The learning and teaching of mathematics Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

The learning and teaching of mathematics - Essay Example The paper tells that decimal notation is a crisis experienced by children in mathematics. The researcher has faced instances where some children are unable to distinguish between small and large values when presented with decimal points. When the subject of decimals is first introduced to primary school children, there is a general belief that when the number is long, the value is high. This means that there is an existing problem in the ability to differentiate the values of digits with decimal points. For example, when the researcher ask children to assign the number with the highest values between 5.555, 5.55 and 5.5, 5.555 is given as the answer. The reasons children give are arguably connected to the way they view whole numbers and denote decimal points. This trend can be explained by a number of misconceptions in decimal notation. There is a general belief that numbers with more digits represent high values than those with small values. 5.555 is believed to have a large value t han 5.5 because 5.555 has four digits that make the number look bigger, and 5.5 has two digits that make the number look smaller. While this explanation may be true in some cases, several combination of numbers may not adhere to the misconception. For example, in differentiating between 0.12, 0.111 and 0.1012, children pick 0.1012 as the number with the greatest value because 0.12 has three digits, 0.111 has four and 0.1012 has five, hence, the more the number of the digits, the higher the value of the number. In reality, 0.12 has a higher value compared to 0.1012.

Green marketing(is it ethical to use green marketing just to convince Essay

Green marketing(is it ethical to use green marketing just to convince customers to buy the companies products) - Essay Example The present essay is based on the book ‘Sign Wars: The cluttered landscape of advertising’ by Goldman and Papson (Goldman et al, 1996). It deals with the meaning and practice of green marketing, its concepts as developed by the advertising industry, its effectiveness both to genuinely care for the environmental concerns and to hoodwink the public etc. It deals with the ‘signs’ attached to the products with a view to promote sales, even as companies defend their record of environmental concerns. Relevant case studies are included to argue that green marketing has been more of a self-promotion gimmick than any real concern for responsible corporate behaviour. 1 (a). Goldman and Papson, trace the evolution of advertising industry from 1920s, when the competitive market forces were compelling industries to entice consumers to buy their products. They point out that in order to sell more and more of the products, advertisers â€Å"†¦created a social world in which (a consumer’s) identity is expressed through consuming commodity signs† (Goldman, 1996, p.187). These commodity signs represented a â€Å"†¦social process of branding goods, that is, endowing goods with value and capacity to fulfill a variety of desires† (p.188). In this process, the advertisers used, â€Å"†¦nature as a referent system from which to derive signifiers for constructing signs† (p.191). â€Å"Commodities like cars and cigarettes are placed in the landscape settings labeled ‘natural’ and juxtaposed with natural objects† (p.192). By 1980s, advertising that started with nature as a referent system, progresse d to ‘green marketing’ to position nature itself as the subject of the ad †¦(only) to hail the viewing subject† (p.192). Thus commodities are positioned as environmentally friendly, and corporations 1 (b). Automation and mass production of the last century, led to severe competition. To compete, it was not enough for the

Commercial Aircraft Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Commercial Aircraft - Research Paper Example Less-$759 $1,483.5 Trip#2 Time and cost comparison between General Aircraft and Commercial Aircraft (non-stop) for a round trip from BNA to BAB for 3 persons Time Comparison Terms General Aircraft Commercial Aircraft (non-stop) Office to Airport :20 :10 Terminal boarding :90 :30 En route time 4:00 2:00 Deplaning time :30 :15 Airport to office :10 :05 Total 6:30 3:00 Cost Comparison Terms General Aircraft Commercial Aircraft (non-stop) Travel- En route(1) $851.54 $2,310 Rental Car (2) $31.72 $31.72 Value per Man-Hour (VMH)(3) $1,483.5 $655.5 Total $2,366.76 $2,997.22 Calculations 1. General Aircraft- $409 round trip 3 persons (less 30.6% tax savings) Commercial Aircraft- 2 hours $1,155/hour 2. Rental Car- $52/day- unlimited mileages (less 30.6% tax savings) 3. VMH = 2.5 $92,000(avg. salary)/2000 hours= $115.00/hour VMH Summary General Airline Total time: $115 6.5 hour 3 persons $2,242.5 En route time: $115 4 hour 3 persons $1,380 Less- 15% productivity credit - 207 $1,173 Less-$1,173 $1,069.5 Commercial Aircraft (non-stop) Total time: $115 3 hour 3 persons $1,035 En route time: $115 2 hour 3 persons $690 Less- 45% productivity credit 310.5 $379.5 Less- $379.5 $655.5 Trip#3 Time and cost comparison between General Aircraft and Commercial Aircraft (one-stop) for a round trip...There are one stop and non-stop flights between BNA and BAB. From trip 1, it seems that if we use automobile, time and cost are more than using general aircraft. While Automobile takes 12 hours to reach BAB from BNA, it is only 6:30 hours in terms of General Aircraft. But Automobile takes more costs from General Aircraft. It is $3939.41 for Automobile and $2,366.76 for General Aircraft. From trip 1 it is clear to us that General Aviation Aircraft is better than Automobile. From trip 2, it seems that if we use general aircraft, it takes more time than using Commercial Aircraft (non-stop). While General Aircraft takes 6:30 hours to reach BAB from BNA, it is only 3:00 hours in terms of Commercial Aircraft (non-stop). However, it takes little more costs from General Aircraft. It is $2,366.76 for General Aviation Aircraft and $2,997.22 for Commercial Aircraft (non-stop). Although Commercial Aircraft (non -stop) costs a little bit more than the General Aviation Aircraft but Commercial Aircraft (non-stop) saves more valuable time for executives. Therefore, Commercial Aircraft (non-stop) is better than General Aviation Aircraft. From trip 3, it seems that if we use general aircraft, it takes more time than using Commercial Aircraft (one-stop).

Discuss how an understanding of the biology of insect pests assists in Essay

Discuss how an understanding of the biology of insect pests assists in the control of stored product pests - Essay Example It also helps to determine whether there is an infestation in a given building, what methods should be used to remove it, and provides wider methods for the creation of new pesticides and insect repellents. Reason For Entry, Method of Entry, and Location The primary reason that an understanding of the biology of an insect pests helps in exterminating the pests by giving an understanding as to why the insects would come inside that building at that particular location. Generally, these reasons include coming into buildings seeking food, water, or shelter from the elements. For example, cockroaches are attracted to moisture around pipes and drains, and so buildings with such sources of moisture are more likely to contain cockroaches than drier buildings. Ants, like cockroaches, are also attracted to leaking pipes or condensation build-up, and will enter buildings or rooms in search of this moisture. Ants are also attracted to food sources such as sugar, especially in cases of general p oor sanitation. Locating those food and moisture sources can help determine why the pests are entering the building. Once the reasons for the pests coming in has been determined, the moisture or food source can be removed. Removing the source of food or water should help reduce the number of pests coming into the building, and therefore reduce the difficulty of eradicating the infestation of that building. Once the pests inside have been eradicated and the reason new pests were entering the building is removed, there should be no future issues with that particular pest in that building unless a new source of food or water is presented (Juneau et al., 2010). Additionally, understanding the biology of the insects can help an exterminator understand how the pests are entering the building of infestation in the first place. Crawling insects generally come in through openings into the building which are accessible from the ground. For example, insects may enter buildings through cracks i n the exterior masonry or other building materials, or other gaps in the exterior of the building. Doors left open especially can attract ground-level crawling insects. Small gaps and openings around water pipes, heating and cooling air vents, and exterior windows and doors, can all provide access to crawling insects. However, it is not only ground-level access that will allow in crawling pests that should be looked out for. Exterior landscaping features such as climbing vines, bushes and shrubbery, or tall grasses, may all provide access for crawling insects to reach open windows or other access points that are higher off the ground and would not normally be accessible to such pests (Juneau et al., 2010). Flying pests could obviously access higher points such as open windows that are lacking screens or that have damaged screens with holes that could allow in insects. Looking for such points of access could help determine where the pests are entering the building; blocking these ent ry points would therefore help stop the pests from infesting the building. Understanding the methods the insects are using to enter the building will help determine where the blockades should be placed in order to stop them. Knowledge of the biology of the pests can also help determine what locations in the buildings may be hiding those pests, and therefore where to look to eradicate them. For example, the bodies of bed bugs are almost completely flat. This allows them to hide in

Strategic management Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Strategic management - Essay Example By using the SWOT analysis (Yelken, et al., 2012, p.267) that was carried out by the Global Data company over the company, we are able to understand the company’s strengths, opportunities, weaknesses as well as threats. The analysis reveals its strengths as extensive operating network and branding offerings. The company however has the major pull back to her operations being the enormous losses it has continuously suffered though it has opportunities to expand in her operations and increase the market share. Moreover, it has other threats, which include high competitive pressures as well as over-stringent regulations. However, there is the need to evaluate the strategic plans that the company has in place in regulating and propelling its operations (Global Data company, 2013, para 1). The company has a well-written strategy concerning the way of developing and exploiting a further competitive front within its pub as well as brewing sector. This strategic vision is based on the already existing positions in the market, its employee’s capabilities as well as skills together with its traditionally designed model of business, which is vertically integrated. Moreover, the company has a business target drive to continuously outperform other players within the market in the different segments of her operations. The company has a well established investment program, which champions its way in selecting business sites, and thus developing newer restaurants. The company claims to undertake thorough analysis before establishing new pub buildings which are modern and appropriate in terms of trading and which offer the customers convenience and value for the services. The company establishes fair, long-lasting and transparent kind of agreements with its licensees which rent their leased and tenanted pubs. It also enjoys long life expertise and experience in operating leases premises. Moreover, this company offers provisions for long-term lease agreements to th e licensees and offers pricing mechanisms on free trade as well as free-of-tie options. In order to underpin the operational development within her managed facilities, Marston company operates under a plan called the ‘F-plan’, which refers to food, females, forty/fifty some things and families. The plan was developed and adopted back in 2006, and was meant to have long-term effects. The company also enjoys designing differentiated brew brands purely designed to increase the consumers demand as well as providing greater range of choices to consumers. The company has exploited the niche in the country through well-organized distribution of her products across the entire country from the running five breweries. In financial terms, the company has huge debts, which comprises 90% long-term debts which are secured through its wide distribution of free hold assets in terms of pubs and which fetches low interest rates. However, the current strategy and target is to reduce the n et debt by a ratio stipulated by EBITDA to see off at least a five times reduction capacity is realized within three years. This is postulated to be aided by raising return to capital across the entire group’s operations (Marston’s, nd, para 1-5) Strategic management refers to the analysis of major initiatives and programs undertaken by the management of a company on behalf of the entrepreneurs revolving the effective use of resources as well as general performance

PESTEL Viet Nam Analysis Essay Example for Free

PESTEL Viet Nam Analysis Essay A. Introduction of Viet Nam Vietnam is approximately 331688 km2 in area and occupied the eastern coast of the Southeast Asian peninsula. The northern part of the country part consists mostly of highlands and the Red River Delta. The south is divided into coastal lowlands and extensive forests. Because of differences in latitude and the marked variety of topographical relief, the climate tends to vary considerably from place to place. During the winter or dry season (November to April), the monsoon wind blowing from the northwest brings considerably moisture. Consequently the winter season in most parts of the country is dry. Major Vietnamese cities include Hanoi in the north, Da Nang in the mid coastal region, and Ho Chi Minh City (formally known as Saigon) to the south. Vietnam has considerable energy resources such as oil, gas and coal and its 41,000 km long waterways provide the basis for hydropower. The country is rich in minerals such as bauxite, iron ore, lead, gold, precious stones, tin, chromate, anthracite, granite, marble, clay, white sand and graphite. In addition, Vietnam has a considerable fresh and saltwater fauna, dense tropical forestry resources and it possesses great agricultural potential. The history of Vietnam, reference to the Geneva Accord signed in 1954. The accord ended French colonial rule, and the country was partitioned into the Democratic Republic of Vietnam, led by Ho Chi Minh and the Republic of Vietnam in the South. The capitals were Hanoi for the North and Saigon for the South. Fights led by Ho Chi Minh to unite the country started in 1959 and lasted until 1975. Hanoi became the capital of the country whilst Saigon was renamed Ho Chi Minh City. Following reunification, the Vietnamese government’s initial plan was to manage the economy via methods of central planning. Based on experiences gained during the 1976-1980 five years plan, subsequent central plans introduced more relaxed policies with respect to agricultural collectives, State Owned Enterprises and allowed more scope for private initiatives. These measures were instrumental in elevating poverty.  Growth rates during the early 80’s were higher than during the 1976-1980 five year pl an, however it became evident that further policy shift were necessary to enable the Vietnam economy to perform closer to its potential. Economic reform was the key point of discussion at the Sixth National Party Congress held in December 1986. The process then initiated of moving from a centrally planned economy to an open, socialist-oriented and multi-sector market economy known as Doi Moi (renovation). In 1992, the National Assembly revised the post-unification constitution to better reflect the aspirations articulated in the Doi Moi process. Economic performance since 1986 has justified the policy of relaxation of central control, the challenge faced by Vietnam has been the maintenance of rapid economic growth and integration into the global economy. B. â€Å"P.E.S.T.L.E† REPORT ON VIET NAM 1. Politics The Socialist Republic of Vietnam is a single-party state. Its current state constitution, which replaced the 1975 constitution in April 1992, asserts the central role of the Communist Party of Vietnam in all organs of government, politics and society. In 2011, Viet Nam held the 11th Congress of Vietnam Communist Party, in which happened the Election of the Party Central Committee for the new term. Mr. Nguyen Phu Trong was elected to be the General Secretary. After the Congress, there happened the fist Congress of the Parliament, term 13th, in which Mr. Nguyen Sinh Hung was elected to be the President of the Parliament, Mr. Truong Tan Sang the President of the Country, and Mr. Nguyen Tan Dung was elected to continue the position of Prime Minister. This Congress also issued 4 degrees: first, approving the State Budget, second, agreeing on the program of building laws and ordinances in2012, third, beginning the study of the amendments and supplements of the 1992 Constitution and establ ishing the revised draft of the 1992 Constitution, and finally, the degree on the issuance of certain additional tax measures to remove difficulties for enterprises and individuals, contributing to economic development in 2011. In 2011, the disputes over the East Sea was the main cause of some changes in relations between Vietnam and some important countries in the world, especially the  Vietnam China and Viet Nam U.S. Tension in the East Sea has escalated due to Chinas provocative acts in May, 2011. Then happened many anti-Chinese protests in Ha Noi and Ho Chi Minh city. In this context, the relation between Viet Nam and the U.S was proclaimed to be elevated to strategic partnership.4 And late 2011, the tensions in the Vietnam-China relations down to the visit by the senior officials of the two countries. In terms of politically domestic policy, the government kept a political stability, and showed some positive signs. For example, the freedom of the press seemed to be extended. In addition, the government was also more aware of its limitations and of the policy mistakes. Concretely, at the Fourth Conference of the Party Central Committee (XI), Mr. Nguyen Phu Trong said: ―Besides the achievements, the Party building work still has many limitations and shortcomings, weaknesses, even spanning multiple defects; these limitations would reduce peoples trust in the Party; if not corrected, they will be the challenge for leadership of the Party and the survival of the regime. 2. Economy The year of 2011 was important for the economy of Viet Nam because this is the first year in the latest Socio-Economic Development Strategy (2011-2020), with the goal of becoming an industrialized and modern economy by 2020. This strategy goes on to identify the country’s key priorities to meet this ambitious target: stabilize the economy, build world-class infrastructure, create a skilled labor force, and strengthen market-based institutions. According to Vietnam Development Report (VDR) 2012, meeting these aspirations will not be easy. In fact, the country has experienced bouts of macroeconomic turbulence in recent years—double-digit inflation, depreciating currency, capital flight, and loss of international reserves—eroding investor confidence. Besides, rapid growth has revealed new structural problems. The quality and sustainability of growth remain a source of concern, given the resource-intensive pattern of growth, high levels of environmental degradation, lack of diversification and value addition in exports, and the declining contribution of productivity to growth. Vietnam’s competitiveness is under threat because the power  generation has not kept pace with demand, logistical costs and real estate prices have climbed, and skill shortages are becoming more widespread. And these difficulties strongly existed in 2011. Concretely, the inflation in 2011 was 18.13%; the growth of GDP has slowed (5,89%). Domestic and international gold price gap increased. The Corruption index 2011 from Transparency International ranked Viet Nam at the position 112. This shows that Viet Nam has been faced one of the most difficult challenges of economic development. In terms of financial, according to the document of World Bank, in 2011, foreign direct investment inflows (to Viet Nam) continued at a steady pace, although new commitments declined. International reserves increased in the first half of the year while the Vietnamese dong benefitted from a period of relative calm. In the last quarter of the year, however, exchange rate fluctuations increased due to volatility in gold prices, deepening uncertainties and the seasonal increase in demand for foreign currency as the year end approaches. With approximate 9 billion U.S. dollars, the amount of money coming from overseas Vietnamese was one of the biggest sources of foreign currency in 2011. This amount is equivalent to the amount of FDI. Hong Kong, Singapore, and Japanese are the countries that contributed the biggest investment to Viet Nam in 2011. Hai Duong, Ho Chi Minh city, and Ha Noi are three places that has been most invested in recent time. The sectors that most attract the attention of foreign investors are processing industry, electricity supply, and accommodation and dining service. However, according to the analysis of a chief economist, Dr. Allan Pham, though facing the difficulties as mentioned above, the economy is coming to a better prospect in 2012, especially with a certain success in the fight against inflation of the country (the inflation has been trending down since the 4th quarter of 2011). Following is the figure of the selected macro indicators of the economy in recent years: Key Indicators 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 GDP growth (%) 8.5 6.2 5.3 6.78 5.8 6.0 CPI (%) 12.6 23 6.52 11.75 18.0 12-14 Trade deficit (USD) 12.5 17.8 12.2 12.4 12.1 13.3 Exports (USD) 48.4 62.5 56.6 71.6 80.2 86.5 Imports (USD) 60.8 80.3 68.8 84.0 92.4 99.8 FDI commitments (USD) 21.3 66.5 21.5 18.6 15.0 18.0 FDI disbursement (USD) 8.0 11.5 10.0 11.0 12.0 12.5 Credit growth (%) 54 21 37.7 27.6 15 18 SBV Base rate 8.2 8.5 8.0 9.0 9.0 9.0 Deposit rate (%) 7.0-8.0 7.0-8.5 9.5-10.5 10.0- 11.0 14 12.0 Lending rate (%) 10.0-12.0 10-12.5 10.5-12 13.0-13.5 18-20 14-16 USD/VND (bank rate) 16,016 17,468 18,600 19,500 21,500 22,500 Foreign Affairs At present, Vietnam has established diplomatic relations with 168 countries, and it has economic and trading relations with about 165 countries. Vietnam joined the United Nations in 1977. Vietnam became an official member of the Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) in 1995, and has concluded a cooperation agreement with the European Community. Relationships with multi-national financial institutions such as the World Bank (WB), the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the Asian Development Bank (ADB) have been re-established. Viet Nam has been participating in the ASEAN Free Trade Area (â€Å"AFTA†) since 1996 and became a member of the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation Forum (APEC) in 1998. Vietnam became an official member of the World Trade Organization (WTO) on 11 January 2007. In January 2008, the country started a two year term as an elected non-permanent member of the UN Security Council. Vietnam signed the bilateral trade agreement (BTA) with the United Sta tes in 2000. Besides aspects of international trade, the BTA covers a variety of other areas, including intellectual property rights, trade in services, development of investment relations, business  facilitation and the obligation to ensure transparency of laws and regulations. The BTA essentially constitutes a commitment by both countries to open their markets to each other. Intellectual Property In recent years, the Government has taken various measures to increase the legal protection of intellectual property and has created an environment of respect for intellectual property as compared to other neighboring countries. Intellectual property rights are protected by the Civil Code (1995 and 2005), the Law on Intellectual Property (2005) and a host of subordinate legislation. Vietnam is a long-time signatory to the Paris Convention, the Madrid Agreement on International Trademark Registration, and the Patent Cooperation Treaty (â€Å"PCT†) and became a member of the World Intellectual Property Organization in 1976. On 27 June 1997, Vietnam entered into an Agreement on copyrights with the US. According to the Viet Nam-US Bilateral Trade Agreement, Vietnam is under the obligation to adhere to the Berne Convention. The National Office of Intellectual Property (â€Å"NOIP†) is the authority responsible for the registration of industrial property and for the resolutio n of disputes with regard to industrial property in the first instance. Foreign organizations and individuals seeking to register their industrial ownership should file their applications through an authorized agent, who will transfer their application to the NOIP. The Office of Copyright Protection under the Ministry of Culture, Sport and Tourism has also been established and is responsible for the protection of copyright. Works may be registered with the Office of Copyright Protection; however, registration is not a prerequisite for copyright protection. Currently, patents are protected for a period of 20 years. A certificate of utility solutions may be granted for 10 years. A certificate of industrial design is granted for 5 years and may be renewed every 5 years. However, the total effective period of a certificate cannot exceed 15 years. Certificates of trademarks are granted for 10 years with no restrictions on the number of renewals. Investment Guarantees The Government of Vietnam guarantees fair treatment for investors. Capital and other legal assets of investors will not be expropriated or confiscated by law or administrative measures and businesses with foreign-invested  capital will not be nationalized. Foreign investors are allowed to remit abroad investment capital and profits, loan principal and interest, and other legal proceeds and assets. Expatriates working for businesses with foreign-invested capital or for a business cooperation contract are permitted to remit their income abroad. The Vietnam government respects intellectual and industrial property rights and the interests of foreign investors relating to technology transfers into Vietnam. Economic Risks Global Finance Crisis is the hottest issues that people discuss most in this few years. The global financial crisis that started from the United States raises a very broad impact to Vietnam. Inflation Inflation has been in double digits since 2007 and peaking at 28% in August 2008. The fiscal deficit accounted for 4.5-5% GDP in 2008 while trade deficit reached US$17.5 billion (or over 20% of GDP), a level that signals vulnerability to a sudden drop in external demand (Figure 2). A high rate of investment combined with a sizeable fiscal deficit resulted in rapid growth in aggregate demand in the first half of 2008. Massive capital inflows generated asset price inflation, especially in real estate and land prices. Export Decline Vietnamese exports have suffered the strongest negative impact. With economic problems in the US, EU and Japan, which together account for more than 60% of Vietnamese exports, Vietnam saw a significant decline in export revenues. Vietnam’s export revenues fell 6.5% in November 2008 and a further 24% drop in January 2009 (year-on-year) (Figure 3). Orders for manufactured exports including garments, footwear and furniture dropped quickly, while seafood5 producers are also under pressure. The decline of orders has caused great difficulties for exporting companies, many of them are at risk of closing down.6 Vietnamese exports’ growth is forecasted to decline from 30% in 2008 to 13% in 2009. Unemployment Unemployment has worsened. At February 28, 2009, 66,700 workers (out of 45 million workers) lost their jobs in 2008 with national unemployment rate of 4.65%. Thus, it is estimated that over 80,000 workers lost their jobs  nationwide in 2008. The latest forecast of Vietnam Labor and Employment Agency estimates the figure to hit 400,000 nationwide in 2009. Job cuts are rising especially in big cities11 with industrial, processing and exporting zones. The situation may worsen in 2009 with an unemployment rate of 5% and at a projected economic growth of 6.5%. High unemployment has already affected domestic demand and consumers’ sentiment in Vietnam, which are bearish in recent months. 3. Socio-Culture 3.1 Education Viet Nams population enjoys a relatively high standard of education. In fact, Confucian ethics has strongly influenced upon Vietnamese’s viewpoint of social values, and education has always been considered as one of the best values that a person should desire to achieve. Nowadays, education has been still considered as one of the most important issues that the country has to pay great attention. Recently, at the 11th Party Congress, the government is determined to develop a national education policy as one of the priorities of the country. As a result, the country has gained big success in education. Concretely, according to the 2009 Census results, there are only nearly four million people who have never attended school (5.0% of the total population aged 5 years and over) and as compared with the 1999 Census this number has decreased 5% (6.9 million people, account for 10.0% of population aged 5 and over). This shows the significant progress of Vietnam’s education sect or in minimizing the number of people who never go to school. The official figures also point out that the literacy rate for the population aged 15 years and over increased by 3.7% (from 90.3% in 1999 to 94.0% in 2009). The female literacy rate increased 4.9%, while the male literacy rate increased 2.2%, significantly narrowing the literacy rate gap between men and women. Ha Noi, Hai Phong and Ho Chi Minh City are three provinces having the highest literacy rate (97.9%) while Lai Chau has the lowest (59.4%). This data shows that the literacy rate was not only increased quite rapidly but also express successes of Vietnam’s gender equality work in the education sector.13 Certainly, besides such successes, Vietnamese education system also has faced many challenges,  including poor infrastructure, lack of equipment and teaching materials, low wages precipitating an acute shortage of skilled teachers and academic staff, a relatively poor linkage of higher education with research, production and employment, and some contradictions of the system. As the analysis of RFA, the situation of education in Viet Nam in 2011 had some notable points as following: There were three positive points of the education in Vietnam in 2011. The first point is the plan of reducing the load of textbooks from primary to secondary school of the Ministry of Education and Training. The second is the plan of achieving universal preschool education for children of 5 years old. In this plan, the Ministry of Education will build public kindergartens for children at age 5 in the mountainous areas; and the poor students will be exempt from tuition fees, with the plan of over 95% of children enroll in 2 sessions / day by 2015. And the third is the policy of training and vocational training in poor areas such as the Highlands. On the contrary, there were also many crucially negative points of the education in 2011. First of all, there was the imbalance in enrollment in universities and colleges between students with practical needs. The sectors of social sciences, agriculture, forestry and fishery were registered by only 2.5% of exam registration records (while Vie tnam has up to 70% of the population are farmers). And the sectors in demand such as business, tourism had to be encountered the difference between training and recruitment practices; and this leads to the fact that graduates get difficulty to find job. Secondly, teacher’s salary does not meet their living when inflation is high; and this leads to some problems: the teachers could not focus on their business as they had to find extra jobs, or to open extra classes. Thirdly, there has existed the problem of the degradation in social ethics of many students, due to lack of paying attention on humanity teaching, which can be proved by many cases of students committed violent guilty or crime. 3.2 Human Resource The national average population in 2011 estimated 87.84 million, up by 1.04% compared to 2010, including male population 43.47 million, (49.5%), and female population 44.37 million, (50.5%). Urban population is 26.88 million,  (30.6%); rural population is 60.96 million (69.4 %). According to the official report, the population structure by age in Vietnam is in a positive change. The population in the working age is 46,48 million, increased 0,12% compared to 2010. The proportion of workers in the agriculture, forestry and fisheries declined from 48.7% in 2010 to 48.0% in 2011; in industry and construction rose from 21.7% to 22.4%; and in the services maintained at 29.6%. The unemployment rate in the working age was 2.27% in 2011, of which the urban areas account for 3.6%, the rural areas 1.71%. This is the period of the country with advantages in labor force, also known as the demographic window period, which began in 2003 and may last from 30 to 50 years. This is considered as a bi g advantage for the industrialization and modernization of the country, if it takes advantage of the superiority Vietnamese on the labor force. 3.3 Traffic: Conditions And Problems Highway system The road system consists of over 200,000 km network including over 10,000 bridges. However road conditions are not ideal, less than half of the national highways have two lanes or more. In addition, road congestion is increasing in major cities. In recent years, the Government has mobilized a significantly large amount of capital to upgrade the highway system with financial support from international lending agencies. Railway The rail network consists of about 2,600 km of single–track line covering several routes. There are about 260 stations in the network. The longest and most important route is the Hanoi – Ho Chi Minh City line, which stretches for 1,730 km. This line is now serviced by an express train, which makes the journey in approximately 29.5 hours. The lines connecting Vietnam to China were re-opened a few years ago. Inland Waterways Often overlooked by foreign investors, the inland waterway system offers a cheap and flexible mode of transport. Vietnam has more than 2,300 rivers and canals with total length of 198.000 km. Currently, the inland waterway has a system of over 61,000 km. The two major inland waterway systems serve as major transportation outlets. The first major inland waterway system is in  the Red River area in the north which stretches for approximately 2,500 km. Along this system there are five main ports, of which Hanoi is the largest. The second major inland waterway extends 4,500 km along the Mekong River and its tributaries in the South and boasts about 30 ports, including Ho Chi Minh City. The larger river vessels are tug-drawn barges. Official estimates put the fleet capacity at about 420,000 tons with speeds ranging from 2 to over 20 km an hour. Smaller, wooden barges are mostly privately owned. Ports Vietnam has eleven major seaports. Ho Chi Minh City serves most of the South and now boasts modern container loading facilities. Just a few hours’ drive from Hanoi, Hai Phong serves much of the North. Given the rapid rise in trade volume, increasing port capacity is a national priority. Airports and Civil Aviation There are three international airports: Ho Chi Minh City, Hanoi and Da Nang. Currently, the Government has significantly upgraded international airports to handle the increase in the volume of traffic associated with Vietnams invigorated economy. A new international terminal of the Tan Son Nhat airport in Ho Chi Minh City, capable of handling up to 10 million passengers a year was opened in December 2007. Noi Bai airport in Hanoi was upgraded, enlarged and completed for operation in 2002, construction of a second terminal is expected to start in October 2008 and completed in two years. Four new international airports are planned to be constructed in Phu Quoc, Dong Nai, Lao Cai and Quang Ninh provinces. Preparations for the new Long Thanh International Airport, 40 kilometers from Ho Chi Minh City in Dong Nai province is underway. The airport is scheduled to open in 2010 and by 2015 it will be further expanded to reach an annual transportation capacity of 80 to 100 million passengers, becoming one of the biggest airports in the region. In addition, there are 16 other domestic airports around the country. Culture and Social Vietnam is a country located in Southeast Asia, Vietnam is a culturally rich country whose distinct history played a role in the development of the modern day state. Vietnamese practices of Confucianism and showing reverence towards ancestors are evidence of China’s historical influence on Vietnamese  society. Vietnam became an independent state in the tenth century but was colonized by the French in the mid 1800s. Vietnam gained independence in the mid twentieth century but still retains traces of French culture which are visible in the way people communicate verbally and nonverbally. Though Vietnam has struggled over the past century through colonial rule, the Vietnam War and recent economic upheavals, it is now rebuilding itself to be able to compete on a global scale. Having a comprehensive understanding of Vietnam’s unique cultural values and traditions can allow the company to develop strong and successful business relationships with Vietnamese counterparts. Language Vietnamese is the official language, although there are distinct northern, central and southern dialects and accents. It is a tonal language, with each syllable; there are six different tones that can be used, which change the definition and it often makes it difficult for foreigners to pick up the language. There are other languages spoken as well such as Chinese, Khmer, Cham and other languages spoken by tribes inhabiting the mountainous regions. Although there are some similarities to Southeast Asian languages, such as Chinese, Vietnamese is thought to be a separate language group, although a member of the Austro-Asiatic language family. In written form, Vietnamese uses the Roman alphabet and accent marks to show tones. This system of writing called â€Å"quoc ngu†, was created by Catholic missionaries in the 17th century to translate the scriptures. Eventually this system, particularly after World War I, replaced one using Chinese characters (chu nom), which had been the u nofficial written form used for centuries. Non-verbal communication For certain feelings, Vietnamese people favor non-verbal communication. Vietnamese do not express feeling of thankfulness of apology in verbal communication, but non-verbal through silence or a smile. The proper respectful behavior is to avoid eye contact when talking to person who is not equal status or of the same gender. The smile is another non-verbal symbol conveying the feeling of respect in Vietnamese culture. It is used as an expression of apology, or as expression of embarrassment. For the Vietnamese a smile is a proper response in most situation in which verbal expression is not necessary, or appropriate. Confucianism The teachings of Confucius influence the Vietnamese describe the position of the individual in Vietnamese society. Confucian teachings emphasize the importance of relationships, responsibility and obligation. This philosophy is still a vital component of Vietnamese society and is prevalent in Vietnamese business culture in conserving the harmony of the collective good. The basic tenets are based upon five different relationships: Ruler and subject Husband and wife Parents and children Brothers and sisters Friends Hierarchy As like other group-oriented societies, Vietnam hierarchical structures are very much based upon age and status. This derives from Confucianism, which emphasizes social order. Everyone is seen as having a distinct place and role within the hierarchical structure, be it the family or workplace. An obvious example is seen in social situations where the oldest person in a group is greeted or served first. Within the family the head would be responsible for making decisions and approving marriages. Therefore companies that want to invest in Vietnam are made sense to give more authority to local managers to control the subordinates. The organization structure can be designed as hierarchical, with power derived from prestige, force, and inheritance. Collectivism Vietnam is a collectivist society in which the needs of the group are often placed over the individual. Family and community concerns will almost always come before business or individual needs. Family in particular plays an important role in Vietnamese society. You will notice that close ties between extended families and communities can have a major influence on individual behavior and oftentimes there are multiple generations living under one roof. For this reason, the company of the investor can pay more attention to their employees’ family members for example provide free medical treatment, childcare leave, family trips, etc. This can increase the employees’ loyalty to the company. Besides, in order to increase efficiency of Vietnamese employees, the company should assign tasks to them by group rather than individual. Religion Religion in Vietnam is closely related to the history of Vietnam and most importantly the culture of Vietnam. The earliest established religions in Vietnam were Mahayana Buddhism, Confucianism and Daoism (called the ‘triple religion’). These religions have been co-existing in the country for centuries and mixed well with the Vietnamese tradition of ancestor worship. This special mix explains why the Vietnamese people find it hard to say exactly which religion the belong to. They usually classify themselves as non-religious, despite visiting religious temples several times every year. At the year 2006, the major religious affiliations amongst Vietnam born people were Buddhism (58.6%), Catholics (22.1%), other (4.6%), and no religion (11.03%). From the data, we were found that Buddhism, Confucianism and Daoism have greatly affected the Vietnamese’s behavior. The foreign investors should take note there are quite a large number of vegetarian in Vietnam, because of th e Buddhism religion. Food of Vietnamese Food is a very important part of Vietnamese culture. The Vietnamese not only enjoy eating but believe eating good food can bring harmony and closeness to the family and relationships. The types of foods are chosen to bring luck and these vary from province to province. Buying daily for fresh food is essential for all Vietnamese cooking. In general, Vietnamese people are not as concerned about nutrition as Westerner. They are more concerned with the quality of the foods. Concepts of Time Like most Asians, the Vietnamese have a more extended concept of time than that of most Americans. The agrarian nature of their traditional society focuses on seasons rather than days or weeks. And this tradition is reinforced by the Confucian tradition of respect for earlier generations. Americans measure time by the clock, Vietnamese by the monsoon. Although this is changing somewhat, Vietnamese can still be expected to take a longer view of time and be suspicious of the need for urgency in making decisions  or culminating a business deal. Patience remains the ultimate Confucian virtue in personal life as well as in business. Personal Relationships In Vietnam, propriety and courtesy play a major role in personal relationships. Vietnamese are generally more interpersonally formal than are Americans. This formality decreases the uncertainty surrounding interpersonal contacts in Vietnamese society and is carried over into the business realm for the same reasons. During initial meetings with Vietnamese officials, you can expect little real business to be accomplished. The Vietnamese will concentrate on getting to know youyour background, your expertise, your character. In their high-context communication culture, they will depend heavily on non-verbal clues to assess meaning. By becoming acquainted and establishing a personal relationship with you, they are merely trying to understand you better. Vietnamese society is comprised of an interconnected network of personal relationships, all of which carry obligations on both sides. These mutual obligations are the underpinnings of social order in Vietnam, so they are taken very serious ly. Americans need to understand and be sensitive to the serious nature of what may seem to them to be casual business relations. Failure to do so could easily result in a loss of trust or credibility, with obvious implications for longer-term relationships. 4. Technology In terms of technology, Viet Nam is a rapidly developing country. The year 2011 was the beginning of the strategic plan of economic and social development, period 2011-2020, in which infrastructural building is considered as one of main targets. With this plan, the country has been building many expressways and will let the local transport network be eventually upgraded to meet the requirements of rural industrialization and modernization, and connect itself with the national system. In addition, the above plan also includes a project which will work to narrow its scientific and technological gap with the world in some key fields by 2020. To launch this project, the Government will give top priority to enhancing the competence of scientists and related managers while encouraging the organization of training courses partnered with foreign competent partners. According to the project, the Government will focus on scientific and technological renovation to sharpen the competitive edge of local products and assisting businesses to purchase patents in some prioritized areas: biotechnology, information technology, new materials technology Nano technology , manufacturing technology and automation. 5. Legislation The communist party-controlled government of Vietnam has ruled under four state constitutions. The first was promulgated in 1946, the second in 1959, the third in 1980, and the current in 1992 (amended in 2001). Significantly, each bore the mark of its time. On paper, all these constitutions seem to establish a solid democracy. In fact, the purpose of the 1946 constitution was essentially to provide the communist regime with freedom of speech, the press, and assembly. The second constitution was explicitly communist in character. Its preamble described the Democratic Republic of Vietnam as a peoples democratic state led by the working class, and the document provided for a nominal separation of powers among legislative, executive, and judicial branches of government. The 1980 Constitution concentrates power in a newly established Council of State much like the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet, endowing it nominally with both legislative and executive powers. Many functions of the legi slature remain the same as under the 1959 document, but others have been transferred to the executive branch or assigned to both branches concurrently. The executive branch appears strengthened overall, having gained a second major executive body, the Council of State, and the importance of the National Assembly appears to have been reduced accordingly. The role of the Council of Ministers, while appearing on paper to have been subordinated to the new Council of State, in practice retained its former primacy. Having inherited the previous constitutions with substantial and basic changes, on the one hand, the 1992 Constitution continues reaffirming the basic principles in the constitutional history of Vietnam. First, it reiterates the target of socialist construction in Vietnam and the popular nature of the State. Second, the 1992 Constitution continues affirming the Communist Party of Vietnam’s leadership over the State and the society.  Third, it continues affirming the mechanism of State powers performed by the people through the National Assembly and the People’s Councils, the organization and operation of the State under the principle of concentrated powers; the concentration of State powers uniformly into the National Assembly with the division of responsibility among State bodies for the exercise of the legislative power, executive power and judicial power. On the other hand, the 1992 Constitution sees big changes: Vietnam decided to take economic renewal as the cent ral task, First, building the multi-sector and multi-ownership market economy along the socialist orientation. open-door policy and international economic integration. In reality, however, final authority on all matters rested with the Political Bureau; especially, the guarantees provided by the constitutions for freedom of speech, the press, and assembly has been never intended to be carried out. The constitutions eventually show its limitations since Vietnam has joined the stream of globalization, especially in the field of human rights and land-ownership law. In a report made public at the Conference on the Rule of law for human rights in the ASEAN region held by the Human Rights Resource Centre for ASEAN (HRRCA) in Jakarta, Indonesia on 30 April 2011, Mr. Vo Van Ai, President of Que Me: Action for Democracy in Vietnam and the Vietnam Committee for Human Rights called on Vietnam to urgently reform its legal system and bring domestic legislation into line with international human rights laws. Mr. Vo Van Ai declared: ―36 years after the end of the Vietnam War, the rule of law exists only in theory in Vietnam. The government has incorporated human rights into its 1992 Constitution. Yet it has also adopted a whole arsenal of Laws, Decrees, Ordinances and Decisions which restrict or even nullify the exercise of these rights, in total violation of the UN Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) to which Vietnam adhered in 1982â€â€". At the beginning of the New Year 2012 (Jan 1, 2012), there happened The Tien Lang land withdrawal case: in Tien Lang district (on the outskirts of Haiphong, a port city east of Hanoi) a fish farmer, Doan Van Vuong, and his family had resisted a large force moving in to enforce an eviction order. With an improvised mine and muskets bought on the black market, they’d wounded two soldiers and four policemen, including the local police chief. Prime  Minister Nguyen Tan Dung himself had to meet the Haiphong City authorities to resolve the case; and finally came to the conclusion on Feb 2 that the Haiphong government was absolutely wrong in the case; and he ordered the Haiphong City authorities to review their wrong works as and repair the situation. This case is just one among so many cases that show matters association with the land law. And this shocked case has raised the question of reforming the land law, which has been ambiguously claimed by the constitution as ―land is possessed by the whole peopleâ€â€". Mr. Dang Hung Vo, former Deputy Minister of Natural Resources and Environment, comments that ―it’s possible to see the recent incident at Tien Lang as a climactic demonstration of the faults in our Land Law and how it is implemented at the local level. A good farmer, pure, simple and hardworking, who’s driven to defend his right to his land with home-made weapons – what misery! Everybody believes that there’s such a thing as justice and that the law ensures it. Certainly that’s what the farmers who built the fish ponds at Tien Lang believed. They went to the court expecting fair play, but the simple truths they understood proved elusive. The hopelessness of their situati on drove them to take desperate measures. As mentioned above, the 11th Congress of Vietnam Communist Party held in 2011 issued four degrees; and one of them is beginning the study of the amendments and supplements of the 1992 Constitution and establishing the revised draft of the 1992 Constitution. This is urgent and necessary for the development of the country. 6. Environment Viet Nam is blessed by the nature, with a great ecological and hydrological diversity. The country is made up of equatorial lowlands, high, temperate plateaus and cooler mountainous areas. It lies in the inter-tropical zone and local conditions vary from frosty winters in the far northern hills to the year-round subequatorial warmth of the Mekong Delta. At sea level, the mean annual temperature is about 27 °C in the south, falling to about 21 °C in the far north. Geographically, it stretches over 1600km (1000mi) along the eastern coast of the Indochinese Peninsula; and has two main cultivated areas, that are the Red River Delta (15,000 sq km/5400 sq mi) in the north  and the Mekong Delta (60,000 sq km/23,400 sq mi) in the south. Vietnam also has diverse wildlife, with rare and precious fauna such as elephants, rhinoceros, tiger, leopard, black bear, snub-nosed monkey, crocodile and turtle. Forest area accounts for 2% of total forests in East Asia and Pacific. Fish catch is amon g the 10 highest countries in the world, with 1,451,800 tons per year. However, as the report of the World Bank on the environment in Viet Nam, ―Rapid economic growth in Vietnam over the last ten years, and its associated industrialization, urbanization, as well as increased exploitation of natural resources, has created significant pressures for the environment.â€â€"35 For example, the diverse wildlife is in precipitous decline because of the destruction of habitats, illegal hunting and pollution. In fact, Viet Nam Rhino was officially extinct in 2011. One of the most obvious examples for illustrating the environmental pollution is the phenomenon of getting narrowed of the lakes in Ha Noi. According to the Hanoi Construction Department, there are 111 ponds and lakes in Hanoi which cover a total area of 1165 hectares. The total area of lakes has decreased sharply during the urbanization, while a lot of them have disappeared. It is estimated that 80% of the lakesides have got polluted, 71% of lakes have suffered from pollution, 26% of the lakes still do not have embankments, while 8% of lakes have partial embankments. Environmentalists have called on to take urgent actions to protect the remaining lakes, or they would also disappear one day. Vietnam is among the countries that can be seriously affected by climate change. And the fact shows that the increasing deterioration of environmental conditions is emerging as a barrier to growth and development in recent years. In fact, according to the General Statistics Office, domestic natur al disasters occurred in 2011 has made 257 people dead and missing, 267 wounded; nearly 1.2 thousand houses collapsed and swept away; 391.8 thousand houses were submerged or damaged; more than 760 km of dykes, and the 680 km road motorized traffic bursts, landslides; 867 power poles broken or poured; nearly 54,000 hectares of rice and vegetables has been lost; more than 330,000 hectares of rice crops were flooded or damaged. Total value of damage caused by natural disasters in 2011 was estimated at over 10 trillion VND. Thus, this is really a big challenge of the country; and it needs a national and urgent action to prevent an ecological and hydrological catastrophe. C. BRIEF CONCLUSION With the aforementioned analysis of ―P.E.S.T.L.Eâ€â€", we see that in 2011, on the one hand, Viet Nam constantly attempted to keep its strategic plan of development, and also has obtained some important goals; on the other hand, the country had to face many difficulties and challenges which came both from outside and from inside. In my opinion, there are some main issues that the government should pay great attention in the coming years: reforming the education system, fighting against corruption (especially, promoting fiscal transparency and the public availability of economic data and information), reforming the state-owned sectors, amending laws, narrowing the gap between the Kinh, the Hoa and the ethnic minority groups, and improving environmental conditions.

Understanding The Purpose Of Interval Training Physical Education Essay

Understanding The Purpose Of Interval Training Physical Education Essay Interval training involves a repeated series of exercise work bouts interspersed with rest of relief periods. This is a popular method among athletes because it allows the athlete to exercise at higher relative intensities during the work interval than are possible with longer-duration, continuous training (Heyward 2002). The intensity can vary from between all out to greater than competition intensity. Recovery periods can be from considerably less than the preceding work bout to complete recovery (recovery can be active or inactive). The duration can last from a few seconds to many minutes. The number of work bouts can obviously be from 2 to possibly 100 or more. Interval training is geared towards and dictated by the physiological variable-maximum oxygen consumption. With this in mind it might be more appropriate to refer to this type of training as vo2 max or aerobic capacity training since one trains at or very near the intensity which demands vo2 max of the system (Daniels and Scardina, 1984). Interval training can be referred to in a number of different ways. Fox (1977) refers to two types of interval training, low power output interval training (LPO-IT) and high power output interval training (HPO-IT). HPO-IT involves exercise and pause periods of less than one minute. Gibala and mcgee (2008) refer to High intensity training (HIT). This generally refers to repeated sessions of relatively brief intermittent exercise often performed with an all out effort or at an intensity close to that which elicits VO2 peak (i.e >90% of vo2 peak). Depending on the training intensity, a single effort may last from a few seconds to up to several minutes with multiple efforts separated by up to a few minutes of rest or low intensity exercise (Gibala and McGee, 2008). Minimum volume of HIT may be necessary to increase VO2 peak and stimulate other adaptations such as an increase capacity for fat oxidation. On the other hand Astrand and Rodahl (1977) say that exercise bouts lasting 3-5 minutes each are the longest recommended and are considered optimum for training aerobic processes. The purpose of high intensity training is to repeatedly stress the physiological systems that will be used during specific endurance type exercise (Daniels and Scardina 1984) to a greater extent than which is actually required during a specific activity. At any level of exercise, duration frequency, programme length or initial fitness, intensity was the most important factor in producing improvements in aerobic power (Wenger and bell, 1986). Interval training in the highly trained athlete Landree (1997), lake and cavanagh (1996) and costill et al (1988) all report that an additional increase in submaximal exercise doesnt appear to further improve endurance performance and associated factors such as VO2 max, anaerobic threshold, econonmy of motion and oxidative muscle enzymes. In highly trained individuals further improvements in performance can only occur via high intensity interval training (Landree 1997). Interval training in the sedentary and recreationally active It is generally believed that in sedentary (VO2 max 60 ml/kg/min) (Rowell 1993, ekblom 1969). In contrast to this a study by Hickson et al (1977) found that the vo2 max of eight sedentary and recreationally active people could be significantly increased after to 10 weeks of high intensity exercise training using cycling intervals. Lauresen and Jenkins (2002) also report improved endurance performance. They reported that high intensity interval training in sedentary and recreationally active individuals improves endurance performance more than continuous sub maximal training alone. This improvement appears due to an up regulated contribution of both aerobic and anaerobic metabolism to the energy demand (Rodas et al 2000, MacDougall 1998). This could also be due to an improved capacity for aerobic metabolism through the increase in type 1 muscle fibres (Linossier et al 1993), cappiliristaion and oxidative enzyme activity.(Macdougall et al 1998, Essen et al 1977, chilibeck et al 1998). These adaptations are the most common due to High intensity interval training in untrainined or modertaley active. Holoszy and booth (1976) and Holoszy and Coyle (1984) report that submaximal endurance training has little or no effect on gylcolytic enzyme activity whereas supramaximal high intensity training can elicit up regulation of both glycolytic and oxidative enzyme capacity, maximal short term power but most importantly can increase VO2 max in an untrainined individual. Studies supporting increases in V02 max with interval training Studies have shown that 6-12 weeks of moderate intensity exercise can increase aerobic capacity and mitochondrial enzyme activity (gollnick et al 1973, hickson et al 1977) but sprint interval training at very high outputs (150-300% VO2 peak) for 6-7 weeks also produces similar results (Macdougall et al 1998, Rodas et al 2000, Tabata et al 1996) Tabata et al (1996) carried out a study involving 7-8 sets of 20 second high intensity exercise (170% of VO2 max) with 10 seconds rest between intervals. Post tests revealed a significant increase in VO2 max of 7ml.kg.min. This study concluded that adequate high intensity intermittent training may improve both anaerobic and aerobic energy systems significantly through imposing intensive stimuli on both systems. Fox (1973) and (1977) compared low power output training compared to high power output training. It observed no differences in Vo2 max gain with low power output training versus high power output training. This suggested that in long exercise repeats oxygen transport demands would be greater with vo2 max achieved in each exercise phase while in sprint repeats the high intensity may result in greater muscle hypoxia stimulating adaptations in muscle oxidative capacity. HIIT over a longer period of time (4-6wk) has been reported to increase high-intensity exercise performance, muscle buffering capacity, whole body exercise fat oxidation rates, and aerobic capacity (Edge et al 2005, Laursen and Jenkins 2002, Weston et al 1997) Talanian et al (2007) found that after 2 weeks of high intensity aerobic intervak training vo2 peak increased by 13%. Rodas et al (2000) conducted a study to evaluate the changes in aerobic and anaerobic metabolism produced by a newly devised short training programme. The training involved fourteen training sessions everyday for two weeks. Training consisted of a number of 15 second all out sprints with 45 second rest and also a number of 30 second all out sprints with 12 minute rest periods. The participants involved were moderately active individuals. Results found an increase in vo2 peak pre and post training from 57.3 +2.6 to 63.8 + 3.0 ml.min.kg following a progressive exercise test. Macdougall et all 1998 conducted a study involving 30 second maximum sprint effort interspearsed by 2-4 minutes of recovery performed 3 times per week for 7 weeks. The program began with four intervals with four minutes recovery per session to 10 intervals with 2.5 minutes. The effect of the training program on VO2max was that it increased from 3.73 + 0.13 to 4.01 + 0.08l/min (P # 0.05). Because there were no significant changes in body mass over the training program, V O2max relative to body mass also increased significantly from 51.0 + 1.8 to 54.5 ml ·kg-1  ·min-1. Gorostiaga et al (1991) compared high intensity training, using repeated 30 second sprints with 30 second rest, to continous training at 50% of VO2 max. All participants cycled 30 minutes per day, 3 days a week for 8 weeks. Both groups were exercising at the same mean intensity. Post training incremental tests revealed an increase in VO2 max, exercising work rate and peak power more so in the high intensity training group (9-16% improvement) compared to the continous training group ( 5-7% improvement). Studies by Edge et al (2005), Laursen and Jenkins (2002) and Weston et al (1997) have found that High intensity interval training for 4-6 weeks improved high intensity exercise performance, increased muscle buffering capacity, increased whole body fat oxidation rates and also improved aerobic capacity. Gibala and Mcgee (2008) reviewed the high intensity training intervention the wingate test which involves 30 seconds of all out maximal cycling. This is also the method being used in this study. Protocols involved 4-6 wingates with 4 minutes of recovery between each one. A total of 2-3 minutes of intense exercise per session with 3 sessions per week for 2-6 weeks( Burgomaster et al 2008,2007,2006 and Gibala et al 2006 ). There was no measurable change in VO2 peak after 2 weeks of interval training wingates as the intervention. This suggests that peripheral adaptations improved exercise capacity. On the other hand studies by ( Rodas 2000 and talanian et al 2007) found increases in vo2 max after just 2 weeks of high intensity training. Bailey et al (2009) also used the wingate based model for their training intervention. Particpants performed all out 30 seconds wingate with 4 in week one progressing to 6 and 7 in week 5 and 6. Each wingate was separated by 4 minutes of rest. Post intervention testing showed a significant increase in VO2 max. Pre testing participants had a vo2 max of 3.06+ 0.60 l/min which increased post testing to 3.29+0.65 l/min. Also VO2 max increased in relative terms from 42+6 to 45+6 ml.kg.min. The other two other groups of participants one performing endurance training and the other a control group showed no increase in V02 max. Studies not showing improvement in VO2 max performance Franch et al (1998) compared the effects of a continous training programme and a high intensity training programme in recreational runners. All participants were split into three groups. The first training group was a short high intensity training group which involved 30-40 15 second runs at 20.4km/h with 15 seconds rest between intervals. The second training group involved a long high intensity training programme which was 4-6 4 minute runs at 16.6km/h with 2 minutes of inactive rest. The final group did a continous traning programme with 15km/h for 26 minutes. All groups trained three times per week for six weeks . The results of this study found that continous and long high intensity interval training improved VO2 max than short high intensity training. Burgomaster et al (2006) and (2005) used a wingate based training intervention for their study. 4-7 all out 30 second wingates were carried out over a 2 week period. Post testing revealed no significant difference in VO2 peak (p Hypothesis From reviewing previous studies and studies using similar methodology I hypothesise that VO2 max will increase in post testing. I also hypothesise that peak wattage in the incremental test will increase and also time to exhaustion. The reason for under taking this study is that I feel that other studies have looked at other factors rather than specifically focusing on VO2 max. Method Subjects 16 healthy males from the University of Exeter Rugby Union Club volunteered to participate in this study (mean age weight and height and SD). The participants were contacted via email and also verbally The subjects regularly took part in exercise, usually involving 4 training sessions a week, two being skills based and the other two being resistance sessions. Participants were asked to carry one with normal training before any testing had began and were asked to maintain their normal diet throughout the duration of the study although participants were asked to refrain from alcohol 24 hours before any testing. Ethical procedure Before any testing could be done the study had to be ethical approved by the University of Exeter School of sport and health sciences ethics board. Prior to the study all participants were informed fully about the study including all risks and all procedures involved verbally and in writing. All participants volunteered to be in the study and filled out informed consent forms in accordance with the ethics committee of the University of Exeter. Particpants were informed they had the right to withdraw from the study at any point. All results gained from the study were kept confidential and stored privately. Experimental design Subjects in the testing group were required to attend the laboratory on ten occasions over a 4 week period and control group on two occasions. All tests were separated with at least twenty four hours of recovery. All subjects undertook pre and post training incremental tests to ascertain Vo2 peak. Testing group then participated in a series of all out 30 second wingate tests over a four week training period. Screening Participants were asked to fill out a PAR-Q (a physical activity readiness questionnaire) to make sure there were no underlying medical problems. A risk factor count was also undertaken which involved blood pressure measurement using a sphygmomanometer. Particpants were weighed (in kg) and height measured (in cm) and recorded. Weight being most important as this data was need to eastablish weight applied during the wingate tests. Incremental tests Both before and after the training intervention all subjects performed ramp incremental tests to determine VO2 max. The ramp incremental tests were performed on an electronically braked cycle ergometer (Lode Excalibur Sport, Gronigen, The Netherlands). Subjects performed 3 minutes at 50 watts after which the wattage increased 1 watt every 2 seconds until volatile exhaustion. Subjects were asked to cycle at a constant rate of 80rpm. When the rpm dropped below 80rpm participants were encouraged to increase the rpm back up and the test was ended when participants reached below 70rpm. Saddle and handlebar height was adjusted to suit each subject and then recorded for future reference in post testing. Verbal encouragement was used throughout to encourage participants to last as long as physically possible to obtain accurate data. Gas exchange data was collected continuously using cortex gas analyser. VO2 max was taken from the highest value before the subjects volatile exhaustion. Heart r ate was measured minute by minute using polar heart rate monitor. After volatile exhaustion the end wattage and time at exhaustion was recorded. Training intervention After completing pre testing, the testing group performed a series of all out 30 second sprints (Wingate tests) twice a week over a four week period. The Wingate tests were performed against a resistance equivalent to 0.075kg/kg body mass on a mechanically braked cycle ergometer (model 814E bicycle ergometer, Monark, Stockholm, Sweden). All wingates were interspersed with 4 minutes rest. In week one of testing participants were asked to perform 3 Wingates interspersed with four minutes of rest twice a week. This then increased by one Wingate per week (i.e week one three wingates, week two four wingates, week three five Wingates and week four six wingates).All participants were provided with a warm up on the cycle ergometer against no resistance. Having weighed the participants the relevant weight was added to the basket. Five seconds before each Wingate participants were asked to generate high pedalling speed in order to create a rolling start for when the weight was dropped. Partici pants were told when there was 10 and 5 seconds left of the test, so they could work at their maximal capacity for the duration of the test. During the rest periods participants were asked to cycle at a low cadence against no resistance. The computer program wingate 30 provided data on peak power, mean power and fatigue rate. Verbal encouragement was given throughout the winagates to encourage maximal effort and water was provided during each rest interval. Statistical analysis All pre and post incremental gas analysis was exported to Microsoft Excel. Standard statistical equations were carried out to calculate standard deviations and averages. The data was then input into SPSS (PC program, version 16 for windows) to calculate if the training intervention has a significant effect upon VO2 max. For the analysis a 2(testing v control) x 2 (pre v post) MANOVA ( three dependant variables, vo2 ml/kg/min, VO2 l/min and peak wattage) will be used. All data is represented in mean and standard deviation. The statistical significance level is set at P Validity and reliability Validity is described as whether the researcher truly measures that which it was intended to measure or how truthful the research results are. In a scientific experiment the aim is to manipulate a independant variable to produce an outcome on a dependant variable or variables. Once the researcher can confidently say that the changes in the dependant variable have been cause by the independant variable and no other factor the experiement is said to be internally valid (Levine et al 1994). This study is a valid and reliable study and several measures have been used to make sure of this Firstly a control, group was used. The reason being that it shows that it was the intervention that caused an increase in Vo2 max and peak wattage and no other outside factor and can provide a comparison. Another measure is that all participants were told not to alter any current training regimes so this would not affect pre or post test results. Proper calibration of gas analyzer was carried out to make sure Vo2 max values were precise. Throughout the wingate tests verbal encouragement was used to ensure that participants were giving their maximum effort into the training to obtain the best results. This intervention has been carried out before and shows that it is a protocol which is reliable and valid. Results All participants completed the 4 week training intervention. Each participant reported that they did not change their current training regimes outside of the intervention which may alter the results. The data was collected and then analysed. Results show that mean VO2 max in l/min, ml/kg/min and also peak wattage increased in the testing group after the intervention. Whereas the control groups data stayed similar due to no training intervention. Table 1.0: Mean VO2 MAX ML/KG/MIN, VO2 MAX L/MIN AND PEAK WATTAGE for Testing and control group. GROUP VO2 max ml/min/kg Vo2 max l/min Peak wattage Testing PRE 45.875 3.91 383.5 POST 50.125 4.315 396.125 Control 8.5% 9.4% 3.2% PRE 49 4.040 395.5 POST 48.875 4.050 397.125 Graph 1.0: Mean VO2 ml/kg/min pre and post training of testing and control groups. After the four week wingate training intervention, Vo2 max (ml/kg/min) in relative terms increased during the incremental vo2 max test. The mean difference in the testing group from pre to post tesing was 4.25 ml/kg/min, compared to the control groups mean difference of -0.125 ml/kg/min so the control groups mean relative Vo2 max decreased. Taking into account body weight this measure can be affected over time. One participant in the testing group started off with a weight of 118kg, at the end of the programme his weight dropped to 116kg, this caused the participant to have one of the biggest increases in relative VO2 max from 32 ml/kg/min to 41 ml/kg/min. Graph 1.1: Mean VO2 max l/min pre and post training for testing and control groups. Absolute Vo2 max (l/min) also increased in the testing group during the incremental Vo2 max test following the four week intervention. The mean difference pre and post testing in the training group was 0.405 l/min increase. Whereas the control group stayed the same with a 0.01 l/min increase. Graph 1.2: Peak wattage (w) pre and post training for testing and control groups. Mean peak wattage in the incremental Vo2 max test also increased following four weeks of wingate training in the testing group. This shows that participants who took part in the training programme could last longer during the post training Vo2 max test compared to the pre testing. This meant the time to exhaustion increased in the testing group. Mean peak wattage (w) increased from 383.5w to 396.125w showing a mean increase of 12.625w in the testing group. The control groups mean post peak wattage stayed similar with a mean increase of only 1.625w which was to be expected The data gathered from pre and post incremental test was input into the statistics programme SPSS to see if the increased found were statistically significant. The statistical test used was a 22 MANOVA. This test allowed me to compare groups (control and testing) and time (pre and post) to my three dependant variables (VO2 max ml/kg/min, l/min and peak wattage). Due to the three dependant variables a multi analysis of variance (MANOVA) had to be used. Mutlivariate analysis using pillails trace showed no significant difference in group (testing and control) on the Vo2 max in ml/kg/min, l/min and peak wattage, V=0.145, F(3,26)=0.145, P>0.05. Seperate Univariate ANOVAs were carried out on each variable and revealed no significant difference in group on VO2 max ml/kg/min F(1,28)=0.134, P>0.05. No significant difference was found in group on VO2 max l/min F(1,28)=0.094, P>0.05. Also no significant difference was found in group on peak wattage F(1,28)=0.364, P>0.05. This shows there was no significant difference in testing and control groups in terms of the three variables. Multivariate analysis using pillails trace showed no significant difference in time (pre and post) on the Vo2 max in ml/kg/min,l/min and peak wattage V=0.034, F(3,26)=0.306, P>0.821. Seperate univariate ANOVAS revealed no significant difference in time on Vo2 ml/kg/min F(1,28)=0.646, P>0.05, on Vo2 l/min F(1,28)=0.437, P>0.05 and on peak wattage F(1,28)=0.903, P>0.05. This shows there was no significant difference in pre and post results of the three variables. Multivariate analysis using pillais trace showed no significant difference in group (testing and control) x time(pre and post) on Vo2 max ml/kg/min, l/min and peak wattage V=0.037, F(3,26)=0.334, P>0.05. Univariate ANOVAS revealed no significant difference of group x time on Vo2 max ml/kg/min, F(1,28)=0.727, P>0.05. No significant difference was found for group x time on Vo2 max l/min, F(1,28)=0.822, P>0.05. Also no significant difference was found for group x time on peak wattage F(1,28)=0.261, P>0.05. This shows that testing group pre and post and control pre and post results were not statistically significant. Although these results did not show statistical significance, it cannot be ignored that they did show an increase. Despite that fact that the results were not significant all three variables increased following post testing. Results still show that the 4 week training programme was successful and the desired increases in Vo2 max (ml/kg/min, l/min) and peak wattage were achieved. Vo2 max in l/min saw the highest increase after the 4 week training intervention. Vo2 max l/min increased 9.4% in the testing group which is quite a considerable considering only 4 weeks of training was undertaken. Discussion Over the 4 week training programme all sprints were carried out at a maximal intensity with participants verbally encouraged to do so. This led the testing to be very uncomfortable and severely demanding, despite this the when adding up total cycle time at maximal intensity , participants only cycled for 18 minutes over the four weeks. Despite the fact that the intervention did not prouduce statistically significant results it did show that the intervention worked and increase the three variables. . This shows that with only 18 minutes of intense cycling through wingate tests can increase Vo2 max in relative an absolute terms and peak wattage by 3-10% in an incremental vo2 max test. Analysis of the evidence and relation to previous literature These results are similar to Bailey et al (2009) who used a similar intervention to the one use in this study. Bailey et al(2009) used one more wingate per session that this study (4 in week one increasing by one each week up to 7) and 4 minutes recovery time between each wingate. Results from this study showed a similar increase in Vo2 max, Bailey et al (2009) reported an increase in Vo2 peak of 8% which compared to the increase of 8.4% (ml/kg/min) and 9.5% (l/min) is very similar. This studys training programme may have had a slightly larger increases due to the 4 week programme compared to the 2 week training programme in Bailey et als (2009) study. Studies by Macdougall et al (1998)and Burgomaster et al (2008) also have reported increases of 7-8% in Vo2 max. Madougall et al (1998) also used the wingate based intervention but over a longer duration with a 7 week training programme and with 1 more session a week than the present study. Their results found a 7% increase in absolute Vo2 max and a 6.4% increase in relative Vo2 max. This is quite interesting considering the length and amount of sessions compared to the present study. The present study produced higher values in absolute and relative Vo2 max over four weeks. Macdougall et al (1998) also went up to 10 training intervals by the end of the study. This could potentially show that optimal time to obtain training adaptations could be around 4 weeks. Burgomaster et al (2006) also used a winagte protocol as its training intervention. Thier results are similar to what is found in this study. Vo2 max did increase after the 2 week training programme but after statistical analysis is was shown that this increase was not significant which is the same in the present study. Rodas et al (2000) also showed increases in Vo2 max after a short term interval training programme constsing of a mixture of 15 seconds and 30 second all out sprints which increase in number of the two week training programme. After the traini ng programme maximal progressive test were carried out to obtain post test value of Vo2 max (ml.min.kg) and peak wattage, two of the variables being testing in this study. Results showed an increase of around 10% in Vo2 max (ml.kg.min) and a 9% increase in peak wattage in the maximal progressive test. This increase of the 2 weeks is similar to the data reported in this study. This increases the validity of the present study that two out of the three variables measured in this study are also reported in Rodas et al (2000) study. Gibala and Mcgee (2008) reviewed the wingate based training intervention with studies of 4-6 wingates per session with 4 minute rest intervals which is similar to the present study. This review also concluded no changes in Vo2 max after the training intervention in studies by burgomaster 2005, 2006. One reason being why no reported increase in Vo2 max was seen is due to the length of the training programme. Gibala and Mcgee actually report this in their review. They compare the work load of Burgomaster (2005) which they review and state that studies by rodas et al (2000) and talanian et al (2007) had a greater work load than Burgomaster (2005) which could be one reason for no change in Vo2 max. Iaia et al (2008) also showed no increase Vo2 max following a 4 week training intervention. As you can see there is mixed evidence towards the wingate based protocol as a training intervention to elicit improvements in VO2 max performance. Although some of these studies did not show increases in VO2 max, other performance based improvements occurred. For example burgomaster et al (2005,2006) showed increases in time trial performance following four weeks of wingate based interval training. Despite some evidence to the contrary and statistical analysis showing the data in this study to not be significant, the fact that percentage increases in VO2 max are very similar to what has been reported in other studies. There can be many reasons to why high intensity interval training can increase VO2 max. The wingate test can be a very demanding test and is primarily used as a measurement of anaerobic capacity, showing peak power, average power and fatigue rates. Macdougall (1998) states that oxidative metabolism has a minor contribution to the energy delivered during each wingate test, although slievert at al (1995) says that the contribution of oxidative metabolism probably increased with every interval. The fact that using a wingate test with repeated intervals, participants can reach 140-210% Vo2 max during each interval, this shows that training at intensities above Vo2 max can be more important than the volume of training and can stimulate increases in muscle oxidative pot ential (Macdougall et al 1998). Common responses to HIT in moderately active individuals is the expression of type 1 fibres, capillirisation and oxidative enzyme activity (linossier et al 2003, Mcdougall et al 1998). The recovery phase of the wingate based training programme can have an important part to play in obtaining improvements in Vo2 max and other performance parameters. Passive recovery during the rest periods between each interval has been reviewed by billat (2001), because high levels of lactate develop during interval training performed at an intensity above the lactate threshold, active recovery facilitates this removal (hermansen and stensvold 1972). This removal allows althletes to tolerate heavy work rates for longer period of time ( Billat et al 2000). The rest days between each wingate session are also important. Rodas et al (2000) found significant increases in oxidative and glycolytic enzyme activity after two weeks of sprint training but this was no change in wingate performance after only one days rest. This improves the validity my results as partipants had more than one days rest between each wingate training session. Critical evaluation of the method One factor that could affect the amount of increase in Vo2 max could be baseline levels of Vo2 max. Participants with low baseline Vo2 are going to see larger increases than participants who already have higher fitness levels. Although as I have mentioned before Landree (1997) states in highly trained individuals further improvements in performance can only occur via high intensity interval training. One major reason why the results of this study did not prove significant is the standard deviation. Participants with low baseline levels before the intervention may have showed an improvement in VO2 max and peak wattage but this improvement may still not have got them to the level of another participants baseline level. For example one participant increased their Vo2 max (ml.kg.min) from a baseline level of 39 ml.kg.min to a post intervention score of 50 ml.kg.min but this increase still did not get their Vo2 max level to the same as 4 other participants baseline. This variety in differ ent peoples Vo2 max could be a reason why significant results were not obtained. A good comparison can be made between this study and Bailey et al (2009) due to similar participants being used. Their study used young adults with a mean age of 21 SD 4 which is a similar age to the participants in this study. One factor that could have been improved in this study is a larger sample s