The Hotel Industry Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

The Hotel Industry - Essay Example the customers. For any commercial organization it is then a people versus people equation for its survival. Unlike other resources which an organization deploys people or its staff are live resources that think, have feelings, aspirations, motives and emotions which get nurtured, developed ,frustrated or stunted every now and then. No human would be willing to work with frustrated aspirations or stunted and suppressed feelings. Thus it becomes incumbent on an organization to nurture and develop the feelings, aspirations, emotions of its employees. This is the traditional function of the human resource management function in any organization. Present day literature, however lays more emphasis on strategic human resource management wherein the human resource management function is aligned in such a manner that fulfilling human resource management function automatically ensures reaching strategic objectives of the organization. In short the human resource management function is woven wi th in the overall strategy of the organization. ... tivities that are undertaken consciously or unconsciously, internally or externally to an organization whereby human resources of the organization are developed and utilized in a manner to maximize achievement of organizational goals. One important precept of entire human resources' management exercise is the recognition of the fact that the most valuable resource for any organization is its human factor; it is the only live factor and thus the only truly mouldable factor. Therefore human resource management (HRM) is a term used to represent that part of an organization's activities concerned with the recruitment, development and management of its employees (Wood & Wall, 2002). Employee empowerment is an important piece of strategic initiatives in human resource management in any hotelling organization. Empowerment if adopted as a conscious strategy has important implications for employee motivation, performance and the quality of the service offered by the hotel. This paper seeks to examine the issue of employee empowerment in some star hotels in Jordan in the back drop of a comprehensive literature review. The Hotel Industry Parks (2003) states with abundant clarity the role of human interface in hotel industry in following words," The hospitality industry is obviously customer-service driven. If your employees aren't satisfied in their jobs, their unhappiness is bound to spill over into their attitudes and behaviors toward clients and guests. Most hospitality positions require people to be in constant communication with the public while servicing guests. Because of this, employee satisfaction is vitally important to the success of your business. Everyone knows that it costs much more to hire and train a new employee than it does to keep an existing employee.

The Development of Marine And Wildlife Tourism In Scotland Essay

The Development of Marine And Wildlife Tourism In Scotland - Essay Example For example, the David Fleay Wildlife Park on the Gold Coast breeds rare and endangered animals (Moscardo et al, 2001), which means that the native species are being cared for and tourists are being offered the opportunity to see something unique. Scotland can definitely learn from this in future development by emphasizing the fact that the Moray Firth and other Scottish marine areas are the best places to see dolphins and whales in the UK (Wilson et al, 1997). Offering something which is unique to the customer will enhance the profits of the area and ensure that visitors keep coming back. The Australian organisation Wildlife Tourism Australia is also an important reference point for many countries wishing to expand on their marine and wildlife tourism sectors. This organisation acts as an important mediator between tourism and conservation of the area. It also encourages donations to wildlife parks that may make conservation efforts easier (Moscardo et al, 2001). This may be particu larly useful in future development; using some of the money made from wildlife and marine tourism to promote the conservation of the local environment. This direction would help ameliorate some of the problems that come from expanding the tourism industry in such important conservation areas. It would also be a selling point to the consumer who wants to make sure that they give back to the environment. Then evaluate the social, economic and environmental value of marine and wildlife tourism that can be gained by Scotland from the development of this specialist tourism. Marine and wildlife tourism holds a spectacular amount of value for Scotland.... This paper stresses that perhaps the most important part of developing the wildlife and marine tourism of the area needs to be ensuring that the wildlife and marine environment is protected. This is to fall in line with some important UK environment laws, and to ensure that the area which is attracting these tourists remains in a state to continue to be an attraction for years to come. Development in the area, particularly around the coastline, needs to be kept to a sustainable level, although growth will be needed if plans are to make Scotland and Moray Firth into wildlife and marine tourist attractions. Additionally, this growth will need to fall in line with UK regulations. This report makes a conclusion that development for tourist provisions will need to be kept well away from these areas to ensure that full protection is given to the wildlife. A good idea for getting visitors involved in the natural environment without damage would be to offer conservation holidays, which would allow them to be part of the work going on in these areas. A good marketing point could be to emphasize the fact that the area has unique species within the UK, and tied into the dolphin and whale spotting mentioned previously. A final way of marketing the area would be to encourage visitors from Scotland and other parts of the UK. This would be good in the current economic climate as many people are choosing to take cheaper holidays. The author talks that co-operation with the society would mean that the preservation of the area in the way most appropriate for the natural environment could be attained whilst also developing it as a visitor attraction.

The Benefits Of Strategic Planning Business Essay

The Benefits Of Strategic Planning Business Essay Formal strategic planning is affected by the macro-environment and this is the highest level layer in the framework, this consists of a wide range of environmental factors that impact to some extent on almost all organisations. The PESTEL framework can be used to identify how future trends in the Political, Economic, Social, Technological, Environment and Legal environments might affect an organisation. Pestel analysis provides the broad date from which key drivers to change can be identified. By using these key drivers organisations can envision scenarios for the future. Scenarios can be used to help organisations decide if change needs to happen depending on the different ways in which the business environment may change. It is important for managers to analyse these factors in the present and how they are likely to change in the future. By analysing these, managers will be able to draw out implications for the organisation. Pestel factors are sometimes linked together i.e. technological factors can impact on economic factors. It is necessary to identify the key drivers of change these are environmental factors that are likely to have a high impact on the success or failure of the strategy. Key drivers vary by industry i.e. Primark may be concerned by social changes that can change customer tastes and behaviours. The critical issues are the implications that are drawn from the understanding in guiding strategic decisions and choices. The next stage is drawn from the environmental analysis specifically strategic opportunities and threats for the organisation. Having the ability to identify these opportunities and threats is extremely valuable when thinking about strategic choices for the future. Opportunities and threats form one half of the SWOT analysis that shapes a companys formulation. The use of SWOT analysis can help summarise the key issues from the business environment and the strategic capability of an organisation that are most likely to impact on strategy development. Once the key issues have been identified an organisation can then assess if it is capable to deal with the changes taking place within the business environment. If the strategic capability is to be understood the business must remember that it is not absolute but relative to its competitors. SWOT analysis is only useful if it is comparative, that is it examines strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats. SWOT analysis should help focus discussion on the future choices and to what extent an organisation is capable of supporting these strategies. SWOT analysis should not be used a substitute for more in-depth analysis. In responding strategically to the environment the goal is to reduce identified threats and take advantages of the best opportunities. Peter Drucker (1954), discussing the importance of business policy and strategic planning in his book The Practice of Management says we cannot be content with plans for a future that we can foresee. We must prepare for all possible and a good many impossible contingencies. We must have a workable solution for anything that may come up. By taking advantage of the strategic gap (which is an opportunity in the competitive environment that has not been fully exploited by competitors) organisations can manage threats and opportunities. Core competencies are a set of linked business processes that deliver superior value to the customer, when these are combined they create strategic value and can lead to competitive advantage. By using Porters five forces analysis which is a framework for organisations to analyse industry and business strategy, they can draw upon the five forces that determine the competitive intensity and therefore attractiveness of a market. Three of Porters five forces refer to competition from external sources and the other two are internal threats. This analysis is just one part of the complete Porter strategic model the others include the value chain (VC) and the generic strategies. According to Porter (2008) the job of a strategist is too understand and cope with competition; however managers define competition too narrowly as if it has occurred only among today direct competitors. Competition goes beyond profits to include competitive forces such as customers, suppliers, potential entrants and substitute products; the extended rivalry that results from all five forces defines an industrys structure and shapes the nature of competition within an industry. For example Apple are good at technology and innovation therefore they can take the opportunities that give them competitive advantage and makes them leaders compared to Samsung or Nokia. Porters says there are 5 forces that shape the competition: Threat of new entrants Bargaining power of customers powerful customers usually bargain for better services which involve cost and investment Bargaining power of suppliers may determine the cost of raw materials and other inputs effecting profitability Rivalry among competitors competition influences the pricing and other costs like advertising etc. Threats from substitutes where-ever substantial investments in RD is taking place, the threat of substitutes is large. It also affects profitability. Competitive advantage is the heart of strategy and for the strategy to succeed the organisation should have relevant competitive advantage. We can see an example of this with Toshiba who operate in electrical goods, through a flexible manufacturing system it manufactures different products / varieties of some products on the same assembly lines. At Ohme it assembles nine varieties of computers on the same line and on the adjacent line it assembles 20 varieties of lap top computers. It is able to switch from one product / variety to another instantly at low cost and makes profits on low volume runs too. This flexibility of Toshiba to respond quickly and easily to the fast changing market demand is definitely one of its competitive advantages. Whereas its competitors make profits only through long volume runs of a particular model. However, there are a lot of companies who are choosing not to invest due to the recession; however Lidl and Aldi are taking advantage of supplying cheaper products giving them competitive advantage over say Waitrose. Benefits of Strategic Planning Effective strategic planning can positively improve the performance of an organisation and give them the ability to serve more clients, access additional resources or enhance the quality of service/product. It can also offer solutions to major organisational issues or challenges and gives stakeholders of the organisation an opportunity to develop harmonic solutions to long-term issues/challenges that have been affecting the organisation. Furthermore it allows for forward thinking, allowing an organisation the opportunity to pause and revisit the mission and create long-term vision. It allows clear future direction allowing stakeholders to look to the future, plan and respond to changes. Evaluation One of the major drawbacks of formal strategic planning is the uncertain dynamic environment, things change constantly and everything becomes shorter. The recession at the present time is making everything unpredictable and this is not good for strategic planning. According to Mintzberg (1994) strategic planning should be used to devise and implement the competitiveness of each business unit. Scientific management was pioneered by Fredrick Taylor (1856-1915) and involved separating thinking from doing and thus creating a new function staffed by specialists. Planning systems were expected to produce the best strategies as well as step by step instructions on how to achieve this, but this never worked well. According to Mintzberg strategic planning is not strategic thinking, the most successful strategies are visions, not plans. When an organisation can differentiate between planning and strategic thinking they can then get back to what the strategy making process should be. Once a manger has the ability to learn from all sources around him, including personal experiences and market research and can integrate this into a vision of the direction that the business can then pursue. Mintzberg suggests that strategic planning is a misconception and rests upon three unsound arguments: that prediction is possible, thats strategists can be detached from the subjects of their strategies, and that the strategy-making process can be formalised. Strategic thinkers can apply lessons learned from Mintzberg (1994) three inherent fallacies of traditional planning: The Fallacy of Prediction is the assumption that we can actually control events through a formalised process that involves people engaged in creative or even routine work and can manage to stay on the predicted course. You need more than hard facts you need the personal touch. People are not objective, they are complex. The Fallacy of Detachment is the assumption we can separate the planning from the doing, if the system does the thinking, then strategies must be detached from the tactics. Formulation from implementation, thinkers from doers. One objective is to make sure senior managers receive relevant information without having to immense themselves in the details. One fact is innovation has never been institutionalised and systems have never been able to reproduce the synthesis created by the entrepreneur or the ordinary strategist and probably never will. The Fallacy of Formulisation suggests that systems could certainly process more information, at least hard information. However they could never internalise it, comprehend it, and put it all together. Such control is more a dream that a reality. Reality tells us that anomalies, the fickle behaviour of humans and the limitations of analysis play a huge factor in the organisational outcomes and to disregard them is risky and could lead to incomplete planning. What are the limitations of strategic planning when things are changing rapidly? The limitations of formal strategic planning can be seen if the future is uncertain and the expectations divert from the plan. There could also be internal resistance to formal strategic planning due to factors including: Information flows, decision making and power relationships could be unsettled Current operating problems may drive out long-term planning efforts There are risks and fears of failure New demands will be placed on managers and staff Conflicts with the organisation are exposed Planning is expensive in time and money Planning is difficult and hard work The completed plan limits choices and activities for the organisation in the future CONCLUSIONS The question posed seems to be is strategic planning worthwhile. The answer to this lies within the organisation and is dependent upon size. It seems that the ability to learn and implement strategies contributes to the business performance of small or medium sized companies in a dynamic industry. Leadership is important and organisations today have to deal with dynamic and uncertain environments. To ensure success organisations must be strategically aware. They must understand how changes in their competitive environment are unfolding. They should constantly be on the lookout for new opportunities to exploit their strategic abilities, build on awareness and understanding of current strategies and successes. Organisations must be able to respond quickly in response to opportunities and threats. Organisations must compete effectively and out-perform their rivals in a dynamic environment; they must find suitable ways for creating and adding value for their customers. Overall they must be flexible. Organisations could think about changing their strategy to an emergent strategy which would allow them to adapt to new ideas and according to change. Emergent strategy implies that an organisation is learning what works in practice. An example of this is Groupon who provide daily deals in large cities and in return Groupon get a percentage of the deal usually 50% from the company providing the deal. The company is on track to make $500M in revenue this year and has raised its last round at a $1.35B valuation. Groupon is an example of an emergent strategy which has transformed several times. Organisations could think about downsizing production before closure as companies are killed due to an uncertain dynamic environment. In an article labelled The Real Value of Strategic Planning one manager said our planning process is like a primitive tribal ritual there is a lot of dancing, waving of feathers and beating of drums. No one is exactly sure why we do it, but there is an almost mystical hope that something good will come out of it. Another said, Its like the old Communist system: We pretend to make strategy and they pretend to follow it. Henry Mintzberg has gone so far as to label the phrase strategic planning an oxymoron. He notes that real strategy is made informally in hallway conversations, in working groups, and in quiet moments of reflection on long plane flights and rarely in the panelled conference rooms where formal planning meetings are held.

The Motionless Arrow: Aristotles Thoughts On Zenos Arror Argument :: essays research papers

The Motionless Arrow: Aristotle's Thoughts on Zeno's Arror Argument Aristotle's thoughts on Zeno's Arrow Argument as represented in Chapter 9 of Aristotle's Physics: A Guided Study can be understood in such a way that it might not be "next door to madness". In this chapter, Aristotle interprets Zeno's argument of the Flying Arrow as "missing the mark". There are four premises for this argument, and in Aristotle's opinion, premise three can be rejected. He does not believe that time is composed of indivisible nows, which he proves with laws of science. However, by evaluating the falsity of premise three, you will find that premises one and two are also false. Almost all opinions can be argued, however, and by evaluating the philosophy of both men, many points can be reached about the validity and soundness of the argument. Though, by finding the premises false, the argument is not sound, and therefore, Zeno's argument leaves much to be said. Deciphering from what we know of the argument by what Aristotle tells us in Chapter 9, the premises are sketched out: 1. Everything is at rest when at a place equal to it; 2. The Flying arrow is at rest when at a place equal to it; 3. Time is composed of indivisible nows (instants). 4. Everything that changes place is doing so in the now. 5. Conclusion: The flying arrow doesn't move. According to Zeno, time is composed of many indivisible nows, or instants. Aristotle disagrees, stating in line 210 that no magnitude, including time, is composed of indivisible nows. Exactly how long is an instant? Is time finite? As you start dividing time, the smaller you get, the less movement occurs. But even when you do divide it smaller and smaller, is there not at least some small amount of movement occurring? When will time get so small that movement does not occur? This is Aristotle's reasoning: that time will never get to a "smallest" point, as length will never have a "smallest" division. Therefore, he is rejecting the third premise, stating that time is not composed of indivisible segments. Zeno, however, feels that time can be divided into a "smallest" part. After all, in physics, you can determine an object's instantaneous velocity or acceleration at a specific point in its journey, at a specific time. Wouldn't this make time indivisible? Velocity and acceleration are given to mean motion, which means the object is moving at this specific point in time. Therefore, according to Aristotle, this paradox would not be so if it were not taken that time were composed of nows. By rejecting this premise, and reevaluating the argument, you will read

International Human Resource Management Essay

1.0 Executive Summary The world of international HR management (IHRM) is changing. As companies shift operations abroad, IHRM is moving beyond expatriate programs. Today’s IHR managers are charged with scaling and managing overseas HR operations. This shift has not only created new opportunities for IHRM professionals, but also for companies looking to staff operations abroad. Possibly one of the greatest challenges facing the IHRMs is the fact that they are now dealing with not an individual employee but a whole family and their needs as a family in the relocation process. Some IHRMs find it more difficult than others to adjust to the added dimension of having to deal with the spouse and family on a more intimate level than before. After all, they are now relocating them halfway around the world and away from their support structures. They have to be prepared to get a lot more involved in the family as a whole and not just think they have to communicate with the employee only as is often the case when dealing with an employee here at home base. Throughout this assignment, we are examined the implications of differences in national culture for policy and practice in of the following aspects of human resource management: * Performance appraisal * Training and development 2.0 Training and Development Important components of international human resources management include both cross-cultural training and a clear understanding of the overseas assignment as part of a manager’s development. 2.1 Training Cross-cultural training is necessary for expatriates managers and their families before, during and after foreign assignments. As different countries have different culture, regardless how close of those areas, such as Taiwan and Mainland China, USA and Canada. Maybe they are talking the same language, however, their perception of social values, business practices are different. In Western, especially in USA, people are more individualism. In the contrary, Eastern people, such as Chinese and Japanese, people are more collectivism. The social system also different in Western and Eastern, the former is low power distant and the later is higher power distant. When those expatriates arrive, they are foreigners, not the host population, it is necessary to provide much cultural and practical background. Language training is an essential activity for everyone in the family. Although English is the dominant business language worldwide, relying on English puts the expatriates at a disadvantage. The expatriate will be unable to read trade journals and newspapers, which contain useful business information, and will be reliant on translators, which at best only slow down discussions in the process. Evan if expatriates manager is not fluent, a willingness to try communicating in local language makes a good impression on the business community. Foreign language proficiency is also vital for family members to establish a social network and accomplish the everyday tasks of maintaining a household. But cross-cultural training is much more than just language training. It should provide an appreciation of the new culture, including details of its history and folklore, economy, politics, religion, social climate, and business practices. It is easy to recognize that religion is highly important in daily life in the Middle East, but knowledge of the region’s history and an understanding of the specific practices and beliefs is important to avoid inadvertently insulting business associates or social contacts. All this training can be carried out through a variety of techniques. Language skills are often provided through classes and tapes, while cultural training utilizes many different tools. Lectures, reading materials, videotapes, and movies are useful for background information, while cultural sensitivity is more often taught through role playing, simulations and meetings with former expatriates, as well as natives of the countries now living in the parent countries. While all this training in advance of the overseas relocation is important, cultural learning takes place during the assignment as well. After the overseas assignment has ended and the employee has returned, more training is required for the entire family. The employee also must adjust to organization changes, including the inevitable promotions, transfers, and resignations that have taken place during his or her absence. Teenager find reentry particularly difficult, as they are ignorant of the most recent jargon and the latest trends, but often are more sophisticated and mature than their local friends. The employee also must adjust to organizational changes, including the inevitable promotions, transfers and registrations that have taken place during his or her absence. Returnees are anxious to know where to fit in, or if they have been gone for so long that they no longer are on a career path. 2.2 Development In the current global business environment, the overseas assignment should be a vital component in the development of top-executives. It is not only to achieve the advantages for the individual in overseas assignment, but also an organization can gain the competitive advantages from their overseas employee. It is also a chance to provide the host counties employees to broaden their global perspective through a post in the parent-country headquarter, and may make it easier for the organization to recruit and retain better quality managers in the host country. Development is an essential activity to the individual to improve the individual’s ability during the assignment and to well perform their jobs. 3.0 Performance appraisal In evaluating employee performance in international environments, other factors come into plays. For instance, the cultural differences between the United States and England are not as great as those between the United Stated and China, for example. Thus, hostility or friendliness of the cultural environment in which one manager should be considered when appraising employee performance. 3.1 The responsibilities of the evaluation There are also issues to consider regarding who will be responsible for the evaluations: the host-country management or the parent country management. Although local management would generally consider a more accurate gauge, it typically evaluates expatriates from its own cultural perspectives and expectations, which may not reflect those of the parent company. For example, in some countries, a participatory style of management is acceptable, while in other countries, hierarchical values make it disgrace to ask employees for ideas (for e.g. in Japan). This could vastly alter a supervisor’s performance appraisal. Confusion may arise from the use of parent-country evaluation forms if they are misunderstood, either because the form has been improperly translated or not translated at all, or because the evaluator is uncertain what a particular question means. The home-office managements, on the other hand, is often so remote that it may not be fully informed on what is going on in an overseas office. Because they lack access and because one organization may have numerous foreign operations to evaluate, home-office managements often measure performance by quantitative indices, such as profits, market shares, or gross sales. However, simple numbers are often quite complex in their calculations and data are not always comparable. For example, if a company has many operations in Fast East Asia, it must be aware of the accounting practices in each country. Local import tariffs can also distort pricing schedules, which alter gross sales figures, another often compared statistic. Evan when the measurements are comparable, the comparison country will have an affect. For example, factory productivity levels in Vietnam may be below those of similar plants in Thailand. Depending on where the supervisor’s results are compared, different outcomes may occur. Such issues complicate parent country management performance evaluations by numerical criteria, or indices – and can add to the emotional levels in appraisals. 3.2 Evaluation Format Other issues surround the question of selecting the best format to use in performance appraisals, If we have an overseas operation that includes both parent country nationals and host country nationals, we must determine if we will use the same forms for all employee. While most Western countries accept the concept of performance evaluation, some cultures interpret it as a sign of distrust or even an insult to an employee. This complicates a decision to use one instrument like an adjective rating scale for all employees. On the other hand, using different formats for PCNs and HCNs may create a dual track in the subsidiary, in turn creating other problems. The evaluation form presents other problems. If there is universal form for the entire corporation, an organization must determine how it will be translated accurately into the native language of each country. English forms may not be readily understood by local supervisors. For example, clerical and office jobs do not always have identical requirements in all cultures. As a result, some U.S. multinational may be hesitant about evaluating HCNs and TCNs. In some countries, notably those that support the Communist ideology, all workers are rewarded only when the group performs – with punishment or discipline being highly limited. For example, in the hotel industry in the People’s Republic of China. Without the ability to reward good individual performance or to punish poor performance, there is little motivation to have any evaluation at all. Although the subject of international performance appraisal continues to receive research attention, two general recommendations have been suggested as follow: * Modify the normal performance criteria of the evaluation sheet for a particular position to fit the overseas position and site characteristics. Expatriates who have returned from a particular site or same country can provide useful input into revising criteria to reflect the possibilities and constraints of a given location. * Include a current expatriate’s insights as part of evaluation. This means that non-standardized criteria, which are difficult to measure, will be included, perhaps in different basis for each country. This creates some administrative difficulties at headquarters, but in long run will be a more equitable system. Â   Bibliography 1. Peter J. Dowling, Denice E. Welch and Randall S. Schuler, International Human Resource Management – Managing People in a Multinational Context, South Western College Publishing, 3rd Edition 2. Nancy J. Adler, International Dimensions of Organization Behavior, South Western College Publishing, 3rd Edition 3. David A. Decenzo, Stephen P. Robbins, Human Resourc Management, John Wiley & Sons Inc., 7th Edition. 4. Ian Breadwell and Len Holden, Human resource management – a contemporary approach, FT Prentice Hall, 3rd Edition

Is Death Penalty Ever Justified

Is Death Penalty ever justified? Capital punishment otherwise, also know as death penalty is a legal process whereby a criminal gets executed as a form of punishment. In the past, Capital punishment had been practised by almost all the societies. However, currently due to the increase in awareness of humans’ rights an approximate of 97 countries had abolished this form of punishment. That being said, there are still 58 nations of which includes Singapore, are actively practising it. In my opinion, all human life is to be truly cherished.Who gave us the rights to deprive another man’s life just because he had committed an unlawful act from our perspective? Instead, offenders who truly want to turn over a new leaf should be given a second chance. Reformation, or rehabilitation is one way, but the succession of such methods lies between whether the offender is able to change or not. As it would be a daunting task to really gauge how penitent they are. Hence, rehabilitation cannot guarantee the safety of the rest of society from these uncivilized criminals, whereas capital punishment, being permanent, can.A death penalty can also be served as a strong deterrent against potential criminals. Humans are naturally afraid of death, and would rethink again before offending the law. Death penalty can also be seen, as a way to console the victim’s families, should the criminal committed an act of murder. However, one could also argue that even if justice is served, we can never bring back the dead to life. That being said, I think an alternative punishment could be that instead to just end a person’s life, we should make full use of it.Examples could be having them work for the society, clean the streets or even build roads. Cynically, people will argue that these programmes are even more dangerous, more labour intensive as strict supervision is needed to prevent any sabotage or outbreaks from the offenders. In material terms, for a country like Singapore with scarcity of land space, it would be impossible to simply jail the criminals as there would not be enough prisons. Thus such alternatives may not be quite feasible, however, I believe that in the future technology will help us solve these problems and ultimately exploit these wasted lives.The main reason why capital punishment is still valid today is because people still commit crimes that deserve such a sentence. As our civilization continues to advance exponentially, it does not automatically mean that people have become more disciplined as well. There will always be deviants in society, and punishment must be meted out to them to maintain law and order. On the bottom line, death penalty is justified, but it should be sparingly used. At the end of the day, we are all humans, and we should not deliberately end a person’s life that easily.

Free Essays on Post Civil War United States

Post Civil War United States After the Civil War the United States witnessed the greatest movement of people in it’s history. The area of settlement more than doubled. With this expansion the United States encountered many new problems which required new solutions. Between 1865 to about 1877 the United States was going through a reconstruction period. Society as well as Government had to be reconstructed especially in the post war South. The changes the Civil War brought also brought up new ways to go about handling the changes and making them stick. Two if the major changes that had to be addressed were the Economic and Social structures had to be rebuilt. The Political system had to be reconstructed as well. There were no blacks in office and that had to change with the new emancipation. Black people were to have a say in what went on. In 1863 Lincoln proposed his â€Å"10 Percent† Reconstruction plan. Lincoln’s suggestions were provoking very sharp reactions in congress. They feared that Lincolns Plans would create a situation for re-enslavement and other major slave issues. In 1864 Republicans created the Wade-Davis Bill. It was in turn vetoed by Lincoln which enraged the republicans. A year later in 1865 Lincoln was assassinated. Only for office to be taken by Andrew Johnson who shared many of the same beliefs as Lincoln. With the end of the Civil War also came emancipation of blacks. This was very big in many ways. Black people were never before considered citizens and they had no rights a white man or woman had. Emancipation was not taken to right away by the states. Some states took longer to recognize emancipation than others. Many black people found themselves being re-enslaved even after emancipation. Some were attacked by slave owners as they tried to gain freedom from the emancipation. The Slave owners even went as far as killing blacks who tried to escape saying that slavery was lawful unles... Free Essays on Post Civil War United States Free Essays on Post Civil War United States Post Civil War United States After the Civil War the United States witnessed the greatest movement of people in it’s history. The area of settlement more than doubled. With this expansion the United States encountered many new problems which required new solutions. Between 1865 to about 1877 the United States was going through a reconstruction period. Society as well as Government had to be reconstructed especially in the post war South. The changes the Civil War brought also brought up new ways to go about handling the changes and making them stick. Two if the major changes that had to be addressed were the Economic and Social structures had to be rebuilt. The Political system had to be reconstructed as well. There were no blacks in office and that had to change with the new emancipation. Black people were to have a say in what went on. In 1863 Lincoln proposed his â€Å"10 Percent† Reconstruction plan. Lincoln’s suggestions were provoking very sharp reactions in congress. They feared that Lincolns Plans would create a situation for re-enslavement and other major slave issues. In 1864 Republicans created the Wade-Davis Bill. It was in turn vetoed by Lincoln which enraged the republicans. A year later in 1865 Lincoln was assassinated. Only for office to be taken by Andrew Johnson who shared many of the same beliefs as Lincoln. With the end of the Civil War also came emancipation of blacks. This was very big in many ways. Black people were never before considered citizens and they had no rights a white man or woman had. Emancipation was not taken to right away by the states. Some states took longer to recognize emancipation than others. Many black people found themselves being re-enslaved even after emancipation. Some were attacked by slave owners as they tried to gain freedom from the emancipation. The Slave owners even went as far as killing blacks who tried to escape saying that slavery was lawful unles...

Gangster movies are, by common knowledge stories, about crime and the lives of criminals Essay Example

Gangster movies are, by common knowledge stories, about crime and the lives of criminals Essay Example Gangster movies are, by common knowledge stories, about crime and the lives of criminals Essay Gangster movies are, by common knowledge stories, about crime and the lives of criminals Essay Essay Topic: Back in the World Stories Pulp Fiction The Godfather Gangster movies are, by common knowledge stories, about crime and the lives of criminals. Heroes of these movies are individuals who make their living through robbing banks, murdering, or any other illegal activity. Gangster movies are not concerned with the morality of the crime to great extent, but rather try to show the character of criminals free from judging them for what they do. The moral message of the movie is usually placed at the end of it, when criminals most often finish tragically. So, through the movie, gangsters are heroes, who gain respect because of their good style and power they have. The golden age of gangster genre started in 1930s during the Depression Era and the Prohibition Era between 1930 and 1932, when contemporary organized crime was on the rise. (www/filmsite) The genre became very popular through the time, when the problem of organized crime was widespread, and it continues to be popular today. The reason for the perpetuity of the crime topic is the persistence of crime in reality, and its constant development in the sense of variety. This progressive nature of crime did not allow the genre to stagnate in story, but the real changes within the characteristics of it came thanks to couple of individualistic directors like Tarrantino or Guy Richie. In this essay I will present the basic characteristics of a classic gangster movie The Godfather by Martin Scorsese and the changes brought into the genre in Pulp Fiction by Quentin Tarrantino. The variances within the gangster genre on the example of The Godfather and Pulp Fiction are represented by playing wit h the gangsters manners, intellect, appearance, the degree and illustration of violence, through increasing speed of the actions in the movie, or simply by emphasizing the role of music in the movie. : The Godfather is a movie about powerful Corleone family, whose main business is crime. The movie analyses the structure and organizational culture of Sicilian Mafia, which is very similar to any other gangster organization, but also differs from it in many ways. For the purpose of the comparison with Pulp Fiction I will pay attention only to general characteristics of the gangster genre in the movie, leaving out the facts that are typical only for Sicilian Mafia. The boss Don Corleone (Marlon Brando) and his son Johnny (Al Pacino) are the heroes of the movie. They earn respect through businessman style in dressing, good manners in public, or power they have. The power of a gangster is his gun, that makes him dangerous, the coldness of his face expression, as he never smiles, his good style and manners being his reference power, and his mysterious unpredictability and determination. Johnny and Don do not talk much, all the conversation is mostly about business and there are no suffici ent words, or jokes. This is one of the things that Tarrantino broke in his Pulp Fiction. Tarrantinos heroes, Vincent (John Travolta) and Jules (Samuel L. Jackson) are not typical gangsters. They are dressed in black suits and have guns, but they rather earn laugh than respect. Jules and Vincent do not talk only about business but about hash in Amsterdam, French language or foot massage. So, seeing them on the way to kill someone while talking about cultural differences between U.S. and Europe makes us very confused about their identity and the identity of genre in the entire film, and we laugh in disbelief. Tarantino plays with the genre, not missing out the fact that these guys are dangerous as they cold-bloodedly shoot many people in the movie, but as well giving them the common-person characteristics and not making them icons but familiar people. In this way he rejects to make Jules and Vincent gangsters from the cliche, or absolute gangsters in any life situation. When they go out off-duty they wear shorts and funny T-shirt, Vincent is putting his belly out and loosing his authority and fearfulness among the viewers. Vincent and Jules are rather half gangsters-half comedians. The comedian side is emphasized, and the respect to Vincent is undermined more by the fact that he is on drugs most of the time. Unlike Don Corleone and Johnny who are soberly concentrated, serious and always alert, Vincent is dizzy, panicking and his mental detachment almost causes the death of bosss wife (Umma Thurman). Another material change within the genre between these two movies is the vividness of pictured violence. Martin Scorsese chooses to make the murders look clean and his gangsters, when killing, stay in control over the situation. Little blood is shown, and the murder is well planed and driven by the utility of the organization. Tarantino exaggerates in violence and amount of blood Jules and Vincent even kill by mistake, so they look clumsy, unorganized, and comical. Yet again, the respect for the gangster is undermined and it looks like Tarantino mocks the genre. The difference in the tempo of these two movies is substantial. The Godfather has slower flow of actions and breaks between the scenes of crime are longer and contain the analytical description of the gangster culture. Scorsese is showing us that all illegal activity is carefully planed in front and by that, at the same time he slows down the action and builds respectful figure of the gangsters. Pulp Fiction is chaotic in tempo. It has faster turnovers from one murder to another danger, slows down for a while and unpredictably thrusts into another action. Vincent and Jules are not putting much intellectual effort into their crimes, and they fall from one action to a trouble and so on. The background music in The Godfather is unnoticeable. It is mostly traditional music performed live on the weddings and funerals. It doesnt serve like a tool to reinforce certain atmosphere of the scene or situation. Tarantino uses music to provoke certain feeling or to mock the situation and make us laugh. The music is loud and plays its role, it speeds up the dangerous situations and often at the same time with its comic lyrics turns the situation into grotesque. The gangster genre is not dying. Its popularity is determined by the continuous existence of crime in reality. The transformation of gangster myth from The Godfather to Pulp Fiction doesnt necessarily mean the devaluation of the genre but is purely individualistic variance of it. Both Scorsese and Tarantino are enriching the genre with its movies. Tarantino manages to balance between parody and seriousness of the gangster picture, on the other hand Scorsese provides us with in-depth, but traditional portrayal of the world of organized crime. The Godfather in 1972, was determining the genre in the reality of 70s, and in 90s Tarrantino liberates the genre in the spirit of the age.

Amistad Summary

Amistad Movie Summary The film begins in the depths of the schooner La Amistad, a slave-ship carrying captured West Africans into slavery. The films protagonist, Sengbe Pieh, most known by his Spanish name, Cinque, painstakingly picks a nail out of the ships structure and uses it to pick the lock on his shackles. Freeing a number of his companions, Cinque initiates a rebellion on board the storm-tossed vessel. In the ensuing fighting, several Africans and most of the ships Spanish crew are killed, but Cinque saves two of the ships officers, Ruiz and Montez, whom he believes can sail them back to Africa. After six weeks have passed, the ship is running out of food and fresh water, and Cinque is growing angry with Yamba who believes keeping the Spaniards alive is the only way to get back to Africa. During the night, they pass another vessel, carrying a group of wealthy English-speaking passengers having a dinner party on deck. The next day, they sight land. Unsure of their location, a group of African men takes one of the ships boats to shore to fetch fresh water. While there, La Amistad is found by a military vessel bearing an American flag the Spaniards have tricked the Africans by sailing directly for the United States. Captured by the American Navy, the Amistad Africans are taken to a municipal jail in New Haven, Connecticut, where the ships occupants, and a tearful Cinque, are thrown into a grim dungeon, awaiting trial. The films focus now shifts to Washington, D. C. , where a session in the House of Representatives introduces John Quincy Adams (Anthony Hopkins), the elderly former President and politician. While strolling in the gardens, Adams is introduced to two of the countrys leading abolitionists; the elderly freed slave Theodore Joadson (Morgan Freeman) and Christian activist Mr. Tappan (Stellan Skarsgard), both of whom are leading shipping magnates in New England and co-proprietors of the pro-abolitionist newssheet The Emancipator. The two have heard of the plight of the Amistad Africans and attempt to enlist Adams to help their cause. Adams, apparently verging on senility, refuses to help, claiming that he neither condemns nor condones slavery. News of the Amistad incident also reaches current President of the United States, Martin Van Buren (Nigel Hawthorne), who is bombarded with demands for compensation from the juvenile Spanish Head of State, Queen Isabella II of Spain (Anna Paquin). At a preliminary hearing in a district court, the Africans are charged with insurrection on the high seas, and the case rapidly dissolves into conflicting claims of property ownership from the Kingdom of Spain, the United States, the surviving officers of La Amistad, and the officers of the naval vessel responsible for re-capturing the slave-ship. Aware that they cannot fight the case on moral grounds, the two abolitionists enlist the help of a young attorney specializing in property law; Roger Sherman Baldwin (Matthew McConaughey). At the jail, Baldwin and the abolitionists, along with a nervous Professor of Linguistics, attempt to talk to the Amistad Africans, but neither side is able to understand anything the other party says. In the prison, events among the Africans are accelerating. Yamba, Cinques apparent rival for authority amongst the Africans, has converted to Christianity and is now resigned to his death, believing that execution will send them to a pleasant afterlife. The death of a young man provokes the Africans into a furious demonstration against the American authorities, screaming and chanting in their native languages as a prison riot threatens. As the hearings drag on, Baldwin and Joadson regularly walk round the city docks, counting numbers in the Mande language, in an attempt to recruit an interpreter. They eventually happen upon a black sailor in the Royal Navy, James Covey (Chiwetel Ejiofor). Using Coveys linguistic abilities, Baldwin and his companions are able to talk to Cinque. In his first speaking role in the courtroom, Cinque, through a series of flashbacks, tells the haunting story of how he became a slave. Cinque, a peasant farmer and young husband and father in West Africa, was kidnapped by African slave-hunters and taken to the slave fortress of Lomboko, an illegal facility in the British Protectorate of Sierra Leone. There, he and hundreds of other captured Africans were loaded onto transatlantic slave-ship (Tecora). Cinque tells of the various horrors of the Middle Passage, including frequent rape, horrific torture, and random executions carried out by the crew, including the deaths of fifty people deliberately drowned in order to save food. Upon their arrival in Cuba, Cinque was sold at a slave market and purchased, along with many other Tecora survivors, by the owners of La Amistad. Once aboard La Amistad, Cinque was able to free himself of his shackles, and began the slaves rebellion for freedom. The courtroom drama continues as District Attorney William S. Holabird (Pete Postlethwaite) and Secretary of State John Forsyth (David Paymer) press their case for property rights and dismiss Cinques story as a mere piece of fiction. While exploring the impounded vessel La Amistad for much-needed evidence to support the Africans claims, Baldwin happens upon a notebook, stuffed into a crevice by Ruiz and Montez to conceal the evidence of illegal slave-trading. Using the book as hard evidence of illegal trading, Baldwin calls expert witnesses including Captain Fitzgerald (Peter Firth), a British naval commander assigned to patrol the West Africa coastline to enforce the British Empires anti-slavery policies. As Fitzgerald is cross-examined by the haughty Holabird, tension in the courtroom rises, ultimately prompting Cinque to leap from his seat and cry Give us free over and over, a heartfelt plea using the English he has learned. Cinques plea touches many, apparently including the judge in a court ruling, Judge Coglin (Jeremy Northam) dismisses all claims of ownership, rules that the Africans were captured illegally and not born on plantations, orders the arrest of the Amistads remaining crew on charges of slave-trading, and authorizes the United States to convey the Amistad Africans back to Africa at the expense of the nation. While Cinque, Joadson, Baldwin, and the jubilant Africans celebrate their victory, a state dinner at the White House threatens to overturn the ruling. While conversing with the Spanish Ambassador to Washington, Senator John C. Calhoun (Arliss Howard) launches into a damning diatribe aimed at President Van Buren, emphasising the economic importance of slaves in the South, and ends his tirade with a concealed but clear threat that should the government set a precedent for abolition by releasing the Amistad Africans, the South will have little choice but to go to war with the north. With his advisors warning that the Amistad incident could bring the United States one big step closer to civil war, President Van Buren orders that the case be submitted to the Supreme Court, dominated by its Southern slave-owning judges. Furious, Mr. Tappan splits with Joadson and Baldwin, who break the news to an enraged and disgusted Cinque. In need of an ally with legal background in the intricacies of Supreme Court workings, Baldwin and Joadson meet again with John Quincy Adams, who has been following the case carefully. Adams, aware that Cinque is now refusing to talk to Baldwin, invites the African leader to his home. While Adams gives him a rambling tour of his greenhouse, Cinques emotional reaction to seeing a West African violet, native to his homeland, convinces Adams to assist the case. At the Supreme Court, John Quincy Adams gives a long and passionate speech in defense of the Africans. Arguing that if Cinque were white and had rebelled against the British, the United States would have exalted him as a hero; and that the Africans rebellion to gain their freedom was no different to the Americans rebellion against their oppressors some seventy years earlier. Arguing that condemning the Amistad Africans would render the principles and ideals of the Constitution worthless, he exhorts the judges to free the Africans, stating that the looming threat of civil war will simply be the final battle of the American Revolution. His case made, the United States awaits the Supreme Courts ruling. On the day of judgment, Justice Joseph Story (Harry Blackmun) announces the Supreme Courts decision on the case. Believing that the Amistad Africans were illegally kidnapped from their homes in Africa, United States laws on slave ownership do not apply. Furthermore, since that was the case, the Amistad Africans were within their rights to use force to escape their confinement. The Supreme Court authorizes the release of the Africans and their conveyance back to Africa. Legally freed for the second and final time, Cinque bids emotional farewells to his companions; shaking Adams hand, giving Joadson his most treasured possession, a lion tooth which is his only memento of Africa, and thanking Baldwin in English. As Cinque is about to leave, Baldwin clasps Cinque and bids a farewell, in the Mande language, to the African leader. The end of the film depicts various scenes. Royal marines assault the Lomboko Slave Fortress, killing the slavers and freeing the kidnapped Africans held within the dungeons. With the fortress evacuated, Captain Fitzgerald, who has finally located the fortress, orders his warship of the Royal Navys West Africa Anti-Slavery Squadron to open fire on the facility, destroying Lomboko. Interspersed with this are scenes of Martin Van Buren losing his election campaign. The final scenes depict Cinque and the freed Africans returning to Africa, dressed in white, the West African colour of victory and accompanied by James Covey, who has shed his British uniform in exchange for African attire.

We Are Cool Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

We Are Cool - Essay Example The narrator claims that the youth "lurk late," and illegal activity is normally carried out in the dark (Lindberg 311). In that culture, darkness influences people to become what they desire; the dark alters images, making an individual who seems risk-free in the daylight seem menacing during the dark. The boy states that they normally "strike straight," which can be deduced to imply that they are open to rape, robbery or murder properly so that they cannot be prosecuted for them (Smith 49). Robbery, rape and murder were issues that started to be considered as significant issues in the society, in the 50s (Cummings 29). They "sing sin" meaning that they have many their misdeeds one would think that the misdeeds are elements of some kind of right-of-passage into adulthood (Smith 50). Finally, the last activity provided in the people is that youths "thin gin," which implies to weaken alcohol in order for them to make more money, and they perhaps do this at the pool hall (Smith 50). The poem portrays the issues that youths in the 50s underwent, persuaded by the â€Å"pop† culture, when they left school. This was an age when youths started to have thoughts of building their lives using other means than education. Lindberg, Kathryne V. "Whose Canon? Gwendolyn Brooks: Founder at the Center of the Margins." Gendered Modernisms: American Women Poets and Their Readers. Ed. Margaret Dickie and Thomas Travisano. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania, 1996.

Should there be a minimum age for driving Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Should there be a minimum age for driving - Essay Example Statistics show that teenagers have higher chances of being involved in car accidents and the rates are equally high for death rates caused by such accidents. America, for example has the highest number of teenagers in car accidents. Therefore, the government made it a policy that teenage drivers should have more practice hours, attend seminars about driving and take a written exam before they get licensed. Drivers aged 15-17 are also required to drive with an adult who knows how to drive however, it is known that this is not always practiced. There are teenage drivers who insist on driving alone because they want to reiterate their abilities and capabilities. Most often, parents would give in because they cannot control their children or simply because they are very busy that they do not have time to attend to their children-- which is actually the reason why they are letting their children drive, so that they do not have to drive them to and from school. Left alone in a car, the teenage driver is also left with decisions he oftentimes immaturely acts upon. For instance, once a teenage driver is left with the freedom to use the car, he could also let his friends ride with him which can eventually lead to drinking and doing drugs. These are dangerous paths for teenage drivers because it is known that alcohol and drugs alter a person’s perceptions. Considering that they do not drink or do drugs, driving with a group of friends can lead to joking or even fighting which will affect the driver and could lead to a dangerous accident. Moreover, there is the issue on the use of cellphones among teenagers. Since they oftentimes communicate with their friends, there is a greater tendency for teenagers to be texting or calling while driving. This increases the risk of teenage drivers to be involved in a car accident. One might argue that such circumstances can also be true among adults. Indeed. However,

Capital Budgeting Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words - 1

Capital Budgeting - Essay Example It is imperative to note that, the expected spot rate appreciation or depreciation is determined by the expected inflation differential (Johnson, 92). RPP is the most useful tool of parity conditions considered in determining whether to accept or reject projects. It is fundamental to note that, RPP predicts the change in the exchange rate over time of the project. The illustration below indicates the most likely setup for NPVs. The table above indicates that all NPVs are positive numbers. It is essential to note that, foreign exchange threat can add, or annihilate the value of the project. Furthermore, a higher parent prospective foreign exchange, adds value to the project. Similarly, a higher project prospective foreign exchange destroys the value of the project. There are two kinds of NPVs. They include NPV from the project prospective, which does not contain foreign exchange risk. The other type is RPP NPV from the parent prospective. It does contain foreign exchange risk (Johnson, 65). In this circumstance, the project risk gives a slightly positive number. On the other hand, the RPP NPV parent prospective gives a bigger, positive number the foreign exchange risk is included (Johnson, 67). In this circumstances, the project can be accepted due to the positive number for the Canadian NPV from the parent prospective RPP. More over, the NPV with foreign exchange risk add more value to the project. The Crystal Ball report results, indicates that maximum and minimum scenarios of NPVs from the project and the parent prospective exists. Consider the following table, which illustrates the maximum scenarios for NPVs. It is imperative to note that, despite changes of variables, the maximum scenario for all the NPVs increased in positive values. In this case, the project could be accepted because NPVs are positive (Johnson, 69). More over, it is fundamental to note that RPP is critical in this course. The value of RPP is observed to be

Health and Health Care Policy Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Health and Health Care Policy - Essay Example s preventive care and specialized medical services to patients admitted in hospitals and also for those patients who are being transferred by ambulances. NHS also covers dental and mental care along with rehabilitation. Measures have been adopted to alleviate costs to prevent undue pressure on certain section of the society. Cost of conveyance to and from medical centers for low income people are covered by the government. The first step that a patient can take is to consult a General Physician (GP) who can then prescribe for secondary care services. General Physicians get paid by salary, capitation and service fees under primary care trusts. Hospitals which are organised by NHS trusts are controlled by the Department of Health (â€Å"The UK Health Care System†, 1). In UK there are several bodies set up for the purpose of monitoring and assessing the quality of health care services provided by the public and private providers. This is done by the process of regular assessment of key areas of health care and if necessary recommendations are made for the best practices. A new framework has been introduced in 2004 to assess the health care service provided by the GPs. They are awarded with points based on how well they organize their practices and how the patients evaluate their surgical experiences. Other things that are considered are extra services provided by the GPs like â€Å"child health and maternity† and how chronic diseases like asthma and diabetes are treated. (â€Å"The UK Health Care System†, 2) The major function of National Health Service has always been to find means to improve efficiency of health care service. The UK government has set up Gershon Efficiency Program to improve efficiency of health care service. The activities of the program include â€Å"front-line productivity, centralizing procurement to obtain more cost-effective deals, reductions in the costs of both NHS provider and central administration and increasing the efficiency of social care

How And Why Childrens Play Has Changed Over the Last 50 Essay

How And Why Childrens Play Has Changed Over the Last 50 - Essay Example According to the research findings, the digital revolution in the world has brought along with it its related technologies such as the smartphone, digital cameras, video game consoles, e-book readers among others that have led to the decline of outdoor play and given rise to what has come to be known as digital play. While children of the 1950s and 60s would spend their play time outdoors in the fields and terraces interacting with nature, children in our modern era are more likely to be found holed up in their cozy homes playing their favorite video games or browsing on their smartphones. Thus, it is evident that the amount of play time outdoors and the rise of digital play are two related developments where the rise of the latter has led to the fall of the former. A third related development has been the reduction of the amount of time available for children’s play. This has been attributed to economic circumstances of parents where parents in the modern economies spend most of their time in the workplace and lesser time with their children at home. A related factor has been the fact that schools have decided to cut down on the time allocated to play in favor of more time for instructional teaching. These two factors have conspired to reduce the number of time children has left to play. The integration of digital media technology into homes, schools, workplace and other areas of life is now ubiquitous. Digital technology, in terms of smartphones, digital cameras, game consoles, et cetera has now transcended into almost every facet of the human life to such an extent that it would be hard to evade it.

Vision Paper Research Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Vision - Research Paper Example I have wanted my students to share with me what they cannot share with any other person because I do not want them to stay disturbed, which might affect their studies. I have wanted them to share their happiness with me and consider me as someone who cannot only guide them professional but also personally. However, one cannot achieve all that he wants but struggle can make everything possible and this is what I am doing to make my class room an idealistic place for all the students and teachers. Being a teacher is easy but to live teaching is not a child’s play, it requires a lot of patience and tolerance to fulfill the meaning of word teacher, to fulfill the expectations of parents and most importantly to fulfill the expectations of students. Teachers do not have their roles limited to the boundary of classrooms; their duty is far beyond the classrooms. If every teacher understands this concept then it would not be difficult for him or her to acquire the place of â€Å"Best Friend† in the hearts of students. Now the question must arises that why is there a need of being friends of students? This paper will gradually answer this question. Primarily, being friend of students can accomplish the vision of every teacher. Regardless of the desires mentioned in the vision, friendship with the students can achieve any vision the teachers have (Koplow, 2002). I am repetitively focusing on being friends because I have personally experienced this in my life that we are only easily able to share our life with those who understand us the most and in most of the cases, these are our friends. Friends know every aspect of our personality, they know our backgrounds, they are aware of our skills and capabilities, and they always do what makes us happy. I believe that only after acquiring this place in the hearts of students, I can accomplish my vision, which is to develop a culturally responsive classroom. Culturally responsive classroom reflects the idea

How And Why Childrens Play Has Changed Over the Last 50 Essay

How And Why Childrens Play Has Changed Over the Last 50 - Essay Example According to the research findings, the digital revolution in the world has brought along with it its related technologies such as the smartphone, digital cameras, video game consoles, e-book readers among others that have led to the decline of outdoor play and given rise to what has come to be known as digital play. While children of the 1950s and 60s would spend their play time outdoors in the fields and terraces interacting with nature, children in our modern era are more likely to be found holed up in their cozy homes playing their favorite video games or browsing on their smartphones. Thus, it is evident that the amount of play time outdoors and the rise of digital play are two related developments where the rise of the latter has led to the fall of the former. A third related development has been the reduction of the amount of time available for children’s play. This has been attributed to economic circumstances of parents where parents in the modern economies spend most of their time in the workplace and lesser time with their children at home. A related factor has been the fact that schools have decided to cut down on the time allocated to play in favor of more time for instructional teaching. These two factors have conspired to reduce the number of time children has left to play. The integration of digital media technology into homes, schools, workplace and other areas of life is now ubiquitous. Digital technology, in terms of smartphones, digital cameras, game consoles, et cetera has now transcended into almost every facet of the human life to such an extent that it would be hard to evade it.

Health Leads Essay Example for Free

Health Leads Essay As recently mentioned, there will be a health focus to a workshop on climate change in Melbourne this weekend that is being put on by the Green Institute. One of the speakers is Senator Richard Di Natale, the Greens health spokesperson, who writes below that we need to focus more on the underlying causes of poor health. On related themes, don’t miss this New York Times article which profiles an organisation working on the social causes of poor healt. Health Leads trains about 1000 volunteers each year to staff resource desks in the waiting rooms of hospital clinics or health centers in Baltimore, Boston, Chicago, New York, Providence, R. I., and Washington. At these sites, doctors now regularly â€Å"prescribe† a wide range of basic resources — like food assistance, housing improvements, or heating fuel subsidies — which the Health Leads volunteers â€Å"fill†, by applying their problem solving skills to identify resources anywhere they may be available. Health Leads was co-founded by a Harvard University student, Rebecca Onie, in 1996 and up until a year ago, she thought that the organisation’s biggest obstacle would be getting doctors to pay attention to patients’ social needs. But the organisation now gets so many referrals from doctors that it has waiting lists. According to the report, Health Leads offers a model of how to develop a workforce to systematically address the social causes of illness The real crisis in health Not many people give up a career in medicine to become a politician. However, I still have the same goal: the good health of Australians. Australia’s health care system isn’t bad. We spend less on health care than many other countries, about 9% of GDP (less than half of that spent in the USA), but most of us get access to high quality care when we need it. But we are also one of the most hospitalised nations in the world, with more overnight beds per capita than any other OECD country. And even with the relatively high rate of hospitalisation, 60 per cent of our population is overweight, half the teeth of Australians aged 35-44 have some decay and alcohol abuse is costing our economy billions each year and rising. Australia isn’t having a health crisis. We’re having a preventative health crisis. The cost of a hospital bed is considerable, but we’re failing to invest in measures that prevent people from needing that bed in the first place. Dental health is a prime example of the opportunity we have to transform our health system through better preventative measures. Currently, 650,000 Australians are on public dental care waiting lists, and dental admissions are the highest cause of acute preventable hospital admissions. Illness due to untreated dental disease is costing us dearly. Yet less than 20 per cent of dental care is currently funded by the Government, compared to nearly 80 per cent of general medical services. For alcohol abuse and obesity as well, there are many preventative measures we can take to reduce the enormous costs to our economy each year. In addition to publicly funded dental care, I will be working towards a phase-out of alcohol and junk-food advertising during sports broadcasts, a more rational alcohol taxation system and better food labelling regulations. It doesn’t take much imagination to see how a small investment in prevention can save us large costs in cure. And with greater preventative health measures, we have more opportunity to address the social inequalities in health in Australia. Health isn’t just a physical condition. If you have less income and less education, you are more likely to have poorer health. Beyond genetic make-up, behaviour and access to medical care, social inequality is still a strong determinant of health. This is especially acute when it comes to the health of Indigenous communities. Climate change is emerging as a major health issue, and once again, those who are more likely to suffer health problems due to climate change are those on the lower end of the socio-economic scale. During heatwaves and other extreme weather events, we have seen that the poor, the elderly and children are most affected. Already, our changing climate is creating a rise in vector-borne diseases, such as Dengue Fever, Malaria and Ross River Fever, and increasing rates of gastroenteritis will also take a heavier toll on the most vulnerable.

Product Services And Branding Strategy Essay

Product Services And Branding Strategy Essay The term marketing mix was coined in 1953 by Neil Borden in his American Marketing Association presidential address. However this was actually a reformulation of an earlier idea by his associate, James Culliton, who in 1948 described the role of the marketing manager as a mixer of ingredients, who sometimes follows recipes prepared by others, sometimes prepares his own recipe as he goes along, sometimes adapts a recipe from immediately available ingredients, and at other times invents new ingredients no one else has tried.[1] A prominent marketer, E. Jerome McCarthy, proposed a Four P classification in 1960, which has seen wide use. The Four Ps concept is explained in most marketing textbooks and classes. -Definition: Marketing mix is the combination of elements that you will use to market your product. There are four elements: Product, Place, Price and Promotion. They are called the four Ps of the marketing mix Product A tangible object or an intangible service that is mass produced or manufactured on a large scale with a specific volume of units. Intangible products are service based like the tourism industry the hotel industry or codes-based products like cellphone load and credits. Typical examples of a mass produced tangible object are the motor car and the disposable razor. A less obvious but ubiquitous mass produced service is a computer operating system. Packaging also needs to be taken into consideration. Every product is subject to a life-cycle including a growth phase followed by an eventual period of decline as the product approaches market saturation. To retain its competitiveness in the market, product differentiation is required and is one of the strategy to differentiate from its competitors Level 1: Core Product. What is the core benefit your product offers?. Customers who purchase a camera are buying more then just a camera they are purchasing memories. Level 2 Actual Product: All cameras capture memories. The aim is to ensure that your potential customers purchase your one. The strategy at this level involves organisations branding, adding features and benefits to ensure that their product offers a differential advantage from their competitors. Level 3: Augmented product: What additional non-tangible benefits can you offer? Competition at this level is based around after sales service, warranties, delivery and so on. John Lewis a retail departmental store offers free five year guarantee on purchases of their Television sets, this gives their `customers the additional benefit of peace of mind over the five years should their purchase develop a fault. Product Decisions When placing a product within a market many factors and decisions have to be taken into consideration. These include: Product design: Will the design be the selling point for the organisation as we have seen with the iMAC, the new VW Beetle or the Dyson vacuum cleaner. Product quality: Quality has to consistent with other elements of the marketing mix. A premium based pricing strategy has to reflect the quality a product offers. Product features: What features will you add that may increase the benefit offered to your target market? Will the organisation use a discriminatory pricing policy for offering these additional benefits? Additional features should increase the benifit offered to your target market. The firm may decide to charge more for these additional features. Branding: One of the most important decisions a marketing manager can make is about branding. The value of brands in today ¿Ã‚ ½s environment is phenomenal. Brands have the power of instant sales, they convey a message of confidence, quality and reliability to their target market.In principles of marketing by philip Kotler and gary armstrong a brand is defined as a name, term, sign symbol or a combination of these, that identifies the marker or seller of the product. A brand must stand out and be recognizable, and should help the firm differentiate itself from its competitors. Brands have to be managed well, as some brands can be cash cows for organisations. In many organisations they are represented by brand managers, who have hugh resources to ensure their success within the market. A brand is a tool which is used by an organisation to differentiate itself from competitors. Ask yourself what is the value of a pair of Nike trainers without the brand or the logo? How does your perception change? Increasingly brand managers are becoming annoyed by  ¿Ã‚ ½copycat ¿Ã‚ ½ strategies being employed by supermarket food retail stores particular within the UK . Coca-Cola threatened legal action against UK retailer Sainsbury after introducing their Classic Cola, which displayed similar designs and fonts on their cans. Internet branding is now becoming an essential part of the branding strategy game. Recently within the UK banking industry we have seen the introduction of Internet banks such as cahoot.com and marbles.com the task by brand managers is to make sure that consumers understand that these brands are banks! The price is the amount a customer pays for the product. The business may increase or decrease the price of product if other stores have the same product pricing is one of the most important elements of the marketing mix. It is the only mix which generates a turnover for the organization. The remaining 3 ps are the varaible cost of the organisation. It costs to produce and design a product, it costs to distribute a product and it costs to promote a product. Pricing is diffiicult and must reflect supply and demand relationship. Pricing a product too high or too low could mean a loss of sales for the organisation. Pricing should take into consideration the following factors: 1.Fixed and variable costs. 2.Competition. 3.Company objectives 4.Proposed positioning strategies. 5.target group and willingness to pay. An organisation can adopt a number of pricing strategies among the following. 1.penetration price: Where the org sets a low price to increase sales and market share. 2.Skimming pricing: The org sets an initial high price and then slowly lowers the price to make the product available to a wider market. The objective is to skim profits of the market layer by layer. 3.Competition pricing: Setting a price in comparision with competitors.A firm has three options, price lower, price the same or price higher. 4.Product line pricing: Pricing different products within the same product range at different price points.The greater the features and benifits obtained the greater the consumer will pay. 5.Bundle pricing: the organisation bundles a group of products at a reduced price. 6.Psycological pricing: The seller will consider the psycology of the price and the positioning of the price within the market place. The seller with therefore charge 99p instead of  ¿Ã‚ ½1 or  ¿Ã‚ ½199 instead of  ¿Ã‚ ½200. 7.Premium pricing: The price set is high to reflect the exclusiveness of the product. 8.Optional pricing: The organisation sells optional extras along with the product to maximise its turnover. http://www.vodafone.com/etc/medialib/cr10/pdf.Par.17290.File.dat/vodafone_sustainability_report.pdf

Jaws: The Movie versus the Book Essay example -- essays research paper

Summary by Eric Dillon Steven Spielberg’s Jaws was a branch off the novel Jaws written by Peter Benchley . The Novel was written in 1974 receiving a best sellers award and therefore setting up for a movie just one year later in 1975, which soon invented the phrase â€Å"blockbuster†which simply is to gross over 100 million dollars. Since this was a highly publicized and successful novel Steven Spielberg was held to a high expectation for this movie to be an ultimate hit. The book and the movie have a lot of differences. The book gives you an all around synopsis on every character while the Movie gives you a breath description on what the character was about and more emphasis on the shark. The title Jaws, is of course an innuendo referring to the shark. The opening credits start off by putting you deep in the treacherous waters of Amity moving along with an object that you assume is the shark but don’t officially know because of the camera position. The camera puts you in the depths of the water with the shark giving the viewer an extra edge when they witness a character jump into the water ignorantly. The fact that we know something that the character obviously doesn’t creates an uncanny feeling of wanting to warn or yell at your television. This type of cinematography is what enhances our viewing experience in a way that a book cannot do as effectively. On the contrary the books gives our main character, Chief Brody, a since of insecurity and worry while in the movie there isn’t enough time for us to sit and go into everyone’s background. Being able to cover more information and still keep viewer/readers attentive is something that is much more actively represented by a book. The most important sequences in the book sta... ...k cant nearly provide the same fear as actually seeing the water and waiting for the shark to jump out and decapitate someone. Steven Spielberg also left us guessing because as the movie went on we got to see more and more of what the shark looked like until WHAM! The shark jumps out of the water and leaves at our seats to enjoy a blood-splattering finale. While reading the book I kept going and going waiting to get to a spin tingling conclusion and then all I read was how the shark suddenly floated away. I felt teased as if a girlfriend kissed you all over and left you there to stay with no action for the night! Part of it was the fact that I saw the movie before I read the book so my expectations were very high for the book seeing that Jaws is a classic. Overall I think Jaws is one of the few times that the movie actually beat the book by a very long shot.

The Driving Age :: essays research papers

Many teens are interested in being able to drive at a younger age, but it is still unclear if they are able to handle it. If the legal driving age is lowered, are we endangering the lives of teen drivers, as well as the passengers with them? I believe most people want to drive as soon as they can. However, recently the government has been trying to pass laws that may change the current driving age of 16. There are positive and negative aspects to changing the laws that allow the driving age to stay at 16.There have been new bills being proposed that mite be passed. â€Å"The Minister for Urban Services has introduced a Bill (proposed law) into the Assembly. He wants to amend the Road Transport (Driver Licensing) Act 2000. The new Bill is called the Driving Age Amendment Bill. This Bill is intended to raise the age at which people can apply for a learner’s permit and driver’s license.† (Legislative Assembly). This bill will raise the driving age if it is passed b ut the aspects of what will happen should be considered before we change it. There are many different reasons why we should keep it at 16. First off it’s a good working system that we have followed for a long time. Another good reason that helps this concept is that the teenagers are still in school so it’s easier for them to take drivers training. If there are more drivers that ultimately mean that more people will be paying for insurance. There are also the reasons why we should change it from 16. Like for instances most 16 year olds aren’t responsible enough to drive. â€Å"The facts show that younger drivers (those between ages 16 and 25) receive more citations, are more likely to have their driving privilege suspended, and are responsible for more accidents than drivers in any other age group.† (Dr. Steven Evans). Another reason is that it’s a high cost own a car when they are making so little money. If we were to raise the driving age it would most likely be changed to 18. The best reasons for raising it to 18 would probably be that they are more responsible. â€Å"Children are not equipped to handle these vehicles, which are hard for even an experienced, adult driver to handle.† (Ron Shaffer) They have More money because of there jobs and if you go away from home you need a license.

Malaysia

Introduction 1Malaysia is not a new concept or formula. Rather, the ultimate goal of 1Malaysia, which is national unity, has been the main vision of our country’s leaders before Najib, and has been interpreted in various shapes and forms over the span of five decades of Independence. If we truly study it, what has changed is the approach and implementation according to the ever-changing times and generations. (1Malaysia Booklet, 2009) In other words, 1Malaysia is a concept to foster unity amongst the multi-ethnic people of Malaysia, substantiated by key values that every Malaysian should observe.The approach is not independent of the Government’s policies thus far; instead it complements them to further reinforce our solidarity in order to guarantee stability towards achieving higher growth and development for Malaysia and the people. This means that 1Malaysia is a formula conceptualised as a precondition in ensuring the aspirations of the country to secure a developed status by 2020 are met, if it is inculcated in the minds of the people and practiced by the entire community.If the idea of â€Å"Bangsa Malaysia† which was engendered through Vision 2020 becomes the final destination, then 1Malaysia is the roadmap that guides us towards that destination. This definition is built upon the argument that in order achieve the status of a developed nation in the predetermined time frame, the key requisite is a strong and stable country, which can only be achieved when its people stand united. On the other hand 1Malaysia values and respects the ethnic identities of each community in Malaysia, and proudly regards them as an asset or advantage. Malaysia underlines the value of â€Å"Acceptance† amongst its multi-racial people, where one race embraces the uniqueness of other races so that we may live with mutual respect for each other as a nation. It is a distinct step above that of mere tolerance. The foundation for all this is the principle of justice for all, which means that the welfare of all Malaysians will be looked after, leaving no one behind. Such justice must take into account the varying levels of development of each ethnic community.Hence, government policies and provisions in the Constitution that protect the interests of disadvantaged groups will continue to be implemented. 1Malaysia will continue the agenda of nation-building. To achieve growth for the nation, the people must be the first to be developed, which must begin by instilling a sense of acceptance amongst races, and therefore undivided solidarity. When solidarity is achieved, the task of nation-building can truly and smoothly be carried out. The 1Malaysia formula is conceptualised for implementation in two main aspects.The first is through the assimilation of the Principles of Unity, while the second aspect is the assimilation of Aspirational Values. The Principles of Unity are the three items I had earlier detailed; the first, â€Å"acceptance † amongst all races and peoples of Malaysia; the second, nationalistic principles built upon the Federal Constitution and the Rukun Negara; and thirdly, social justice. These Principles are supported by wholesome values that must be inculcated as part of Malaysian culture, including values such as mutual respect, Tawaddhu', humility and astuteness in forming decisions and actions.The second aspect of the 1Malaysia formula highlights elements that must be practiced by any society seeking to achieve greater competitiveness and success. These elements comprise A Culture of Excellence in performing all duties and responsibilities; A Culture of Precision in terms of time management and improving efficiency; Courage to innovate and explore new opportunities. Meritocracy in assigning tasks to those best fit to execute them in accordance with the Federal Constitution and national policy; unwavering Loyalty to our country; Perseverence in the face of adversity of any kind and Integrity in all matters and transactions.The inculcation of these Aspirational Values will distinguish us as a powerful, respected and admired Malaysian Community, befitting the identity of a thriving and developed nation. In delivering its commitment to the Rakyat, the government presented the theme â€Å"People First, Performance Now† as part of the 1Malaysia concept. This theme signifies that while reinforcing the call for unity amongst Malaysians, the government will also prioritise issues that the people feel strongly about. The government also places great weight upon the performance and results of all public servants when engaging with the people.In other words, the government recognises the importance of the efficiency and quality of public service in enhancing the quality of life for the people, hence the adoption of a people-friendly approach in all government agencies is critical. In view of this, a Key Performance Index (KPI) will be implemented in all government matters, beginning with the KPI monitoring exercise for all Ministers. A Minister in the Prime Minister's Department is already assigned specifically to ensure the smooth implementation of the KPI.The Minister responsible will provide further details on the KPI and a detailed system of implementation to fulfil this government objective. Such initiatives are expected to produce significant changes not only in government administration, but more importantly to lead to the betterment of the Malaysian people's standard of living. Above all, 1Malaysia â€Å"People First, Performance Now† is expected to generate a definitive transformation, towards an advanced Malaysian nation, underpinned by a firmly united people, and esteemed by the world.The media must assume the responsibility to help the government to bring progress and renewal to the country. The media also had the responsibility to safeguard the peace in the country as well as the renewal and progress attained by the people. We hav e to continue doing what our forefathers did to bring progress and renewal to the country. We cannot merely bring progress and renewal but have to initiate a quantum leap, and the media has the responsibility to help in this transformation. This leap demands understanding and openness.Emotions and sentiments must be set aside or the effort to achieve the leap will be difficult. The media should act responsibly when safeguarding the rights of any community, and it should also safeguard the rights of all Malaysians as well. The 1Malaysia concept, proposed is pivoted on the federal Constitution and the Rukun Negara. Besides that, put forward the principles which encompass the responsible attitude which must be practised. We have to appreciate the principle of 1Malaysia in order to build a more progressive country. We have to be fair to all the communities.This is not merely something which we want but it is that which is demanded by Islam. The era of the government knowing better has e nded, and we now have to interact with everyone. And for this, the media must understand the government’s thinking and vice versa. Foundation of 1Malaysia concept Based on National Unity Ultimate Objective Of 1Malaysia, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak reiterated that 1Malaysia was not a new concept or formula and that its ultimate objective of national unity was the main vision of past leaders of the country, albeit in various forms. National Unity Ultimate Objective Of 1Malaysia, 2009) 1Malaysia is a formula which serves as a prerequisite to ensure realisation of the country's aspiration to achieve developed nation status by 2020 if it is assimilated in the people and practised by society. The 1 Malaysian or a member of Bangsa Malaysia, if one prefers; pursues excellence with full confidence and with pride in himself and his country, behaves democratically, holds himself to high ethical standards. (National Unity Ultimate Objective Of 1Malaysia, 2009)Feels that he/ she belongs to the nation despite his/her cultural exceptionality, contributes to the scientific and technological civilisation that awaits mankind, is family-oriented, cares for the welfare of others and seeks to reduce economic inequality, and works hard. (National Unity Ultimate Objective Of 1Malaysia, 2009) The concept 1Malaysia is based on three main thrusts; nationalistic principles based on the Federal Constitution, Rukun Negara and social justice. Rukun Negara is fundamental to all policies and nation-building. Malaysia concept uphold all the fundamental provisions of the Federal Constitution and Rukun Negara because it’s main objective is national unity and has been exists after Independence as it has been the main vision of our country’s leader before Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak and has been interpreted in various shapes and forms over the span of five decades of Independence. (Rafini Othman, personal communication, 16th September 2009) If we tr uly study it, what has changed is the approach and implementation according to the ever-changing times and generations.It’s a matter of â€Å"rebranding†. (Rafini Othman, personal communication, 16th September 2009) The â€Å"Malaysian Malaysia† ideology is not the same as the â€Å"1 Malaysia† concept although both were aimed at building one nation. The ‘Malaysian Malaysia' ideology espouses that all ethnic groups have equal rights with none having special rights. This is against the Federal Constitution; Article 153 of the Constitution which stipulates the special rights of the Malays and other Bumiputeras as well as the position and rights of the other races in the country.The idea of a â€Å"Malaysian Malaysia† proposed by the Opposition, championed by the DAP and before that, the PAP under Lee Kuan Yew when Singapore was part of Malaysia. It specifically provides special quotas for the Malay and other indigenous peoples of Malaysia in ad mission to the public service, awarding of public scholarships, admission to public education institutions and the awarding of trade licences. It also authorises the government to create Malay monopolies in particular trades. (Rafini Othman, personal communication, 16th September 2009)Unlike that idea, 1Malaysia did not deviate from the basic ideas and spirit of the Federal Constitution. People shouldn’t fear or cast aspersions on the concept because 1Malaysia seeks to ensure that the ethnic identity of each race is respected. This means that every race respects each other and understands their unique differences. Only then can unity be achieved. The people must progress first before the country can achieve development. (Rafini Othman, personal communication, 16th September 2009)Unity as envisioned through the 1Malaysia concept varies greatly from the assimilation concept practiced in other countries where the ethnic identities are wiped out and replaced with one homogeneous national identity. It is also clearly distinct from the opposition’s concept of Malaysian Malaysia. 1Malaysia does not deviate from the spirit of our Federal Constitution as the law of the state, written or implied. In fact, the 1Malaysia concept remains faithful to the core provisions within the Federal Constitution, Therefore, no one should fear or cast aspersions hat the concept the concept will deviate from what has been agreed upon by our founding fathers. 1Malaysia slogan’s, â€Å"People First, Performance Now† Based on National Unity Ultimate Objective Of 1Malaysia, in implementing its commitment to the people, the government had coined the slogan â€Å"People First, Performance Now†. (National Unity Ultimate Objective Of 1Malaysia, 2009) The theme means that in emphasising the importance of unity among Malaysians, the government will also give preference to issues regarded as important by the people.The government also stresses on performance and achievement by all civil servants in their dealings with the people. (National Unity Ultimate Objective Of 1Malaysia, 2009) In other words, the government understands very well how important civil service efficiency and quality are in improving the living standard of the people and, as such, all government agencies will give priority to the people-friendly approach. In this connection, the Key Performance Index (KPI) would be applied in government matters, starting with the KPI monitoring for all ministers.Our Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak begins to reshape the leadership and priorities of the Government. He is mindful that we should build on the successes and lessons of the past. It must be a government with new approaches for new times; a government that places a priority on performance, because the people must come first. Both of it are the same and media do not focus only on 1Malaysia but also on the slogan in balancing the priority of both of it as it comes out mutu ally and supports each other equally.If Malaysians had included the values of the concept in their lives, it meant that the ministry had achieved its key performance indicator (KPI). The terms of KPI and KRA (key result areas) have to understand these two terms to convey the 1Malaysia goal. (Rafini Othman, personal communication, 16th September 2009) Key Preformance Index (KPI) is aim at boosting the performance of the civil service. The KPI encompasses six Key Result Areas (KRA) including crime prevention efforts and the fight against corruption.Other KRA include efforts to widen access to quality and affordable education, uplift the standard of living for the lower-income group, improve the infrastructure in the rural and remote areas, as well as to improve public transport for the medium term. By incorporating KRA in achieving KPI, it helps to expedite the acceptance of the 1Malaysia concept among Malaysians. KPI have direction to take on 1Malaysia to achieve its objective and it is up to the people to accepting it. KPI have to convince the people and do follow up with the progress. (Rafini Othman, personal communication, 16th September 2009)The adoption of a people-friendly approach in all government agencies was also critical as the government recognised the importance of the efficiency and quality of public service in enhancing the quality of life for the people. The government also placed great weight on the performance and results of all public servants when engaging with the people. (Rafini Othman, personal communication, 16th September 2009) Key Performance Index (KPI) will be implemented in all government matters, beginning with the KPI monitoring exercise for all Ministers.A Minister in the Prime Minister's Department is already assigned specifically to ensure the smooth implementation of the KPI. The Minister responsible will provide further details on the KPI and a detailed system of implementation to fulfil this government objective. KPI will pa y off and change not only in government administration, but more importantly to lead to the betterment of the Malaysian people's standard of living in acceptance of 1 Malaysia. With the right procedure that will be monitor by responsible minister that also aim on the objective of 1Malaysia.By that, this will expedite the progress of achieving 1Malaysia as it is expected to generate a definitive transformation, towards an advanced Malaysian nation, underpinned by a firmly people, and esteemed by the world. (Rafini Othman, personal communication, 16th September 2009) Above all, â€Å"1Malaysia People First, Performance Now† is expected to generate a definitive transformation towards an advanced Malaysian nation, underpinned by a firmly united people, and esteemed by the world. â€Å"When we know what the national KPIs are, the people will be able to measure the Government’s efforts and performance.They can also give their views and suggestions on how we can achieve thes e national KPIs. This was a reflection of the government’s intention to have more effective and meaningful achievement as demanded by the people. Issues On 1 Malaysia There are a lot of issues arises when the â€Å"1 Malaysia† concept has been introduced by the Malaysian Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Abd. Razak. The most controversial issue that came up is the equality between 1 Malaysia and â€Å"Malaysian Malaysia† concept. Malaysian Malaysia had been brought by the DAP on 1960.Opposition parties have claimed it mirrored the Malaysian Malaysia concept championed by the DAP and, before that, the PAP under Lee Kuan Yew when Singapore was part of Malaysia. Malaysian Malaysia has been introduced with the purposed of espoused equality for all Malaysian. According to the Malaysian Insider, Datuk Seri Najib had explained that the concept of 1 Malaysia created by him is not the same as the concept Malaysian Malaysia. For Prime Minister, 1 Malaysia means the Malaysi an standing, thinking and acting as one Malaysian with the way of performing action based on the agreement of the entire ethnic group in our country. Figuring out One Malaysia, 2009) Madam Rafini, a journalist in RTM said that 1 Malaysia is totally different from the Malaysian Malaysia concept even though the policy is almost the same. The DAP’s concept is more to giving the sameness right to all the Malaysian no matter what races they are. But, 1 Malaysia is more to encouraged people to think, work and having achievement together as a Malaysian. In addition, it is hopefully that it will bring unity to all races in Malaysia. Rafini Othman, personal communication, 16th September 2009) Besides that, the slogan created had brought misinterpretation to some people. They claiming that 1 Malaysia is just a political gimmick and it will erode the privilege of Malays. Not long after the concept was introduced into the public domain, the ruling party and its media organisations moved to narrow the perimeters of the concept, concerned that it would signal the end of affirmative action and special privileges of the Malays. This has created an anxiety to the Malays and former Prime Minister; Tun Dr.Mahathir Mohammad had given his opinion on this issue. He said that he worried people will assume that 1 Malaysia means Malaysian Malaysia and people will misinterpret the true meaning of 1 Malaysia. (Is 1 Malaysia Just The New Malaysia Boleh, 2009) It is strange for some people to argue on the 1 Malaysia slogan by giving nonsense concern that Malays going to lost the privilege rights in our own motherland. It is also said that all this controversy is created by the opposition parties that want to bring down the government (1 Malaysia Untuk Semua, 2009).They use this slogan as a silent weapon to influence people mind about the trick behind this slogan. The truth is how Malays can lose their privilege and specialties if DAP own self – which have a complot with PAS and Parti Keadilan Rakyat – totally accepting the â€Å"Perlembagaan 1957† that had guaranteed all the special privilege rights of the Malays? (1 Malaysia Untuk Semua, 2009) Madam Rafini said it all depend on the Malaysian how they interpret this concept, if they accepting it positively, then it will be something good. Mentality of our people plays a big role in this issue.She also said that the government cannot make a decision for the Malaysian, but Malaysian itself have to decide on their own which one is right and which one is wrong (Rafini Othman, personal communication, 16th September 2009) For the media, they can only broadcast and spread the truth idea of 1 Malaysia by using the medium they have like television, radio and newspaper. Madam Rafini also giving her suggestion to clear the misinterpretation to some people by inviting some one that understands this concept very clearly, such as the minister to giving a talk or explanation about the truth of 1 Malaysi a. Rafini Othman, personal communication 16th September 2009) The opposition parties also accused that it is just a â€Å"cheap† slogan use by the government to trick people and they still want to play with sensitive issue such as races to weaken the government. But, our people nowadays are very smart and they can think on their own what the best is. The media also playing part by spreading the truth about this concept and explaining clearly to the Malaysian that 1 Malaysia is actually means no one in the country will be sidelined but affirmative action policies will continue.Role Of The Media To Educate People About 1 Malaysia Since 1 Malaysia concept has been introduced by the prime minister, there are a lot of opinions and variety of views from people. We can see that different people have a different interpretation about this 1 Malaysia concept, some agree and some not. This concept has its own pro and cons. So, what the media can do to educate the public about the truth of this concept? According to Madam Rafini, the broadcast journalist in Radio Television Malaysia (RTM), media plays a very important part in educating the public about this intelligent idea.As a journalist, she said she can write and produce some opinion pieces about 1 Malaysia concept and it can be read by the public. The media need to broadcast more news that related to 1 Malaysia. They need to deliver something positive and accurate to us. (Rafini Othman, personal communication, 16th September 2009) Besides that, the media can also broadcasting some talk show, for example with the minister with the purpose to explain deeper about this concept. She add that RTM already have this kind of program called â€Å"Bersama Menteri† and they also have a new program called â€Å"Bicara Siswa†.This talk show invited some young generation and representative from high education institution in Malaysia to talk about serious issue inside this country (Rafini Othman, personal commu nication, 16th September 2009). So, in this way we can get comments and interpretation from the youth perspective. In addition, Madam Rafini also said that advertisement can be a very effective medium to promote this concept (Rafini Othman, personal communication, 16th September 2009).Nowadays, we can see a lot of 1 Malaysia advertisement had been started to publish in the public area such as on the advertisement board at the highway, bus station, newspapers and others. Advertisement is a very efficient way to persuade people. The advertisement showed in the television is the best method to persuade people. Some television commercial that shows the unity of all races in Malaysia can help people to understand clearer about this concept. This creativity weapon can plant good moral values to the Malaysian. Our youth is the next generation that will inherit this country.So, they are one of the main targets to practice this concept in their life. But, it is not an easy job to attract the interest of the youngster. That is why the media has come up with one initiative to attract the youngster by creating 1 Malaysia songs. Right now, there are some versions of 1 Malaysia songs that has been listened by the public. Most of this song was sang by popular artist that our youth admired of. As a result, it is hope that our younger generation will be attracted and understand deeper about the exact meaning of 1 Malaysia. 1 Malaysia Acceptance towards Society and EducationIn terms of the acceptance of people of Malaysia regarding the concept of 1 Malaysia, our former prime minister, Tun Dr Mahathir personally told his opinion that nearly 40 percent of Malaysian people still do not know and understand about the concept of 1 Malaysia. He feels that 1 Malaysia is more to political slogan rather than managing the aspirations of different races. He personally still does not see our different races community adapt this concept to their daily life A recent survey by Merdeka Centre a lso showed that 78 per cent were aware of the concept but 39 per cent still did not know what it means. Is 1 Malaysia Just The New Malaysia Boleh, 2009) We ask Madam Rafini about the big roll that journalist and the media plays in shaping Malaysian’s minded and how exactly the media helps our government to send this message clearly to Malaysian people. She admit that in Malaysia, the media is the biggest medium in giving any important message or introduce a new aspirations concept towards Malaysian people, she add that media will interprets the concept in a simple way or subliminal way.She said that the most common way in media is by using the variety of advertisement and message through the various medium like radio, internet, and most commonly television. (Rafini Othman, personal communication 16th September 2009). We can see when a new concept is being introduce, there will be a new advertisement that will be shown in the television to show our people about the reality of the new concept and how it is actually connected with our daily life. Most of the concept that are being introduce in Malaysia, it will always something that have a powerful connection in our daily life and the harmony of our country.She said that there were many advertisements that were shown everyday in the media especially in television regarding this concept. There is also advertisement that was created in more subliminal ways. This is one of the effective ways to make our people realize and think for a while about what is the concept is all about. The process also takes the whole of media team to adapt the new concept so that they can connect it in the variety of programmes that is shown in the media. In other aspect, the media is the biggest medium to spread the new concept by introducing the concept more in the media.We can see that now every single thing in the media at least will be connected to the concept starts from news telecast until other programs. Madam Rafinni said we as a media will always try to produce a good massage but the entire acceptance depends on our Malaysian people themselves. The media is just the medium to interpret a very good concept that is suitable to our country. One example that we can take is when the media produce a competition to everyone to create a song that represent one Malaysia. This shows how the media is serious to commercialize the concept. Rafini Othman, personal communication, 16th September 2009) In other aspect, some Malaysian thinks that 1 Malaysia is just a political gimmick. We ask Madam Rafini if the concept will still be seen as a gimmick or it will give some impact towards Malaysian. In this case, she said that maybe the ‘gimmick’ term came from other people or other parties that not agreed with our government. Realistically, 1 Malaysia is still a new strong concept that has been produce by our new prime minister. She said it all depends on the people themselves on how they want to accept t he concept.If they are a smart person, why we want to condemn a good and relevant concept? (Rafini Othman, personal communication,16th September 2009) Madam Rafini personally feels that most of our Malaysian people are getting used to the concept rather than take it just as a gimmick. The concept will leave a permanent impact to Malaysian if it flows well towards our community. The media will always help in finding a person that specialist in this kind of concept to provide good information to publics. (Rafini Othman, personal communication, 16th September 2009)In terms of academic, International Trade and Industry Deputy Minister Datuk Mukhriz Mahathir said that through this concept, multiracial students could mingle and interact more effectively. He suggests that it can be done by making Bahasa Malaysia, Mandarin, and Tamil as elective subject (Single Stream School Can Make 1 Malaysia a Success, 2009). We ask Madam Rafini if the concept could be accept by our younger generations a nd how it could bring our younger generations together? She said that in term of education process, it is more to long term planning and it all depends on how it will be execute.If they are serious to execute it in our education system, we have to start from the roots. Start from pre – school to secondary school and our primary school. It will slowly educate our younger generations towards the real 1 Malaysia (Rafini Othman, personal communication, 16th September 2009). Our younger generations have to be smart. The concept is being introduced for a good reason to help our unity and to develop our country. So it all depend on the way is it carry out and our younger generations have to be positive in accepting it. ConclusionThe simple fact is that Malaysia has been exposed to several slogans from the time Dr Mahathir was prime minister in 1981. Each time, a slogan or concept has been introduced Malaysians have greeted it with optimism, hoping that it would signal a new dawn, a better Malaysia. 1 Malaysia is an intelligent idea that has been created by Malaysian Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak. It had brought so many opinions and interpretations in variety of perspectives. One thing for sure, this latest slogan is going to provoke some defiances but, it is also going to be a medium that will rouses people to a great unity in Malaysia. 1Malaysia People First, Performance Now† is expected to generate a definitive transformation towards an advanced Malaysian nation, underpinned by a firmly united people, and esteemed by the world. This was a reflection of the government’s intention to have more effective and meaningful achievement as demanded by the people. Thus, lead to the betterment of the Malaysian people's standard of living in acceptance of 1 Malaysia. It is also clearly distinct from the opposition’s concept of Malaysian Malaysia. 1Malaysia does not deviate from the spirit of our Federal Constitution as the law of the sta te, written or implied.In fact, the 1Malaysia concept remains faithful to the core provisions within the Federal Constitution. Therefore, no one should fear or cast aspersions that the concept the concept will deviate from what has been agreed upon by our founding fathers. When 1 Malaysia has been recognised, a lot of issues arise against this slogan. There are some people has misinterpret this slogan claiming that 1 Malaysia slogan mirrored the Malaysian Malaysia concept. Besides that, it is also said that this slogan is just a political gimmick that will erode the special privilege of Malays.The government also have to face the defying created by the opposition parties that accused 1 Malaysia concept is just a cheap slogan that will bring more harm to the people. Although, there are a lot of issues that against the concept, it’s all depend on the individual acceptance viewpoint of this concept. It begin from perception of people how they think it is, either its good or bad concept. But, our prime minister has given his explanation about the truth idea of this concept to clear all the misinterpretation.But, the truth is 1 Malaysia is actually means no one in the country will be sidelined but affirmative action policies will continue. When talking about 1 Malaysia, role of the media is very important in spreading the truth idea of this concept. From this research, we found out that media can help to educate people about 1 Malaysia by writing and publishing some article and broadcasting more news that related to 1 Malaysia. In addition, the media can also inviting the minister to explain about this concept in a talk show to ensure the complete clarification is given.Moreover, advertisement and song of 1 Malaysia is believed can attract younger generation to practise this concept in their daily life. However, no matter how much initiative done by the media to educate people, its all depend on their self because for sure, different people have their own in terpretation about 1 Malaysia. In other expect, some Malaysian feels that 1 Malaysian is just political gimmick rather than something that will give some impact towards our society. From our interviewed, we can conclude that the gimmick terms may come from other political parties and some organizations that not really agreed with our government.Actually, the percentages of people that have the bad perceptions are not that much. Most of our Malaysian people are getting used to the concept rather than take it just as a gimmick. The media will always help in finding a person that specialist in this kind of concept to provide good information to publics and produce a programme that talks about this concept in more clear and specific ways. In the aspect of educations, the suggestions that Datuk Mukhriz Mahathir made about making Bahasa Malaysia, Mandarin, and Tamil as elective subject is a good move if we see it from long term planning.If we want to be serious about it, we have to take t he first move from the roots, starting from pre – school to secondary school and our primary school. It will slowly educate our younger generations towards the real 1 Malaysia. It all depends on the younger generations them selves. The process of education that will be executed in schools will play big rolls in shaping younger generations perceptions, if this concept continue for a long time, our generations will be ready to accept this concept beginning from the roots and will make up a good generations.In conclusion towards the acceptance of 1 Malaysia within our society, the real situations in our societies are not really bad. Even though our prime minister said that nearly 40 percent of Malaysia still does not know what 1 Malaysia means and he feels that it is more to political slogan rather than a real concept. Because in Malaysian media plays the biggest roles, we discovered that media always try to find the best solution to provide the best information and try to make our people give a good perceptions towards the concept. Media used lots of medium like radio, internet, and most commonly television.One of the common ways is by using the advertisement plus a variety of information programme. Another example is when the media produce a competition for everyone to create 1 Malaysian song. When we can see that now every single thing in the media at least will be connected to the concept starts from news telecast until other programs. Madam Rafini said we as a media will always try to produce a good massage but the entire acceptance depends on our Malaysian people themselves. The media is just the medium to interpret a very good concept.