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Table of Contents
TOC o “1-3” h z u HYPERLINK l “_Toc343018932” 1.0 Background PAGEREF _Toc343018932 h 5
HYPERLINK l “_Toc343018933” 1.1 Introduction PAGEREF _Toc343018933 h 5
HYPERLINK l “_Toc343018934” 1.2 System approach for better project performance PAGEREF _Toc343018934 h 5
HYPERLINK l “_Toc343018935” 1.3 Project evaluation performance and critical success factors PAGEREF _Toc343018935 h 6
HYPERLINK l “_Toc343018936” 1.4 Justification PAGEREF _Toc343018936 h 7
HYPERLINK l “_Toc343018937” 2.0 Aims PAGEREF _Toc343018937 h 7
HYPERLINK l “_Toc343018938” 3.0 Draft Research Questions PAGEREF _Toc343018938 h 7
HYPERLINK l “_Toc343018939” 4.0 Draft Research Objectives PAGEREF _Toc343018939 h 8
HYPERLINK l “_Toc343018940” 5.0 Feasibility of the Study PAGEREF _Toc343018940 h 8
HYPERLINK l “_Toc343018941” 6.0 How Your Work Fits Existing Published Work PAGEREF _Toc343018941 h 9
HYPERLINK l “_Toc343018942” 6.1 Introduction PAGEREF _Toc343018942 h 9
HYPERLINK l “_Toc343018943” 6.2 Causes of delays and their analysis techniques PAGEREF _Toc343018943 h 10
HYPERLINK l “_Toc343018944” 6.3 Conclusion PAGEREF _Toc343018944 h 13
HYPERLINK l “_Toc343018945” 7.0 Methodology PAGEREF _Toc343018945 h 13
HYPERLINK l “_Toc343018946” 7.1 Choosing the methodology PAGEREF _Toc343018946 h 13
HYPERLINK l “_Toc343018947” 7.2 Data collection methods PAGEREF _Toc343018947 h 14
HYPERLINK l “_Toc343018948” 7.3 Data analysis PAGEREF _Toc343018948 h 15
HYPERLINK l “_Toc343018949” 8.0 References PAGEREF _Toc343018949 h 17
1.0 Background1.1 IntroductionLack of adequate work preparation before commencing a project of any type causes serious problems during the implementation period. Oil and Gas Industry have many projects related to digging of new wells, construction of oil or gas depot areas, and maintenance of the existing oil refineries. Most projects lack detailed designs showing how tasks should follow leading to disorganization and delay in delivering the expected results. These problems come from poor management and lack of the necessary information concerning the impact of delayed schedules in project planning control and management as mentioned in Popescu and Charoenngam (1995). In addition, project managers lack the necessary knowledge on the effects of project delays to the stakeholders. The availability of a system that would measure and analyze the impact of project delays would be most appropriate for quality project planning and control. Project scheduling involves timing and providing the necessary sequence for various operations in an effort to plan a project. A project schedule displays all the activities from the start of the project to the completion, indicating the period for each activity. A delay in such a schedule leads to many losses especially in the oil and gas industry where projects are very vital. Project management and delays assist in timely implementation of oil extraction processes and avoidance of delays that result into many losses. Oil and gas are very valuable resources since they play a great role improving a nation’s economy (Trauner 2009).
1.2 System approach for better project performanceMost projects in the oil and gas industry involves millions of dollars and delaying them would cost the implementing country an anonymous loss. In addition, nations lack project managers with the knowledge of handling projects within the scheduled plan and deliver the expected work outcome. According to Han et al., (2009), a quality system approach for a better project performance will ensure fewer delays are experienced in oil and gas industry projects. Four basic dimensions should be employed to account for any decision making process in planning for mega projects in oil and gas industry. These are: performance specification, transparency, proper formulation of regulatory regimes, and involving capital risks in project planning and control. Developing systematic thoughts, developing large scale living system and proper planning are the three major perspectives that contribute to quality success in all innovations and projects. All these aspects are possible if project managers are capable of analyzing the scheduled delays using the most appropriate system that would ensure timely completion of all scheduled project activities as mentioned in Bruzelius, Flyvbjerg and Rothengatter (1998).
1.3 Project evaluation performance and critical success factorsOil and gas industry projects require significant efforts that evaluate their performance. These evaluations should provide for any economic risks involved in implementing the project. Delays always lead to increased costs, and more risks. Some projects are scheduled at specific weather conditions and any delay would eventually lead to many effects related to weather conditions increasing the cost of implementation. According to Williams (2003), time delays in project planning and control are analyzed in terms of the following. First, the relative significance factors leading to project delays. Second, the use of computerized methods, like Critical path method (CPM), in analyzing the causes of delayed schedule. Finally, a system that would compute the cost of asset delays and relate its impact on the project delay would help in the evaluation as stated in Flyvbjerg, Holm and Buhl (2004).
1.4 JustificationVarious reports concerning failure of completion of many projects within the specified time worldwide justifies this research. In addition, some causes of project delays have not yet been established and this research will study these causes and determine the best technique for analyzing their impacts. From my findings, project delay impact analyzing technique should be utilized especially in the oil and gas industry. The most relevant areas for the analysis include the impact of project schedule delays and their effects in the whole industry. Moreover, the research will help in analyzing the main causes of delays experienced before and how the project managers would have acted to prevent them..
2.0 Aims
The main aim of this dissertation is to apply the schedule delay analysis technique in the study of project control, and come up with an analysis of the net impact resulting from oil and gas industry project delays.
3.0 Draft Research QuestionsThe following research will assist in determining the best methodological approach to use in carrying out the research. In addition, the questions assist in developing the research objectives. The research will be guided by the following questions:
How do project managers understand about project scheduling?
What is the available literature on the general causes of oil and gas industry project delays?
What are the impacts of project delays, and who are the most affected by such delays in the oil and gas industry?
What are the most common techniques used in analyzing project delays today? How effective are they?
Who are the most affected by project delays in the industry?
4.0 Draft Research Objectives
The following research objectives will act as guidelines for carrying out the research. Project schedule delays in the oil and gas industry contribute to the poor improvement of the industry calling for a more effective approach to prevent them (Dayi 2010). The main objective of this research to determine the most appropriate schedule delay analyses technique in order to analyze the impact of project delays in the oil and gas industry and come up with recommendation for project planner and controllers. The specific objectives are:
To analyze the major types of delays in various oil and gas industry projects,
To understand the aspect of projects scheduling,
To study the common project schedule delay analysis techniques used today, and
To determine the impact of project delays.
5.0 Feasibility of the Study
In order to ensure the success of the project a feasibility study will be conducted before the actual research. There is adequate access to research data because the project delays in the oil and gas industry have never been fully prevented. Most people from the industry are willing to answer any question that regards delay prevention and control. In addition, the availability of more knowledge and techniques in project management and control makes the research more feasible. The following research is acceptable and will be completed within the set period. Various aspects will be analyzed during the feasibility. These include;
Social and environmental impact feasibility,
Financial and economic feasibility,
Political feasibility, and
Technological feasibility.
6.0 How Your Work Fits Existing Published Work6.1 Introduction
The complexity found in today’s capital projects in the oil and gas industry makes their management highly critical. Most capital projects in the oil and gas industry involve a big percentage of company’s spending. Most stakeholders are calling for improved project control services. Developing a perfect system that analyzes the impact of scheduled delays would play a significant role in preventing such risks. Project managers face many challenges while managing a project right from the design phase to implementation phase. It is the desire of most project managers to finish their work within the schedule, and set budget while maintaining quality work. Most project managers fail in providing quality work within schedule and proposed budget due to lack of necessary project delay analysis techniques. In addition, projects in the oil and gas industry face delays because managers are more concerned with personal gains not considering the welfare of other stakeholders. With the high global energy demands, projects in the oil and gas industry should never face any delay since it costs industries huge sums of money (Smart Grid News 2012).,The following section analyzes the main ideas used in determining the impact of the project schedule delays and the techniques used in measuring the impacts.
6.2 Causes of delays and their analysis techniquesAssaf & Al-Hejji (2006) researched on the main causes of delays in many projects in various industries. Lack of proper preparation of a certain oil and gas industry project causes serious problems in the course of putting up the structure. In some instances, lack of proper and detailed drawings and poor project management plan schedules result into problems during the oil and gas industry work. This increases the cost establishing new oil and gas industry projects, extension of the project period and it causes serious effect on the quality of the completed work as stated in Assaf, Al-Khalil and Al-Hazmi (1995). The publication the research findings assist in giving the consequences of delays in oil and gas industry, but fails in delivering the main impacts of such consequences and their mitigations. According to Faridi and El-Sayegh (2006), most delays occur due to slow preparation and approval of drawings by the stakeholders in involved. In addition, lack of proper initial planning of the project results into many delays. Some project managers are slow in decision making that makes them fail in delivering the project within the scheduled duration.
On the other hand, inadequate resources, changes in design and orders from the contractors, un-forecasted weather changes, and late deliveries contribute to delay in project schedules as stated by Al-Momani (2000). Project management classifies delays into two types, those that are excusable and those that are inexcusable. Delays causes by contractor mistakes are referred to inexcusable delays. These include the failure in coordinating workers, and low productivity. On the other hand, delays occurring due to changes in project design or severe weather conditions are referred to excusable delays. Farah (2005) gives literature on various software models that have been used to support design in oil and gas industry project management. The publication also touches on the impact of the environment in the delay of project schedules. These ideas assist in analyzing the best technique that would be adaptable to different environments and weather conditions.
Researchers like Menesi, Arcuri, Dayi and Hildreth have developed various types of techniques used in scheduled delay analysis. Menesi (2007) came up with Multiple Baseline Updates delays scheduling technique after discovering the high number of inherent risks and complexity in today’s construction industry. Window delay analyses method has been used for many years as a delay analysis method in most project management and controls. In his technique, Menesi (2007) failed in analyzing some crucial aspects of project control. First, the technique fails in determining the impact of such project delays to the contractor, the project owner, and the community at large. Second, the system identifies the scheduled delays and their causes, but does not estimate their relevant costs and future recommendations. The idea is developing a technique that would measure the impacts of delays in all prevailing situations and overcomes new operational challenges.
Most oil and gas companies increases their focus on deepwater and ultra-deepwater sections meaning that the future projects will face a lot of challenges because of the unfamiliar environment. Present developed techniques only adapt to the current situations, and would definitely fail in such projects. According to Arcuri and Hildreth (2007), changes and delays in projects occurring during the implementation phase have significant impacts on the project schedule resulting into poor completion. These three authors came up with a delay analyzing technique referred to as The Schedule Impact Analysis that quantifies the effect of changes or delays on project schedules. This publication assists in reviewing the most common impacts caused by delays in various construction projects and incorporate them in the oil and gas industry projects. In addition, the implemented techniques will assist to determine the most relevant impacts and come up with perfect recommendations.
Each project must start with a plan that describes what, how, where, and in what manner will it be conducted. The project plan must be given a certain duration that everything must be completed, all other factors remaining constant. The oil and gas industry projects involve many risks that mostly lead to the failure of many projects on this sector. The impacts of such project schedule delays, if measured correctly would indicate great losses in terms of time and resources. Dayi (2010) developed another system that measures the net impacts associated with various delays in projects. The system was successful in identifying some impacts but filed in projects involving complicated methods, like hydraulic fracturing technology. The researcher lacked modern software that could measure the impact of such innovation. This project will come up with modern software systems that detect such impacts and are compatible with future technologies up to 2017.
Research by Stelth and le Roy (2009) discussed the use of Critical Path Method (CPM) in project impact analysis. The following technique uses virtual management teams in analyzing how various tasks cause delays and the consequences of such delays. The technique can measure impact of scheduled delays in projects from different industries. In addition, the technique advocates for the need to reduce construction costs through increasing profits and revenues by making sure project implementation occurs within the proposed time and cost. Stelth and le Roy (2009) find more use on this research because the authors have already researched on the factors associated with environment that hinders administration of certain techniques. Through this knowledge, the proposed technique would be developed ensuring that it fits well in the oil and gas industry especially for those deepwater projects.
6.3 Conclusion
Because oil and gas industry is one of the big economic giants in the world, delay in such projects would cause a significant loss to a nation. On the other hand, the following research will ensure no further delays occur in oil and gas industries because it touches all aspects of quality project planning and control. With the help of the above discussed publications, the proposed technique would be more effective and reliant in project control. In addition, the research findings would play a significant role in minimizing problems experienced by previous people who carried out survey on other industries. Moreover, the deep oil and gas contraction project engineers would get a chance of designing more complicated drilling machines that are more effective and less costly at the long-run.
7.0 Methodology7.1 Choosing the methodologyCarrying out research in the oil and gas industry requires properly planned research methodology in order to address all the issues concerned with the research objectives. The research will make use of qualitative and quantitative research methodology. The aim of the methods used will be to collect all data related to the research topic. According to Midgley (2000), the research methodology chosen conforms to the proposal objectives. This assist in the identification of the best methodology that allows quality data collection procedure that is independent. The research methodology chosen will identify the most appropriate data collection processes, and the content of information gathered while undertaking a research. Moreover, research methodology used will play a significant role in making judgments outlining boundaries of the method put in place (Chiara et al 1997). The quantitative research methodology will be used in effective data collection using surveys, interviews, and questionnaires.
Qualitative research methodology is chosen because it has the characteristic of generating new knowledge by participating vigorously in the field and forms the key source of primary data as stated in Nicholls (2011). The main reason for choosing these methods is because the research will analyze the scheduled delays in oil and gas industry using impact analysis technique and come up with a new idea that have never been researched before. The impact analysis technique will use a machine that identifies and record the effects caused by project delays in form of units (Newton per meter). The type of survey that will take place will be very unique since the researcher will have to make comparisons on the field with reference to the data collected on previous researches.
7.2 Data collection methodsAs stated above, the research will make use of qualitative data collection method where surveys, questionnaires and interviews will be the main data collection tools. The three data collection methods are justified for the research because they will ensure all the needed information is gathered (Midgley 2008). First, questionnaires make use of scales in gathering the desired response from the target group. Using questionnaires, the respondent’s piece of mind comes out clearly since the respondent’s mind is psychologically placed in the prevailing situation. The interviews will be used in answering research questions like those investigating the most common causes of industry project delays. Moreover, through the question the researcher will be in a position to understand the understanding of project scheduling by project managers. The researcher needs to develop a question that needs an answer. This step aids in locating the most effective secondary data that need study to answer the developed query. In addition, before basing an argument on the secondary data, the researcher needs to find out what has been done since the release of the secondary data as mentioned in Struwig and Stead (2001).
Second, use of interviews will assist in creating an environment where the respondent develops trust with the researcher. Interviews will ensure high accuracy on the collected information since the data is centered towards the respondent’s occupation or experience within the oil and gas industry. Third, the survey method will form the most systematic method of collecting data from the population of interest. Through surveys, the research questions will be completed within a relatively short time with many respondents taking place. In addition, the surveys will assist in collecting information of the stakeholders who are far away because it can be done by telephone, mail, or fax as mentioned in Opdenakker (2006).
The target group for this research will compose of project managers in the oil and gas industry, project coordinators, stakeholders, the society, and the workers. The participants of the research will be chosen using extensive means by first ensuring they have full information about projects conducted in the targeted region. In addition, the research will entail use of various resources that will aid in gathering the required information in an effective and timely manner. Since the data collection system will be guided by the available literature, the research will make use of websites, academic journals on oil and gas industry, and relevant books with information on project management and control. Moreover mathematical and statistical tools like graphs and charts will be used in data analysis and presentation of the research findings.
7.3 Data analysisThe collected data will be useful not only in the oil and gas sector, but other sectors that use project management and control. Most people will analyze the data in a simple and comprehensible way that is easier to understand. The data analysis procedure will start with making a summary of all the respondents from various methods of data collection used. The responses will then be grouped according to their weight, and coded in statistical applications that will analyze the data in a more understanding manner. The statistical applications will transform the raw data into visible forms like graphs and charts. This analyses will assist in comparing the how effective is project delay schedule analysis impacts the overall performance. In addition, the presentations will aid in determining the use of impact analysis technique in oil and gas industry. Moreover, the collected data will be analyzed using factor analysis method. According to Ratcliff (n.d.), factor analysis establishes any similarities between the dependent and independent variables of the data.
Milestone table
Milestone Description Due date Remarks
1 Stage 1: Area of interest identified 8 Nov. 2012 Done
2 Stage 2: Specific topic selected 15 Nov. 2012 Done
3 Stage 3: Topic refined to develop dissertation proposal 22 Dec. 2012 Done
4 Stage 4: Proposal written and submitted 30 Dec. 2012 Done
5 Stage 5: Collection of data and information 15 Jan. 2013 Waiting
6 Stage 6: Analysis and interpretation of collected data/information 20 Jan. 2013 Waiting
7 Stage 7: Writing up 25 Jan. 2013 Waiting
8 Stage 8: Final draft prepared— submission of dissertation 1 Feb. 2013 Waiting
9 Final Deadline—9 months from module start date. 6 Feb.2013 Waiting
Completion of the remaining parts requires more commitment from researchers in data collection and analysis. In order to ensure the project is completed within the schedule, the research team will be prepared early enough through training them on how the data will be collected. In addition, pre-visits will be conducted in the selected locations to ensure respondents are well prepared and ready to give the necessary information. Moreover, the data collection tool will be pre tested to ensure their efficiency, troubleshooting any problem that might cause delay in data collection.
8.0 ReferencesAl-Momani, A. (2000) ‘Construction Delay: A Quantitative Analysis’, International Journal of Project Management, 18 (1), pp.51-59, [Online]. Available from: HYPERLINK “http://dx.doi.org.ezproxy.liv.ac.uk/10.1016/S0263-7863(98)00060-X” http://dx.doi.org.ezproxy.liv.ac.uk/10.1016/S0263-7863(98)00060-X (Accessed: 27 November 2012).
Arcuri, F. J. & Hildreth, J. C. (2007) The principals of Scheduled Impact Analysis. Virginia Tech: VirginiaTech College of Enginnering, pp. 41-50, [Online]. Available from: HYPERLINK “http://www.virginiadot.org/business/resources/const/0703_PrinciplesofSIA.pdf” http://www.virginiadot.org/business/resources/const/0703_PrinciplesofSIA.pdf (Accessed 25 November 2012).
Assaf, S. A., Al-Khalil, M. & Al-Hazmi, M. (1995) ‘Causes of delay in large building Oil and gas industry projects’, Journal of Management in Engineering, 11 (2), pp.45-50, [Online]. Available from: HYPERLINK “http://ehis.ebscohost.com.ezproxy.liv.ac.uk/eds/pdfviewer/pdfviewer?vid=2&hid=101&sid=f4ce09e5-9699-4628-8e1f-d55cab42a9e7%40sessionmgr15” http://ehis.ebscohost.com.ezproxy.liv.ac.uk/eds/pdfviewer/pdfviewer?vid=2&hid=101&sid=f4ce09e5-9699-4628-8e1f-d55cab42a9e7%40sessionmgr15 (Accessed: 26 November 2012).
Assaf, S. A & Al-Hejji, S. (2006) Causes of delay in large construction projects. “International
Bruzelius, N., Flyvbjerg, B. & Rothengatter, W. (1998) ‘Big decision, big risks: Improving Accountability in mega projects’, Transport Policy, 9 (2), pp.143-154, [Online]. Available from: HYPERLINK “http://dx.doi.org.ezproxy.liv.ac.uk/10.1016/S0967-070X(02)00014-8” http://dx.doi.org.ezproxy.liv.ac.uk/10.1016/S0967-070X(02)00014-8 (Accessed: 12 November 2012).
Chiara, M., Doets, K., Mundici, D. & Van Benthem, J. (1997) The Tenth International Congress of Logic, Methodology and Philosophy of Science, Florence, August 1995. Netherlands: Kluwer Academic.
Dayi, S. (2010) Scheduled Delay Analysis In Construction Projects: A Case Study Using Time Impact Time Impact Analysis Method, [Online]. Available from: HYPERLINK “https://etd.lib.metu.edu.tr/upload/12612823/index.pdf” https://etd.lib.metu.edu.tr/upload/12612823/index.pdf (Accessed: 7 November 2012).
Farah, T. (2005). Review of current estimating capabilities of the 3D building information model
software to support design for production/oil and gas industry.
Faridi, A. S. & El-Sayegh, S. M. (2006) ‘Significant Factors Causing Delay in the UAE Construction Industry’, Construction Management & Economics, 24(11), pp.1167-1176, [Online]. Available from: HYPERLINK “http://dx.doi.org.ezproxy.liv.ac.uk/10.1080/01446190600827033” http://dx.doi.org.ezproxy.liv.ac.uk/10.1080/01446190600827033 (Accessed: 27 November 2012).
Flyvbjerg, B, Holm, S. & Buhl, S. (2004) ‘What causes cost overrun in transport Infrastructure projects?, Transport Reviews, 24(1), pp. 3–18, [Online]. Available from: HYPERLINK “http://ehis.ebscohost.com.ezproxy.liv.ac.uk/eds/pdfviewer/pdfviewer?sid=576d5406-f644-4b15-afa5-118e5814c7e6%40sessionmgr115&vid=1&hid=120” http://ehis.ebscohost.com.ezproxy.liv.ac.uk/eds/pdfviewer/pdfviewer?sid=576d5406-f644-4b15-afa5-118e5814c7e6%40sessionmgr115&vid=1&hid=120 (Accessed: 11 November 2012).
Han, H. S. et al. (2009) ‘Analyzing Schedule Delay of Mega Project: Lessons Learned from Korea Train Express, IEEE Transactions on Engineering Management, 56(2), pp. 243-256, [Online]. Available from: HYPERLINK “http://dx.doi.org.ezproxy.liv.ac.uk/10.1109/TEM.2009.2016042” http://dx.doi.org.ezproxy.liv.ac.uk/10.1109/TEM.2009.2016042 (Accessed: 11 November 2012).
Menesi, W. (2007) Construction Delay Analysis under Multiple Baseline Updates, [Online]. Available from: HYPERLINK “http://www.uwspace.uwaterloo.ca/bitstream/10012/2737/1/MASc-Thesis-Construction%20Delay%20Analysis%20under%20Multiple%20Baseline%20Updates.pdf” http://www.uwspace.uwaterloo.ca/bitstream/10012/2737/1/MASc-Thesis-Construction%20Delay%20Analysis%20under%20Multiple%20Baseline%20Updates.pdf (Accessed: 24 November 2012).
Midgley, G. (2000) Systemic Intervention: Philosophy, Methodology, and Practice.
New York: Kluwer Academic/Plenum Publishers.
Nicholls, C. (2011) The Advantages of Using Qualitative Research Methods [Online] Brighton: Alexander Technique College. Available from: HYPERLINK “http://www.alexander-technique-college.com/files/2011/10/books_articles_qualitative.pdf” http://www.alexander-technique-college.com/files/2011/10/books_articles_qualitative.pdf (Accessed: 5 December 2012).
Opdenakker, R. (2006) ‘Advantages and Disadvantages of Four Interview Techniques in Qualitative Research’, Forum: Qualitative Social Research, 7 (4), pp. 1-10, [Online]. Available from: HYPERLINK “http://www.qualitative-research.net/index.php/fqs/article/view/175/391” http://www.qualitative-research.net/index.php/fqs/article/view/175/391 (Accessed: 5 December 2012).
Popescu, C. M. & Charoenngam, C. (1995) Project Planning, scheduling, and Control in Construction. New York: John Wiley & Sons Inc.
Ratcliff, D. (n.d.) Methods of Data Analysis in Qualitative Research [Online]. Available from: HYPERLINK “http://psychsoma.co.za/files/15methods.pdf” http://psychsoma.co.za/files/15methods.pdf (Accessed: 5 December 2012).
Smart Grid News. (2012). Project delays, budget overruns could cost energy industry trillions. Retrieved from:http://www.smartgridnews.com/artman/publish/Business_Strategy/Project-delays-budget-overruns-could-cost-energy-industry-trillions-4956.html#.UMXpleQ05C8
Stelth, P. & Le Roy, G. (2009) ‘Projects’ Analysis through CPM’, School of Doctoral Studies Journal, 1 (1), p.10, [Online]. Available from: HYPERLINK “http://www.iiuedu.eu/press/journals/sds/sds1_july_2008/05_SECC_01.pdf” http://www.iiuedu.eu/press/journals/sds/sds1_july_2008/05_SECC_01.pdf (Accessed: 3 December 2012).
Struwig, M. & Stead, G. (2001) Planning, Designing and Reporting Research. Cape Town: Pearson Education South Africa.
Trauner, T. (2009) Construction Delays: Understanding Them Clearly, Analyzing Them Correctly. 2nd ed. USA: Elsevier Butterworth-Heinemann [Kindle DX version].
Williams, T. (2003) ‘Assessing extension of time delays on major projects’, International Journal of Project Management, 21 (1), pp. 19–26, [Online]. Available from: HYPERLINK “http://dx.doi.org.ezproxy.liv.ac.uk/10.1016/S0263-7863(01)00060-6” http://dx.doi.org.ezproxy.liv.ac.uk/10.1016/S0263-7863(01)00060-6 (Accessed: 13 November 2012).
About Asian Americans
About Asian Americans
Student’s name
Institutional affiliation
About Asian Americans
The Asian population in the United States is diverse. Asian populations are a group of people with origins from the Southeast Asia, East Asia, and Indian subcontinent. The 2019 Census Bureau population estimate of 2019 is that there are 18.9 million Asian Americans living in the United States, accounting for 5.7% of the total population. In 2019, states with the highest Asian American populations included Texas, New York, California, Illinois, Florida, Washington, New Jersey, Massachusetts, and Hawaii. Asian Americans have dozens of languages and ethnicities, among them Thai, Chinese, Japanese, Indian, Korean, Filipino, Indian, Laotian, and Vietnamese ancestry.
Historical Background
Asian Americans immigrants first arrived in the United States in large numbers nearly two centuries ago. They mainly came as low-skilled male laborers who farmed, mined, and built railroads. They persevered generations of racial prejudice that were officially sanctioned. The prejudice included regulations which prevented the immigration of Asian women and the 1882 Chinese Exclusion Act that prevented all new immigrations from China (Yip, Cheah, Kiang, & Hall, 2021). Another official sanction that they had to endure was the Immigration Act of 1917 as well as the 1924 National Origins Act that pushed the immigration ban to virtually incorporate the entire Asia and the forced internment and relocation of approximately 120, 000 Japanese Americans 1941 attack on Pearl Harbor.
Immigration from Asia on a large scale did not happen until the landmark Immigration and Nationality Act of 1965 was passed. Over the years, the new wave of immigrants from Asia has become increasingly educated and skilled. Currently, present arrivals from Asia into the United States are twice as likely to happen as those that came three decades ago to pursue a degree. Most the Asian immigrants venture into high-paying fields such as medicine, science, finance, and engineering. The evolution was sparked by changes in United States labor markets and immigration policies. It was also sparked by globalization forces in a digitally interconnected world than ever before, as well as by economic growth and political liberalization in the originating countries. These trends have increased the education levels of all immigrants from all races in recent years however, Asian immigrants outdo other ethnic groups and races with respect to the shares of those that are college graduates and college students.
Countries of Origin
Asian Americans are originally people from the South East Asia, East Asia, and Indian subcontinent. Asian Americans primarily originate from Japan, India, Korea, China and the Philippines. As immigrants these people were contracted as workers that labored in plantations. As of 2019, six groups, including Indian, Chinese, Korean, Vietnamese, Filipino and Japanese accounted for 85% of Asian Americans. Together, the groups largely shape the demographics of the overall United States Asian population. Asians of Chinese descent comprise the single largest group in the United States accounting for 24% of the total Asian population of 5.4 million people (An, 2022). The second largest groups are Indian Americans accounting for 21% (4.6%) and Filipinos accounting for 19% (4.2 million people). Asians with roots from Japan and Korea have populations of at least 1 million. The remaining 15 Asian origin group comprise at least 2% or less of the total Asian population in the United States.
Values and Beliefs
Asian values were a set of values promoted by Asian intellectuals and political leaders in the late 20th century as a conscious substitute to Western political values such as democracy, human rights, and capitalism. Some of the common Asian values cited included hard work, discipline, educational achievement, frugality, balancing societal and individual needs and the deference to authority. Advocates of these value claimed that fast development of various East Asian economies after World War II was a because of shared cultures between societies, particularly those of Confucian heritage. These proponents of Asian values opined that Western political values were not suited for East Asia as they fostered legalism and individualism that threatened to destroy social dynamism and social order. On the other hand, critics of Asian values disputed the role that the values played in economic growth and maintained that they were employed to safeguard the interests of authoritarian elites.
Customs and Traditions
Asian Americans often face challenges in establishing cultural identity particularly second-generation immigrants that struggle to maintain balance to traditional ideas that have strain of being assimilated into the American culture society. Whenever one is working with people of Asian ancestry, they need to put in mind the three main philosophies including Buddhism, Taoism, and Confucianism and their effect on Asian culture (Farina, Klumpner, Alvarez, Azhar, & Nguyen, 2021). Families tend to be highly hierarchical, patriarchal, and structured according to these philosophies. Within Asian family systems, children are trained that integrity and welfare of the family are important and not to bring shame in the family. The Asian philosophies teach principles of balance, harmony, and peace which makes some Asians keep away from confrontations or come off as passive, indecisive, or passive. For Asian students that have strong ties to family culture, employing indirect communication methods is also appropriate. Asians have various holidays, with the most common one being Diwali, the festival of lights. The festival is observed by Sikhs, Hindus, and Jains across the world to celebrate the triumph of good over evil. Indians celebrate Diwali by setting fireworks, lighting candles, and eating sweet treats with family members. Other common festivals celebrated by Asians include Chinese New Year, Songkran, Loi Krathing, Jakarta International Jazz Festival and Gion Matsuri.
Experiences of Asian Americans with Discrimination and Oppression
Asian Americans have experienced prolonged periods of discrimination and oppression. Even before the emergence of the 2020 global health crisis, Asian Americans were at victims of racism and discrimination. However, at the height of the pandemic, the former president termed it as a ‘chinese virus’ which was not helpful in riding the nation of anti-Asian racist actions. Even before the emergence of the health crisis, the narrative about Asian Americans as minority group has always existed. The concept of minority emerged during and following World War II asserting that Asian Americans were ideal color immigrants to the United States as a result of their economic success (Chen, Zhang, & Liu, 2020). However, Asian Americans across the United States have being deemed a threat to a country that promoted an immigration policy for white people only. Asian Americans were referred to as a ‘yellow peril’ to mean that they were unclean and not fit for American citizenship. History indicated that Asian American communities have faced lots of disparities with four in ten Asian adults admitting to having acted in an uncomfortable manner because of ethnicity and race reasons.
Interesting Facts/Information
One of the interesting facts about the Asian community is that civic engagement in the community tends to be rather high. According to statistics, in the 2008 presidential election, 48% of registered Asian American voters showed up to vote. Additionally, the total number of eligible Asian American voters in the 2008 elections increased by nearly 50% from the 2000 elections. Another interesting fact is that Arizona and Nevada have registered a sharp rise in their Asian populations over the years (Jun & Nan, 2018). Another interesting fact is that Asian Americans contribute to the country’s economy as entrepreneurs and consumers. Asian entrepreneurs are estimated to create employment for over three million workers and own over 1.5 million businesses across the United States.
References
An, S. (2022). Re/Presentation of Asian Americans in 50 States’ K–12 US History Standards. The Social Studies, 1-14.
Chen, J. A., Zhang, E., & Liu, C. H. (2020). Potential impact of COVID-19–related racial discrimination on the health of Asian Americans. American Journal of Public Health, 110(11), 1624-1627.
Farina, A. S., Klumpner, S., Alvarez, A. R., Azhar, S., & Nguyen, C. M. (2021). Experiences of racist encounters among Asian Americans: Analysis of# thisis2016. Journal of Ethnic & Cultural Diversity in Social Work, 1-12.
Jun, J., & Nan, X. (2018). Determinants of cancer screening disparities among Asian Americans: a systematic review of public health surveys. Journal of Cancer Education, 33(4), 757-768.
Yip, T., Cheah, C. S., Kiang, L., & Hall, G. C. N. (2021). Rendered invisible: Are Asian Americans a model or a marginalized minority?. American Psychologist, 76(4), 575.
Bullying An Issue Commonly
Bullying: An Issue Commonly Faced by School-Age Children
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Abstract
Bullying is a major issue faced by school-age children. It is a significant mental health concern for the children who are bullied, and it can have an adverse effect on their physical health and academic performance. For example, one study found that male adolescents who experience bullying are at a greater risk of developing depression, suicidal tendencies, and high levels of anxiety. Another study found that bullying at a young age can lead to long-term depression, social isolation and eating disorders in adults later in life. Nevertheless, research suggests that the prevalence of bullying is increasing, particularly among children living in metropolitan areas.
There are a number of different definitions for bullying. The World Health Organization defines it as repeated aggressive behavior by one person against another, which causes physical or psychological harm or distress. It should not be confused with teasing or name-calling, which are not considered to be acts of aggression. This definition indicates that bullying can occur between persons regardless of their race or ethnicity. A range of factors have previously been associated with bullying. Some of the factors are socioeconomic status, gender, parental support and involvement, grade level, and child’s race or ethnic background. In addition, having a learning disability or being overweight may also increase one’s likelihood for being a victim of bullying.
Bullying: An Issue Commonly Faced by School-Age Children
Bullying behaviour can be defined as “a set of actions in which one person harms or threatens to harm another and is supported by an ‘adjacency’ who also plans or perpetrates the action, especially when it has been done repeatedly”. Bullying can happen at school, on the bus, online, in person and can even happen among friends. It is not just a school issue but a community issue. In order to combat bullying behaviour we need to understand that it is an issue that everyone faces on a daily basis. Kids are affected by bullying behaviour through physical violence such as being pushed around and punched, feeling intimidated and intimidated because they have low self-esteem, choosing not attend school because they feel unsafe there or trusting their peers less frequently (Nickerson, 2019).
Ideally, this article will discuss about bullying in schools and online as well as information on signs that indicate when a child is being bullied or witnessing vicarious bullying. The paper should also offer guidelines for parents to prevent their children from being victims of bullying. Two of the most notable studies on bullying were conducted in the United States. One study was based on data collected between 2009 and 2017, while the other was based on data collected between 2017 and 2019 (Nickerson, 2019).
The 1999 to 2003 study found that 5% of children aged 6 to 15 years old experienced physical bullying at school annually, while 25% experienced verbal bullying at school annually. 4 The 2007 to 2010 study found that 7% of children aged 6 to 11 years experienced physical bullying at school annually, while 31% experienced verbal bullying at school annually (Nickerson, 2019).
In addition to physical and verbal forms of bullying, children may also be bullied online. A 2012 study found that 20% of children aged 7 to 11 years old experienced cyberbullying at school annually. A study conducted in 2008 found that 40% of children aged 3 to 11 years old experienced online bullying at school annually (Winnaar et al., 2018).
Child witnesses vicarious bullying can be defined as individuals who experience unwanted attention from others because they witness their peers behaving aggressively towards others. A study conducted in 2008 found that 15% of children aged 9 to 16 years experienced vicarious bullying at school annually (Winnaar et al., 2018). Data on the prevalence of bullying among adults has never been systematically collected. However, adults who were bullied as a child have been found to experience similar adverse effects as children who were bullied. For example, they have been found to be more likely to experience depression, anxiety, loneliness and suicidal tendencies.
There are a number of different approaches which parents and schools may adopt in order to prevent children from being bullied and witnessing vicarious bullying. One approach involves teaching children how to recognize when they are being bullied as well as recognizing when they are witnessing bullying of others.
Spotting the signs of bullying is difficult, especially for the victims. If a child often complains about pain or has bruises on their body it is possible that their parents may need to make an appointment with the GP. Also if a child constantly gets into arguments with their peers it is possible that they are experiencing bullying. The child may also be anxious about going to school and feel stressed, irritable and depressed. Anxious behaviour can also be a sign of bullying if the child is always complaining of stomach aches and seems depressed (Winnaar et al., 2018).
If a child has been bullied at school they may: have low self-esteem, talk about the bully, feel sad, nervous or anxious all the time, feel depressed and hopeless that they will be bullied again, not want to go to school or come home at lunchtime.
Children who are experiencing bullying behavior should seek help from an adult such as a parent/carer or teacher. Parents should encourage their child to be open about what is happening to them but should also listen to their child and be there for them as well. The school should have a no-bullying policy and students and parents of students should receive letters regarding this. Getting children involved in a project that teaches non-violence will help them better understand why the behavior they are exhibiting is wrong and they can learn not to repeat it.
Proposed Method Section
The main participants in this research study are children and adolescents aged between six to 18 years. The children were in grades three through 10, while the adolescents were in grades nine through 12. All of the participants are current students of public school districts in the state of Oklahoma, with children being drawn from multiple districts for recruitment purposes. Participants include both bullying victims and bullies.
The research design is mixed-methods with a mixed-methods quantitative component and qualitative component that is also mixed-methods. The quantitative component involves the use of multiple methods in order to capture the complex nature of bullying. These include self-report survey of participants, self-report and observational data about bullying incidents, and peer report survey of participants and descriptions about them from other students at their schools. The qualitative component is focused on in-depth interview data from selected participants with a primary focus on non-victims.
The qualitative component of the research design is intended to provide an in-depth understanding of bullying and the experiences of its participants. The research questions that guide this qualitative data collection are organized into eight clusters, including: theoretical-conceptual concerns; definitions and models; categories of bullies and victims; similarities between bullied and non-bullied students; victimization experiences; perceived means of coping with bullying; school responses to bullying incidents; types of responses to bullying incidents; social comparisons among victims and non-victims. The approach to analyzing data from this study is content analysis that focuses on concepts, subtexts, themes, patterns, descriptions, patterns, structures displays and other relevant features.
Discussion/Conclusion
The act of bullying among school-age children has been a growing problem in schools nationwide. Many of these children suffer psychological damage, depression and anxiety caused by the act of bullying. The effects of bullying can last for long periods of time, affecting the victims’ education, their self-esteem and their health. Staying safe is a matter of life and death for many children. Without anyone to help them, some children are forced to take matters into their own hands. The consequences can be severe even if the bullies cannot be punished. According to “The Origins of Bullying”, (Bork-Hüffer et al., 2021)”teachers may feel powerless”. If a child is being bullied by other students, they should have someone they trust in the school such as the principle or another teacher on hand who can protect them from further bullying in the future. Schools need to make sure that a child is safe and people are not able to bully them. Bullying can be stopped but it will take all the schools in a community working together to do this.
Mental health is something that should be taken seriously by everyone in a community and especially at school. We need to educate children on how they should treat each other and what the consequences of bullying are both physically and mentally for the victims. If we don’t stop bullying behaviour now then it will continue for generations and more people will suffer from its effects (Bork-Hüffer et al., 2021).
There is a strong correlation between bullying behaviour in school-age children and suicide. We live in a society today where we see almost everyone of all ages on social media, browsing the internet or playing on their phones and it has become easy for us to forget how much time we spend with one another Le (Menestrel, 2020). We go to school, go home for dinner and do our homework, then repeat the next day. On our path through life we have lost touch with ourselves as people, as human beings and have started to focus on what makes us different from each other rather than what makes us the same.
Various reasons as to why people tend to bully others include, peer pressure, confidence and self-esteem issues, looking for attention, seeking revenge, bullying is a form of entertainment and feelings of being superior to others. All these cause someone to pick on other children.
The first step in stopping bullying behaviour is to acknowledge that it is an issue that needs to be dealt with at a young age before it gets out of hand. If the victims feel like there is no one they can turn to, then they may want to take matters into their own hands. The next step is for everyone in the community to remember how important it is to be kind, tolerant and patient with each other, even if the person you are dealing with seems like they need a hard time sometimes. Bullying behaviour can ruin lives and people’s self-esteem and confidence.
References
Bork-Hüffer, T., Mahlknecht, B., & Kaufmann, K. (2021). (Cyber) Bullying in schools–when bullying stretches across cON/FFlating spaces. Children’s Geographies, 19(2), 241-253.
Winnaar, L., Arends, F., & Beku, U. (2018). Reducing bullying in schools by focusing on school climate and school socio-economic status. South African Journal of Education, 38(1).
Le Menestrel, S. (2020). Preventing bullying: Consequences, prevention, and intervention. Journal of Youth Development, 15(3), 8-26.
Nickerson, A. B. (2019). Preventing and intervening with bullying in schools: A framework for evidence-based practice. School Mental Health, 11(1), 15-28.