Born in China Essay

I was born in China, a country that has long been known for its excellence and leadership in terms of math ability and numerical problems solving. Just like any Chinese child, I was raised surrounded by numbers and even learned to count in numerical order in Chinese and English before I learned the alphabet. In 1996, my family migrated to Hong Kong where I continued with my education. It was during this educational period that my love for numbers slowly emerged. Nobody could seem to understand, not even I, why I could not sit still in the classroom and listen to the teacher as she taught our classes but then sit very still and attentively every time the subjects leaned towards the Math and Science subjects. While I was bored during the other classes and almost falling asleep in my chair, I would come to life and be the most active participant during classroom discussions that involved numbers. By the end of my secondary school education in Hong Kong, it was pretty obvious to everyone around me that I had a very good head for Math and that this unique ability should be honed and harnessed in order to help my development as a person and member of society. I was lucky enough to have been given a chance to come to the USA in order to under take my college education. This began with my attendance at the Pasadena City College for one year and then my eventual move to East Los Angeles College. My major in both colleges has consistently been Business and Accounting. This is evident in all my grade transcripts as it shows that I performed quite remarkably in the Accounting related subjects while I struggled in the others. Somebody once asked me if I thought that Accounting was unfair because some people excelled in the subject while others did not. At first I was not sure about how to answer his question but then I realized that Accounting is not an unfair thing. The problem that most people have with accounting is that they have very short attention spans. A short attention span has no place in the accounting field because this exacting numbers crunching game requires an analytical eye and tremendous patience in order to be able to properly analyze and give attention to each and every number indicated on the spreadsheet. Accounting is not for the impatient. I will admit that Accounting is a true passion for me. I can work on any accounting scenario for hours on end and not get tired of it. I guess this is why my aunt decided to hire me to work at her dental office. She asked me to come and work for her as her accountant. I was ecstatic when she offered me the job because for me, an accounting job is a dream come true. Anybody who know show crazy I am about Accounting will attest to the fact that I can spend a whole day staring at balance sheet and comparing accounting records. Actually, one of my favorite activities at my aunts office, Garfield Dental, was to work on the forms for the insurance payments, aside from working at the front desk and doing other paperwork for the office. Indeed, numbers is the greatest passion of my life. It is the one other thing that, aside from my parents, taught me the value, patience, hard work, concentration, and discipline. Numbers was the one constant in my life that I could depend upon. Accounting problems are definite and therefore the outcome will always be the same. The solutions remain constantly unchanging. Accounting and Math are passions that are not easily shared with other people. Yet those that do share that kind of passion have a higher level of maturity and sense of discipline. Truly, these are the kinds of passions that the French philosopher Dennis Diderot was referring to when he said that â€Å" only passions, great passions, can elevate the soul to great things. † Such is my passion for Accounting and such also, is the passion for learning that I shall take with me once I am admitted as a student into USC.

Conference For Marketing Professionals

Introduction: Every year the University of   Hertfordshire (UoH) hosts a conference for marketing professionals. The event is held at the de Havilliand campus and attracts approximately 100 attendees annually.   This gathering has not traditionally been monitored to determine attendee satisfaction or to determine the rate of return attendance.   To correct this oversight, a program will be developed to determine the rate of satisfaction for forum attendees and for those presenting at the forum. (72 words) Objectives: The primary objective of this study will be to determine the effectiveness of the program as it currently exists. A secondary objective will be to identify areas that require modification and the third objective will be to determine if presenters are satisfied with the quality of attendees and the opportunities to present to them. A further goal of this project will be to evaluate the opportunities for growth of the forum. The study will use quantitative research to gather opinions from attendees. This form of market research is very commonly accepted as a means to determine client satisfaction. (98 words this section/170 total) Research Design This project will be via a questionnaire given to all conference attendees. A separate questionnaire will be developed for the presenters. The primary questionnaire will be comprised of 10 questions to which the respondent will be asked to give a numerical response between one and five. This numerical representation of satisfaction will then be averaged, with extremes taken into consideration, to determine an arithmetic mean. In addition, we will have five questions requesting short answers. These purely subjective answers will be recorded as anecdotal responses and anecdotal evidence regarding satisfaction with the conference. The secondary questionnaire will also consist of fifteen questions divided in the same manner. The subjective questions will be the same for both the questionnaires. The questions for the primary questionnaire will be as follows: Please respond with a number between 1 and 5. 1 is the lowest/worst response and 5 is the highest/best. 1.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚     Did you enjoy the conference? 2.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Were the seminars useful to you? 3.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Did this conference assist you in furthering your career? 4.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Was the keynote speaker helpful? 5.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Was the meal served adequate? 6.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Was this seminar worth the cost of attendance? 7.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Was this a useful way to spend your day? 8.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Were the presenters helpful? 9.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Did you learn anything new at this conference? 10.   Given the chance, would you attend this conference again? The subjective questions for both questionnaires would be: 1.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   What improvements would you like to see made to the conference? 2.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   What was the best part of the conference? 3.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   What was the worst part of the conference? 4.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Were you satisfied with the opportunities provided at the conference? 5.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   What should the conference committee know about your visit? The secondary questionnaires would include the following questions: 1.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Did you enjoy the conference? 2.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Were the conference attendees of the quality you expected? 3.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Were the seminars useful to you? 4.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Did you enjoy the keynote speaker? 5.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Was the meal served adequate? 6.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Would you attend the conference again? 7.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Did the quality of materials provided today meet your expectations? 8.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Did you learn anything new at this conference? 9.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Was this a useful way to spend your day? 10.   Did you hire staff/find prospects today? (Words 327/ total words 497). Data collection – Methodology This questionnaire will be given to every attendee at the conference prior to the last session of the day. We will offer a door prize to be mailed to the winner at a later date in an effort to encourage more people to respond to the questionnaire. To receive the prize, a respondent would have to list their name and address at the top of the questionnaire. This will also assist us in developing a mailing list for the conference next year. We will have staff move through the crowd as they are leaving, reminding people to turn in their questionnaires via a drop box by the door or by handing them to conference staff. It is anticipated that by offering a random door prize in association with compliance in completing the questionnaire, we should be able to increase the return rate for the questionnaire. (Words 145, total words 642) Sampling plan As previously discussed, the intention will be reach 100 percent penetration with these questionnaires. We will have two different colors for the surveys so that we may quickly differentiate between presenters and attendees responses. We will also consider the possibility of conducting a follow up survey via random sampling based on the attendance list. This survey would be conducted via telephone. The secondary survey would only be conducted if the primary survey has an inadequate response. If the secondary survey is necessary, the sampling member would be random, taking every third name on the attendance roster and rotating through the list until a sample of not less than 10 percent nor more than 20 percent is achieved. (Words 117, total words 759) Data Analysis Once the information is gathered, the first effort will be made to determine if there are consistent groupings of results or an outriders, which are indicative of an extremely dissatisfied (or satisfied) individual.   Once this analysis is complete, each individual question will be evaluated to find the mean and determine where that overall satisfaction levels falls on the continuum scale established in our questions. For our purposes here, we will be looking at each of the questions individually and then will also be taking a combined average using all of the questions to determine the overall satisfaction with the event. In addition, we will be compiling a list of the anecdotal responses to the questionnaire. These responses will be listed, completely unedited, as feedback for the committee which puts the conference together. Obscene or threatening comments will be deleted as irrelevant. The questionnaires from the presenters will be analyzed separately, using the same analysis method. (Words 155, total words 914) Timetable and Budget The initial budget for this project should be less than $250. We anticipate spending $100 to acquire two gift cards to be awarded to two randomly selected persons who return their questionnaires. The additional expenses will be used to develop and print the questionnaires and for computer analysis of the results. Providing that we receive adequate response numbers from the questionnaires at the conference, it is anticipated that the research report can be delivered within two weeks after the end of the conference with the primary work being conducted the day of the conference. If the questionnaires do not receive adequate response to provide the market report that we desire, the time table will be extended by two weeks and the budget will be doubled, as the project will suddenly have telephone expenses in addition to the previously outlined expenses. (Words 140, total words 1054) Personnel Involved The personnel involved in this project will be the researcher and all members of the conference staff, who will be asked to remind attendees of the need for the return of questionnaires. Conference personnel will be asked to hand out the questionnaires as part of the attendees registration packet and to collect the questionnaires in the final moments of the conference. In addition, we will ask presenters to remind attendees throughout the conference that they need to turn in their questionnaires. (Words 81, total words 1135) Questionnaire Please complete the following questionnaire and return to conference staff or place in the drop box near the exit. Two prize winners will be drawn at random from those who return the questionnaire.    The subjective questions for both questionnaires would be: 1.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   What improvements would you like to see made to the conference? 2.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   What was the best part of the conference? 3.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   What was the worst part of the conference? 4.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Were you satisfied with the opportunities provided at the conference? 5.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   What should the conference committee know about your visit?       (Words 235, total words 1370)

Advanced Accounting Theory and Practice Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Advanced Accounting Theory and Practice - Essay Example The use of fair values in accounting for financial instruments to provide information to users of financial statements has been tested by cases of extreme market conditions. Fair value accounting has had a fair share of praises and criticisms. This assignment aims at explaining some potential criticisms, and evaluating whether they are correct and where they are overstated. The main objective of this assignment is; to illustrate whether users of financial statements are advocates of fair value accounting. Fair value measurement aims at estimating, as best as possible, the prices of financial instruments and how these instruments would change hands in orderly transactions based on current conditions and information. To achieve this goal, firms incorporate current information about their future cash flows, and current risk-adjusted discount rates into their fair value measurements. The standard requires firms to use available market prices for similar positions to estimate fair values. This requirement relies on the fact that, market prices should replicate all publicly available information about future cash flows as well as current risk-adjusted discount rates. In some cases where market prices for similar positions are unavailable, firms estimate fair values using relevant valuation models. These models are applied using observable market inputs; interest rates and yield curves, and unobservable firm-supplied inputs; expected cash flows from the firm’s own data. Fair values e stimated using valuation models are referred to as mark-to-model values, whereas those estimated using unadjusted or adjusted market prices are referred to as mark-to-market values (Wallison, 2009). Firms report the fair values of the positions they currently hold on their financial statements. This standard also requires firms to report on periodic changes in the fair value of their current position. These periodic changes are indicated as unrealized gains and losses

Investments, Corp. Finance and Financial Markets Essay - 1

Investments, Corp. Finance and Financial Markets - Essay Example This has adverse effects on the financial institution such as insolvency and therefore banks employ the 5 C’s of Credit Scoring to evaluate whether or not a person should be entitled to a loan. The 5 C’s are based on the characteristics of the borrower and are explained in detail as follows. Character- The bank seeks basic information from the borrower such as his trustworthiness, integrity, work, reputation based on previous history with lenders, any defaults. Some of this information could be accessed easily through credit reports. A credit report is a report generated by the Credit Reference Bureau detailing information on a person’s credit history including identifying information, credit accounts and loans, bankruptcies, late payments and enquiries. Because credit history shall make up the biggest percentage of a borrower’s eventual credit score, it makes sense that he focuses his attention on that factor. This helps evaluate whether he is credit worthy. Capital- The borrower’s equity or net worth is checked in comparison to the amount he so wishes to borrow. If the capital invested is way below the amount borrowed, then that could raise red flags in his ability to repay the loan. Capacity- The borrower is gauged on his sufficiency of yielding positive cash flows during the loan repayment period and the amount is pre-calculated using different analysis criteria such as the Net Present Value, Profitability Index. If he passes this stage, he has to provide a credible plan on his willingness to repay his loan when it’s due. Conditions- Economic conditions dictate whether a loan should be granted to a borrower. For instance, in periods of economic recovery or boom, it is safe for a borrower to be granted a loan because chances of him defaulting are minimal. However, in the recession period, it’s most likely that the borrower will not be in a position to fully settle his obligations and therefore banks

Chemistry of Hazardous Materials Case Study Essay

Chemistry of Hazardous Materials Case Study - Essay Example three main illustrations explain that the tanker is transporting hazardous substance that can negatively affect the health and safety of the safety workers and the members of the public. Hazardous material is considered substances, which potentially damage the well being and health of individuals and also the environment. The hazardous substance in the case is in liquid form; this is illustrated through the dripping liquid, from the tanker valve, that is red to yellow in color. Liquid hazardous materials have identifiable characteristics. They are flammable; hence, they ignite easily and burn rapidly if exposed to ignition source. The materials can also be spontaneously ignitable. This implies heat concentration due to oxidation and microbial activities can ignite the material. Corrosive liquid materials damage skin tissues during contact. Toxic characteristics are applicable to substances that cause negative health effects and even death of the individuals exposed to it. DOT provides guidelines for transporting the hazardous materials. The liquid being transported in the case is Thionyl Chloride. The color of this liquid is red to yellow. The NFPA diamond symbol for the liquid is 4, 0, 2 and W that is slashed. The symbol implies that; the substance reacts violently with water, and hence safety caution should be observed by the health and safety team. The action plan for handling the accident situation entails adequate health and safety planning by the professional team. The team should start by ensuring public safety by protecting the accident scene. Members of the public should not be within close proximity to the accident scene. This measure prevents corrosion and irritation effects that people may experience. The safety personnel should wear protective equipments when accessing the accident scene. The safety materials include; special clothing and gas masks. The gas masks prevent the inhalation of harmful fumes that may irritate the respiratory tract. The

UCC 2-207 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

UCC 2-207 - Essay Example Jack did not respond. Jack delivered 4 tables and 16 chairs on June 1. Did Jack breach his contract with Mark? Explain. Rule: The agreement between Jack and Mark falls under UCC 2-207, which governs contracts for the sale of goods. UCC 2-105(1) states that a good is an item of property that must be tangible and moveable and UCC 2-106(1) defines a sale asâ€Å"the passingof title from the seller to the buyer for a price†. In this case, the goods are 4 tables and 16 chairs since they are tangible and moveable. Moreover, the evidence of a sale becomes clear when Jack delivers to Mark 4 tables and 16 chairs to Mark. Application/Analysis: In general, there are four requirements for a valid contract: agreement, consideration, capacity and legality. Even though the UCC does not define offer, common law steps in to cover this inadequacy. Under the common law, offer is the expression of the desire to enter into a contract in a manner that the recipient can make a conclusion to the transaction through assent. The mirror image rule in common law requires that the terms of the acceptance exactly match those of the offer. However, the UCC dispenses with the mirror image rule. Under the UCC 2-207(1), a contract is formed if the offeree’s response indicates a definite acceptance of the offer, even if the acceptance includes terms additional to or different from those contained in the offer. Whether the additional terms become part of the contract depends, in part, on whether the parties are non-merchants or merchants. A merchant is a person who deals in goods of the kind involved in the sales contr act. Under UCC 2–207(2), in contracts between merchants, the additional terms automatically become part of the contract unless one of the following conditions arises: 1.The original offer expressly limited acceptance to its terms. 2. The new or changed terms materially alter the contract. 3. The offeror objects to the new or changed terms within a reasonable

United Nations human rights council Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

United Nations human rights council - Essay Example As the newly appointed ambassador of the United States of America to the United Nations, the country I would choose to fill a seat on the United Nations Human Rights Council, between the Netherlands and France in the Western Europe region, is the Netherlands. Both countries have decent human rights records that have met minimal international standards. However, after weighing and assessing the relative merits of the two regarding human rights structures and enforcement, I would choose the Netherlands. While both Western European countries have a developed network of non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and independent oversight bodies intended to monitor, assess, and prevent violations, the Netherlands appears to be more open to implementing recommendations and dedicated to raising awareness of its problems among its citizens.Additionally, France's primary area of human rights violations seems more reprehensible, since it stems from within administration, specifically, abuse of powe r by the police forces, a problem that has persisted for years. As was done in this paper, future candidates to the United Nations Human Rights Council should undergo a vigorous vetting, wherein each category of human rights is investigated for infractions, recommendations, openness to and successful implementation of recommendations. The United Nations Human Rights Council is an "intergovernmental body" instituted by the United Nations, consisting of forty-seven countries. ... For the purpose of this paper, France and the Netherlands will be touted as two viable candidates for a seat on the United Nations Human Rights Council. Both Western European countries have laid out their own policies regarding human rights. As France points out, its long history has made it privy to the progression of human rights over time, dating back to its Enlightenment period. France's past efforts to recognize human rights include the Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen in 1789 and the adoption of UDHR in 1948 (with one of its own citizens, Rene Cassin, having a hand in the document). The country declares itself an avid advocate of international independent committees working with countries in adhering to UDHR guidelines. (French Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs, 2008) Non-governmental structures and embassy reports help France to monitor and address human rights violations. In 1947, the National Consultative Commission of Human Rights (NCCHR), an independent advisory board, was instituted. This Commission monitors all areas of human rights from police conduct to discriminatory hiring practices and provides overall recommendations on policies to the government (FMFEA, 2008; U.S. Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor, 2009). Another main human rights structure is the independent National Security Ethics Commission (CNDS) which looks into allegations of misconduct by law enforcement officials (U.S. Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor, 2009). As the Netherlands professes in its official human rights policy, the country works to abolish the death penalty worldwide, supports the rights and freedoms of women, children, and religious minorities, and is against discrimination towards

Fundraising Skills - Writing a Fundraising Bid Essay

Fundraising Skills - Writing a Fundraising Bid - Essay Example These include planning requirements early in advance, having sound conceptual framework, including the aims and objectives of the program and generally seeing everything from the perspective of the funder among others. All these need to be in the bid. Communication is key when one is fundraising. This is because one has to present their needs to the funders eloquently and clearly. Diplomacy is also important since fundraising includes interactions with other people. Proper management skills are also necessary. This is of the time of the funders and the money allocated for the program. For one to be employed there is need for grasp of the content, ability to be part of a competent, diverse and empowered workforce, being able to manage funds and having great vision and sense of direction. Careers need to be managed by ensuring one performs his or her duties as well as advancing in the level of education. If one does all this, then their future is somehow assured to be successful. The Make Them Smile Charity Organization. We intend to grow big and strongly influence our society. Therefore, we are requesting for funds from you, The Big Lottery, so that we can achieve our desires. We are filling this application form stating our request. We have identified a need in the society requiring our services to fulfill and we shall attempt to convince you on our mission and vision. Cleft lip and palate are developmental defects of the upper lip and roof of the outer mouth present at birth. They may occur separately or in combination. Incomplete fusion of the developing lip or the incomplete fusion of the hard or soft palate causes them. All this happens during the prenatal stage of a child’s life. This condition causes feeding problems, ear infections or even hearing loss, speech problems and dental problems (Howard & Lohmander 2012, p.56) Although rectifying this is done through a simple

Writing suggestions Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Writing suggestions - Essay Example Therefore, the challenge of every young adult like me is to find out for himself what good a particular group can bring him and how he can use it in his life. Perhaps, the most influential group I have ever been a part of has always been my family. My family is a big one, an extended family that somehow dictated my every decision even which school I should go to, or which woman I should marry, or which people I should not make friends with, and even which political view I should adopt. My aunts and uncles in both my mother and father sides were highly opinionated people and extremely argumentative too, and sometimes even to the point of being overly critical. Perhaps, it is because they are professionals – lawyers, professors, doctors, and engineers. Since my family values respect for the elderly and since I knew that these people are used to others agreeing with their opinion, I have learned how to be humble, passive and submissive whenever I encountered my older family membe rs. It was necessary for me to say â€Å"yes† to them whenever they asked me to do an errand or whenever they gave me some advice on anything – even if it was ridiculous. Another group to which I believe I have particularly belonged for a long time is my group of friends at my high school, with whom I still communicate until now. They have mostly gone to other universities but they have been the most supportive to me during my high school years. Whereas my family only severely criticized me whenever I did poorly on any particularly subject in high school, my friends then distracted me from my frustrations and disappointments with my family. Had I not paid attention to their distractions and had I only focused on the destructive criticisms, I would be taking drugs now. Nevertheless, thanks to my friends in high school – they got me into sports and backpacking. At least, my mind had earned itself a well-deserved break from the constant nagging of my self-righteous family members. With my high school group of friends, there were only just two easy ways to adapt – to play sports and to be myself. Basketball and soccer were as easy to me as having breakfast in the morning so it was not much of a challenge. Ironically, being myself was harder for I grew up in a family where I had to please everyone to the point of assuming a whole new different character. Nevertheless, my family is obviously a more superior group to my high school friends in terms of rules. Another group who I believe has influenced me much is my three friends from our neighborhood. I got these three male friends from the neighborhood who are almost the same age with me and who are also into sports. These three young men are actually extremely dependent on their very supportive parents to the point of being spoiled. In fact, they belong to this group of people who just want to spend their time away, even waste it, thinking they got their parents to back them up all the ti me. They would usually treat me to some coffee, Gatorade or some Caesar’s salad, as they are all health buffs. Actually, I have nothing to do except to remain below their financial level – that is the only silent requirement for the group. They are three proud and egoistic men who think that no one in this world can equal them. Nevertheless, these three people taught me confidence, and taught me that I had my own free will all along. Somehow, I also needed this to balance the pressure that my family would sometimes impose on me. Although these three young men are not professionals yet just like my aunts and uncles, I believe they are superior in terms of mental and emotional freedom. Society and rules silently control my family members and govern their emotions and reactions, while my three friends are indifferent to a

Femicide in Guatemala Essay Example for Free

Femicide in Guatemala Essay Femicide in Guatemala â€Å"Six women and girls were killed in Guatemala last week in one day alone. Two of the girls, about 6 and 12 years old, were found strangled to death in a street in the capital Guatemala City wearing their pajamas† (Moloney 1). Guatemala has the third highest rate of Femicide in the world. Femicide is defined as the killing of a woman by a man because she is a female. In Guatemala, a significantly high number of femicide cases have been reported and I strongly believe that this is a very troublesome and unhealthy issue for the population. More than 3800 females have been murdered in Guatemala since the year 2000 and this is just the official number. This clearly suggests that numerous innocent women are tortured and killed by men each day throughout the region. Another report suggests that 512 women were killed between January 1 and October 16 in the year 2012 alone and this is after a 10 percent decline from the previous year. (PCUSA, 1) Most of these cases were reported in the province of Guatemala, which includes the country’s largest city and capital. The fact that this number is still so high despite the drop suggests what an urgent issue this is. There are various reasons for this violent victimization of women throughout Guatemala and is becoming an increasingly pressing issue which needs serious attention. It has been reported that this region is one of the unsafe areas in the world for women. Each day countless women are raped, mutated, forced into sexual slavery and abortions, sterilized and murdered. This creates a sense of fear among the entire population and makes them more submissive to this brutality. Men and women throughout the country live their lives in immense anxiety and stress of losing the women that they love. One of the main concerns regarding femicide is impunity, meaning that most of these cases are not brought to trial. Reports suggest that only 1%-2% of femicide cases are prosecuted whereas criminals have a 98% to 99% chance of completely escaping any punishment or prosecution. This poses a huge problem because women don’t get the justice that they deserve and criminals easily escape. This is very unfair for the innocent women who are victims of such crimes because their offenders don’t receive the punishment that they deserve. Another main reason for this exigent issue is the inability of the Guatemalan authorities to ensure the safety of women. This is to say that the Guatemalan government is so corrupt that they are unable to provide security for women and with the extremely high rate of impunity it is almost impossible for women to find justice. Now, it is very important to understand why these gender specific crimes exist in the region. One of the main reasons for this violent targeting of women goes back to the â€Å"Guatemalan government and military’s 36 year old genocidal counterinsurgency campaign against the country’s Mayan population† (Mychalejko 1). This is to say that the reason behind this problem of femicide exists to destroy the intricate social bonds of Mayan communities. Additionally, â€Å"Gender violence not only terrorizes women in the community, but it also disrupts traditional patriarchal gender relations by sending the message to men that they are not capable of protecting women† (Mychalejko 1). I find this medium of using gender violence to target an indigenous population very disappointing. It is not ethical for a population to kill thousands of women in order to get even with a community. Further, it is believed that this harsh behavior against women is really effecting the male population because such incidents happen so frequently that they are becoming insensitive to such incidents. Men in the Guatemalan society have become normalized to such reports and this can be seen because the crimes are continuing to become more inhumane and frequent. As mentioned above, one of the primary reasons for this ongoing violence against women is the Guatemalan Civil war, which left behind harsh memories of violence and impunity. The increased militarization cause by the ongoing war on drugs also continues to contribute to these high femicide rates. Guatemala is one of the regions strongly involved in the drug trade and thus women are used as collateral damage in the battle between gangs. Additionally, the economic and political climate in the region is not very stable and thus the land a resource conflict also contributes to these innocent deaths. Lastly, it has also been found that the increased involvement of foreign governments, especially US and Canada play an important role in this violence targeted to women. Basically, the Guatemalan government uses the targeting of women as a â€Å"tactical and deliberate tool of political repression (Mychalejko 2). In my personal opinion, not only is this very disturbing but it is also very unfair. Women play an important role in building a society and this unnecessary violence against them is very alarming. Using women as a bait to target the bigger economic and political issues is unethical and should not be practiced by any government. It is impossible for women to find hope and justice in a society where such high impunity exists. This continues to be a never-ending cycle for thousands of innocent women who lose their lives, while the people responsible are let free. Overall this is an absolute shame and mockery of the system. The Guatemalan civil war really contributes to these high rates of gender violence in the country. The aftermath of the war left more than 200,000 Guatemalans murdered, most of who were indigenous. Also, thousands were raped, tortured, disappeared and displaced. The most disappointing part however, is that over 98 percent of the people who engaged in these war crimes were left free. It is this lack of justice that left criminals in the country in power and innocent victims hurt. Therefore, these high rates of femicide are to inform the local population about this harsh past and to remind them that justice has not yet come. In conclusion, I think that we must all focus our attention to this increasing issue of femicide in Guatemala. In the recent times, as the political repression against women in increasing, they are becoming more active in order to prevent femicide. For example, â€Å"In Guatemala it has been proven that as more women participate politically and socially, it brings out more repression. An example is the recent attempt on the life of [the aforementioned anti-mining activist] Yolanda Oqueli† (Mychalejko 3). Yolanda is a leader of FRENAM, a movement that aims to defend land from expansion activities. She was returning home from a peaceful protest when she was shot. I believe that this issue of femicide is one that needs immediate attention. It is absolutely wrong and immoral to use a country’s women as a way of gaining political control. Additionally, the Guatemalan government is extremely corrupted and has a very high rate of impunity, which in turn, allows criminals to go free and possibly even commit the crime again. I suggest that the citizens of the world acknowledge this and do an intervention throughout the region. It is high time that women not be used as a bait to target men or to settle past scores. Women are an integral part of any society and deserve respect and security.

How To Improve Vacation Industry In Malaysia

How To Improve Vacation Industry In Malaysia This research paper is focus on tourism industry ecotourism in Malaysia. The objective of this paper is to report on an empirical research study which investigated how to improve or develop the industry tourism (ecotourism) in Malaysia? Besides improvements, the important for this research is to concern about the contribution of the tourism industry on the Malaysia GDP. To understanding the natural sources that we owned and generate it to develop our country. Findings were from the analysis of data such as internet, newspaper, government data and source that prepared by other people. A regression model was developed as evidence to this. The literature on this aspect is limited. Thus, the research findings of this study are useful for future studies. This study also provides several recommendations for future research in this area. Tourism is a relaxing activity for people to travel for recreational, leisure or business purposes. Based on the World Tourism Organization describe that tourists is people who travel to other places and stay in places outside their usual environment. According to World Travel and Tourism Council (WTTC), tourism has become one of the global largest industries nowadays. In other word mean that tourism has become a well-liked global leisure activity. In year 2009, Tourism industry has contributed 9.4% of world GDP into the economy, or equivalent of 5433.7 US billion dollars. There are a lot of people who traveling around the world time by time just to release tension or enjoy their lifetime or business purpose. Based on WTO, there were over 922 million international tourist arrivals in 2008, with a growth of 1.9% as compared to 2007. In 2008, international tourism receipts grew to US$944 billion (euro 642 billion), corresponding to an increase in real terms of 1.8%. Furthermore, real G DP growth is expected to growth in average 4.4% over the coming ten years. In the other hand, tourism economy has provided a total 235 million jobs in the worldwide. However, in the beginning of June 2008, international travel demand suffered a strong slowdown, with growth in international tourism arrivals worldwide falling to 2% during the boreal summer months. This negative trend become strong during 2009, worsen in some countries due to the outbreak of the H1N1 influenza virus, resulting in a worldwide decline of 4% in 2009 to 880 million international tourists arrivals, and an estimated 6% decline in international tourism receipts. The country that hit badly such as Mexico, experienced outbreaks of respiratory illness and enlarged reports of patients with influenza-like illness (ILI) in several areas of the country. Based on our tourism ministry Dr. Ng Yen Yen said that during that serious epidemic period, it unaffected our tourism sectors but further increase our tourist arrival. We can see that Malaysia is still attracting the tourist although there is happening the epidemic. This is also because our epidemic is still under control which me an our country less affected by H1N1, this caused to the people who favor on tour shift their planning to other more safety countries such as Malaysia. In Malaysia, travel and tourism industrys share of GDP has rise from 8.6%, worth RM8.02 billion in year 1988 to 14.1% of GDP, worth RM94.6 billion in years 2009. While travel and tourism direct industry (included transport, accommodations, food and beverages and etc.) has brought a total income of RM36.8 billions in year 2009, or 5.5% of GDP. Besides that, tourism has created a total job opportunities of 1395700, or equivalent of 12.7% of total employment. As we know that Malaysia is one of the country which held in the tropical area on the earth. Malaysia is an amazing country with immeasurable large quantity of biodiversity. It is not surprising to find that 75 percent of Malaysias land area is remains forested, with 60 percent virgin rainforest that unchanged for over millions years. The country is presented with numerous natural attractions such as amazing and diverse flora and fauna (refflesia, orang utan), white sandy beaches, exotic marine aqua life (Pulau Sipadan, Pulau Matak ing), dense rainforests(Taman Negara) and the oldest and largest caves in the world (Deer cave). To sharing of the mysteries in Malaysia, one of the twelve mega-biologically diverse countries in the world, which boasts at least 15,000 species of flowering plants, 286 species of mammals, 150,000 species of invertebrates, and 4,000 species of fishes in addition to the countless micro-organisms. Experience a huge range of outdoor activities, such as caving, hiking, jungle trekking, snorkeling, rock climbing, diving, river cruising and much more. Experienced outdoor professionals, who are well ready with the latest gear, can guide you through all of these activities. If you are looking for rich and exotic ecotourism experiences in balmy tropical weather, the time is now, the place is Malaysia. This made Malaysia owned the potential to develop the ecotourism to growth up the economy furthermore can introduce Malaysia to other countries. To let others learn more about the natural better than keep reliance in the industrial sector to boost up the GDP. The widespread interest in ecotourism among tourism players is due to its direct linkage to the greater prospects for sound and sustainable tourism development with strong possibilities for appropriate local participation and shared responsibility for preserving the environment, cultural heritage and peoples way of life. It is needed everyone to responsibility to protect our natural environment well. Research Problem As we know that Malaysia is a tropical forest country that rich with the natural sources flora and fauna, white sandy beaches, exotic marine aqua life, dense rainforest and the oldest and largest caves in the world. Therefore we should introduce it to foreign country so that it can attract the foreign tourist to our country. But the problem is does it really known by other countries? What should we do to improve our natural sources to attract the tourist? What are the factors that influence the total number of tourist to Malaysia? Besides, how we going to develop it, so that it can more known by other counties tourists? However it is needed a sustainable develop to prevent it get harm to the biodiversity. And since we know that when there is a lot of tourist to our country sure it will generate capital flow into our country and increase our GDP. Therefore it is needed to understand the potential and how to attract tourists to generate our country income. Research Question What did the government do to develop the tourism industry? Does it have the potential to attract the foreign tourists? How to improve our ecotourism facilities and services? What are the strategies to attract more tourists to visit Malaysia? Research Objective To realize the important of tourism industry. To analyze the potential of tropical country that rich with immeasurable large quantity of biodiversity. To examine what initiative will be taken by the government. To analyze the contribution of tourism in our GDP. Literature Review http://www.apo-tokyo.org/gp/e_publi/gplinkeco/17chapter15.pdf Mohammed Mohd. Daud, (n.d.) with his conference article The Ecotourism Develop In Malaysia mention that the services sector including the tourism industry, is the major revenue as well as the largest contributor to Malaysias Gross Domestic Product (GDP) at 46% in 1999. He specified that the tourism is a growing sector and gaining importance in the Malaysian economy. Besides, due to the existing legal requirements and the economic development strategy, the promotion of tourism and ecotourism activities in Malaysia involves a number of institutions and also including the statutory body Tourism Malaysia to involve in marketing and promoting tourism product. Considering that the ecotourism objective such as the National Parks and wildlife sanctuaries are often located in distant places, but the government would provide basic infrastructure facilities such as roads, jetties and some amenities. Furthermore, the government is also supporting ecotourism development by means of sponsoring th e cost of technical consultancy work on particular ecotourism destinations. For case study in this article mention that although the Kinabatangan Wildlife Safari has not matured yet in developing, it is already showing its potential in becoming a successful ecotourism destination where preservation of natural resources with sustainable development. It involves all parties such as the government, private sector, local communities and NGOs work together in a partnership to protect the priceless natural asset by translating business opportunities into maintenance benefits. The purpose of this study is to calculate tourisms contribution through deriving multipliers in terms of output, income, employment, value added, and import for Malaysian economy. Based on this study, they found that, tourism sector have been generated employment which is 174 full-time employee for every Ringgit of tourist expenditure. According to researcher, entertainment sector is most important sector that generated tourism income followed by accommodation and food beverages. Malaysian tourism industry not only playing an important role for generating output, income, employment, value-added, and import but also creates spillover effects on other tourism related sectors of the economy. However, based on the analysis of this paper, it is obvious that tourism industry is contributing significantly to the Malaysian economy in terms of generating output, income, employment, and value-added. http://www.google.com.my/#hl=ensource=hpbiw=1189bih=544q=DEVELOPMENT+OF+ECO-TOURISM+IN+TRIBAL+REGIONS+OF+ORISSA%3A+POTENTIAL+AND+RECOMMENDATIONSrlz=1R2PPSU_enMY368aq=faqi=aql=oq=gs_rfai=fp=42cdcfe0f1684f63 Based on the Nilakantha Panigrahi research paper DEVELOPMENT OF ECO-TOURISM IN TRIBAL REGIONS OF ORISSA: POTENTIAL AND RECOMMENDATIONS had mention about the wealth in being tourism of the Orissa region in eastern India. He said that with the well develop in the ecotourism will generate some income for the state. Tourism is identifying as an industry in Orissa in generate the income from the foreign tourists because that place seem to have different type of attractive onwards the tourists especially the countless temples of Orissa scattered at the state. The attractiveness is that the state owned 79 heritage sites in Orissa which protected by Archaeological Survey of India. Western Orissa is known by a small temple town, besides particularly of the western Orissa have the streams and forests which show the natural beauty of Harisankar in Bolangir and Nrusinghanath in Balangir. Furthermore, Kalahandi area is endowed with the wealth of forests, for example existence of a rare species of black tiger, with a natural waterfall at Rabandar, and a host of temples situated at the hilltops of Bhawanipatna. Nevertheless, the concept of museum is also being established by government for collected and displaying those artifacts by following the types of it. The record from 1990 until 1998 with the attraction of tourists is 86.58% in domestic and 11.50% for foreign tourists. This can be proved that the well known of domestic people and unrealized in the potential of the place as being a tourism destination for foreign tourists because of poor developing that place. However the tourist arrival show that the increasing trend from 1990 until 1997 but dropping in 1997-1999 due to the Asian financial crisis and then increase again in 1999 to 2000. Due to the Orissa heritage place, natural environment with flora and fauna it can be the successful destination for tourists. The reason that it cannot attract more is because of poor developing by government as a tourism destination from an ecological and cultural point of view. http://www.uea.ac.uk/env/cserge/pub/wp/gec/gec_1995_30.pdf. From the TOURISM AND SUSTAINABILITY IN ENVIRONMENTALLY FRAGILE AREAS: CASE STUDIES FROM THE MALDIVES AND NEPAL research by Katrina Brown,R. Kerry Turner, Hala Hameed and Ian Bateman had said that Maldives and Nepal is a country which enrich with natural resources such as reefs, beaches, and mountains especially the most highest mountain in the world Everest are attract many tourists to there. The amount of trekkers to Nepalese Himalaya grew by 25 percent per annum over the period 1985-1988. Furthermore, Maldives tourism visitors have increased from a total of less than 1000 per annum in 1972 to 178,000 in 1991. As we can see that the amount of tourist is increasing lead by globalization. It makes people able to move across to other countries. In analyzing the Maldives in 1991, total of tourists had increase to over 178,000 tourists. The annual rate is exceeds 30 percent for this period and this show that it stand at over 1.7 million. The total receipts are achieving 94 million in 19 91 if compare to 1981 is just 15 million. However for Nepal, the data said that is just only 6179 tourists in 1962 but it change to a huge amount in almost 300,000 in 1991. This can show that the attracting to Nepal is increasing rapidly and with majority tourists came for the nature. This can be see that the successfulness of the ecotourism such as mountain or jungle trekking, jungle safaris, river rafting or ethnic tourism in Nepal. Both study also show that more tourists were came toward their country by enjoying the nature environment. Research Hypothesis By referring to the literature reviews mentioned, we are able to form 2 hypotheses that measure the growth of tourism sector that accelerated the industrialization process. The first hypothesis model formed state that the contribution of tourism sector towards the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) is influence by the foreign and domestic tourists and the number of projects approved by tourism department. Hence, the function below is formed:. GDP = f (tourists) However, the second hypothesis model formed state that the contribution of tourists towards the tourism is influence by the number of projects approved by tourism department. Hence, the function below is formed: Tourism = f (tourism department) Methodology There are a few methods which can be used in order to search and gather the information that we needed such as by gathering the information from the internet. But mostly all data are collected through the secondary data. Based on my title which focuses on the ecotourism, I am referring to the news article which published by The Star, beside we were gone through the government website to get the current news to get the tourism issues, activities, government gazette and also the government statistical data. Those articles that related with my topic in internet also can be using as reference especially those research paper done passed researcher. Furthermore we compare country between countries in tourism performance. Analysis Income contribution http://www.tourism.gov.my/corporate/research.asp?page=facts_figures As we can see that the tourists arrival to Malaysia has increase year by year. We know that 1997 is happened Asian financial crisis the following is 2008-2009 global financial crises with epidemic of H1N1 together. However it does not give much impact on our tourism but further increase our percentage of tourists arrival. If we compare the amount of tourist in year 1998 with 5.5 million and 2009 with 23.6 million it is already 4.3 times than amount in 1998. http://www.wttc.org/eng/tourism_research/economic_data_search_tool The line graph indicates that the contribution of GDP by travel and tourism industry. From the graph, we can see that the avenue of travel and tourism industry has been increase over the year. Travel tourism industry has recorded an amount of RM10.67 billion in year 1988. While in year 2008, according to world tourism council, Malaysia has recorded an amount of RM99.16 billion in year 2009, which is almost 10 times larger compared to 20 years ago. It indicates that the travel and tourism industry has been growing and believed to have the potential to keep expanding. While the table shows the year to year growth of travel and tourism industry, and also the share of travel and tourism industry in Malaysias GDP. From the table above, we can know that at most of the years, the avenue of travel and tourism industry is increasing. While some of the year it may achieve negative grow due to incidents such as economic crisis, global diseases, and etc. The grow rate of travel and tourism industry is between -6.98 percent to 35.01 percent. From the view of share of GDP, travel and tourism industry has recorded 13.4 percent in year 2008, which considered a major part of total GDP. It places tourism as one of the largest industries in Malaysia, and the second largest earner of foreign exchange, following manufacturing industry. http://www.yoursurgeryabroad.com/news/tourism-up-in-malaysia/ Due to the data, show that there is significant drop in year 1997 which caused by the Asian Financial crisis. Beside in year 2003, the tourism sector also decrease which caused by the SARS. The period for SARS epidemic is between the months of November 2002 and July 2003, and the epidemic is start spreading from Guangdong, China. However this gets effect in our tourism because this epidemic is serious happened in Asian region. If we compare with another epidemic (H1N1) which happened in 2009, this epidemic is start spreading from Mexico. But this epidemic is still make our tourism in well performing based on the news reported on Thursday, 23 July 2009, our Tourism Minister Datuk Seri Dr Ng Yen Yen announced that tourism to Malaysia grew by 7.5% in June after a small 0.3% decline in May. The increase in tourism came despite an increase in confirmed H1N1 cases in the country. The decreasing show in 2008 is affect by the global financial crisis. Global financial crisis is a crisis cause d by a liquidity shortfall in the United States banking system. It has shown in the collapse of large financial institutions, the bailout of banks by national governments, and downturns in stock markets around the world. Is because of the global financial crisis it does give effect on our industries such as tourism industries. The expanding of travel and tourism industry is possible due to the increasing arriving and recipients of tourists from various countries. The policies that promoting Malaysia to the eye of the world in travel and tourism industry has seen to be quite successful. Various program such as Visit Malysia, Malaysia Shopping Carnivals and etc have been introduced and these programs have been able to attract more tourists come to our country.In addition, the increase in standard of living in Malaysia is also a major factor that stimulate the travel and tourism industry. Increase of income of Malaysia residents has increase of domestic demand in travel and tourism industry. Employment contribution http://www.epu.gov.my/html/themes/epu/images/common/pdf/rmk/rmk2/rancangan%20malaysia%20kedua%20-%20chapter%2011.pdf http://www.epu.gov.my/html/themes/epu/images/common/pdf/buku%20rm%20ke%207%20-%20chapter%2016.pdf http://www.epu.gov.my/html/themes/epu/images/common/pdf/8th_msia_plan_c15_cont.pdf Based on the data above, we can see that during the period between 1960 until 1970, the employment is significant show that tourism is just contribute a little on economy only. For year 1965 is only contributed 287000 for employment (employment in hotel is 2700 in 1965), however for year 1970 it is slightly increase to become 340000 of employment (employment in hotel is reached 8000 in 1970) which contributed by the tourism. Furthermore, year 1975 tourism is only contributing 419000 employments. If we look seriously beginning from 1990, the employment is contribute a lot by the tourism in hotel industries, however hotel industries is just one of the part from the contribution of tourism, we can see clearly that it is quite potential in develop it. Based on the data show that the there is an increasing trend on employment which generate by the increasing in number of hotel, it can be show beginning from 1990 which is generated 39961 employments by 989 hotels, 1995 generated 67214 empl oyments by 1220 hotels, 2000 generated 78671 employments by 1492 hotels and for year 2005 it generated 79603 employments by 1541 hotels. The opportunities in employment contributed by tourism are determined to achieve 1217000 thereby contributing 11.6% of total employment in year 2007. And the contribution of the Travel Tourism economy to employment is 1,331,000 jobs in 2010 (Quarter 2). http://www.wttc.org/eng/tourism_research/economic_data_search_tool The table shows the total employment in travel and tourism industry. In year 1989, the total employment in travel and tourism industry recorded an amount of 514700, which in 8 % of total labor. From the table well able to know that the total employment in travel and tourism industry has been increasing in most of the year, meanwhile the growth rate is between -14.9 percent to 21.94%. In year 2008, travel and tourism industry has achieved a total employment of 1249800 employees, which is 11.6% from the whole labor market. This indicates that the travel and tourism industry has contributed much in the labor market and has play a major role in labor market. www.motour.gov.my/bm//166-national-ecotourism-planpart-3.html Contribution in development The tourism can lead to develop in some area especially those rural, develop the rural area is good in helping our country economy, it can generate income and employment to the rural area people. For example: Based on the National Ecotourism Plan Malaysia, Pahang has implement national tourism development policies at state level. Pahang have such place can develop well to be a tourists attraction place such as in coasts area Pulau Tioman is Pahang main island resource, this is needed to plan further on the development within the carrying the capacity for each sector of activity. However for mountain in Pahang, with the highest mountain in Peninsular Malaysia is Gunung Tahan. Besides, there is also a Frasers Hill which is a main nature site with bungalows. Beside in lowland, there is Taman Negara which is a place that reserve with the flora and fauna. But there is also needed government in develop it to become a tourism place. This is the table show the development of component and cost in developing the Frasers Hill. For Terengganu, it does not have its own separate state tourism policies but it implement national policies. The potential nature place for Terengganu to develop to attract tourists is Rantau Abang at coasts side and island which is Pulau Redang, Pulau Perhentian, Lang Tengah, and also some mountain which attract some trekker to there. This is the table show the development of component and cost in developing the Rantau Abang This is the table show the development of component and cost in developing the Pulau Redang. And for Sabah, it is rich in nature which can enrich to introduce it to foreign country, such as Mountain Kinabalu is one of most attraction in Sabah it mostly attract the tourists from Taiwan, Japan come over there. Beside it also have the popular island which name Pulau Sipadan which listed as the first best diving in world. This can be show that the potential in Sabah. This is the table show the development of component and cost in developing the Kinabalu Park area. All this is just a part of the potential area which shows in few states only, as we can see those areas is a potential place to develop to attracting the tourists. Those places are suitable to develop as tourism place since it is potential and rich in nature. Furthermore, by the way we develop the area to attract the tourists, first we have to develop the area which potential to be tourism, and through this development it is already develop our country. Developing our country is not only to attract the tourists but it also can strengthen our economy. Contribution in SME ( Small Medium Entrepreneur ) Government action By the way it is needed for government action in supporting the tourism sector, without government implementation of policy or action in develop the tourism it is impossible for the tourism sector to growth itself. To attract more foreign tourists, government is needed to create some policy to strengthening the tourism, furthermore the government spending is also important so that the project that government planning can be successful to achieve. Besides, government activities in promoting the tourism or campaign is also helpful in introduce it to tourists and knowing by foreign country. There is some action by the government in above such as: Campaign VISIT MALAYSIA YEAR 2007 Tourism industry of Malaysia. Retrieved on October 12,2010 from http://www.thefinancialexpress-bd.com/2007/08/31/9636.html Malaysias focus will be on the Visit Malaysia Year (VMY) 2007, it was focus aggressively promoting Malaysia, by the way encourage the foreign tourists arrival it also encourage domestic tourists. Coincidently, year 2007 is also the 50th anniversary of Malaysia Independence Day. As such, the Visit Malaysia Year campaign is a good time event to celebrate Malaysias golden festival. It is a good time to celebrate and to share with the world the unique and virtues that built up Malaysia to be the country until today. The VMY 2007 campaign is anticipated to raise the attraction of foreign tourists to facilitate them in planning their holidays in Malaysia. For the VMY 2007, it is set a target to attract amount of 20.1 million tourists come over our country. There are over 240 events in the year, of which, 50 being major events and 5 as international mega events. All these events is meaningful to presented in `One Golden Celebration`. This celebration will bring Malaysia to recognize by the world. The Visit Malaysia Year Grand Launch on 6 January by the Prime Minister of Malaysia is the first event of the year in the presence 500 international media and trade representatives from all over the world. Draw attention to the Grand Launch was the unveiling of the Eye on Malaysia, which is a 60-metre Ferris Wheel followed by the Flora Fest Parade, and also a fantastic display of floats dressed in all kinds of flowers found in Malaysia. The other mega events include the Malaysian International Aerospace Adventure, the International Fireworks Display, the Malaysian International Tattoo and the KL International Buskers Festival. Malaysia My Second Home Programme Malaysia My Second Home Programme .Retrieved on October 12, 2010 from http://www.mm2h.gov.my/ Beside, Malaysia government also promoted Malaysia My Second Home Programme is to allow foreigners who fulfill certain criteria, to stay in Malaysia for as long as possible on a multiple-entry social visit pass. The Social Visit Pass is renewable and is originally for a period of ten years. It is a chance for citizens of countries recognized by Malaysia, regardless of race, religion, gender or age. The programme allows applicants to bring with them their spouses, parents and children. For those foreign spouses of Malaysians after expiry of their Employment Passes who wish to retire in Malaysia are also qualified to apply to stay in Malaysia under this programme. Promotion Policy Government spending http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2009/10/24/budget2010/4968158sec=budget2010. October 12 Based on the news from The Star on Saturday October 24, 2009 reported that by the way of aggressive and innovative measures to attract FDI, our country government will spending RM899mil in 2010 for the tourism industry. The Main planned to be implemented is including attracting more tourists from Britain, Japan, South Korea, Middle East, India and China to participate in the Malaysia My Second Home programme. However, attraction will be successful by upgrading the quality of infrastructure in tourism centers throughout the country, this is the most important such as ecotourism development and upgrading homestay facilities; and ensuring front liners are locals. Taxation Incentives for Investment. Retrieved on October 12, 2010 from http://www.mida.gov.my/en_v2/index.php?page=tourism-industry There are many incentives that government gives to tourism investors either old or new investors. The investor included such as hotel, travel agency, transportation and etc. There are some incentives from government to these investors. Generally, a company granted Pioneer Status will enjoys a 5-year partial exemption from the payment of income tax. It will only need to pay tax on 30% of its statutory income. In order to promote some area, government will consider giving full income tax exemption and/or increased exemption tax until 10 years. In addition, there are some exemption for Sabah and Sarawak. The companies located there will only need to pay 15%of their statutory income in 5 years. Besides, company also can get the Investment Tax Allowance (ITA). A company granted will be given allowance of 60% in respect of qualifying and offset against 70%of the statutory income in 5 years. Special for Sabah and Sarawak, companies located there will be given allowance of 80% in respect of qualifying and offset against 85% of the statutory income in 5 years. Next,tax exemption for tour operators. First, for foreign tourists. Tour operators who bring in at least 500 foreign tourists a year through groups, inclusive tours that enter and exit the country by air, sea or land transportation, will be exempted from tax in respect of income derived from the business of operating such toursâ‚ ¬Ã‚ ®Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚  second, for local tourists. Companies that organise domestic tour packages for at last 1,200 local tourists per year get tax exemption on the income earned. A domestic tour means any tour package within Malaysia participated by local tourists (excluding inbound tourists) by air, land or sea transportation involving at least one nights accommodation. Recommendation Recommendation to better improve the tourism industry to known by others country and attraction foreign tourist to generate our GDP will be identified after the full research has been completed. The Ecotourism Development in Malaysia. Retrieved on October 12,2010 from http://www.apo-tokyo.org/gp/e_publi/gplinkeco/17chapter15.pdf There are such ways to improve Malaysia ecotourism. As we know, we have many ecotourism place included Wildlife Protection Act, the National Park Act, the National Forestry Act, the Fisheries Act and the State Park Enactment (Pahang). These protected areas are gazetted under the various federal and state. The Department of Wildlife and National Parks, the Forestry Department, the Fisheries Department and the various State Parks authorities have been responsible for managed these place. First ways is ours tourism and travel agencies should be more creative to promoted ecotourism to attract more foreign tourist because government give many incentives to them. Creative means travel agencies should provide more packages for student, family, group and others. These packages will attract more tourists to visit Malaysia also attract local tourist. Local tourist actually more demand than foreign tourist because local tourists want different experience in the place they visit. Trav

Thucydides and Homer: Cultures Essay -- Cultural Greece Thucydides Hom

Thucydides and Homer: Cultures Thucydides and Homer, though they lived a relatively short 300 years apart, wrote about very different Greek cultures. While the Greeks who Homer wrote about in The Iliad were, in many respects, dissimilar to the Greeks in Thucydides’ History of the Peloponnesian War, this stands in marked contrast to the profound similarities that exist between contemporary cultures and those that Thucydides wrote of. There are, however, similarities between modern cultures and those in Homer’s writing, as well as differences between modern ones and those in Thucydides’ writing. Thucydides’ history is, therefore, a relational bridge between the cultures of ancient Greece and modern ones. One of the most recognizable differences in the cultures written of by Thucydides and Homer is what people are respected for. In the world of The Iliad, aretà © determines an individual’s merit, and it is largely determined by physical triumphs over opponents. The importance of victory to these people’s honor is indicated in Hector’s defeat of Patroclus. â€Å"Hector†¦ seeing [Patroclus] trying to stagger free,†¦ came rushing into him right across the lines and rammed his spearshaft home, stabbing deep in the bowels†¦ Down he crashed—horror gripped the Achaean armies.† (Homer, 439) Patroclus’ fall not only represented Hector’s superior might, but the publicity of aretà ©; for every Achaean soldier became demoralized by the death of Patroclus. Whereas in the aforementioned culture a person’s status was public and largely based on strength, Thucydides wrote about a culture that valued beauty through the intellect and art forms. When Corcyra and Corinth are poised to go to war with each other... ... Peloponnesian War is neither romantic nor poetic; rather, it is an (relatively) objective account of what he considered to be the most devastating war. Based on his observations, Thucydides used logic to infer things about human behavior and historical events. It could well have been this abandonment of romanticism that allowed Thucydides to so accurately explain history in terms of human nature, which is based very much on the human condition. If this is the case, then it is certainly not surprising that Thucydides describes many familiar ideas and is able to relate values and principles from cultures older than his own to modern ones. Works Cited 1. Thucydides. History of the Peloponnesian War. Trans. Rex Warner. New York: Penguin Books, 1954. 2. Homer. The Iliad. Trans. Robert Fagles. New York: Penguin Books, 1990.

The Graphic Novels: Maus, Persepolis, Fun Home, and Barefoot Gen Essay

The super-genre of what collectively can be called ‘comics’ represents a cultural phenomenon which has exploded in the last fifty-plus years onto the public scene. Evolving from newspaper strip comics to superhero stories in paperback periodicals, the world of comics spread further and further into public appeal. With the publication of Art Spiegelman’s Maus, however, comics opened the door onto a world of possibilities. After Maus received high acclaim, despite its academic taboo as a medium, many more historical-commentary graphic novels found their way into the public eye: Marjane Satrapi’s Persepolis, Alison Bechdel’s Fun Home, Keiji Nakazawa’s Barefoot Gen, and a legion of others. Taken together, this new sub-genre of the super-genre provides a personal glimpse into many historically tragic, enlightening, or revolutionary events. These historic-autobiographic stories can effectively introduce people, whether students in a classroom or a curious independent reader searching for truth, to history, because of the format, the popularity of the historical events they encircle, the relatable personal perspective, and the groundbreaking, attention-amassing approval they enjoy. While graphic novels such as Maus, Persepolis, Fun Home, and Barefoot Gen may differ greatly in content, the format of conveying a story of novel-length complexity through sequential art consolidates all these titles into one sub-genre. These graphic novels would effectively represent history in a classroom setting (besides a personal, individual enjoyment) due to the changed demographic of students in high schools and colleges in the United States (if not throughout the world). With the advent of the Internet and the popularity of the television and video... ...tting within significant historical periods, and relatable, personal point of view, historic-autobiographic novels effectively represent historical events. The next step toward gaining academic respect requires proving their efficacy to scholars both of history and of literature. Once these works secure an educational following similar to the public fanbase, perhaps history classes and interdisciplinary venues may begin incorporating the graphic novel into their reading lists. Until then, the usefulness of Maus or Barefoot Gen as commentaries on World War II, Fun Home on homosexuality and the Sexual Revolution, and Persepolis on the Iranian revolution must be enjoyed purely from an individual standpoint. Works Cited "Your Right-Brained Visual Learner." Time 4 Learning. Time 4 Learning, Web. 6 Oct 2009. . The Graphic Novels: Maus, Persepolis, Fun Home, and Barefoot Gen Essay The super-genre of what collectively can be called ‘comics’ represents a cultural phenomenon which has exploded in the last fifty-plus years onto the public scene. Evolving from newspaper strip comics to superhero stories in paperback periodicals, the world of comics spread further and further into public appeal. With the publication of Art Spiegelman’s Maus, however, comics opened the door onto a world of possibilities. After Maus received high acclaim, despite its academic taboo as a medium, many more historical-commentary graphic novels found their way into the public eye: Marjane Satrapi’s Persepolis, Alison Bechdel’s Fun Home, Keiji Nakazawa’s Barefoot Gen, and a legion of others. Taken together, this new sub-genre of the super-genre provides a personal glimpse into many historically tragic, enlightening, or revolutionary events. These historic-autobiographic stories can effectively introduce people, whether students in a classroom or a curious independent reader searching for truth, to history, because of the format, the popularity of the historical events they encircle, the relatable personal perspective, and the groundbreaking, attention-amassing approval they enjoy. While graphic novels such as Maus, Persepolis, Fun Home, and Barefoot Gen may differ greatly in content, the format of conveying a story of novel-length complexity through sequential art consolidates all these titles into one sub-genre. These graphic novels would effectively represent history in a classroom setting (besides a personal, individual enjoyment) due to the changed demographic of students in high schools and colleges in the United States (if not throughout the world). With the advent of the Internet and the popularity of the television and video... ...tting within significant historical periods, and relatable, personal point of view, historic-autobiographic novels effectively represent historical events. The next step toward gaining academic respect requires proving their efficacy to scholars both of history and of literature. Once these works secure an educational following similar to the public fanbase, perhaps history classes and interdisciplinary venues may begin incorporating the graphic novel into their reading lists. Until then, the usefulness of Maus or Barefoot Gen as commentaries on World War II, Fun Home on homosexuality and the Sexual Revolution, and Persepolis on the Iranian revolution must be enjoyed purely from an individual standpoint. Works Cited "Your Right-Brained Visual Learner." Time 4 Learning. Time 4 Learning, Web. 6 Oct 2009. .

Television Crime Series :: Research Paper Crime Series Essays

Television Crime Series Television crime series are inherently religious. They present disturbing questions of death, guilt, justice, mercy, confession and absolution, and hope or hopelessness. One episode may be viewed as a parable, with the center as the courtroom scene with its "moment of truth" when the norm inverts and strangeness enters, as in a parable. They are parables, for parables are the Kingdom of God and the Kingdom of God is here and now as Jesus said, Mk1:14-15. It breaks into our world and inhabits it while remaining holy. A parable is the language of Jesus, himself a parable of God. A parable is often introduced by, "The kingdom of God is like . . ." It is without much specific detail and it has a single point of view. Many parables are open-ended and rather mysterious even as they remain attached to nature or the simple life. They are lively and arresting and easy to remember as lessons and they are puzzling. A short description of the Parable of the Mustard Seed will suffice now; later it will be compared to the crime episode. Briefly, the smallest of seeds, the Mustard, is planted and produces a great shrub or tree where birds can nest. It is labeled a parable of growth but it could also be called a parable of reversal i.e. from small to large, from a dried-up seed of stored life to fecundity. The crime series receives equally brief treatment until the pivotal courtroom courtroom scene. The characters are two detectives, four attorneys, a grieving mother and her two children, an infant and a boy, both shot: the infant dead, the boy maimed; a wealthy African-American drug dealer and his "errand" boy of thirteen years who did the shootings for his employer and is now on the stand watched over by the evil dealer who lounges impassively in his cashmere coat. We have come to the courtroom scene in which justice will out, Mark 1:14-15 The time is fulfilled and the Kingdom of God is near; repent. . . All characters are present and the only action is the expressions which cross their faces. The boy’s face shines under his knit cap; he appears innocent, amoral at most. He does not seem to understand the proceedings. He said he had received written instructions and an address to "clean the residence" of a customer behind on his payments. The District Attorney wants to indict the dealer and he introduces, not new evidence, but two different typed sheets which he hands to the boy to read.

Term Paper on Social Judgement Theory

TRAITS OF CONSUMER BEHAVIOR| A Term Paper on the traits of Consumer Behavior| BY SUSHIL TAMANG | Submitted to: Mr. Rupesh K. Shrestha Facilitator, Consumer Behavior Submitted to: Mr. Rupesh K. Shrestha Facilitator, Consumer Behavior Social judgment theory (SJT) is a persuasion theory proposed by  Muzafer Sherif  and  Carl Hoyland (hoyland & Sherif, 1980). According to Sherif, Social Judgment Theory is the perception and evaluation of an idea by comparing it with current attitudes.We do this by weighing every new idea by comparing it with our present point of view (hoyland & Sherif, 1980). SJT is a theory that focuses on the internal processes of an individual's judgment with relation to a communicated message. SJT was intended to be an explanatory method designed to detail when  persuasive messages  are most likely to succeed. Attitude change  is the fundamental objective of persuasive communication. SJT seeks to specify the conditions under which this change takes place and predict the direction and extent of the attitude change.SJT attempts to explain how likely a person might be to change their opinion, the probable direction of that change, their tolerance toward the opinion of others, and their level of commitment to their position (Mallard, 2010). Social judgment  is how we perceive people, how we form impressions about them and how we think about social things. Social psychology is concerned with how we make these judgments, how accurate they are, and what are the consequences of these judgments. How we form first impressions and respond to people depends on how we judge them.Sometimes we judge people incorrectly. Misjudgments are the basis of prejudice and discrimination. In light if these, information we will try to find out the effects of social judgment on different professionals and their decision style. We try to find out where the social judgment really brings change in the deciders mind. We will see then effects of social judgment o n the mind of the these professional whose decision create a lots of impact on other people. Now before we see how the SJT effects decision of the professional, we must first know what the decision is making process.Judgment is concerned with the discrimination and categorization of stimuli, it attempts to explain how attitudes are expressed, judged, and modified. (Darity, 2008) A judgment occurs when a person compares at least two  stimuli  and makes a choice about them. With regard to social stimuli specifically, judgment processes incorporate both past experiences and present circumstances. (Sherif C. , 1963). As a judgment process, categorization and attitude formation is a product of recurring instances so that past experiences influence decisions regarding aspects of the current situation.Therefore, attitudes are acquired. (Sherif, Sherif, ; Nebergaill, 1965). As we see that our judgment is based on the attitude that we have towards a certain object. And we chose our decis ion on basis of our judgment. But knowing this much only isn’t enough we must also know what are the types of decision we make on basis of our judgment, do we accept object on basis of our judgment or we reject it or we don’t take our bias judgment under consideration. SJT illustrates how people compare their personal positions on issues to other people’s positions.Individuals hold both a personal position on an issue and latitudes of what they think is acceptable or unacceptable in general for other people. (Sherif, Sherif, ; Nebergaill, 1965)  Social attitudes are not cumulative, especially regarding issues where the attitude is extreme. (Mallard, 2010) This means a person may not agree with less extreme stands relative to his/her position, even though they may be in the same direction. Plus people with same attitude may have different opinion on the same matter this is due to their past experience and knowledge.On basis of our judgment we have 3 range of la titude where we accept, reject or non-commit to the object. There is the latitude of acceptance which is the range of ideas that a person sees as a reasonable or worthy of consideration, the latitude of rejection, which is the range of ideas that a person sees as unreasonable or objectionable, and finally the Latitude of non-commitment which is the range of ideas that a person sees as neither acceptable nor questionable. Griffin, 2011) Now, with this information imprinted in our minds, we will try analyze the effect of SJT on the professional whose decision affects other person. We will discuss on two researches that were don’t on professionals with regards to social judgment theory. The first study tries to identify the informational cues that driver-assessor-trained occupational therapist (DATOTs) consider when making driver licensing recommendations for older and functionally impaired clients. (Unsworth, 2007).The research focuses on the cues that clinicians believe that a re most important when making licensing decision. It was found that there were 8 major cues out of which 4 most important were driving instructors intervention, drivers behavior, cognitive and perceptual skill, vehicle handling and 4 lesser cues were road law knowledge, physical skill, sensory function and medical prognosis. (Unsworth, 2007) Although the ranks were seen that way the variation for the lesser important cues were very low meaning they were main consideration by clinicians.So, then putting that prospect and adding it to the older and functionally impaired client, it is clear to say that they will be in disadvantage. The social judgment of clinician will focus more on the lesser cues while judging these clients. The second research focus on the positive aspect of the social judgment. Judgment analysis, the methodology of social judgment theory, has significant potential for overcoming the limitations of a pure information-processing approach. It has been successfully use d in a wide variety of fields, Such as medicine, finance and weather forecasting.It has also been successfully used to analyze the relationship between individuals' decision making in multidisciplinary rehabilitation teams that included occupational therapists. (Harries & Harries, 2001) This research studied prioritization policies in community mental health work; it aimed to find out how SJT helps to make proper, accurate and right decision of mental health referrals. In this research the participants social judgment influenced their decision making even though the protocol said otherwise.This was very important because sometime the client who doesn’t match the basis criteria may need mental care the most. That can only be seen by the insight of participants. There biasness may save a person life. So, we see that two researches above proved one point first, that social judgment theory does effect the decision of professional that's what the term paper aimed to do. We clearly see that attitude, perception, past experience of these professionals effect the decision they make which might not be by the books.The term paper fulfilled its primary purpose but in the process it also shows that having social judgment is negative, it has it pros and cons. Sometimes having social judgment saves peoples live and sometimes it deprive people of their right. SJT helps it make better decision where the protocols aren’t very specific and are sketchy, in those scenarios our insight helps us a lot to differentiate what's right and what's wrong. In conclusion, we can say that whether the SJT has positive or negative impact, its existence is undeniable.Bibliography Darity, W. (2008). Social Judgment Theory: Detroit. Detroit: Macmillian Reference USA. Griffin, E. (2011). A first look at communication Theory. New York: McGraw Hill. Harries, P. A. , ; Harries, C. (2001). Studying clinical reasoning, Part 2: Applying social judgement Theory. British Journal of occupatio nal therapist, 64-69. hoyland, c. I. , ; Sherif, M. (1980). Social Judgment:Assimilation and contrast effect in communication and attitude change. Greenwood. Mallard, J. (2010). Communication Teacher.Sherif, C. (1963). Social categorization as a function of latitude of acceptance and series range. Journal of abnormal and social psychology, 148-156. Sherif, C. , Sherif, M. , ; Nebergaill, R. (1965). Attitude and attitude change. Philadelphia: W. B. Saunders Company. Unsworth, C. A. (2007). Using Social Judgment Theory to study occupational therapists' use information when making driver licensing recomendation for older and funcitionally impaired adults. The American journal of occupatonal Therapy, 493-502.

Scenario planning – Industry scenarios

Before embarking on the discussion, there is one question or so we need to ask ourselves. What is a scenario? What is scenario planning all about? What constitutes industry scenario planning? Straight away, a scenario is a story or a descriptive narrative about the future which aims at sketching the boundaries of the probable and it is assembled on a methodical scrutiny of various factors bearing in mind those alternatives which are credible and somewhat measurable. These factors are: – social, political, economic, environmental and technological. Future environment of a given business, region or policy area could be shaped by these very factors. According to the World Economic Forum, the scenarios explore three or four dissimilar eventualities of how the world might look if the most uncertain and important drivers unfold in different ways. The same source elaborates further that good scenarios are not just dry, analytical descriptions of possible future outcomes. No matter how meticulous they are constructed, they should also be well inspired and highly compelling enough to engage the imagination. They challenge postulations wile at the same time raising awareness of fundamental factors and inspire participants into fresh thinking about what could happen and what it would mean for them. They offer both a new perspective on events and a scaffold for positive deliberations. Scenario planning on the other hand can be used by distributors as a tool of management to predict and benefit from change. In this article, we shall briefly introduce scenario planning, its relevance in connection to distributors and we shall also look at its application as a valuable tool in the industrial sense. As we have said above, that when we think of scenario planning, one great point that has to cross our minds is that a range of alternative futures has to be put into consideration, each of which is considerably diverse and varied from the present operating atmosphere. It would be better to compare and contrast alternative views on how the industry may evolve rather than pinning ourselves on a single forecast which we have assumed to be most probable. Scenario planning is externally oriented and therefore very effective at identifying growth strategies for the company as well as impending threats to its market positions. Scenarios can also help us identify the specific external industry changes that might be causing the company to lose market share or margins. In his article, Scenario Planning Basics for Distributors, Fein Adam presents ways in which distributors are using scenario planning to the betterment of the company. Distributors, he says, should make sure that the management of their company does not erroneously presuppose that changes will not place in the future. In other words, they should explore all the possibilities the company can face and, not only that but, come up with viable alternatives. In connection to this point, they should also assist the management to identify and understand possible threats comprehensively. They should point out growth strategies for the company and test the success of its current strategy in various possible futures. Lastly, they should understand and appropriately react to new customer buying behavior since the customer is the basic unit of the industry and the satisfaction of the customer should be the prime objective of any decision made by the company. Facing the Forces of Change has suggestions of four possible scenarios for distributors to consider. The first scenario is that which stretches into the future and here distributors have entirely incorporated technology into their companies. Given the high level of information development, customers expect distributors to work with them impeccably across numerous communication interfaces. Distributors have effectively achieved this due to rapid rates of developments. These distributors still remain the prime route to market for manufacturers. Coordinated Channels is another scenario where customers seek more information directly from manufacturers. Here, manufacturer Web sites give existing product specifications, comprehensive technical data and also appropriate product feature are selected by the customers who want such information. This information can be accessed by the customers both directly and indirectly. Directly they get connected to the manufacturer Web site and indirectly through an allied distributor’s Web site. Product collaboration between manufacturers and distributors is undertaken on the internet with marketing and inventory management also being done in the channel. However, it still remains the role of the distributors to provide information back to the manufacturer and ensure new performance qualifications are met The third scenario is the one describing a world where consumers and producers pay for the specific conduit activities they may be in need of. This Unbundled Supply Chain has distributors competing directly with supply chain organizations and intermediaries in this scenario are rewarded according to their rate of activity performance. That is, what they have done on behalf of their customers and producers. In the fourth scenario, there is a world with a cluster of consumers forming open and non-profit online exchanges. These common platforms handle the data among supply chain partners. Scenario planning requires a few guidelines to be followed. One must establish a core planning team because analysis of the strategic implications is best in groups. Secondly, a cross section of expertise should be availed, and this includes the heads of the all functional areas of the company. Bringing the ideas of the thinkers the company is endowed with is such a feat worth the take. It is worthwhile to include the outside people by incorporating information gathered from them into the whole system. The focus here should be on infusing appealing and challenging perspectives into the discussion. Outsiders include customers, suppliers, consultants and competitors who hold a vital position in the success of the company. There should be great care in selecting the person to facilitate the scenario planning strategy. An employee of the company should not be part of the choice, neither the senior executive officers. This is because the facilitator should be someone who is focused on planning processes and the two do not appear in this category. Implications scenario planning, just as other forms of business planning, needs an extensive spending of resources from all the individuals of the company. Therefore, the support of top management is a very important determinant of success the company’s planning capability. What this implies is that there should be readiness from every corner of the company in order for this planning strategy to work in the success and goodwill of the company. An honest assessment must be carried out to ascertain as to whether the senior decision makers in the company are not only involved but also dedicated to the scenario planning process. Should the company be unready to work with the process, then even the most sophisticated techniques of a manual or outside consultant are destined to fail. In addition, if the company is faced with a threat of financial insolvency, then it must suspend the identification of long-term threats and other prospects until business stabilizes because this kind of planning is not suited with survival planning. Disruptive innovation is one of the revolutionary theories of technological change used to describe the impact of new technologies on firm’s existence. (Nauosa Hirotta). Combining scenario planning with disruptive innovation is unavoidable in this era of high level of technological embrace. It is sure and straight that a company which does not embrace technology in its strategic plan is left behind. Disruptive technology which initiates the advent of disruptive innovations for example e-marketing is a vital tool but has to be fused with industry scenario so that the company does not lose its clients for the companies. Summary There must be clear repercussions for the company and its strategy if at all scenarios planning is intended to be meaningful. Each scenario can be viewed as a playing ground in which the company finds itself competing in the future and this allows us to apply all of the apparatus of competitive analysis within a given industry setting. The same tools can then be applied in a totally different future. For us to have the best out of scenario planning, a scrutiny of the company’s position must be known. The company may be one which can manipulate how the future evolves by virtue of actions and investments of its members. On the other hand, if it is too small or insufficiently influential, it becomes a scenario taker and in this case its must carefully examine its line of trade and customers so that it is prepared to react and adjust quickly to changes. Such scenario takers will find it wise to rapidly imitate and adopt to survive; they must do what good companies do. Bibliography: Olaisen J, A Johannessen, B Olsen, – International Journal of Information Management, 1999 – Elsevier Page 15 Fein Adam. â€Å"Scenario Planning Basics for Distributors† Accessed last on February 27, 2008 from URL: Accessed last on February 27, 2008 from URL: International Journal of Information Management, Volume 19, Issue 4, August 1999, Pages 263-275 Jon-arild Johannessen, Johan Olaisen and Bjà ¸rn Olsen Disruptive Technology May 3, 2007, Accessed on February 28, 2008 from URL:

Restrictions on Gun Ownership

Running Head: RESTRICTIONS ON GUN OWNERSHIP Are there any Legitimate Restrictions on Gun Ownership? Steve PHI103: Informal Logic The Second Amendment of the United States Constitution gives the citizens of America the right of the people to bear arms. This was adopted with the rest of the Bill of Rights. However, with this being said there are people that take this right to heart, and they feel they should be able to have any gun they want. There are guns that are specifically designed for military, some local or state law enforcement and are illegal for the average person to own. There are a lot of Federal and state laws that have to be met prior to anyone purchasing and therefore, owning a gun. There are safety laws that have been put in place to keep guns out of the hands of convicted felons, children, and the mentally handicapped as well as other irresponsible people that may have the ability to injure or kill another human being. There are also certain criteria a person will have to meet before the purchase of a gun will go through. A gun owner knows what it takes to kill and those individuals know there should be different forms of gun control measures to help prevent accidents from occurring. As the saying goes â€Å"Guns don’t kill people, people do. † The prevention of accidents is just one reason for supporting gun control. Another reason to support gun control is to prevent the people already mentioned from having the ability to get a gun that can be used to injure or intimidate people. Better enforcement of the many gun laws we have in place currently should be the priority of the state and local law enforcement agencies. Commandeering someone’s gun or extremely over-the-top gun laws are not the answers to fixing the gun problems we are faced with today. Strictly enforcing current laws, we have in place now is the answer. The U. S. Supreme Court in a 5-4 vote on Thursday June 26, 2008 declared for the first time that Second Amendment to the U. S. Constitution guaranteed the rights of individual Americans to bear and keep arms. They stated that the ownership of a gun is a right of the individual, not intertwined with military service, and that it can be regulated in some ways, (2008, June 26) Furthermore, this ruling came out of Washington D. C; case that had a security guard sued the district for prohibiting him from keeping his handgun at his home. In D. C. , it is a crime to carry an unregistered firearm, and registration of a handgun is prohibited. The rules for handguns are so strict that they regulate handguns out of existence. These rules are put in place to try and curb violence with handguns in the nation’s capital. This ruling furthermore struck down this ban on constitutional grounds, stating it flew in the face of our constitutional right to bear arms, (2008, June 26) The case in D. C. also It was also stated that the two sides in this case viewed the Founding Fathers intentions of the Amendment rights very different. For the most part the majority of the Supreme Court Justices said that this amendment protected the individual’s right to own a gun without connection with the service in a militia and to use this for a lawful purpose such as self-defense in the home. â€Å"Like most rights, the Second Amendment right is not unlimited. It is not a right to keep and carry any weapons whatsoever in any manner whatsoever and for whatever purpose,† Justice Antonin Scalia wrote for the majority. But it did allow for individuals to have guns for lawful purposes, such as hunting and defending themselves, he said. The majority clearly saw the individual right to own a gun, (2008, June 26) This ruling left in place many restrictions at both the federal and state levels, like the bans that were placed on felon’s right to have a gun, and the bans on sawed-off shotguns and assault weapons. Justice John Paul Stevens stated that this ruling would leave it up to future courts to really define the details of the right to bear arms. He also stated that this should be the business of state legislatures, and that the court should stay out of this. Lastly, he stated that the law-abiding citizen will be able to keep a gun at home, but that it doesn’t address how the different states legislatures will want to regulate gun ownership. In another statement by Justice Stephen Breyer he stated that in his view â€Å"there simply is no untouchable constitutional right guaranteed by the Second Amendment to keep loaded handguns in the house in crime-ridden urban areas, (2008, June 26) This was a topic for debate between the 2008 democratic and republican presidential office runners. Senator McCain stated â€Å"Today's ruling makes clear that other municipalities like Chicago that have banned handguns have infringed on the constitutional rights of Americans,† he said. He also took a thinly veiled shot at the presumptive Democratic nominee, Sen. Barack Obama by saying â€Å"Unlike the elitist view that believes Americans cling to guns out of bitterness, today's ruling recognizes that gun ownership is a fundamental right — sacred, just as the right to free speech and assembly. Presidential nominee Barack Obama responded to this ruling by stating that â€Å"Today's ruling, the first clear statement on this issue in 127 years, will provide much-needed guidance to local jurisdictions across the country,† he said, adding that â€Å"what works in Chicago may not work in Cheyenne,† but the decision reinforced that â€Å"if we act responsibly, we can both protect the constitutional right to bear arms and keep our communities and our children safe, (2008, June 26) It would only be fair to state that the crime rate has plummeted since the Supreme court made its decision on the Second Amendment. The table below shows just the Chicago data and as you can see there is a decline, (2011, Oct 4). When this was first looked at the thought was that if there were more guns out there that this would cause crime to increase, but this has been proven to be false. This stat bears the question of where there fewer crimes because the citizens are now gun owners, and the criminals are aware of this. Do you think it is because the criminals fear the laws? I do not think it is because they fear the laws. I truly believe that these criminals are thinking in the back of their mind that if they try to commit a crime against someone who could be armed, and they will retaliate by shooting them in self-defense. This may really make a criminal rethink this act before he/she commits the crime. Furthermore, I think the fact that the victim might be so scared and could shoot without thinking and possibly killing the perpetrator truly has the perpetrator thinking of this unknown factor, and that makes them more cautious about committing the crime in the first place. The following is a chart for the crime rates from 2009-2010, (2010, Dec. 20). As you can see that not only did the rates change in Chicago but the one below is for the United States as a whole. It was said that the â€Å"The Supreme Court breathed new life into the amendment when it struck down strict handgun bans in Washington and Chicago and spoke of the â€Å"inherent right of self-defense. † But to the dismay of gun rights advocates, judges in recent months have read those decisions narrowly and rejected claims from those who said they had a constitutional right to carry a loaded gun on their person or in their car. Instead, these judges from California to Maryland have said the â€Å"core right† to a gun is limited to the home. Now, the National Rifle Assn. is asking the high court to take up the issue this fall and â€Å"correct the widespread misapprehension that the 2nd Amendment's scope does not extend beyond the home. † Stephen Halbrook, an NRA lawyer, said â€Å"some judges have buried their heads in the sand and have refused to go one step further† than saying there is a right to have a gun at home. The Brady Center to Prevent Gun Violence hailed the trend and called the high court's rulings a â€Å"hollow victory† for gun enthusiasts. The gun lobby has tried to expand [the 2nd Amendment] into a broad right to carry any type of gun anywhere. And they have been almost unanimously rejected by the courts,† said Jonathan Lowy, director of legal action. He conceded, however, that â€Å"this battle is far from over. † The uncertainty began with the Supr eme Court itself. In 2008, Justice Antonin Scalia said the history of the 2nd Amendment shows it â€Å"guarantees the individual right to possess and carry weapons in case of confrontation. But other parts of his 5-4 opinion stressed there is no right to â€Å"carry any weapon in any manner,† and that bans on â€Å"carrying concealed weapons were lawful† in the 19th century† (Savage, D, 2011) The following stats provided by the FBI provide ammunition on the Supreme Court’s decision on the second Amendment. It stated that â€Å"Despite a grinding recession, reported crime in the United States continues to fall, the FBI said Monday. Violent crime was down 6 percent in 2010 — the fourth consecutive yearly decline, according to the FBI's Uniform Crime Report. Property crime dropped for the eighth year in a row, down 2. 7 percent in 2010. In Pennsylvania, violent crime fell 3 percent and property crime ticked down 0. 5 percent. New Jersey and Delaware reported small drops in violent crime, but increases in property crime,† (Moran, R. 2011). These stats show that right to bear arms did not have a negative effect on the recession. As I read all the articles and stories while doing my research for this paper, I find that the restrictions imposed on gun ownership appear to infringe on our Second Amendment rights provided to us by the U. S. Constitution. I also feel that there should definitely be some sort of control on guns, but we should not do this at the expense of what the Founding Fathers wrote in the U. S. Constitution. As what has been previously covered in this paper the mentally ill, convicted felons, or people that have been convicted of violent crimes should be the only ones that are exempt from owning a gun, and I truly feel that this is for the safety of our citizens here in the United States. Furthermore, I think that states should not impose such restrictions and deny all of that states people the right to own a gun. This is not only a direct violation of that persons Second Amendment rights but also a violation of a person’s right to due process under the 14th amendment. Lastly, I truly believe that the extreme laws or gun confiscations are illegal under the US Constitution and these do not work to stop crimes. Reference Anonymous,  . The FBI Federal Bureau of Investigation. The Latest Stats Show a Continuing Decline in Crime Preliminary Semiannual Uniform Crime Report, January-June, 2010 (2010,  December , 20). Retrieved from http://www. bing. com/images/search? q=FBI+Crime+Rate+Reporting;view=detail;id=F22BCC735FB3184B04D1C2B36F350ED63CBD086F;first=0;FORM=IDFRIR Anonymous,  . SUPREME COURT ENDORSES NEW VIEW OF SECOND AMENDMENT Protection. (2008,  September). Criminal Justice Newsletter,3. Retrieved from http://proquest. umi. com/pqdweb? index=6;did=1646334181;SrchMode=1;sid=7;Fmt=2;VInst=PROD;VType=PQD;RQT=309;VName=PQD;TS=1322524094;clientId=74379 Lott, J. 2011, Oct 4) Chicago’s Violent Crime Rates Plummet After SCOTUS Removes Handgun Ban. Andrew Breitbart Presents BIG GOVERNMENT. Retrieved from http://biggovernment. com/jlott/2011/10/04/chicagos-violent-crime-rates-plummet-after-scotus-removes-handgun-ban/ Moran, R   (2011, September20). Crime rates continue to fall, FBI reports. McClatchy – Tribune Business News. Retrieved from http://proquest. umi. com/pqdweb? index=0;did=2460748471;SrchMode=1;sid=2;Fmt=3;VInst=PROD;VType=PQD;RQT=309;VName=PQD;TS=1324404944;clientId =74379