What Is a Kurultai (or Kuriltai)

A kuriltai is an assembly of Mongolian or Turkic clans, sometimes called a tribal council in English. Generally, a kurultai (or kuriltai) would meet for the purpose of making a major political or military decision such as the selection of a new khan or the launching of a war. Ordinarily, the nomadic Mongols and Turkic peoples lived scattered across the steppe-lands. Therefore, it was a momentous occasion when a chief called for a kurultai and was generally reserved only for great deliberations, proclamations, or celebrations of victory after a long war. Famous Examples There have been a number of these great meetings through khanate rule of Central and South Asia. In the vast  Mongol Empire, each of the ruling Hordes had separate  kuriltai since it was generally impractical to gather everyone together from across Eurasia. However, the 1206 assembly that named Temujin as Genghis Khan, meaning the Oceanic Ruler of all the Mongols, for instance, started the largest landmass empire in the history of the world. Later, Genghiss grandsons Kublai and Arik Boke held dueling kuriltai in 1259, in which both were granted the title Great Khan by their followers. Of course, Kublai Khan eventually won that contest and went on to carry his grandfathers legacy forward, continuing the spread of the Mongol Empire across much of Southeast Asia.   Originally, though, kurultai had a much simpler—if not still culturally important—as the Mongol usage. Oftentimes these gatherings were called to celebrate weddings or large events like feasts for local khanates to celebrate the year, season, or newlywed couple. Modern Kuriltai In modern usage, some Central Asian nations use the world kurultai or variants to describe their parliaments or for conferences. For example, Kyrgyzstan boasts a National Kurultai of Kyrgyz Peoples, which deals with inter-ethnic strife while Mongolias national congress is called the Great State Khural. The word kurultai comes from the Mongolian root khur, which means to gather, and ild, which means together. In Turkish, the verb kurul has come to mean to be established. In all of these roots, the modern interpretation of a gathering to determine and establish power would apply.   Although the epic kuriltai  of the Mongol Empire may long be gone from history, the tradition and the cultural impact of these large gatherings of power echo on throughout the regions history and modern governance.   These types of large cultural and political meetings didnt only serve to make huge decisions in the past, though, they also served to inspire such art and writings as J.R.R. Tolkiens about the Entmoot—a gathering of the great sentient tree-people of his epic Lord of the Rings trilogy—and even the Council of Elrond in the same series.

Pixar a System That Works - 1088 Words

When one thinks of the company Pixar, they automatically think Disney. However, this has not always been the case. Pixar was started in 1986 when Steve Jobs purchased the computer graphics department of Lucasfilms, Ltd, and renamed it Pixar. â€Å"On November 22, 1995, Pixar released its first feature film, Disney†¢Pixar s Toy Story† (Pixar.com). Since then, the company has evolved into one of the largest animation studios in the world, won 20 Oscars, and created â€Å"films that have reinvented the art of animation, captured the imagination of audiences around the world, and grossed more than $3 Million at the box office† (Taylor and LaBarre 226). Other films from the company include Monsters Inc., WALL-E, A Bug’s Life, and The Incredibles.†¦show more content†¦One of the most unique aspects of Pixar is that the company does not just encourage creativity, but also builds a company culture that is completely imagination focused. â€Å"Story art, in the form of paintings, sculptures, sketches, and collages, covers the walls and seeps into the far corners of the Pixar complex. It’s not merely ‘dà ©cor’- it’s a form of inspiration and communication,† it also serves as a â€Å"†¦ [showcase] for the ‘secret identity’ and ‘personal passions’ of Pixarians† (Taylor and LaBarre 259-260). Employees shuffle around on scooters and sakteboards, â€Å"to a [visitor], it feels like a meticulously designed movie set, as opposed to the setting for the creation of a collection of hit movies† (Taylor and LaBarre 226). Also, Pixar selects very creative people to run their company. Randy Nelson is described as an â€Å"energetic, colorful, fifty something artist and executive†¦[who] juggled knives on Broadway as a founder of the Flying Karamazov Brothers, acted in feature films, and served in the leadership ranks of Apple and Next† (Taylor and LaB arre 228). This sort of atmosphere helps to stimulate ideas and is a source of inspiration. Pixar is a place that employees want to be because they actually have fun at work, and are constantly learning. Nelson says, â€Å"We’re trying to create a culture of learning, filled with lifelong learners. It’s no trick for talented people to be interesting, but it’s a gift to beShow MoreRelatedThe Walt Disney Company and Pixar Inc. to Acquire or Not to Acquire?606 Words   |  3 PagesCompany and Pixar Inc. To Acquire or Not to Acquire? Andrii Alekseienko Corporate Strategy Case Study 18 September, 2015 The Walt Disney Company and Pixar Inc. To Acquire or Not to Acquire? To answer the main question of the case, we must think of the main problems that it faces. We need to find the solution for Bob Iger. What to do with Disney: to make some improvements in the existed company to compete better with Pixar, or to make a deal with another studio? Or should he work more withRead MoreInnovate the Pixar Way1285 Words   |  6 PagesINNOVATE THE PIXAR WAY by Bill Capodagli and Lynn Jackson Company Profile Founded: 1979 as Graphics Group, but 1986 as Pixar Founders: Ed Catmull and Alvy Ray Smith Headquarter: Emeryville, California, U.S.A. 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Personnel Management In Government Process -Myassignmenthelp.Com

Question: Discuss About The Personnel Management In Government Process? Answer: Introduction There are pressures in todays organization from several directions like increase in globalization, tough competition, rapid change in technology, new structures, organizational changes including change in hierarchies, organizational alliances, new ways of work assignment. Thus, within these conditions, organizations need the human resource department to function in a proper way which will help and assist the organization to move through the transitions swiftly. The role of the human resource is evolving recently due to the shift from the personnel to the human resources. Also, the human resources (HR) professionals play a key role in helping companies to achieve the objectives of the corporate social responsibility. Involvement of the human resource management in to the changing scenarios is a powerful tool that bring success to the organization. the world of business is persistently changing and it is bringing the with it the external and the internal changes that impact the busines s (Paill et al. 2014). The study is based on the assessing the evolving the role of the human resource in the contemporary business world. Key forces that shape the HR agenda The Human resource leader worldwide have accepted that there are top five areas that influence their human resource agendas. These five areas involve process improvement, talent acquisition, organizational culture, employee engagement, talent development. Process improvement- how the human resource professionals deliver the services to the organization? each and every concern related to the human resource can be managed by building efficient processes. Information, benefits and programs should be delivered seamlessly. Improving the processes will efficiently improve the overall functioning of the organization and at the same time enhance the employee engagement. To gain efficiency, enhanced relationship among the leaders across several businesses and better communication throughout the enterprise, a review of the internal processes is necessary. The important aspect is the implementation of the better automation along with the better human resource technology. The human resource management system or the human resource information system facilitates information technology and the human resources that are vital for the processes existing in an organization (Armstrong and Taylor 2014). Talent acquisition- acquisition of the right people for the daunting tasks when there is a shortage of the skill workforce and the market gaining the competitive edge can be very challenging. The human resource department worldwide are shifting towards a transition of a more strategic approach which includes the talent procurement, talent forecasting and workforce planning, strategic talent management and talent pipelining. The other challenges of the human resource management are to not only gather people that are eager to learn, but also to engage them and fit them into the organizational culture. A stronger understanding of the needs of the various managers that hire individuals is also important (Alagaraja 2013). Organizational culture- the more the employees of a company engage and begin to understand the needs of a companys target, the more it leads to an increase in culture. Culture is considered to be organic in nature, and thus requires not just the leadership approach, however a holistic feeling is also required on how an organization functions or operates. This also includes the missions and the goals. An individual can lead an organization to a specific culture, however this cannot be forced. If a culture is enforced upon the employees, then there is an increased chance of employees leaving the company. the chief responsibility of the human resources manager or professionals is to make sure that the employees understand the work culture, the direction where the company wants to head and the company will achieve that position. At the it is equally important that the leaders of the company communicate the vital visions so that the culture can evolve within the company (Bolman and Deal 2 017). Employee engagement- employee engagement is one of the most vital part for any organization or company. Employee like when they are being heard and thus ideas prop up from people from which it is least expected. Here, the human resource management plays a major role in closing the gap between the leader and the employees and facilitate to provide a channel so that the voice and the ideas of the employees are listened properly. the top leader of any company can go lunch and have talk with the most talented employees so that there is a chance of hearing the voice of the employees. This kind of the activities can be organized by the human resource management and it provides the employees an opportunity to ask question, give suggestions and improvements to the top officials of the company. While at the same time, the employees also get the idea of future plans of the company or the organization (Albrecht et al. 2015). Talent development- After the selection of the abled individuals that seek to work in the company, the human resource managements next job is to provide friendly atmosphere where the employees can grow through the opportunities and promotion that are provided by the company. These employees not just want the paycheck, but also will search for the opportunities to get promoted. This talent development and the employee growth exist in different forms. The main goals of the human resource management are to identify the opportunities that exist within the talent development, and then create an effective strategy that will promote the development of the company. talent development programs consist of the conferences, learning events, training programs and at the same time the mentoring programs as well. These programs are easy to set up within the premises of the company and cost less money to operate. The more a company will invest in its employee, the more the employee of the company wi ll be involved and engaged and at the same time will increase the retention rates (Garavan, Carbery and Rock 2012). Change management- most of the organization fail to function properly due to the miscommunication, inadequate preparation and employee resistance. Studies have shown that change initiatives have shown to twice more likely to fail due to the organizational resistance and less of the operational or technical issues. it id found that of the change is not conveyed to the employees, it leads to the loss of the business opportunities, duplicated efforts, inefficiencies and disasters. Companies that are able to gain an advantage over their market competitors lead to increased success. When the change in management is executed efficiently, it reduces uncertainty among the employees, reduces the negative impacts on the productivity and employee workforce. There are certain aspects which a human resource management has to keep in mind while overcoming resistance. Overcoming the resistance can attribute to the employee resistance which is common when an organization is undergoing organizational changes. The key strategies undertaken by the human resource managers are: consistent and clear communication of the change, assist the employees to understand the need to change, ensuring that the team of change management includes a change champion, provide a support constantly changing environment (Hayes 2014). Ethics- the importance of ethics in the workplace has gained a lot of acclamation. Different kinds of organization have stressed a lot of importance to the occurrence of misconduct. Although companies employ ethics officer that implement and champion the different facets of ethics and the roles of monitoring the ethical standards are divided equally among the human resource officer, risk officer, compliance officer, company secretary, ethics officer. However, even though there are several other top officials that promote ethics in a company, important role of human resource cannot be nullified. The three important factors that contribute to the promotion of ethics are: ethical awareness, ethical standards and operational ethics (Armstrong and Taylor 2014). David Ulrich Human resource model- the model emphasizes on the organization of the functions of the human resources. The model creates a unified structure that delivers value, clearly defines the role of the human resource management, creation of a competitive edge for the company, measuring the performance of the company. the model emphasizes on defining the roles, responsibilities of the human resources management and the framing the job profiles of the individual employees. Although the implementation of the model arises some complexities, but it has been found through studies that the model brings positive results from the employee satisfaction index, positive feedbacks from the managers regarding the job of human resource management (Bratton and Gold 2012). Strategic human resource management- it is a practice that emphasize on the retaining employees, rewarding, developing and attracting by the human resource strategies which will benefit both the employee and the organization. human resource managers or officials that work in an organization do not work in independently, rather interacts with the other departments and understands their goals and realigns the goals so that they can benefit the organization on the long run. Thus, it can be inferred that the goals of the Human resource management align with the goals of the company. strategic human resource has been found to be a partner of able partner in organizational success. Strategic human resource creates the opportunities so that the other departments can work effectively to make a strong work horse all together (Daley 2012). Comparison of tools for analyzing the business environment SWOT analysis- SWOT is an acronym and it stands for strengths, weakness, opportunities, threats. SWOT analysis can be described as list that assess the strengths, weakness, opportunities, threats of a business. This tool provides an insight of the of the changing environment and provides an option to act proactively. It is vital to determine the strengths of a business, whereas possible threats can be possible threats from the unstable economy and the market competition, lowered purchasing capability of the people. The companies and the organizations must plan to eliminate the threats (Sevkli et al. 2012). PESTLE- PESTLE analysis is also called the PEST analysis. It is a concept used in marketing. Moreover, this tool is used to analyze the new product/project/service launch and is also used to track the environment in the country is operating. PESTLE is an acronym which when expanded stands for the political, economic, social, technological, legal and environmental. This tool provides a top view of the entire environment from the different angles of a specific subject which needs to contemplated upon. The political factors provide an insight that the political situation must be considered when framing the strategies. The political situation can be attributed to the government leadership and the ongoing government tariffs, custom laws, tax laws which are necessary during the formulation of the business policies. Economic factors can be attributed to the foreign exchange rates, fiscal policies, monetary policies, inflation rates. Social factors can be attributed to the culture and the mi ndsets of the people of the different countries. Other aspects include the social lifestyles, cultural implications and gender. These must be kept in mind when framing the organizational policies. Technological factors refer to the digital advancements and the consumer feedback accordingly. Legal factors contribute to the laws and regulations that the companies must keep in mind during framing of business policies. While the environmental factors include the climatic factors, geographical location of a country. Thus, these are the vital factors that the organizations must consider before framing the business policies (Zalengera et al. 2014). Porters 5 forces- This is an effective tool which is framed by Michael Porter, a Harvard Business School professor. It is important tool that helps to analyze the and understand the internal and the external forces that shape competition in an industry. This tool is helpful in adjusting the strategies according to the business environment and the make changes to increase the profit margin. This tool work on the five main forces that affects competition. Supplier power: the capability of the suppliers to drive the prices of the inputs. Buyer power: the effectiveness of the customers in controlling the prices. competitive rivalry- the strength of the competition existing in an industry. Threat of substitution- the degree or the extent to which a product can be used in place of another. Threat of new entry- the ease with which a new product enters the market and make good profit (Lee, Kim and Park 2012). PESTLE analysis is perfect for the such companies that want to conduct research on market that are based on products and industry. The porters five forces are applicable when assessing the market competition and establishing its relation with the profitability. Pestle analysis assists the experts to find out the factors that help in the decision-making process. Pestle analysis consists of the several factors like the technological, social, political, economic factors which influences the normal functioning of the organization. the tools are efficient in finding the present condition and at the same time predict the future concerns of a company. Whereas the SWOT tool helps to bring the opportunities and the possible weakness in front of the analysis. It is important and vital for the company to determine the advantages related to the business like the quality products, quality of the manpower, cost of the resources, unique selling proposition to stay ahead in competition to the remain ing competitors in the market. The strengths are considered from the perspectives of the customer and the internal to a specific company (Buller and McEvoy 2012). The identification of the weakness is necessary so that the correct strategies can be implemented for the improvement of the business. The various weaknesses can be sorted like outdated market research, infrequent cash flow, insufficient record keeping, high rental costs of office, pending work burden, missed deadlines. The opportunities of a certain type of business consist of the high demand of the same type of merchandise, high demand of the seasonal products, loyal customer base, a uniform trend of product sell. The companies that find the opportunities to be open can build upon it a can deal with the threats by emphasizing on the strategies taken by the rival companies in their product line (Raluca 2013). Through the PESTLE analysis the microenvironment of an organization can be analyzed. This particular tool helps the managers to make a thorough analysis of the present situation and at the same time make certain predictions of future position of the company. this analysis in particular consist of the several components that are denoted by each letter of the acronym PESTLE, this acts as an influencing factor of the industry. The results from the PESTLE analysis tool helps a company to plan its future. Whereas, in comparison to the SWOT, the PESTLE model is more robust and provides an overall macro environment through an overall analysis. The analysis helps in attaining a smooth functioning of a specific organization. the Porters five forces is a special model that can be utilized to find out a competitive assessment of an organization. this tool helps to find out the viability of a particular product, service or even future expansion. Whereas, SWOT is more of a generalized assessment of a business company (Muhammad Siddique 2015). Factors that impact an organization and its HR functions Both the internal and the external factors play a major role in in affecting business of an organization along with the human resource functions. The different types of factors that contribute to the impact are as follows: Government regulations- New regulation and government policies and laws are constantly being formed on a regular basis that affects the functioning of the human resource department, such as the human resource policies, compensation, termination, training, recruitment. Accordingly, a company policy must comply with the rules of termination of an employee which is already framed by the government. Whereas, if such procedures are not followed then heavy fines can be imposed on such companies. This can have a detrimental impact on the image of the company. There are several companies, who wrere affected after the Donald Trump government of USA shifted the government regulation about cyber security. Several companies had to change their security tools ans aspects to comply with the newer security norms of the USA. Further, thousands of workers had to leave their job as the Visa renewal service was stopped (Terrill 2017). It is an excellent example of an external factor (Naff, Riccucci and Freyss 2017). Technological advancements- technology is considered as one of the external factors, which is changing in a rapid fashion and at the same time is influencing an organization largely. There is a huge pressure upon the companies to integrate the latest technological advancements into their systems. Then there comes an important aspect that adopting the newer technologies can make the usage of the human manpower a bit redundant. Thus, it will result in HR department taking extra effort to terminate the employees because their share of work is executed by the new technology, which is integrated into the system (Knowles, Holton and Swanson 2014). According to Forbes (2017), three Indian companies reach the heights of success by simply implementing clean technology into the system. The companies are Tessol, Altigreen Propulsion Labs and Cleaning bug technology. They mainly used renewable energy system and implemented in their organization to gain the business. Economic conditions- The biggest and the most important external factor that impact an organization to a large extent than any other factor is the economic conditions prevailing in a country and the same world over. Economic conditions impact both the talent pool and the hiring strategies framed by an organization. Organization and companies must have the effective strategies to shield themselves from downturn in the global economies. For example, during the economic downturn, organization reduce the recruitment drives so that the costs can be reduced (Aswathappa 2013). There are more than 600 workers, who were sacked by the company Wipro in the year 2017, due to their economic loss. Those employees recorded that the company first reduced their pay scale and after few months fired them without any solid reason (The Economic Times 2017). Workforce demographics- This is one of the vital internal factors that impacts both the organizational and the human resource management functions. This factor typically deals with the population of retiring employees and the several methods of hiring employed by the companies or the organizations. There are different types of recruitment strategies and the companies must look and employ such strategies that suits the organization. After a proper recruitment strategy comes the next big thing called the compensation or remuneration. Proper and efficient remuneration must be designed for the various sections of the employee. For example, if employees of an organization is about to retire then there is a big responsibility of both the organization and the HR department to hunt for the new employees (Bratton and Gold 2012). The best example of managing diversity and demographics at the workplace is Google Inc. The company has managed to work with diverse and different people and by imple menting such change in their organizational human resource related department they have achieved success (Forbes 2018). Key stages in the strategy formulation The human resource strategies are the various steps that needs to be employed and followed. The steps are vital because it gets translated in to a strategy that an organization follows to achieve the desired organizational objectives and the goals. It is important to note that the human resource professionals are deeply involved in each of the steps (Karami 2012). The steps are as follows: Determination of the objectives of the organization Evaluating the environment existing in an organization. Framing of the qualitative goals and objectives. Proper and effective communication with the departmental plans. Performance analysis and as well as analysis of the performance gap. Selection of effective strategy Developing an organizational framework for the effective implementation of the strategy successfully. Distribution of the sufficient amount of funds and resources for the vital activities. Policy creation which will be in accordance with the important activities. Constant framing of programs and policies which will lead to improvement is organizational functioning. Creation of proper link between the accomplishment of the results and the reward structures. Efficient and effective utilization of the efficient leadership (Reitzig and Sorenson 2013). The strategic human resource consists of the two different types of processes which are known as the horizontal and the vertical processes. The horizontal integration involves the coordination of the different types of the human resource practices. This horizontal integration also deals with the allocation of the resources. While the vertical integration includes the alignment of the organizational objectives with the human resource practices. This is a sort of a contingency or emergency approach which is designed to work in accordance with the organizational goals. The basic idea behind this strategy is to create a flexible and fit organization, while the main motive is to efficiently and effectively coordinate and manage the dynamic environment existing within the organization. The best practices of the of an organization include the training of employees, compensation packages, decentralization, selection of the employees. It is important to note that formulation of the strategies and the implementation of the same are the main objectives of HR team (Armstrong and Taylor 2014). Strategy formulation- The main stages in strategy formulation are the functional strategy, business strategy, corporate strategy and strategic choice. Strategic choice speaks of the alternatives that are work for the betterment of the organization. The corporate level strategy involves the overall goal and the philosophy of the organization that it employs to attain the goal. HR takes the initiatives of utilizing the various resources into the corporate space of the organization, performance improvement of the employee and managing the workforce diversity (Reitzig and Sorenson 2013). Strategy formulation and implementation models- there are 2 models that highlight the strategy formulation and implementation. The models are resource based and control based. Resource based model emphasize on the employer-employee exchange and as well as employee behaviors. The control-based model speaks the fact that the organization thoroughly evaluates and monitors the activities and performances of its employees. The model is based of the degree of workplace control and the managerial behaviors (Bratton and Gold 2012). Business performance evaluation The employees of human resource play a vital role in the formulation of business strategy. HR should work to imbibe new skills into the workforce and hire new employees that will suit the organizational needs and goals. At the same time HR also has the responsibility for formulating the training methodology and suitable skills. The structure of the performance management of the employees is devised by the human resource department. For the purpose of evaluating the business performance, it is necessary to evaluate in accordance with the modern as well as the traditional indicators. The traditional indicators are capable enough to show the performance of the employees with respect to the organizational goals and objectives. Traditional indicators only show the average results. Whereas the modern indicators can consider all the important aspects of the employee activity within the business processes. The evaluation process depends on the value-based management system that includes the cultural goals, analytics, processes, system, strategies of the concerned company. Examples of traditional indicators includes the performance evaluation of an employee with the organizational goals. Example of modern indicator include the 360-degree analysis of the performance of an employee (Kseoglu, Yazici and Okumus 2017). Assessment of the different data sources There are different types of data used by the HR professionals. These are both qualitative and quantitative data sources. Balanced scorecard is used by the HR managers to make an alignment of the business activities with the goals of the company. Evaluate the performance of the organization and improve communication. This scorecard was devised by Norton and Kaplan. Another model called the AMO-black box model is used to analyze the employee performance. The AMO depicts the Ability, Mobility, Opportunity. The back box depicts the relation of the performance management with the HR. HR professionals also use the Cotters stage model to analyze the change management system within an organization. HR managers also uses the various types of internal data for the formulation of the decision-making strategies and also for planning. That different data used are the financial data, sales data, policy related data, performance data and marketing data. There are external data like the technologic al advancement data, environmental analysis data, governmental data. HR managers utilizes both the internal and the external data and devises strategies for the smooth functioning of the organization (Amin et al. 2014). Conclusion Within the business environment, there exists both the internal and the external factors that affect the decision making of the HR professionals. HR managers plays a avital roe in balancing the internal and the external factors. HR is essential for the regulation of the processes in business and implement the policies and strategies that are beneficial for the organization. This study report is beneficial both in understanding the organizational and HR strategies, also helping the HR to act proactively to the changes occurring in the external environment. Reference Alagaraja, M., 2013. Mobilizing organizational alignment through strategic human resource development. Human Resource Development International, 16(1), pp.74-93. Albrecht, S.L., Bakker, A.B., Gruman, J.A., Macey, W.H. and Saks, A.M., 2015. Employee engagement, human resource management practices and competitive advantage: An integrated approach. Journal of Organizational Effectiveness: People and Performance, 2(1), pp.7-35. Amin, M., Khairuzzaman Wan Ismail, W., Zaleha Abdul Rasid, S. and Daverson Andrew Selemani, R., 2014. The impact of human resource management practices on performance: Evidence from a Public University. The TQM Journal, 26(2), pp.125-142. Armstrong, M. and Taylor, S., 2014. Armstrong's handbook of human resource management practice. Kogan Page Publishers. Aswathappa, K., 2013. Human resource management: Text and cases. Tata McGraw-Hill Education. Bolman, L.G. and Deal, T.E., 2017. Reframing organizations: Artistry, choice, and leadership. John Wiley Sons. Bratton, J. and Gold, J., 2012. Human resource management: theory and practice. Palgrave Macmillan. Buller, P.F. and McEvoy, G.M., 2012. Strategy, human resource management and performance: Sharpening line of sight. Human resource management review, 22(1), pp.43-56. Daley, D.M., 2012. Strategic human resources management. Public Personnel Management, pp.120-125. Forbes (2017). Three Indian companies take giant steps with clean technology | Forbes India. [online] Forbes India. Available at: https://www.forbesindia.com/article/renewable-energy-special/three-indian-companies-take-giant-steps-with-clean-technology/47075/1 Forbes (2018). Forbes. [online] Available at: https://www.forbes.com/sites/carstentams/2018/01/26/why-we-need-to-rethink-organizational-change-management/#5321103e93cc Garavan, T.N., Carbery, R. and Rock, A., 2012. Mapping talent development: definition, scope and architecture. European Journal of Training and Development, 36(1), pp.5-24. Hayes, J., 2014. The theory and practice of change management. Palgrave Macmillan. Karami, A., 2012. Strategy formulation in entrepreneurial firms. Ashgate Publishing, Ltd.. Knowles, M.S., Holton III, E.F. and Swanson, R.A., 2014. The adult learner: The definitive classic in adult education and human resource development. Routledge. Kseoglu, M.A., Yazici, S. and Okumus, F., 2017. Barriers to the implementation of strategic decisions: evidence from hotels in a developing country. Journal of Hospitality Marketing Management, pp.1-30. Lee, H., Kim, M.S. and Park, Y., 2012. An analytic network process approach to operationalization of five forces model. Applied Mathematical Modelling, 36(4), pp.1783-1795. Muhammad Siddique, C., 2015. A Comparative Study of Strategic Planning Practices of SMEs and Large?Sized Business Organizations in Emerging Economies: The Case of UAE. Strategic Change, 24(6), pp.553-567. Naff, K.C., Riccucci, N.M. and Freyss, S.F., 2017. Personnel management in government: Politics and process. Routledge. Paill, P., Chen, Y., Boiral, O. and Jin, J., 2014. The impact of human resource management on environmental performance: An employee-level study. Journal of Business Ethics, 121(3), pp.451-466. 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International Climate Initiative free essay sample

Measuring, Reporting and Verifying greenhouse gas emissions Vanuatu National Advisory Council on Climate Change National Appropriate Mitigation Action Non-timber forest products Orthorectified radar image Pacific Island Countries Papua New Guinea Reducing emissions form deforestation, forest degradation, conservation, sustainable management of forests and enhancement of carbon stocks Reference Emission Level Reference Emission Level Reduced Impact Logging Forest Reference Level Resources Management Units Readiness Plan Idea Note Readiness Preparation Proposal Remote sensing Synthetic Aperture Radar Subsidiary Body for Scientific and Technical Advice (to UNFCCC) Applied Geoscience and Technology Division of SPC Secretariat of the Pacific Community United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change Vanuatu Resource Information System Verified Carbon Standard Vanuatu Department of Forests Vanuatu National Statistics Office REL REL RIL RL RMU R-PIN R-PP RS SAR SBSTA SOPAC SPC UNFCCC V ANRIS VCS VDoF VNSO page 5 of 27 SPC / GIZ Regional REDD+ Project MRV/REL Methodology Vanuatu 1. Introduction Greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from ongoing deforestation and forest degradation are responsible for 17% of global warming. We will write a custom essay sample on International Climate Initiative or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page While the Pacific Islands Countries (PIC) contribute marginally to the global emissions, the larger forested PICs can significantly reduce carbon emissions from forestry. This opens up opportunities for these countries to benefit inancially from maintaining and establishing forest areas to mitigate climate change through a carbon financing mechanism under the United Nations Framework Convention in Climate Change (UNFCCC), the so-called REDD+ (Reducing emissions from deforestation and forest degradation). Sustainable management, associated with forest conservation will have beneficial ecological, social, cultural and economical impact while contributing to climate change mitigation. In response to the recommendations from the 2009 meeting of the Pacific Regional Heads of Forestry Services (HOFS), the German Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety (BMU) approved funding of 4. 9 million Euros for the project titled â€Å"Climate protection through forest conservation in the Pacific Island Countries†. The Deutsche Gesellschaft fur Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) implements the project in partnership with the Secretariat of the Pacific Community (SPC) from November 2010 to March 2015. The regional implementation covers all SPC member countries, but the four countries with the largest forest cover have been selected for support of their national readiness processes; Fiji, Papua New Guinea, Solomon Islands and Vanuatu. In Vanuatu, a Readiness Programme Idea Note (R-PIN) has been developed to apply for World Bank support under the multi-lateral Forest Carbon Partnership Facility (FCPF). Currently, the country works on developing its Readiness Preparation Proposal (R-PP), which will serve as national implementation strategy for REDD+. In an effort of coordination, SPC/GIZ staff has joined the World Bank representative on their scoping mission. The organizations came to an understanding that SPC/GIZ will focus on supporting the development of a system for measuring, reporting and verifying (MRV) carbon emissions and the Reference Emission Level (REL), while World Bank will support the policy process. As a first step towards the establishment of the national REL and the MRV System, the methodologies have to be designed. In a next step, those methodologies will have to be tested in the field, reviewed and adapted according to results in accuracy and efficiency, and finally rolled out nationwide. A mission to Vanuatu was carried out in October 2011. Interviews were conducted with a broad number of stakeholders, the available data was reviewed and in the end, a framework for the methodologies on REL development and MRV was discussed in a stakeholder workshop and presented to the National Advisory Committee on Climate Change (NACCC). This report describes the proposed methodologies for REL/RL and MRV for Vanuatu in detail and how national circumstances will be taken into account. The annexes contain the proposed contributions to Vanuatu’s Readiness Preparation Proposal (R-PP) document. page 6 of 27 SPC / GIZ Regional REDD+ Project MRV/REL Methodology Vanuatu 2. Defining REL/RL and MRV According to the decisions of COP 17 in Durban, Forest Reference Emission Levels and Forest Reference Levels (REL/RLs) are considered as benchmarks for assessing a country’s performance in reducing total emissions and increasing removals associated with eligible REDD+ activities. Here, Forest Reference Emission Level (REL) refers to the amount of gross emissions from deforestation and degradation, and forest management from a defined geographical area and within an agreed period under an approved business-as-usual (BAU) scenario against which actual emissions are compared. The BAU scenario refers to the development path which a system would follow if it were not influenced by any external program or policy intervention; that is, it is the scenario in which historical and current practices continue. While the REL includes gross emissions only, the Forest Reference Level (RL) includes additionally the removals from sustainable management of forest and enhancement of forest carbon stocks. A country has to assess carefully and in a transparent manner, how much carbon emission was saved due to REDD+ activities. The actual annual emissions have to be measured, reported and verified (MRV). The measurements are compared to the REL/RL. Any emission reduction in comparison to this will be compensated. The measuring and reporting of the carbon stock changes has to follow a standard in order to be comparable: under the United Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) has elaborated guidelines for greenhouse gas (GHG) inventories. The Subsidiary Body for Scientific and Technical Advice (SBSTA) to the UNFCCC has decided, that these are going to be standard for an internationally agreed REDD+ mechanism. In practice, this defines what data has to be collected, how it should be collected and how it should be analyzed. The compliance with the standards and the calculated emission savings has to be verified by a third party auditor before carbon reduction units can be sold. The widest spread certification company for the voluntary carbon markets today is the Verified Carbon Standard (VCS), which adheres to the IPCC requirements. It can be beneficial for a country to prepare for both, the voluntary and the compliance market, hence complying with VCS and IPCC standards at the same time. page 7 of 27 SPC / GIZ Regional REDD+ Project MRV/REL Methodology Vanuatu 3. Methodology for developing a national Reference Emission Level/Reference Level (REL/RL) The REL/RL for GHG emission reductions under REDD+ is based on the past, current and anticipated future development trends in forestry. The historic and future trends without REDD+ policy interventions have to be assessed as accurately as possible to draw up a â€Å"business as usual† scenario (BAU). The actually occurring emissions in future will be compared to the scenario and the difference will be the amount of carbon emissions for which compensation will be paid. It’s accepted by UNFCCC to submit a conservative estimate and refine the REL/RL later on, especially because the UNFCCC itself hasn’t produced final detailed guidelines yet. In the R-PP, a proposal for the development of a national REL/RL is required, taking into account the national circumstances that will shape this methodology, such as infrastructure, data availability, capacities, relevant drivers of deforestation, etc. The actual implementation work will be done after the FCPF has approved the R-PP. The methodology for developing the REL/RL is a technical issue, but relies on political decisions. For the endorsement of the methodology, the national level government has to approve the proposed reference time period, which will be based on scientific data review, the national forest definition and the aforementioned future development trends. The sections of a national REL/RL development methodology for Vanuatu are proposed as follows: Modalities: The decisions of the Conference of Parties 17 (COP 17 – decisive meeting of all parties to the UNFCCC in Durban, 2011) provide limited guidance on REL/RL modalities. Beyond, Vanuatu’s REDD+ REL/RL will respect the following modalities: †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ Activity specific REL/RL approach Piloting on 5 islands and bundling the results for one single reporting Activity specific temporal boundaries: different time periods for different activity types, reflected in the REL/RL Anticipating national circumstances Stepwise development of activity-specific RELs Modeling Spatiotemporal integration Factoring out non-anthropogenic emissions, as recognized by UNFCCC: how can the influence of natural events (i. e. yclones) be factored out? Methodological framework: The following tools and methods will be applied to collect data for t he development of activity specific RELs: †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ Focal groups and scenario development Surveys Statistical regression and trend analysis Spatial modeling page 8 of 27 SPC / GIZ Regional REDD+ Project †¢ Projecting removal by enhancing forest carbon stocks MRV/REL Methodology Vanuatu Data requirements and availability: This section maps out which data is required, which sources can be used and how this will be analyzed. Key activities and work plan: A proposal for the activities and a sequenced schedule for the implementation is described. Institutional Framework: The development of activity specific subnational REL/RLs integrated into a national RL requires support and backstopping from different governmental agencies as well as local stakeholders. Summary budget: All activities proposed in the work plan are marked with a preliminary budget. The funding for the implementation will be requested from donors. The FCPF will provide 3. 4 million USD after approval of the R-PP for the implementation. page 9 of 27 SPC / GIZ Regional REDD+ Project MRV/REL Methodology Vanuatu 4. Measuring, Reporting, Verifying forest carbon emissions (MRV) For the measuring, reporting and verifying of GHG emissions from the forestry sector there are much more advanced methodologies than for developing the REL/RL. These have to be complied with in order to receive international recognition of the accuracy of measurements of carbon emissions and removals. The proposed National Forest Monitoring System is based on the latest decisions of COP 17 and the Cancun Agreements. It will also anticipate future decisions of the advisory groups to UNFCCC on REDD+. Being a small island state composed of 83 islands and island groups, Vanuatu is showing a comparatively low deforestation rate (Herold et al. 2007). Besides, governmental agencies and ministries count with very limited human, technical, and financial resources to manage natural resources. Currently, no forest concessions are operating in Vanuatu and timber harvesting is operating at a small scale level (Vanuatu Forest Policy 2011 2020). Consequently, Vanuatu has to aim at a cost-effective forest monitoring system focusing on core greenhouse gas (GHG) measurement, reporting and verification (MRV) activities. It will build existing imagery and mapping products focusing its efforts on closing information gaps minimizing the MRV implementation costs without sacrificing its accuracy. Just as for the REL/RL development, such an information system can be extended over time to serve multiple purposes in managing lands, forests, and property rights. While activity data will be generated in a wall-to-wall mode, Vanuatu should focus its GHG inventory efforts during the first and second phase on the 4 bigger islands Santo, Malekula, Efate and Erromango. However, a sampling scheme will be developed that supports the processing of emission factors which can be attributed to land use and land use change on all islands. In the third phase, the sampling scheme can be intensified to cover all relevant geographical entities. Along this line, Vanuatu’s REDD MRV framework is integrating building blocks developed at the regional level to reduce the national implementation costs. Particularly, it will anticipate MAR-SFM, the Monitoring, Assessment and Reporting for Sustainable Forest Management Framework (Thiele et al. 2010), a forest inventory approach adjusting FAO’s inventory framework to the specific conditions of small islands in the South Pacific. While the country will focus its REDD efforts during the readiness phase on developing its capacities in the managing geodata, the Applied Geoscience and Technology Division (SOPAC) of the Secretariat of the Pacific Community (SPC) will generate relevant activity data to account for forest related GHG emission and removals. Although the UNFCCC Parties haven’t yet agreed to what extend the IPCC guidance and guidelines will be used in accounting for emissions and removals in REDD+, Vanuatu is committed to base its REDD+ MRV on the 2006 IPCC Guidelines for National Greenhouse Gas Inventories (IPCC 2006). While Vanuatu aims at implementing a comprehensive national REDD+ approach covering all the 5 eligible activities, it will focus its efforts on geographic areas, policy approaches, and eligible activities which show the highest potential to achieve emission reductions and GHG removals on short to medium term. Besides monitoring deforestation and forest degradation, the MRV system shall be capable of tracking GHG removals enhancing forest carbon stocks at different scales (e. g. community forestry, ecosystem restoration) and in different ways (e. g. reforestation using timber species, agroforestry). page 10 of 27 SPC / GIZ Regional REDD+ Project MRV/REL Methodology Vanuatu The methodology defines in more detail how to address these eligible activities under REDD+. Due to the current lack of capacities for certain tasks, SPC should play a major support role to the Department of Forestry (DoF) in implementing the forest inventory and the remote sensing tasks. The lack of capacities will be addressed through intense on-the-job training and other training measures along the way. page 11 of 27 SPC / GIZ Regional REDD+ Project MRV/REL Methodology Vanuatu References Achard F. , et al. 2007: Accounting for avoided conversion of intact and non-intact forests Technical options and a proposal for a policy tool Institute for Environment and Sustainability, Joint Research Centre of the European Commission. Almeida-Filho, R. et al. 2009: Using dual-polarized ALOS PALSAR data for detecting new fronts of deforestation in the Brazilian Amazonia, International Journal of Remote Sensing Vol. 30, No. 14, 20 July 2009, 3735–3743. Asner, G. et al. 010: High-resolution forest carbon stocks and emissions in the Amazon, PNAS September 21, 2010 vol. 107 no. 38, p. 16738-16742 Bellamy, J. A. ed. 1993: Vanuatu Resource Information System. VANRIS Handbook. Prepared by the CSIRO Brisbane and the Department of Primary Industries Forest Service for the Australi an International Development Assistance Bureau. Brown, S. 1997: Estimating Biomass and Biomass Change of Tropical Forests: a Primer. FAO Forestry Paper 134. Chagas, Thiago, Jacob Olander, Charlotte Streck, Robert OSullivan, and Joerg Seifert-Granzin 2011: Nested Approaches to REDD+: An Overview of Issues and Options. Washington, DC: Forest Trends and Climate Focus. Chave, J. t al. 2005: Tree allometry and improved estimation of carbon stocks and balance in tropical forests, Oecologia 145: 87–99 Feldpausch, T. R. 2011: Height-diameter allometry of tropical forest trees, in: Biogeosciences, 8, 1081–1106, 2011. Geist, H. and Lambin E. F. 2002: Proximate causes and underlying driving forces of tropical deforestation, Bioscience; Feb 2002; 52, 2; ProQuest Biology Journals, pg. 143 GOFC-GOLD 2011: A sourcebook of methods and procedures for monitoring and reporting anthropogenic greenhouse gas emissions and removals caused by deforestation, gains and losses of carbon stocks in forests remaining forests, and forestation. GOFC-GOLD Report version COP17-1, (GOFC-GOLD Project Office, Natural Resources Canada, Alberta, Canada) Herold, M. , Sambale, J. , Lindner, M. , Urban, M. and Weaver, S. 2007: Satellite based monitoring of the national forest resources in the pacific island state of Vanuatu, DGPF Tagungsband 16 / 2007 – Dreilandertagung SGPBF, DGPF und OVG. IPCC 2003: Report on Definitions and Methodological Options to Inventory Emissions from Direct Human-induced Degradation of Forests and Devegetation of Other Vegetation Types. IPCC 2006: 2006 IPCC Guidelines for National Greenhouse Gas Inventories, Prepared by the National Greenhouse Gas Inventories Programme, Eggleston H. S. , Buendia L. Miwa K. , Ngara T. and Tanabe K. (eds). Published: IGES, Japan. page 12 of 27 SPC / GIZ Regional REDD+ Project MRV/REL Methodology Vanuatu IPCC GPG LULUCF 2003: Good Practice Guidance on Land Use, Land-Use Change and Forestry. Lafortezza, R. et al. 2010: Assessing the impacts of fragmentation on plant comm unities in New Zealand: scaling from survey plots to landscapes, Global Ecology and Biogeography, 19, 741–754. Meridian Institute 2011: Modalities for REDD+ Reference Levels: Technical and Procedural Issues. Prepared for the Government of Norway, by Arild Angelsen, Doug Boucher, Sandra Brown, Valerie Merckx, Charlotte Streck, and Daniel Zarin. Ministry of Agriculture, Quarantine, Forestry and Fisheries 2011: Elaboration of a Vegetation and Land Cover Map of Vanuatu† under the FAO Program â€Å"Strengthening of the Monitoring, Assessment and Reporting (MAR) on Sustainable Forest Management (SFM)†, elaborated by Martin Schweter. Mitchard, E. T. A. et al. 2011: Measuring biomass changes due to woody encroachment and deforestation/degradation in a forest–savanna boundary region of central Africa using multi-temporal L-band radar backscatter, Remote Sensing of Environment (2011), doi:10. 1016/j. rse. 2010. 02. 022 Olander, J. and Ebeling, J. 2011: Building Forest Carbon Projects: Step-by-Step Overview and Guide. In Building Forest Carbon Projects, Johannes Ebeling and Jacob Olander (eds. ). Washington, DC: Forest Trends. Pearson, T. , Walker, S. nd Brown, S. 2005: Sourcebook for Land Use, Land-Use Change an Forestry Projects, BioCarbon Fund /Winrock International. Potapov, P. et al. 2008: Mapping the Worlds Intact Forest Landscapes by Remote Sensing. Ecology and Society, 13 Saatchi, S. et al. 2011: Benchmark map of forest carbon stocks in tropical regions across three continents, PNAS May 2011, www. pnas. org/cgi/doi/10. 1073/pnas. 1019576108. Seifert-Granzin, J. 2011: REDD Guidance: Technical Project Design. In Building Forest Carbon Projects, Johannes Ebeling and Jacob Olander (eds. ). Washington, DC: Forest Trends. Smith, E. P. 2002: BACI Design, in: El-Shaarawi, A. H. and Piegorsch, W. W. 002: Encyclopedia of Environmetrics, Chichester: Wiley Sons. The Climate, Community Biodiversity Alliance (CCBA) 2008: Climate, Community and Biodiversity Project Design Standards, Second Edition – December 2008 The Climate, Community Biodiversity Alliance and CARE International (CCBA and CARE international) 2010: REDD Social Environmental Standards Version 1 June 2010 Thiele, T. , Mussong, M. and Mateboto, J. 2010: MAR-SFM. Monitoring, Assessment and Reporting for Sustainable Forest Ma nagement in Pacific Island Countries, SPC. The Vanuatu National Statistics Office (VNSO) 2008: Census of Agriculture 2007—Vanuatu page 13 of 27 SPC / GIZ Regional REDD+ Project MRV/REL Methodology Vanuatu The Vanuatu National Statistics Office (VNSO) 2009a: Vanuatu Household Income and Expenditure Survey 2006 The Vanuatu National Statistics Office (VNSO) 2009b: 2009 National Census of Population and Housing, Summary Release. The Vanuatu National Statistics Office (VNSO) 2010: 2010 Household Income and Expenditure Survey (HIES) Survey Operations Report. Government of the Republic of Vanuatu 2011: Vanuatu Forest Policy 2011 – 2020, June 2011. VCS 2012a: VCS Standard. VCS Version 3. 2 Requirements Document, Washington, DC: Verified Carbon Standard. VCS2012b: Agriculture, Forestry and Other Land Use (AFOLU) Requirements. VCS Version 3. 2 Requirements Document, Washington, DC: Verified Carbon Standard. VCS 2012c: Jurisdictional and Nested REDD Initiative: Summary of Technical Recommendations – Version 2. 0, February, 22 2012, Washington, DC: Verified Carbon Standard. page 14 of 27 SPC / GIZ Regional REDD+ Project MRV/REL Methodology Vanuatu Annex 1 Component 3: Develop a National Forest Reference Emission Level and/or a Forest Reference Level Definitions According to the decisions of COP 17 in Durban Forest Reference Emission Levels and Forest Reference Levels (REL/RLs) are considered as benchmarks for assessing a country’s performance in reducing total emissions and increasing removals associated with eligible REDD+ activities (see Component 4a and Annex 4 for further details) . Here, Forest Reference Emission Level (REL) refers to the amount of gross emissions from deforestation and degradation, and forest management from a defined geographical area and within an agreed period under an approved business-as-usual (BAU) scenario against which actual emissions are compared. The BAU scenario refers to the development path a system would follow if it were not subject to any external program or policy intervention; that is, it is the scenario in which historical and current practices continue. While the REL includes gross emissions only, the Forest Reference Level includes additionally the removals from sustainable management of forest and enhancement of forest carbon stocks. 1. Modalities The decisions of COP 17 provide limited guidance on REL/RL modalities. Beyond, Vanuatu’s REDD+ REL/RL will anticipate the following modalities: Activity specific REL/RL approach: Due to different drivers, agents, underlying causes (Comp 2a) specific REL/RLs approaches and will be developed for each of the 5 eligible REDD+ activities. The choice of the approach depends on data availability, resources requirements, and the technical capacities available. While some approaches might be simple in terms of data requirements and can be easily implemented, others might require additional efforts. Defining a REL for degradation might require determining and combining different BAUs for illegal logging, charcoal production, and fuel wood collection. Approved methodological elements of the VCS will be screened and tested to assess their potential to be used at different levels. Piloting on 5 islands and nesting: As the emission and removal dynamics of Vanuatu’s bigger islands 1 depends on specific sets of drivers, agents, and underlying causes, the REL approaches will be fit and calibrated to these specifics conditions. Each REL approach will be tested within a given domain. The rest of the national territory will be treated as one region, as the islands show similar deforestation rates and patterns. 1 The regional GIZ-SPC program has selected Efate, Erromango, Malekula, and Santo as pilot islands. Tanna should be included as a particular domain, as it shows one of the highest deforestation rates in the past (Herzog et al. 2007). page 15 of 27 SPC / GIZ Regional REDD+ Project MRV/REL Methodology Vanuatu National activity specific R(E)Ls will be build following the Technical Recommendations Version 2 of VCS’s Jurisdictional and Nested REDD Initiative. Activity specific temporal boundaries: While Vanuatu’s historic deforestation patterns can be reconstructed for the past 30 years to calibrate the BAU scenario; it is difficult to generate similar activity data for historic degradation or enhancement of carbon stock activities. Thus, activity based R(E)Ls will be developed using different temporal boundaries concepts. While a reference year might be selected for the partial RL for enhancement or conservation of forest carbon stocks, the deforestation and degradation RELs will be based on historic periods. Anticipating national circumstances: The development of future deforestation and degradation patterns will depend on the dynamics drivers, underlying causes, and agents. In case of Vanuatu, the demand for land use change is particularly driven agricultural production which has to meet the demand driven by demographic change, urbanization, and growth of the tourism sector. Vanuatu approved certain sector strategies to achieve the Millennium Development Goals (cf. Comp 2a) which will be anticipated in developing activity specific RELs for 5 pilot islands. Stepwise development of activity-specific RELs: The development of the deforestation REL will be start with a construction and projection of the historic deforestation pattern evolving over the last 30 years. At a second stage, the historic change patters (activity data and emission factors) and their relation to explanatory parameters representing the dynamics of drivers, causes, and agents will be assessed. Within a third step, alternative sector specific policy and development scenarios will be tested to analyze corresponding emission and removal pathways. Modeling: The potential of spatial and non-spatial models for certain activities will be explored and all relevant parameters, assumptions, methods, and procedures will be comprehensively documented. Common scientific standards (sensitivity analysis, verification and validation of models) and good practices will be followed in developing models. Spatiotemporal integration: A national RL will be constructed by spatially and temporally integrating activity specific RELs and RLs. The national RL will be based on an approved macroeconomic development scenario. Factoring out non-anthropogenic emissions: According to the Decision of COP 17 in Durban consistency shall be achieved with anthropogenic forest-related greenhouse gas emissions by sources and removals by sinks as contained in each country’s greenhouse gas inventories. This requirement implies that parties have to factor out nonanthropogenic emissions and removals, e. g. caused by natural disturbances. 2. Methodological framework Different tools and methods will be applied to establish and integrate activity specific RELs: page 16 of 27 SPC / GIZ Regional REDD+ Project MRV/REL Methodology Vanuatu Focal groups and scenario development: To identify and explore Vanuatu’s sector specific development pathways (e. g. for tourism, forestry, and agriculture) focal groups interviews involving different stakeholders and experts will be conducted at the national level and on 5 pilot islands. These interviews will be based on national sector policies and development plans and will lead to the development of the BAU case and alternative land-use change scenarios. Complementary, the potential of Delphi-methods can be explored to balance the view of policy leaders with expert opinions from academe and other stakeholders. Surveys will play a crucial role in assessing the dynamics and impacts of particular degradation activities. VCS provides modules to quantify fuel wood extraction and charcoal making (VCS VMD0008). Apart, they will be used to understand the behavior of deforestation and degradation agents in a changing policy environment. Vanuatu will explore the potential of these methodological elements on selected pilot sites. Statistical regression and trend analysis: Vanuatu has comprehensive demographic and agricultural census data (see next section), which has to be explored to assess the statistical correlation between certain trends (e. g. demographics, agricultural production, timber extraction) and historic deforestation and degradation patterns. Spatial modeling: The DinamicaEGO 1. 8. 9 will be used to assess the explanatory power of certain drivers (e. g. access to forest, site specific environmental conditions, settlement patterns) and to project the historic deforestation pattern into the future under different scenario assumptions. Spatial models will be linked to quantitative assumptions about the future deforestation, and if feasible degradation rates. A spatial deforestation model will be developed and specifically calibrated for each of the 5 pilot islands. Projecting removal by enhancing forest carbon stocks will use methodological tools developed under the CDM such as TARAM 1. 4. It is expected that similar tools will be developed for NAMAs, soon and shall be tested as soon as they become available. Different approaches exist to anticipate national circumstances in developing the national REL/RL. Within a direct approach the results of a BAU based on appropriate data, approved policy scenarios, and sound modeling 2 approaches, for example a projected deforestation pattern for the period 2014-2017 can be directly combined with strata specific emission factors to determine the REL. Within an indirect approach a derived BAU can be adjusted to factor in future development needs, resources policies, or other factors considered relevant. While parties haven’t yet agreed on specific modalities how to determine or adjust the REL/RL, Vanuatu will stepwise develop and test different modeling options within both approaches. The explanatory power and quality of higher-order modeling approaches such as optimization in agricultural modeling and System Dynamics shall be tested in cooperation with national and 2 Here, modeling is used as a generic term covering simple statistical models (averages, trends), uni-or multivariate statistics, linear or non-linear dynamic models. page 17 of 27 SPC / GIZ Regional REDD+ Project MRV/REL Methodology Vanuatu international research institutions. However, these tests shall be used as opportunities to enhance national REDD+ research opportunities. 3. Data requirements and availability The REL/RL development will build on inputs from several other components to be implemented during the Readiness phase: Component 2a: The assessment of land use, land-use change drivers, forest law, policy and governance has to provide quantitative inputs to assess the weight of different drivers in developing the BAU and alternative scenarios. Component 4a: The forest monitoring system has to provide the spatial deforestation and forest degradation patterns as well as rates to estimate emissions and removal over time. Component 2b: The methodological REL/RL framework can be used to assess the performance of selected REDD-plus strategy options. Within its efforts to implement a national forest monitoring system Vanuatu will process historic deforestation patterns and rates for the periods 1990-2000-2007-2011 (cf. Annex 4a). Degradation eporting will be based on the stratification of the new vegetation map (MAQFF 2011) reflecting the state of 2011 â €“ 2014 and eventually 2007-2011. The high-resolution topographic derived from NEXTMap ® 2003 TopoSAR orthorectified radar images serves as a comprehensive and highly accurate spatial data source for roads, settlements, hydrography, and mining, and other infrastructure features. Besides the spatial MRV data the Government of Vanuatu is conducting different surveys on a regular basis, of which the following are of high relevance for the REL/RL development: Table 1: Available statistical data for REL/RL development Type Census of Agriculture Year(s) 2007 Coverage Structure and characteristics of agricultural activities of households; †¢ Number and distribution of household engaged; †¢ Data on the farm/holding/sub-holding area, quantity of the crops grown/sold, number of cattle and other livestock kept, quantity of fisheries species gathered/caught, etc. †¢ Population size and growth 1999 – 2009 by province and island †¢ Various demographic indicators à ¢â‚¬ ¢ Demographic, income and expenditure data at the household level as well as relative standard errors for the data †¢ Origin, visitor arrivals, purpose of visit, length of stay, means of transport Source VNSO 2008 5th National Census of Population and Housing 2009 Household Income and Expenditure Survey Tourism statistics 2009 (1967, 1979, 1989, 1999) 2006, 2010 VNSO 2009b VNSO 2009a, 2010 VNSO Monthly Current data availability and structure can be considered satisfactory for REL/RL development. Combining available statistical and forest monitoring data robust spatially explicit model can be page 18 of 27 SPC / GIZ Regional REDD+ Project MRV/REL Methodology Vanuatu constructed and calibrated which will link the performance of key drivers and underlying causes to the evolving historic deforestation pattern. The correlation between the degradation pattern 2007-2011 (if detectable) and certain agricultural, demographic, and socioeconomic parameters has to be investigated further. Additional data needs might arise when higher-order modeling approaches will be tested. These needs would have to be addressed by complementary funding sources. 4. Key activities and work plan BAU and policy scenarios development: An international consultant (natural resources economist or policy analyst) will elaborate the BAU and alternative development scenarios. The consultant will develop a policy survey design which has to be approved by the National REDD+ Steering Committee (Cf. Component 1a. National Readiness Management Arrangements). Based on the design the consultant will scope relevant sector policies to derive alternative development scenarios and their impacts in terms of land-use change. Once the Steering Committee has reviewed and approved these scenarios, the international consultant will conduct a 3-step Delphi questionnaire sent to a panel of national and international experts to identify the BAU to validate the approved scenarios. The preselected policy scenarios will be adjusted based on the Delphi survey results and presented to the Steering Committee. Together with the spatial projections of the BAU (see below), they will be validated by local stakeholders in 5 regional outreach workshops on the five pilot islands. The Workshop results will be documented, the BAU and alternative scenarios adjusted and submitted to the Steering Committee for final approval. Spatiotemporal deforestation modeling: Spatiotemporal deforestation models will be developed and calibrated for 5 pilot islands. An international consultant (GIS specialist) will compile a Geodatabase using available spatial (Component 4a) and statistical data. The consultant will conduct a spatial regression analysis to identify statistical correlations between spatial deforestation patterns, deforestation rates, key parameters and proxies capturing the drivers’, causes’, and agents’ dynamics. Based on the results of the statistical analysis the consultant will develop and calibrate a spatiotemporal model in DinamicaEgo using historical data to project the future deforestation pattern for each pilot island based on the past trend. Once the policy scenarios have been developed, their land-use change impacts will be simulated and assessed using the calibrated model. Together with the policy scenarios the spatial simulations will be presented to the National Steering Committee. Having been analyzed during the 5 regional outreach workshops they will be adjusted for final approval and documented. EFCS Database development: Enhancement of forest carbon stocks (EFCS) activities will be implemented within the national forest plantation program focusing on site-specific forest plantation concepts, in particular for degraded areas, and compensatory tree planting (Government of the Republic of Vanuatu 2011). These activities will have to be registered (location, stand characteristics), monitored, and measured. Thus, an IPCC 2006 approach 3 compliant database will have to be developed which maintains spatial consistency in reporting emissions and removals across the national domain. A geodatabase has to be developed which support the national EFCS registry reporting tasks. The geodatabase has to be designed in consistency with the reporting requirement established by the IPCC 2006 inventory guidelines page 19 of 27 SPC / GIZ Regional REDD+ Project MRV/REL Methodology Vanuatu and reporting formats, the forest monitoring system (Component 4a) as well as with future COP decisions. REL/RL integration: The spatiotemporal deforestation model, the forest monitoring system and the EFCS database will be integrated within a common GIS framework. This framework will support IPCC 2006 approach 3 compliant reporting on emissions and removals. The integration of subnational REL/RLs will follow the Technical Recommendations version 2 and the forthcoming Technical Requirements of the VCS Jurisdictional and Nested REDD Initiative (JNRI). JNRI compliance will be validated by an UNFCCC and VCS accredited certifier. Stakeholder coordination and outreach: The National REDD+ Steering Committee will accompany the process, review and approve milestone products (policy survey design, policy survey, BAU and policy scenarios, and integrated national REL/RL framework). Local stakeholders will validate the subnational REL/RLs components (BAU, policy scenarios, and spatiotemporal modeling results) at regional outreach workshops to be held on the 5 pilot islands. Annex 3a presents the work plan and the tentative schedule. 5. Institutional Framework The development of activity specific subnational REL/RLs integrated into a national RL requires support and backstopping from different governmental agencies as well as local stakeholders. The following governmental institutions will be requested to actively participate in backstopping, data sharing and framing at the level of the REDD+ Steering Committee: †¢ Ministry of Agriculture, Quarantine, Forestry and Fisheries †¢ Vanuatu National Statistics Office †¢ Departments of Agriculture †¢ Department of Forest †¢ Department of Land Surveys †¢ Department of Provincial Affairs The national REDD+ coordinator will manage the REL development, supervise the work of the consultants and liaise with provincial offices. Complementary research in the field of REL development will be coordinated and approved by the Steering Committee. page 20 of 27 SPC / GIZ Regional REDD+ Project 6. Summary budget Table 3: Summary of Reference Level Activities and Budget MRV/REL Methodology Vanuatu Estimated Cost (in thousands) Main Activity Sub-Activity 2011 BAU and policy scenarios development Policy survey design Policy survey Delphi survey Policy scenario development Documentation Spatial deforestation modeling Geodatabase compilation Statistical analysis Model calibration Scenario tests Scenario adjustment Documentation GeoDatabase design EFCS Database development Geodatabase implementation and training Documentation Accounting framework design REL/RL integration Spatial REL/RL integration Reporting Stakeholder coordination and outreach External REL/RL validation Total Government FCPF Other Development Partner 1 (name)) 258. 5 Steering Committee Regional outreach workshops 2. 5 87. 3 61. 0 69. 0 2012 2013 3. 0 18. 0 24. 0 12. 0 6. 0 10. 0 10. 0 12. 5 12. 5 7. 5 5. 0 10. 17. 2 5. 0 11. 0 5. 0 8. 0 2014 Total 3. 0 18. 0 24. 0 12. 0 6. 0 10. 0 10. 0 12. 5 12. 5 7. 5 5. 0 10. 0 17. 2 5. 0 11. 0 5. 0 8. 0 2. 5 87. 3 61. 0 327. 5 page 21 of 27 SPC / GIZ Regional REDD+ Project MR V/REL Methodology Vanuatu Annex 2 Component 4: Design Systems for National Forest Monitoring and Information on Safeguards 4a. National Forest Monitoring System Guiding principles The proposed National Forest Monitoring Systems is based on the latest decisions of the 17. Conference of the Parties (COP) of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) held in Durban in 2011 and the Cancun Agreements (FCCC/CP/2010/7/Add. ). It will also anticipate the forthcoming decisions of the Subsidiary Body of Scientific and Technological Advice (SBSTA) and of the Ad-hoc Working Group on Long-term Cooperative Action (AWG-LCA) on REDD+. Being a small island state composed of 83 islands and island groups, Vanuatu is showing a comparatively low deforestation rate (Herold et al. 2007). Besides, governmental agencies and ministries count with very limited human, technical, and financial resources to manage natural resources. Currently, no forest concessions are operating in Vanuat u and timber harvesting is operating at a small scale level (Vanuatu Forest Policy 2011 2020). Consequently, Vanuatu has to aim at a cost-effective forest monitoring system focusing on core greenhouse gas (GHG) measurement, reporting and verification (MRV) activities. It will build existing imagery and mapping products focusing its efforts on closing information gaps minimizing the MRV implementation costs without scarifying its accuracy. Such an information system can be extended over time to serve multiple purposes in managing lands, forests, and property rights. While activity data will be generated in a wall-to-wall mode, , Vanuatu will focus its GHG inventory efforts during the first and second phase on the 4 bigger islands Santo, Malekula, Efate and Erromango. However, a sampling scheme will be developed that supports the processing of emission factors which can be attributed to land use and land use change on all islands. In the third phase, the sampling scheme can be intensified to cover all relevant geographical entities. Along this line, Vanuatu’s REDD MRV framework is integrating building blocks developed at the regional level to reduce the national implementation costs. Particularly, it will anticipate MARSFM, the Monitoring, Assessment and Reporting for Sustainable Forest Management Framework (Thiele et al. 2010), a forest inventory approach adjusting FAO’s inventory framework to the specific conditions of small islands in the South Pacific. While the country will focus its REDD page 22 of 27 SPC / GIZ Regional REDD+ Project MRV/REL Methodology Vanuatu fforts during the readiness phase on developing its capacities in the managing geodata, the Applied Geoscience and Technology Division (SOPAC) of the Secretariat of the Pacific Community (SPC) will generate relevant activity data to account for forest related GHG emission and removals. Although the UNFCCC Parties haven’t yet agreed to what extend the IPCC guidance and guidelines will be used in accounting for emissions and removals in REDD+, Vanuatu is committed to base its REDD+ MRV on the 2006 IPCC Guidelines for National Greenhouse Gas Inventories (IPCC 2006). In its initial phase, it is aiming at a tier 2 compliant GHG inventory approach gradually improving the accuracy of emission factors over time to reach tier 3 for selected carbon pools. In the same way, the spatial resolution, accuracy, and precision of forest cover monitoring shall improve over time. While the detection of historic land use land use change has to be based on medium resolution optical (Landsat, Aster, Spot) and radar imagery (ALOS Palsar), the design of the future system will anticipate new improved sensor technologies (e. g. ESA’s Sentinel 2 sensor) and new processing methodologies. While Vanuatu aims at implementing a comprehensive national REDD+ approach covering all the 5 eligible activities, it will focus its efforts on geographic areas, policy approaches, and eligible activities which show the highest potential to achieve emission reductions and GHG removals on short to medium term. Besides monitoring deforestation and forest degradation, the MRV system shall be capable of tracking GHG removals enhancing forest carbon stocks at different scales (e. g. community forestry, ecosystem restoration) and in different ways (e. g. reforestation using timber species, agroforestry). Eligible REDD+ activities Vanuatu is committed develop a cost-effective MRV System, which will be implemented step by step. It will build on available terrestrial inventory and remote sensing data and anticipate new emerging technologies to be provided by different space agencies during the Readiness phase. At its mature stature this system will cover all the 5 eligible REDD+ activities. Table 1 summarizes the initial scope of the MRV system to be implemented during the Readiness phase. Annex 4. A describes the available and required data sources, processing methodologies, and scope for each of the 5 eligible activities. page 23 of 27 SPC / GIZ Regional REDD+ Project MRV/REL Methodology Vanuatu Table 1: Key systems characteristics of Vanuatu’s initial REDD+ MRV system REDD+ activity Activity data (AD) and Emission factors (ED) AD: Optical and radar data ED: IPCC 2006 tier 2 compliant forest inventory AD: detected managed/non-intact forest land remaining forest land ED: IPCC 2006 tier 2 compliant forest inventory AD: Management plans ED: site specific inventories Spatial domain Temporal boundaries Deforestation Degradation AD: wall-to-wall processing (83 islands) ED: terrestrial inventory on 4 biggest islands AD: hot spot monitoring on 4 biggest islands ED: Terrestrial inventory on 4 biggest islands Registered pilot sites AD: 1990-2000-2007-20112014 -2017 ED: 2012, 2017 AD: (2007 – )2011 – 2014 – 2017 ED: 2012, 2017 2012 2017 Sustainable Management of forests Enhancement of forest carbon stocks Conservation of forest carbon stocks AD: National registry of AR activities ED: species specific default values AD: residual areas (intact unmanaged forest land) ED: IPCC 2006 tier 2 compliant forest inventory Registered pilot sites 2012 2017 AD: wall-to-wall processing (83 islands) ED: terrestrial inventory on 4 biggest islands AD: 1990-2000-2007-20112014 -2017 ED: 2012, 2017 The National Forest Inventory Approach For REDD+ reporting purposes the following forest definition will be applied in accordance with the National Forest Policy 2011 2020: Forest is a minimum area of land of 0. 81 hectare with tree crown cover (or equivalent stocking level) of more than 10 percent with trees with the potential to reach a minimum height of 3 meters at maturity in situ. The Stratification of the National Forest Inventory will be based on the Government of Vanuatu’s recently released new vegetation and land cover map of Vanuatu (Ministry of Agriculture, Quarantine, Forestry and Fisheries MAQFF 2011). Eight forest classes open and closed high forests, low forests, thickets, mangroves as well as tree crops will be covered by the forest inventory, while GHG removals by forest plantations will be monitored for specific sites. The inventory design will follow the Protocols of the Monitoring, Assessment and Reporting for Sustainable Forest Management (MAR-SFM) developed by the Secretariat of the Pacific Community (SPC). Plots including subplots, units, and subunits will be established following a cross-shaped plot design (s. Annex 4. A). While aboveground biomass, deadwood, litter, and soilcarbon will be measured in the field, belowground biomass will be estimated using IPCC default values for root-to-shoot ratios. page 24 of 27 SPC / GIZ Regional REDD+ Project MRV/REL Methodology Vanuatu Aiming at a precision of  ±10 per cent of the true value of the mean at the 95 per cent confidence level for aboveground biomass in each stratum, it is estimated that 180 plots will be required to cover the relevant strata. The final plot number will be calculated after a pre-test of the inventory approach on Efate Island in 2012. Aboveground biomass will be calculated using new pantropical allometric equations (Chave et al. 2005). The Forest Inventory will be conducted under the lead of SPC and VDoF during 2012 2013. In accordance with the MAR-SFM protocol (Thiele et al. 2010) key biodiversity parameters will be assessed, too. All plots will be installed involving local communities and land owners. The results will be presented, discussed and validated by landowners and other stakeholders on each island during the Readiness phase. Deforestation monitoring Vanuatu will cover the periods 1990-2000-2007-2011-2014-2017 in reporting on emissions from deforestation and forest degradation. It will use the methodology developed by Herold et al. 2007 to the periods 2000 – 2007 and 2007 – 2011 complementing it applying radar-based methodologies to reduce the clouds coverage. Seven major tasks will be conducted during the Readiness phase: (1) (2) (3) (4) (5) (6) Deforestation processing 2007 – 2011 Cloud correction 1990- 2000 Deforestation processing 2000 – 2007 – 2011 Deforestation processing 2011 – 2014 Deforestation processing 2014 – 2017 Vegetation map 2011 and 2017 updates Annex 4. A identifies the data requirements, methods to be used, and resources required. During an initial phase (2012 – 2015) all remote sensing tasks shall be conducted at the regional level with the support of the Applied Geoscience and Technology Division of the Secretariat of the Pacific Community (SOPAC). In this phase, relevant governmental units in Vanuatu will be trained to verify and use the products. Local stakeholders will be involved in all activities in validating the products of each task before completion. All products will be made available to Vanuatu’s REDD+ stakeholders applying a disclosure policy to be elaborated. Degradation monitoring Vanuatu will test GOFC-GOLD’s indirect approach in combination with IPCC 2006 reporting requirements. It will consider the strata open medium-high forest, open low forest, and open thicket as degraded. Other forest classes will be sub-stratified in intact and non-intact, and complementary in managed and unmanaged, if appropriate, applying GOFC-GOLD’s 6 criteria to report emissions from degradation. Reporting will anticipate the periods 2011-2014-2017. Backward reporting for the period 2007-2011 will be tested within a research project to be funded complementarily. Enhancement of forest carbon stocks page 25 of 27 SPC / GIZ Regional REDD+ Project MRV/REL Methodology Vanuatu The Department of Forestry will establish a registry for enhancement of carbon stock activities eligible under a REDD+ compensation scheme. It will monitor removals on registered sites, account and report corresponding GHG removals using formats and rules to be agreed under UNFCCC for REDD+ reporting. It will analyze the option to implement a national plantation and replanting program as a National Appropriate Mitigation Action (NAMA) and decide about an appropriate reporting period. Conservation of forest carbon stocks Vanuatu is committed to create and extend protected areas to be managed by communities and landowners. It will report on conservation of carbon stocks in those areas. Sustainable management of forests The Department of Forests will analyze the potential of promoting pilot activities reducing logging impacts. It considers the available VCS methodologies for Reduced Impact Logging (RIL) as an option for nested project-based approaches. Common Geodata infrastructure and Standards in terrestrial monitoring To improve consistency in data management, geo services, and ultimately the quality of the REDD+ monitoring and reporting the Department of Lands, Department of Agriculture and Rural Development, Department of Environmental Protection and Conservation, and the Department of Forests have to agree on common Geodata standards, formats, and official datasets. Capacity building: GIS and Remote Sensing During the Readiness phase GIS routines and geo-databases have to be consolidated first, before the remote sensing capacities can be improved. To facilitate the proliferation of common Geodata standards and procedures, GIS staff of different Departments dedicated to terrestrial monitoring shall be involved in GIS training and remote sensing technology transfer. A long-term capacity building concept will be developed during the initial Readiness phase to guide this process. Independent review and certification Vanuatu will follow the Technical Recommendations of the Jurisdictional and Nested REDD Initiative (JNRI) of the Verified Carbon Standard (VCS) version 3. 2 (VCS 2012a-c). It aims at certifying its REDD+ MRV system by an UNFCCC accredited certifier. The validation can be initiated once the integrated REL/RL framework has been established (Component 3). Verification can be conducted as soon as the National Forest Inventory has been implemented and the activity data for the periods 1990-2014 have been processed. page 26 of 27 SPC / GIZ Regional REDD+ Project MRV/REL Methodology Vanuatu Table 4-1: Summary of Monitoring Activities and Budget (USD) Estimated Cost (in thousands) Main Activity Sub-Activity 2012 Inventory preparation Inventory pre-test 58. 24 100. 48 155. 31 326. 00 45. 2 36. 75 2013 2014 2015 Total 58. 24 100. 48 526. 83 36. 75 National Forest Inventory Inventory roll-out Data processing and reporting Deforestation processing 2000 œ 2011 Cloud correction 1990-2000 124. 30 79. 30 203. 60 125. 64 7. 61 133. 25 Deforestation monitoring Deforestation analysis 2000-20072011 Deforestation analysis 2011 – 2014 External verification 43. 40 43. 40 119. 51 119. 51 70. 00 40. 00 50. 00 60. 00 50. 00 80. 00 70. 00 100. 00 180. 00 Geodata management GIS/RS Training Total Government FCPF UN-REDD Programme (if applicable) GIZ Other Development Partner 2 (name) Other Development Partner 3 (name) 438. 33 620. 94 243. 28 269. 51

Dangerous Liaisons Vs. Cruel Intentions Essays - Free Essays

Dangerous Liaisons Vs. Cruel Intentions Essays - Free Essays Dangerous Liaisons Vs. Cruel Intentions It is my intention to compare the book, Dangerous Liaisons by Choderlos de Laclos, to its modern movie version, Cruel Intentions starring Sarah Michelle Gellar. I intend to examine how the original French text was modified in reference to plot, character, morals/values, and themes. I also plan to discuss how these transformations change the meaning of the story and reflect different cultural/historical contexts. There are some major differences between these two works, if only because of when they were written. First, the plots of both works need to be discussed and explained how they are different. The stories of both works have basically the same structure, until it gets toward the endings. In Dangerous Liaisons, the Vicomte de Valmont dies in a sword battle between him and Danceny. Right before he dies, though, he gives Danceny all of his letters between him and the Marquise de Merteuil and tells him to circulate them in order to ruin Merteuils reputation. Danceny does this and then moves away for a while. Merteuil ends up becoming disfigured from small pox and her reputation crumbles. She moves to Holland because of this. Cecile moves back into the convent and Madame de Tourvel dies of misery because of the suffering that Valmont put her through. Because Cruel Intentions is such a modernized version of this story, the ending is a lot different. Sebastian (Valmont) dies by being hit by a car because he pushed Annette (Tourvel) out of the way in order to save her life. Obviously, this is a much more modern way of dying in a movie than dying in a sword fight. Also, it shows the Valmont character as being more heroic, which in Dangerous Liaisons, he was not quite so heroic. In the movie, it does not really say what happens to Ronald (Danceny). He fights with Sebastian, and that is the last we see of him. Catherine (Merteuil), like in the book, also has her reputation ruined, but she gets humiliated in a more dramatic way (in front of the student body and faculty). Also, there is the issue of drugs. Her addiction to cocaine is revealed. The use of drugs is a common issue in todays modern movies, and that is one of the reasons Cruel Intentions is different in terms of its cultural context. Cecile and Annette (Tourvel) worked togeth er to produce copies of Sebastians journal, which revealed Catherines true self, and they handed them out to the student body and faculty. Cecile directly gets revenge on Catherine. In Dangerous Liaisons, she does not. This also relates to cultural context. It shows how more independent women are in the modern world. In Dangerous Liaisons, Tourvel dies of misery and Cecile goes into the convent. This shows that women were much weaker and less independent in society in the late 1700s. The last scene in the movie shows Annette driving off in Sebastians expensive car. This is a typical ending to a modern story. In the book, her character dies, but in the movie, she is the vengeful, independent woman. It is apparent that the morals and values of both works change because of their cultural and historical context. Dangerous Liaisons was basically written to teach young women in society what not to do. This kind of literature was looked down upon at the time it was written. In 1824 a decree of the cour royale de Paris condemned it to be destroyed as dangerous. This verdict remained the official one throughout the later nineteenth century. The book was spoken of only to be deplored: a picture of the most odious immortality, that should never have been revealed even supposing it had been true, a work of revolting immorality, a book to be admired and execrated.(Laclos, p. 7) It was considered to be an immoral book. The movie was made mainly for entertainment purposes. Since we basically live in an immoral society, it was well accepted as a good movie. Although the schemes that Catherine and Sebastian thought up and carried out were at times blown out of proportion, I think todays audience is entertained by that sort of character. Catherine and Sebastian were the kinds of people that probably do