Tuesday, August 25, 2020

Analysis of Activity Based Accounting The WritePass Journal

Examination of Activity Based Accounting Catalog: Examination of Activity Based Accounting IntroductionActivity Based Costing AdvantagesAdvantages of changing to machine hours as an overhead recuperation base:Comparison among three bookkeeping strategies: Multiple volume based portion method:ABC Method:Bibliography: References:Related Presentation Action Based Costing (ABC), an apparatus for cost the executives, has as of late picked up notoriety, depends on a basic thought: in an endeavor, overhead (or working costs) are estimated by various exercises expected to effectively perform assembling and business forms. The all out expense of an item is the whole of the expenses of exercises that are the genuine reason for the overhead incorporate building up merchant relations, buying, getting, setting up a machine, running the machine, dispensing, revamping the creation stream, overhauling the item, and taking a client request (Turney, 1989). By structure, ABC gives moderately precise cost information, yet in addition data about the inception of the cost (Cooper and Kaplan, 1988).In ABC, the assembling overhead are alloted to items in a more intelligent way than the customary methodology of essentially assigning costs based on machine hours. It allows the significant differentiation between asset use and asset spending (Cooper and Kaplan, 1992). Customary cost models apply assets to items in two different ways. Purported direct costs like material and direct work are ascribed straightforwardly to the item and different assets are discretionarily designated to the item, regularly through the component of direct work hours, work dollars or machine hours. Deals, advertising and managerial expenses are excluded from item costs. In any case, Activity Based Costing (ABC) doesn't change the manner in which material and direct work are credited to fabricated items with the exemption that immediate work loses its exceptional spot as a proxy application technique for overhead assets. Direct work is viewed as another cost pool to be doled out to procedures and items in a significant way, the same than some other asset. The essential undertaking of movement based costing is to break out aberrant exercises into important pools which would then be able to be appointed to forms in a way which better mirrors the manner in which expenses are really caused. The framework must perceive that assets are devoured by procedures or items in various extents for every movement Action Based Costing Advantages  â â â â â â â â â More precise costing of items/administrations, clients and conveyance channels.  â â â â â â â â â Better seeing overhead for everybody.  â â â â â â â â â Utilizes unit cost instead of simply all out expense.  â â â â â â â â â Integrates well with Six Sigma and different consistent improvement programs.  â â â â â â â â â Makes obvious waste and non-esteem included.  â â â â â â â â â Supports execution the board and scorecards.  â â â â â â â â â Enables costing of procedures, gracefully chains and worth streams.  â â â â â â â â â Here mirrors way work is finished.  â â â â â â â â â Support encourages benchmarking.  â â â â â â â â â One of advantage of ABC is,  it improve the key dynamic for directors in an organization .They can bring new data that they haven’t saw previously so they can take better choice about expense.  â â â â â â â â â Help the administrator to comprehend where there are part more expense and goad it breaks activity as should be obvious in power trickle pressing in labor and systems of support. Preferences of changing to machine hours as an overhead recuperation base: 1. With machine hour rate, the Cylinder fabricating organization (CMC) can denounce practically all working costs based on machines. 2. With the assistance of under retention of machine overhead, CMC can locate the inert time of machine. At that point, can attempt to lessen it. 3. It is helpful to build effectiveness of machine, in light of the fact that CMC can utilize it compelling way and all overheads relies upon it. 4. It is a logical technique to compute industrial facility overhead expense. 5. By this, CMC can right off the bat compute complete creation cost, after this, it is anything but difficult to figure selling cost of any item. 6. On the off chance that we ingested overheads based on machine hours, CMC can get progressively important and precise item cost contrasted with work hours. On the off chance that we take a gander at the Cylinder producing organization contextual investigation, at that point we will locate the accompanying overheads dependent on machine hours and work hours. For overheads dependent on work hours The Budgeted work rate =  £149.825 per dlh Complete overheads for Standard items =  £149.825 per dlh x 2,500 dlh =  £374,562.5 Complete overheads for Specialized items =  £149.825 per dlh x 1,500 dlh =  £224,737.5 Overheads dependent on machine hours Complete machine hours=6500. Complete overheads to be distributed=â £599,300 Planned overhead weight/machine hour=599300/6500 =â £92.2 pounds. Absolute Overhead weight for standard products=92.2*3500=â £322,700. Absolute Overhead weight for specific products=92.2*3000=â £276,600. In the event that Cylinder fabricating organization utilizes machine hours for overhead computation rather than work hours, at that point the yield will be progressively precise. It is very simple to discover the machine hours accurately than work hours. As the machine is in mechanized framework, from a machine they can locate the right data about the all out machine hours utilized by an item. In addition the proficiency of all machines are on the whole generally same however it’s change a great deal for works, since every single person effectiveness isn't same. On account of work hour the distinction between overheads for standard item and specific item is high. Be that as it may, for machine hours it is moderately low. Be that as it may, we know, specific item needs more machine hours than the standard items. In this way, the hole ought to be low. Along these lines, we can say consumed overheads based on machine hours give more precise yield than ingested overheads on work hours. At that point the administrator can know the expense of sell all the more precisely and select right estimating for the item and augmenting the benefit. Correlation among three bookkeeping techniques: Here, I will be working through the gave information multiple times. Right off the bat, I will show how customary cost bookkeeping strategies may manage them; also to take a gander at the different volume based overhead strategy; and, at last, I will delineate the ABC technique utilizing all of  the information in extraordinary detail. Customary allotment technique (direct work hours premise): The immediate work hour rate is all out overheads all out number of work hours 599,300 4,000  £149.825 per dlh The overheads recouped are: Direct work hour rate x number of direct work hours per item For Standard items, the estimation is:  £149.825 per dlh x 2,500 dlh =  £374,562.5 For Specialized items, the estimation is:  £149.825 per dlh x 1,500 dlh =  £224,737.5 Different volume based allotment technique: This technique has a development on the conventional distribution strategy in that it makes some remittance for exercises to impact the ingestion of overheads. On account of Cylinder fabricating organization, two retention rates to apply here: the getting office overhead rate, and the other overhead rate The thinking here is that, the association I am reenacting is utilizing a two rate premise of distributing overheads: right off the bat, a material taking care of overhead rate is utilized to dole out overhead to a different cost community based on the quantity of number of stores orders; also the entirety of different overheads are allocated utilizing a general machine hour rate on the premise that the quantity of machine hours far surpasses the quantity of work hours. The Materials dealing with overhead rate is All out Materials dealing with overheads All out number of stores orders  £119,600 460  £260 per stores orders For Standard items,  £260 per stores orders x 160 stores orders =  £41,600 For Specialized items,  £260 per stores orders x 300 stores orders =  £78,000 The other overhead rate, determined by separating the all out different overheads by the quantity of machine hours applied, is:  £599,300  £119,600 6,500 machine hours  £479,700 6,500 machine hours  £73.8 per machine hours For Standard items different overheads cost is,  £73.8 per machine hours x 3500 machine hours =  £258,300 For Specialized items different overheads cost is,  £73.8 per machine hours x 3000 machine hours =  £221,400 Along these lines, All out overhead weight for standard product=  £299,900 All out overhead weight for standard product=  £299,400 ABC Method: To apply the ABC technique, we have to recognize cost drivers for two phases: 1 cost drivers following the expenses of contributions to cost pools; and 2 cost drivers following the cost pools into item costs The functions that follow show unmistakably how such cost drivers work through the ABC framework in these two phases: an underlying overhead sum being additionally partitioned into two sections concurring the necessities of the circumstance. Cost of machines driven by machine hours Standard item = 3,500/6,500*279,500=â £150,500 Specific 3,000/6,500*279,500=â £129,000. Set up and designing help cost driven by number of set ups. Standard item = 80/280*200,200=â £57,200 Particular item = 200/280*200,200=â £143,000 Material dealing with cost driven by number of stores orders Standard item = 160/460*119,600=â £41,600 Specific item = 300/460*119,600=â £78,000 Complete overhead weight for standard item =  £249,300 Complete overhead weight for particular item =  £350,000 Absolute overheads for standard and specific item in three acco

Saturday, August 22, 2020

How to write to your clients - The Lawyer - Emphasis

The most effective method to keep in touch with your customers - The Lawyer Instructions to keep in touch with your customers The Lawyer Legal counselors are not prestigious for their punchy composition. Be that as it may, customers don't have the opportunity to be astounded by confounding wording and verbosity; nor do they acknowledge ineffectively organized contentions and overtechnical clarifications. What they need is clear and concise guidance. Regardless of whether you are composing a legitimate understanding or an email, here are some broad tips that will assist you with improving your composing abilities: Concentrate on your peruser. Consider who will understand it and what data they need. Consider whether they need back-up detail just as forthright proposals. Consider the amount they definitely think about the subject, what their feasible mentality to the counsel will be and if there are a particular issues concerning them. When composing for partners, make your guidelines understood. Abstain from creating bunch messages that are a psyche dump of all the activity focuses. This ensures something doesn't complete on the grounds that everybody trusts another person is doing it. Explain who needs to do what. Never utilize the creative cycle to explain your musings. Have an away from of what to compose heretofore, else you hazard having no legitimate structure. Consider the fundamental branches of knowledge and issues you have to cover. Ensure they answer the inquiries: what, where, when, how, why and who. At that point utilize each going to conceptualize all the focuses identified with that subject. Next, consider the structure and choose what goes where and in what position. Just data that is basic to all perusers ought to go in the fundamental body of the content. Be merciless and consign any data that is significant or important to addendums or references. Also, ensure your primary message is at the bleeding edge, not covered underneath layers of detail and supporting proof. Keep passages and sentences short. Long passages and overwhelming squares of content are a genuine mood killer. So are long, complex sentences that must be perused more than once to comprehend. Avoid long words and extravagant expressions. As opposed to mainstream thinking, these are not an indication of keenness or polished skill. Customers are extremely occupied to invest energy decoding them. Utilize dynamic language at every possible opportunity. Dynamic action words make your composing simpler to peruse. So compose, X researched the customers job in the undertaking, as opposed to, The pretended by the customer in the task was examined by X. Favor action words over things. Use action words, for example, consider and give as opposed to structures, for example, offer thought to and the arrangement of. Maintain a strategic distance from poor sentence structure, accentuation and spelling this will subvert your validity and propose you couldn't care less. Robert Ashton, Chief Executive, Emphasis

Monday, July 27, 2020

Stress-Relieving Benefits of Watching Cute Animal Videos

Stress-Relieving Benefits of Watching Cute Animal Videos Stress Management Management Techniques Print Stress-Relieving Benefits of Watching Cute Animal Videos By Elizabeth Scott, MS twitter Elizabeth Scott, MS, is a wellness coach specializing in stress management and quality of life, and the author of 8 Keys to Stress Management. Learn about our editorial policy Elizabeth Scott, MS Medically reviewed by Medically reviewed by Steven Gans, MD on September 21, 2017 Steven Gans, MD is board-certified in psychiatry and is an active supervisor, teacher, and mentor at Massachusetts General Hospital. Learn about our Medical Review Board Steven Gans, MD Updated on March 25, 2018 How Stress Impacts Your Health Overview Signs of Burnout Stress and Weight Gain Benefits of Exercise Stress Reduction Tips Self-Care Practices Mindful Living dixi/istock There are many types of posts people make on social media, and virtually everyone has seen the most popular categories of posts. There are the political posts, which can be stressful. (In fact, a recent study from the American Psychological Association showed that many of us experience the preponderance of political posts and discussions we encounter to be a significant stressor in our lives.) There are the humble brags, which can be humorous, but also stressful. (Again, this research shows that the social comparison that’s facilitated by social media can be a real source of stress and can make us feel bad about ourselves as we compare our regular lives to the best versions of others’ lives, which make up the majority of some people’s posts.) Discussions can turn into conflicts and many posts can feel stressful to read, even if we don’t realize it at the time. Much of what we spend our time reading on social media can make us feel more stressed and drained rather than less so . And then there are the posts that show pictures or videos of cute animals. This is the type of post that you’d expect your sweet aunt to post, or perhaps your friend who’s an extreme animal lover. This is also one type of post that is often underappreciated and seen as lacking in importance and substance.  However, perhaps we should all be spending more time looking at these uplifting videos.  Some research suggests that they can not only lift our moods but help us build resilience to stress in the long run. If that doesn’t have your attention, it should. The Case for Cute Animal Videos There are several studies that hint at the benefits of viewing pictures of cute animals, and these benefits may be more far-reaching than one would think. While no single study provides a complete picture, a group of studies seems to show a link between cute animal videos and less stress, and possibly greater satisfaction with many areas of life. Consider the following: Animal Photos and Marital Bliss: One study led by James McNulty of Florida State University found that they could improve marital satisfaction with the use of cute animal photos. More specifically, they took 144 couples who had been married for less than five years and had them complete marital satisfaction surveys. Then they asked them to view to view a stream of images three times a week for six weeks. Those in the experimental group always saw a stream of images that included their partner paired with visuals of cute animals or words like, “wonderful,” while the other group saw pictures of their partners paired with neutral objects like buttons. After six weeks, the group with the cute animals paired with their spouses had more positive automatic responses to their spouses. Additionally, they demonstrated more satisfaction with their marriages, and improvements that came to a higher degree than those in the control groups. These findings even surprised the researchers but show ed that there is a real potential benefit to viewing pictures of cute animals and that this can help people to feel more positively about other things (and people) in their lives as well. Mood Lifts and Resilience to Stress: Another series of studies by researcher Barbara Fredrickson found that by lifting one’s moodâ€"something known as “inducing positive effect,” people can broaden the range of options they see in their lives, leading themselves to become more aware of potential resources available to them and to build upon those resources. This process can lead to more positive moods, greater resource-building, and, in essence, an “upward spiral of positivity” that leads to greater resilience to stress, among many other things. (Research has found that many things are linked in this upward spiral, so it’s highly beneficial.) This can all be triggered by virtually anything that gets us into a more positive emotional state, but cute animal visuals seem to fit that bill. Videos Are Great Mood-Changers: Finally, in the world of positive affect-induction (what led to resource-building in Fredrickson’s studies), researchers have been studying which techniques work the best. They’ve found that gratitude journaling can lead to increases in positive affect, as can visualizations of good things happening to us, loving-kindness meditations, and many other things. Positive videos have been found to be one of the strongest good-mood-inducers, however. One review of several studies found that videos had a stronger effect on mood than music or several other mood-induction techniques. This means that videos of things that lift our moodâ€"and cute animal images have been found to do thisâ€"can lead to these “upward positivity spirals” and the life satisfaction and resilience to stress that they bring. This makes them well worth the time it takes to watch them, at least in moderation. Cute Animals Boost Productivity: OK, back to research on animal videos in particular. A Japanese researcher named Hiroshi Nittono found that study participants who looked at pictures of puppies and panda cams, as well as grumpy cat videos, experienced not only mood boosts but increases in their productivity as well. In the study, subjects performed several tasks that required skill and concentration (including the board game, “Operation”) before and after viewing pictures of baby animals, adult animals, and neutral items like food. Those who viewed the cute baby animal pictures performed significantly better than the other two groups after the viewing. It was thought that the rise in productivity was due to a few factors including the mood lift (which fits well with the previous research by Fredrickson), and the fact that the videos helped subjects to narrow their focus. So while the enjoyment you find in viewing videos of cute animals can be its own reward, many people may be reluctant to share these videos because they may seem unimportant compared to more serious or ego-enhancing content we could be putting out there. Some people may feel it’s a waste of time to watch the videos when more important things are happening in the world. But stress management and emotional self-care are very important for our ability to not only function well in our lives but to be resilient enough to be there for each other. That makes this “fluffy” pastime perhaps a little less frivolous. More Mood Boosters In addition to watching videos of cute animals, there are other ways to boost positive affect and let the mood boost give you a life boost. The following have been found (by some of the research mentioned above) to give you a boost in mood as well. You can try these activities in addition to watching animal videos, or sometimes when you have no cute animals handy. You can never find too many mood boosters. Gratitude Journaling: At the beginning of your day, list three things for which you are grateful. You can also do this at the end of the day, listing things that happened that day or people you saw that provoke a sense of gratitude. You can elaborate as much as you like, but even a brief list can help you to feel better about your life and give you a lift in mood that you can carry with you throughout the day.Positive Visualizations: One study had participants spend four minutes visualizing positive events happening to them. They can either be good things that happened in the past or fantasy events like winning the lottery. The four minutes can be spent imagining in detail how you felt when this happened, or how you would feel. Remember or imagine sensory details, emotions, and what happens next.Loving-Kindness Meditation: This technique has been shown again and again to have many benefits for happiness and a sense of connection. Basically, you imagine feeling positive, peaceful feel ings toward yourself, embracing yourself with positivity. Then you expand the good feelings and extend them toward those in your family and your closest friend. You extend the circle of acquaintances and even enemies until you are thinking about everyone in the world and envisioning positive feelings toward them. There are more specifics you can put into action with practice, but you can learn  the basics. This can take a couple of minutes or 15 to 20, depending on how much time you have.? There are other ways to boost your mood (exercise, seeing a good friend, even enjoying a cup of tea), so experiment away. This is a great list to start with, however, and it’s a great idea to incorporate these things into your daily life. And cute animals can be the first thing you try. How Video Games Can Be Used for Stress Relief

Friday, May 22, 2020

To The Lighthouse, by Virginia Woolf Essay - 1237 Words

The opening scene of To The Lighthouse between Mr Ramsay and Mrs Ramsay displays the gender division that flows throughout this passage highlighting Woolf’s own perspective on society and sexuality between genders. Woolf supports the belief in a complete change to society resulting in a non – hierarchical society. Woolf felt for this to happen aside from the practical changes, that a radical redefinition of sexuality was also needed. The novel focuses on sexual issues of the twentieth century central to feminist campaigns, such as marriage being a form of institutionalized slavery . She brings to attention one of Freud’s most well-known theory, the oedipal conflict. The author draws upon the story of Oedipus who kills his father and†¦show more content†¦Woolf draws upon this concept of children in order to highlight child development and the ways in which, through the characters eyes the change of sexes and gender roles are seen to unfold as the novel re aches its conclusion. Symbolically, the end of the novel shows the beginning scene again yet the focus is on the characters which have now developed. James accepts going to the lighthouse not because he wants to, rather due to his father’s insistence, thereby showing a level of maturity and the disappearance of the oedipal complex displaying to the reader that his childhood is also gone as he is now older. In accepting his father’s wishes James takes the position of being an obedient son rather than a threat to his masculinity and sexual competition. Woolf highlights her characters development, in doing so focuses on the change that occurs through life. Woolf attempts to focus on these issues of sexuality and ‘radically changing the defining of sexuality’ in society thus bringing about change is open to question. Arguably, social construction of gender â€Å"is untenable on both logical and empirical grounds† due to these constructions being unstable and changeable they are not biologically created, therefore it can be altered and thought of from different points ofShow MoreRelatedThe Lighthouse By Virginia Woolf1154 Words   |  5 PagesThe purpose of a lighthouse is to serve as a navigational aid to shores or ports and to warn boats of dangerous areas. To the Lighthouse by Virginia Woolf is a novel that teaches how one person can affect the lives of people around them by, in a sense, shining a light on the person’s specific traits. In the novel, Mrs. Ramsay is one of the main characters that unfortunately does not make it to the end of the story, but her presence is shadowed throughout the novel where she is not there physicallyRead MoreThe And The Lighthouse By Virginia Woolf2070 Words   |  9 Pagesresponse to this rising uncertainty. In literature, rules of writing were actively defied, as Virginia Woolf did in To the Lighthouse. The novel is written as a stream-of-consciousness, switching amongst inner dialogues of the characters as narration, leaving the reader desperately grasping at straws in order to draw out a plot without a clear sense of time or voice. The mosaic of chronicles seen in To the Lighthouse emphasizes the isolation of the individual. No one is truly able to understand anotherRead MoreAnalysis Of To The Lighthouse By Virginia Woolf1037 Words   |  5 PagesTo the Lighthouse By Virginia Woolf Virginia Woolf, the author of To the Lighthouse is well known for her amazing creativity and past experiences which she is able to mix all together to make a wonderful and engaging piece of writing. Many of her books are inspired by her childhood and the diverse life she has experienced being bipolar. Virginias inspiration specifically for the book To the Lighthouse, written in 1927, came from the view she had from outside the window of a small Talland houseRead More To the Lighthouse by Virginia Woolf Essay2176 Words   |  9 PagesTo the Lighthouse by Virginia Woolf When speaking of modernism in the work Virginia Woolf, scholars too readily use her innovations in style and technique as the starting point for critical analysis, focusing largely on the ways in which her prose represents a departure from the conventional novel in both style and content. To simply discuss the extent of her unique style, however, is to overlook the role of tradition in her creation of a new literary identity. In To the Lighthouse, WoolfsRead MoreAnalysis Of To The Lighthouse By Virginia Woolf1805 Words   |  8 Pages Though set in early 1910s Britain, the passage from Virginia Woolf’s To the Lighthouse in which Lily Briscoe first doubts her painting skills and her lifestyle is reminiscent of the doubts that many young adults face in modern America. Woolf’s writing style exemplifies this struggle within Lily with its repetition of declarative sentence beginnings and specific usage of language to note the way Lily would likely have been seen in early 20th century Western society. Regardless of this early 20thRead MoreWilliam Woolf s The Lighthouse Virginia Essay889 Words   |  4 Pages In the novel To The Lighthouse Virginia Woolf uses literary techniques in order to express the character’s thoughts and emotions. Woolf incorporated her own experiences into her work in order to cope with lifes struggles. She had based the major characters in the novel off of her family and herself. For example Mrs. Ramsay was based off of her mother and Lily Briscoe represented herself. Virginia Woolf wrote in a new style of writing that was popular during the world wars called modernism. ModernismRead MoreSignificance Of The Lighthouse By Virginia Woolf And Pride And Prejudice By Jane Austen1557 Words   |  7 Pagesof Place in To The Lighthouse by Virginia Woolf and Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen People imprint themselves on their surroundings; they inject fleeting moments into the veins of their environments, boiling the blood that swims hot through every crevice, echoing and lingering indefinitely. According to Wisker houses are the principal locations where the presence of its residents leave lasting imprints on the structure (2011, 4). Novels To The Lighthouse by Virginia Woolf and Pride and PrejudiceRead MoreJane Austen s The Lighthouse By Virginia Woolf And Pride And Prejudice1741 Words   |  7 Pagesthe principal locations where the presence of its residents leave lasting imprints on the structure (2011, 4). Novels To The Lighthouse by Virginia Woolf and Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen both use domestic environments as important sites to emphasise and reflect their characters by deploying the literary techniques of language and style from their respective eras. Woolf as a Modernist writer from the early twentieth century uses experimental techniques and the supern atural genre that was prevalentRead MoreAnalysis Of Virginia Woolf s Gone At The Lighthouse Never Go Return 1706 Words   |  7 PagesElizabeth Conner 9 November 2017 ENGL-4010-001 Professor Westover Virginia Woolf: Gone to the Lighthouse, Never to Return Many authors inject a little bit of their personalities and lives into their writing, making it more relatable to their readers and more marketable to publishers. However, depending on the work, it can sometimes be difficult to determine what is inspired by real life and what is merely fiction. Therefore how important an author’s biography is to a story can also be hard to understandRead MoreWilliam Woolf s The Lighthouse And Louise Penny s Still Life Differ1187 Words   |  5 PagesVirginia Woolf’s To the Lighthouse and Louise Penny’s Still Life differ in genres but managed to have some similarities between them. Still Life was written for detective novel enthusiasts, while To the Lighthouse was written for a niche audience that enjoy novels about modernism. Art is very important in both novels, this can be seen from Jane and Lily’s paintings. Their paintings embody the major concerns of the novels. One can see that Jane and Lily’s paintings have a way of reflecting on the

Saturday, May 9, 2020

Essay on We Must Reform Marijuana Laws - 773 Words

According to government figures, nearly 70 million Americans have smoked marijuana at some time in their lives. 18 million have smoked marijuana within the last year, and ten million are regular smokers. Almost all of the people arrested for marijuana are arrested for possession. And because of harsh federal and state penalties, these people may be sentenced to lengthy jail terms. This is an abuse of drug laws in a great nation. The marijuana laws need to be reformed, and the war against marijuana rethought. nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;One reason these laws need to be rethought is for medicinal purposes. Most people think marijuana is a dangerous drug that can kill. This is true if taken in heavy doses but that’s also true for†¦show more content†¦And yet refuses marijuana into the medical field. nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;Another reason to reform the marijuana laws is to help our country socially and economically. America spent 20 billion dollars on the anti-drug budget last year, and the government’s own research says that drugs, including marijuana, are more cheap, pure and available than before. This large amount of money that comes out of taxpayers pockets could be used for more useful things like schools, roads, and cancer research. Over half a million people in our nation’s jails are in there on drug charges, 53% being charged for marijuana possession. These overcrowded jails could be holding much more serious criminals. It takes 23,000 dollars to hold each prisoner in jail for one year, which is also very costly to America. Marijuana offenders can loose their driver’s license, their occupational licenses, loss of child custody, loss of federal benefits and even face removal from public housing. They can even lose their cars, cash, boats, land, and h ouses. nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;Another reason for marijuana reform is because the laws don’t work. The prohibition against marijuana hasn’t stopped marijuana use by teens, or anyone else. Research has been done on high school seniors in decriminalized statesShow MoreRelatedThe Rise Of The Millennial Generation1198 Words   |  5 Pagesmillennial generation has essentially based their views on who is running for office rather than their initial beliefs on certain political issues. Americans must be able to voice their opinions to the government on issues that they believe are important. Topics like the ISIS Crisis, Immigration Reform, legalization of marijuana, and gun control must be talked about. The most recent terrorism act that America has witnessed is from the Islamic group, ISIS. The Islamic State in Iraq and Syria is an extremistRead MoreThe Legalization Of Marijuana1123 Words   |  5 PagesThis proposal would eliminate marijuana from the Control Substance Act and it would no longer be categorized as a Schedule 1 substance. The proposal would also require a federal permit for growing and distributing marijuana within state and national borders. The last aspect of the proposal would require for marijuana to be regulated exactly like alcohol by the Food and Drug Administration as well as the Bureau of Alcohol, Tabaco, Firearms, and Explosives. Both of these proposals are probable optionsRead MoreMedical Marijuana Essay938 Words   |  4 PagesFor decades America has associated marijuana with many things, and none of them ever any good. From the ‘60s with the hippie revolution, to today with criminals of all kinds, there have been numerous associations that are arguably unwarranted in this day and age. Why is it that we have such negative feelings about marijuana? In America today, the government considers it a Schedule I drug, meaning that it has a â€Å"high potential for abuse† and â€Å"no currently accepted medical use.† The problem with thisRead MoreThe War On Drugs And The United States1063 Words   |  5 Pageswhich are swayed by global drug laws which preserve the criminal justice system. These new laws promote an ineffective policy on the war on drug. Therefore, communities are locked while the promotion of illicit drugs becomes the dominate framework to organized crimes. Today, the war on drugs continues to be an ongoing battle within our society. This paper will examine these issues focusing primarily on historical struggles controlling our society. Improvement must be lenient punishment policies basedRead MoreThe War On Drugs And The United States1063 Words   |  5 Pageswhich are swayed by global drug laws wh ich preserve the criminal justice system. These new laws promote an ineffective policies on the war on drug. Therefore, communities are locked while the promotion of illicit drugs becomes the dominate framework to organized crimes. Today, the war on drugs continues to be an ongoing battle within our society. This paper will examine these issues focusing primarily on historical struggles controlling our society. Improvement must be lenient punishment policiesRead MoreFailure Is A Compromising And Alarming Idea. When Thinking1575 Words   |  7 Pagescreated safer societies. It has led to the stigmatization and isolation of a substantial proportion of society and stimulated drug crimes. Now it is time to look back and address the negative consequences of past drug control strategies. It is time to reform the strategies of fighting illicit drug use. The National Drug Control Strategy, the Global Commission on Drug Policy, and the Latin American Commission on Drugs and Democracy all ad vocate for an approach that emphasizes the problem as a public healthRead MoreMedical Cannabis Should be Legal Essay1657 Words   |  7 Pagescontroversial issue whether drugs such as marijuana should be legalized or not. Some people advocate this issue and believe that legalization is the only solution left for the nation while other oppose because it will increase the numbers of drug users and drug related crimes.Marijuana is a drug that is legal in the United States.This drug is bad and cause some side effect to your brain and body.Scientists have found smoking marijuana can cause you to loses your memory. Marijuana has many psychological and physicalRead MoreEssay on Reasons for the Legalization of Marijuana987 Words   |  4 Pageslegalization of marijuana, as demonstrated by Oaklands passing of Measure Z, which makes marijuana related offenses the lowest priority to Oakland law enforcement officials (Hill 2004), marijuana should be legalized. First off, marijuana isnt even that bad of a drug. It is a plant ally and hasnt been proven to do any major harm. Many patients are prescribed medical marijuana for their own personal use to relieve pain. The label on a bottle that contained legally prescribed marijuana says, ToRead MoreEstablish Need: I am not sure about you, but I believe the government has better things to do than800 Words   |  4 Pagesthe government has better things to do than tell us what we can and cannot put into our bodies. Derick Grayson- Georgia US Senate candidate fells the same way and that is why I am asking you to get out and Vote for him on November 4th, 2014. Establish Credibility: What makes me so passionate about giving this speech are the live human studies I conducted with my friends and mainly on myself over the last 13 years or so. Central Idea: We must act together in making the new generation of CongressRead MoreArgumentive Essay1121 Words   |  5 Pagesï » ¿ Argumentative Essay Legalization of Marijuana Ashley Bassett Eng. 1301 Instructor: Pam Hesser pg.1 The recreational use of Marijuana should be legalized. According to the New York Times The social costs of the marijuana laws are vast. There were 658,000 arrests for marijuana possession in 2012, according to F.B.I. Figures compared with 256,000 for cocaine, heroin and their derivatives. Even worse, the result is racist, falling disproportionately on young

Wednesday, May 6, 2020

Langston Hughes Dream Variations Free Essays

Langston Hughes, an extraordinary figure in the Harlem Renaissance when many African writers and poets emerged (Poquette), shows his style and personal characteristics through his poem â€Å"Dream Variations† Written in 1924 when the Back to Africa movement was gaining strength. This poem is used to describe Hughes’ dream, which many say may be to return to Africa. During this time, African Americans still did not have respect in America and Africa to Hughes was a warm and inviting place. We will write a custom essay sample on Langston Hughes: Dream Variations or any similar topic only for you Order Now There is no rhythmic structure to this poem. The poem’s structure is similar to that of blues music, with the first, second, and fourth lines of each stanza parallel each other in that they each have four syllables, while the third is extended and longer to build an emotional climax. Like many of Hughes’ poems, â€Å"Dream Variations† is mainly written for children to encourage them and stress the possibilities life holds. This poem was very understandable and easy to read with simple sentences and words.This was written in that manner so that uneducated people or younger people could feel equal to everyone else, no less. From beginning to end Langston Hughes he uses the same words but gives them different meaning. The poem’s tone transforms during the poem. â€Å"To whirl and to dance† (Line 3) and â€Å"Till the white day is done† (Line 4) use the same words whirl, dance, day as in lines 12 and 13. In the later lines the speakers tone is harsher, frantic and turns into a command. Dance! † (Line 12) is a command unlike how in line 3 it sounds as though the speaker is dancing to rejoice and celebrate. The poem in the beginning is very calm and just going through the motions but later on the speaker realizes that life is running out and each day is passing by. The reference of darkness and night in positive terms can actually be considered a subtle celebration of African Americans. In all of Hughes’ poems he creates pictures of pride in blackness.The main theme of this pofem though, it to reach for your dreams everyday and do not take for granted time because before you know it, it may be over. Hughes was mostly liked as a poet by the critics and they believed he had good ideas. Most of his poetry was about dreams. As a true Renaissance man, he was strating a new wave: a wave of African Poets and writers and many critics respected that. In short, Potamkin believed the blues could be made into good poetry if an author put his original ideas into his work, but he did not think that Hughes added enough of himself.In the words of Theodore R. Hudson, reviewing Hughes’s last book of poetry in the CLA Journal, â€Å"His message is both valid and valuable.Work Cited Uma Kukathas, Critical Essay on â€Å"Dream Variations,† in Poetry for Students, The Gale Group, 2002. Ryan D. Poquette, Critical Essay on â€Å"Dream Variations,† in Poetry for Students, The Gale Group, 2002 â€Å"Dream Variations. † Poetry for Students. Ed. Anne Marie Hacht. Vol. 15. Detroit: Gale Group, 2002. 40-53. Gale Virtual Reference Library. Web. 28 May 2010. How to cite Langston Hughes: Dream Variations, Papers

Tuesday, April 28, 2020

Legal Environment of Business Case study and Questions Essay Example

Legal Environment of Business Case study and Questions Paper Where there is no law in place old cases are used to determine the ruling. Common law in the United States originated from the British. 8. Stare decides provides stability because judges, on current cases, must follow similar rulings in previous cases. When the rulings on similar cases remain the same over time, stability and uniformity are created. Case Review 2. Yes, the plaintiff is correct. Tort law must be abided by. The argument is specifically related to a tort law and not the Atomic energy act. When looking at the intentions of the Atomic Energy Act there was no intent within this to nullify any of the states laws already in place. 4. In this case an intern failed to properly strap a patient down when performing a medical examination. The patient fell and is suing the hospital for negligence while the hospital is claiming its a matter of a medical claim. If it considered a medical claim a maximum amount of time has already passes making the case illegitimate. The difference of opinion in case must force the courts to review similar cases in the past. Because there is no specific law or statue in the case the courts must look at the legislative history of statues and similar cases in the past. 5. Yes, lower courts must first decide a statue to be unconstitutional before going up to higher courts to be ultimately ruled UN-constitutional. Only the supreme court of the United States had the authority to determine if a law is unconstitutional. We will write a custom essay sample on Legal Environment of Business Case study and Questions specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now We will write a custom essay sample on Legal Environment of Business Case study and Questions specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer We will write a custom essay sample on Legal Environment of Business Case study and Questions specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer

Friday, March 20, 2020

Body Piercing and Tattoos Essays

Body Piercing and Tattoos Essays Body Piercing and Tattoos Paper Body Piercing and Tattoos Paper but many scholars believe that Nubians brought the practice to Egypt much earlier. There was little anthropological attention to tattooing in the early part of the century because of preconceived notions of its insignificance to cultural analysis. (Robert S. Bianchi, 1988, 21-28). Archaeological evidence indicates that the Maya, Toltec, and Aztec cultures performed tattooing and scarification, and that the practice is thousands of years old in Asian cultures. Although tattooing was practiced in pre-Christian Europe, the word tattoo does not appear in English until Captain John Cook imported it after a journey to the Pacific Islands in the eighteenth century. Captain Cook claimed the Tahitians used the word tatua, from ta, meaning to strike or knock, for the marks they made upon their bodies. Captain Cook recorded this word as tattaw. The Polynesian word tapu, from which the word taboo derives, indicates the status of the person while being tattooed. Although no connection has been made between the words tattoo and taboo, it seems highly likely that they are related. While enduring the process of acquiring socially meaningful marks, the tattooee is being formed and shaped into an acceptable member of society. Prior to the completion of the tattoos the person is not only physically vulnerable because of the possibility of contamination during the penetrating process of tattooing but symbolically vulnerable as well. No longer without a tattoo, but without a finished tattoo, the persons body and therefore the self are not yet completed. The person is a liminal entity not yet in society and therefore taboo. (Per Hage, Frank Harary, Bojka Milicic, 1996, 89) Although the origin of tattooing is uncertain, anthropological research confirms that tattooing, as well as other body alterations and mutilations, is significant in the spiritual beliefs of many cultures. Various peoples tattoo or scarify during puberty rituals. In traditional South Pacific Tonga society, only priests could tattoo others and tattoos were symbolic of full tribal status. Eskimo women traditionally tattooed their faces and breasts and believed that acquiring sufficient tattoos guaranteed a happy afterlife. In many African cultures scars indicate social status and desirability as a marriage partner. Scarification patterns often identify the bearer as a member of a specific village. Many of these practices are changing and fading as Western influences enter African cultures. Until the mid-nineteenth century, Cree Indians living on the Great Plains tattooed for luck, for beauty, and to protect their health. Cree men with special powers received tattoos to help them communicate with spirits. A dream conferred the privilege of receiving a tattoo, which would be inscribed during a ceremony conducted by a shaman authorized to tattoo. The tattooing instruments were kept in a special bundle passed on from shaman to shaman. The ability to withstand the painful and tedious process of tattooing, which often lasted two to three days, confirmed the tattooees courage. Blood shed during the process was believed to possess magical power and was absorbed with a special cloth and kept for future use. tattoo. about. com In a Liberian initiation ceremony the novices are resuscitated to a new life, tattooed, and given a new name they seem to have totally forgotten their past existence. (Mircea Eliade, 1958, 31). The ritual recreates the flesh bequeathed to initiates by their parents and experienced during childhood. The physical change marks a symbolic rebirth into a new spiritual, social, and physical reality as well as a real physical change. This magical use of the body reiterates the idea that physical and spiritual existence and their interactions are deeply entwined. The trajectory of piercing from an underground activity to a fashion in mainstream magazines illustrates the American adoption of marginalization as a trendy practice. Piercing various parts of the body, which is a more or less painful procedure depending on the body part, has become more popular and commercialized in the past two decades, and extremely fashionable in the past few years. Although some people self-pierce, most individuals go to a boutique that pierces and sells piercing jewelry. Clients frequently request nipple, navel, and nose piercings, and less commonly obtain eyebrow, lip, cheek, or tongue piercings. Piercings through various glans or skin folds of the genitals are even less common. dmoz. org/Arts/Bodyart/Magazines_and_E-zines Although one can construct histories of self-mutilatory beautification practices, such as leg-shaving, hair-tweezing, and body sculpting, body piercing practices in Western cultures remain virtually undocumented. James Myers, an anthropologist at the University of California remarks on the stigma attached to body piercing and discussion of Western nonmainstream body mutilation, and notes that the general public conceives of people who pierce, scar, brand, and burn themselves as psychological misfits. Myers refutes any connection between these practices of body modification and pathological self-mutilation, and he discusses body modification as a cultural rite of passage. Although Myers attempts to normalize the perception of body modification, his ethnographic research is problematic because it is conducted with a select group of participants, a greater than average proportion of whom are gay and involved in sadomasochistic activities, therefore already marginalized by society. A more representative sample of the general population might show that certain forms of piercing have now become popular in mainstream culture, whereas the more extreme pierces have gained popularity with individuals who engage in what dominant culture defines as deviant. (James Myers, 1992, 90-92) Nose and navel piercings have become more common in the general population. It is probable that until now few individuals pierced ornamentally, and those who did rigorously hid their unusual adornments from sight. Ear piercing, once considered barbaric for women and a badge of homosexuality for men, is now an accepted, common practice for women, and has lost much of its stigma for men also. Punk subculture introduced multiple ear piercings to the public eye, and fashion spreads quickly popularized the look with a large percent of the population. The marginalized groups that contributed to popularizing ear piercing, homosexuals and youth subculture, are also responsible for introducing other body piercings into the public arena. As of 1993 a well-known and burgeoning piercing Los Angeles boutique, the Gauntlet, which originally catered to a large gay population when it opened in 1975, performed 18,000 piercings a year. www. gradeatattoos. com Piercing practices have been pathologized as expressing sexual perversity and affiliation with marginal members of society, and as with tattooing, it is difficult to separate myth from reality. Tattooing has most often been mythologized as a proof of masculine heterosexuality, but the association of tattooing with gay culture has some validity, as tattooist Samuel Steward, also known as Phil Sparrow, notes. In his diary accounts of his years as a tattooist, which he kept for Alfred Kinseys research at the Institute for Sex Research, Steward estimates that fewer than 1 percent of his clients were obvious homosexuals and perhaps a total of 20 percent were gay. Although Steward acknowledges that his customers sometimes exhibited homoerotic motivations, masochistic pleasure, and even fetishistic tendencies toward tattooing their own bodies or others, his experiences as a tattoo artist in Chicago in the 1950s led him to conclude that the homosexuals he knew were reluctant to tattoo because they considered it marring the body unaesthetically. (Samuel M. Steward, 1990, 56) Reference: Brumberg Joan Jacobs. The Body Project: An Intimate History of American Girls. New York: Random House, 1997, 132 James Myers, Nonmainstream Body Modification: Genital Piercing, Branding, Burning, and Cutting, Journal of Contemporary Ethnography 21. 3 (1992): 290-92. Michael Atkinson, Tattooing and Civilizing Processes: Body Modification as Self-Control; The Canadian Review of Sociology and Anthropology, Vol. 41, 2004 Mircea Eliade, Birth and Rebirth: The Religious Meanings of Initiation in Human Culture, trans. Williard Trask (New York: Harper, 1958), 31 Per Hage, Frank Harary, Bojka Milicic, Tattooing, Gender and Social Stratification in Micro-Polynesia; Journal of the Royal Anthropological Institute, Vol. 2, 1996, pp 89 Robert S. Bianchi. Tattoo in Ancient Egypt, Marks of Civilization (Los Angeles: Museum of Cultural History, University of California, 1988), 21-28. Samuel M. Steward, Bad Boys and Tough Tattoos: A Social History of the Tattoo with Gangs, Sailors, and Street-Corner Punks, 1950-1965 (New York: Harrington Park Press, 1990), 79. www. adrenalinetattoos. com tattoo. about. com www. gradeatattoos. com dmoz. org/Arts/Bodyart/Magazines_and_E-zines

Tuesday, March 3, 2020

Detox your writing - Emphasis

Detox your writing Detox your writing Is your writing feeling a bit flabby and out of shape? Treat it to a one-month detox treatment by following these three rules. Get active The active voice is more direct, dynamic and accountable. The Government took no action is better than No action was taken or No action was taken by the Government. Its far better to have people or organisations taking action than to describe things as mysteriously happening or being done. When you use the active voice, you sometimes find an even simpler way of expressing yourself. A payment was made by the chief executive last week. becomes The chief executive made a payment last week. which you can then change to The chief executive paid last week. Stay structured Few of the people you write for are psychic or have infallible memories. If you put the main part of the sentence at the end, they will have to read to the end before they can start to understand the beginning. This mental back-flip could be all it takes to confuse them, distract them, or put them off. Structuring sentences logically will: keep your readers reading make sure they need to read each sentence only once get your message across. Always put the primary clause first. Or, in other words, put the what before the why. So, rather than In order to achieve these targets within the specified timeframe, we need to begin the training now. write We need to begin the training now, in order to achieve these targets within the specified timeframe. or, even better (see Lose the padding, below) We need to begin the training now, so we can hit our targets on time. Also, try to stick to the rule of one sentence = one idea. Aim for an average sentence length of 15-20 words; an absolute maximum of 35. Remember, there is no limit to the number of full stops you can use. Lose the padding Never mistake the ability to use elaborate phrases for a sign of intellect. Whats the point of using your brain to translate a short word into a long one, so that your readers have to use their brains to translate it back again before they even start to take in your message? Its also a fallacy that short words are somehow lightweight or less useful. In fact, they are often the most powerful. No one is saying that you have to use them all the time that would be boring. But if you want your sentences to have more impact, streamline them by doing these three simple things: cut out redundant words replace long words with short ones replace long phrases with short ones. After the detox Just as with healthy eating and exercise regimes, the secrets of writing well in the long term are to enjoy it and to let yourself experiment. Use this month as an opportunity to clamp down on any bad writing habits youve slipped into by really focusing on these three points. But that doesnt mean that you can never again use the passive voice or your favourite long word. This month, we fast. In the long term, its all about the moderation. Challenge Meanwhile, heres a quick four-point exercise to ponder as you crunch your carrots: 1. Reduce this sentence from nine words to five: It is possible that the Chancellor will cut taxes. 2. Rewrite this sentence without the nominalisation (-tion words): It was his conviction that the provision of bicycles to law officers would lead to a reduction in crime. 3. Cut two words out of this sentence: Sarah Thompson, who is our marketing director, will lead the discussion. 4. Rewrite this sentence without the prepositions (of, on, in, by, to): The recession is of great concern to small-business owners.

Sunday, February 16, 2020

Research Methods Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Research Methods - Assignment Example There are no responses for the choice not to reveal one’s gender category. Table 2: Age Profile Age Total Percentage 18-21 41 52.6% 22-25 27 34.6% 26-29 5 6.4% 30+ 5 6.4% Statistics Age N Valid 78 Missing 0 Mean 1.67 Std. Deviation .863 Skewness 1.332 Std. Error of Skewness .272 Age Frequency Percent Valid Percent Cumulative Percent Valid 18-21 41 52.6 52.6 52.6 22-25 27 34.6 34.6 87.2 26-29 5 6.4 6.4 93.6 30+ 5 6.4 6.4 100.0 Total 78 100.0 100.0 As to age, there are four age ranges represented, beginning from 18 onwards. The greatest percentage proportion of respondents was that corresponding to 18-21 years of age, comprising slightly higher than 52%. The second-highest number represented was that corresponding to the group between the ages 22-25 years, representing almost 35% of the survey sample. Together, the two groups comprise nearly 90% of the respondents, indicating that the sample respondent group is dominated by the young adults who are still in the process of comple ting their degrees, and/or still have minimal working exposure. Table 3: Ethnicity Profile Ethnicity Total Percentage White 31 39.7% Mixed 1 1.3% Asian 19 24.4% Black 12 15.4% Chinese 8 10.3% MidEast 7 9.0% Statistics Ethnicity N Valid 78 Missing 0 Mean 2.82 Std. Deviation 1.726 Skewness .363 Std. ... ackground) 12 15.4 15.4 80.8 Chinese 8 10.3 10.3 91.0 Middle East or Other Arab State 7 9.0 9.0 100.0 Total 78 100.0 100.0 There are six ethnicities represented in the respondent sample, the largest proportion of which is are White comprised of the British, Irish, or other Caucasian nationals, who comprise nearly 40% of the respondents. Second highest ethnic groups are those of Asian background, and together Whites and Asians represent almost two-thirds of the sample group. The remaining one-third are composed of Blacks with 15%, Chinese with 10%, and Middle-Eastern and Arabs with 9%. There is one respondent who answered that he/she was of mixed ethnicity. Table 4: Skills Self-assessment    Mean SD COV Interpret Maths 2.987 1.533 0.513 NAD Logical 2.962 1.284 0.433 NAD Social 3.321 1.410 0.424 NAD Disputes 3.256 1.372 0.421 NAD Issues 3.128 1.231 0.394 NAD Teamwork 3.141 1.412 0.449 NAD Individual 3.436 1.364 0.409 NAD Alone 3.256 1.333 0.409 NAD Leading 3.372 1.424 0.422 NAD Membe r 3.051 1.422 0.466 NAD Part_Team 3.256 1.472 0.452 NAD SD = standard deviation, COV = coefficient of variation The respondents were asked to agree or disagree with statements which represented their self-assessment of their entrepreneurial skills. Table 4 above provides the summation of all the self-assessed skills, their standard deviation to show the dispersion of the responses given, and the coefficient of variation to give a more stringent description of spread. The interpretation of mean scores is also provided, according to the legend below the table. All the mean scores fall within the range â€Å"Neither Agree nor Disagree† (NAD), although this is not so much due to consensus as much as it is due to the wide variation among the answers (ranging from 1 to 5). The extreme scores

Sunday, February 2, 2020

Organizational and Societal Functions Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Organizational and Societal Functions - Essay Example These, when clubbed are categorized as the Organizational and Societal arenas, where the PR man has to function. Public Relations is reaching out to the world to create an image of the company, its products and services so as to have a positive competitive impact, which in turn makes for a good long term bottom-line. Apart from the traditional public relations function of working with the media and exposing the good side of the organization, now the hectic pace of all the domestic and global industries demand the following functions too: The last, becoming more and more urgent and forceful as the organizations are impacting globally, by their multi-country locations. These generate a plethora of economic, social, cultural and even religious issues, which have to be resolved. 2. Relationship management - This demands great tactical skill that adequately addresses the strategies formulated, to be played right across the board. It is all inclusive and in dire need nothing is excluded. Traditionally the directions required are {a} Internal Within the organization and {b} External Outside the organization. 3. Media Relations - The core area of public relations is media relations. Efforts are desired to properly publicize products or the company to the members of the mass media TV and Radio, newspaper, magazine, newsletter and Internet. 4. Publicity - Products or events are to be successfully publicized when launched through various media and Brand Ambassadors or influencers. 5. Marketing communications - This focuses on the products or produce and/or services. Marketing communications {marcom} is primarily concerned with demand generation, product, produce and/or service positioning. 6. Employee relations - It begins with sharing of the corporate vision to enable every one in the organization, to work in tandem to successfully realize it. Build cordial relationship between the employer and the employee with the existence of mutual respect for each other. Derive immense benefits of team sprit to directly effect improved production, employee motivation, customer satisfaction and reputation of business. Public Relations 5 7. Investor relations - The larger the organization gets the more complex are the financial structuring. Therefore, most large companies, investor relations (IR) or financial public relations is a specialty in itself guided by specific disclosure regulations dictated

Saturday, January 25, 2020

Malaysia As A Fully Developed Country Politics Essay

Malaysia As A Fully Developed Country Politics Essay The purpose of this paper is to present before you some thoughts on the future course of our nation and how we should go about to attain our objective of developing Malaysia into an industrialised country. Also outlined are some measures that should be in place in the shorter term so that the foundations can be laid for the long journey towards that ultimate objective.   Hopefully the Malaysian who is born today and in the years to come will be the last generation of our citizens who will be living in a country that is called developing. The ultimate objective that we should aim for is a Malaysia that is a fully developed country by the year 2020. What, you might rightly ask, is a fully developed country ? Do we want to be like any particular country of the present 19 countries that are generally regarded as developed countries ? Do we want to be like the United Kingdom, like Canada, like Holland, like Sweden, like Finland, like Japan ? To be sure, each of the 19, out of a world community of more than 160 states, has its strengths. But each also has its fair share of weaknesses. Without being a duplicate of any of them we can still be developed. We should be a developed country in our own mould. Malaysia should not be developed only in the economic sense. It must be a nation that is fully developed along all the dimensions: economically, politically, socially, spiritually, psychologically and culturally. We must be fully developed in terms of national unity and social cohesion, in terms of our economy, in terms of social justice, political stability, system of government, quality of life, social and spiritual values, national pride and confidence. Malaysia As A Fully Developed Country One Definition By the year 2020, Malaysia can be a united nation, with a confident Malaysian society, infused by strong moral and ethical values, living in a society that is democratic, liberal and tolerant, caring, economically just and equitable, progressive and prosperous, and in full possession of an economy that is competitive, dynamic, robust and resilient. There can be no fully developed Malaysia until we have finally overcome the nine central strategic challenges that have confronted us from the moment of our birth as an independent nation. The first of these is the challenges of establishing a united Malaysian nation with a sense of common and shared destiny. This must be a nation at peace with itself, territorially and ethnically integrated, living in harmony and full and fair partnership, made up of one Bangsa Malaysia with political loyalty and dedication to the nation. The second is the challenge of creating a psychologically liberated, secure, and developed Malaysian Society with faith and confidence in itself, justifiably proud of what it is, of what it has accomplished, robust enough to face all manner of adversity. This Malaysian Society must be distinguished by the pursuit of excellence, fully aware of all its potentials, psychologically subservient to none, and respected by the peoples of other nations. The third challenge we have always faced is that of fostering and developing a mature democratic society, practising a form of mature consensual, community-oriented Malaysian democracy that can be a model for many developing countries. The fourth is the challenge of establishing a fully moral and ethical society, whose citizens are strong in religious and spiritual values and imbued with the highest of ethical standards.   The fifth challenge that we have always faced is the challenge of establishing a matured, liberal and tolerant society in which Malaysians of all colours and creeds are free to practise and profess their customs,cultures and religious beliefs and yet feeling that they belong to one nation.   The sixth is the challenge of establishing a scientific and progressive society, a society that is innovative and forward-looking, one that is not only a consumer of technology but also a contributor to the scientific and technological civilisation of the future.   The seventh challenge is the challenge of establishing a fully caring society and a caring culture, a social system in which society will come before self, in which the welfare of the people will revolve not around the state or the individual but around a strong and resilient family system.   The eighth is the challenge of ensuring an economically just society. This is a society in which there is a fair and equitable distribution of the wealth of the nation, in which there is full partnership in economic progress. Such a society cannot be in place so long as there is the identification of race with economic function, and the identification of economic backwardness with race.   The ninth challenge is the challenge of establishing a prosperous society, with an economy that is fully competitive, dynamic, robust and resilient. We have already come a long way towards the fulfilment of these objectives. The nine central objectives listed need not be our order of priorities over the next three decades. Most obviously, the priorities of any moment in time must meet the specific circumstances of that moment in time.   But it would be surprising if the first strategic challenge which I have mentioned the establishment of a united Malaysian nation is not likely to be the most fundamental, the most basic.   Since much of what I will say this morning will concentrate on economic development, let me stress yet again that the comprehensive development towards the developed society that we want -however each of us may wish to define it -cannot mean material and economic advancement only. Far from it. Economic development must not become the be-all and the end-all of our national endeavours. Since this Council must concentrate on the issues of economic development and economic social justice, which for this nation must go hand in hand for the foreseeable future, let me expand on the perception of the central strategic challenges with regard to these two vital objectives.   At this point it is well to define in greater detail the objective of establishing an economically just society.   Of the two prongs of the NEP no one is against the eradication of absolute poverty -regardless of race, and irrespective of geographical location. All Malaysians, whether they live in the rural or the urban areas, whether they are in the south, north, east or west, must be moved above the line of absolute poverty.   This nation must be able to provide enough food on the table so that not a solitary Malaysian is subjected to the travesty of gross under-nourishment. We must provide enough by way of essential shelter, access to health facilities, and all the basic essentials. A developed Malaysia must have a wide and vigorous middle class and must provide full opportunities for those in the bottom third to climb their way out of the pit of relative poverty.   The second prong, that of removing the identification of race with major economic function is also acceptable except that somehow it is thought possible to achieve this without any shuffling of position. If we want to build an equitable society than we must accept some affirmative action. This will mean that in all the major and important sectors of employment, there should be a good mix of the ethnic groups that make up the Malaysian nation. By legitimate means we must ensure a fair balance with regard to the professions and all the major categories of employment. Certainly we must be as interested in quality and merit. But we must ensure the healthy development of a viable and robust Bumiputera commercial and industrial community.   A developed Malaysia should not have a society in which economic backwardness is identified with race. This does not imply individual income equality, a situation in which all Malaysians will have the same income. This is an impossibility because by sheer dint of our own individual effort, our own individual upbringing and our individual preferences, we will all have different economic worth, and will be financially rewarded differently. An equality of individual income as propounded by socialists and communists is not only not possible, it is not desirable and is a formula for disaster.   But I do believe that the narrowing of the ethnic income gap, through the legitimate provision of opportunities, through a closer parity of social services and infrastructure, through the development of the appropriate economic cultures and through full human resource development, is both necessary and desirable. We must aspire by the year 2020 to reach a stage where no-one can say that a particular ethnic group is inherently economically backward and another is economically inherently advanced. Such a situation is what we must work for efficiently, effectively, with fairness and with dedication.   A full partnership in economic progress cannot mean full partnership in poverty. It must mean a fair balance with regard to the participation and contribution of all our ethnic groups including the Bumiputeras of Sabah and Sarawak in the high-growth, modern sectors of our economy. It must mean a fair distribution with regard to the control , management and ownership of the modern economy.   In order to achieve this economically just society, we must escalate dramatically our programmes for national human resource development. There is a need to ensure the creation of an economically resilient and fully competitive Bumiputera community so as to be at par with the NonBumiputera community. There is need for a mental revolution and a cultural transformation. Much of the work of pulling ourselves up by our boot-straps must be done ourselves. In working for the correction of the economic imbalances, there has to be the fullest emphasis on making the needed advances at speed and with the most productive results at the lowest possible economic and societal cost.   With regard to the establishment of a prosperous society, we can set many aspirational goals. I believe that we should set the realistic (as opposed to aspirational) target of almost doubling our real gross domestic product every t en years between 1990 and 2020 AD. If we do this, our GDP should be about eight times larger by the year 2020 than it was in 1990. Our GDP in 1990 was 115 billion Ringgit. Our GDP in 2020 should therefore be about 920 billion Ringgit in real (1990 Ringgit) terms.   This rapid growth will require that we grow by an average of about 7 per cent (in real terms) annually over the next 30 years. Admittedly this is on optimistic projection but we should set our sights high if we are to motivate ourselves into striving hard. We must guard against growth fixation, the danger of pushing for growth figures oblivious to the needed commitment to ensure stability, to keep inflation low, to guarantee sustainability, to develop our quality of life and standard of living, and the achievement of our other social objectives. It will be a difficult task, with many peaks and low points. But I believe that this can be done. In the 1960s, we grew by an annual average of 5.1 per cent; in the 1970s, the first decade of the NEP, Malaysia grew by an average of 7.8 per cent; in the 1980s, because of the recession years, we grew by an annual average of 5.9 per cent. If we take the last thirty years, our GDP rose annually in real terms by an average of 6.3 per cent. If we take the last twenty years, we grew by an annual average of 6.9 per cent. What is needed is an additional 0.1 per cent growth. Surely if we all pull together God willing this 0.1% can be achieved.   If we do succeed, and assuming roughly a 2.5 per cent annual rate of population growth, by the year 2020, Malaysians will be four times richer (in real terms) than they were in 1990. That is the measure of the prosperous society we wish and hopefully we can achieve.   The second leg of our economic objective should be to secure the establishment of a competitive economy. Such an economy must be able to sustain itself over the longer term, must be dynamic, robust and resilient. It must mean, among other things: A diversified and balanced economy with a mature and widely based industrial sector, a modern and mature agriculture sector and an efficient and productive and an equally mature services sector; an economy that is quick on its feet, able to quickly adapt to changing patterns of supply, demand and competition; an economy that is technologically proficient, fully able to adapt, innovate and invent, that is increasingly technology intensive, moving in the direction of higher and higher levels of technology; an economy that has strong and cohesive industrial linkages throughout the system; an economy driven by brain-power, skills and diligence in possession of a wealth of information, with the knowledge of what to do and how to do it; an economy with high and escalating productivity with regard to every factor of production; an entrepreneurial economy that is self reliant, outward looking and enterprising; an economy sustained by an exemplary work ethic, quality consciousness and the quest for excellence; an economy characterised by low inflation and a low cost of living; an economy that is subjected to the full discipline and rigour of market forces.   Most of us in this present Council will not be there on the morning of January 1, 2020 Not many, I think. The great bulk of the work that must be done to ensure a fully developed country called Malaysia a generation from now will obviously be done by the leaders who follow us, by our children and grand-children. But we should make sure that we have done our duty in guiding them with regard to what we should work to become. And let us lay the secure foundations that they must build upon. Some Key Public Sector Economic Policies Some Key Public Sector Economic Policies For The Forseeable Future Since the early 1980s, we have stressed that this country will rely on the private sector as the primary engine of economic growth. In a way we were ahead of the rest of the world, even the developed countries in entrusting economic growth to the private sector.   In the early years, our fledgling private sector could not fully respond to the challenge that was issued. Then came the unpredictable and difficult recession and slowdown years. However in the last three years the private sector has bloomed and responded. The policy is now bearing fruit. The outcome: in 1988, we grew in real terms by 8.9 per cent; in 1989, by 8.8 per cent; in 1990, by 9.4 per cent without expansionary budgetting by the Government. Even the tiger economies of North East Asia have not done so well.   No nation can afford to abandon a winning formula. And this nation will not. For the forseeable future, Malaysia will continue to drive the private sector, to rely on it as the primary engine of growth.   In the meantime the Government will continue to downsize of its role in the field of economic production and business. The State cannot of course retreat totally from the economic life of Malaysia. It will not abdicate its responsibility for overseeing and providing the legal and regulatory framework for rapid economic and social development.   The Government will be pro active to ensure healthy fiscal and monetary management and the smooth functioning of the Malaysian economy. It will escalate the development of the necessary physical infrastructure and the most conducive business environment consistent with its other social priorities. And where absolutely neccessary the Government will not be so completly bound by its commitment to withdrawal from the economic role, that it will not intervene. It will play its role judiciously and actively. The process of de-regulation will continue. There can be no doubt that regulations are an essential part of the governance of society, of which the economy is a part. A state without laws and regulations is a state flirting with anarchy. Without order, there can be little business and no development. What is not required is over regulation although it may not be easy to decide when the Government is over regulating. Wisdom lies of course in the ability to distinguish between those laws and regulations which are productive of our societal objectives and those that are not; and it lies in making the right judgements with regard to the trade offs. Thus Governments will be neither foolish nor irresponsible, and will cater to the needs of the wider society as well as the requirements of rapid growth and a competitive, robust and resilient economy. It will be guided by the knowledge that the freeing of enterprise too not only laws and regulations, and state intervention can contribute to the achievement of the wider social objectives. In this light and given the fact that there are clear areas of unproductive regulation which need to be phased out, you can expect the process of productive de- regulation to continue. The recent move of Bank Negara to de-regulate the BLR regime is an example in point. Privatisation will continue to be an important cornerstone of our national development and national efficiency strategy. This policy is not founded on ideological belief. It is aimed specifically at enhancing competitiveness, efficiency and productivity in the economy, at reducing the administrative and financial burdens on the Government and at expediting the attainment of national distributional goals. In implementing our privatisation policy, the Government is fully aware of the need to protect public interest, to ensure that the poor are provided access to essential services, to guarantee that quality services are provided at minimum cost, to avoid unproductive monopolistic practices and to ensure the welfare of workers. There will be problems. No endeavour comes without a price tag. But it is clear enough that this policy has thus far generated positive results and we can expect its implementation to be accelerated in the future. With the completion of the Privatisation Master Plan Study, I believe that many of the bottlenecks and rigidities that obstruct the progress of the needed privatisation will be removed, thus accelerating its smooth implementation. There will be in the years ahead an Accelerated Industrialisation Drive, a drive that is not based on a fascination with industry but on the simple truth that if we want to develop rapidly -in a situation where the developed economies will be moving out of industrialisation into a post industrial stage this is the way to go. If we are to industrialise rapidly, we will need to capitalise on our national strengths and forcefully tackle our weaknesses. In pursuit of this policy, the Government will need to deal with the problem of a narrow manufacturing base. In 1988, 63 per cent of total Malaysian manufactured exports came from the electrical and electronic and textile industries. Electronics alone accounted for 50 per cent of total manufactured exports. We must diversify. Despite the most rapid development in the free trade zones insignificant demand has been generated for local intermediate products. We will have to deal with the problem of weak industrial linkages. There is inadequate development of indigenous technology. There is too little value- added, too much simple assembly and production. There is also a need to counter rising production costs brought about by rising costs of labour, raw materials and overheads by improving efficiency and productivity. There is a serious shortage of skilled manpower. All these and many more issues will need to be addressed. Small and medium scale industries have an important role to play in generating employment opportunities, in strengthening industrial linkages, in penetrating markets and generating export earnings. They have a crucial role as a spawning ground for the birth of tomorrows entrepreneurs. The Government will devise appropriate assistance schemes and will seek to raise the level of management expertise, technological know-how and skills of the employees in this very important and in many ways neglected sector of our economy. The SMIs will be one of the primary foundations for our future industrial thrust. The Government is fully committed to its healthiest development. Just as we must diversify the products we export so must we diversify the markets we export to. Malaysian exporters must look also at the non traditional markets. It will require new knowledge, new networks, new contacts and new approaches towards dealing with unfamiliar laws, rules and regulation. It will be uncomfortable but it would be a mistake to consider that it is not worth the discomfort to deal with these markets. Alone they may be small but cumulatively the market of the developing Asian, African and Latin America countries are big. If the developed countries find it worth while to export to these markets then it must be worth while for us also. The Government will help but the private sector must play their part. Reliance on export- led growth is still the way to rapid growth. Entry into the world market pits our companies against all comers and subjects them to the full force of international competition. This is a challange we must accept not simply because the domestic market is too small but because in the long run it will actually enrich our domestic market and reduce our dependence on export. We must persist with export-led growth despite the global slowdown, despite the rise of protectionism, trade blocs and managed trade. When the going is tougher, we must not turn inward. We simply have no choice but to be more lean, more resourceful, more productive and generally more competitive, more able to take on the world. 56. The liberalisation of the Malaysian economy has had beneficial result and contributed towards a more dynamic growth. Obviously, liberalisation must be undertaken responsibly and in stages so as not to create economic uncertainty and impose excessive structural adjustment costs. We should take into the fullest consideration Malaysias capacity to undertake liberalisation. We should not dismiss the infant industry argument, but we should not bow to illegitimate pressure. At the same time, productive liberalisation ensures that our private sector will be less reliant on artificial profits and on protection, which benefits some producers at the expense of consumers and other producers. Infants must grow up. They must grow up to be sturdy and strong. And this cannot be done if they are over-protected. For reasons that are obvious, the Government will continue to foster the inflow of foreign investment. This is essential for Malaysias Accelerated Industrialisation Drive. Again, we will not abandon a winning strategy. But we will fine-tune it to ensure that measures are in place to ensure that Malaysia maximises the net benefit from the inflow of foreign investment. In the past, the domestic private sector has largely failed to meet the targets set in successive Malaysia Plans. Apparently domestic investors feel that the Government has not devoted enough effort to the fostering of domestic investment as we have devoted to those from overseas. This is not completely true but we will redress the situation as we get better feed back. Small and medium scale enterprises must be assisted to grow bigger. Surplus savings and domestic capital must be more productively channeled into investments. Entrepreneurs must be spawned. Where necessary, technological and training help must be extended; and infrastructural support must be given. It is worthwhile to stress again that the development that we need cannot take place without the infrastructural underpinning. We must keep one step ahead of demand and need. In the recent Budget, we clearly stated what we will do in the shorter term. The Sixth Malaysia Plan will make clear what we will do in the medium term while the second outline perspective Plan will indicate the direction over the long term. The Government is fully aware of the infrastructure bottlenecks and of the need for massive investments in the years to come. We will not let growth to be retarded by excessive congestion and investment indigestion, as has happened in many countries. In our drive to move vigorously ahead nothing is more important then the development of human resources. From the experience in the last two decades of all the economic miracles of the countries that have been poor in terms of natural resources, it is blindingly clear that the most important resource of any nation must be the talents, skills, creativity and will of its people. What we have between our ears, at our elbow and in our heart is much more important than what we have below our feet and around us. Our people is our ultimate resource. Without a doubt, in the 1990s and beyond, Malaysia must give the fullest emphasis possible to the development of this ultimate resource. Malaysia has one of the best educational systems in the Third World. But for the journey that we must make over our second generation, new standards have to be set and new results achieved. We cannot but aspire to the highest standards with regard to the skills of our people, to their devotion to knowhow and knowledge upgrading and self-improvement, to their language competence, to their work attitudes and discipline, to their managerial abilities, to their achievement motivation, their attitude towards excellence and to the fostering of the entrepreneurial spirit. We cannot afford to neglect the importance of entrepreneurship and entrepreneural development, which goes, of course beyond training and education. We must ensure the correct mix with regard to professionals, sub-professionals, craftsmen and artisans, and the correct balance with regard to those with competence in science and technology, the a rts and social sciences. In the development of human resources we cannot afford to neglect half the population i.e. the Bumiputeras. If they are not brought into the mainstream, if their potentials are not fully developed, if they are allowed to be a milestone around the national neck, then our progress is going to be retarded by that much. No nation can achieve full progress with only half its human resources harnessed. What may be considered a burden now can, with the correct attitude and management be the force that lightens our burden and hasten our progress. The Bumiputeras must play their part fully in the achievement of the national goal. Inflation is the bane of all economic planners. Fortunately except during the first oil shock when inflation went up to 17%, Malaysia has managed to keep inflation low. We must continue to keep it low. The Government, the business sector, and the people must be committed to keeping it low. The only real way to combat inflation is to live within ones means. If we cannot afford we just dont buy. In Malaysia this is possible for we can produce practically all we need in terms of food, shelter and clothing. When recently we had a recession, life was bearable because we were able to buy our needs at roughly the same price i.e. we had practically no inflation. Now that we have more money, demand pull is slowly forcing prices up. So although we may be more prosperous now, although we may be financially wealthier now, but in terms of purchasing power we are not as well-off as we should be. The public must understand what causes inflation and must be disciplined enough to combat it . In some countries when inflation rates go up to thousands of per cent per year, Governments have been changed again and again without inflation being contained. The reason is that the people are not disciplined and prepared to restrain themselves. No Government can put a stop to inflation unless the people are prepared to accept the discomfort of austerity. In the fight against inflation nothing is more effective than education and discipline among the people. In an interdependent trading world, the exchange rate plays a vital role. Too cheap a currency will increase import bills and debt payment but it will make exports competitive. But the full benefit of a low exchange rate on export can be negated by the cost of imported material which go into the exported products. A high currency value will enrich our people, particularly in terms of buying imported luxuries but our exports will not be competitive and the economy will eventually be adversely affected. Clearly the management of the exchange rate is of extreme importance to the progress of our nation. There is only a limited ability to manipulate. In the final analysis it is how we balance our trade that will determine how our currency is valued. Malaysia must learn to be competitive through higher productivity rather than through manipulating exchange rates. Again the people must understand their role, particularly with regard to productivity. In a world of high technology Malaysia cannot afford to lag behind. We cannot be in the front line of modern technology but we must always try to catch up at least in those fields where we may have certain advantages. We have already adopted a National Plan of Action for Industrial Technology Development. This is the easy part. We must now proceed expeditiously to the enormously difficult task of implementation. The Government will certainly provide the necessary commitment and leadership to this national endeavour. The institutional and support infrastructure will be put in place to ensure rapid, realistic, focussed and market driven development of our technological capabilities. But let us never forget that technology is not for the laboratory but the factory floor and the market. The private sector and our people must respond. Far too often the results of research are ignoured in favour of the tried and tested moneyspinners. It has been said that the secret of Japans success is its skill in applying research results to marketable products. If we dont do this we are going to be left behind whatever may be the level of our technology. While increasing our industrial manufacturing sector, Malaysia must make sure that our agriculture and services sector will not be neglected. We must advance. We must strive for efficiency, modernity and competitiveness. These should be the key guiding principles of our national policy towards agriculture, tourism and the fullest development of the entire services sector. Nor can we afford to neglect the rural sector of our economy and society. In the years ahead, we must work for a second rural development transformation, restructuring the villages so as to be compatible with both agriculture and modern industry. Less and less farmers should produce more and more food, thus releasing manpower for an industrial society. While doing all these we must also ensure that our valuable natural resources are not wasted. Our land must remain productive and fertile, our atmosphere clear and clean, our water unpolluted, our forest resources capable of regeneration, able to yield the needs of our national development. The beauty of our land must not be desecrated for it s own sake and for our economic advancement. In the information age that we are living in the Malaysian society must be information rich. It can be no accident that there is today no wealthy, developed country that is information -poor and no information-rich country that is poor and undeveloped. There was a time when land was the most fundamental basis of prosperity and wealth. Then came the second wave, the age of industrialisation. Smokestacks rose where the fields were once cultivated. Now, increasingly, knowledge will not o

Friday, January 17, 2020

You Changed My Life

You Changed My Life is a 2009 Filipino movie starring Sarah Geronimo and John Lloyd Cruz. It is the sequel to the 2008 blockbuster movie A Very Special Love, starring Sarah Geronimo and John Lloyd Cruz. Filming has started in November 2008, just in time for its February 25, 2009 release as Star Cinema and VIVA Films' post-Valentine offering to Filipino moviegoers and received again an â€Å"A† rating from the Cinema Evaluation Board. Cathy Garcia Molina reprises directorial duties for the franchise. It is now the â€Å"Highest Top-Grossing Filipino Movie of All Time† to beat â€Å"Ang Tanging Ina Ninyong Lahat† for its (YCML) 3rd week of showing. Synopsis Its been six months since Laida Magtalas (Sarah Geronimo) won the heart of her prince charming Miggy Montenegro (John Lloyd Cruz) and it has been nothing but roses-she got promoted, Flippage is now in the same building where Miggy works and best of all, her hair looks better. To Laida,nothing can break her perfect little world. Miggy feels like hes on top of the world. He's is finally okay with his family and for the first time,he's in a relationship that has meaning,He is slowly proving to everyone that he is indeed a work in progress. But things quickly proven not quite what they seem. Miggy gets promoted but is assigned in Laguna. Laida,on the other handare,is being offered a job to Canada. With their careers leading Laida and Miggy to different paths, their relationship suffers from the pressures of being apart. Will Laida and Miggy be able to keep their happily ever after? Or will they realize,a little to late,that living the dream is actually harder than attaining it. Main Cast John Lloyd Cruz as Miguel â€Å"Miggy† Montenegro, Sarah Geronimo as Adelaida â€Å"Laida† Magtalas Supporting Cast Dante Rivero as Luis Montenegro, Rowell Santiago as Art Montenegro, Johnny Revilla as Roger Montenegro, Bing Pimentel as Alice Montenegro, Al Tantay as Tomas Magtalas, Irma Adlawan as Baby Magtalas, Arno Morales as Stephen Magtalas, Miles Ocampo as Rose Magtalas, Andre Garcia as Lio Magtalas, Joross Gamboa as John Rae, Bernard Palance as Mon, Matet De Leon as Zoila, Gio Alvarez as Vincent, Kalila Aguilos as Violy, Cj Jaravata as Jules, Epifania â€Å"Panying† Limon as Office Utility

Thursday, January 9, 2020

Do We Need Religion Today Essays

To understand the concept of religion, its effects, and the role it plays in the modern society, we first of all need to get the pure non-diluted meaning of religion; not the current corrupted versions which link religion to some crazy individuals or groups of people. Religious consciousness is experienced when â€Å"God moves towards man and of man towards God† (Odhiambo 2008). Consequently, for man to find the fulfillment of all highest aspiration he must entrust the Lord who made a personal covenant with him as man is aware he has received his existence and its physical benefits as a gift, and so he offers back to God a tribute, a sacramental expression of gratitude so as to proclaim the reward of the greatest good that is contained in this as, as God is and does, so human beings must be and do (The Holy Bible). But the truth is that the secret of the Most High God who created all things cannot be attained by our own ability and perceptions. Otherwise there would be no difference between God and man. Religion is neither discovered nor produced by man, it is a divinely induced occurrence that presupposes the supremacy of a spiritual reality. From my religious point of view, I disagree with Durkheim on the notion that God and religion was a creation of man. The moral aspect described by Durkheim is true beyond any doubt. It is true that we need God so that we can keep on a positive moral track. In reality, religion is one although its varieties cannot be denied; the varieties are more of those of expression than basic belief. By definition, Religion is a sacred engagement with what is believed to be a spiritual reality. It is a set of beliefs that explains about life and the universe in terms of the cause, nature and purpose. Religion is a public figure and should never be used in cases of private beliefs (Saler 1990). We can therefore evaluate the importance of religion in human life without concentrating on what religion ought to be or otherwise. Religion has no clear cuts, neither is it an object with fixed meanings. Religion is manifested in various aspect of life; it is not, and will not be, any single aspect of human experience. It includes pattern of behavior, language and thought. It is a perfectly structured institution and its practice may involve dance and performances, meditative techniques, detailed rules of ethical conduct and law, among others. The forms of religious expressions are as many as human cultural environments. Every society has a religion, ands its role cannot be under-looked. In many instances, religion is used as the control experiment on human behavior. Through religion, there have been harmony and social stability in societies. For those who observe a given religion, the religion provides a system of behavior which governs the society, thereby creating peace and harmony. In the uplifting of the human culture, various religions have their practices in written form. This offers a definite direction for the observer of such religion. The Bible is for Christians, Vedas for the Hindus, Talmud for the Jews, Koran for the Muslims, Confucius for the Chinese, and so on. All these books provide a definite code of behavior which makes peace and harmony a reality. For the disillusioned, religion provides the greatest comfort. The degree of frustrations nowadays calls for a refuge which quite a number find in the religion. Be that as it may, religion nowadays has taken a different meaning. It has been a more personalized matter in the western culture that its importance tends to becoming irrelevant. Weber’s consideration on the development of capitalism and the effect of rise of Protestantism may or may not be true depending on the point of view. By considering the rise of fundamentalist Christianity and the emergence of political conservatism, and the rise of fundamentalist strain of Islam and the rise of terrorism (Richard 2007), we get convinced on the opposing roles of religion. Weber also talked about the progress of rationality, which seems to be contradictory to religion. As stated by Durkheim, religion is undergoing replacement with â€Å"civil religion† To some groups of individuals, religious faith has been the foundation and the umbrella of their terrible acts. Marx stipulated that the world would be better off without religion (Marx 1844), which is true to an extent. Today, there are different extremists related to specific religions: the Taliban in Afghanistan and the Muslim religion; the Sikhism in India and Hindu religion; and the Christian fundamentalist Tea Party movement in the United States and Christianity. All these groups propagate terrorism and violence, and at the same time create a society full of social injustice. CONCLUSION From the above discussion, it is evident that religion can result into two conflicting states. It can promote peace and harmony within societies and at the same time promote social injustice and conflicts. The need for religion depends on the perception of the individual. An individual may need religion to act as a tool for his unethical acts. Similarly, one may need religion to impart morality in the society. On whichever choice we make, let us have sense of religion. REFERENCE Marx, Karl. (1844). Introduction to A Contribution to the Critique of Hegel’s Philosophy of   Right. Deutsch-Franzà ¶sische Jahrbà ¼cher, Odhiambo, J.T. (2008). Religion as it should be. Nairobi: SasaSema Publishers. Richard, Dawkin. (2007). The God Delusion. Houghton Mifflin Publishers Saler, Benson. (1990). Conceptualizing Religion: Immanent Anthropologists, Transcendent Natives, and Unbounded Categories. The Holy Bible, King James Version; New American Library (1974).