Provinces of the Philippines and Local Markets

Tapsilog is a popular Filipino dish commonly served for breakfast. The term is coined from combining the Filipino words tapa, sinangag, and itlog which are the main components of the dish. We chose to show how tapsilog can be geographical because we want to emphasize that anything can be geographical, and tapsilog, a common Filipino dish is usually not the kind of product that people would associate with geography. As mentioned, tapsilog is made up of tapa (dried meat), sinangag (fried rice) and itlog (egg), but it doesn’t stop there.Each ingredient is also made up of even more ingredients that we have traced to have originated from and traveled through different places in and out of the country before it reaches our plates. This further supports the idea that tapsilog, like every product, is geographical. Tapa, the first and main ingredient, is made from beef marinated in different spices. The beef is usually bought at the nearest local market by most cooks, but before reachi ng the local markets, it is first brought from a farmer’s market which is locally called bulungan or bagsakan.One example of this bagsakan is the Farmer’s Market Cubao from which its name was derived from. Slaughter houses and cow farms from different municipalities sell their product to the said farmer’s market. One of the biggest sources of cow meat in the Philippines is Padre Garcia, Batangas, the cattle trading capital of the Philippines, where they have the best temperature here in the country for raising cows. Cow breeders ensure that their livestock are bred well by supplying them with good feeds and steroids. Their diet usually contains well-grown grass and corn.The marinade consists of a blend of sugar, garlic, pepper, and salt, which are locally- found ingredients. The sugar comes from sugar mills like the San Carlos Bio Energy Inc. in Negros Occidental, while the sugarcanes are provided by small sugarcane farmers from Bukidnon, Misamis Oriental, Negro s and Panay, or by large agricultural companies like Del Monte and DOLE. Pepper is mostly from small and big exporters from Batangas, Laguna, Quezon, Negros Occidental, Zamboanga and Davao. Garlic usually comes from Sinait, Ilocos Sur, the garlic center of the Philippines where they celebrate the Sinait Bawang Fest.Like the beef, the spices are brought from its respective farmer’s market before reaching the local markets. Sinangag is the term for Filipino fried rice. Rice, the main ingredient of sinangag, is also bought from local markets that got their stocks from the National Food Authority. The NFA serves as the biggest warehouse or post harvest facility here in the Philippines. Before reaching the NFA, rice is harvested from rice fields, especially in the province of Central Luzon or sometimes imported from Vietnam. Farmers exert effort in tilling the lands for their crops to grow and watching the seasons to find the best time to plant and harvest.Like tapa, sinangag is a lso composed of the spices discussed earlier. Egg, the last main ingredient in making a tapsilog, is also bought from local markets. Like the other ingredients, eggs are brought from farmer’s markets before reaching local markets, or sometimes large companies or poultry farms like Bounty Fresh Inc. , which is located in Bulacan. They directly deliver their egg products to local markets to maximize profit. Maintaining a poultry farm requires water, chicken feeds, hormones and supplements, and machines which are commonly imported from Japan.

Is Rosalind the Perfect Heroine? Essay

â€Å"As You Like It†, is yet another Shakespearian play that pities nature against civilisation, masculinity against femininity, idealism against cynicism, youth against age, child against parent, time against timelessness, and love against hate. It’s both a gentle, pastoral comedy of love, and a dark and sexually ambiguous comment on gender construction. Rosalind as a character is both a heroine and a portrayal of feminism. The evolution of feminine identity within a patriarchal system of power informs both the setting and characterization of this play. Rosalind dominates the play. As the audience we fully realise the complexity of her character. We understand her emotions, her subtle thoughts, and the fullness of her character that no other character in the play can match. She is successful as a knowledgeable and charming critic of herself and others â€Å"I would give him some good counsel for himself, for he seems to have the quotidian of love above him.† The definition of a heroine looked up in a dictionary is: a woman possessing heroic qualities or a woman who has performed heroic deeds. This definition can be subjective however depending on the context and the time in which the heroine’s character was portrayed. The definition of a heroine changes and evolves over time which is why what a modern audience would class a heroine characterisations is different to the definition of a heroine during the Elizabethan times. The traditional method takes the idea that all characters are real and have lives of their own. This is very different to the modern method as it is structured around the idea that characters are only functions that portray Shakespeare’s ideas. They are all part of Shakespeare’s stage craft. They reflect the bigger aspect of the play. They all have particular dramatic functions, and are set in a social and political world with particular values and beliefs. Looking at a play from a traditional approach is a more imaginative and less academic, however this does allow the audience to become involved and emotionally attached to the characters. This way of approaching a play was used in the time of Shakespeare as plays were made purely for performance. Features of a 17th century heroine differs from a modern day heroine. In the Elizabethan times, beauty, innocence, intelligence, wit and independence would have been classed as heroine qualities. A modern day heroine is thought to be a person that has strength of character, a courageous and original person. Nowadays facial features and beauty does not really count as a heroic quality. However perceptions and ideas of heroines differ from one person to another and this needs to be kept in mind. The portrayal of Rosalind is open to interpretations. It has been interpreted differently by different versions of performances and films. It has also been interpreted differently by different characters in the play. Celia sees Rosalind (Ganymede) as someone who has â€Å"misused our sex†. Other characters like phebe fall in love with (Ganymede) â€Å"I love Ganymede†. In Elizabethan times Rosalind would be viewed as a very feminine character who was at liberty when dressed as a male. This is because in the Elizabethan era, women were viewed as being weak and men as being in control and powerful. Therefore when a woman was dressed as a man she was at more liberty and could do things that she couldn’t have done if she was in form of a woman. Nowadays Rosalind can be viewed a tomboy. Rosalind is a particular favourite amongst the feminist critics, who admire her ability to subvert the limitations that the society imposes on her as a woman. With boldness and imagina tion she disguises herself as a young man for most of the play in order to woo the man she loves and instructs him in how to be a more accomplished and attentive lover, a tutorship which would not be welcome to her as a woman. â€Å"You shall never take her without her answer, unless you take her without her tongue. O that woman cannot make her fault her husband’s occasion, let her nurse hr child herself, for she’ll breed it like a fool.† Rosalind and Celia develop into women. In the court these are inexperienced girls, yet as the comic action moves forward, they are forced to take on disguises and discover what it means to be a woman. Rosalind derives her power from her masculine disguise, and much of her humour is antifeminine. It can be said that this detracts her from being a perfect heroine. She can not exercise such power and control when being simply herself. It’s Celia who actually makes the first step into adult heterosexual womanhood. She’s angry over Rosalind’s boorish behaviour as Ganymede, Celia berates her cousin and says â€Å"we must have your doublet and hose plucked over your head, and show the world what the bird hath done to her own nest.† As mentioned before Rosalind’s character is open to a myriad of readings. Harold Bloom describes her as a character that â€Å"is at once so accomplished in wit, and so little interested in the power that great wit can bring if properly exercised.† Completely contradicting this, Camille Paglia writes â€Å"Rosalind and Ganymede pretend to be a rakish lady killer and, at her assumption of that sexual persona, actually becomes one. She is all sex and power.† Such critical disagreements are not uncommon for plays such as â€Å"As You like It†. In my opinion both of these critics are right in what they say. However Paglia is a bit too unfair and biased. I understand her point about Rosalind being all â€Å"sex and power†, but I disagree with her saying that she’s a â€Å"radish lady killer.† In my opinion Rosalind is a character that challenges feminism. When dressed as Ganymede she portrays the thoughts of men at the time. Shakespeare uses Rosalind to put this point across. That is the fact that at the time men misrepresented and repressed women. This is quite ironic as Rosalind is herself a female and the fact that at some points during the play, she puts females down is due to the fact that she’s trying to act like a man and the men at the time had these types of approach and attitudes towards females. In my opinion she’s not acting the way she does to put women down, but to show the audience how ridiculous it is for men to behave that way towards women and to introduce dramatic irony into the play. In my opinion Rosalind is a perfect heroine, however like any character or any other human being she has fatal flows which in this case has been sheltered by her virtues of character. I completely agree with Bloom on his describing of Rosalind. He also says that she’s â€Å"harmoniously balanced and beautifully sane†, which again I consent with. However he says that Rosalind is not interested in the power that her wit brings her. I think that Rosalind as a character is well aware of the power that she has as Ganymede and the power that her wit brings her. I do also think that she’s interested in the power that being dressed as a man gives her and she enjoys using that supremacy. In my opinion Rosalind is a manipulative character (in a positive way) and can be described as a heroine in most cases. When Orlando asks her if she is a native of the forest, Rosalind makes an ambiguous remark about being as much of a native as a rabbit is to the place where it is born. Here we see how she uses her wit to protect her disguise. In other words, she never quite answers the question directly. She uses this kind of verbal sidestepping again in act V, scene2, when she says that she is in love with no woman and that she’ll marry phebe if she is going to marry any woman at all. She also makes phebe promise that if she refuses to marry her, she’ll marry silvius. Rosalind manipulates the other characters through her use of language, but she does so far one purpose and that is to ensure a happy ending to the play. In my opinion this makes her a genuine heroine. As mentioned before Rosalind subverts the typical role of women in the Elizabethan period. She has great wit and wordplay and this is subversive of Shakespeare to bequeath a female with such qualities. One of the reasons that this play would have been counted as a comedy is the fact that the audience would have found Rosalind’s courage and wit quite funny and they would not have taken it seriously. However Shakespeare would perhaps have wanted to get a very serious and important point across. Some people believe that Shakespeare was a feminist and this is the point to prove it. He could’ have chosen to endow these qualities to another male character, but he chose a female character to reflect on all of these points. Some feminists are keen to stress the utter oppression of women in Elizabethan society in all areas of life; economic, domestic, sexual, familial and personal. Whilst it is certainly true that women were in no way regarded as equal to men in official aspects of life, the plays have an important part to play as pieces of evidence as about the status of women in this period. They are not separate from their background but part of our understanding about women’s lives in this period. This plays has a strong emphasis on the importance of gender at the time and the limitations that females were under due to this. Shakespeare uses Rosalind to undermine this and to illustrate that women can be as witty as men. However significantly and in a sense ironically she is only able to show this to the audience when she is disguised as a male. She is the supreme representation of the possibilities of human personality if there is freedom and if oppression can be overcome. She also shows the p ossibilities of female ability once liberated which in Rosalind’s case is liberty in disguise. At court Rosalind’s status was lower than Celia’s, for Celia was the daughter of the ruling duke â€Å"within ten days if that thou beest found so near our public court as twenty miles, thou diest for it.† Inn the forest of Arden, Rosalind dressed as a man, has higher status and Celia’s role almost fades away. The play has been under a lot of political criticism. It is possible that Shakespeare wrote the play for political reasons. It is a play that describes character like Rosalind and Celia fleeing from the oppression and coercion that they had to deal with when they were at court. Duke Fredrick has been Associated with Queen Elizabeth for his vindictive deeds towards his own daughter and Rosalind. The play is about power and social structure. The court is seen as being the place of higher classed people, whereas the Forest of Arden is supposed to be for the undersides of the society (at the time) like women, exiles, outcasts and people in lower status. The play describes the court as being a patriarchal society and the forest as being a place of justice and equality. However we find out that this is not the case as there are wealthy landowners that enrich themselves of the poor. Phebe and Silvius are examples of these as they are shepherds that work for a rich and cruel man. This goes to show that the forest has the same hierarchy structure as the court. Shakespeare could have been trying to portray the fact that there’s always injustice in â€Å"enclosures†. The end of the play is very significant to the irony of the play. Rosalind loses her independence, autonomy and freedom when she gets married to Orlando and when she takes off Ganymede’s clothes â€Å"to you I give myself, for I am yours†. This is so ironic as after all of Rosalind’s efforts and all of Shakespeare’s efforts to portray her as a witty, intelligent character and a Feminist, she has gone back to being her old powerless self. I think that Shakespeare did this to show the audience that things like antifeminism had to be established and dealt with properly. I think that Shakespeare wanted to bring to light the fact that it wasn’t good enough that Rosalind did all the things that she did, as at the end of the day, Orlando had more power over her and he was in control and she dedicated herself to him. Shakespeare was telling the women n the audience that they would never have rights if they didn’t stick up for themselves and if they didn’t manage to get feminism established. Shakespeare transforms Rosalind’s character throughout the play. From a love struck powerless girl to a dignified, aloof woman who managed to manipulate and influence other characters like Orland (the hero) and Phebe (Ganymede’s lover). Rosalind becomes a very sardonic, scathing and witty character to show that women can be as derisive and satirical as men if they were given the opportunity to be. She fulfils a very important role and a very significant dramatic function. Then he allows her to mould back to her original, immobilized character to show that there had to be a vital change in society otherwise women are never going to get the respect that they truly deserve if the society wasn’t revolutionised and modified.

History Research Paper (1861-1992) Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

History (1861-1992) - Research Paper Example The movie is not simply just a tug-of-war of power and control, it imitates and recreates the idea of the men-versus-women situation within the society. It is also captures one of the most controversial traits, the passion to become free from control and authority. The movie clearly shows the different types of people within the society and it is strange to think that a mental institution can be likened to what is happening within the society. Mental institutions are full of insane people, does this mean that society may be full of insane people trying to fight the authority of those who rule and to create a sense of freedom within the bounds of the laws set by the people in power? Birds represent freedom, and looking at the title alone, we believe that’s what it implies, that it is a movie about freedom. Looking at the nature of the main characters of the nurses and the patients, we see that it may be a glimpse of the society at work not a depiction of the mental ward. The mo vie, released in the sixties, at the height of an anti-authoritarian counterculture spirit gave the society an insight of who we were at the time. Or better yet, it gave an insight of how the society moved towards to when it comes to facing authority, control and power. Not a soul wants to be tied down, or bound against his freedom. This is the movie’s focal point. The plot of the movie does not focus on one character rather it focuses on the situation within the mental institution. Jack Nicholson, who is rather an unconventional type of patient, represented the changing force within the mental institution. He was the force that created a stir within the institution, primarily because of the fact that he was not clinically insane as the other characters. He does exhibit a certain madness but he is not one of the psychologically imbalanced patients typical within a mental institution. His only madness was his desire to be out of the prison, that he chose another type of prison , the mental institution, which he believed was better than a criminal prison. This indicates a stereotype of mental institutions, where patients are treated well to become better or to come out of their madness. It is an interesting perspective that people outside of the mental institution believe that it is a hospital where there is comfort, when clearly the patients are not in comfort of what they are experiencing either because of their insanity or the pressure to become sane. It shows then that it is an interesting comparison to view a mental institution as a social institution, which may inhibit the freedom of a person. The mental institution in the movie is similar to the society. There are the nurses and doctors, who have the authority and power similar to the ruling class or the government officials, to declare the laws within the institution. How can they be similar? The movie shows, in the representation of Nurse Ratched, that there is supposed to be someone looking over and looking out for the people within the institution. She determines whether the patient is behaving incorrectly or not. This is similar to how the society is run by the government. If an individual breaks a law, he is fined or sent to prison, very similar to a patient being sent for a shock treatment to

Data Gathering and Analysis Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Data Gathering and Analysis - Assignment Example You can either use the raw data (like the balance resistance measurements, if you can get at them) or the measurement the device produces (like the weight shown on the balance display). If you use the measurements the device produces, it would be best if you use a device that you suspect is not giving very accurate measurements, and your formula will enable you to improve its accuracy. Graph the measurements against the standards and determine a formula that would best enable you to make accurate measurements or correct the answers the device gives. Log transform the data if necessary. Convert your formula so that you can predict what result the device will give with one unknown standard from within the data range (interpolation) and one standard outside the data range (extrapolation) is measured. Test to see if your prediction was correct. Comment on the result of this exercise. This exercise shows that measures obtained from measuring devices must be subjected to corrective methods. Besides, measuring devices must be calibrated on a regular basis to reduce instances of error. Produce a graph showing the Olympic Games gold medal times for the men’s 100 metre sprint event from as far back as you can find to 2012. Use the Excel Chart Labeler Add-In to enter the names of the athletes on the graph. Also determine the year at which Olympic Games an athlete is likely to break the 9.5 second mark. Demonstrate how you have tried to make these predictions as accurately as possible, and explain how you knew which was the most accurate method. Follow the Pivot Table notes in the Two Sample Tests Exercise document. Complete the exercises if you haven’t already done so. This will prepare you to be able to complete this exercise, which uses the same

Pace and timming in Modern foreign language Essay

Pace and timming in Modern foreign language - Essay Example This necessitates promoting modern foreign language education in the country to enable the English children interact and do business effectively with other people who do not understand the English language spoken by the English natives. In addition, teaching modern foreign language will ensure that Britain has enough graduates in modern foreign language that will help in translation and interpretation of foreign language. Despite the increasing need of additional graduates in modern foreign language, the entry of British students into A-level and degree programs in modern foreign language have plummeted. In fact, this situation is a concern to everyone in the country, including ministers, exam officials, and university representatives (Ratcliffe 3). The reason behind the decline in students taking modern foreign language in Britain is not well known. However, the truth remains that imparting British students with modern foreign language skills is crucial thus should be a priority. Ev en though the country is encouraging students to learn modern foreign languages, such as Spanish, French, and Italia among other modern foreign languages, most teachers still face enormous challenges teaching modern foreign languages. ... This discourse will discuss the important and effectiveness of timing and pacing in teaching modern foreign language in British secondary schools. Pacing and timing may appear simple in words. However, it poses a great challenge to most teachers of modern foreign language. Teachers of modern foreign languages throughout British secondary schools have reported this. In spite of the challenges that teachers face in teaching foreign languages, pacing and timing are very important in imparting knowledge to students. One of the most important aspects of timing and pacing in teaching modern foreign language is that it creates a sense of urgency. Dixie argues that the true art of timing and pacing lie on a sense of urgency created (par. 4). It also ensures that students taking modern foreign language are kept abreast of what is required of them. As such, teachers of modern foreign languages are advised to think diligent pace and appropriate timing and refrain from creating hectic pacing. Th inking diligent pace is important it feels right for most students learning modern foreign languages. For instance, using a timer on the desk may be of help to teachers of MFL since it helps the teacher determine the length of time it should take in teaching a certain lesson. For instance, in case a teacher asks a group a question in classroom, he or she must not expect to receive the answer to the question immediately. This is because members of the group will have to consult among themselves before coming up with a single answer. Therefore, when a teacher asks a challenging question in a MFL classroom, it is important to give some time, probably around five minutes for the students to respond. Teaching at the right

Conflict Management Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Conflict Management - Essay Example First, explain the problem to the other party, however the language and mode of communication need to be convincing. The second step involves application of social skills to calm down the situation. This requires creativity in attracting the audience of the other partner. In such situation, if a sad mood exists, then allow time for calmness before proceeding (Konijn, 2008). The final step involves building a positive relationship. After explaining the challenge at hand, one needs to create a cordial and joyous relationship. This step is a bit difficult; however, creative skills in problem solving and conflict management need to apply to maximum to ensure that, the meeting ends in fine moods. In conclusion, the plan for interpersonal challenge management involves diverse skills of problem solving and apt communications skills. In addition, the fundamental aspect in this situation is the creation of a fine

Moblie Phone Insurance Research Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Moblie Phone Insurance Research - Essay Example To this effect, a host of insurance companies created mobile phone insurance to provide cover for phones that are lost, damaged or stolen. Several companies have presented different options that make it easy to provide insurance cover for the mobile phones, and people have to choose dependent on the cover that suits them best, as well as the benefits that emanate from such dealings (Cai, Li, Xia, & Giannelli 2010: 49). Several ways of looking at the way of dealing with such an issue is actually dependent on the person making the payments. Some people will be content by knowing that they have an extra source of security for their expensive gadgets. The problem is that this peace of mind could come at an extra cost that they ought to have reduced at the very start by choosing the best MPI in the market. Some, however, will see the money paid to be quite high and unrealistic. They will wish to have their phones remain as they are without any cover (Brignall 2012). Nonetheless, it is important to understand that when companies are designing their MPIs, they are aware that customers will require different covers and will come up with different gadgets that vary in price. The company must understand this and place it into consideration as a way of appealing and satisfying their employees. The goal is to assure them that they will get the best through their indulgence and utility of covers from their companies (Cai, et al. 2010: 78-79). The delivery of services must meet the clients’ needs; hence, a need to work on carrying out their feasibility studies to understand what is missing. For instance, the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) carried out a survey seeking to understand the impact MPIs have on clients (King & Carey 2013: 212). There were existing gaps brought about by ineffective product governance in companies, the products were not tailored to meet the needs of the consumers, the terms and conditions were unfair or

HG Wells, From the war of the worlds (1898) and All you zombies Essay

HG Wells, From the war of the worlds (1898) and All you zombies - Essay Example On the other hand, All you Zombies seems to revolve around the idea of time. Both the two stories are written in a rather journalistic style. As for the case of The war of the Worlds, the almost factual description of the invasion of the aliens helps to provide some logic to the story. Both the two stories have adopted the first person narration style with the narrators giving a firsthand account of most of the proceedings, a style that further enhances the provision of a fairly wide perspective of the unfolding of events. In the War of the worlds, the aliens first appear in the country in the form of space-going simulated cylinders which when opened they seemed to emit some octopus-like creatures which would also pull in some human beings (Wells, 1988). This leads to the commencement of a war between the army and the Martian’s three legged fighting machines referred to as the tripods that used a combination of a ray of heat and certain chemical components. However, the aliens prove to be more powerful than the army whom they defeat with ease before proceeding to attack the communities surrounding they crater where the cylinders first landed. Being a follower of a Darwinian supporter, Wells seems to display some element of support for the theory’s assumption of the existence of some natural forces of selection in the evolution of organisms. The illustration of the battle that ensues between the army and the aliens from mars can be pointed as a struggle that is almost similar to the theory of natural selection. The fittest in this context are the Martian aliens who are able to outdo the human race due to their development of far more superior intelligence exhibited by their ability to produce highly developed weapons than those of mankind. On the same note, the invasion by the aliens in the war of the worlds seems to explain the ever continuing process of evolution. The narrator depicts the Martian aliens as possessing rather overdeveloped brains c omplemented by a reduced ability to make use of their emotions. In the human context, this therefore implies that in just the same case, the human brain may develop to the extent that it surpasses the rate of overall body development. Thus, mankind will remain to be more of a thinking man rather than an action based creature that would therefore rely on other mechanical devices just as the Martian three legged creature. In All you Zombies, time travel paradoxes seem to be a persistent technique in the plot of the story. In such techniques, more often characters within the story can meet themselves in time or inadvertently change the course of history in such a manner that their trip back to their original time is almost impossible. The story takes place in an unspecified future where space travel is a fact of life and attitudes toward sex and prostitution are very different from what they are today. In the story, the central character is a member of a certain group of time policemen disguising himself as a bartender with the aim of gaining the services of a sob story writer. The customer incidentally reveals the story of his life to the bartender explaining that he was born a girl before later getting pregnant and while giving birth, the doctor asserts her that she was a hermaphrodite. Since there were some complications while giving birth, she had to be removed her female organs which therefore made her

The Domino Effect Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

The Domino Effect - Essay Example Through increased exports, current account deficit tend to correct itself and bridge the gap. However, what has been observed that in real world is something different. It has been observed that currencies of the countries with large deficits have witnessed great appreciation in the value over the period of time. The apparent reason for this appreciation in currency is the fact that the emergence of new emerging market economies like India, China, Brazil, South Africa etc has witnessed a marked decrease in the overall risk profile of developing countries. This coupled with increased interest rates saw the strong inflow of speculative capital into those countries which increased the overall attraction for the currencies of the countries having large current account deficits. The increase in the interest rates has been attributed mainly as the most important factor which attracts foreign investors and hence increases the overall attractiveness of the currency and helps stimulate its ap preciation in foreign exchange market despite country running a large current account deficit. The author further cited the examples of some countries like New Zealand, Australia, Britain and Iceland, which despite their large and persistent current deficits tend to have higher gains in their currencies. Theoretically, it has been argued that there is a relationship between the two variables however, empirical studies have proved it otherwise as there is very weak or no relationship between the two variables. These trends in current account financing however seems to be reversing because of the current financial turmoil in the markets. The article further went on to discuss that the same relationship however do not to persist over the sustained period of time and foreign capital inflows tend to dry up thus forcing current account deficits to much higher spreads. Further, the trends seem to hold when foreign investors investing into the countries with high current account deficits tend to be more risk averse. A slight change in the overall risk appetite of the foreign investor s may reverse the relationship and with increased current account deficit, inflationary pressures may further damage the trust of international investors hence virtually reverse the process of current account deficit financing through high interest rates. The above graph shows the relationship between the Current Account Deficit (CAD) and the growth in currency in Australian Markets. This graph very clearly indicates that the relationship between current account deficit and the currency appreciation and shows that as the CAD accumulated so does the exchange rate. Another important characteristic which is depicted in the above graph is the rise of bank credit with the rise in CAD and exchange rates. The higher inflows of foreign investment finally seem to be ending up in the form of local bank deposits. It is also important to mention that the article discussed the effect of foreign investments from two perspectives. First is foreign direct investment which is believe to have a less volatile nature and fluctuate less with current account deficit therefore has lesser correlation with the exchange rates. However, the speculative portion of foreign investment, the so called speculative capital, tends to show a relationship with the exchange rates and current account deficit. The below mentioned graph depicts some of the forecasted relationship betw

Food and the First World War Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3750 words

Food and the First World War - Essay Example These include high explosive, perfected machine guns, hand grenades and poison gas among a whole host of other 'advances'. The social changes wrought by WWI are also commonly known, from the end of Victorian England to the growth of a middle class to the new independence of women. However, one important advance that occurred both before and during the war; one that would change the world profoundly, was the method of production, storing and transportation of food. This analysis detail the differences between the importance of food in previous wars versus WWI, as well as the wider cultural changes that were placed on European people because of a concentration upon the supply (and disruption thereof) in the war. It will also consider that technological advances in the food industry as a result of the prolonged war. Food was a very important wartime commodity, and new types of warfare, including the u-boats, were aimed at sinking ships transporting supplies, and especially food supplies. In previous wars, food had been important to armies, indeed, it was a matter of prime importance for an army o the move. Julius Caesar, in one of the greatest, and first, works describing warfare, suggests that the need for food is perhaps the most vital component of an army's activity. Food, according to Caesar, is the prime "weapon" of warfare, because without it, none of the others are effective (Caesar, 1983) Before the advent of modern warfare, which can in some ways traced to both the American Civil War (in terms of numbers of men/devastation) and to WWI (in terms of technology/deaths), armies needed to live off the land that they passed through. While some supplies could be taken with them, sue to the lack of storage/preservation these could only the very basics such as corn, oats and some salted meats. But because roads were unpaved and slow, the transport of large amounts of food would bring an army to a stand-still. So the major source of land would be the land that was being passed through. Indeed, cutting off that food supply brought many great armies to their knees. Napoleon's invasion of Russia in 1812, and the subsequent destruction of his army stemmed from two major factors: first traveling too far, too fast without access to a reliable source and second, the Russian winter. The Russians adopted a "scorched earth" policy in which they destroyed their own landscape by setting it on fire in order to starve the French army (Schom, 1998). As Napoleon stated in what has become something of a clich. "an army marches on its stomach" (Schom, 1998). As the fate of Napoleon's army illustrated, as well as that of many others over the centuries, reliance upon the native sources of food rather than transporting one's own individual supply leads to a great vulnerability, even for what is superficially the strongest army. The larger the army the greater are needs for food, and the greater logistical problems involved in supplying it. The Industrial revolution, which started in England and eventually spread to much of the rest of Europe and the United States, caused a massive transformation in the cultural and economic landscape of food production. In the century between Napoleon's disastrous defeat at the hands of the Russians and the beginning of WWI in 1914, many advances in both the production and preservation of food had occurred. One of the great improvements was the invention of

Kabbalah Essay Example for Free

Kabbalah Essay Inner Light Kabbalah Research Paper Judaism is the foundation for many other religions, particularly the study of Kabbalah. There are many references to mysticism and mystical experiences in Judaic teachings, including prophetic dreams and visions and interactions with G-d and angels. Ancient Jews were not allowed to even study these teachings until they completed their study of the Torah after the age of forty. And, then, Kabbalah was studied by only a select few who could truly understand its meanings and power. Kabbalah tries to answer the theological questions of heaven and hell, life after death, our reason for existence, G-d and the universe. What sets Judaism and Kabbalah apart is the way the Holy Scriptures are interpreted. Kabbalah followers believe that there are hidden meanings in the Holy Scriptures and once they understand those they will be granted divine status. Known as a form of Jewish mysticism, Kabbalah is unique in its beliefs and practices and is like no other organized mainstream religion. Followers of Kabbalah, known as Kabbalists, believe that G-d taught the secrets of the Holy Scriptures to a group of angels. Those angels came down to earth in human form and taught the religion to the Israelites. Writings of the Kabbalah date back to the first centuries B. C. E. While Judaism is based on the Torah, Kabbalah has a completely different interpretation of the Holy Scriptures. The Torah is the laws and teachings of Judaism. It is also known as the Books of Moses or the first five books of the Old Testament, which include Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy. Kabbalah scriptures include the Book of Zohar or Book of Splendor. The Zohar is a five-volume mystical commentary on the Torah. The Book of Zohar was presented in the thirteenth century by Moses De Leon who claimed the book contained the mystical writings of the second century sage Rabbi Shimon Bar Yohai. Almost all modern academic scholars believe that De Leon wrote the text himself, but Orthodox Kabbalists accept his claim that Bar Yohai wrote them. Kabbalah also studies the teachings in the scripture Sefer Yetzirah, or the Book of Formation, which talks about Creation. Some believe that Abraham, who is known as the father of the Jewish people, wrote Sefer Yetzirah. Kabbalistic study includes a Sephiroth Tree, which organizes the ten basic principals of life. Kabbalah teaches that immortality can be obtained through the understanding of the letters and numbers included in the Holy Scriptures. The hidden meanings in the numbers and letters can only be understood with magical powers. Kabbalists believe that the truth of G-d and the universe can be found in the Sephirot Tree of Life. It organizes and pictures the ten numbers that are the working principals of life. Each of the branches is interconnected and is how G-d interacts with the universe. The ten branches correspond to the qualities of G-d. Kabbalists believe that when the tenth branch is reached, the soul can enter immortality and know G-d. Kabbalists believe that G-d is transcendent and fills every void in both the spiritual universe and the physical universe. The structure of the Sephiroth Tree of Life is important. There are three columns and the roots of the tree are above the branches. The ten Sefirot includes both masculine and feminine qualities. Kabbalah emphasizes the feminine aspects of G-d. The ten branches are: 1 Kether Being/Existence (Will/Selflessness) 2 Chochmah Wisdom (Pure Thought/Connectedness) Binah Intelligence/Understanding (Differentiation/Repentance) 4 Chesed Mercy/Love (Compassion/Healing) 5 Geburah Strength/Severity (Discipline/Boundaries) 6 Tiphareth Beauty (Balance/Harmony) 7 Netzach Firmness (Leadership/Conference) 8 Hod Glory (Dependence/Vulnerability) 9 Yesod Foundation (Union of Male and Female) 10 Malkuth Kingdom Divine (Exile/Physical) There are three different divi sions of Kabbalah Prophetic, Theosophical, and Practical. Prophetic Kabbalah contains detailed instructions for meditative practices, as well as philosophical explanations of what is going on when those practices work. Prophetic Kabbalists believe that language is the core structure of creation and that the meaning of life can be discovered through language. Theosophical Kabbalah explains the nature of G-d, his relationships to man, and how the world was created. In essence, Theosophical Kabbalah aims to explain the structure of this universe that we live in. â€Å"The critical error all of us make, because of how beautifully human nature is designed, is that we suppose that form is separate and real. † Lastly, Practical Kabbalah examines the different experiences that humans go through in their lives. Practical Kabbalists believe in angels and demons, ways to influence the appearance of G-d, fortune telling and understanding ones past lives. The three sections of Kabbalah all have their own specific philosophies yet they are all still linked with the core beliefs of general Kabbalah. Many philosophers and Rabbis have contributed to the growth of Kabbalah throughout time. Abraham Abulafia was one of the first visionary Kabbalah teachers. He was most well known for being a wandering mystic and teacher throughout Spain during the thirteenth century. Moshe Cordovero created the first real school of Kabbalah in Israel in the sixteenth century and laid the groundwork for Kabbalistic thought. During the eighteenth century in Poland, Rabbi Israel Baal Shem Tov founded Hasidism, which is the ultra-orthodox movement based on many of the Kabbalah teachings. Many passages from Kabbalistic sources are still included in traditional Hasidic prayer books. Beginning in the twentieth century, Jews of other denominations besides Hasidism and many non-Jewish followers began to study and practice Kabbalah. However many traditional Jews do not take Kabbalah and its study of mysticism very seriously. One prominent Orthodox scholar said, its nonsense, but its Jewish nonsense, and the study of anything Jewish, even nonsense, is worthwhile. Prayer is an important part of Kabbalah. Kabbalists pray in Hebrew since it is the original language of God. Shabbat is celebrated as the day of rest in the Jewish religion and is a day of quiet, solitude, and reflection. Regardless of one’s belief in the mysticism of the ancient texts, Kabbalah allows a person to feel connected to G-d and the universe in a contemplative and personal way. Kabbalah is truly unique in its beliefs and practices. Works Cited Melton, J. Gordon. The Encyclopedia of American Religions. Wilmington, NC: McGrath Pub. , 1978. Gale Cenage. Web. 12 May 2013. The Kabbalah Centre.   The Kabbalah Centre. N. p. , n. d. Web. 11 May 2013. ;lt;http://www. kabbalah. com/;gt;. Kabbalah.   Kabbalah. N. p. , n. d. Web. 11 May 2013. ;lt;http://www. jewishvirtuallibrary. org/jsource/Judaism/kabbalah. html;gt;. Kabbalah and Jewish Mysticism. Judaism 101. N. p. , n. d. Web. 13 May 2013. ;lt;www. jewfaq. org/kabbalah. htm? ;gt;. Kabbalah ;amp; Mysticism in Jewish Thought. N. p. , n. d. Web. 13 May 2013. ;lt;http://www. myjewishlearning. com/beliefs/Theology/Kabbalah_and_Mysticism. shtml;gt;. |

Macbeths Ambition

Macbeths Ambition Macbeth goes through a steadily detrimental transformation in Shakespeares play Macbeth. Macbeth goes from being a conscientious, compassionate, logical and caring man in the beginning of the play and becoming logical, compassionate, caring, and conscientious man in the beginning of the play and becoming a cruel and insensitive excuse of a human being. His change in behavior from compassionate to insensitive and logical to illogical develops slowly, but surely. Macbeth shows that he is capable at his height in being compassionate and logical, which can be seen while he contemplates killing Duncan and in his final decision on the matter. Later, we see evidence of a descent from this when he is deciding to kill Banquo: his motives change, and he becomes less logical, less able to see the reasons against the deed. Finally, Macbeth shows that he has lost it all. Sanity, compassion, logic, everything is gone that once had been so evident at the beginning of the play. Macbeth becomes jaded and cynical, apathetically hopeless, a mass of entity that had once lived in honor. In trying to decide whether or not to murder Duncan in his soliloquy in Act I Scene VII, both the process by which Macbeth makes his decision and the final decision that he will not murder his king are indicative of conscience and thoughtfulness, morality and compassion. This is the high point from which Macbeth will fall. It is important to understand that he overcomes both the temptation of inherent ambition as well as provocation from his wife in regards to his fateful decision. He is on top of his own actions and decisions: compassion, an ethical attribute, takes precedence over vaulting ambition. However he firstly shows he is well aware of the punitive consequences of the murder, so he admits he would commit the assassination if it were the be-all and the end-all, lacking any negative repercussions. The fact that he can understand the judgment here shows he is thinking ahead. Then, he literally states what may happen; that the bloody instructions, murderous acts, may return to plague the inventor, comeback to murder he who committed murder in the first place. Only a person in a focused state of mind is able to grapple with specific potential consequences. Furthermore, he then goes through a laundry list of ethical reasons not to murder Duncan: I am his kinsman and his subject/ Strong both against the deed. He realizes, in a logical progression on these ethical points against the deed that he should protect Duncan, shut the door from the murderer not bear the knife [him]self. Here, he shows that he understands the responsibilities of being a host and a kinsman, and he is seen respecting the laws of hospitality in spite of tremendous external and internal pressure. He shows he cares. Then, Macbeth acknowledges that Duncan has borne his faculties so meekà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¹been so fair in officeà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¹that his virtues will plead like angels, and pity, like a naked new-born babe,Ã…Â  /Shall blow the horrid dead in every eye. Macbeth, in comparing virt ues to angels, shows us that in his present state of mind, he sees morality as something to strive for, as angels are the representative pinnacle of morality. Furthermore he believes the murder to be a horrid or in this case immoral deed, proving he is able to differentiate good from bad. The metaphor of the baby, who represents pity, shows that Macbeth understands that pity is pure, like a baby, untainted by immorality and vaulting ambition. Macbeth shows he aspires to be moral, because his final and adamant decision is in accordance with what pity demands. He is not at all numb to the idea of murder; he is virtually repulsed by it. In his soliloquy in Act III Scene I, Macbeth is shown to have descended dramatically from his original state: he is jealous, fearful, and certainly not compassionate. He finds no reason not to kill Banquo as he had with Duncan, though Macbeth freely admits that Banquo has a royal nature. The usage of royal here means Macbeth still can tell wrong from right, good nature from bad nature. But this does not in any way deter Macbeth from killing Banquo as it did with Duncan. Macbeth says, To be [king] is nothing; /But to be safely thus meaning that the only way to achieve safety, which Macbeth equates to happiness, is to slaughter Banquo. What is striking here is what is missing: there is no pro-con list, no reasons against the murder. We are also shown here by what is not said that Macbeth is losing his pragmatic skills, because logic dictates that for him to commit another cold-blooded murder, the first having already driven him to incurable insomnia, would cause him only to spiral furt her and further away from happiness. The fact that he doesnt consider Banquos morality as a reason against killing him shows that Macbeth is on his way to being totally numb when dealing with death and murder. And, instead of being thoughtful, Macbeth is blinded by fear and jealousy, because his genius is rebukd [by Banquo]. This fear is clear when he says explicitly that there is none but he /Whose being I do fear. Banquo is the only one Macbeth fears. Also, before he was concerned with the laws of hospitality which include modesty, and now by contradiction he calls himself genius and even compares himself to Caesar. His jealousy, not ambition like before, drives him to have contempt for the wis[e] Banquo, because Banquo, according to the witches, is father to a line of kings which means Macbeth has a fruitless crown. The why of the fear is explained by implication when Macbeth states that the barren scepter or pointless symbol of Macbeths status as king, will be wrenchd with an un lineal hand from his gripe. To wrench is to take forcefully, inspiring fear. This fear later turns to regret, as he says that only for Banquos descendants, only for them, rather than for himself has he murdered the gracious Duncan. In his mind, this means that he has sold his soul, his eternal jewel, to the common enemy of man Satan. This metaphor shows self-acknowledged moral decay, which is a double-sided coin: morally he has indeed decayed, and yet he can still recognize it, which is a step in the right direction. But he is so melodramatic about this point (the two exclamation marks: kings! and utterance!) that he is perhaps losing control over his words if not his sanity, which is confirmed concretely when Banquos ghost emerges from Macbeths tortured psyche later. Total descent is on the horizon. At first he cares about the morality of Duncan and himself. Pity had played an integral role in his life. Now he cares only for his own well-being. The next step is total apathy. By Act V Scene V, Macbeth has fallen entirely from his original state. He has lost all compassion, all conscience, even all fear. In essence, Macbeth is totally numb from life. He says explicitly that he cares so little that he has almost forgot[ten] the taste of fears. Progressively his fears had narrowed: originally he feared the punitive and moral consequences of killing Duncan. At least later he had feared Banquo though for less noble reasons. Now he fears almost nothing. A night-shriek can no longer rouse and stir him because he has suppd full with horrors. The only way horror could become unable to start Macbeth would be if he is too numb even to be able to recognize it. At the beginning, as shown, he is repulsed by the horror of murder; now he is too familiar with slaughterous thoughts even to be frightened. The word slaughterous implies violent, almost gory thoughts, which convey the extent to which Macbeth truly is numb to blood. Macbeth is then told that his wife is dead. S ummarily his reaction is one of apathetic despair, which is a huge fall even from caring about being safely king (in deciding to murder Banquo). He only says about his wife that she should have died hereafter, that she would have died sometime in any case. By saying this, Macbeth shows he no longer thinks of time as we do. Obviously, everyone dies, including his wife, but he fails to acknowledge or even care about the time that he could have spent with his dearest partner in greatness between her present death and when she would have died naturally. In fact, his new attitude of time is jaded, awful, hopeless. The monotony of the sound of the phrase to-morrow, and to-morrow, and to-morrow shows he feels that time truly is just many different paths leading to the same inevitable conclusion: dusty death. All of our yesterdays lead to this death. He leaves no loophole to beat this cynical system of existence. He even urges death on, in relation to himself, saying Out, out brief candle! The image of a candle slowly flickering away is Macbeths way of conveying poetically that life is truly nothing more that an empty shell approaching death, a walking shadowÃ…Â  that frets his hour upon the stage. The word frets implies wasting time. This candle is then heard no more, so therefore its existence, Macbeths existence, is pointless. Even though life is full of sound and fury, powerful events, it still signif[ies] nothing. Life is hollow. The descent is complete. He doesnt care for his wife, nor himself, because life is just a tale told by an idiot. Life, that which Macbeth had hoped to live safely and happily, has now been concluded to be insignificant, a waste of time. Concerning the difference between good and bad, life now for Macbeth is all gray, clouded by cynicism. He simply does not care anymore, because if something signif[ies] nothing then it means nothing. And if one finds no meaning in life, one certainly doesnt care about petty distinctions, such as good versus bad, morality versus immorality, life versus death. Nothing can be lower, emotionally, than this point in Macbeths regression. By depicting Macbeths regression from compassion to apathy, Shakespeare warns us that one should not try to exceed ones set manhood, as Macbeth says, I dare do all that may become a man; /Who dares do more, is none. He does dare to do more and consequently ends up as none. Shakespeare summarizes the entire play in a single quotation. By trying to please his wife, trying to prove to her his love, Macbeth violates his idea about what a man is. Up to that point he had been brave and even moral in defending his king Duncan on the battlefield. To him, this is what a man is. Now, for his wife, he goes beyond this definition, in a realm that is paradoxically so manly that it truly is not manly; it is a bravado. It is as if Macbeth is dared into drinking so much of the wine of ambition that he ends up first drunk, then dead. The first wife-inspired big sip is in murdering his king. This is clearly where he goes wrong, because his decision to kill Duncan ultimately leads to his destruction. Works Cited and Consulted: Adelman, Janet. Escaping the Matrix: The Construction of Masculinity in Macbeth and Coriolanus. Shakespeares Late Tragedies, ed. Susan L. Wofford. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice-Hall, Inc. 1996, 134-167. Garber, Marjorie. Macbeth: The Male Medusa. Shakespeares Late Tragedies, ed. Susan L. Wofford. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice-Hall, Inc. 1996, 74-103. Keirnan, Victor. Eight Tragedies of Shakespeare: A Marxist Study. London, NY: Verso, 1996. Nelson, T.A. ENGL 533 lecture February 18, 1999. Stallybrass, Peter. Macbeth and Witchcraft. Shakespeares Late Tragedies, ed. Susan L. Wofford. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice-Hall Inc. 1996, 104-118. Staunton, Howard, ed. The Globe Illustrated Shakespeare. New York: Gramercy Books, 1979. Watson, Robert N. Shakespeare and the Hazards of Ambition. Cambidge, MA: Harvard University Press, 1984

Cross Cultural Awareness And Preparation Of Expatriates Management Essay

Cross Cultural Awareness And Preparation Of Expatriates Management Essay The integration of world markets has resulted in an outstanding growth of multinational businesses and these corporations have emerged as an important form of foreign investment. As the organizations grow by virtue of investing in foreign countries, the need to manage, coordinate, control and integrate the foreign operations of their subsidiaries with those of the parent company increases to a large extent. To achieve the objectives of the company, parent companies in the home country usually send expatriate employees to host countries as corporate representatives and ambassadors. Firstly, the paper will focus on the importance cross-cultural awareness in preparing successful expatriates for overseas activities. Through examining the literature (comparison of Hofstede and Trompenaars cultural dimensions) this paper will examine how cultural awareness is important in developing successful expatriates. Moreover, the differences in Malaysian and American culture that can create hindranc e in a successful expatriate venture will be analyzed. Finally, it will argue the importance of training and orientation in terms of preparing expatriates for foreign assignments. Literature Review There have been number of researches done on the relationship between cultural distance and adjustment of expatriate, with some arguing that sending expatriates to a same culture is almost similar to sending them to different culture. The studies conducted by those scholars found that there is no or positive relationship between cultural distance and expatriate adjustment. The results of a report by Jan Selmer suggests that although there is a significant between-group difference in cultural distance, that the American expatriates perceive Canada as more culturally similar to America than Germany, no significant inter-group differences are detected for general adjustment, interaction adjustment, work adjustment and psychological adjustment (Selmer, 2007). It could be argued that American expatriates sent to Canada do not experience any cultural differences because those differences are not expected. It has been found from studies that respondents from similar cultures such as U.S. when assigned as expatriates are not keen to report adjustment problems as compare to expatriates which are assigned to more dissimilar cultures, such as China (Forster, 1997). The result given by Forster reflected that the degree of cultural strangeness does not seem to have any correlation with the result of the foreign assignment. Similarly, it has been reported that the Japanese multinational corporations have experienced that their expatriates appear to adjust about the same in different countries, regardless of their degree of cultural similarity to Japan (Peterson, 1996). In contrast to the above findings, there are many researches on expatriate adjustment that lead to the conclusion that cultures which are more dissimilar to the expatriate culture present bigger challenges and result in greater adjustment difficulties (Ward Kennedy, 1992). It has been found that found that U. S. expatriates are more likely to experience greater cultural barriers in Southeast Asia (India and Pakistan), the Middle-East, North Africa, East Africa and Liberia in the areas of job satisfaction, stress and anxiety, and quality of life standards such as housing, food, and health care (Torbià ¶rn, 1982). Furthermore, a report by Tung suggests that American expatriates express higher levels of dissatisfaction with their expatriation experiences in Africa, the Middle East and Southeast Asia than in other world regions since the culture in those areas are most dissimilar (Tung, 1982). Black and Stephens measures this correlation between the cultural distance and expatriate adj ustment using self-report from 220 business expatriates, whose results showed negative correlations (Black Stephens, 1989). Hofstede Cultural Dimensions The study conducted on IBM employees in 53 countries by Hofstede is generally referred as Hofstede Cultural Dimensions. By using standard statistical analysis of large data sets, he was able to define patterns of similarities and differences among the respondents. The theory formulated by using the gathered data states that world cultures differ along consistent fundamental dimensions. Power-distance It refers to the degree to which the members of the organizations and institutions which are less powerful accepting and expecting that power is distributed unequally (Hofstede, 1991). It represents inequality (more versus less) which is defined from below not from above. Hofstede suggests that societys level of inequality is fully endorsed by the followers as much as by the leaders. Collectivism vs. individualism This dimension refers to the degree to which individuals are integrated into groups (Hofstede, 1991). On one side we see individualist approach in societies where the relationships between individuals are loose, where everyone is expected to look after him/herself and his/her immediate family. But on the other side which is referred as collectivism, there are societies in which people from birth onwards are integrated into strong, cohesive in-groups, often extended families (with uncles, aunts and grandparents) which continue protecting them in exchange for unquestioning loyalty (Hofstede, 1991). Femininity vs. Masculinity The third dimension describe by Hofstede is masculinity (MAS) versus its opposite, femininity. This refers to the distribution of roles between the genders in a society and it is also a fundamental issue for any society to which a range of solutions are found (Hofstede, 1991). The two main results that were found out by Hofstede on his study on IBM were, first, womens values differ less among societies than mens values; second, mens values from one country to another contain a dimension from very assertive and competitive and maximally different from womens values on the one side, to modest and caring and similar to womens values on the other. Uncertainty avoidance The main purpose of uncertainty avoidance index is that it deals with a societys tolerance for uncertainty and ambiguity; ultimately referring to the mans search for Truth (Hofstede, 1991). It refers to the extent to which the members of the society are programmed to feel uncomfortable or comfortable in unstructured situations. The situations which are novel, surprising and unknown, different from usual are referred as uncertain situations (Hofstede, 1991). Long- vs. short-term orientation This is the fifth dimension that was added after the initial four dimensions were developed by Hofstede. It was developed by a study conducted among students in 23 countries around the world, using a questionnaire designed by Chinese scholars (Bond, 2002). The results of this study revealed that the values associated with Long Term Orientation are thrift and perseverance and the values associated with Short Term Orientation are respect for tradition, fulfilling social obligations, and protecting ones face (Hofstede, 1991). Applause and Criticism of Hofstede Theory There are many researchers that are of the opinion that a survey is not an appropriate instrument for accurately determining and measuring cultural disparity. It is mostly apparent when the variable being measured is a value which culturally sensitive and subjective (Schwartz 1999). Perhaps this is the most popular criticism that was made on Hofstedes study and it says that Hofstede assumes that the domestic population is a homogenous whole. It also states that Hofstede tends to ignore the importance of community, and the variations of the community influences (Dorfman and Howell 1988). McSweeney argues that nations are not the proper units of analysis as cultures are not necessarily bounded by bordersm (McSweeney, 2000). It is also proved from recent research that culture is in fact fragmented across groups. There is also a criticism that the study revolves around one company cannot possibly provide information on the entire cultural system of a country (Graves 1986). It is also believed by some researchers have claimed that the study is too old to be of any modern value, particularly with todays rapidly changing global environments, internationalization and convergence. It has been argued that during the time of Hofstedes study there was very little work on culture. There was demand for such kind of work and therefore, Hofstedes work met demand for guidance. Trompenaars Cultural Dimensions Fons Trompenaars, a Dutch culturalist who is renowned for his work on international culture and Charles Hampden-Turner, a dilemma enthusiast classified seven dimensions of cultures. Trompenaars and Hampden-Turner (1997) categorized cultures as a mix of behavioral and value patterns. The research emphasize on the cultural dimensions of business executives. As a result of their research, seven value dimensions were established Universalism vs. Particularism The dimension of universalism is about finding broad and general rules. If any issue arises and there is no rule that fits, it finds the best rule. On the other hand, Particularism is about finding exceptions. The judgment of cases on its own merits rather than forcing an existing rule in case where no rules fit. Analyzing vs. Integrating The decomposition to find the detail is analyzing. It assumes that people who look at the big picture as being out of touch with reality. Integrating refers to bringing the things together to build the big picture. Individualism vs. Collectivism Individualism is about the rights of the individual. It seeks to let each person grow or fail on their own, and sees group-focus as denuding the individual of their inalienable rights. Collectivism is about the rights of the group or society. It seeks to put the family, group, company and country before the individual. It sees individualism as selfish and short-sighted (Trompenaars and Turner, 2000). Inner-directed vs. Outer-directed The approach that what we think in our head is the most powerful tool and that considered ideas and intuitive approaches are the best way. On the other hand, outer-directed is seeking data in the outer world. It assumes that we will live in a world and should form our decisions on information available to us (Trompenaars and Turner, 2000). Time as sequence vs. Time as synchronization The approach towards time as sequence and sees events as separate items in time, sequence one after another. It finds order in a serried array of actions that happen one after the other. Whereas, time as synchronization approaches the events in parallel and synchronized together (Trompenaars and Turner, 2000). Achieved status vs. Ascribed status The gain of status through performance is achieved status. In this it is assumed that individuals and organizations earn and lose their status every day, and that other approaches are recipes for failure. Gaining status through means of seniority is referred as ascribed status (Trompenaars and Turner, 2000). Equality vs. Hierarchy The approach that all people have equal status and have equal rights, irrespective of birth or other gift is referred as equality. Whereas, hierarchy is about people being superior to others when few are in charge and others obey through the scalar chain of command (Trompenaars and Turner, 2000). Applause and Criticism of Trompenaars and Turner Theory The work done by Trompenaars and Turner is regarded as one of the best in its field but at the same time there has been some criticism of Trompenaars and Hampden-Turner. One of their critics is Hofstede, who claims that the theory of Trompenaars is not supported by his database. Hofstede (1996) argues that a result of correlation and factor analysis at the country level, there are only two dimensions that could be identified and both of them are correlated with his Individualism dimension. This criticism by Hofstede was accepted by Turner Trompenaars (1997) and two contrasting lists of assumptions attributed to Hofstedes work and their own were presented by them. It is also been debated that Trompenaars and Turner didnt develop the dimensions from statistical data, but created their own collection instrument for the data they considered relevant Data derived from questionnaires is based on a limited number of questions by which underlying values were explained. Another notable criti cism is that the data is only selectively documented i.e. it is not to be considered scientific work. Also, the data (not all) is not freely available, it is owned by his company. The difference in the two works (Hofstedes and Trompenaars tuner) is that Hofstedes approach appears to be about the analysis of the variables of national culture, whereas Trompenaars and Turner are more involved in the process of cultural creation. It is also widely believed that there were very valuable dimensions that were added by Trompenaars and Turner. Hofstede and Trompenaars Turner and Preparation of Expatriate Challenges faced by Expatriates (Malaysian and American Culture) The globalization of world has made many international organizations to expand their business globally. Barto and Martin (1998) refer to globalization process a worldwide integration strategy where the purpose involves at developing relatively standardized products with global appeals, as well as rationalizing operations throughout the world. In order to achieve the objectives, organizations are required to send their designate representatives for overseas assignments in order to maintain the standards of their products or services abroad. A study was conducted in Malaysia to examine the issues faced by American expatriates working in Malaysia (Tahir Ismail, 2007). Attitudes of Malaysians Difficulties faced in understanding the indirect and non-confrontational behavior of Malaysians Malaysians misconception towards Mat Salleh Custom and Religion Problems in understanding the dress code of the locals Being cautious over religious issues Addressing Social Status: Difficulty in addressing names of Malaysians according to social status Gender Issues in Expatriation: Preconceived ideas about western women expatriates Malaysian Working Habit Difficulty in complying with the working pace High level of bureaucracy hinders job implementation Cross-cultural Training: Unavailability of a Structured Cross-Cultural Training program Importance of Training and Orientation The extent to which expatriates fail to achieve the expected outcomes of a foreign assignment is due to different reasons such as language problems, lack of effective knowledge transfer between the home and the host country (Tung, 1987), lack of personality skills for the expatriate to understand the cross-cultural interactions, shortage of technical abilities for the work to be done, lack of motivation or the expatriate may have difficulties to understand and adapt to either the physical or the cultural differences in the environment (Littrell et al., 2006). Companies use a variety of methods to teach expatriates cross-cultural skills, aimed at facilitating interactions with a foreign culture. Didactic Training This type of raining is most often provided in informal briefings, which can be given in a classical lecture form or with less structured methods such as casual conversations with experts. It is the most common and more than two thirds of all multinational corporations offer didactic training in the form of informal briefings to their expatriates before deployment abroad (Brewster, 1995). This kind of training provides factual information regarding working and living conditions as well as cultural aspects of the host country. Experiential Training This training is conveyed using a number of methods including, not only, practical exercises, workshops and simulations, but also more genuine concepts such as look-see visits to the host country (Caligiuri et al., 2001). The arrangement of look-see trips can provide a first real experience of the country for the expatriate and sometimes his or her family giving them opportunity to meet people in the new country and get a view of the new environment and the workplace. The planning of these trips should be properly done in order to be effective they need to be well planned, which can make them costly. Brewster (1995) argues that these are designed to give the expatriate a positive view; they may not show the true picture of the host country (Brewster, 1995). Language Training Teaching expatriates the language and/or the business language of the host country is part of the language training. Tung (1981) suggests that while fluency can take months or even years to attain there are still benefits of using this training method. This technique is often used and is an effective way of preparing an expatriate to speed up the adjustment process. Although fluency in the native language is not achieved, the ability to enter into informal discussions, use common courtesies and show cultural empathy can help to facilitate adaptation to the host culture. Cultural Awareness Training The ultimate objective of cultural awareness training is to give the expatriate insight about the culture and cultural differences, by teaching awareness about the home culture. There are different training activities that are included such as self-awareness building and value ranking charts, but the goals can also be reached with more culture-general approaches, such as simulation games and perceptual exercises (Grove Torbià ¶rn, 1985). Methods such as role-plays and self-assessments can be a good way of building self awareness, which translates into acceptance of oneself and an ability to adapt to the host culture. Conclusions In reviewing various cultural theories presented by different authors, it is obvious that culture plays a vital role in doing business globally. Companies that look to expand their operations globally must understand the host culture in depth and cross-cultural dimensions developed by Hofstede and Trompenaars Turner are of great help in this field. Also, organizations wishing to go global by investing in foreign countries, there is always a growing need to manage, coordinate, control and integrate the foreign operations and therefore, the importance of expatriates cannot be ignored. However, it is also found out that preparing expatriates is a great challenge and organizations invest lot of resources to prepare and train them for foreign assignments. Finally, the type of training and orientation provided to the expatriates is plays a significant importance in the successful fulfillment of overseas assignment.

Humorous Wedding Roast by a Friend of the Groom Essay -- Wedding Toast

Humorous Wedding Speech by a Friend of the Groom Good evening Ladies and Gentlemen - I must admit to being rather nervous about today's speech. As it’s a family occasion, the last thing I want to do is cause offence by talking in too much detail about Brian’s colorful past. I’ve therefore decided to edit out anything that might cause offence. So thank you very much and have a wonderful evening! Sit down. Laughter. Stand up and continue. I read somewhere that you can flesh out your speech by researching which famous people were born the same day as the groom (bridegroom), and make some sort of link. Well, Brian was born on 9th January 1976, just 24 hours after a whole host of famous and interesting people - musical luminaries such as Bowie and Elvis, and the modern day Einstei...

Lasers :: essays research papers

The laser is one of the most advanced tools we have in our civilization. Lasers are powerful enough to cut through a thick piece of steel, yet can be used in medical surgery. Lasers are used in the army, for guns, for range finding and a whole lot more. Most people don't know where the idea of the laser came from. The idea for the laser came from a machine called a maser. The maser was a tool that was able to strengthen, or amplify radio and light waves. The first laser was made in California in 1960. It was built by Theodore Maiman along with a group of American scientists. The material they used for a concentrator was a man- made ruby. This was done by, coiling a simple flash tube around a rod, and beaming powerful flashes of light at it. The result was pulses of red laser light. Once they made the device they had to name it. They had think of some word or words to described it. They came up with Light Amplification by Stimulated Emission of Radiation. Using the first letter of each main word they named it laser. The laser had everyone excited. The laser was put through many tests and experiments to see what it could do to help modern civilization. At first there weren't many uses for the laser. Then in the 1970's it became very important. It was finally being used in everyday life. As years went on the uses grew in number. Today lasers were being used in a variety of ways. This includes entertainment, military, communication, businesses, measurement, cutting, and more. Measurement: Lasers have become an important part of measurement. A laser is the fastest way to measure long distances. This use can be applied in construction work and astronomy. Cutting: A laser is also great for cutting objects. It can get to those hard to reach places by the use of mirrors to bend the beam of light. It also is strong enough to cut through solid steel. A laser never damages the surface of the object because it never touches it. Lasers have been used in both large and small surgical procedures. It is used by jewelers to cut diamonds, gold, silver, platinum, etc....It is also used in corporations in which cutting metal or fine cutting is involved. Communication: The way the laser is used in the field of communication is through fiber optics.

A foodborne disease that is estimated to have infected one third of the human population Essay

Toxoplasmosis is a foodborne disease that is estimated to have infected one third of the human population (2). Not only does Toxoplasmosis infect humans, but it is also been found in almost all of the warm-blooded animals, primarily cats (3). Toxoplasmosis was first found in 1908 by Nicolle and Manceaux in the cells of the gundi, a type of rodent, in Brazil. It was also found by Splendore to be in the tissues of a rabbit. Fifteen years later, in 1923, a fatal case of toxoplasmosis was reported in a child. Finally in 1939, toxoplasmosis was identified as a cause of human disease (2). Toxoplasmosis seemed to first be described by Toxoplasmosis is caused by a parasite called Toxoplasma gondii. Toxoplasma gondii has two   types of hosts, a definitive and an intermediate. Cats are the only definitive hosts for Toxoplasma gondii meaning that only when the parasite infects the cat will it produce oocysts (eggs). Toxoplasma gondii will not produce eggs in other warm-blooded animals. When the cat digests food that contains this parasite, the Toxoplasma gondii inside of the cat will be released into the digestive tract where it will then multiply and produce oocysts in the small intestine. This process is called intraintestinal infection cycle. The parasite is released in large quantities through the feces. The cat will also start shedding oocysts after 3 days of being infected and will continue to shed for 10 to 14 days. T he oocysts are very resilient and can survive up to a year. Other oocysts in the cat penetrate deeper into the intestine and develop tachyzoite which is the parasite’s form of rapid growth. The tachyzoite spreads throughout the body and start the extraintestinal infection cycle. When the immune system responds, the tachyzoite go into their resting stage and become bradyzoites, which is a slow growing form (3). A human or any other intermediate host can then be exposed to the parasite through either eating meat contaminated with the parasite or accidently (or not) swallowing cat feces (1). The oocysts are not immediately infectious as they must first go through a process called sporulation which takes from one to five days. Once the sporulated oocysts are in the intermediate host, they develop tissue cysts which stay in the host for life (3). When Toxoplasma gondii enters the human host, tachyzoites begin to develop and infect various organs. The parasite then enters the brain and creates oocysts. It then establishes a â€Å"chronic infection† which taxes the immune system (4). Toxoplasmosis usually doesn’t show any for most people. Severe cases of toxoplasmosis usually develop in babies whose mother was infected by toxoplasmosis or by people with compromised immune systems such as people with HIV. Some people with mild cases of toxoplasmosis may exhibit flu-like symptoms with swollen nymph glands along with sore muscles for a month or more. However, the severe cases can cause individuals to develop encephalitis along with eye and other organ damage. Patients may begin to experience pain that is accompanied by a bright light along with reduced vision and redness of the eye (1). Toxoplasmosis 1 http://www.cdc.gov/parasites/toxoplasmosis/ 2 http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2704023/?tool=pubmed 3 http://www.vet.cornell.edu/fhc/brochures/toxo.html 4 http://schizophreniabulletin.oxfordjournals.org/content/33/3/745.full Penicillium chrysogenum 5 http://botit.botany.wisc.edu/toms_fungi/nov2003.html 6 http://www.biology.ed.ac.uk/research/groups/jdeacon/microbes/penicill.htm 7 http://bioweb.uwlax.edu/bio203/s2008/kitzmann_step/

A Comparison of Special Education Philosophy, Policies an Dpractice Essay

The focus of this study is to compare the educational philosophies, policies,and practices between Malaysia and Japan, with regard to the education of children with special needs. Malaysia and Japan have some common historical experiences in that both countries were involved in the Second World War, both were colonised and given independence by Anglo-American powers. Geographically they are both in Asia. A significant difference between the two countries is the homogenous nature of Japan’s population and the pluralistic multicultural, multi lingual, multi ethnicity and religions of Malaysia. Japan is a developed and industrialised country whereas Malaysia is developing and targeting to be an industrialised one. Japan’s population of 127 million dwarfs Malaysia’s 29 million. It is needful to examine the set up of other countries, discover the root of the problems and analyse their solutions so as to better understand one’s own education system, avoid mistakes made and adopt suitable models accordingly. Hence, in this comparative study, an Asian country was chosen over an Anglo-American one, because Japan and Malaysia are both culturally group-oriented, power concentrated, inclined to be replicative and relationally holistic. As such it is probably easier to relate to contextually in matters relating to adapting globalised best practices in a culturally sensitive way. This paper seeks to look at the special educational policies and philosophies of both countries, study their practises, identify key issues and challenges faced, and to discover possibilities for mutual exchange, growth and development. There has always been a personal interest in Special education probably from parental influence and also from exposure to special people at a very young age. The increasing awareness of Special Education in Malaysia can undoubtedly be attributed to regular reporting by the media and the escalating pervasiveness of information technology available to the masses. In recent years, Special Education has given more attention to a wide range of learning difficulties, including dyslexia, autism, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder [ADHD], Asperger’s syndrome and so on, with focus somewhat moving away from visual, hearing impairment and physical, mental impairments. This is probably because in most developing and developing countries, visual and hearing impairments have already well-established special educational practices. For example, Special schools where various learning aids, such as sign language, Braille and magnified letters are used to accommodate the students’ teaching and learning needs. Some countries such as Japan and the United States of America (USA), have advanced to providing not only basic education but also pioneering tertiary education for the visually and hearing impaired. Different forms of learning difficulties have emerged over the past 25 years and are probably still emerging. In the past, these special needs (learning difficulties) were all classified under mental retardation, but as discoveries continue to be made and learning difficulties are classified differently, statistics show that mental retardation worldwide has dropped considerably. As these conditions are discovered and researched, some theories about these conditions change and some evolve due to these theories being challenged or disproved and new theories being proposed. For example there is a wide range of autism, from highly-functioning to deeply autistic. Some children who were diagnosed as autistic ten years ago, are now discovered to have Asperger’s disorder. Disorders along the Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) continuum include autism, pervasive developmental disorder, Rett Syndrome (American Psychiatric Assocciation, 1995) and Asperger’s disorder. Since ASD exists along a spectrum, intervention especially communication intervention must be highly individualized ( Schreibman, koegel, Charlop, & Egel, 1990), thus intervention-wise, a child with Asperger’s Disorder is to be regarded quite differently from an autistic child. The field of special education has seen growth that has been unprecedented and it is likely to continue with more contemporary curricula, programmes, materials and resources evolving at a rapid rate, driven by a developmental theoretical perspective. In response to the increasing number of children diagnosed with special needs and especially that of learning difficulty, it is imperative that policies, philosophies and practice of special education need to be redefined, reviewed and refined to cater for the development and nurture of these children. Common special needs include challenges with learning, communication challenges, emotional and behavioral disorders, physical disabilities, and developmental disorders. There are many famous personalities who have special needs and disabilities but have excelled in sport, fine arts, physics and in the music and movie arena. Olympic swimmer Michael Phelps made history by breaking records and winning eight gold medals. He also inspired thousands by speaking candidly about having ADHD. His mother has also been very public about telling their story. Professor Stephen Hawking, a renowned Physicist, is a well-known example of a person with multiple neurone disease who has against all odds, succeeded in life. Hawking cannot walk, talk, breathe easy, swallow and has difficulty in holding up his head. He could have well been classified as mentally retarded and severely physically handicapped and discharged to a home of the Spastics, yet he defied his doctor’s prognosis of not surviving more than 21 years. Stevie Wonder was born prematurely and as a result, he was never able to see. Wonder stands out as one of the most celebrated American musicians of all time. To his credit, he has won 26 Grammys and an Academy Award. This has earned him rightful standing in the Rock and Roll and Songwriter’s Halls of Fame. Phelps was told that he could never focus on anything, Hawking, that he wasn’t an exceptional student and Wonder, that he could never make it in life. They are an inspiration to one and all, both stakeholders and non-stakeholders alike. On this note let us look at Japan. JAPAN [pic] Figure1. 1 Map of Japan For many, the word Japan conjures up mystical Samurais, beautiful, graceful and demure kimono-clad geisha girls, sashimi (Japanese raw fish), beautiful spring apple-blossoms, ancient temples, lightning–fast bullet trains, Toyotas and Hondas, even the Iron Chef competitions and the list goes on; but education is certainly not an image that fills your mind when you hear the word Japan! Japan is an island country located in the Pacific ocean. It’s an archipelago of over six thousand islands, the largest being Honshu, Hokkaido, Kyushu and Shikoku accounting for 97% of Japan’s land area. Japan is often referred to as the ‘Land of the Rising Sun’ because the Japanese characters that make up Japan’s name, Nippon-koku or Nihon-koku means ‘sun origin’. Most of Japan’ s islands are mountainous and many are volcanic which is not surprising as Japan sits on the Pacific Ring of Fire. Mount Fuji is the highest mountain in Japan and an active volcano that last erupted in 1707–08. Japan has a population of 127 million people, ranks the tenth-largest populated country in the world. Tokyo is the capital of Japan with a population of 12 million. It is the Japan’s centre for culture and education and also the nation’s economic and industrial hub. The main language spoken is Japanese and most Japanese are of the Shinto-Buddhism faith. Since 1947, Japan has maintained a unitary constitutional monarchy with an emperor and an elected Prime Minister as head of government, with an elected parliament called the Diet. It is a highly industrialized, developed country and a major world economic power. Japan has the world’s second-largest economy and the third largest in purchasing power parity. It is also the world’s fourth largest exporter and fifth largest importer. It is the only Asian country in the G8 and a current non-permanent member of the United Nations (UN) security council. According to both the UN and World Health Organization (WHO) estimates, Japan has the highest life expectancy of any country in the world, and the third lowest infant mortality rate. History of Education Japan’s education maybe conveniently divided into pre-World War II(WW),post WW II, and modern Japan. On the whole, pre-WWII education was controlled centrally by the government, the education philosophy was guided by the Imperial Rescript Education (1890), Japanese values and Confucian principles were taught and stressed by society. Primary education was available to all but secondary and tertiary studies were elitist and discriminatory. This old system collapsed at the end of WWII and the United States Education Mission (1946) introduced new ideas and structures into the Japanese system such as extending free but compulsory education from six to nine years, higher education became more non-elitist, social studies was emphasized above moral studies, school boards were locally elected as opposed to being appointed under the old system, and teachers unions were formed. In 1952, Japanese sovereignty was restored and many reforms reverted back to the old system; school boards were by appointment, Japanese ideals moral studies were put back into the curricula but the 6-3-3 structure intended at democratizing education remain until today The University Control Law (1969) and other reforms emerged in the 70’s. Education in Contemporary Japan is under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (known also as the Monbukagakusho or MEXT). Three tiers of administration attend to the financial and supervisory educational services; namely the national (MEXT0, Prefectural (upper tier) and municipal (lower tier). There are five levels of schooling in Japan: Preschool which is free to all but not compulsory, Primary and Lower Secondary levels which are free and compulsory, and Upper Secondary and Higher Education which are neither free nor compulsory. The Fundamental Law of Education, the School Education Law and the Social Education Law provide the philosophies, policies and practices throughout the nation. The Japanese value educational excellence at all levels and their education system is thought to be extremely prestigious. Japan is consistently ranked at the top internationally in both Maths and science by the TIMSS (Trends in Interntional Maths and Science Study). Japanese education helps build student motivation. Their philosophy emphasizes effort over ability hence in the Japanese classroom, everyone is taught the same concepts and students are engaged in higher-order thinking skills. Correct answers are withheld and students are presented with material such as puzzles and encouraged to think of as many ways as possible to solve the problem. Fast and slow learners are not separated and advanced students help the less able, cooperation, a sense of belonging and oneness are fostered. This attitude is particularly important when it comes to special children. Special Education in Japan A brief history In 1878, the first special school for children with visual and hearing impairment was established in Kyoto. The first special class for children with intellectual disabilities was set up in 1890 in Matsumoto City, in Nagano Prefecture. To date Japan has 222 and 210 years of history respectively in the area of Special education, a figure to be proud of indeed. The number of special schools and special classes for children with various kinds of disabilities increased favorably until around 1930, but thereafter the WWII devastated special education. At the end of the WWII, the external number of special schools for children with blindness and deafness was still more than 100, but most schools were burned by air raids. In the case of special classes, all were closed except one in Tokyo, at which the children were also moved to rural areas without schools, let alone special classes. Special education had to be reconstructed after the WWII based on the philosophy of democratic education, which was introduced by the educational policy the United States who was then the occupation army. In 1947 compulsory education for primary school and lower secondary schools was introduced. Special education was rapidly rebuilt beginning with visual and hearing impairments schools and classes, followed closely by schools for intellectual disability, physical and health impairment. The development of special education since the end of WWII maybe seen as (1) Development of special schools and special classes. 1947- 1979 (2) Movement of integrated education – 2000 (3) Development of special needs education. – Present day The motto of the Special Needs Education System of Japan (SNES) – Where children with disabilities learn – is bold and apt. Looking at Figure 1.2, it is clear that special-needs children are given due consideration at all levels from pre-school right up to upper secondary school. Figure 1. 3 show that as the degree of disability goes from mild to severe, the children are correspondingly moved from regular classes with team-teaching, achievement-based teaching ,small-group classes, Special Support Service in resource rooms, to special classes and then on to Special Needs Schools. The four categories of special needs, the blind, the deaf, the intellectually disabled, the physically disabled and the health impaired in figure 1. 4, show the ratio of children with multiple disabilities in Special Schools in elementary and lower secondary levels. Due to increasing number of students with multiple disabilities, there is a move away from of schools catering only for single disabilities for example the blind or deaf. Japan has a national curriculum standards for children with disabilities called ‘the Course of Study or Gakushyu-shido-yoryo for schools serving the blind ,the deaf, children with physical and mental disabilities and health impairments. It can be amended when necessary to tailor to specific needs for these children. Parents, school board members and or medical and social personel are consulted in order to determine which curriculum suits the child best, be it one to one teaching, small group teaching, individual teaching plans or inclusive integration onto regular classes. Even when there is profound disability, the child is eligible for education according to their needs. In some cases teachers visit homes or institutitions to provide home tutoring. In major hospitals classes are available for children necessitating hospital treatment. Only 0. 001% of children in Japan are allowed postponement or exemption from school education. Teachers in Special education are required to have a license for special education in addition to their basic teaching license. The NISE provides highly specialized training courses. Local Special Education Centers in prefectures offer programmes to upgrade or learn new skills. Case conferences and Teacher’s study-meetings are conducted at school level. The NISE conducts research such as nationwide surveys to assist in making future national policies with regard to special education. At prefecture level, research and development schools and model schools are present throughout the country. Local Special Education Centers, Colleges and Universities conduct ongoing research on teaching methods to enhance Special Support Education. As part of the 2007 reform, the SNES aims to have schools for Special Needs Education where staff are competent in knowledge and understanding on more than one disability, so that students with multiple disabilties are be accepted and integrated into each local community. By mid 2010, Japan plans to launch their first graduate school for students with visual or aural impairments at the state-run Tsukuba University of Technology, their only University for the deaf. According to the university, it will be the world’s first graduate school for visually- impaired students and the third for hearing-impaired ones, following the footsteps of such schools as Gallaudet University in the United States, Master’s degrees will be offered: Industrial technology for visually challenged students and health science courses for hearing-impaired students. Academia is possible to all, those with special needs and those without, unless there is brain injury and the cognitive abilities are damaged. As the adage goes â€Å"There is no learning disability only teacher inability†. MALAYSIA [pic] Map of peninsular Malaysia and East Malaysia (Malaysian Borneo)Fig 1. 2 Malaysia, is made up of West Malaysia (peninsular Malaya) and East Malaysia (Sabah and Sarawak states) in nothern Bourneo. It is a land of beauty in its diversity, located in the heart of South East Asia, see figure 1. 2 which had for centuries attracted merchants and traders plying the ancient, lucrative spice and silk route between India and China. It is therefore no surprise that Chinese, Indian and Malays are the major contributors to Malaysia’s rich and vibrant cultural heritage, together with the indigenous people. Malaysia is a multi-ethnic, multi-cultural, multi lingual and multi-religious society, known for their warm hospitality, interesting and delicious variety of food and a delightful fusion of cultures making Malaysians attractive and unique. Bahasa Malaysia is the official language, but English is taught as a second language and many Malaysians are tri lingual: proficient in their mother tongue, in Malay and in English. Malaysia is well endowed in natural resources such as minerals,[ mainly tin and petroleum] agriculture and forestry. It is one of the world’s top exporters of natural rubber, palm oil, sawn timber, coca and pepper. Malaysia boasts of rich biodiversity and a wide habitat range, in the Gunung Mulu National Park, and in the Mount Kinabalu district of Sabah. Both have been marked as World Heritage Sites. In 2009 two interesting and historical townships, Malacca and Penang were also given World Heritage status. Today Malaysia is an independent nation state with a parliamentary constitutional monarchy. Kuala Lumpur is the largest city and the capital of Malaysia. It is also the main financial and commercial centre of the country. Malaysia is recognized as an emerging industrialized country with a GDP per capita PPP ranking at 48th in the world and second in South East Asia. For the past 20 years, Malaysia has been on a fast track development drive with measurable physical and economic success. Unfortunately, services and facilities enabling tangible inclusion of People with Disabilities (PWDs) into their communities were not developed in tandem, resulting in Malaysians with Disabilities excluded from enjoying a barrier-free environment and normal enriching independent lifestyle. There is a pressing need to firstly look at the education commitments of Malaysia to the children with disabilities so that indeed the mission of the Ministry of Education ‘To develop a world-class quality education system which will realise the full potential of the individual and fulfil the aspiration of the Malaysian nation† can achieved, and to reach their objectives stated below: – To produce loyal and united Malaysians. – To produce happy, well mannered individuals who have faith, knowledge and vision. – To prepare the nation? s human resource for its developmental needs. – To provide educational opportunities for all Malaysians. HISTORY OF EDUCATION Pre WWII, secular schools were mainly an innovation of the British colonial government, and English-Language schools were considered prestigious at that time. Post WWII, education was mainly aimed to feed the needs of the colonial government though the Malay, Chinese and Indian communities fought hard for their mother tongue to be used as a medium of instruction. Post independence (1957) in accordance to the national language policy, the government began to change English-medium primary and secondary national-type schools into Malay-medium national schools. In 1970, the language change was made gradually starting from the first year in primary school, was completed by the end of 1982. Malaysia’s belief that (NEP),New Economic Policy 1960-1970, the National Development Policy,1071-1990, The first to ninth Malaysia Plan, 1991-2010, ensure adequate funds to the Education sector for the development of the nation’s human resource and capital. It is through this course of action that the Malaysian Education system succeeds in responding to the issues of access, equity, quality and effectiveness of education for all Malaysians in a 6-3-2 structure. Education in Malaysia is overseen by two government ministries: the Ministry of Education for matters up to the secondary level, and the Ministry of Higher Education for tertiary education. Each state has an Education Department to help coordinate educational matters in their respective states, although education is the responsibility of the federal government. The Education Act of 1996 is the main legislation governing education which designates six years of primary education as compulsory. Pre-school is optional and most pre-schools are for profit and privately run. Five years of secondary schooling is not compulsory. For their pre-university studies, students have an option of doing two years of Form six or the Matriculation. Free education is provided from Primary one right up to Form six. A Brief History of Special Education Jabatan Pendidikan Khas (JPK) or the Department of Special Education, from being just a unit in the Education Department was established as a Department in its own right in 1995. It plays a major role in curricula planning and implementing the quality of special education programmes in both the primary and secondary schools in Malaysia. However the programmes for the deaf have a much longer history, the first residential school for the deaf was established in 1954. Interest towards Special Education in Malaysia began in 1920s among volunteers who were involved in the opening of schools for the hearing and visual impaired. The Cabinet Committee Report that studied the Implementation of Education Policy through the Recommendatory 169 was the beginning of a clearer focus and emphasis on the development of Special Education in Malaysia. The recommendatory says that: â€Å"With the awareness that the government should be responsible towards the  education of disabled children, it should then take over all the responsibilities from the organizations handling it currently. Moreover, the involvement of volunteers in developing the education for disabled children is encouraged. † SPECIAL EDUCATION PHILOSOPHY. The MoE Philosophy for Special Education states that ‘Education is given to develop the students physically, emotionally, spiritually and intellectually so that students can be educated to the highest possible level to enable them to obtain employment and live independently’. Programmes are based on the following policies: †¢ Education Act 1996, Chapter 8. †¢ Education Act (Amendment) Act 2002. †¢ Education Regulations (Special Education) in 1997. †¢ Policy Committee decision, the Ministry of Education [Education Planning Committee (SRC), Meeting Management Ministry of Education, Centre for Curriculum Committee (DFA) and Department of Management Meeting Special Education]. International Declarations: †¢ United Nations’ World Programme of Action concerning Disabled Persons (1983). †¢ The World’s Declaration on Education for All (1990). †¢ The United Nations’ Standard Rules on the Equalisation of Opportunities for Persons With Disabilities (1993). †¢ The Framework for Action on Special Needs Education (Salamanca Statement) in 1994. †¢ Biwako Millennium Framework for Action Towards an Inclusive Barrier-Free and Rights-Based Society for Persons with Disabilities in Asia and the Pacific (2002). Three ministries service children with disabilities. They are, the Ministry of Health, the Ministry of Women, Family and Community Development (WFCD) and the Ministry of Education, but education for these children are only under the auspices of the Ministry of Education and the Ministry of WFCD. The Ministry of Education provides educational services for students with special needs who have visual and hearing impairment, learning difficulties, and those needing special remedial help. Learning disorders are categorized as follows: – Downs Syndrome – Mild autism – Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder – Mild Mental Impairment and – Specific learning disabilities (eg. Dyslexia). The Ministry of WFCD provides services for children with the following problems: – severe physical disability – moderate and severe mental retardation – various other defects such as and – defects that do not allow the children to learn in schools provided by the Ministry of Education. Special Education Department’s Vision and Mission JPK’s vision statement is ‘Quality Education Generates Excellence Among Students with Special Educational Needs in line with the National Education System’, with the mission to develop excellent special needs human capital based on a holistic, relevant and quality education system so that there is – Optimum development the individual’s potential – Ability to compete and be marketable. – Moral values as a responsible citizen – Smart partnerships with various parties The Special Education services provided by the Department of Education are: †¢ Special schools for pupils with visual and hearing impaired and learning (secondary). †¢ Special Education Integration Programs for students with special needs and learning disabilities, impaired hearing and sight impaired. The program is available in non-residential, normal primary and secondary schools as well as in Technical/Vocational training (secondary) schools which adopt withdrawal or semi-inclusive approach. Programmes such as the Special Education Integration Programme and the Special Rehabilitation Programmes are fully administered at state levels by the State Education Department, whereas the Integration of Special Education Programs in Technical and Vocational Education is administered by the Department of Technical Education. The Malaysian Education for All Mid-Decade Assessment Report 2000-2007 states that one of the strategies is to expand preschool places for children with special needs from 32 integration classes to 100 classrooms in order to integrate children aged 5-6 with single disability, usually the learning disabled. Expansion necessitates therefore training the necessary preschool teachers and teacher assistants and also the proviso to amend the Special Education Regulations Act 1997 to accept students with two disabilities. UNICEF, working together with the Ministry of Health’s Development Division (MHDD) devised a standardised screening tool in 2006 to improve the early detection of autism amongst toddlers so that early intervention can be instituted. Issues with Sexual and reproductive health for children with special needs are also looked into, in response and recognition of their high risk of sexual abuse and exploitation, because it directly impacts their learning and overall development. ANALYSIS Japan as a leading economic power and highly industrialised country and Malaysia as a developing and emerging industrialised one, have commonalities in that were both affected deeply by WWII, and both were dominated by a foreign power, so it is interesting to see each country recovered, rebuilt and developed post-war and how Special education has evolved since then. Looking at the philosophy with regard to Special Education mentioned earlier on, both Japan and Malaysia are very similar in that both are highly commendable, comprehensive and impressive, subscribing also to many international special-education charters such as The United Nations’ Standard Rules on the Equalisation of Opportunities for Persons With Disabilities (1993). |Mission and Vision of JPK Malaysia |Mission and Vision of the NISEJapan | | |The mission of our institute as the National Institute of | |JPK’s vision statement is ‘Quality Education Generates Excellence |Special Needs Education is to contribute to:Improving the | |Among Students with Special Educational Needs in line with |quality of education for children with disabilities and to | |the National Education System’, with the mission to develop excellent|make educational provision to meet individual educational | |special needs human capital based on a holistic, relevant and quality|needs. We aim to do this by working with the national and | |education system so that there is |government organizations. Our vision is | |- Optimum development the individual’s potential |Research Activities that contribute to National | |- Ability to compete and be marketable |Administrative Needs | |- Moral values as a responsible citizen |-To undertake research that contributes to the formulation | |- Smart partnerships with various parties |of National Policy for Children. | |- Providing education opportunities and facilities for students |Practical Research that contributes to Education | |with special educational needs. |- To undertake advanced and practical research that | |- Providing relevant education to every student with special |contributes to education | |educational needs. |Specialized Programs for Teacher Training | |- Providing opportunity for students with special educational needs |- Provide systematic and special training for the school | |to develop their talent and potential. |staff who plays the role of leadership in special needs | |- Providing sufficient and up-to-date teaching and learning |education from local public organization and support them. | |material. |Training Programs that Respond to New Challenges | |- Ensuring sufficient trained teachers in special education. |- To implement training program for the major issue of | | |National Policy and/or urgent issue at educational site | |- Planning and managing all primary and secondary special schools. |flexibly and promptly. | |- Planning and coordinating all special schools integration program. |Counseling and Consultation that Provide Activities that | |- Planning, coordinating and evaluating policies and regulations, to|Supports Local Public Organizations | |ensure education is well-balanced, to help, service and support |- To conduct consultation and provide the information for | |students with special educational needs and implement the special |counseling and consultation to the organizations. | |education vocational policy. |Provide Information for Special Needs Education | |- Planning curriculum, activities and special education affairs. |-To collect, analyze, arrange and make database of the | |- Providing special education planning, research and evaluation. |information on special needs education from domestic and | |- Providing training plan and staff development; and |overseas and provide comprehensive information to teaching | |- Coordinating Special Remedial Education Program. |site. | | |Cooperation and Partnership with Universities and | | |Organizations in Domestic and Overseas. | | |- to collaborate and cooperate with universities and | | |organizations locally and abroad through seminars, to | | |research, analyze and evaluate the issues, and to share our| | |practical research results in special needs education. | One difference in their philosophy is that when it comes to learning, the Japanese put value and emphasis in effort over that of natural ability, resulting in primary school students being taught in classes that have not been streamlined into good, average or poor students, whereas stream lining students according to their academic performance is practiced by Malaysia and many other countries. It follows then that, if effort is put into the education of a special-needs child, the child can reach its full potential given all the necessary support. This attitude has given Japan an advantage of having an over 200 year history in educating people with special needs, which began with addressing the visual and hearing impaired. The Japanese School Education Law places special education firmly within the framework of the total education system by emphasizing that it is not separate from ordinary education. Japanese special education now officially recognizes seven categories of disability: the blind and partially sighted, deaf and har.