Energy Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 1

Energy - Essay Example The major difference between renewable energy and nonrenewable energy is the ability of renewable energy to renew. For example, wind energy is a renewable energy source which will be available in this world as long as this world remains in its present state. On the other hand same thing cannot be said about nonrenewable energy. For example, oil or natural gas energy sources are exhausting day by day and it is not replaced by any of the natural means. Because of the nonrenewable nature of nonrenewable energy, this energy source is going to lose its significance in near future or 50 years from now. Renewable energy sources will gain prominence in near future itself. Moreover, nonrenewable energy sources are causing severe environmental problems like air pollution, water pollution, global warming, climate changes etc and therefore it is difficult to rely on nonrenewable energy sources further. For example, â€Å"Air pollution, thermal pollution, land devastation, groundwater pollution, acidification of streams and rivers, erosion, subsidence of land caused by underground mines, hazards to miners, and, of course, global warming are all recognized as part and parcel of coal’s utilization† (Smith, 2009, p.162). On the other hand renewable energies such as wind energy, tidal energy, solar energy etc are causing little or no damage to the environment. In my opinion, solar energy seems to be the future energy source. The major advantage of solar energy is the less environmental problems it can generate and its abundant nature. Solar energy reaches every part of the earth 12 hours per day. If we can develop technologies feasible for the exploitation of solar energy, we need not be worried too much about the energy crisis in future. The major problem associated with the exploitation of solar energy is the lack of feasible technologies to convert solar energy into other forms of energy. Since solar energy is available only in day time, it is necessary to

Ethnic group (Chinese) in the uk Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Ethnic group (Chinese) in the uk - Essay Example In fact the King of England was so amazed by this man that he commissioned a portrait of him and hung it in his own bed.1 Later, because of British colonial possession in east Asia, the British had more contact with China. Because of these contacts trade increased and with it an exchange of populations. There were only a few Chinese living in Britain up until the Second World War; following that there was a large influx of people from around Hong Kong, many of whom were agricultural workers looking to make a better life for themselves and their families. They earnestly believed that a better life lay in Britain. Nowadays, as China becomes richer and more powerful, Chinese parents want to send their children to schools in Britain. Britain is very famous around the world for the quality of its education, both high schools and some of its world-class universities. Consequently, there has been an increase in enrolment among Chinese students. Whether these individuals remain in Britain fo llowing their graduation and become a part of British society remains to be seen, but there is a good chance that if they get married in Britain they may well stay there and be part of a new wave of emigration from China to Britain. The Chinese in Britain have usually been there for a long time. They can be distinguished from the larger population of British Indians who live in particular communities in large families and maintain many of their own traditions. It could be said that the Chinese are better at integrating. They live all over the place and not necessarily in their own special communities. They are also very high achieving in education, especially in the second and third generations who are very ambitious to make a difference. Chinese have the highest rate of intermarriage with other races of any minority population in the United Kingdom. When comparing their cultural output to that of the Indians, it is evidently

Analysis of Service Quality Level

Analysis of Service Quality Level Introduction The success of organisations relies heavily on the management of quality (Zeithaml and Bitner, 2003 or 2006) Managing customer care and service quality are fundamental for the achievement of any organisation (Ko and Pastore, 2004). Service suppliers that deliver a high level of service quality and customer care are more likely to achieve higher levels of customer satisfaction (Saravanan and Rao, 2007). As a result satisfied customers will be more encouraged to re-use the services; this will usually impact on the financial success of the organisation (Howat, et al., 1999). General principles of quality The fundamentals of the word quality presented in the work of Deming in the late 1980s create a basis for further study into the area. As a result, a number of definitions of quality have been proposed by researchers. Mills, (1992, p.2) stated that quality was the totality of features and characteristics of a product or service that bear on its ability to satisfy or implied needs. Further research into quality has indicated that a more useful definition has been defined as meeting the agreed requirements of the customer (Kelly, 2004, p.33). Both definitions of quality are connected to both goods and services with emphasis on the features of the product or alternatively focus on the customers needs and expectations (Chang and Chelladurai, 2000). Goods are defined as tangible; these are physical products that offer benefits to consumers, in contrast services are defined as intangible, and represent non-physical products (Shank, 2009, p.16). Services have five main characteristics that are unique to service markets; these are intangibility; perishability; inseparability; heterogeneity and lack of ownership (Kotler, 2005). Heterogeneity indicates that each service experience is likely to be different as factors such as the time and location change, also the interaction phase with customers differs (Kotler, 2005). To reduce the impact of heterogeneity, management must focus on the operating systems, procedures and staff training in order to ensure consistency (Brassington and Pettitt, 2007, p.465). Furthermore, the quality of staff is becoming increasingly essential in the public service industry, with managers indicating their expectations of staff in terms of their attitudes and competencies when delivering the service to cust omers (Swarbrooke, 2002; Brassington and Pettitt, 2007) Managing the quality of goods and services primarily involves benchmarking, this is the measurement of an aspect of an organisations performance against an internal or external target (Beech and Chadwick, 2004, p.256). Two other key terms associated with quality include quality assurance and quality control, Mills, (1992, p.3) states quality assurance provides adequate confidence that a product or service will satisfy given requirements of quality. In contrast (Dale, 2000) suggests that quality control aims to achieve and monitor service quality, by identifying and addressing quality problems. Researchers have recognised that there are several issues with the conceptualization and measurement of quality in relation to sport services, for example (Tsitskari, et al., 2006) suggests that there is a degree of uncertainty and disagreement regarding parts of the criteria including the conceptual model of quality. Previous literature (such as Ko and Pastore, 2004; Tsitskari, et al., 2006) have focused on the concept of service quality and acknowledged that there are several definitions of service quality. However (Parasuraman, et al., 1988, p.2) defined service quality as an appropriate approach for assessing the quality of a firms service is to measure consumers perceptions of quality. In other words service quality is the comparison of consumer expectations with the actual service performance (Parasuraman, et al., 1988). The concept of service quality is based upon the customers perception of the characteristics and delivery of services (Ko and Pastore, 2004). Further research by Zeithaml and Bitner, (2006) suggests that the concept of service quality is a significant issue, as service quality perceptions are related to customer satisfaction and customer retention. Other researchers such as (Kim and Kim, 1995) have had varied perceptions on the measurement of service quality. However the main use of measuring service quality has been through the instrument, SERVQUAL, a 22 item scale founded by Parasuraman, et al., (1988). Recent research by (Tsitskari, et al., 2006) indicates that the majority of researchers accept that the 22 items in SERVQUAL are sufficient indictors for the overall measurement of service quality. However a study by Murray and Howat (2002) demonstrates that there is a lack of agreement on the exact nature of service quality dimensions. For example, (Parasuraman, et al., 1988) formed five dimensions of service quality: responsiveness, assurance, tangibles, empathy and reliability, through using the SERVQUAL scale, mainly focusing on the human aspects of service delivery. However (Chang and Chelladurai, 2000) suggest the variability in dimensional structure can be modified and tailored for specific industries. For example, Howat, et al., (1999), used only three dimensions for 17 service quality attributes in their study of 30 Australian sports and leisure centres. The three dimensions used in the study were (a) core service, which included a range of activities with programme information, (b) personnel service, which included the quality, knowledge and responsiveness of staff, (c) peripheral service including secondary services including services for food and drink. The observations suggest that a comprehensive conceptual model needs to be developed for a better understanding of the nature and meaning of service qual ity (Ko and Pastore, 2004). Robinson, (2004) identified three frameworks for managing quality, these are: total quality management (TQM), the EFQM Excellence Model and Quest, as all these frameworks emphasise performance management and continuous improvement. Firstly TQM is a framework for quality management and is a process from top to bottom, bottom to top, which involves every person in an organisation, in order to ensure customer satisfaction at every stage (Torkildsen, 2005, p.382). The three main principles of TQM are customer focus, continuous improvement and teamwork (De Knop, et al., 2004). The EFQM Excellence Model is the most widely used organisational framework in Europe while becoming increasingly popular in the sport industry as it created the basis for QUEST (Robinson, 2004). The key principles of the model include results orientation; customer focus; leadership and constancy of purpose; management by processes and facts; people development and involvement; continuous learning; innovation and improvement; partnership development; and corporate social responsibility (Beech and Chadwick, 2004, p.257). Quest is a sport and leisure specific quality framework, and is a tool for continuous improvement; Quest also defines industry standards and good practice and encourages high quality delivery to customers. (Quest, 2009) Two models are associated with Quest, one model focuses on the management of leisure facilities and the other focuses on sport development, (Quest, 2009). Quest is funded by a wide range of organisations with the majority of the support coming from the four home country Sports Councils (Torkildsen, 2005). The Quest scheme for facility management identifies four essential sections; these include facilities operation, customer relations, staffing and service development and improvement, all of which are examples of best practice in the leisure industry (Wood, 1997). Organisations have recognised the importance of the quality programme of ISO 9002. This quality programme ensures that the operations of the service are displayed through a consistent approach, recognising that customers can expect the service to be similar from day to day and between service deliverers (Robinson, 2004). Literature has demonstrated that there are many challenges and issues for managing quality in the public sector industry. For instance, Doherty, et al, (2002) suggests that that external issues for concern include, increasing complaints about the declining level of quality in areas such as transport, education and health. In contrast, (Doherty, et al, 2002) also recognises internal challenges for organisations, with the current growth of internal assessments, and issues around quality and value for money. Beech and Chadwick, (2004) identify specific challenges for managers managing quality in the public sector; these primarily include recognising and acknowledging their main customer groups and then managing these customers experiences by improving the service delivery through performance measures. However, managers who dont prioritise their customer groups will run the risk of delivering services that do not meet any expectations of quality (Robinson, 2004, p.141). Additionally it is important for managers in the sport industry to understand and identify participation motives and customers problems because this determines not only the level of service quality, but also the level of customer satisfaction (Ko and Pastore, 2004, p.162). An earlier study by Schvaneveldt, et al., (1991) indicated that three key factors affected the delivery of service quality in sport organisations. The three factors were associated to the core service, the physical context and most importantly the interpersonal interactions in the performance of the service. These observations have major implications on customer care as the quality of the encounter is an essential element in the overall impression of the quality of service experienced by the customer (Dale, 2000). In addition, Swarbrooke, (2002) suggested that observing quality in public services primarily focused on issues such as the cost of the service and perception on value for money from the service. There are a number of issues and challenges associated to managing quality in the public sport sector. For example MacVicar and Ogden, (2001) suggests that managers in the public sport sector are more inclined to use peripheral workers due to the competitive environment and budget pressures. Peripheral workers are primarily on non-standard contracts and carry out services and duties that are delivered to customers. The challenge managers face is that they have to develop strategies to motivate an insecure, low commitment workforce to ensure good customer care is provided. (MacVicar and Ogden, 2001, p.129) Another issue in managing quality in the public sport sector industry is that expectations are either so unrealistic that it is not possible to deliver services of such a high standard, or it is financially very costly to do so, given the levels of resource constraint (Robinson, 2004, p.178). Recent research by (Alexandris, 2008) demonstrated the importance of identifying performance indicators in order to test the success of the managers strategies, and goals and reflect on the quality delivered to customers. Research by (Lentell, 2000, p.2) has indicated that customer satisfaction in sport services can be affected by factors such as the robustness of the bookings system, the promptness of the service delivery, and the way customers are treated by staff, or by the cleanliness of the service outlet. However recent research by (Tsuji, et al., 2007) suggests that managers should continuously develop and adopt procedures to understand, evaluate, and improve on the quality of services provided to their consumers in-order to improve customer care. The current state of golf, is that it is a $60 billion industry, with 30,730 courses worldwide and over 57 million golfers.(Golf Research Group, 2009 ) The Royal Ancient (RA) is golfs governing body, it operates with 136 organisations from the amateur and professional game and on behalf of over thirty million golfers in 123 countries (R A, 2009). The R A identify that the implementation of best practice throughout a golf club can be demonstrated firstly through ensuring that the management structure is capable of setting policy objectives which maintain and improve the quality of the golfing facility (R A, 2009). In addition the RA, recognise the importance of monitoring and reviewing the policy objectives as well as focusing on the efficient and effectiveness of service delivery to customers (RA, 2009) The governing body of male amateur golf in England is the English Golf Union, looking after the interests of over 1,800 golf clubs and 740,000 club members (English Golf Union, 2009). The governing body specifically addresses the management of quality at golf clubs in England. Providing assistance and support, in specific areas such as club adminstration, golf course management, as well as assisting staff in the day-to-day operations of the golf club and course (English Golf Union, 2009). The majority of research on the management of quality in golf has come from the US golf industry. For example a US golf study on managing perceived quality has indicated that golf club managers that modify the price of green fees depending on the time of day, time of booking or condition of play may impact customer satisfaction (Kimes and Wirtz, 2003). A further American study investigated how golfers choose a golf course. The findings indicate that American golfers are most influenced by the cost of green fees, followed by the quality of course conditions, availability of tee times, and lastly the location of golf course (Richard and Fairclough, 1994). However recent research by (Won, et al., 2009) suggests that committed golfers care more about the core elements such as the quality of course conditions rather than the cost of green fees. The research suggests that golf club managers that are providing a quality service primarily need to improve the core elements such as course main tenance as well as operating the golf facility (Won, et al., 2009). Other research surrounding the management of quality in golf has come from Korea, and Australia. For example a Korean study based on service quality and customer satisfaction suggested that managers of private golf clubs that focus on providing and improving service quality to customers can impact the profitability of golf clubs (Kim and Lough, 2007). Furthermore a study from the Australian golf industry identified twenty one service attributes. These attributes measured the perceptions of the golf facilities performance against the golfers expectations of the facility. The study specifically researched into areas such as the appearance of the facilities, course quality, staff responsiveness, customer behaviour, etiquette and value for money (Crilley, et al, 2002, p.374) Further research into issues in managing quality in the context of golf, has reflected that an increasing number of American golf courses are being built annually, while the number of golfers in America remains stagnant (Petrick, et al., 2001). As a result it is important that golf club managers identify the factors which attract and retain golfers. The findings also recognise that by understanding golfers experiences, this will enhance the facility operations, leading to a higher quality of service delivery (Petrick, et al., 2001). According to a report by the golf research group, (2002) based on UK golf courses this found that since the beginning of 1990, 603 new golf facilities have been built. This increase was initiated by the report called The Demand for Golf created by the RA. However from 2000, the growth of new golf facilities has been limited and only 10 new golf facilities were opened from 2000 to 2002, due to financial constraints and the lack of demand in the golf industry. (Golf Research Report, year) The current recession has affected the golf industry, according to a report from the English Golf Union they have found that memberships are declining in many golf clubs in the UK. Also the majority of golf clubs in the UK are not implementing joining fees in-order to attract new golfers (Mintel, 2009). In the UK, in 2008 there were 1.225 million members of golf clubs, and there are 2,630 golf courses, 72% of these golf courses are located in England (Mintel, 2009). According to a study by Mort and Collins (2001) they highlighted that 11% of golf courses totalling 210 in England, are classified as municipal golf courses, and stated that the objective of municipal golf courses is to maintain low green fees and attract the local population. Mowsbury Golf Club in Bedfordshire is a municipal golf course and is run by the local authority. According to a report by the Golf Research Group, (year) on municipal golf courses in 2002, there has been a substantial decrease in the number of rounds played per year especially between the years of 1995-2001. For example in 1995 around 45,000 rounds were played, however by 2001 only 35,000 rounds were played on the municipal courses, reflecting a huge decrease of 10,000 rounds played. Over the 6 year period this was a 23% reduction in UK municipal rounds in the UK. (Golf Research Report, year) Literature has acknowledged that there are a limited number of UK studies that have focused on service quality and customer care at golf clubs. However one study focused on the management of quality at municipal golf courses and highlighted Best Value. Stevens and Green, (2002) indicate that Best Value primarily focuses on local authorities, ensuring that the quality and cost of services meet the needs of the local population, and that the efficiency and quality of services continually improve. The study indicated that the introduction of Best Value has contributed to an improvement in the operations of municipal golf courses, primarily through the process of benchmarking with the objective of improving service quality (Mort and Collins, 2001). The purpose of this study is to investigate the level of service quality and customer care as perceived by members and non-members at Mowsbury Golf Club, Bedfordshire. The rationale for the study recognises that previous research reflects that are a limited number of UK studies on the customer care and service quality at golf clubs. Also previous researchers such as (Tsitskari, et al., 2006) have reflected the importance of service quality to the mission of sport and emphasises that further research towards service quality should be a primary concern. References http://academic.mintel.com/sinatra/oxygen_academic/search_results/show/display/id=394687/display/id=448545?select_section=448543

Larry Ellisons Contributions to Computer Technology Essay -- Technolo

Abstract Larry Ellison is among the top names in the computer industry. He has been fiercely competitive with Bill Gates over the years. That competitive nature may very well be the driving force behind some of his contributions to the world of computer technology. Childhood and Education It is important to understand the background and education of Larry Ellison in order to understand what drives and motivates him in his adult life. Ellison was not a child of privilege. He did not grow up with parents who were scientists or pushed him to excel. According Wikipedia, Larry Ellison was born to a 19 year old unwed Jewish mother who felt compelled to give him up to her aunt and uncle to raise him. He grew up in a two bedroom apartment in a Jewish community in South Shore Chicago. Academy of Achievement website states in the biography about Ellison, he left the University of Illinois during second year final exams when his adoptive mother died. Later that fall he enrolled in the University of Chicago but dropped out after the first semester. Academy of Achievement goes on to say, â€Å"His adoptive father was now convinced that Larry would never make anything of himself, but the seemingly aimless young man had already learned the rudiments of computer programming in Chic ago.† CEO of Software Development Labs According to Academy of Achievement, Ellison moved to California where he worked with a few different companies. One of those companies was Amdahl Corporation where Ellison was able to participate in building the first IBM-compatible mainframe system. Ellison and two other co-workers pursued founding a new company named Software Development Labs. Ellison functioned as CEO of this newly founded company. It was at this company h... ...n Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Retrieved August 15, 2010, from http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Larry_Ellison&oldid=379100685. "Larry Ellison Biography -- Academy of Achievement." Academy of Achievement Main Menu. N.p., n.d. Web. 15 Aug. 2010. http://www.achievement.org/autodoc/page/ell0bio-1. "What are relational databases?†. (March 23, 2001). HowStuffWorks.com. Retrieved August 15, 2010. http://computer.howstuffworks.com/question599.htm. "Larry Ellison 1944 - Biography - Early life, Software development laboratories, Relational databases, Building oracle, Maturity, The internet revolution, Downturn." Reference For Business - Encyclopedia of Small Business, Business Biographies, Business Plans, and Encyclopedia of American Industries. N.p., n.d. Retrieved August 16, 2010. http://www.referenceforbusiness.com/biography/A-E/Ellison-Larry-1944.html.

Customer Service at Richer Sounds Essay

Richer Sounds believe that the most important measure of the success would be to give all their customers a great service and satisfaction. This is even important than making the profit margins high and gaining a lot of profit this is because Any organisation can increase their profits by increasing prices of goods, buying cheaper and low quality goods, cutting down on employees and many more but doing this Richer Sounds believe that there wont be good customer service due to less employees, customers wont purchase any expensive products which is not of good quality and through this they will keep losing customers The company believes once a customer purchases a product and thinks it was at low price and also sees it is off good quality with an excellent customer service given to him the he/she will always tend to come back to purchase more goods, in-fact the customer may also tell some of its friends and families about the prices that Richer Sounds have and like this the company will benefit in getting new and new customers all the time. How Richer Sounds strive to achieve superb customer service They think the following are important: – Management commitment – this means every director and every manager states the customer service as most essential in the business. This also means spending money to give excellent services – Recruiting and training right people – Colleagues are looked at their personalities and attitude while there are been giving an interview. All colleagues that have been given the job have a 3 – day induction course which even concentrates in training the new colleagues how to give an excellent customer service – Motivated colleagues – if all colleagues are treated well and valued they will give good service to customers. For this reason the colleague support function is so critical. – Measuring the results – The best way to find the right results are to ask customer themselves therefore Richer Sounds does this through it sales questionnaires. Richer Sounds also have a mystery shopper who looks how well the colleagues manage their customers and how greatly they give customer service. The company also has telephone call system, which is been recorded, and through this they check how well store colleagues answer to customer problems. – A customer friendly environment – this include the ease of walking around the store, the layout of the store and how well are the products displayed and also how well each customer will be able to search for his/her product The company insist their colleagues to wear smart clear clothes with clear name badges and to greet all their customers. Responding to customer needs Training in customer service All new colleagues have to attend the three – day induction course before they are allowed to serve customers. While doing this course they are also taught on the aspects of customer service, which includes: – How to approach a customer within the stores – Richer Sounds has several policies on approaching a customer such as: Not to approach a customer as soon as they have entered the store for any help, Once a customer enters they should greet them by saying hello and most strict rule is to not approach anyone from behind because it may scare them and only approach from the side or from the front – The appearance of the colleagues – all colleagues working in the sores have to were the Richer Sounds uniform with a name badge on it – How to cope on busy days – All tills must be used to serve customers and try to serve quite faster. When the queues are very long colleagues should offer customers standing and not standing in the queues a cup of tea or coffee. Usually no customers like to wait in queues especially when the store I very crowded. – How to ask questions to customers – colleagues should ask questions relating on the type of product they are looking for and not to encourage customers to buy items they don’t wont because richer sounds believe this is the worse thing to do. – How to handle payments – the company uses all types of credit cards or any type of purchase whether the item is 99p or even if the item is i 99. 99. This is because there are times when people wont to pay later for the item they need because you get a time period to pay the amount and there are times when customers may have forgot their money at home but want to purchase the item so they can use the credit card. Due to this reason no one may leave the store without anything just because they forgot their money. – How to cope with technical questions – Health and safety – each colleague should know how to take actions in emergency to do this they may need this training – How to deal customers who have disabilities – All colleagues should have respect for customers who have disabilities and should help them in all ways for which product they are looking for. All colleagues should be truthful in what they sell and how much they take because if there is a blind person needing a tape player the colleagues shouldn’t charge more money to what it should be. How Richer Sounds Identify Customer needs and Expectation There are three main ways how richer sounds identify customer needs and expectation, which are: – The till receipt questionnaires – these are most important questionnaires because everyone who purchases a product will receive and if they taught they did get treated well at the store then he/she may fill the questionnaires. These questionnaires are also seen everytime the customers will see the receipt and so next time when they may come back to the store to purchase another item then they could also bring the filled questionnaires with them.

Analysing Salinity In The River Murray Environmental Sciences Essay

The Murray River is one of the biggest rivers in Australia and spans three provinces: Victoria, New South Wales and South Australia. The entire length is 2756 kilometers and has 4 major dikes and 16 storage weirs and 15 navigable locks. The Murray River is a topographic point for a big scope sum of species such as birds, wetland birds, fishes and floras. Today, there are more menaces to the river particularly to the quality of the H2O in Murray River. The low quality of H2O will act upon many industries and human being that rely on the river Murray. One index of H2O quality is the salt degree in the H2O. The salt degree is really high in most portion of the river, particularly in the Coorong, Lower lakes and Murray Mouth. The lessening in H2O flows to these countries caused addition in salt degree which reduces the H2O quality of the river. Still, the salt degree fluctuates at a really short clip because it is being influenced by the flows from up watercourse and the tidal moving ridge. The Living Murray Program ( LMP ) is a response plan to the environmental jobs in the Murray River. It aims to presenting back the H2O into the river to accomplish an environmentally healthier river system that benefits all Australian. The plan was established in 2002 and the first plan was implemented in 2004 to delivered back 5000GL of H2O to the Murray River to profit workss, animate beings and Australian along the river. It was besides aims to better the environmental public presentation of six topographic points that designated as icon sites due to their high ecological and cultural values. The plan provides H2O to retaining, retrieving and bettering the ecosystems, home grounds and species of vegetations and zoologies in these sites. Among all icon sites, The Coorong, Lower Lakes and Murray Mouth have the highest salt degree. The LMP and other related plans under the LMP attempt to work out the jobs. This essay critiques the LMP and related plans on their effort to cut down the salt degree in Coorong, Lower Lakes and Murray Mouth countries. This essay besides describes the benefits, strengths and failings of the LMP regrading salt issues. The River Murray and the Murray-Darling Basin The Murray-Darling Basin ( MDB ) covers the country of Queensland, New South Wales, Victoria and the Australian Capital Territory and South Australia. The rivers provide services for the 2.7 million people ( Murray-Darling Basin Commission 2007 ) . The MDB has a saline status and due to human activities in the last two decennaries through irrigation and dike, the salt degree has been increasing significantly. This status is non a good status for agribusiness, H2O supplies and environment ( Murray-Darling Basin Commission 2000 ) . The increasing degree of salt in the Murray River is caused by some alterations on the H2O direction system. Naturally, the Murray River is flown by high degree of salt and the natural barrier which came from the form of the Murray River H2O flows prevent the belowground flows to make the sea a create salty deposit bed beneath the upper current which create high degree of salt within the river of course. However, alterations like higher rate of irrigation and, clearance of new land of agricultural industry had accelerated the degree of salt in the river and increasing it significantly ( Quiggin, 1988 ) . Table 1. Salt degrees in the River Murray Murray-Darling Basin Salting. Metric tons of salt mobilised to come up in each State for selected old ages. State 1998 2020 2050 2100 SA 434,000 640,000 870,000 1,020,000 VIC 740,000 825,000 1,150,000 1,370,000 Naval special warfare 3,707,000 5,000,000 6,140,000 7,690,000 QLD 186,000 255,000 256,000 256,000 Murray-Darling Basin Salting. Annual entire salt mobilization in metric tons for selected old ages.A1998 2020 2050 2100 Sum 5,100,000 6,800,000 8,500,000 10,400,000 ( beginning: MDBMC, 1987 ) Due to increasing degree of salt in the Murray River H2O, species which of course live with Murray River as their natural home ground will bit by bit extinct since their organ could non accommodate with high degree of salt ( Nielsen et al. 2003 ) . While some types of plantation and carnal manage to set their variety meats to the increasing degree of salt, the impact is still important and even makes their lives shortened. In add-on, substructure nearby the salty river can be easy damaged and the quality of land, particularly for agricultural intents will dramatically diminish which caused the doomed of productive land. If authorities continues their undertaking to pull off the salt degree in the Murray River by pumping the river H2O and turn up it in an country where it so vaporize and infiltrate into the land will profit by making a healthy Murray flood-plain flora and promote 135 species of birds to populate in the country ( Murray-Darling Basin Commission 2003 ) . The Coorong, Lower Lakes and Murray Mouth The H2O quality in Coorong country determine the H2O quality of its environing countries, particularly in four territory parts of chief channel of the lower Murray, the lower Lake Alexandria and Lake Albert, the Northern Lagoon of the Coorong and the Southern Lagoon of the Coorong. The high value of Coorong, Lower Lakes and Murray Mouth have been doing these countries became iconic sites. Naturally, the Coorong, Lower Lakes and Murray Mouth have a high degree of salt because of the H2O flows to the country is already low both in quality and measure. These countries are located in the down watercourse at the very terminal of the Murray River system. There are 593 Gatess and 5 bombardments in the Coorong built in 1035 and 1940 to protect the Coorong from the Lower Lakes. The H2O flow from the upstream influence the H2O in the Coorong. The Murray Mouth, Coorong and Lower lakes is an country of 140.000 hectares. This country is of import because it is a native topographic point for several species of birds, fish and floras and one of the biggest wetland sites that provide an economic sciences value through its fish. Furthermore, Coorong that has 140 kilometer length is one of the icon sites for waterfowls. Environmental aims delivered in this country through EWMP were making a healthier Coorong and Lower Lakes countries ; pull offing the transition through Murray Mouth ; supplying best status for fish spawning and increasing wading birds home ground in Lower Lakes. The biggest aims in this country is to cut down the salt degree and manage H2O degree fluctuation in Murray Mouth, Coorong and Lower Lakes by constructing Gatess that installed on selected bombardments. The dredging plan in the Murray oral cavity besides one of the efforts to do the Murray Mouth environmentally healthier. Figure 1. Murray Mouth, Coorong and Lower Lakes ( Murray-Darling Basin Commission 2008 ) . The Living Murray Program The Living Murray Program ( TLMP ) is a Response plan to the environmental debasement in Murray River system. Established in mid 2002 by the Murray-Darling Basin Ministerial Council ( MDBMC ) , it aimed to pull off the H2O flow to run into the appropriate degree to keep the healthy status of the river. The plan was besides set to protect the agricultural concern, the communities, natural and cultural values along the Basin ( Murray-Darling Basin Commission 2004 ) . Furthermore, in 2003, The MDBMC decided to better environmental benefit in six countries include Murray Mouth, Coorong and Lower Lakes. The marks were: recovery of up to an estimated norm of 500GL/ twelvemonth of H2O ; bettering environmental benefits for all countries on the $ 150 million ; bettering the direction capacity ; constitution of autochthonal partnership and farther work to better the environmental benefit from the six designated countries. The countries were chosen because of their importance on national, regional and international ecological system ; the hazards they face and the economic sciences and cultural values they have ( Murray-Darling Basin Commission 2004 ) . The Environmental Works and Measure Program ( EWMP ) is a long term plan tallies from 2003 to 2011 as an built-in portion of the Living Murray Program. In October 2002, the EWMP had dredging plan in the Murray Mouth to keep and reconstruct the environmental wellness in Coorong and Lower Lakes. This plan was successful in keeping an gap in drouth in 2003 and 2004 ( Murray-Darling Basin Commission 2004 ) . There were several menaces to the wellness of Coorong, Lower Lakes and Murray Mouth in footings of salt degree: terrible drouth cause low flows of H2O or no flow at all through the bombardments ; the average one-year flow is 27 % under natural status ; sudden passage between saline and fresh water at the bombardments and cut down interaction between sea and river, including that the Murray oral cavity is at hazard of closing on norm in one twelvemonth in three. The Actions of EWMP were: making of a new â€Å" River Murray estuary environmental allotment † of about 180GL in every twelvemonth ; Target flushing of oral cavity in accomplishing flows go throughing Barrages in summer and fall in dry old ages ; bettering greater control of the Barrages and triping many species to bread during wet old ages. Between 2003-2011, Department of Water, Land and Biodiversity Conservation in South Australia was running a plan to remotely operates the Barrages Gatess. The aims was to heightening the environmental wellness of the Coorong, Lower Lakes and Murray Mouth by increasing the flexibleness of control of bombardments releases at selected locations and cut downing the salt fluctuation and H2O degree fluctuation and bettering connectivity between the sea and the Coorong. This undertaking is an built-in portion of the LMP since the results were reported to the Murray Management Plan. The Restoration and sweetening dredging in the Murray oral cavity was besides aimed to increase the environmental wellness of the Coorong and Lower Lakes. The plan is running from 2004 and estimated to be finished in 2011. The results are installing of 10 remotely operated Gatess at the Tauwitchere Barrage ; remotely operated Gatess will be installed on selected bombardments supplying improved operational flexibleness compared to the current manually operated Gatess ; A concern instance based on current monitoring, morphological modeling and probes of a figure of environmental wellness indexs to find whether dredging beyond the current dredging plan will profit the Coorong and Lower Lakes environment and If the concern instance is positive, execution of an enhanced dredging plan to reconstruct, enhance and prolong the environmental wellness of the Coorong and Lower Lakes ( Murray-Darling Basin Commission 2004 ) . The LMP allocated 15GL of H2O to be released in 2005 and 2006. The primary aims were to supply the best status for some of the native fishes to engender and to increase the estuarial country. Therefore, due to many betterments on LMP program, in July 2005 H2O was released through the bombardments and this status allowed some of the native fish to finish their life rhythm. This status showed that the Coorong was ecologically healthier. The dredging undertaking besides showed a important addition in the flora in the Murray Mouth. Furthermore, in 2006, some native fishes were found and release near the bombardments which means that the H2O quality in that country was suited for them. The MDBC claimed that these two aims were achieved. However, the absence of the control site made some of these groundss weak. LMP prosperity will go a weak grounds of ecological status betterment without any control site. Furthermore, there is no effort to warrant some of these betterments by comparing with the other impact on the other similar sites. The Living Murray Program and Salinity Issues Reducing the salt degree is of import and needs committedness from all histrions: persons, communities and authorities. Many research reported that the salt degree continue to increase along the river. Several betterments in irrigation system and direction, H2O distribution system and salt interception system seem fail to get by the salt issues. The addition Numberss of irrigation system along the river significantly increase the salt degree in the river ( Schrobback et al. 2008 ) . Human activity within 40 kilometers is believed to be the ground to this addition every bit good. The salt in the River Murray largely came from the shallow dirt. Deforestation and flora remotion from the shallow dirt land caused the salt entered into the river ( Quiggin. 1988 ) . The monitoring plan showed the informations that there was no consistent increasing in salt degree in the South Lagoon. The salt in the South Lagoon is 2 to 3 times of the saltwater and it was still in that scope. This is means that the LMP is non affected in cut downing salt in the Coorong, Lower Lakes and Murray Mouth. Figure 2. The Five Barrages in Murray Mouth, Coorong, and Lower Lakes ( Murray-Darling Basin Commission 2007 ) Five bombardments were built in the Coorong, Murray Mouth, and Lower Lakes. Those are Goolwa, Mundoo, Boundary Creek, Ewe Island and Tauwitchere. The chief intent of the bombardments were to insulate the fresh H2O in the Lower lakes and the Murray River. Furthermore, these bombardments were meant to take downing down the salt degree in the lower River Murray and Lakes ; bracing the river degree ; concentrating the flow to the sea to a peculiar country during low flows and to keeping the pool H2O to be pumped for Adelaide ( Murray-Darling Basin Commission 2008 ) . Since the dredging undertaking in 2003, the best tidal scope has been making the Murray Mouth estuaries. However, the bombardments did non run into the mark since they merely had a low freshening impact on the country near the bombardments. There is no important grounds on salt degree after the 640GL of H2O released in 2005 and 2006. The deficiency of attending on monitoring and mensurating the salt degree worsen the grounds that the LMP merely had a minor affect on the H2O quality. The other aim in presenting back the H2O of the LMP in this icon site was supplying more frequent estuarine fish spawning. The MDBC claimed that this nonsubjective partly meets the mark since the figure of estuarial addition during the releases but in the South Lagoon the status was still saline. Furthermore, the last aim was heightening the bird home ground. The mark was achieved in winter but exceeded in summer. However, the salt in the Lakes was still high except during the releases. These groundss show that the bombardments system in influence the salt degree, even though the consequence was minor, their public presentation in commanding the releases is of import. There were failings and strengths in the bombardments releases method like addition in apprehension of the reaction of the Coorong and surround country to the low flow of H2O ; the grounds that show the accomplishable benefit from let go ofing H2O less than 750 GL ; addition in understanding on the sum of H2O needed to blush anoxic deposit and the importance of let go ofing the H2O from Gatess in different bombardments. In order to let go of fresh and oxygenated H2O to come in Coorong ; sand dredging method and bombardment release, method commanding the H2O degree in the lower lakes and at the same clip maintaining the Murray Mouth unfastened, are used to pull strings the lake degree. The benefit of such method is comparatively broad, non merely for the wading bird bird home ground but besides human activities such as irrigation and domestic usage. The bombardment method can besides be used for cut downing the salt degree of the H2O in other countries like in Lake Alexandria and Lake Albert. Manipulating the H2O degree in Lake Albert can do the saline H2O to flux outside the lake and cut down the salt degree. The bombardment theoretical account is proven to be able to cut down the salt degree in the Goolwa, Mundo and Coorong channels. Prior to the H2O release from the bombardment in September 2003, preliminary research had been indicated that non or minimum connectivity between Goolwa and Tauwitchere to the Murray river had increased the degree of salination, stagnancy and besides had increased the temperature degree of the H2O every bit good as lowered the degree of dissolved O. This event was conducted by joint cooperation of river operators, research workers from SARDI and besides the natural resource directors. The event occurred in 2003 has impacted positively to the environment since it outflows and freshened the Murray Mouth country by blending the H2O in North laguna. In add-on, the estuarial status had been established for a short clip together with the impermanent proviso of foods and phytoplankton in North Lagoon. Such event besides caused the Black Beam fish larvae being collected which suggested that the flow might haveA caused spawning. Figure 3. Barrages in Coorong, Lower Lakes and Murray Mouth ( Murray-Darling Basin Commission 2008 ) Even though the impact of such event was really short, it was a difficult grounds of how barrage method can be really successful. The similar event was so repeated in August 2004. The bombardment method shown that bombardment flows of at least 2,000 ML/day and may keep the Murray Mouth to be opened comparatively and besides prevent sand to ingress. It is besides shown that ‘scouring ‘ of sand from the oral cavity did non happen with big volumes. Finally, direction system of fluxing H2O through bombardment has to be focused on the attempt to forestall H2O from come ining the oral cavity alternatively of taking sand after its being formatted inside.A The Water Quality Monitoring Program ( WQMP ) The WQMP is a plan aims to bring forth study and appraisal on the River Murray H2O quality that can be used as ushers and recommendation in plan constitution in the river direction system. The WQMP started its activity in 1978 in roll uping bio chemicals informations from the river on 36 sites. Statistically, between 15 to 18 bio-chemicals parametric quantities are measured every hebdomad along the length of Boundary Creek, which located between Mundo Island and Eve Island, in six monitoring sites. The WQMP provides the information sing the salt in several periods of clip from 1978 to 2000. However, it did non supply the information of H2O quality after the LMP is delivered. However, in relation to the LMP plan, the WQMP information is utile as a comparing of the information before and after the LMP plan. It besides helps in supplying the recommendation on the current direction to better the wellness of the river particularly sing icon site. Figure 4: The Water Quality Monitoring Program ( Murray-Darling Basin Commission 2009 ) The consequence of H2O trying from six supervising sites indicates that the 24 hr freshening activity, which occurred between 25th of August and the 27th of October 2005, A had maintain the salt degree below saltwater salt. In add-on the salt readings had indicated that the 1 m tide did non perforate past the oral cavity of boundary brook on the first September. In 14th of October, high tide indicated that some estuarial H2O was able to force up Boundary brook despite the influence was merely less than 200 m ( Murray-Darling Basin Commission 2009 ) . Decision The LMP is a plan run by three provinces in Australia that aims to retrieve and better the River Murray status that will profit all Australian by maintaining the natural being of the river which has economic sciences, ecology and cultural values. Many species and native species rely on the river and a low H2O quality on the river will do important consequence on the life things includes human along the river. Salt is a immense job for the River Murray since the natural feature of this river is already saline. Human activities over two centuries increase the salt degree of the H2O and cut down its quality. In Coorong, Lower Lakes and Murray Mouth, the salt jobs is significantly act uponing the ecology and environmental conditions since the country is the lowest terminal of the flow that influenced by the human activities in the upper watercourse. The LMP is non supplying the existent and specific informations on salt degree in this country. Furthermore, the aims of this icon site are largely to better the life status for the birds and fishes. The prosperity of the LMP can be seen from the salt degree as an of import indexs in WQMP. The before and after informations was provided by the WQMP ; nevertheless, the LMP did non go on supervising the salt degree, hence the prosperity of LMP is non evidently recorded by the clear informations. The absence of the control site is one of the failings of the LMP. Without comparing the alterations in the wedged site to the control citation, the alterations can non be seen as strong grounds on the prosperity of the LMP. As the whole plan, LMP give good alterations in bettering environmental conditions of the river in Coorong, Lower Lakes and Murray Mouth. However, the grounds was non clear plenty in depicting LMP prosperity to cut down salt job of this icon site. Abbreviations and acronyms EWMP: Environmental Works and Measures Program GL: Gigalitre ( 1 billion liters ) ICM: Integrated Catchment Management MDBMC: Murray-Darling Basin Ministerial Council NAPSWQ: National Action Plan for Salinity and Water Quality TLMP: The Living Murray Program MDB: Murray-Darling Basin