EDU 636 DB 5 Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

EDU 636 DB 5 - Research Paper Example Gagne’s Events of Instruction and Technology The learning environment has undergone massive changes with the integration of technology in the classroom over the past few decades. Schools have gone from mostly pencil and paper based learning to many students having their own laptops in the classroom. This shift has created a need for teachers to understand how to keep their students interested and engaged in the classroom, by presenting information in the most meaningful way. The basic structure for learning events as Gagne presented in his book, The Conditions of Learning, published in 1965, however, have not changed. So it is imperative to make the connection between the learning and teaching tools now available and how best to integrate them into Gagne’s nine events of instruction. To demonstrate this, an in-depth look into the difference between the following will be investigated in accordance with how they tie into Gange’s events of instruction: an instructio nal presentation and an instructional learning module, and an instructional authoring tool and a conventional presentation tool.

GST system: Hurdles to implementation

GST system: Hurdles to implementation Executive Summary The differences between the current Sales and Services tax structure and the proposed GST system is also analysed. The current single stage sales and services tax is from 5% to 10% while the proposed broad based GST is 4%. This report also determines the importance of GST to the governments fiscal policies and the potential negative impacts of the proposed GST system to business entities and the people. The main purpose for introducing GST is to make the current taxation system more comprehensive, efficient, effective, transparent and business friendly. The potential negative impact is the problem of price hike as a result of inefficient price control and the additional compliance costs for businesses to have additional work to track input taxes paid. The possible hurdle Malaysia government faces in the process of implementing this new system is also being discussed. The significant informal sector makes the tax system inequitable. Besides, lack of transparency bred uncertainty among the business community. The huge maintenance cost each year of RM8.5 million is burdensome. Moreover, choosing the most suitable tax rate and determine the goods that should exempt take long time. Finally, because exports are generally zero-rated, this is often where GST fraud occurs. This report also critically discusses the tax issues that have arisen as a result of implementing GST/VAT in certain developing countries. The major reason for the decline in Ukraines VAT to GDP ratio lies in the Ukraines tax administration. On the other hand, the VAT evasion, hidden economy size and corruption in Ukraine are closely related. In doing this reports, we conducted our researches through books, journals, online materials, government websites and electronic newspapers. However, there were several limitations while conducting the study. There were only limited numbers of countries which have implemented GST successfully until today. In addition to that, most countries that adopted GST were developed countries such as Australia, Singapore and etc. There were limited numbers of Asian developing countries which has implemented GST. In conclusion, GST can be an effective indirect tax. To make it a success, effective educational programmes and private and public sector partnering is necessary. In planning and implementing the GST, countries like United Kingdom, New Zealand, Australia and Singapore can be used as learning examples for Malaysia. The contributions of our tax systems, especially the consumption taxes to the development of our countrys socio-economic system Accoding to OECD (n.d.), the main purpose for the introduction of tax is to finance the public expenditures as well as addressing socioeconomic concerns. In the globalized market today, most of the companies and individuals are required to pay taxes. Malaysia has adopted a fiscal-like system for the past few decades. Malaysia taxation system comprises of direct and indirect taxation. Examples of direct taxation income and corporate tax whereas indirect taxation includes sales and services tax and also others. Refering to the table 1 below, in 2008, direct taxes accounted for about 51.4% of total taxes and 19.1% comes from indirect taxes (Zakariah and Sulaiman, n.d.). Out of this 19.1%, sales and services tax (consumption tax) accounted for 7.3% of the indirect taxes. Therefore, consumption tax does plays a vital role in total revenue in the country. Table 1: The breakdown of Indirect Tax Revenue in 2008 Table 1: The Gross National Product in Malaysia from 2005 to 2009 Source: http://www.tradechakra.com/economy/malaysia/gnp-of-malaysia-152.php Table 2: Gross National Income expressed in Purchasing Power Parity Dollars Source: http://www.google.com/publicdata?ds=wb-wdimet=ny_gnp_mktp_pp_cdidim=country:MYSdl=enhl=enq=gnp+malaysia Table 2: Gross National Income expressed in US dollars Source:http://www.google.com/publicdata?ds=wb-wdimet=ny_gdp_mktp_cdidim=country:MYSdl=enhl=enq=gdp+malaysia Correction of Market Failures Consumption tax in our country provides a way of changing the pattern of consumers demand by differentiating the prices of goods, this in turn affect their spending decisions. For example, demand for different types of transports will get affected by the total amount of duties charges. From this point, we can see that consumption tax in Malaysia is considered as an instrument in correcting related market failures, for example, externalities. Moreover, in this context, consumption tax is used as a tool in making the polluter pay as well as internalizing the costs of consumption. Increase Overall Productivity Consumption tax in Malaysia is said to have a lower negative impact on the work incentives. This is because sales and service tax leave the choices to the people and is unlikely to distort the alternatives that consumers have to between work and leisure. People tend to work harder when they are allowed to keep more of what they earn. This will then impact on the economic positively and increase the overall productivity of the country. As shown in the figure above, Malaysia GNP and GDP has been increasing over the past 20 years. Improve economic and social overheads Malaysian economy experienced the rapid growth on the GDP from US100Billion in 2002 to US221Billion in 2008. In addition, according to governments data, our country also sees the drop in budget deficit from 7.4% in 2009 to 5.6% in 2010. It is believed that the decrease in budget deficit mainly due to the revenue collection from tax and it is able to stimulate the economic growth by financing investment, which in turn generates higher income and employment through the multiplier effects. Thus, government is able to gain access to immediate rise in money and invest them in the economic and social overheads. In a developing country like Malaysia, consumption tax can be an important instrument of growth as it promotes capital formation, especially in the promotion of social overheads as well as infrastructure. The diagram below shows the importance of sales and service tax in contributing their part to the economy in the indirect tax form. The importance of GST to the governments fiscal policies and our countrys economy Despite the average surpluses of 2% during 1993-1997, Malaysia is brought back to deficit after financial crisis in 1997 (Mahbob Zakariah, nd). Year 2009 saw the biggest fiscal deficit. In responding to the fiscal pressures, Malaysia government focuses on importance of tax rates, an important element under fiscal policies, to alleviate the recession effects. Many developed countries such as US and UK often raise their taxes to overcome fiscal deficits. Often than not, fiscal imbalance tends to lower national savings, thus cause slower economic growth. In order to overcome the problem, government will need to reduce government expenditures and/or raising tax revenues. In fact, the International Monetary Fund reported that it is important for Malaysia to introduce Goods and Services Tax (The Star, 2010). The government managed to lower the fiscal deficit from 7.4% in 2009 to 5.6% in 2010 (The Star, 2010). Besides that, to avoid the middle-income trap, the introduction of GST would help with the socio economic development. An additional estimated RM1billion revenue collected from GST can be well spent and further improve the Malaysias development initiatives, such as transportation, healthcare, education and targeted added value activities. With this, the way GST is utilized will determine whether our country can achieve develped country status by year 2020. Fiscal Policies Create an effective management of tax system GST is imposed at the stages of production and distribution; therefore incorporate a self policing mechanism that lowers the possibility of revenue loss through tax evasion. The proposed GST model will not involve cascading/pyramiding affect (Mahbob Zakariah, nd). This is because tax levied on any goods is determined based on its final value, but not the total number of distribution channels that a particular good passes through. Moreover, in order to avoid the double taxation effect, the output tax to be paid will be offset against the input tax. Widen Malaysias tax base The introduction of GST alleviates the heavy reliance on direct taxes (for example, income tax) and petroleum tax, thus widen Malaysias tax base. Petroleum revenue is reported to be unsustainable in the long run as it is depleting (Mahbob Zakariah, nd).. However, the main issue here is that government has increased its dependence on petroleum revenue as shown in the diagram. When comparing against income tax, GST would be a much stable source of revenue as it is less vulnerable to economic uncertainties. GST is a consumption-based tax, an individuals concumption will determine the amount of tax ones pay. Economic Growth Attract foreign direct investments According to Zainal (2007), Malaysia has been engaging in activities that attract foreign direct investments but it is not fast enough. Koong (2010) reported that proposed GST in Malaysia would be able to allow for a further reduction in the current corporate and indirect tax rate, thus draw in more foreign direct investment to the country. This is because proposed GST would be able to provide a more broad-based tax collection and revenues. Currently, Malaysias corporate tax rate is relatively high compared to other neighbouring countries (Amin, 2009). This is one important key to achieve high-income developed status by year 2020. The introduction of GST assertively realizes high value added economic paradigm. In addition to this, with effective in reduction in corruption, Malaysias GDP will be improved. According to Datuk Akbar Ali (2010), a study showed that an increase of one point in the Corruption Perception Index (CPI) will attract FDI which is equivalent to 0.5percent of the G DP and pushed up the average income by 4 percent. Boost the growth of SMEs (Small Medium Enterprises) GST is not a progressive income tax and it is flat at the determined rate. Therefore, GST preserve the incentive to work and encourage the growth of small medium enterprises. According to Khoo (2010), in line with the proposed GST, it is also important to consider the broadening of tax allowances to include shopping malls, conventions and office buildings will help in reducing corporations burdens. This is especially for those SMEs which incurred high costs and risks in doing business with limited funds. Tax allowances will be able to allow them grow more quickly. Differences between Sales and Services tax structure and the proposed GST system The current sales and services tax is from 5% to 10% while the proposed GST is 4%. 1. Single versus multiple stage GST is charged on the consumption of goods and services at every stage of the supply chain while the current sales tax and service tax is levied at only one stage of the supply chain. 2. Goods and services subject to tax Both GST and Sales Tax operate on a negative concept all goods and services are subject to GST unless specifically exempted. Service tax, on the other hand, operates on a positive concept where only services that are specifically prescribed are taxable. The wider tax base of GST provides more revenue for government and simplifies the task of identifying taxable services under the service tax system. 3. Tax payment and accounting periods In existing structure, sales tax becomes due and payable when there is a sale. On the other hand, service tax is only due when payment is received, and where payment is not received, the tax is accounted for at the end of the 12-month period from the date of invoice issued. Time of supply determines when one should account for GST in the GST returns. The approach used by many countries when adopting GST is that a supply is considered to have taken place at the earliest of the following three events: the time an invoice is issued; or the time any payment is received by the supplier; or the time a taxable supply is made. The GST concept of time of supply is therefore generally wider and there will potentially be changes to the enterprises cash flows under the new tax. 4. Imported services and intangibles Presently, imported services are not subject to service tax. In many GST regimes, imported services are subject to GST through the concept of a reverse charge whereby a supply received from overseas is treated as being made by the recipient of the service rather than by the provider of the service overseas. The recipient of the supply is responsible for the output GST on the imported services. 5. Group registration Company can file consolidated GST returns via group registration to reduce their GST administration costs, where supplies made within a group would be disregarded for GST purposes. This resulted in better cash flow management for the group if goods and services are regularly supplied between group companies. On the other hand, the existing tax structures do not allow consolidated tax filings. In service tax, group relief is available for certain professional services when provided to companies within the same group and subject to certain limitations. The negative impacts of the proposed GST system to business entities and people Timing Problem The present climate of the Malaysian economy is not conducive for the implementation of new tax system. The impact will be contractionary as GDP drop 139% in 2010 compared to 2005 while inflation has been increasing from 2% in 2008 to 5.4% in 2009 due to increases of prices of major inputs like oil prices (CIA World Factbook). Negative impacts to people Currently only 1.8 million individuals from total of 12 million in the workforce paid tax for their salary, but with GST, the entire workforce will be required to pay tax (Malaysian Digest.com, 2010). People earning below average salary will be forced to spend extra annual expenditure in the midst of inflation due to the regressive nature of GST. It is predicted that a slight increase in the prices of goods and services is unavoidable. Although the GST will probably be 4%, the scope of goods and services affected by GST will be very much wider. Moreover, inefficient price control by government results in price hike by unscrupulous traders. This phenomenon is shown in the multiple-fold escalation in prices in almost all products as a result of slight increase in oil prices. Negative impacts to business Economy of Collection indirect and direct compliance cost: GST imposes additional compliance costs for businesses to have additional work to account for the tax, tracking of the input taxes paid, undertaking reconciliations and filings of GST returns (Zaid,2010). In addition, where a business has short credit periods from its suppliers, business need extra finances to purchase supplies when GST is first introduced, result in cash flow burden. Therefore GST is less effective according to Adam Smiths cannon of effective tax system in relation to economy of collection. Neutrality Altered consumer behaviour: One of G.W. Normans qualities of taxation depends on non-interference, i.e. a tax should not impact on the price or volume of commodities traded. Norman argued that value added tax are interferent, as they create imperfections in the market for goods, and in particular for preferences between imported and domestic produce. 90% of Malaysian is not in taxed category and this group of people have to pay taxes for their daily consumption if GST is implemented, which will dampen their spending mood. This would affect SMEs who depend on this group of customer base. Higher bank charges for credit card transactions as a result of GST implementation will raise prices in certain products, adversely affecting SMEs. Experiences in other countries have shown that customers generally go on a shopping spree shortly before the introduction of the tax, followed by a period of relative inactivity after the tax is introduced. Companies may seek extra financing to build up stock to cater for a pre-GST rush. However stock in hand may not be entitled to any input tax credit. Cash Flow issues: GST will hit the cash flow of SMEs, especially businesses with significant funds tied up in unpaid invoices. Businesses need to meet their immediate liabilities to suppliers, staff and the IRA, particularly around tax time. Some businesses were forced to adopt unfavourable ways such as higher deposits or stiffer terms of trade which make small businesses less competitive (Zaid,2010). This condition worsens if tax refund mechanism is not efficient. To register or not to register: Business not subject to the GST would not be entitled to claim the input tax credits on purchases. In a situation where the customers of the business are other GST registered businesses, the supplier may be obligated to license itself as it is likely that the customer would insist on buying from another registered person to enable him to claim the input tax credit (Zaid,2010). Consequently, these SMEs will have to charge higher prices to the customers, eroding their price competitiveness (Zaid,2010). A Supply-Demand Analysis of a GST-Taxed Market Deadweight loss happens if the income lost by the economy is greater than the governments income; the tax is inefficient. While distortions occur, GST are often considered superior because they distort incentives to invest, save and work less than most other types of taxation in other words, a GST discourages consumption rather than production (Zaid,2010). Hurdles to implement GST faced by government Government need to balance the conflict between simplicity and to cater for social needs. However, the more social needs are catered for, the more complex the tax becomes and the more costly it is for the Government to administer and for businesses to comply with it (Trade Chakra, 2010). Informal economy Emran and Stiglitz (2005) argue that VAT is likely to reduce rather than improve social welfare because informal economy like agriculture sector and unregistered business are able to escape commodity tax coverage dominates DTE (Developing and Transitional Economies). According to World Bank, informal economy constitutes 31% of Malaysian economy, almost double the percentage in other Asian countries such as Vietnam (15.6%) and Singapore (13%). The producers of close substitute of the formal VAT-liable commodity will get high profit without bearing tax while formal sector producer may get lower profit and bearing tax. As a result, resources will be channelled more into informal economy, causing inefficiency in resource allocation. Thus the potential tax base is rather narrow which reduce the growth and development. Therefore, achieving equity as proposed by Adam Smith in order to have an effective tax system is difficult through the implementation of VAT in a country that has significa nt informal sector. Lack of transparency PricewaterhouseCoopers Taxation Services Sdn Bhd senior executive director Wan Heng Choon said the lack of transparency bred uncertainty among the business community. The industry guides that will provide guidance of how the GST law will affect various industry sectors have not provided the certainty that was promised. Cost BN government aims to gain RM1 billion through GST, but within the implementation process, a sum of RM222 million has been allocated as initial cost to ensure the smooth and effective implementation of GST system in Malaysia. The allocation will cover the cost of developing the GST computerisation system at RM139 million and the additional operations cost of RM83 million for the agency implementing the system, Malaysian Customs Department. The maintenance cost each year is estimated at RM8.5 million (Office of the Prime Minister, 2010). Rate of tax and exemption The government should carefully choose the most suitable tax rate so that the tax will not burden the poor. If the government offers lower tax rate on necessities with the intention to help the poor, in fact this will benefit the rich more because they will spend relatively less of their income. But high rate in luxury goods trigger the intention to lower tax liability either legally or illegally. Choosing the most suitable tax rate and determine the goods that should exempt are not easy for government and may take long time. Fraud Because exports are generally zero-rated, this is often where GST fraud occurs. In Europe, the main source of problems is called carousel fraud. Large quantities of valuable goods (often microchips or mobile phones) are transported from one member state to another. During these transactions, some companies owe GST, others acquire a right to reclaim GST. The first companies, called missing traders go bankrupt without paying. The second group of companies can pump money straight out of the national treasuries. Reasons of initial failure in GST implementation in two countries example Value Added Tax (VAT) works better than other general sales tax in many of the developed and developing countries. This does not mean that VAT always works well. There are many different reasons for the above conclusion, however only two main issues will be highlighted in the following examples. They are problems with VAT design which were left behind by the policy process and how VAT plays its roles particularly in the low-income countries. Is the country capable enough to administer VAT? The case study below will discuss the problems faced by Ukraine when implementing VAT. A case study in Ukraine Like many other developing countries, VAT has been the workhorse in generating revenue in Ukraine. The way of VAT works will determine the performance of Ukraines entire fiscal system. However, table below shows that Ukraines VAT was in trouble since the tax fully came into effect in late 1990s. The collection inefficiency of VAT lead to the decrease in revenue with respect to the countrys GDP, thus widen the gap between actual revenue and potential revenue (Bird, 2005). In general, as GDP grows, VAT yield should also rises, with at least at the same rate as GDP. However, when Ukraines real GDP rose by 49% from 1998 to 2004, the VAT to GDP ratio was decreased by 33%. Moreover, the increasing dependence of VAT on imports caused the collection of VAT on domestic consumption fell markedly by 4.3% to 1.4% of GDP in 2004 (Bird and Gendron, 2006). It is very clear that VAT system in Ukraine is less efficient in generating revenue for the government. According to Bird and Gendron (2006), the decline in VAT to GDP ratio before 2002 could be explained by the ineffectiveness in the Ukraines tax administration, for example the erosion of tax base in the form of increased exemptions which started immediately once the VAT was introduced. There were just too many exemptions in the VAT. For example, many food processing were taxed at a special rate while later on were allowed to claim the refund. The VAT system later became more complicated as it seemed to give ways for possible evasions and corruptions. However, there was no base changes occurred during 2003-2004 that could possibly explain the decline. There were many Ukraine taxpayers tend to evade when they were trapped within the VAT system. They could possibly hide in the hidden economy. Meanwhile, the VAT evasion, hidden economy size and corruption in Ukraine are closely related. Recently, there was a study found that there was a positive correlation between evasion level and Transparency International (TI) index of perception of corruption (Bird, 2005). Additionally, the evasion in Ukraine was twice the corruption index, which was about 38%. This not only reflects the weak administration but also weak management in structural problems such as the prevalence of underground economy. For example, just two years after the introduction of GST, there were over 83% of the Ukraine VAT registrants filing tax returns annually. In addition, there were also problems with tax administration that related to the application of VAT at the border. A country like Ukraine which is unable to apply VAT on imports properly is said to be facing higher level of difficulties in applying the system to domestic economy. Most of the time, the initial legislation of VAT was closely related to standard international model with participation of international experts. It may look simple at the initial stage, however, as time goes; many countries found that VAT tends to become much complex and difficult to manage. The case study below will discuss the problems faced by Pakistan when implementing VAT. A case study in Pakistan In 1990, Pakistan introduced the GST for the country to replace its Sales Tax Act. As a developing country, Pakistan decided to take the initiative and move a big step forward to introduce GST as GST was said to have futuristic dimensions and political recognition. However, several issues were addressed in relation to the introduction of GST, which remain part of continuously reform process. Undeniably, the introduction of GST in the country has brought about significant improvement in the revenue collection (as shown in the table below). Despite the good performance in revenue collection, there were several shortcomings that were addressed. Multiple Tax Rates In 1992, Pakistan introduced VAT at the rate of 12.5%. In 1995, the rate was then raised to 18% in order reduce the budget deficit by meeting the need for extra revenue. However, there was great pressure from taxpayers in 1998, thus the rate was again reduced to 15%. While on the other hand, industrial raw materials were imposed with a higher rate of 20% (Shahid, n.d.). Moreover, in 1999, a penalty system was established in which a 3% tax was imposed on the supplies made by the registered body to unregistered body. Nevertheless, all these decisions have made the VAT system much complicated with multiple tax rates and create many difficulties for the tax administrative. Additionally, cost of compliance has also increased respectively for the taxpayers (Ehtisham, 2010). The rate was then stabilized at 15% in 2004 (Shahid, n.d.). Registration When GST was first introduced in Pakistan, taxpayers were all required to submit a large amount of documents needed for VAT registration purposes. This then cause unnecessary delays during the physical verification process by the VAT staff as there were just too many documents (Ehtisham, 2010). However, a centralized Registration system was introduced in July 2004 in which it utilized Risk Based Registration Module to handle the paper based registration problems (Shahid, n.d.). Tax Compliance Low tax compliance in Pakistan is another issue that has to be looked into. There were only about half of the tax registrants file their monthly returns. This is mainly due to the negative relationship between the tax administration and tax registrants as mentioned earlier under the registration section (Ehtisham, 2010). The facilitation strategy was then designed and the taxpayers were educated on the related strategy in order to overcome the problem. Adjudication There were numbers of adjudication after the introduction of GST in Pakistan due to unaffordable rate. There was a markedly increase in the number of appeals when the appellate foras were introduced (Shahid, n.d.).. The costs involved were time and revenues. The cost of doing business for taxpayers has been significantly increased due to the involvement in the settlement of the cases. The issue has been addressed and discussed for a couple of years before any action was taken. According to Shahid (n.d.), tax administration finally came up with Alternate Dispute Resolution (ADR) mechanism in which consists of an independent judicial committee to deal with the cases. Conclusion The main purpose for introducing GST is to make the current taxation system more comprehensive, efficient, effective, transparent and business friendly. GST is expected to increase government income and dependence on oil revenues is hoped to be lessen. Besides, GST is aimed to reduce public administration deficit which hit a more than 20-year high of 7.4 per cent of gross domestic product in 2009 (Zaid). Additional RM1bil in revenue will be received for the first year, while the business sector would save RM4.1bil and export sectors would save RM1.4bil (Zaid). The potential negative impact of the proposed GST system is the problem of price hike as a result of inefficient price control by government. GST also imposes additional compliance costs for businesses to have additional work to track input taxes paid, and undertaking reconciliations and filings of GST returns. Malaysians who are not in taxed category have to start paying taxes for their daily consumption, which will dampen their spending mood. As a developing country, it is important for Malaysia to review its fiscal policy continuously. To enhance the competitiveness in the international market, Malaysia must always prepare itself for any possible economic uncertainties. Malaysian government should always make sure sufficient revenues are raised for the country with minimum impacts on its people and resources, while at the same time improve the living standards of the poors. Moreover, government should always seek for ways to lower poverty level in the country, thus a more equitable society can be achieved. In conclusion, Malaysia govenrment and the people in the country have not get themselves ready for the tax reform. There should be continuously review of the policy and the tax reform should only be implemented once the impacts on the country and people is minimized.

Teens and Sex - Teen Pregnancy :: Exploratory Essays Research Papers

Teen Pregnancy Before we venture into the controversial aspects of teen pregnancy, I think that it is imortant to answer a vital question brought up by one of our classmates. This question addresses how teen pregnancy has evolved and how times have changed to bring upon such a serious issue. To begin answering this question we must take a look back in time to the roles of women and men in our society. Teen pregnancy is not just a rare virus that has recently sprung up and will someday dissapear due to some type of cure. Adolescent pregnancy has plagued our country for over three centuries, but it is only more recently that we have noticed its growth and severe impact on many aspects of society. The social change that lead to this visibility is not only based on a change in sexual behaviors, but it also is based on a change in the nature of adolescence. These changes begin with the decling of the average age of menarche. The average age for menarche in girls ten years ago was 14.2; this age has dropped by two years since then. The average age for menarche today is 12.2. This statistic suggests that since girls are capable of having children at younger ages they are also more apt to have sex at a younger age. The social changes that effect these statistics deal with the raising of the average age of marriage, standard attitudes towards marriage as a sacred institution, and economic shifts which have led to a need for longer educational careers. These changes have produced pockets of urban poverty where education is often not valued or taken seriously. Unfortunatly, the need for higher education is reflected in the fact that only at levels after high school has enrollment increased in recent years, and only in the late teens are whites more likely than blacks to enroll in an educational institution. Due to the demands of the economy many young people are dependent on their parents for a longer peroid of time which has left some groups without access to the economic options that allow them to prepare for the future. Â   Some of the reasons for the increased age in marriage stem from the changing roles of women in our society. Women are now more than ever participating in a mans work world, and dealing with such problems as maintaining their homes, the cost of childrearing, and the importance of an education.

The Role of Literature in Cultural and Society Development

Jibran Khalil Jibran once said, â€Å"All our words are but crumbs that fall down from the feast of the mind. † It is in everyone, it’s locked away, hidden and for the gifted, it comes out to give us the very languages we are using today. Literature, like music and film and theatre, is an art. As a matter of fact the purest form of art. Life, for many if not all, in scales that vary is pretty much the same journey measured by experiences, fortune, luck and love. We cannot all express them in a poetic or artistic manner but we all experience them nonetheless. Most of us go through this wicked and unmerciful thing called life without ever being able to express those fortunate moments and hardships to others and more importantly to ourselves. We have reached an age where generations no longer pay mind to literature in a direct and hands on way. The new generation, including myself, doesn’t explore the poet within, as cliche as this may sound. Speeches from our presidents and world leaders don’t sound like they were fabricated from something real. They were written by politicians and campaign specialists whose aim is to shock and awe, but sadly with facts and numbers, not with the humane and sentimental approach for which speeches and words were meant. The role of literature in society is to help enhance our way of thinking and perceiving our surroundings. It heightens our level of expression and speaking. You simply become that much more articulate and creative! Almost every book or novel that we read results in a push to our perception of life. In Milton Albrecht's â€Å"The Relationship of Literature and Society†, he adequately states that literature â€Å"reflects† society; its supposed converse is that literature influences or â€Å"shapes† society. On a daily basis we come across some kind of literary event. Something you could write a poem about, maybe even a book. More often than not they are overlooked, but it’s the creative minds that will always seize these moments and grant us the literature that will always help us relate. We live in a world where we desperately need a lifeline or a beacon that will always remind us that we are not robots or corporate machines. We live in a world where people want to escape their daily responsibilities and commitments to something more heartfelt. We live in a world where we absolutely and undeniably need literature! While it is physically written in words, these words come alive in the imagination of the mind, and its ability to comprehend the complexity or simplicity of the text. Literature enables people to see through the lenses of others, and sometimes even inanimate objects; therefore, it becomes a looking glass into the world as others view it. Like Thomas Edison came up with electricity, like Alexander Graham Bell gave us the telephone and like Mark Zuckerberg invented FACEBOOK, literature perhaps started with man discovering his ability to create. When this happened he realized that he could not only express his emotions in writing but in the process deliver messages of import to society carefully hidden in beautiful and crafted words. He decided that he could play with words to entertain and captivate people who would read them. In the olden days distance was of course a problem and so maintaining a history of world literature was impossible. People in different parts of the world, using different languages and writing in different periods of time tackled literature differently. This has left us with books and creations that enrich our society and our heritage as a race. Even the most voracious reader can never hope to read all the books out there. There must be a reason for that, shouldn’t there? I mean many customs and cultures have withered over the centuries, many habits and arts have withdrawn into the abyss. But not literature! Literature inspires whole nations to rebel and change. This is the power of literature. It shapes, it moulds and in the process entertains. It helps us learn about human nature in all its foibles and greatness; it lets us learn about the human past and our own pasts, and about other cultures. When we discover literature we can travel to any place at any time, even to the future, and see how others view the same world. It helps people get an in-depth view of life in someone else’s shoes, whether it’s the writer’s or someone else’s, may it be fiction or based on real life experiences. Whatever the case may be, reading a book, for instance, can put you in a totally different world, so foreign to you that you are bound to learn something from. Reading, in my opinion, affects you on a much more personal level than watching a movie, therefore, after reading a book or any other piece of literature, the reader gains something which in turn he or she will inevitably bring into society whether it is a point-of-view, a new outlook or simply added knowledge or information. That person will carry what he/she learned on with them for years to come or probably forever and will most likely pass it on to other people and they in time will also pass n that newly acquired â€Å"crumb† of knowledge, causing a chain reaction of knowledge, if you will. After all, knowledge is one of the very few things that can never be taken away from you, and once anything is learned it inexorably triggers a change in that person, small or big, good or bad, that change will unavoidably occur and be brought with that person into society affecting how he or she would choose to converse with and/or treat others, how they would react to and handle cert ain situations and possibly the basis of their decision-making. All of these things, in one way or another will most definitely have an impact on society as a whole and on its individual units. Literature and writing, though obviously connected, are not synonymous. Several pieces of literature that left a mark on our culture and society were passed down through oral tradition before they were ever fixed in written form. Take Homer’s Iliad and Odyssey that was dated all the way back to the late Bronze Age and handed down through different cultures by oral tradition before ever taking a written form. Regardless of the form that literature may take, whether it’s in form of a novel or poem, movie or music, or just a simple oral form, it is undeniable that it bares several advantages for the person that actually takes the time to understand and appreciate it and eventually share it with others. You know? I may not be the most suitable person to be giving this speech or preaching about the importance of literature. I may not have experienced the true hardships and joys of life. But one thing I believe is that no matter when I express this importance, be it today or in 50 years after life has taken its toll on me, it will always be true. Novels, books, words and literature are here to forever and always shake the very foundation of our world. To shake us, rattle us in hopes that those crumbs that Jibran spoke of would fall into a page and form future cultures and societies to come. People nowadays, including myself sometimes, can be so apathetic and indifferent to our society and its people and oblivious to the fact that literature and education in general is a tool that can change that apathy and help shape us to become more well-rounded individuals that are somewhat free of the ignorance that can so easily destroy us without us even knowing it. The sad but apparent truth is that people these days don’t give reading and literature their just significance, most people probably never will, maybe it’s because of all the available distractions such as social networking and he like. The only solution for this problem is for previous generations to enlighten this generation on the importance of literature and how it can affect our society instead of constantly criticizing it. In the end, the people that criticize our generation forget who raised it, but that’s a different issue for a different time. I cannot be emphatic enough when stressing the importance of literature and reading and the rewards they so inconspicuously possess. After all, the famous author Mark Twain once said, â€Å"The man who does not read books has no advantage over the man that cannot read them. †

Sociology Ch Notes

Are a Result of the collection and analysis of data from a variety of sources such as: Interviews Observations Surveys They are models that allow us to generalize and make predictions Students Need To Be Objective When Studying Sociology Do not be subjective We all have a belief system that can be a problem when studying sociology Remove the â€Å"I† Social Control = the social mechanisms that regulate people's actions – Studied through 3 paradigms: Functionalism Conflict Theory Symbolic Interactions A paradigm is a theoretical framework through which scientists study the world.Founders of the Discipline of Sociology Functionalists: Augusta Comet (1798-1859) – Wanted to build better societies Recognized 2 equal yet opposing forces in society: Social Static (Tries to keep things the same) & Social Dynamics (force for change & conflict) Founders Continued:- Herbert Spencer-social Darwinism Emilee Druthers (1858-1917) First social researcher to carry out an Investig ation using a large scale collection of data & wanted sociology to be more scientific Ideas and values are the driving force structure could influence human behavior Social Solidarity = The bonds that unite society – Shared beliefs These are important for society to operate harmoniously Collective Conscience = A group's common values, goals, outlook, interpretation of events & identical ways of thinking in smaller societies Solidarity = how connected people feel to others in the environment Mechanical Solidarity = Pre-longitudinal Organic Solidarity = Social ties based upon a functional interdependence of the members of society (we are all dependent upon other, people we do not even know, for our everyday necessities) This is less personal than with mechanical solidarity hen everyone knew each other, what to do, how to behave, and their place in the scheme of things. A lack of solidarity can lead to Egoistic Suicide -few social connections and isolation Alarmists Suicide â₠¬â€œ Exceptionally high level of solidarity places the soup's interests as superior to the individual's. Fatalistic = Too much social control and Anomic = rapid change, usually economic. Division of Labor = A unifying force Tailcoat Parsons – One of the most influential Functionalists Robert Morton – – Manifest Consequences = the intended consequences of an action, LatentConsequence = unintended consequence of an action, & Dysfunctional Consequence = when an action weakens social bonds (a negative societal effect) Conflict Theorists: Karl Marx (1818-1883) – Extreme influence on world politics Focused upon discord and exploitation in society Social change, social institutions and social values are dictated by economic forces Bourgeoisie- Owners of the means of production Proletariat – Sold their labor Capitalism- Bourgeoisie seek to maximize profits & exploit workers Alienation – Workers removed from creativity and achievement, leads to despa ir False Consciousness Historical Materialism Harriet Martinets (1802-1876) – Little recognized – Focused upon Industrialization & Capitalism, class, race & gender inequalities W. E. B. Du Bois (1868-1063) – First African American to receive Ph. D. From Harvard. Studied dual heritage & advocated the eradication of prejudice and discrimination Jane Adams (1860-1935) – Hull House – Poverty results from ignorance and structural barriers, not from failings in the morality of a person. John Bellary Foster – The negative effects of capitalism on society and the planet as a whole. C.Wright Mills – Social Conflict (Marxist) Sociological Imagination† = A way of thinking that gives you an understanding of the societal forces that shape your life- how society influences the outcome George Herbert Mead (186-1931)- Founder of Symbolic Internationalism, interested in colonization George Simmer (1858-1918) Interaction amongst people is influen ced by size of group Herbert Blamer – Human beings behave toward things on the basis of the meanings they ascribe to those things – Contagion = a rapid, irrational mode in which people don't think rationally or clearly = in a group setting. People ‘lose their heads' and react eke acting Howard Becker – Labeling Theory – Human action is related to the labels attached to it. A label is attached to a certain behavior when a group with powerful social status labels it deviant. Deviance is rooted in the reactions and responses of others to an individual's acts. Max Weber (1864-1920) Began as Karl Marx, social class influences our outcomes, but thought that Mar's two class system was too simple. Wealth is important, but so are political power and social status.Discussed the emerging Bureaucracies and Rationality . The Protestant Ethic led to or influenced the rise in Capitalism. The accumulation of wealth is a sign of God's favor. Stressed that the study of sociology should be value free with no personal bias Emerging Paradigms Feminist Theory Gendered and interdisciplinary Exchange Theory Our social experiences consist of a series of rewards and costs. People want to maximize their rewards and minimize their costs which leads to their choice of social action Environmental Theory How do societies adjust to ecological changes (Beasts of The Southern Wild movie). Humans are Just one type of organism sharing the ecological space with animals.

Anthropomorphism and Animal Rights

Anthropomorphism and Animal Rights So you’ve just arrived home to find your couch shredded, the cupboard ransacked and your cat’s dinner dish lying empty in your bedroom. Your dog, you note with certainty, has a â€Å"guilty look on his face because he knows hes done something wrong. This is a perfect example of anthropomorphism. Dictionary.Com defines anthropomorphism as â€Å"ascribing human form or attributes to a being †¦.not human.† Most people who live with dogs know their dogs so well that any nuance of a change in the dogs facade is quickly recognized and labeled. But really, if we dont use the word guilty, how else would we describe that look? Some dog trainers dismiss these claims of guilty looks on a dog as nothing more than conditioned behavior.The dog only looks that way because he remembers the way you reacted the last time you came home to a similar scene. Hes not looking guilty, but rather he knows you  will react badly and its this expectation of punishment that causes the look on his face. Animal rights activists are dismissed as being anthropomorphic when we claim that animals feel emotions much like humans do. It’s an easy way for people who want to profit off the suffering of animals to dismiss their own evil behavior. It’s OK to say an animal is breathing, no one will charge us with anthropomorphism because no one doubts that animals breathe. But if we say the animal is happy, sad, depressed, grieving, in mourning or afraid, we’re dismissed as being anthropomorphic. In dismissing claims that animals emote, those who want to exploit them rationalize their actions. Anthropomorphism v. Personification Personification is the giving of human-like qualities to an inanimate object, while anthropomorphism usually applies to animals and deities. More importantly, personification is considered a  valuable literary device, with positive connotations. Anthropomorphism has negative connotations and is usually used to describe an inaccurate view of the world, prompting PsychCentral.com to ask, Why Do We Anthropomorphize? In other words, its OK for Sylvia Plath to give voice to a mirror and a lake, giving inanimate objects human-like qualities in order to entertain and move her audience, but its not OK for animal rights activists to say that a dog in a laboratory is suffering for the purpose of changing the way the dog is treated. Do Animal Rights Activists Anthropomorphize? When an animal rights activist says that an elephant suffers and feels pain when hit with a bullhook; or a mouse suffers from being blinded with hairspray, and chickens feel  pain when their feet develop sores from standing on the wire floor of a battery cage; that is not anthropomorphism. Since these animals have a central nervous system much like ours, it’s not much of a leap to deduce that their pain receptors work much like ours. Non-human animals may not have the exact same experience as humans, but identical thoughts or feelings are not required for moral consideration. Furthermore, not all humans have emotions in the same way - some are sensitive, insensitive, or overly sensitive - yet all are entitled to the same basic human rights. Accusations of Anthropomorphism Animal rights  activists are accused of anthropomorphism when we talk about animals suffering or having emotions, even though, through studies and observation, biologists agree that animals can feel emotions. In July, 2016, National Geographic published an article entitled â€Å"Look Into This Dolphin’s Eyes and Tell Me That’s Not Grief! by Maddalena Bearzi for the Ocean Conservation Society’s â€Å"Ocean News.† Bearzi writes of her experience on June 9, 2016 while she was working on a research boat with a team of Marine Biology students from Texas AM University. Leading the team was Dr. Bernd Wursig, a well-respected cetologist and head of the Texas AM Marine Biology Group. The team came upon a dolphin who was keeping vigil with a dead dolphin, presumably a pod-mate. The dolphin was circling the corpse, moving it up and down and from side to side,  clearly grieving. Dr. Wursig noted â€Å"For a pelagic creature like this is so highly unusual (to be alone with a dead one, and away from its group)†¦because they are scared to be alone†¦ they are just not lone creatures and the animal was obviously suffering.† The team described the scene with much sadness as it was obvious the dolphin knew his friend was dead but refused to accept that fact. Dr. Wursig cannot be easily dismissed as a sentimental animal rights activist  who anthropomorphizes animals carelessly. His report clearly described the dolphin as being in mourning†¦..a very human condition. Though this particular dolphin was holding vigil over a dead animal, many non-human animals have been observed helping  others of their species in need, a behavior scientists call epimeletic. If they cant care, why do they do it? Animal activists are calling people out who hurt animals, and their use of anthropomorphism is justified when  seeking justice and social change. Change can be scary and difficult, so people consciously or subconsciously seek ways to resist change. Rejecting the fact that animals suffer and have emotions can make it easier for people to continue exploiting animals without worrying about the ethical implications. One way of rejecting that fact is to call it anthropomorphism even though it is the result of direct scientific evidence. There may be some who truly do not believe that animals are capable of suffering or emotions, as French philosopher/mathematician  Rene Descartes  claimed he did, but Descartes  was himself a vivisector  and had reason to deny the obvious. Current scientific information contradicts Descartes 17th century view. Biology and research into the sentience of non-human animals has come a long way since Descartes time, and will continue to evolve as we learn more about the non-human animals with whom we share this planet.   Edited by  Michelle A. Rivera.

Creation Vs Evolution Essays - Evolutionary Biology, Free Essays

Creation Vs Evolution Essays - Evolutionary Biology, Free Essays Creation Vs Evolution There are many different life forms on earth. New species and different sub species are evolving every second as others die out. In order to explain the origin of life, people have used the bible story of creation, while others came up with their own theories. Out of all those theories, the theory of evolution by Charles Darwin seems to have the most supporting evidence to back it up. Evidence on earth suggests that single cell creatures are the ancestors of all life. These organisms slowly evolved into air breathing creatures when oxygen was created. Slowly, the as land dried up, these creatures moved away from the water and on to land where they evolved legs and a strong back bone. The theory of evolution by Charles Darwin explained how life evolved from survival of the fittest, it provides a logical explanation of the evolutionary process these creatures took, and how human came to be. Evidence on earth shows that single cell organisms eventually evolved to multicelled organisms and complex beings. If you look at old fossil records, the oldest fossils are all single cell creatures. These simple creatures do not require oxygen to live. It took in energy from the sun and other energy sources. Slowly as oxygen begins to appear on Earth, some of the organisms began to evolve lungs to breathe oxygen because When free oxygen entered the picture. Breathing is more efficient than drawing energy from the fermentation process that earlier microscope life used. (Science: Biology Pg. 36) Other organisms that did not evolve lungs either died out or went down to deeper depths of the ocean; Oxygen was first consider a pollutant by microscopic creatures. (Evolution Pg. 36) Because of the free Oxygen those who did not change were killed. The evolution through natural selection and survival of the fittest shows that Darwin theory is correct. Due to the lack of oxygen within the ocean , fish slowly evolved to the condition of land. Due to the sudden increase in the population of fish and other marine organism. Due to the sudden increase in the population of marines life, the oxygen level within the ocean decreased. Scientist believe that the lung fish evolved because of a lack of oxygen in the sea. The lung fish learned to rise from the sea and breathe in the oxygen necessary for survival. (Evolution evidence Pg. 38) As more land emerges and dry, rain collected and formed fresh water lakes and rivers. Some of the fish became stranded by the receding ocean. Many fish that became stranded died because they were not able to adapt to the new environment; those fish needed salt water to lived died. But some adapted to their environment. (Evolution Pg. 38) The lobe fin fish was another evolutionary path fish toke to avoid the lack of oxygen in the sea. Fossil record shows that lobe finned lung fish took another evolutionary pat h. (Microsoft Encarta Pg. 2) The lobe fin fish was almost capable of leaving the water. It only needed more muscles in the joints to be able to lift it self up, because of this many people believe that the lobe fin fish was the ancestor of early reptilian creatures. The different evolutionary paths the fish have taken shows that life changes in responses to different environmental conditions. Fossil records in South America, reveals that there are many sub species of the human race. The fossil of Neanderthal man was discover shortly after Darwin published his book on evolution.. The Neanderthal man was consider to be an ancestor of mankind because of the size of the skull which suggested that it had a small brain. The sloping forehead is also an indication that it is a ancestor of the human race. Not long after the discovery of the Neanderthal was found in the 1890's. This fossil was called the Java Man, the Java Man was not consider the missing link between humans and apes. (Evolution Pg. 102) The Java Man was too alike a normal human to be the missing link. The missing link is a fossil of a creature that is in a transitional state between it original form and it

Profile of the Prehistoric Archelon

Profile of the Prehistoric Archelon Name: Archelon (Greek for ruling turtle); pronounced ARE-kell-on Habitat: Oceans of North America Historical Period: Late Cretaceous (75-65 million years ago) Size and Weight: About 12 feet long and two tons Diet: Squids and jellyfish Distinguishing Characteristics: Leathery shell; wide, paddlelike legs About Archelon Dinosaurs werent the only animals that grew to immense sizes during the late Cretaceous period. At a whopping 12 feet long and two tons, Archelon was the one of the largest prehistoric turtles that ever lived (it used to be on top of the charts, until the discovery of the truly stupendous Stupendemys of South America), about the size (and shape, and weight) of a classic Volkswagen Beetle. By comparison with this North American behemoth, the largest Galapagos tortoises alive today weigh a little over a quarter of a ton and measure about four feet long! (The closest living relative of Archelon, the Leatherback, comes much closer in size, some adults of this seagoing turtle weighing close to 1,000 pounds.) Archelon differed significantly from modern turtles in two ways. First, its shell wasnt hard, but leathery in texture, and supported by an elaborate skeletal framework underneath; and second, this turtle possessed unusually wide, flipper-like arms and legs, with which it propelled itself through the shallow Western Interior Sea that covered much of North America about 75 million years ago.  Like modern turtles, Archelon had a human-like life span as well as a nasty bite, which would have come in handy when tussling with the giant squids that constituted the bulk of its diet. One specimen on display in Vienna is thought to have lived for over 100 years, and probably would have survived much longer if it hadnt asphyxiated on the sea floor. Why did Archelon grow to such an enormous size? Well, at the time this prehistoric turtle lived, the Western Interior Sea was well-stocked with the vicious marine reptiles known as mosasaurs (a good example being the contemporary Tylosaurus), some of which measured over 20 feet long and weighed four or five tons. Clearly, a speedy, two-ton marine turtle would have been a less appetizing prospect to hungry predators than smaller, more pliable fish and squids, though its not inconceivable that Archelon occasionally found itself on the wrong side of the food chain (if not by a hungry mosasaur, then perhaps by a plus-sized prehistoric shark like Cretoxyrhina).

What are the strategies of Apple Incorporated Essay

What are the strategies of Apple Incorporated - Essay Example Center of discussion in this paper is Apple as a very unique company because it dominated a market segment which is not its core business. Apple was launched in 1976 in a garage with Steve Wozniak and was able to revolutionize the computing industry with the introduction of its product line Macintosh (Mac) that â€Å"dramatically changed personal computing through its user-friendly graphical user interface (GUI), which allowed users to interact with screen images rather than merely typing text commands†. Apple’s success is not solely attributed to the creativity and functionality of its product line but also to its pricing strategy which has been a big change from the 1990s when consumers regarded Apple as a producer of overpriced tech baubles that cannot effectively compete against the far cheaper Windows PCs. This change was a result of a succesful implementation of its value chain activities that has significantly lowered its price. It became very pronounced with the launching of Ipad which price was far lower than what they expected. Its introductory price last year of $499 stunned everyone, which led John Gallaugher, an associate professor of information systems at Boston College to comment â€Å"It was a very competitively priced device†. The same is true in the notebook product line. When Macbook Air was introduced in 2008, it was priced at an exorbitant $1,799. This became possible by the briliant management of Apple’s supply chain due to capitalizing its organizational capability of having huge cash reserves. It made its supply chain a strategic weapon to lower price in order to capture the market. It tapped into its huge war chest of $82 billion in cash and marketable securities to lock up supplies of parts for years to enable it push down cost by the scale of its purchase (Wingfield, 2011). It also bought manufacturing capacity ahead of its time and made its components scarce that, in turn, made its competitors scrambling for any parts that are left and drove the cost of its products up while Apple had lowered its own (Wingfield, 2011). To date, Apple has been recorded as the biggest buyer of flash memory chips in the world according to the research firm iSuppli (Wingfield, 2011). The effect of using value chain management as a strategic weapon proved to be a nemesis among its competitors. When this effective value chain management was reflected in retail prices, competitors had to slash their prices where Motorola’s Xoom tablet was pushed to lower its price at $379 at Best Buy (for a limited time) and virtually won the competition with Hewlett-Packard’s TouchPad line of tablets which were pushed to be sold at $99 to clean the inventories. III. What is the core of Apple from a product point of view? The core product of Apple was its desktop computer Macintosh. Its main revenue source however comes from its other product line such as Ipad, Iphone and Ipod. IV. Are all products and servic es equal to Apple? If not what are the key pieces? Use your entire toolkit, especially the financials, to support your decision.   Apple Incorporated made itself distinct by making its hardware and software work in synergy that enabled its products and services unequalled by its competitors. The best example that we can show for this is the synergy that its operating system iOS5 that provide synergy among the different product lines of Apple. It powers the iPad, iPod and iPod touch which allows the three products to interact and complement each other. Its new computer operating system Lion also has an Air-drop feature that has made sharing of information between Mac computers very convenient. Air-drops peer

Research Paper for Funny Fiction course Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Research Paper for Funny Fiction course - Essay Example of the writer for creating such material is to make them laugh not just at the character, but their hilarious, silly and oftentimes unwise behaviours. In a way, works such as Emma, makes a person laugh at oneself, for the actions of the text is a representative of every human’s manners. In this paper we shall argue that the novel is a presentation of a satirical humour that aims to induce laughter in the readers by the portrayal of human actions that the readers are led to believe are our foolishness. We shall see that the laughter the novel sets is based on our knowledge that the actions made by the characters are erroneous. This is possible by making the characters perpetrate repeated actions the inappropriateness of which are realized by the readers as and when the characters themselves realize the same. Our aim in the paper therefore, is to check the deeds, behaviours, attitudes and manners of the characters in the novel that induce laughter to the readers. That laughter is, we shall argue, a criticism of larger human follies that were prevalent in the psyche of the social set-up that existed during the time of Austen. The incongruity theory of humour, the most popular among others, suggests that we laugh at things that are inconsistent with our expectation and when things are strange as against the standard that is considered usual. John Morreall argues that â€Å"we live in an orderly world, where we have come to expect certain patterns among things, their properties, events, etc. We laugh when we experience something that doesn’t fit into these patterns (15-16). He also quotes Pascal to make the concept clearer: â€Å"Nothing produces laughter more than a surprising disproportion between that which one expects and that which one sees (16). It therefore becomes simple to create laughter in people – by creating things, objects, and behaviours that are either unwise or inconsistent with the expected standard. Nothing different seems to be the pattern in

Roles played by Canadian Women in World War II Research Paper

Roles played by Canadian Women in World War II - Research Paper Example During World War II the first stand of the Canadian women was at the home front. Canada went to war in September of 1939. Canadian women mobilized immediately and within a matter of months they set up dozens of unofficial women’s corps all over the country. These groups were organized affairs with members numbering in the thousands. Patriotic Canadian women from across Canada joined these organizations, such as â€Å"Women’s Volunteer Reserve Corps†, â€Å"Canadian Auxiliary Territorial Service†, â€Å"Women’s Voluntary Services Division† and â€Å"National War Services†. Women worked on their own time and expense, enrolling in military related courses such as map reading and Morse-code signaling (Dundas & Durflinger n.d.). The female organizations also organized the drive for recyclable material. Women were responsible for collecting fats, paper, glass, metals, rubber, rags and bone. These materials proved to be invaluable while makin g war supplies. Women also helped by saving old tubes of toothpaste, unusable socks, and other things that may seem useless but were very precious for the war effort. During the Second World War it became common for women and children to frequently visit the junk yards in search for disposed metal and batteries. Those days, Canadian women prided themselves on being able to redo old clothes to make new ones, a second cup of coffee was a luxury and women were working with whatever they had (Sharp 1965). Canadian women were not only â€Å"making it† at home. Despite there being a restriction on women fighting at the frontline, Canadian women found and excelled in jobs that did not involve fighting but were equally important. These women contributed to the war effort by partaking in a wide variety of occupations. Men were being sent off to war and this created severe labor shortages in all areas. To fulfill the vacancies, women aged between 20 years to 24 years were initially acc epted into â€Å"Selective Service† in 1942. These women worked in the service providing and manufacturing sectors. Also, many of these women took on the traditionally masculine jobs in shipyards and munitions industries. Up to 30% of the workforce in Canada’s aircraft industry in the Second World War era comprised of women (CBC News 2006). Many of these industrious Canadian women tell the story of workplace discrimination especially when it came to the remuneration package. Women were paid less than men and sometimes even the subordinate males earned more than their female bosses. The management of these facilities usually denied any request for an increase in pay by saying â€Å"that this was a woman's burden!" (Bruce 1985). Perhaps it was the collective effort of Canadian women at home combined with a severe dearth of manpower that encouraged the government to recruit women volunteers for full-time military service. The first call for women to sign up was very succ essful as more than 45000 women volunteered for many sections of the military nursing. Other than nursing, these women served as mechanics, parachute riggers and heavy mobile equipment drivers. During the Second World War, seventy-one women died working in the Canadian military (CBC News 2006). Canadian women did not let any adversity overcome their drive to fight for the right. Women who wanted to fly in the air force were politely turned down as it was not

MRKT - Real-World Write-ups Article Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

MRKT - Real-World Write-ups - Article Example 2). The trend in fashion was exemplified by Liberty, a UK based retailer of clothes, in terms of organizing groups of clientele who endeavor to learn on crafts such as knitting and sewing, among others. The same strategy was reported to be applied by Nike, as the company organized sports activities in various community groups that share the same interests. In doing so, the strategy of highlighting shopping as a social activity is reinforced. The value of conversation and effective communication to clients was enhanced by Pizza Express through hiring â€Å"actor Karl James to teach its staff how to better interact with diners† (ibid, par. 17). In addition, retail shops realized the need to retain front line personnel whose role includes persuasion in the sales process. Finally, as stated, â€Å"pop-ups, temporary shops often in unusual spaces, whose lifespan can range from just a couple of hours to a few weeks, are helping to bring some spontaneity and excitement to retailingà ¢â‚¬  (ibid, par. 26).

Taxi Driver by Julia Phillips and Michael Phillips Essay

Taxi Driver by Julia Phillips and Michael Phillips - Essay Example However, mise-en-scene techniques and slow moving camera shots soon reveal Travis’s point of view, positioning a subjective view of Travis’s world. The film uses camera movement and cinematography together with mise-en-scene at the outset to establish the tensions that build up to the violence. The film opens with the credits in the foreground of a taxi coming out of the steam of a street at night. A montage reveals rain beating against the taxi’s windshield. In the meantime, the yellow taxi is accented by rain and neon lights that bring it into sharp focus. Travis’s eyes can be seen moving from one image outside of the taxi to another as he travels Times Square and 42nd Street. The viewer sees what Travis sees: prostitutes, couples, and pornographic theatres visited by men. The camera alternates from the inside of the Taxi where Travis’s watchful eyes are moving and observing, to outside of the taxi to show the audience what Travis sees. These scen es are juxtaposed against a more tranquil, ordinary and inescapably artificial world. The camera takes the viewers to a campaign headquarters with red and white colours and signs and slogans that appear to be inconsistent with the world that Travis observes from his taxi. Travis sees the world as inherently diseased and is on a mission to root out violence, disease and decadence. He becomes infatuated with Betsy, a campaign worker played by Cybill Shepherd. Point of view via mise-en-scene is displayed through scenes in which Travis’s point of view and his disconnect and social isolation comes across. For example, in an attempt to connect with Betsy, Travis gets it right the first time when he has coffee with her. On his next date with Betsy, he takes her to a seedy, sexual film. Betsy is no doubt offended by this effort at connection. By taking this approach, the viewer is drawn into and observes the distorted mind of Travis at work. Camera movements and mise-en-scene functio n to highlight Travis’s distorted mind and subjective point of view. For example, the camera picks up views of New York City that demonstrate just how Travis sees the world around him. A camera shot from inside Travis’s taxi picks up drug addicts and prostitutes. This is the world that Travis sees and is distracted by. He does not see beyond these images and forms his opinion of the outside world accordingly. The camera, by showing a view outside the taxi that selects drug addicts and prostitutes takes the viewer into the disturbed mind of Travis. This is world that Travis sees and is fixated on. A world diseased and decaying and in need of cleansing. Mise-en-scene is also used to demonstrate contradictions. The camera depicts a seemingly ordinary man, dressed neatly and appearing to be respectful and naive. Yet, the camera follows and depicts Travis visiting seedy theatres and writing letters to his parents that reveal that Travis would like to live an ordinary life, but is trapped by his perceptions of a diseased world. In his letters to his parents, Travis unrealistically himself as a working man on the verge of marrying a respectable woman (Betsy) when it is well known by the time of writing, that Travis has been rejected by Betsy. Therefore, the underlying message is that there are contradictions between that which occurs in Travis’s mind and the world in which he actually lives. The contradictions are reaching a fever pitch and this is

Income Inequality Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Income Inequality - Essay Example en noble countries are among the richest in the world, the figure of income per capita does not add up to the income distribution of the available population of individuals. This proves the income inequality serving in wealthier countries in the current world, especially, the United States and the United Kingdom countries (Beggs, 2015, Pg. 1). Income inequality within such countries is regularly disguised by the national average. This essay focuses on the growing income inequality issue in the wealthiest countries across the globe and the consequences of concealing economic inequality. Economic variation differs between civilizations, historical epochs, economic arrangements and systems. The term can denote a cross sectional distribution of income or capital at any specific era, or to the generated income and capital over lengthier phases of time. There are numerous arithmetical indices for calculating economic disparity. The commonly used methodologies include the Gini coefficient and the Lorenz curve, however, there are still other methods (Conferenceboard, 2015, Pg. 2). Economists have stressed that income inequality has brought about growing social problem. The economist view that the world cannot be a just and fair place for everything but too much disparity can be damaging. This is because income disparity and wealth focus can obstruct long term growth of a country’s economy. Previous economic studies contrasting disparity in economic growth had been unsatisfying, nevertheless in 2011, the International Monetary Fund economists revealed that bigger income parity, less disparity, heightened the period of countries economic growth development more as compared to while having free trade, low institutional corruption, overseas investment, or small foreign debt (Beggs, 2015, Pg 1). Nevertheless, the increase in income disparity over the past few decades, the subject was mainly overlooked. An article on The Economist post was dedicated on income inequality

Taxi Driver by Julia Phillips and Michael Phillips Essay

Taxi Driver by Julia Phillips and Michael Phillips - Essay Example However, mise-en-scene techniques and slow moving camera shots soon reveal Travis’s point of view, positioning a subjective view of Travis’s world. The film uses camera movement and cinematography together with mise-en-scene at the outset to establish the tensions that build up to the violence. The film opens with the credits in the foreground of a taxi coming out of the steam of a street at night. A montage reveals rain beating against the taxi’s windshield. In the meantime, the yellow taxi is accented by rain and neon lights that bring it into sharp focus. Travis’s eyes can be seen moving from one image outside of the taxi to another as he travels Times Square and 42nd Street. The viewer sees what Travis sees: prostitutes, couples, and pornographic theatres visited by men. The camera alternates from the inside of the Taxi where Travis’s watchful eyes are moving and observing, to outside of the taxi to show the audience what Travis sees. These scen es are juxtaposed against a more tranquil, ordinary and inescapably artificial world. The camera takes the viewers to a campaign headquarters with red and white colours and signs and slogans that appear to be inconsistent with the world that Travis observes from his taxi. Travis sees the world as inherently diseased and is on a mission to root out violence, disease and decadence. He becomes infatuated with Betsy, a campaign worker played by Cybill Shepherd. Point of view via mise-en-scene is displayed through scenes in which Travis’s point of view and his disconnect and social isolation comes across. For example, in an attempt to connect with Betsy, Travis gets it right the first time when he has coffee with her. On his next date with Betsy, he takes her to a seedy, sexual film. Betsy is no doubt offended by this effort at connection. By taking this approach, the viewer is drawn into and observes the distorted mind of Travis at work. Camera movements and mise-en-scene functio n to highlight Travis’s distorted mind and subjective point of view. For example, the camera picks up views of New York City that demonstrate just how Travis sees the world around him. A camera shot from inside Travis’s taxi picks up drug addicts and prostitutes. This is the world that Travis sees and is distracted by. He does not see beyond these images and forms his opinion of the outside world accordingly. The camera, by showing a view outside the taxi that selects drug addicts and prostitutes takes the viewer into the disturbed mind of Travis. This is world that Travis sees and is fixated on. A world diseased and decaying and in need of cleansing. Mise-en-scene is also used to demonstrate contradictions. The camera depicts a seemingly ordinary man, dressed neatly and appearing to be respectful and naive. Yet, the camera follows and depicts Travis visiting seedy theatres and writing letters to his parents that reveal that Travis would like to live an ordinary life, but is trapped by his perceptions of a diseased world. In his letters to his parents, Travis unrealistically himself as a working man on the verge of marrying a respectable woman (Betsy) when it is well known by the time of writing, that Travis has been rejected by Betsy. Therefore, the underlying message is that there are contradictions between that which occurs in Travis’s mind and the world in which he actually lives. The contradictions are reaching a fever pitch and this is

Spa Package ( relates to beauty) Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Spa Package ( relates to beauty) - Essay Example In this respect, everyone must care about own health and use effective methods for improving its condition. Nowadays the sphere of services develops sufficiently to provide customers with a big variety of assortment that allows securing health and remaining beauty simultaneously. Strengthening the state of health and giving rest to whole body and soul can be reached with a help of spa centers, which may propose high quality and fair prices on the competitive market. Due to the accessibility of spa services, today visiting such centers is not a luxury but, first of all, it is a trivial care for own health. Spa procedures do not only ensure clients with medical treatment, but also create a body’s harmony with soul and mind. The word â€Å"spa† was taken from the name of health resort in Belgium (Tubergen 2002, p. 273). Historical origin starts in deep antiquity, when in Greece and Roman Empire a great interest to bath at mineral and thermal springs was aroused. The most common definition explains that spa is health-improving complex of procedures that consist of using sea, mineral, thermal or fresh water along with algae, medicinal herbs and medical mud. In other words, spa procedures provide a wide range of hydrotherapy programs. In nineteenth century spa centers have become especially popular in Europe and North America. Today the most notorious and luxurious resort is situated in Baden Baden. However, despite wild accessibility and propaganda about its positive medical effects, for long period of time Britain population doubted the efficiency and useful causes of spa procedures, considering such treatment as more for pleasure than for improving health condition. Currently spa programs obtain more acknowledgements by rheumatologists and dermatologists, insisting on hydrotherapy as medicinal procedure for numerous of deceases. Hence, according to Heywood’s research of several hospitals’ medical records, it was concluded that from 70 to

Processes and Components of a Studio Recording

Processes and Components of a Studio Recording Introduction In order to create to record any form of music, it is important to understand step by step how to get from the planning, and playing of a track, to the end result of a completed recording. In contemporary music production, it is much easier than ever to make your own studio recording, though there options to be considered when setting out to record contemporary audio, its important to know what you would like to create, in order to find the most suitable hardware. By the end of this guide, you should be armed more with knowledge on the following topics. Microphones: The Ins and Outs Polar Patterns The Mixing Desk Microphones: The Ins and Outs Microphones record an audio signal using sound pressure, which generates an electrically charged signal, this signal is then converted into digital so that it can be interpreted by a computer, a process known as Analogue to Digital Conversion (ADC), which is then converted into sound that can playback through the speakers of your computer using Digital to Analogue Conversion (DAC). Examples of Microphones Condenser microphones store energy in the form of an electrostatic field, which uses a capacitor to convert analogue energy, and stores it as digital energy (capacitance). In the image below, you can see the cross section of the inside of a condenser mic. On the front we have two plates, the front plate (or diaphragm) and the back plate. The diaphragm vibrates in response to sound waves, changing the distance between the two plates. The closer the diaphragm is to the back plate, the higher the capacitance, creating a charge which is passed through and amplified. Due to the diaphragm, condenser mics are more sensitive to higher frequencies. Known to be great for recording vocals. Dynamic microphones are an all-round choice suited for most purposes. Simple in structure, and resilient to rough treatment and for handling high levels of volume. A charge is generated via kinetic movement between the coil and magnet.      Ã‚   What are the key differences between these two microphones? Condenser microphones tend to be more sensitive, better at recording high frequencies, whereas dynamic microphones not normally have the same flat frequency response, and tend to be purpose made for certain applications. Condenser microphones generate electrical output around changing the capacitance of the transducer, whereas dynamic mics use a coil in a magnetic field Dynamic mics are durable and cheaper, condenser mics tend to be more expensive, much less durable. Polar Patterns A microphones polar pattern is the space surrounding the outside of the microphone that picks up audio. Some microphones have several in one mic, one such example being Blue Microphones Yeti . The polar pattern can determine the feel, ambience, and colour of the recorded audio. The most common microphone pattern is the cardioid mic. These typically have a 120 degree range to pick up audio. Good for speech for podcasts with a rich, full-bodied sound. Cardioid mics are good for rejecting sounds from other sources/directions. Similar to the cardioid microphone, the Hypercardioid has a tight pick-up range of 100 degrees, they are better at rejecting sounds from the sides, though pick-up a little bit of sound from the rear. Due to the design of these microphones, feedback is reduced, making them a good choice for recording quieter vocalists. Figure of Eight (or bi-directional) microphone. These are used to record a more natural sound quality, product of it having pick-up from both the front and rear, rejecting audio from the sides. It doesnt respond to sound pressure, only the change in pressure between the front and back. A common use for bi-direction mics is for interviewing, or for radio. The Mixing Desk The mixing desk is a device for combining several sound source, while being able to interact with them individually. A mixers main task is to mix down several tracks into a stereo track, combining sound from several sources to produce an acceptable balance and quality track. On the back of the desk, we have the inputs, where you would connect your microphone. Microphones connect to the desk using an XLR cable, if you are using an external sound card you might be more likely to use a line-in port. In order for sound to be stored onto a computer, that analogue energy generated from a microphone needs to be converted into digital using an ADC such as an audio adapter, or sound card, then converted back to analogue using DAC via a sound card for example, which then plays back through the speakers, allowing you to hear changes made via the mixing desk, and hear that in real time. A pre-amp may also be used to boost the signal strength without degrading the quality to noise (hissing) ratio much. Channel inputs receive this audio, which is manipulated via the desk, or DAW. The channel faders are used to change audio levels, mute cuts the audio from being received from a channel, pan changes how far to the left, or right a channels output audio plays back, there is also equalisation (EQ), which involves diminishing and boosting certain frequencies. There are many other ways to manipulate audio, though whats important is that you understand how audio is recorded, and the components involved. Conclusion Now that we have gone into detail about various microphones, features and how to connect that up to record audio, you should be armed with a better understanding what to look for when planning your first music production project. Please look into the sources below as well for further insight. Sources:   Ã‚   http://shure.custhelp.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/742/~/difference-between-a-dynamic-and-condenser-microphone http://www.dawsons.co.uk/blog/the-mixer-and-its-feature http://www.mediacollege.com/audio/microphones/condenser.html http://blog.shure.com/multi-pattern-microphones-what-where-and-how/ http://ehomerecordingstudio.com/how-to-record-a-song/ http://www.bluemic.com/products/yeti/

CAM and the Medical Community :: Medicine Medical Health Essays

CAM and the Medical Community Alternative, complementary, and integrative healing are all part of a well debated but poorly researched area of medicine. Doctors of the conventional American and European medical communities have been long prone to dismiss unconventional healing methods such as acupuncture, herbal supplements, and massage therapy as ineffective, or outright crackpot methods of treating illness. The view of the medical community, however, seems to have little impact of the growing popularity of CAM (complementary and alternative medicine) among patients. An increasing number of people in the United States and Europe have been turning to these treatments in addition to or instead of traditional Western medicine. The sheer popularity of CAM has forced the medical community to better examine the acceptance of CAM in medicine. CAM encompasses a wide range of healing methods from acupuncture to massage therapy to herbal remedies such as St. Johnà ­s Wort and Echinacea. Many of these remedies have been around for centuries. In the case of Acupuncture, there have been regulations on acupuncture in China and Japan for years. However, since many of these procedures have not been proven à ¬scientificallyà ®, western medicine had largely rejected the remedies as being effective forms of treatment. One professor of medicine at the Rabin Medical Center likened CAM to beliefs in magic and superstition that medicine relied on before modern scientific advances. "The deep model of Alternative medicine is anthropocentric magic. The explanations of the practitioners of alternate medicine are giving patients a set of magical rules to control the physical world, rules that have the human as the fulcrum."(1). In this article, he argues that alternative medicine is fraudulent, impossible to prove in clinical trials, and t herefore, unacceptable even on the fringes of modern medicine. Arguments to the contrary have grown increasingly louder as acupuncture, holistic therapies, and herbal remedies grow popular in the western markets. Most of these remedies and treatments have been around for centuries, so there must arguably be some healing properties to these treatments. People turn to CAM treatments when western medicine fails them. CAM provides people with more options and gives them hope for remedy. One argument for the acceptance of CAM is the Psychological impact it has on its patients. Herbal treatments and acupuncture give people hope for alleviation of their symptoms. One example of this can be seen at the Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center. They provide their cancer patients acupuncture, massage therapy, yoga, and other CAM services in addition to their chemotherapy treatments. CAM and the Medical Community :: Medicine Medical Health Essays CAM and the Medical Community Alternative, complementary, and integrative healing are all part of a well debated but poorly researched area of medicine. Doctors of the conventional American and European medical communities have been long prone to dismiss unconventional healing methods such as acupuncture, herbal supplements, and massage therapy as ineffective, or outright crackpot methods of treating illness. The view of the medical community, however, seems to have little impact of the growing popularity of CAM (complementary and alternative medicine) among patients. An increasing number of people in the United States and Europe have been turning to these treatments in addition to or instead of traditional Western medicine. The sheer popularity of CAM has forced the medical community to better examine the acceptance of CAM in medicine. CAM encompasses a wide range of healing methods from acupuncture to massage therapy to herbal remedies such as St. Johnà ­s Wort and Echinacea. Many of these remedies have been around for centuries. In the case of Acupuncture, there have been regulations on acupuncture in China and Japan for years. However, since many of these procedures have not been proven à ¬scientificallyà ®, western medicine had largely rejected the remedies as being effective forms of treatment. One professor of medicine at the Rabin Medical Center likened CAM to beliefs in magic and superstition that medicine relied on before modern scientific advances. "The deep model of Alternative medicine is anthropocentric magic. The explanations of the practitioners of alternate medicine are giving patients a set of magical rules to control the physical world, rules that have the human as the fulcrum."(1). In this article, he argues that alternative medicine is fraudulent, impossible to prove in clinical trials, and t herefore, unacceptable even on the fringes of modern medicine. Arguments to the contrary have grown increasingly louder as acupuncture, holistic therapies, and herbal remedies grow popular in the western markets. Most of these remedies and treatments have been around for centuries, so there must arguably be some healing properties to these treatments. People turn to CAM treatments when western medicine fails them. CAM provides people with more options and gives them hope for remedy. One argument for the acceptance of CAM is the Psychological impact it has on its patients. Herbal treatments and acupuncture give people hope for alleviation of their symptoms. One example of this can be seen at the Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center. They provide their cancer patients acupuncture, massage therapy, yoga, and other CAM services in addition to their chemotherapy treatments.

Clothing Impact on Social Interactions Essay -- essays research papers

Does Clothing Have an Impact on Social Interactions: An Observational Study in the Classroom   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  There are many reasons why we choose to wear a particular article or style of clothing. Many of us consider our choice in clothing as an extension of our identity. While many others pick items from their wardrobe that reflect their current mood. There are also many times when we choose to dress a certain way in anticipation of being in a particular social setting. Even people who don’t seem to bother with matching clothes or wearing a designer label or walk around wearing clothes that are torn and dirty, are making a statement. What remains to be examined is whether or not there is a clear relationship between the clothing we wear and our social interactions.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚     Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The implications of such a relationship could lend itself to a variety of benefits. Imagine knowing that if you are dressed a particular way; you are more likely to get better service in a restaurant. We already know that when showing up for a job interview, there is certain dress attire that will make you more likely to get the job. Why do you think that when you’re single and going out, you tend to spend more time getting ready and dressed up? The answer is because we associate first impressions and attraction to our physical appearances.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  A variety of studies using empirical reasoning in many different settings, have tried to establish a relationship between the two. Pamela Regan of California State University, Los Angeles was cited in the Washington Post as saying â€Å"First, people need to dress appropriately – if you want to be treated well, then dress the part,† after she concluded an observational study of shoppers, the service they received and the way they were dressed. Published in the Psychological Reports, 2002 her study titled â€Å"Customer Service As A Function of Shopper’s Attire’† revealed that upon entering a store, it took more than 20 seconds longer for an employee to approach a shopper dressed in gym clothes, as opposed to one dressed as if she were on her way to work. She concluded, â€Å"Clothing, like other aspects of appearance, seems to exert at least some influence on how we are perceived and treated by others,† (204).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  For our particular study, we w... ...larger group and perhaps in more diverse settings. It is clear that clothing does have an impact on social interactions however if I were to redo this study with a similar set-up I would also want to add a survey element to the treatment. Perhaps self-perceptions on dress have more of an impact on whether or not a student participates. This survey would examine how the student feels about their dress. It is possible that a student wearing $200 designer jeans and a shirt would consider themselves dressed up and participate more. However, because according to my own definitions this student would be dressed down it would hinder my results.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Establishing a significant relationship between dress and participation in class could be useful to many people. Pamela Regan’s study has convinced me that if I want better service, I should dress up when I go shopping. If this study were to reveal a significant enough relationship, then students can reconsider how they dress for class as it may help their participation grade. References Regan, P. C., & Llamas V. (2002). Customer service as a function of shopper’s attire. Psychological Reports, 90, 203-204.

Impact of Tourism Industry to the Environment Essay

Introduction The tourism industry can pose a threat to the environment, if changes made to it are not sustainable and are irreversible. This paper is entitled â€Å"Impact of the tourism Industry to the Environment: A Philippine Situation.† The researchers want to discuss how the tourism industry can pose a threat to the environment regarding to the changes made, whether it is not sustainable and irreversible. The researchers chose to do this paper in order to complete the major requirement of Comski 2. Second, to apply their knowledge on what they’ve learned from the study of research. Third, to apply their learning on APA. Hopefully, this paper will serve as reference guide for the upcoming tourism students to develop their writing skills and love for reading. This research paper will help the students to have a better understanding on how the tourism industry can pose a threat to the environment when a not sustainable and irreversible change have made. According to It’s Mo re Fun in the Philippines website, the Philippines is the third largest English speaking country in the world. It has a rich history combining Asian, European, and American influences. Prior to Spanish colonization in 1521, the Filipinos had a rich culture and were trading with  the Chinese and the Japanese. Spain’s colonization brought about the construction of Intramuros in 1571, a â€Å"Walled City† comprised of European buildings and churches, replicated in different parts of the archipelago. In 1898, after 350 years and 300 rebellions, the Filipinos, with leaders like Jose Rizal and Emilio Aguinaldo, succeeded in winning their independence. In 1898, the Philippines became the first and only colony of the United States. Following the Philippine-American War, the United States brought widespread education to the islands. Filipinos fought alongside Americans during World War II, particularly at the famous battle of Bataan and Corregidor which delayed Japanese advance and saved Australia. They then waged guerilla war against the Japanese from 1941 to 1945. The Philippines regained its independence in 1946. Filipinos are a freedom-loving people, hav ing waged two peaceful, bloodless revolutions against what were perceived as corrupt regimes. Read more: It’s More Fun in the Philippines Food The Philippines is a vibrant democracy, as evidenced by 12 English national newspapers, 7 national television stations, hundreds of cable TV stations, and 2,000 radio stations. Filipinos are a fun-loving people. Throughout the islands, there are fiestas celebrated everyday and foreign guests are always welcome to their homes. According to Tourism Research and Statistics Division, visitor arrivals in 2013 totaled to 4,681,307 surpassing the previous year’s record of 4,272,811 by 9.56%. This feat gives the tourism industry a new milestone as tourists continue to demonstrate sustained growth amidst challenges. During the year, visitor count reached an all time high of more than 400,000 during the months of January, February, March, July and December. The highest growth rate, on the other hand, were recorded in February (15.8%), June (14.0%) and August (13.0%). Koreans remain the biggest source market with 24.9% share to total inbound visitors for 1.17 million arrivals. This market continued to sustain growth at 13% by year-end. The successful conclusion of air services agreement in this market has contributed to increase in flight frequencies in key international gateways. Chinese tourists have bounced back with year-end growth of 69.9% for a total visitor arrival of 426,352. This volume surpassed the revised target for China of 260,000 set at the beginning of the year. The substantial increase in Chinese visitors was first felt in May when arrival posted 107.7% growth. For the past eight months, growth was steady at more than 100% to double digit. Accordingly,  Chinese visitor share to total inbound expanded from 5.9% in 2012 to 9.1% in 2013. Japanese visitors continued to rise steadily with 433,705 arrivals for 5.1% growth. The implementation of new programs and introduction of new products targeting new and niche markets have revitalized the growth in this market. Remaining as the third biggest source market, Japan accounted for 9.2% share to total visitors. Australians and Singaporeans have already surpassed the Taiwanese as the fourth and fifth source of visitor arrivals. These markets posted 11.4%and 18.0%, respectively. These markets demonstrated slow but consistent expansion from seventh and eight ranks during the year. Visitors from the United States of America (USA) contributed the second biggest arrivals at 674,564 for a share of 14.4%. Other countries that contributed substantially are Taiwan with 139,099 arrivals, Canada with 131,381 arrivals, Hongkong with 126,008 arrivals, and United Kingdom with 122,759 arrivals, Malaysia with 109,437 arrivals and Germany with 70,949 arrivals. Moreover, the following markets generated noteworthy gains: Saudi Arabia (+29.7%) with 38,969 arrivals, Vietnam (+27.8%) with 26,599 arrivals, Russian Federation (+25.2%) with 35,404 arrivals, Indonesia (+24.5%) with 45,582 arrivals, United Arab Emirates (+19.5%) with 15,155 arrivals, Thailand (+16.8%) with 47,874 arrivals, France (+15.8%) with 39,042 arrivals and India (+12.5%) with 52,206 arrivals. By regional grouping, the East Asia region continued to contribute the biggest arrivals for share of 49.1% with 2,298,597. The region posted a double-digit gain of 12.73% vis-à  -vis its previous year’s contribution of 2,038,987 arrivals. The ASEAN region maintained its position as the third largest contributor of arrivals by region, accounting for 9.02% of the overall traffic base. This region posted an increase of 12.49%, from its output of 375,190 in 2012. Total revenues gained from inbound visitors for the year was estimated at US$4.40 billion, equivalent to Php 186.15 billion, up by 15.1%. The overall average length of stay of visitors in 2013 remained at 9.6 nights. Foreign visitors stayed for an average of 9.4 nights while Overseas Filipinos stayed an average of 18.8 nights. Average daily expenditure of inbound tourists during the year increased by 8.7% to US$101.12 from the US$ 92.99 recorded in 2012. Koreans showed biggest spent at US$140.81 per day while visitors from the United States have the longest stay at 13.4 nights. On the other hand, based on  per capita spending of the Philippines’ top markets, visitors from Canada recorded the biggest spent at US$1,393.68. It was followed by visitors from Australia with a per capita expenditure of US$1,382.48. Other high spending markets include: Germany with US$1,360.34, U.S.A. with US$ 1,334.34, United Kingdom with US$1,306.86 and Korea with US$ 874.59. Statement of the Problem The study shall focus on how tourism industry can pose a threat to the environment, if changes made to it are not sustainable and irreversible. This research paper will also answer the following questions: 1. Do you think that most of the changes in our environment are caused by the development in our tourism industry? 2. What are the major changes that happened in our country’s environment due to our own tourism industry? 3. Do you think that the policies made by the government to address environmental problems which resulted from the tourism efforts are effective? 4. Has the government made efforts to make our environment sustainable to cater to the demands of the blooming tourism industry? 5. How does the country respond to the growing problems we experience in terms of our environment and its impact to the tourism industry? Scope and Limitations This study shall only focus on how tourism industry can pose a threat to the environment, if changes made are not sustainable or irreversible. However, this study shall not focus on other aspects that are not related to the topic to be discussed. Methodology The researchers chose the topic how the tourism industry can pose a threat to the environment, if changes are made to it not sustainable and irreversible. The researchers made a research interview with an expert in order to answer the research questions being made. The research instruments used were the primary references from the Learning Resource Centre in College Department composed mainly of books and some internet sites that gave information related to the topic. First, the data was gathered by listing the title and author of the book. Second, the researchers browsed some articles and internet sites that can help them to answer some requirements needed in order to complete their paper. The plan used by the  researchers in their data analysis started from the choice of topic to be analyzed, formulation of thesis statement, outline, statement of the problem and first draft. Browsing some background and other related information helped the researchers in creating note cards. The researchers, through their interest on the chosen topic, were able to formulate a research problem, and a couple of research questions. The researchers gathered information led them to the conclusion. Presentation and Data Analysis To complete this study, it is necessary to analyze the data collected in order to answer the research questions. As already indicated in the preceding parts, data are interpreted in a descriptive form. This part comprises the presentation, analysis, and interpretation of the findings resulting from this study. Presentation of Data This study presented how does tourism industry can pose a threat to the environment, if changes are made are not sustainable and irreversible. The research questions formulated by the researcher will be answered using the interpretations of the gathered data. General Overview According to Eturbonews website, the Philippines have the total land area of 30 million hectares; where the 15.8 million is composed of tropical forests. Spread throughout the 7,107 islands of the archipelago, these are home to a recorded 556 species of birds, 180 mammals, and 293 of reptiles and amphibians, as well as a vast variety of trees, plants and flowers. Scientists have confirmed that, in the aggregate, 67 percent of the aforementioned fauna and flora are endemic in the Philippines. Every year, moreover, more new species are being discovered in the Philippines than in any other country. But as the Philippines’ population continues to grow, so have its forests shrunk. In 1934, when the population was a mere 15 million, 17 million hectares were under forest cover. By 1960, the population had doubled and forests were down to only 10.4 million hectares. Since then, due largely to illegal logging and slash-and-burn farming and despite government and private sector efforts to curb them, the annual deforestation rate has been at 2 percent. These gathered data came from a research interview  conducted by the researcher to an expert. The expert who has been interviewed was Ms. Joreen Rocamora a Domestic Tourism teacher. Changes Caused by the Tourism Industry According to Ms. Rocamora, not all of the changes in the environment are caused by the development of the tourism industry. For her, these changes in the environment are mostly coming from people. It is not only coming from the tourism development but also coming from avarices, apathy and arrogance of the people. When they seek for more, when they would want to get more from the environment whether it is coming from the industry of engineering and manufacturing, if one is seeking more from it then, definitely our environment would changed negatively. Second apathy, when one is indifferent, he or she does not care about the lives of other people especially on how they lived. Environmental awareness will just throw away all of those things and one can harm the environment if we do not think other people especially the future generation, whether it is coming from the tourism industry, engineering or manufacturing or any other industry like agriculture, it could also harm the environment . It is not coming mainly from the tourism industry; that’s why there is eco-tourism. Eco-tourism is low impact tourism, there is no need for us to develop the area, we just need to maintain, sustain and preserved what we have in the community. There’s no need for a lot of visitors to occupy the said area. Tourism development, yes it is one of the reason if we do not minimize the negative impacts of development in our country, particularly in a certain destination. If we maximize all the positive impacts definitely it will not harm the environment. For example when we have new hotels, if they use solar for their power, if they use organic materials, if they use biodegradable and even reuse water to cover the field and even the golf courses for watering the golf courses; when you say tourism development you also pertain to practices and management systems. For example, corporate social responsibility wherein hotels their management reach out to the community to help them and to clean up, to have coastal cleanup, do tree planting. Travel agencies, when we have travel agencies, they also have green movement program wherein they lessen the use of papers and they create packages that would include tree planting activity, coastal cleanup, volunteer tourism. It  means that even if we have to develop certain areas, we can still minimize negative impacts and be able to reach out to the environment and to the community. We give back to the environment and to the community by providing job opportunities. The interview only states that most of the changes made to the environment came not only in tourism industry but also in other industries whether it is sustainable or irreversible. People can be considered as one of those who make changes to the environment due to its apathy and arrogance. They can also be the one to make some necessary action s in order to preserve the natural resources our country have. Major Changes Happened in the Country’s Environment from Tourism Industry Positively we have a lot of developments in our country in the environment like La Mesa Eco-park, the rehabilitation of the eco- park because of tourism industry, because of the local government unit and the commission on the parks they are able to create such programs that give livelihood, opportunities and rehabilitate La Mesa Eco-park, Pasig River is also being restored. We also have several restorations of parks wherein they offer packages like a guided tour with the use of eco-friendly materials. When you say major change, I can say in the environment it is a major change that happened in our country it has rehabilitated and it has sustained our country’s premiere disappearing natural destinations. All in all, most of the changes made to the environment came from tourism industry due to eco-tourism wherein people sustained, maintained and preserved the beauty of natural resources. Due to eco-tourism there are a lot of parks and water forms being rehabilitated. That’s why it can be considered as one of the major changes made by the tourism industry to the country’s environment. Environmental Policies We have one, the latest is â€Å"Bangon Pilipinas†, and it is a program coming from the Department of Tourism wherein the aim is to help the Samar and Leyte and even the Bohol who were affected by the recent typhoon â€Å"Yolanda† and the earthquake. Most of the proceeds from the packaged tours are given to the community and to the people from Samar, Leyte and Bohol. Some examples of the environmental policies are no smoking in some areas, the use of eco-bag. There are laws and environmental programs coming from the  government like no to mining, no to dynamite fishing and the no to killing of whales, now they are preserving this extinct whale sharks and no to killing of primates like tarsier and other indigenous animals. When we say environment were not only talking about plants, we have the flora and faunas, ecosystem, marine rich diversity that’s part of the environment. According to Eturbonews website, an article entitled â€Å"The Philippine Environment and its Eco tourism Potential† states some related topics to environmental policies of the country. Thence, in tune with recent global awakening, aided by mainstream media coverage of environmental issues, and adopting new approaches and strategies toward saving the planet for posterity, Philippine government agencies and the private sector have been working closely to focus broader attention on a source of great pride for the Filipino nation, the country’s abundant wealth of endemic species and the precipitous rate at which these species are decreasing and disappearing. Efforts Made by the Government Yes, Loren Legarda, one of our senators is one of the advocates for environmental programs. She is really pursuing this kind of efforts from the senate. We also have Commissioner Nyem, he is the one who argues to the House of Representatives, he is also the representative to the United Nations World Tourism Organization in the environment. He is the one who made campaign for environmental programs. Yes, they’re creating efforts with regards to, especially, not only coming from the tourism development, as what I have said when we say development it means we are able to develop one area using recycled materials, reusable, like E-jeepney, solar energy, so we can balanced the positive and negative effects. It doesn’t mean that when we develop a certain area the environment would be destructed. Not all changes made in the environment can produce negative effects. In developing environment we have eco-tourism so it doesn’t need to develop, because when it comes to eco-tourism it’s about sustaining the environment. When we say development it is too broad, we can give opportunity. Development is not only about infrastructure, it is not only amenities, it is not only widening of loads. When we say development we can also provide employment other people which can help them earn money and increase their standard of living. Filipinos Respond to the Environmental Problems Our country’s ways to respond to problems are by means of policies. As what I’ve said, the environmental laws, the practices that they are implementing, coordination should be present when the policies are executed; those are the tourism planning and development in our country. Part of our strategic directions for national tourism development plan is developing and sustaining the destinations we have. One of the ways our country is responding to the problems in the environment is by assigning zones called the T.E.Z which stands for Tourism Enterprise Zones, and are the only ones allowed for further development. Other parts not included in the T.E.Z. are not permissible for development because they should just sustain, preserve and maintain it. The most important thing is it should start from us because we are one of those that contributed to the suffering we endure from climate change and global warming. The reason behind the sudden changes in our environment is that it can also come from our own action. We should not be dependent to our government in making plans for the future of our environment. We should have the initiative to do our part even if it will be just in small scale. As strategic directions of the DOT, he said there is a need to develop and market competitive tourist products and destinations; improve market access connectivity and destination infrastructure; and improve tourism governance and human resources. He lamented that the DOT’s budget of $10 million (P423 million) for marketing and promotions has not changed in the past five years, compared to neighboring countries such as Malaysia with $80 million and Thailand with $75 million. With this, he said the DOT will ask the Department of Budget for an additional P5 million in their budget. In a statement, Tourism Secretary Ramon Jimenez said that climate change will become an increasingly pivotal issue affecting tourism development and management. â€Å"The global tourism industry has been marked by changes as a result of the impacts of climate change on tourism destinations, tourist demand, and creation of policy and management responses adopted by key stakeholder groups with respect to adaptation and mitigation,† Jimenez said. Keep tourism industry a float. Commissioner Heherson Alvarez of the Climate Change Commission said that while tourism industry is a contributor to  climate change by generating greenhouse gas emissions through reliance on cars, buses, especially air travel, as well as high levels of energy consumption such as air-conditioning, heating and lighting, viable and sustainable solutions need to be considered. â€Å"We are living on dangerous but challenging times. To curb greenhouse gas emissions and reliance on carbon-heavy energy, we must scale-up the use of renewable energy sources such as biomass, solar, micro-hydro and wind as they are abundant and ecologically sound alternative to fossil fuels,† Alvarez said, adding that the highly populated Philippines is vulnerable because of its relatively low capacity to adapt to the climate crisis. Alvarez further said that tourism has a huge potential to alleviate poverty and spur economic growth â€Å"so it is urgent that the industr y makes it sustainable and disaster-resilient.† â€Å"DOT’s programs are greatly threatened by climate change. We need to keep the tourism industry afloat as it is a matter of national survival,† Alvarez stressed. Legazpi Mayor Geraldine Rosal, on the other hand, said that with the recent calamity that hit Metro Manila and various parts of the country, there is a need for coping mechanism to be able to adapt to climate change and disastrous effects. â€Å"We need to promote now more than ever the bottom-up approach or the learning by doing approach to address the pressing problems confronting us now not only in the eco-cultural tourism sector but in all vertical and cross sectors of society,† Rosal said. The non-government organization Local Climate Change Adaptation for Development (LCCAD) headed by its President and Chairman Nong Rangasa said that the 1st tourism and climate change conference attended by local officials, business sector and tourism officers aims to enhance the level of understanding of those with the tourism industry on how climate variability and extremes could affect development. â€Å"This conference was designed to showcase, demonstrate and translate effective and efficient implementation of science-based analysis for climate change adaptation and disaster risk reduction measures,† Rangasa said. Recommendations For the improvement of the study, the researchers would like to recommend the following: 1.This researched paper is suggested to the future researchers to give them more insights about the topic. 2.It is also advised that more  resource materials be used to broaden the study. 3.Choose a topic that they can easily understand and they must also have interest in it. 4.Give citation on every resource used to avoid plagiarism. 5.Follow the steps in making a research paper. 6.Lastly, it is recommended to develop the study in a longer period of time in order to acquire more information about the topic.