics, University of Western Australia Press, Crawley. Bridgman, H, Dragovish, D, Dodson, J 2008, The Australian Physical Environment, Oxford University Press, USA. Costelloe, JF, Payne, E, Woodrow, IE, Irvine, EC, Western, AW, Leaney, FW 2008, Water sources accessed by arid zone riparian trees in highly saline environments, Australia, Oecologia, 156, pp. 43 52. HÃ ¼lsebusch, C, Wichern, F, Hemann, H, Wolff, P (eds.) 2007, Organic agriculture in the Tropics and Subtropics Current status and perspectives Supplement No. 9 to the Journal of Agriculture and Rural Development in the Tropics and Subtropics, Kassel University Press, Germany. Kahlown, MA, Chang, MC, Ashraf, M, Hassan, MS 2003, Salt Affected Soils and their Reclamation: Research Report 4, Pakistan Council of Research in Water Resources, Islamabad. Kendirli, B, Cakmak, B, Ucar, Y 2005, Salinity in the Southeastern Anatolia Project (Gap), Turkey: Issues and Options, Irrigation and Drainage, 54, pp. 115 122. Kingsford, RT, Porter, JL 1993, Waterbirds of Lake Eyre, Australia, Biological Conservation, 65, pp. 141 151. McDowell, RW (ed.) 2008, Environmental Impacts of Pasture-Based Farming, CAB International, Oxfordshire. McMahon, TA, Murphy, RE, Peel, MC, Costelloe, JF, Chiew, FHS 2008, Understanding the surface hydrology of the Lake Eyre Basin: Part 1-Rainfall, Journal of Arid Environments, 72, 1853 -1868. Munns, R 2002, Comparative physiology of salt and water stress, Plant, Cell and Environment, 25, pp. 239 250. Pannell, DJ, Ewing, MA 2006, Managing Secondary Dryland Salinity: Options and Challenges, Agricultural Water Management, 80, pp. 41 56. Qadir, M, Qureshi, AS, Cheraghi, SAM 2008, Extent and Characterisation of Salt-Affected Soils in Iran and Strategies for their Amelioration and Management, Land Degradation Development, 19, pp. 214 227. Rose, C 2004, An Introduction to the Environmental Physics of Soil, Water and Watersheds, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge. Van Weert, F, Van der Gun, J, Reckman, J 2009, Global Overview of Saline Groundwater Occurrence and Genesis, International Groundwater Resources Assessment Centre, Utrecht.

Health Benefits of Namaz or Salah.

Namaz The Best Exercise (STD: V, VI, VII, and VIII) What is Namaz? Namaz is the Urdu word for Prayer. The Arabic word for Prayer is Salah. Namaz is the form of Worship of Allah S. W. T performed by Muslims. Namaz is one of the most important of the 5 pillars of Islam. Allah S. W. T has mentioned the benefits and the importance of Namaz as many as 500 times in the Holy Qur’an. Apart from the spiritual benefits that Namaz offers to Muslim worshippers, it is also one of the best forms of exercise that one can do on a regular basis. Namaz has been made compulsory for Muslims 5 times daily the five times are: Fajr: Early morning just before sunrise. It consists of 4 Rakats. Zuhar:: Afternoon paryers post the period of Zawaal (when sun is perpendicular to earth). It consists of 12 Rakats. Asar:: Post afternoon and before Sunset. It consists of 8 Rakats. Maghrib: Just after Sunset. It consists of 7 Rakats. Isha: Late evening after the Sunset is complete and darkness of the night is complete and the cooling effect of the atmosphere begins. It consists of 17 Rakats A Rakat is one complete cycle of Standing, Bending, Prostrations and subsequent Sitting or Standing up again in the Namaz. Each posture of the Namaz has a standard defined procedure and recitations that are observed by every Muslim irrespective of where he lives or what race he belongs to. Muslims follow the methods as taught to us by Prophet Muhammad (Sallallahu-Alaihi-Wasallam). Praying Namaz requires one to be clean in all respects, be it’s the physical self, the surroundings or the intent. No matter how hard a person prays or for how long he lies in prostration (Sajda), unless his intention are clean and motives selfless, the Namaz will not be accepted by Allah. It is required that a person ensures the surrounding is clean and free from sins where he intends to offer Namaz. The Prophet (Sallallahu-Alaihi-Wasallam) advised that except for the washroom or where one relieves himself and the graveyard, Allah has made the whole world as a place of worship for his believers. Namaz makes us disciplined and brings feeling of regularity and gives a direction to our daily life, 5 times a day, if we make it a routine to get up on hearing the Azaan, do the Wuzu (ablutions) and head for prayers, either in a congregation or alone, we feel a sense of Time Management in our daily chores. Interestingly there are various similarities between some of the postures of Namaz and Yoga! Now let us see some beneficial effects of different Namaz postures. Different Namaz Postures And Their Benefits: Posture 1 Name: Niyyat (Takbeer-e-Tahreema) First Takbeer in standing position to begin prayer Instructions: Bring hands, palms open, up to ears, and place thumbs behind earlobes, as â€Å"Allahu Akbar† (God is Great) is uttered. Beneficial Effects: It relaxes our body, straightening back improves posture and improves concentration. It also sharpens our vision by focusing on the floor. Posture 2 Name: Quayam Instructions: After you have touched your earlobes and said Takbeer bring down your hands and place your hands below the navel In this posture your sight should be fixed where you are going to perform Sajdah (Prostration), Place right wrist over the left, Wrap your left wrist with the thumb and the little finger. Rest the remaining fingers on the left forearm; Make sure your hands are tied below the navel, Beneficial Effects: It relaxes legs and back and extends concentration. It stimulates heart, thyroid and other important function of our body. Posture 3 Name: Ruku' (pronounced Rukoo) Instructions: Bend down at waist, placing palms of hands with fingers spread over knees. Back is parallel to ground, such that if a glass of water were on the back, it would not spill. Eyes looking down, directly ahead. Beneficial Effects: Blood is pumped down into upper torso as our muscles are stretched it also tones our muscles. This posture improves personality, generating sweet kindness and inner harmony. Posture 4 Name: Qauma Instructions: Stand straight again with you hands by your sides Beneficial Effects: It relaxes body and releases tension. Posture 5 Name: Sajdah Instructions: Go down to a kneeling position by placing both hands on knees, lowering oneself slowly and easily onto knees, then touch the head upon the ground so that the following seven body parts are in contact: forehead, two palms, two knees, toes of both feet. The end position of this posture is given below. Beneficial Effects: It prevents growth of flabbiness in the mid section and increase flow of blood in the head, including eyes, ears, nose and lungs; allows mental toxins to be cleansed by blood. It increases elasticity of joints. Posture 6 Name: Jalsa Instructions: Sit on your left foot which should be flat the ground, keep your right foot upright with toes faceing the Qiblah and place your hands near the knees in a manner that the fingers face the Qiblah Beneficial Effects: It cleanses respiratory, circulatory and nervous system and brings lightness in body and emotional happiness. Posture 7 Name: Second Sajdah Instructions: Go down to a kneeling position by placing both hands on knees, lowering oneself slowly and easily onto knees, then touch the head upon the ground so that the following seven body parts are in contact: forehead, two palms, two knees, toes of both feet. The end position of this posture is given below. Beneficial Effects: It prevents growth of flabbiness in the mid section and increase flow of blood in the head which allows mental toxin to be cleansed by the blood. It increases elasticity of joints. Posture 8 Name: Quood (Qa'dah-e-Akhira) Last sitting Completing the Salat: Beneficial Effects: It detoxifies liver and stimulates action of large intestine. It improves digestion. Posture 9 Name:Salaam Saying peace to end the Namaz Instructions: Turn your head to the right shoulder and say Salam, then turn your head to the left and say Salaam Beneficial Effects: It is one of the best neck exercises. http://www. janathimessage. co. uk/kids/learning/namaz. html www. chishti. org Namaz The Best Exercise (STD: I, II, III, and IV) Muslims pray five times a day, which each prayer made of a series of postures and movements, each set of which is called a rak'ah. For praying Namaz we should not only keep ourselves clean but our surroundings and the place of worship should also be clean. Namaz teaches us to be disciplined and understand the importance of Time Management. It is the perfect combination of Ablution (Wudu) and Namaz that keeps our soul and body clean and healthy. Interestingly there are various similarities between some of the postures of Namaz and Yoga! Now let us see some beneficial effects of different Namaz postures. Posture 1 Name: Niyyat (Takbeer-e-Tahreema) Beneficial Effects: It relaxes our body, straightening back. It also sharpens our vision by focusing on the floor. Posture 2 Name: Quayam Beneficial Effects: It relaxes legs and back and extends concentration. Posture 3 Name: Ruku' (pronounced Rukoo) Beneficial Effects: Blood is pumped down into upper torso as our muscles are stretched it also tones our muscles. This posture improves personality, generating sweet kindness and inner harmony. Posture 4 Name: Qauma Beneficial Effects: It relaxes body and releases tension. Posture 5 Name: Sajdah Beneficial Effects: It increase flow of blood in the head, including eyes, ears, nose and lungs; allows mental toxins to be cleansed by blood. It increases elasticity of joints. Posture 6 Name: Jalsa Beneficial Effects: It cleanses respiratory, circulatory and nervous system and brings lightness in body and emotional happiness. Posture 7 Name: Second Sajdah Beneficial Effects: Knees forming a right angle allow stomach muscles to be developed. Posture 8 Name: Quood (Qa'dah-e-Akhira) Beneficial Effects: It improves digestion. Posture 9 Name:Salaam Saying peace to end the Namaz Beneficial Effects: It is one of the best neck exercises. http://www. janathimessage. co. uk/kids/learning/namaz. html www. chishti. org