Religious teaching Essay

‘Religious teachings offer the only sound basis for moral reasoning.’ Critically examine arguments for and against this opinion. Morality is the knowledge and practice of what is moral, which may, according to your personal view be instinctive, be associated with religion and culture, or be acquired by reasoning. Most, if not all religions have a ‘human moral code’, which follows God’s will. Religious people will consult their religious text, whether it is the Bible, Qur’an or Torah ect, when making a moral decision. Very often these religious texts will lay out a set of rules or guide lines. In Christianity it is the 10 Commandments, in Buddhism it is the 8 Fold Path. Although these ‘rules’ do provide a good moral base, if taken to their logical conclusion they are objective and absolute, leaving no room for the flexibility needed in today’s society. This is taking a Deontological approach; this is when a person has a set of rules that they consider to be absolutely right. They abide by these rules, as they are more important than the effect or outcome. We can use the example of abortion and the 10 Commandments. These religious laws state that ‘Thou shalt not kill’. If taken absolutely this means that abortion is wrong no matter what the circumstances are, even if the child will be born severely disabled or will be born into extreme poverty. For many people moral values are relative to a specific society, time and circumstances, and their moral view can change through changed circumstances, needs, beliefs and knowledge. This flexibility is known as relativism and is the opposite of absolute. This is also known as taking a Consequential approach, when a person looks to the outcome, and decides how to act to achieve that result. They have in mind the aim and believe that actions can be deemed moral if they achieve that aim – the end justifies the means. Because of this many individuals often experience conflict in making moral decisions because they have no absolute code of what is right or wrong. There are several different methods subjective morality: Utilitarianism is the view that you decide whether an action is right or wrong by looking at the consequences, and you should choose they action that will produce the most happiness/least-suffering to the greatest number of people. If we consider whether abortion is right or wrong using the utilitarianism view we would have to say that it depends on the individual situation, and whether the baby would be born healthily or not, and whether the baby would be loved, and the number of people affected by the pregnancy, amongst other things. Natural Law states that morality should use the ‘natural’ form of behaviour, and that humans and society should follow this ‘natural law’. Therefore anything that is deemed as ‘un-natural’ is wrong. This means that in the case of abortion it is always wrong, as pregnancy is a natural occurrence and it should not be ended un-naturally. Social contract theory claims that laws and morals are a human invention upon which we agree to make life better for ourselves. When making a moral decision a person would have to consider the impact upon society and people’s freedom, amongst other things. Once again considering the case of abortion, a person using social contract theory, would consider the effect having a baby would have on their lives, the lives of people around them, and how the life of the bay would be once it is born. I conclude by saying that I think that religious teachings do not offer the only sound basis for moral reasoning. I feel that the individual situation also needs to be considered when making a moral decision as every case has different circumstances. I also feel that although the religious laws do give a good, sound basis for morality the objective and absolute rules stated by religion do not leave room for the flexibility needed in today’s society.

Sewing for Millionaires

Sewing for Millionaires A two-hour drive from the capital of San Jose, Costa Rica, sits the small community of Turrialba where mostly young workers sit and sew baseballs destined for Major League Baseball teams. Rawlings Sporting Goods Company moved its baseball manufacturing operations from Haiti in 1986 when the political landscape of the country began to change. Rawlings selected the town of Turrialba due to the incentives offered to the company by the Costa Rican government. Rawlings was awarded a free-trade zone in which the company would be allowed to operate duty-free in the country.Rawlings pays no import tariffs on the goods it imports to manufacture its baseballs, and the finished product can be shipped duty-free into the United States under the Caribbean Basin Initiative. The Turrialba region was hard hit economically in the 1980s when a major highway from the capital bypassed the town. Because travelers no longer stopped in Turrialba, the Costa Rican government wanted to develop the local area through foreign investment. Rawlings found the potential workforce better educated, and more disciplined than its workers in Haiti. The country was also well known for being very politically stable.With few employment opportunities in the area, Rawlings had no difficulty in securing dedicated and motivated employees. Although Costa Rica is the wealthiest country in Central America, per capita income is still only about $4,200 a year. Costa Rica has a national unemployment rate of 6. 7 percent. However, the rate can vary from region to region. With the completion of the new highway and declining employment opportunities in the coffee and sugarcane industries, many local residents of Turrialba were eager to find stable employment. Most Rawlings employees in Costa Rica are engaged in sewing operations.In the plant, 300 employees sit in rows of high back chairs and sew baseballs. Many employees break the boredom of the work by listening to music on their headphone s. The plant employs a total of 575 workers. At one time Rawlings employed approximately 1,900 workers at the Costa Rican plant, however, employment fell when the company shifted production of its lower quality baseballs to China. The Rawlings plant takes a baseball core and wraps it in yarn. The product is then covered with cowhide and sewn by hand. Baseballs must be sewn by hand in order to achieve the quality level demanded by the Major Leagues.Each worker sews 108 perfect stitches using a long needle and thread. The balls are then inspected, cleaned, and stamped with the MLB logo and the signature of the commissioner of baseball. The balls are then packed and shipped to the port city of Limon where they are loaded onto a ship bound for Port Everglades, Florida. The baseballs are then trucked to Rawlings’ Springfield, Missouri facility, and then to Major League teams or retail stores. Rawlings has been the exclusive supplier of baseballs to the Major Leagues since 1977. Th e Costa Rican facility produces approximately 2. million baseballs a year, with 1. 8 million of those going to Major League Baseball. The remaining balls are sold to minor league and college baseball teams, or sold to the public through retail stores or the Websites of MLB and Rawlings. Although Rawlings refuses to disclose the price of the baseballs paid by MLB, the baseballs retail on the company’s Website for $12. 99 per unit. Employees are paid $1. 21 per hour and receive the value of 67 cents an hour in benefits, or about 30 cents per ball produced. Workers can go home early in the week if they complete their production quotas.Rawlings workers earn about 14 percent above the Costa Rican minimum wage. In addition to their wages, Rawlings employees in Costa Rica must be paid for eleven holidays, receive two weeks of paid vacation a year, and receive a Christmas bonus equal to one month’s pay. The Company must also pay into a retirement and medical plan and provide f our months of maternity leave when needed. A 2004 New York Times article questioned the pay and working conditions of the Rawlings plant in Costa Rica. The article accused Rawlings and MLB of running a sweatshop in Costa Rica where workers were underpaid and worked in an unhealthy environment.Consumer advocate Ralph Nader joined in the criticism by writing a letter to Bud Selig, MLB Commissioner and the Executive Director of the MLB Player Association. In the letter Nader condemned the two men for allowing baseballs to be manufactured in what he considered to be poor conditions. Portions of the letter follow: â€Å"Your respective organizations must not ignore their roles in this exploitation and abuse of worker rights committed under Major League Baseball and Player Association product sourcing and licensing agreements. † â€Å"American consumers and baseball fans currently have no guarantee that any icensed Major League Baseball products are not being made under sweatshop conditions that violate basic human and worker rights standards. † Major League Baseball consumer products vice president, Howard Smith, responded to the rising complaints by stating: â€Å"I can assure you that there is no company we do business with that knowingly goes into a factory with sub-par working conditions. † Not everyone agrees with Mr. Smith. Maribel Alezondo Brenes worked at the Rawlings plant for seven years before her doctor told her to stop working there for health reasons.Carpal tunnel syndrome has been noticed in the Rawlings employees due to the repetitive nature of the work. Dr. Carlos Guerrero who worked at the Rawlings plant as company physician says that up to 90 percent of Rawlings employees may have experienced pain from the work, from minor cuts to disabling injuries. Others feel that the plant has been a good addition to the region, including Warny Gomez, who worked at the Rawlings facility for four years and made enough money to attend colle ge and to become a teacher.With average pay for Major League Baseball players close to $2. 3 million a year, some Rawlings employees feel that their compensation is unjust. Many, however, feel like Alan Cascante, an eight-year employee of the baseball factory: â€Å"We can live on that (Rawlings wages). We never made that working in the fields. † Plant manager, Ken West agrees with Cascante, by saying â€Å"The best thing’s the pay. We’re a good place to work. † The debate over pay and working conditions of employees who supply MLB with its products appears to be growing in some quarters.People like Kenneth Miller; a self-appointed champion of sweatshop workers takes his message to the fans by camping outside ballparks. He tells potential consumers of MLB products that the baseball player bobble head doll they are about to purchase was made by a Chinese worker who works 20 hour shifts for very little pay. Miller states that he often finds indifference amo ng consumers. Some tell him: â€Å"Why are you trying to interrupt our nice day at the ballpark? Miller and a handful of others are pressuring MLB to take greater control over the working conditions of its suppliers, such as Rawlings. As the debate continues in the United States over the working conditions and pay of the Costa Rican employees and others, baseballs are sewn in Turrialba with pictures of Alex Rodriquez, Mike Piazza, and other baseball players hanging on the walls of the factory. Rawlings’ employees, however, are too busy sewing baseballs for the millionaire players to even notice the pictures hanging above them.

Knee Injuries

Knee Injuries The knee is a complex Joint which can flex and extend for movement and Is a weight bearing joint. The knee is part of a kinetic chain directly affected by motions and forces occurring and transmitted from the foot, ankle, and lower leg. The knee then transmits forces to the thigh, hip, pelvis, and spine. The knee Is has four major ligaments which controls stability. The medial collateral ligament (MAC)and lateral collateral ligament (LLC) are on the sides of the knee and prevent the Joint from sliding sideways.The anterior excruciate ligament (CAL) and posterior excruciate ligament (PC) form an â€Å"X† on the inside of the knee and prevent the knee from sliding back and forth. These limitations on knee movement allow the knee to concentrate the forces of the muscles on flexing and extension. The knee also has two shock-absorbing pieces of cartilage called menisci that sit on the top surface of the tibia. The menials allow the femoral condole to move on the tibia surface without friction.Range of Motion * Loss of motion is likely from: Effects of Injury * Trauma of Surgery Effects of Inflammation Ligaments do not heal completely for 18-24 months so waiting is not an option * Early range of motion can minimize harmful changes * Controlled movement should be initiated early and based on patient tolerance and healing constraints Exercises * Active assisted knee slides: use good leg supporting injured knee to regain flexing and extension * Wall slides to regain flexing and extension * Active assisted knee slides on wall * Knee extension with foot support (towel) regain extension (flex knee towards floor) * Knee extension in prone with ankle weight to regain extension (on stomach) * Groin stretches * Kneeling thrusts * Knee extensors stretch * Side-lying knee extensor stretch with sports cord * Knee feeler stretch (on back) * Knee feeler stretch with sports cord (on back) * Knee feeler stretch on wall * Ankle pleasantness's stretch 1 OFF * Prima ry goal: Return of normal strength, endurance, and power to musculature surrounding the knee * Overload is necessary to strengthen but not over aggressively to cause further injury or repeat * Recovering knees need protection and strengthen programs made for a health knee can compromise the integrity of the injured knee. Strengthening contain.

Advantages and Disadvantages of Service Contracts and Production Essay

Advantages and Disadvantages of Service Contracts and Production Sharing Contracts - Essay Example In many countries where oil and gas are being produced, made abrupt and unilateral changes in the already executed agreements. This unilateral change at the end of oil and gas producing countries hit hard the investors. This would definitely shake the confidence of the investors who invested a lot of money in oil and gas projects. The governments of Venezuela and Bolivia have gone to the extent of breaking the contracts or termination of licenses at their own sweet will. This move can be branded as â€Å"resource nationalization†. To lessen the negative impact on the profitability of the investing companies, the sovereign governments of Canada, UK and the USA have proposed compensation in terms of further extension of their contracts on soft terms to address this issue1. To safeguard the interest of the investor companies came from abroad, the effective legislation is necessary to mitigate the risks associated with it. However, the legislation in this respect varies from count ry to country. This does not only effectively take care of the interest of the host countries but the interest of the investors those who are in the run. ... On the other hand, the state in return will receive royalty payments, income tax and other liveable taxes on the oil and gas producing companies. Contrary to that as per PSC the government will be the owner of all oils and gas productions, and the IOC will act as technical and financial services provider to take care of oil exploration and the development of oil wells / gas fields. Alternatively production will be shared between IOCs and the State in line with the provisions of PSC3. In the developing dominions, PSC system is an effective tool to access oil and gas exploration as well as development of oil wells. As per Johnston view, this access dependable on the political system of that country. As far as functional and financial considerations, the PSC system is more or less at par with concessionary system. The only difference between the two is the management control and its effective implementation4. Upstream Oil & Gas Agreements Overview Upstream agreements in fact create and establish legal business entity and working relationship between the sovereign government and the individual who owns land of exploration for oil and gas. The agreement is a legal document where rights and obligations of the stakeholders are clearly defined, leaving no ambiguity5. In the developed countries like USA, Canada and the UK where two forms of agreements are in existence. One is for the execution of individual land owner for exploration of oil and gas, the other one between the host government and the investor. The agreement executed between the host country and the investment company is called â€Å"Concession Agreement and the Production Sharing Contract† 6. In other words the

Comparison and Contrast between 1688 and 1988 Essay

Comparison and Contrast between 1688 and 1988 - Essay Example The researcher of this essay states that while there have been some significant changes in how people live their daily lives from 1688 to 1988, society in general has not changed all that much. To conclude, the researcher mentiones most significant comparative observations he came up with while researching the topic. Firstly, he states in the essay that both years saw the world’s civilizations perched on the very edge of a prodigious expansion around the globe with a tremendous mingling of cultures, belief systems and economic activities. Secondly, both have seen the world’s poorest peoples taken advantage of for the economic gain of greedy and already prosperous nations with better access to technology and education. Thirdly, both have seen a redefinition and constant developing of society, with a blurring of those concepts that had once been considered absolute and the admittance of shades of grey into the discussion. However, while religious differences and big corpo rative business have continued to emerge as the two most difficult issues to overcome in working toward a more harmonious and peaceful world, the researcher suggests that both 1688 and 1988 saw events emerging that would encourage greater dialogue among the various factions, countries, cultures and genders as greater efforts are made nowadays towards bringing about world peace and increasing acknowledgement among the populace of the world that there might be more than just one answer to the world’s greatest questions.

A comparison of business improvement methodologies Dissertation

A comparison of business improvement methodologies - Dissertation Example 19 3.RESEARCH METHODOLOGY 21 3.1 Research Philosophy 21 3.2 Research Design 21 3.3 Sampling 22 3.3.1 Sample Size 22 INTRODUCTION The world of business has become extremely competitive and survival and success of firms largely depend upon their ability to improve. The impact of globalization has made the world of business more competitive forcing them to come up with new methods and approaches to improve. The businesses today are marred by high cost of materials and services and there is an urgent need to seek new methods to make financial performance better, enhance market share and improve customer satisfaction and the contribution by employees. Technological advancements have made the customers more knowledgeable and have added to the complexity of business environment. Customers have more choice and options at their disposal and the demand for quality is increasing day by day. Because of the challenges thrown by globalization, businesses need a more scientific method to understand and analyze any information about their performances; this includes an approach that would reliably link inputs with outputs. Webb (2006) stated that in order to improve the outcomes of a process, the process itself needs to be improved; this is where business improvement methodologies like Six Sigma, TQM and BPR step in. These business improvement methodologies show the managers the precise changes they need to make in order to obtain the desired outcomes. This research study aims to evaluate the efficiency of the business improvement methodologies and the common and unique traits of each of these methodologies. The study also tends to identify if these strategies are converging towards one universal approach. 1.1 The Evolution of Improvement Methodologies: A Brief History Implementation of scientific management in businesses began in the 1900s with Frederick Taylor’s revolutionary time and motion studies to make factories more competent and resourceful. This initiated a se ries of quality management processes until in 1940 the principles of Total Quality Management were established by W. Edwards Deming and Joseph M. Juran (Webb, 2006). Deming’s statistical methods and management principles were adopted by Japanese engineers for building processes and quality control as they re-built their country after the devastating World War II. The TQM processes were so efficient and effective that by 1970s, Japan had gained control of a large portion of the US auto market, consumer electronics and camera market. This caused the US companies to become serious about improving the quality of their products and led to the promulgation of structured methods to improve the quality of products by improving the processes involved in their production. After years of research and experimentation, came the Six Sigma improvement model which was adopted by Motorola in 1986. In 1988 Motorola won the Malcolm Baldridge National Quality Award and the Six Sigma improvement model was adopted by other big firms including IBM, GE, Allied Signal, Xerox and Texas Instruments. This study is concerned with looking deeply into these business impr

The Reaction of the Markets to the Step of ECB to Raise Interest Rates Term Paper

The Reaction of the Markets to the Step of ECB to Raise Interest Rates - Term Paper Example According to the monetary theory, the reverse effect should have taken place- the prices of the bond should have been decreased, whereas euro should have appreciated. However, this reaction can be explained by the fact that Mr. Trichet-the president of ECB reiterated that the latest move of the ECB should not be treated as an indication of the policy of high interest rates. The reaction of the market that followed can be explained by the confidence of investors in a more cautious approach of ECB, as the appreciation of the Euro ceased after new announcements of Mr. Trichet. After all, there is little doubt that the financial experts of ECB do not realize that high-interest rate of ECB which might entail appreciation of Euro and tightening of available pools of credit may hamper economic growth in the European area. This step can be viewed as an attempt (apparently temporarily) to combat the high level of inflation. It is too early to say whether this decision will seriously affect economic growth in European countries. According to OECD, the raising of interest rate could wait until the middle of 2006 when more robust economic growth is expected. However, countries of EU differ in economic, financial and political terms, with weak growth in Germany and France and stronger one in Spain and Ireland; after Maastricht agreements, none of the countries mentioned has the opportunity to regulate the growth in the country by traditional methods of the money supply. Overall, the economic growth in the European countries was less than in the USA (4.3% in the USA against 2.6% in the countries of European Union) and it affected major industrial nations of the EU. If the trend of appreciation of the Euro currency continues, it may hamper export- one of the vital elements of economic recovery in European countries and reduce the long term competitiveness of European companies.  

Principles of Operations Management Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Principles of Operations Management - Assignment Example Receipt of raw materials and dispatch of products From the requirements projected it is learned that this firm has a receipt of raw materials and dispatch of produced goods in quite reasonable quality. This demands the following. a) Receipt area should be near to the road, b) Receipt area has sufficient vehicle parking area. c) Receipt area has sufficient space for material handling equipments and men to work. d) Dispatch area should again be near to road e) In order to avoid difficulties in traffic management ,both receipt and dispatch area is required to be at both axis. Re-Layout of shop floor Generally when considering a re lay out the following should be kept in the mind. a)saving space by utilizing unused areas, b)save resources by reducing distances between similar machineries and related process, c) arrange the equipments/machineries/steps in progressive manner, d) save man and machine efforts by placing more of raw/incomplete products in a given sequence to achieve shorter distance, e)further developments :- always think 10 years in advance and anticipate the automation and use of robots for all production activities. Justification of layout of sections 1. Saw Sawing is given 90 sqm according to the requirement. It need to be near the entrance to facilitate easy movements of raw materials to the shop. Since here the receipt of raw materials is involved there will be lot of movements of personnel consignment carriers had own supervisors and workers. Hence it is located next to the walkway .IT is placed near to the road at the approach to facilitate sufficient parking space to the vehicles. safety of the workers is very important at this sect. 2. Press 1 This is a process required immediately after sawing. Hence need to be next or near to sawing area to

Battered Child Syndrome Term Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Battered Child Syndrome - Term Paper Example Once Battered child syndrome is identified, ensuring the child's well-being is of vital importance. Despite a large number of reports that are being made, there is an abundance of research demonstrating that mandated reporters fail to report child abuse even when required and that there is considerable variability of reporting rates among professionals. The research indicates that there is a range of factors influencing reporting. Factors such as gender and education level of the reporter, fear of damaging the therapeutic relationship, the wording of reporting laws, and incomplete descriptions of what defines abuse have all contributed to discrepancies in reporting. Moreover, professionals often believe that the legal standard of reasonable suspicion is insufficient to demonstrate that abuse has occurred and therefore refrain from reporting. By 1967, almost all states had adopted some type of mandated child abuse reporting laws. These early laws were aimed primarily at physicians who came in contact with children in their medical practices. They served to help physicians identify possible abuse victims and established reporting procedures. These early laws were later expanded to include a variety of other professionals who have contact with children. The adoption of mandated reporting laws by the states was seen as one of the major contributors to the increase in identifying cases of child maltreatment. It also increased public awareness of the gravity and magnitude of child abuse (NACC, 2011).... It also increased public awareness of the gravity and magnitude of child abuse (NACC, 2011). In 1974, the Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act (CAPTA) was passed by Congress, which established national definitions of child abuse and neglect. Under this act, individual states had to adopt the CAPT A definitions in order to receive federal funding for their child welfare programs. The funding provided states with new resources for investigation and prevention of child abuse. One significant part of the act was the creation of the National Center on Child Abuse and Neglect (NCCAN). This organization compiled data on child abuse as well as providing information about child maltreatment and prevention (NACC, 2011). In 1991, the Victims of Child Abuse Act of 1990 was passed by Congress, and served to advance efforts to investigate and prosecute cases involving child maltreatment. This act has been amended over the years (NACC, 2011). Following the initial enactment of this statute, in 1997 the Adoption and Safe Families Act (AFSA) was passed in an effort to provide more timely and focused assessment and services for children and families. AFSA set the time limit for reunification of children removed from their families to one year in an effort to protect children and promote attachment with caregivers. Reporting Behavior Research has addressed a number of criticisms professionals have made regarding challenges to reporting child maltreatment. Research reported that, the vagueness of statutes, although legally permissible, decreases professionals' ability to make consistent determinations about whether or not abuse has occurred. This inconsistency and uncertainty contributes to a subsequent lack of confidence about

Cultural report Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Cultural report - Essay Example B. Background Information. Epa is recognized as the male deity who was involved in wood carver. The artists of Africa tend to develop various forms of art that encompass traditional art, modern art, western art and historical art among others. The artists of Africa use several materials to prepare several forms of African art. The people of North Africa, mainly the people who are not black, get involved in the art of ancient Egypt (Arterial Network, â€Å"Contemporary Arts and Culture Discourse: African Perspectives†). C. Thesis Statement. In relation to the above context, the essay intends to write a critical comparative essay about the cultural experiences of the early African artists with the indication made in one of the provided arts i.e. Epa helmet mask. A. Epa Helmet Mask. Epa helmet mask is duly considered to be one of the historical arts of Africa, which is much different from other art forms belonging to the nation. In earlier trends, the materials were different that are mainly used for making arts. However, in recent trends, such materials have developed than the earlier times. Based on the existing trends, it can be apparently observed that the artists of Africa use bronze materials to create the African arts. Epa mask has been created from the seventeen empire, which involves the Ekiti region of Yoruba territory. The design of the Epa mask mainly consists of the face of Janus. Therefore, the face of Epa mask bears different types of names such as ‘mother with children’ and children cover me’ among others. The name of Epa Mask has been selected based on the concept of the picture of Epa mask. In previous years, Epa masks mainly focused on the productiveness based on the views of earlier writers. Moreover, during that time, the artists often had to use woods as materials to prepare the art of Epa mask (African Art & Culture, â€Å"Epa

Ethical Argument Cover Letter Essay Example for Free

Ethical Argument Cover Letter Essay This is my submission for the Ethical Argument writing assignment. I was asked to choose a topic to write and I chose to write about the Ethical Arguments against Abortion. Initially, I had many choices but I landed on this mainly because this is a broad topic as it covers science, religion, and human rights. Since this is a broad topic, it was also difficult to choose which part of abortion is suitable for this argument and which part of abortion I can write without injecting my personal views and opinion. Thus, I decided to write to focus on why abortion is acceptable for the case of life endangerment and why it can’t be accepted in rape cases. The purpose of this essay is to show arguments about the legalization of abortion with regards to life endangerment against rape case. Perhaps, the most difficult part of writing this paper is to weigh objectively the stand of abortion in the two cases given in this essay. However, the parallel or example I gave helped me arrive to the argument I presented. I hope that this writing will meet your requirements and I would be glad to receive some feedbacks from you. Respectfully Yours, Student’s Name Student’s Name Professor’s Name Subject 29 April 2009 Ethical Arguments against Abortion For years, we have heard a lot of arguments against abortion; arguments as to why or why not abortion should be legalized. It seems to be a never-ending debate especially when taken from a pro-life perspective. Arguments against abortion often range from objections based on the USA’s constitution protection of the rights to human life to biblical belief that human life starts at conception. However, more arguments and objections arise when a law justifying abortion for mothers whose lives are endangered because of pregnancy has been approved, whereas others are questioning that if this is permissible, why can’t rape cases be? This essay offers arguments and responses as to why it is morally illegitimate to have abortion in the event of rape, while it is fairly acceptable to commit abortion when the mother’s life is endangered. Let’s look at the rape issue first. One of the fundamental beliefs of person’s rights regarding any system concerning the use of disciplinary force is that is to be applied only against those individuals responsible for the initiation of force. In this situation, the guilty party is the rapist and not the fetus. Moreover, in this case, the law might legally grant its authority to terminate the rapist, since rape is considered as an abominable crime, but not the child, even if the child’s dependence on his mother was the result of the rape. Let me give you a parallel. Imagine that there are two mutually unfriendly people living in the same building during the bombing raids of Hitler in 1940. A bomb is thrown into the building and this causes all possible exits to collapse while destroying all the walls that separate the neighbors. In effect, they are forced to share the same space and work with each other in the hopes to channel themselves out despite a mutual dislike. Does the given scenario justify one of the two unfriendly neighbors killing the other because of the inconvenience caused by the other, even though none of them had really caused it, or wouldn’t it be proper to demand justice from the Nazi air marshal who had originally commanded the bombing raids? Although the bombing and rape are two immensely unlikely scenarios, both are possible and the possible circumstances here are parallel to that of a pregnancy caused by rape. Going to the mother’s life endangerment issue, no individual is really obliged to his or her own life to save another person’s life. Therefore, when it can be proved medically that the mother’s life is in fact significantly endangered by a pregnancy, then, an abortion may be undertaken as a final resort and an only situation where it is possible to support legal abortion and to remain loyal to the individual rights’ principle; however, it is not an ordinary situation. Rather, it is considered an emergency, or a sort of situation as addressed in The Ethics of Emergencies written by Ayn Rand as part of her essay collection â€Å"The Virtue of Selfishness†. An emergency is an unchosen, unexpected event, limited in time that creates conditions under which human survival is impossible such as a flood, an earthquake, a fire, a shipwreck. It is only in emergency situations that one should volunteer to help strangers. For instance, a man who values human life and is caught in a shipwreck, should help to save his fellow passengers (though not at the expense of his own life). But this does not mean that after they all reach shore, he should devote his efforts to saving them from poverty, ignorance, neurosis or whatever other troubles they might have. Nor should he spend his life sailing the seven seas in search of shipwreck victims to save. (The Virtue of Selfishness) From this definition alone, the situation of a mother whose life is endangered because of pregnancy is considered as an emergency as long as the mother has no idea that her pregnancy would put her life into danger. However, if from the start, the mother already knew about her medical condition that pregnancy will do her no good, it must be her responsibility to avoid becoming pregnant and must do her best to protect her health. Should she decide to face the risk, aborting the baby must not be done. In addition, Rand writes in her essay that emergencies are always exempted from the rule. They are not the normal state of ethical human relations or of human existence. To say that such extreme action may be allowed in emergencies is simply not to extend the acceptability or tolerability to the realm of human existence as dealt with by the basics or fundamentals of ethics. So, just because abortion may be justified as a final resort in some unexpected circumstances, this does not mean that the general legalization of abortion may be justified, especially with the fact that most cases of abortion occur because a woman has gone through indiscriminate sexual relations and has never wished to bring upon herself the objective consequences of such actions which are the pregnancy and the responsibility and obligation of bringing up a child. Work Cited Rands, Ayn. â€Å"The Virtue of Selfishness† 28 December 2008. Glyn Hughes Squashed Philosophers. 29 April 2009. http://www. btinternet. com/~glynhughes/squashed/rand. htm Annotated Bibliography Rands, Ayn. â€Å"The Virtue of Selfishness† 28 December 2008. Glyn Hughes Squashed Philosophers. 29 April 2009. http://www. btinternet. com/~glynhughes/squashed/rand. htm Rand’s essay collection â€Å"The Virtue of Selfishness† offers the basic or fundamental social principle of Objectivist ethics that life is simply an end itself, which simply means that every human being is an end himself. This also explains that man must live only for his own self and neither to sacrifice himself for others, nor having others to sacrifice themselves for him. The chapters in this essay collection could be easily included in the ethical argument writing especially when the topic is about sacrificing oneself or sacrificing others for the benefit of the other just like the topic in this argument.

The Iconoclastic Controversy Essay Example for Free

The Iconoclastic Controversy Essay The paper is devoted to the study of the Iconoclastic Controversy that had a profound effect on the development of church and theology in 8-9th century AD. For the better understanding of the problem, the notion of icons is explained with their seeming simplicity and spiritual meaning. Then, the definition of iconoclasm is given and the substance of the controversy is described. The paper reviews a brief historical development of the issue and examines two iconoclastic periods, of 730-787 and 814-843, with their respective characteristics and results. The study also reviews the major argumentation of both sides of the conflict, the iconoclasts and the iconodules. Having viewed the historical development and the positions of the opponents, the paper analyzes the outcomes of the iconoclastic controversy that are dual: on the one side, the use of icons is restored and theologically justified, and on the other side, the question is not resolved completely and allows further disputes within the Western church.

Marketing Breakdown and Evaluation for Primark

Marketing Breakdown and Evaluation for Primark According to Hollensen (2007) ,  «Ã‚  global marketing consists of finding and satisfying global customers needs better than the competition, and of coordinating marketing activities within the constraint of the global environment  Ã‚ ». Then, when it come to internationalise , a manager has to think if the capabilities and the resources of the company are sufficient to answer to the need of the consumers in a new market environment. In that essay , it comes to think about: In what way Primarks strategy could correspond to the needs of French customers. In other terms, is there an opportunity to Primark to establish itself in France seeing the French environment. This essay will take in account only the clothing part of Primark and not the home part of Primark seeing the fact that the two markets are singular in an analysis. Irish clothing retailer founded in 1969 under the name of Penneys (still in Ireland) , Primark represented in 2008 3,9% of the global clothing retail value in United Kingdom. (Eurominitor, 2009). With a revenue which have reached 2,314m  £ in 2008, Primark count today 206 stores split among England as a majority with 144 stores ,Ireland Spain, Portugal, Germany , Netherland and more recently in Belgium. (Associated British Food Annual report and account 2009). Source: Primark website, Primark stores in Europe Retail part of the Associated British food group in which it represent in 2009, 25,5% of the entire revenue of the group, Primark enjoy the stability and the power that ABF group bring to the retailer. With a strategy of good quality for cheap price, Primark is after 40 years of experience recognised as a giant in the retail Industry. With a gloomy economic climate which encourage people to look after the opportunity to buy cheaper, some leaders of the French fashion as Zara, Kiabi and HM keep watching close this giant that is surrounding France and that nothing seems to stop. In today competitive market, satisfied the customers are seen as the only source of the firm profits. Well target our market seems to be the key success factors. In Segmented a market, factors such as geography ,demography, Psychographic and behavioural would be relevant to analyse .(Doyle, 2006). Today, Primarks strategy is to propose an entire concept through all these stores.Allowing to realise economy of scale in the production and marketing Primark is able to propose low price. Then, in the target market analysis, it is relevant to analyse if the target market of Primark in UK would be suitable and have an opportunity of growth in France.( because change the target market would bring to much costs for Primark). This table will, through the characteristics of Primarks strategy define the basics of Primarks target market. Primark strategy Target market Men and women clothes lines Women essentially but men Young fashion Under 35 years old Low price : Until 30% less than in HM (lefigaro, 2008) Limited incomes Fashion clothes Fashion conscious Fast moving merchandise New product every 6 week (Business week, 2009) Fashion addict or Heavy users of clothes and footwear always looking for novelty. In 2008, French population from 15 to 35 represented an important part with 38,7% of the total population.(Insee, january 2010) . In terms of clothing consumptions, men consumptions in clothing for the 15-25 is 3,9millliardsà ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬ exactly the same than women. (La lettre à ©conomique, October 2010). Moreover, after gloomy 2009 year with a decrease of the consumption on clothing, 2010 represent the stop of the degradation of the clothing consumption with a tiny increase of O,2%. With a young population in expansion, a target market still buying clothes and a general consumption of clothing which restart, there is an opportunity of growth for Primark in France. Sources If we look at the Internationalisation motives of Hollensen (2007), one of the proactive reason which push a company to internationalize is the managerial urge that he define by a reflection of general entrepreneurial motivation of a desire for continuous growth and market expansions. In the recent year, Primark showed the desire of conquest the western Europe by entering in new country such as recently Belgium. According to Bason John, financial director if AB foods, the performances of our new shops in the Iberian peninsula gives us the impulsion to continue our development in the European continent. (fashion daily news, January 2010). Then, the first motive which could bring Primark in France could be the desire to become an European player of the fashion through it expansion all over Europe. One of the others proactive motives present by Hollensen is a foreign market opportunities and market information. Analytical tool such as PESTLE which allowed to get this information. PESTLE SCHEMA Political: Both part of the European union, UK and France benefit from the common European Union policy which facilitate exchange and trade. However, through state aid and by encouraging mergers between French firms to prevent takeovers by foreign firms, French government act against EU policy and still maintain a kind of protectionism.(datamonitor, 2010). Taxarion in france Politic clothe in france Economic With an increasing unemployment rate and a decreasing consumption the last years, it seems that the crisis could represent an ally for Primark. While an IFOP study about the purchasing power shows that 49% that the under 35years old thinks that their purchasing power has strongly decreased (IFOP,2008), the consumption habits of French goes forward the last opportunity to buy cheaper. As a study of clothing in France explain, the success of the sales periods shows that the sales drop mainly due to purchase power constraints but not as a faction rejection.( Datamonitor,October 2009) With it strategy  «Ã‚  sales price » all the year round, the change in french consumer habbits could represent an opportunity . However, the consumer expenditure on clothing is a lot more higher in UK than in France with an expenditure for 2009 of 37805mnà ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬ decreasing in comparison with 2008 in France against 40472mn £ in UK ( à ¢Ã¢â‚¬ °Ã‹â€  46542à ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬) increasing in comparison with 2008 (Euromonitor, 2010). While expenditure in UK continue to growth when it decrease in France , it could make Primark think that the clothing consumption habits between UK and France are different and then could represent a threat to Primark implementation. Finally for the consumption, aaccording to the clothing in France report 2009, by 2013, clothing sales are forecasted to reach 26,980à ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬millions, a 2,1 % rise in constant value compared to 2008 which let hope for primark a brigh future.(Datamonitor,2009) In spite of the fact that Primark is an Irish company, from a market research and data point of view it is more relevant to analyse the accessibility of the French market through the comparison with the English implementation which is more important than the irish one (144 shops in England instead of 38 in Ireland ( Primark website) . However, from a financial side , it is more relevant t deal with the Irish headquarter company where the money is going because Ireland is in eurozone. By dealing with Ireland, primark escape the risk of change rates. Social : In France, fashion remind an important part of the culture. Then , according to a study , French people are still attached to the brand and the luxury in the fashion sector and would prefer after use the sales period ( 41%) , buy cheapest brand (33%).(IPSOS,2008). Then, even if that trend does not automatically represent Primark target market (under 35)which can not necessarily afford luxury brand, French culture in the fashion sector could represent a threat for Primark. France has to face to the ageing of it population. Until 2050, 1/3 of the population will be ageing more than 60 years old. (insee, 2006) Whike some of Primarks competitors such as kiaby (which propose a fashion for the whole family), could begin a  «Ã‚  senior marketing  Ã‚ » by proposing clothing for senior, Primark could not enjoy this opportunity risking to break it strategy and positioning and lost it target. In an article about the factors of primarks success, Susan Segal-Horn says The focus part of Primarks strategy is the specific customer segment it focuses (open2,2005).With a clear positioning , Primark answer to a special target marget needs. En tentant de profiter de cette tendance forward the senior marketing. It ageing of population represent an indirect threat for pirmark because it not concern it target but it coulb beneficy to it competitors which could gain a competitive advantage. Technological : In spite of the fact that the technological aspect is not the most relevant in the implementation of Primark in France, it is important to notice that the evolution and increase of the new technology influence the consumers to purchase more technological product to the detriment of others goods such as clothes + references sur ca. In Primarks case ,legal and environmental factors are linked.. According to a study, fashion industry remain one of the most exploitive in the word, both to people and environment (euromonitor, 2009). However, consumers are more and more aware of the environmental aspect of goods. Often critics for this workers conditions, Primark is now part of Ethical Trading initiative which which guarantee the protection of workers and environment. (primark website) textille France report bureau) Porter pour competition analysis in an industry p 106-107 Analysis an environment , it also analysis the competitive environment to be able to gain a competitive advantage. According to Michael porter, competitive strategy must grow out of a sophisticated understanding of the rules of competition that determine an industrys attractiveness. (competitive advantage, 1985). Sources : The five competitive forces that shape strategy by Michael E. Porter , Harvard business review , January 2008 Power of suppliers: Always looking to reduce is costs, primark has got buyers team in UK and Ireland travel internationally to seek out the most competitive suppliers. Then primark has got a lot of small suppliers instead of a big one which made the power of suppliers really low. Cf citation pour dire que voyage partout. Threat of new entrants : Low because of the hogh costs set up et high competition. Power of buyer: As there are multiplayers in the markets and now customers are more sensitive towards the price so they visit every shop and they make decision and the switching cost is also not to high Substitutes product: High because others company are offering similar product with low price and now it is very easy to customer to switch from one product to other as ther have become more choosey. Rivalry: To get a well understanding of the opportunity that primark has in France, a SWOT analysis will be helphul Strengh weakness Opportunity Threats Conclusion sur competition : france competitive mais uk aussi et primark se demarque. CCL PARTIE ANALYSE: ACCESSIBILITY DU MARCHE cf p 247 Laccessibilità © du marchà © francais pour primak est donc bonne bien que representatn un challenge. According to clothing in France report,  «Ã‚   In terms of market share, the leader have the ability to adapt quickly to market demand by offering many different collection => Primark Representing in 2010 0,7% of the global brand share in the retailing sector in UK (euromonitor international, 2010)

Othello †the Universal Appeal Essay -- Othello essays

Othello – the Universal Appeal  Ã‚        Ã‚  Ã‚   For 400 years the audience has found William Shakespeare’s tragedy Othello to be relevant to their lives and tastes. Why? What enduring qualities does the play possess in order to ensure its continuing success?    Does the reason lie in the great heterogeneity of characters and scenes and actions within the play?   Robert B. Heilman in â€Å"The Role We Give Shakespeare† relates the universality of Shakespeare to the â€Å"innumerableness of the parts†:    But the Shakespeare completeness appears graspable and possessable to many men at odds with each other, because of the innumerableness of the parts: these parts we may consider incompletenesses, partial perspectives, and as such they correspond to the imperfect (but not necessarily invalid) modes of seeing and understanding practiced by imperfect (but not necessarily wrongheaded) interpreters and theorists of different camps. Each interpreter sees some part of the whole that does, we may say, mirror him, and he then proceeds to enlarge the mirror until it becomes the work as a whole (10).    Indeed, the reader finds a wide variety of â€Å"parts† from beginning to end of Othello. This is seen in the fact of about 20 characters with speaking roles; and in their variety of   occupations from duke to clown; and in the numerous scene changes; and in the differentiation in speech, actions, manners between every single individual character.    Is characterization another cause of the dramatist’s broad popularity? Harry Levin in the General Introduction to The Riverside Shakespeare finds other reasons for his appeal:      Universal as his attraction has been, it is best understood through particulars. Though – to our advan... ... Diego: Greenhaven Press, 1996. Reprint from Shakespeare: The Pattern in His Carpet. N.p.: n.p., 1970.    Frye, Northrop. â€Å"Nature and Nothing.† Essays on Shakespeare. Ed. Gerald Chapman. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 1965.    Heilman, Robert B. â€Å"The Role We Give Shakespeare.† Essays on Shakespeare. Ed. Gerald Chapman. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 1965.    Levin, Harry. General Introduction. The Riverside Shakespeare. Ed. G. Blakemore Evans. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Co., 1974.    Shakespeare, William. Othello. In The Electric Shakespeare. Princeton University. 1996. http://www.eiu.edu/~multilit/studyabroad/othello/othello_all.html No line nos.    Wilkie, Brian and James Hurt. â€Å"Shakespeare.† Literature of the Western World. Ed. Brian Wilkie and James Hurt. New York: Macmillan Publishing Co., 1992.       Othello – the Universal Appeal Essay -- Othello essays Othello – the Universal Appeal  Ã‚        Ã‚  Ã‚   For 400 years the audience has found William Shakespeare’s tragedy Othello to be relevant to their lives and tastes. Why? What enduring qualities does the play possess in order to ensure its continuing success?    Does the reason lie in the great heterogeneity of characters and scenes and actions within the play?   Robert B. Heilman in â€Å"The Role We Give Shakespeare† relates the universality of Shakespeare to the â€Å"innumerableness of the parts†:    But the Shakespeare completeness appears graspable and possessable to many men at odds with each other, because of the innumerableness of the parts: these parts we may consider incompletenesses, partial perspectives, and as such they correspond to the imperfect (but not necessarily invalid) modes of seeing and understanding practiced by imperfect (but not necessarily wrongheaded) interpreters and theorists of different camps. Each interpreter sees some part of the whole that does, we may say, mirror him, and he then proceeds to enlarge the mirror until it becomes the work as a whole (10).    Indeed, the reader finds a wide variety of â€Å"parts† from beginning to end of Othello. This is seen in the fact of about 20 characters with speaking roles; and in their variety of   occupations from duke to clown; and in the numerous scene changes; and in the differentiation in speech, actions, manners between every single individual character.    Is characterization another cause of the dramatist’s broad popularity? Harry Levin in the General Introduction to The Riverside Shakespeare finds other reasons for his appeal:      Universal as his attraction has been, it is best understood through particulars. Though – to our advan... ... Diego: Greenhaven Press, 1996. Reprint from Shakespeare: The Pattern in His Carpet. N.p.: n.p., 1970.    Frye, Northrop. â€Å"Nature and Nothing.† Essays on Shakespeare. Ed. Gerald Chapman. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 1965.    Heilman, Robert B. â€Å"The Role We Give Shakespeare.† Essays on Shakespeare. Ed. Gerald Chapman. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 1965.    Levin, Harry. General Introduction. The Riverside Shakespeare. Ed. G. Blakemore Evans. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Co., 1974.    Shakespeare, William. Othello. In The Electric Shakespeare. Princeton University. 1996. http://www.eiu.edu/~multilit/studyabroad/othello/othello_all.html No line nos.    Wilkie, Brian and James Hurt. â€Å"Shakespeare.† Literature of the Western World. Ed. Brian Wilkie and James Hurt. New York: Macmillan Publishing Co., 1992.      

Unjustness in The Crucible by Arthur Miller Essay -- Essay on The Cruc

In The Crucible by Arthur Miller, unjustness is displayed constantly throughout the play, when innocent men and women are accused of witchcraft in the town of Salem during the 1690's. Chaos and havoc erupt in this small town during the times of the trials, causing many prominent men and women to be wrongly accused of practicing witchcraft. In particular, John Procter, a well respected leader in the town of Salem, soon becomes entangled in the Salem witch trials, when his wife Elizabeth and many other women of the town are accused of witchcraft by Abigail Williams, his former mistress. Unlike other characters in the story, Procter's personality can be seen gradually changing throughout the course of the play, because of the events that occur in his life at the time of the trials. In The Crucible, John Procter develops from a sinful, dishonest man overwhelmed by guilt over his affair with Abigail, to a man with the courage to be truthful to himself and those around him. Unlike a ny other character in the story, John Procter ultimately learns to forgive himself for his sins, and take responsibility for his actions. As the story begins to unfold, John Proctor establishes himself as a confused man of ambiguity, unable to come to terms with his own sins, initially showing intolerance towards himself. After having an affair with Abigail Williams, John is unsure about his feelings towards her. Upon first meeting Proctor in the story, he is seen flirting with Abigail Williams, and provocatively telling her that â€Å"[she's] wicked yet,† and that â€Å"[she'll] be clapped in the stocks before [she's] twenty. (22).† John's amorous actions clearly exhibit his passion for Abigail. Although at first flirtatious gestures are exchanged, John... ... mistakes and learns to tolerate himself. John Proctor is a man who stands up to authority, and sticks to what he believes in when know one else will. Unfortunately, like all tragic heros John Proctor had a tragic flaw: his physical attraction to Abigail Williams. Sadly, Proctor's tragic flaw ultimately lead to his destruction. Because of John Proctor's tragic death, order is restored throughout the town of Salem. John Proctor is a man that knew the truth, and was going to stand by it no matter what. Workscited: Bowers, Kristen. The Crucible by Arthur Miller: Literature Guide. San Dimas, CA: Secondary Solutions, 2006. Print.

Free Catcher in the Rye Essays: Holdens Phony Phobia :: Catcher Rye Essays

Holden's Phony Phobia in The Catcher in the Rye What does phony mean to you? Do you consider it something that is not what it really seems? Or even something or someone that isn't normal in all ways or just in some? Phony is one of the words in the English literature that can have numerous interpretations. Can be being phony possibly hinder an attempt to accomplish a task to fully function mentally? Can phony delay an individuals maturing period? In J.D. Salinger's Catcher in the Rye, Holden's "phony phobia" restricts him from becoming a fully matured adult. In Holden's attempted journey in becoming a fully matured adult, he encounters many scenarios involving friendships, personal opinions, and his love of children. His journey is an unpleasant and difficult one with many lessons learned along the way. Holden possesses abnormal relationships with some of the characters in Catcher in the Rye. Many of his friends and those he talks highly about are young children. He does not make any negative comments about these companions, and there is no mention whatsoever of phony. Holden has a strong relationship with Phoebee, his younger sister. Holden vocalizes about the fact Phoebee can visit him anytime in the summer, "What I'd do, I'd let old Phoebee came out and visit me in the summertime and on Christmas vacation and Easter vacation" (205). Holden shows a solid liking to his sister and is always wanting her by his side. He finds a hard time associating with older, mature individuals. Also, a strong relationship with Allie his deceased younger brother, is apparent due to the twenty references in the novel. In fact, most of Holden's fondest memories are of those times with his younger siblings. His comments of innocence help establish this connection. Someone who is trying to learn the sta ges of developing into a mature adult would not develop as soon, or as fully when spending their time solely with those who are five to seven years of age. They would not experience the guidance from older adults to correct wrong behavior. The guidance of an elder isn't present and they need to learn by themselves. Harrison Smith has defined Holden's friendships quite clearly "What was wrong with Holden was his moral revulsion against anything that was ugly, evil, cruel, or what he called 'phony' and his acute responsiveness to beauty and innocence, especially the innocence of the very young.

Biblical Movie Versus Biblical Story

The process of translating a book story into film is known as Film or Movie Adaptation. Movie adaptation gives meaning and life to the stories that are confined in books. It is basically spoon-feeding a viewer of scenes and characters in contrast to the tedious imaging demanded of the reader in the written accounts. What is observable in Movie Adaptation is that there are an obvious similarities and differences with written accounts.Primarily, the reason is due to the fact that written accounts are too long to fit into the usual time runs or that although the topic was interesting, it lacked entertaining scenes that would draw a crowd of modern viewers or does not evoked the kind of emotion that is expected of such a situation or incident. That is why stories taken form books oftentimes were not literally translated into films. Story revision however must be done carefully and with a degree of discretion especially involving historical events.Fictional stories can be easily manipulat ed but true stories should stick to the truth (Dudley 95). The Biblical movie the Passion of the Christ based on the historical crucifixion of Christ, true to its nature as an adaptation, had similarities and differences from the written account. Similarities and differences can be observed on the personality and characters of the Biblical figures as well as portrayal or delivery of certain scenes. II. Discussion A. Similarities 1. Biblical CharactersThe most prominent Biblical characters portrayed in the film are Jesus, Mary and Mary Magdalene, Jewish religious leaders, Roman soldiers and Pilate. In the gospels, Jesus is presented as a humble, loving, compassionate and forgiving person whose origin is both divine and human. He was born for the sole purpose of dying on the cross for man’s redemption (Thompson 1085). In other words, the defining moment of his life is his death through the crucifixion. Mel Gibson’s movie The Passion of the Christ strictly adheres to the Biblical personality and character of Christ.Christ’s is never seen as vindictive in spite of the abuses and insults heaped upon him by the persecuting Jews and Romans. His love and compassion goes forth freely as he asks God to forgive them for according to him they do not know what they were doing. He humbly accepted his cruel fate at the hands of his creation.. His love for Mary was extraordinarily communicated through his eyes. But what the movie had enforced in Jesus character was his unbelievable restraint in the midst of angry mobs.His refusal to speak, to call the angels of heaven to save him, or to his divine powers to smite his accusers was very admirable and worth emulating. Another prominent figure of the story is Mary, Jesus’ Mother. The Biblical movie coincided with the written presentation of Mary as a devoted, sacrificing and loving mother, pure and simple at heart. Her compassion and anguish at the plight of his Son and her willingness to surrender to the will of God can make a viewer appreciate Mary more in the movie. Alongside Mary was the devoted Mary Magdalene whose penitent heart showed forth in the movie.Another prominent character from which the popular â€Å"washing of hands† idiomatic expression is taken (signifying a person’s way of removing guilt or participation of an action or decision) is Pilate, the Roman governor of Judea. Like the Bible Pilate is portrayed as a cowardly, fearful man who cannot stand up to his convictions (Thompson 1019). The last groups to have made a deep impact in the movie are the persecuting Jewish religious leaders and the Roman guards. They can be described as the blatant antagonist of the story (Satan is the prime antagonist but his wicked ways were more subtle).The Jewish leaders and the Jews were portrayed as a group of men hungry to see Jesus crucified. These vengeful and hateful attitudes are faithful to the description of the Bible. The Bible clearly said that they even prefer to see Barabas free, the notoriously convicted thief, than to let Jesus escape the crucifixion. Portraying Jews in such a manner arose protest from the other races, especially the Jews, declaring that it has anti-Semitic undertones (Carroll 2004). The Roman soldiers on the other hand were also seen to as cruel.Although not directly involved with Jewish skirmishes on religious matters, they were also eager to take part in the vicious carnage. Some of them however showed signs of a tender side. 3. Dialogues and Setting The entire movie was devoted to the final hours of Jesus on earth. It began with his prayer in the garden at Gethsemane, his arrest at dawn upon the betrayal of Judas, to his being brought before the Jewish Sanhedrin, his appearance before Pilate, his agony on the way to cross and finally his crucifixion. Generally, these scenes are faithful to the Biblical account.Some dialogues spoken fits the biblical statements, such as Jesus words â€Å"Father forgive them for they do no know what they do† , as well as the dialogues of Jesus and his disciples during the last supper and many others. The whipping of Jesus on the way to the cross, his being nailed in it between the two convicted thieves , the casting of lots of the Roman soldiers are also found in the Bible. The way Jesus was being scourged and bloodied invoke man’s deepest sympathy or appreciation for his suffering and passion for humanity.The bible even said that due to flogging â€Å"he was so deformed that he does not resemble like a Man†(Thompson 714 ). B. Differences Although the Biblical movie has many similarities with the Biblical story, it also had many obvious differences. Many people may argue that the addition of such a scene may be excused as â€Å"Hollywood’s artistic liberties† for the purpose of expanding the Biblical text or widening the confines of the story in order to draw more appreciation and understanding of the topic on hand. 1. Portrayal of the crucifixion.The movie was focused on the final hours of Jesus, from dawn to three o’clock in the afternoon when Christ’s died. The agony and torture on the way to the cross and Christ’s eventual crucifixion was shown in a vivid, horrifying detail: flesh come off after whipping, Christ’s hand was stretch beyond limit when nailed on the cross, constant whipping from beginning to end of the journey, a bloodied Christ’s keep falling off, and a nailed Christ was turned flat on the ground with such forceful brutality sending a cloud of dust in the air.It was the first time that such a bloody and cruel portrayal of Christ’s crucifixion ever hit the big screen. Though the Bible did mention whipping and nailing, it did not evoke the same imagery of torture as seen on the movie. The movie seems to be too brutal and full of bloodshed( Carroll 2007). One reason perhaps is because the Bible did not exactly offer a detailed account of suc h event while the main focus of the movie was the crucifixion itself. The problem may be due to the fact that it was easier more to picture what really occurred on screen than on paper.In other words, the emotion of the moment is easily communicated and understood through the big screen. There is a possibility that such forms of cruelty are experienced by Jesus in the hands of the Roman soldiers for Roman soldiers are known to be cruel executioners (Perry 98). What the movie was trying to achieve though is that the viewer will appreciate what Jesus did for them, and not to treat Jesus crucifixion as just another historical event of his life. 2. Scenes not found in the Bible.There are countless scenes not found in the Bible. Some of the notable scenes are: Jesus crushing the serpent with his foot in the Garden of Gethsemane. This scene can never be found in the Bible (Thompson 1017). The significance of the serpent could be that since it is a popular symbol of Satan, it signifies tha t Satanic influences are near, ever ready to dissuade Jesus from fulfilling his supreme mission of dying in the cross . When Jesus crushed the serpent’s feet, it means that he was victorious over the devil.The scene may help the viewer to realize how hard it must have been for Christ to surrender to the will of the Father with regards to the way he was going to die. A sensitive reader may then appreciate how strong and noble Christ’s really was. Satan , in the form of a beautiful woman, did came to tempt Jesus to forego his mission in saving men for she argued that it was a burden too hard to bear for a single man. Both the conversation and satanic appearance in the Garden were not recorded in the Bible. What is disturbing in that scene (and in many scenes afterwards) however is that Satan was represented by a beautiful woman.Nowhere in the Bible is Satan portrayed as such though he may â€Å"appear as Angel of Light:† It would have been more realistic and relig iously fitting if Satan was portrayed as a male. The scenes on the way to the cross were full of incidents that can never be read in the Bible. For instance, Mary and the traditional Veronica wiping the face of Jesus with a fresh linen handed to them by the wife of Pilate. Although not found in the Bible, this is clearly an accepted tradition in the life of Christ by the Catholic Church.According to traditional Catholic stories the face of Jesus became imprinted in the linen and was then preserved( . The female Satan also kept appearing on the way to crucifixion, obviously taunting Mary. Another scene worth mentioning is that Jesus met Mary on the way to the cross. This is not mentioned in the Bible, nor was it implied that she was there at all. Biblical account tells of the appearance of Mary at a later time, when she stood at the foot of the cross of Jesus with the disciple John at her side.The arrest and trial of Jesus happened so fast so that probably Mary did not arrive until J esus reached Golgotha. In the light of this argument, the much earlier appearance of Mary is a clear deviation of the Biblical account and may not be considered as Hollywood artistic liberties. In the movie the nailing of Jesus on the cross was very brutal wherein the Roman soldiers stretched his hand beyond its limits to match the hole on the cross so that his arms was literally broken. Aside from that, Jesus and his cross was turned together in order to hammer the protruding nail at the back of the cross.It was a very pitiful and painful sight indeed. What was notable and sickening is that amidst that scene is a bird, probably a vulture that plucked the eye of the crucified men. III. Contribution of Movie Adaptation to Biblical Story In the movie the passion of the Christ, the reader was brought into a live and detailed enactment of the sufferings of Christ during crucifixion. Some scenes were added to draw a heightened emotional response which the director or the creator of the s tory believed was originally present in the situation( Dudley 95).But since the movie is based on the Bible which is believed to be the inerrant Word of God, certain scenes not mentioned in the Bible should not be included unless strongly implied, because they may bring confusion or disrespect to the faith from which it was based. Also, Jesus is indeed a historical figure whose events mentioned in the Bible truly occurred so that truth is essential to the movie. III. Conclusion The Biblical movie The Passion of the Christ revolves around the final hours of Christ based on the Biblical story.Naturally, since it was derived from the Bible, it depicts scene mentioned in the Biblical account. However, some scenes were added that can be classified as â€Å"Hollywood’s artistic liberties†. In some scenes, particularly the nailing of Christ where his hand was stretched beyond its limitation so that it crunched or when the cross from which he was nailed was turned upside down so that Jesus was beneath the cross, the reader cannot help but appreciate what Jesus did. In other words, that scene evokes the rightful emotion of gratitude for what Christ did for men.However, some scenes may not be rightfully expanded but actually deviates from truth like when Satan appeared as a beautiful temptress. Work Cited 1. Dudley Louise and Austin Faricy. The Humanities. New York: MacGraw-Hill, 1973. 2. Carroll, James l. An obscene portrayal of Christ's Passion. Globe Newspaper Company. February 2004. Retrieved November 9, 2007 from http://www. boston. com/ae/movies/articles/2004/02/24/an_obscene_portrayal_of_christs_passion/? page=2 3. Perry, Marvin. A History of the World. New York: Houghton-Mifflin Company, 1988. 4. Thompson, Frank Charles. The Thompson Chain-Reference Bible. Zondervan Bible Publishers, 1983.

Hispanic Family Values Essay

MacDonald’s article reveals the grim reality of teenage pregnancy and unmarried mothers in the Hispanic community in the United States, backed up by statistical data on various circumstances surrounding unwed young mothers. Birth rates among young, unwed Hispanic mothers are so alarming that according to the Census Bureau, â€Å"one in four Americans will be Hispanics by mid-century, twice the current ratio; also, Hispanics will account for 46 percent of the nation’s added population for over the next two decades† (Mac Donald). Statistics show that the Hispanic women have the highest occurence of births outside marriage at 45 percent, â€Å"compared to the 24 percent of white births and 15 percent of Asian births† (Mac Donald). Only the black population exceed this figure at 68 percent. This can possibly imply a higher demand for a larger welfare state, if incidents of unplanned pregnancy among young Hispanic women surge. MacDonald spoke to several social workers and other people who provide aid and services to these young women in South California, where most illegal immigrants flock, to illustrate the situation of Hispanic young women. According to these workers, illegitamacy has become the norm among the Hispanic community and it is not unusual for young, unwed Hispanic women seek welfare and social services (Mac Donald). According to Dr. Ana Sanchez, it is noteworthy to look into the values system of the Hispanics and compare it with the values system of other cultures. For instance, Dr. Sanchez thinks that in a Hispanic household, having babies outside marriage is normal; whereas in an Asian household, parents strongly imbibe in their children that teenage pregnancy is a taboo (Mac Donald). Another factor that contributes to the increase in unwed teenage pregnancy is the most powerful Hispanic value – a tight-knit extended family (Mac Donald). While marriage is no longer a cherished value in the Hispanic community, a tight-knit family is still very much treasured and children are always a welcome addition to the family. It is an honor for a young girl to be have a baby at a young age. If the father of the child is unavailable, which is normally the case, the relatives are more than willing to help raise the child. The fathers of the children of unwed young Hispanic mothers are another factor that contribute to the problem of rising dependence of young Hispanic mothers on social welfare and services. It is not uncommon for fathers to run off after getting a girl pregnant, regardless of the age. They cohabitate with the mother of their child initially but this does not usually last long (Mac Donald). Girls who are impregnated by older men is another issue that raises the eyebrows of social workers. The fathers of these children can be as young as 13 or as old as the boyfriend of the girl’s mother. Situations where girls are sexually assaulted by their mother’s boyfriends are not uncommon in the Hispanic community (Mac Donald). The present boyfriend of their mother is usually not their father because even their mothers had them when they were their daughter’s age. If it is not their mother’s boyfriend, it is their uncle. The belief is that older men prefer virgins because they think that they cannot be impregnated on their first sexual intercourse and they are less likely to have sexually transmitted diseases. Another revelation in this situation is that the cycle of early, unwed pregnancy among young mothers is a prevalent issue because it is something that is imbibed to them by their elders. Young girls turn out to be like that because their mothers, grandmothers, and aunts went through the same thing at the same age. It gives them the impression that having a child before marriage is perfectly normal. Consequently, relying on social services and welfare has also become a normal part of their lifestyle. The last few paragraphs of MacDonald’s article provide the various solutions that are being implemented to address this issue. For instance, some schools in California have a day care center for the babies of their students. MacDonald also mentions the â€Å"Latina Adolescent Suicide Prevention Act aims to channel $10 million to â€Å"culturally competent† social agencies to improve the self-esteem of Latina girls and to provide â€Å"support services† to their families and friends if they contemplate suicide† (Mac Donald). There are also support group for parents of children who show signs of delinquency such as gang involvement and antisocial behavior; members are usually single mothers. The life of a young, unwed and single mother is not easy. On top of that, the Hispanic community still remains to be a minority in the United States, even if their population is expected to double in the coming years. Support groups such as the ones mentioned above will aid the single mother in coping with the harsh reality in a foreign country. However, the adage â€Å"An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure† still works in this case. Aside from helping teenage moms, efforts should be allocated in creating an environment for young Hispanic women that will reduce the likelihood of pregnancy outside marriage. According to the study of National Council of La Raza’s Institute for Hispanic health, Hispanic communities misconstrue pregnancy prevention campaigns as â€Å"anti-family† campaigns (Elkins). NCLR suggests that programs should address family planning rather than the notion of pregnancy itself. According to the Latino Initiative, a very effective way of curbing unwed pregnancies among young women is to foster family values and strengthen parent-child ties because children who are close to their parents are more likely to enact safer sexual practices (Elkins). This intervention program not only works in Hispanic communities; it works almost everywhere as well.

Health and Social Care Setting Essay

Everyone is an individual and when they need to use the health and social care services it is import they have access to the setting which precisely meets their needs, different setting are designed to do just that and the trained staff within those settings have the skills and knowledge to meet those particular needs. Key elements: If everyone who needed support turned up at the same place, things would become rather crowded; more importantly, not everyone would receive the support that they really needed. Health and social care services are designed to meet particular needs and are staffed by professionals who know how to do this. Hospitals: Hospitals provide support for people who have an illness or who are recovering from one. Many hospitals provide support for a variant of conditions and illness and are staffed by people who are trained to do this. Some hospitals provide support for particular conditions such as ophthalmic eye care), maternity (care for the mother and baby durin g pregnancy and birth) and paediatric (children). Hospices: Hospices are normally much smaller than many hospitals and provide support for individuals who have a terminal illness. Some hospices provide respite care which means that an individual may come for a few days to give their career a brake. The staff receives special training in order to provide the people in the hospices the right support. Domiciliary support: Domiciliary support is provide in an individual’s own home and can be either health or social care. For example, community nurses will visit a person at home and give them nursing care: sometimes this could be removing stitches after surgery or changing a dressing. Community care assistants may help an older person with their personal care if they can no longer do so themselves. Domiciliary can enable people to either retune to or remain in their own home and provide a choice. Residential homes: Residential homes are designed to meet the needs of individuals who cannot take care of themselves. Many older people who can no longer meet their own personal needs, or who are lonely following the death of a partner, may prefer to live in residential home rather than remain in their own homes. Residential homes provide the companionship which people are missing, and staff will deliver the personal support if this is needed, in any way which preserves the dignity of the older person whilst safeguards. Other residential settings provide a home for younger people who have physical need and c annot live independently. The staff in both residential usually includes an activity coordinator who arranges events and activities designed to encourage the use of skills such as memory and physical mobility. Day centres: Day centres are designed to provide a social space for people who would otherwise spend most of their time alone. Many day centres provide companionship and midday meals for older people, enabling them to meet with people of a similar age and receive support from trained staff. Many day centres have regular visits from health and social care professionals such as counsellors, chiropodists and even opticians. They may also provide other servicer such as hairdressing and nail care. There are also day centres for young people who have a form of physical disability. Fostering arrangements: For a variety of reasons some children cannot be care for in their own homes. When this happens social services may arrange for the child to be looked after by foster careers who wi ll have received training in order to provide a suitable, temporary home for a child. This can either be short -team arrangement, for example if both parents were ill and there was no other relatives available to provide a home for the child, or long-team if there is thought necessary. Foster careers do receive some financial support, but main reward is seeing the children thrive.

Personal Income Tax System In Malaysia

A tax is a financial charge or other levy imposed upon a taxpayer that known as an individual or legal entity by a state or the functional equivalent of a state such that failure to pay is punishable by law. Taxation is a compulsory levy that the government of a country will finance their expenditure by imposing charge to the persons, individuals, businesses and other bodies to allows the government provide money needed for them to run their operation and to achieve economic objective of the government. Tax is actually not meant to be paid by all people but focuses towards some class of people.As for personal income tax, it need to be paid by the person who earns income up to certain amount and for corporate tax, it imposed on the corporate entity that makes profit from the businesses. In achieving the economic objective, government will take some action such as reduction in taxable person income by the amount paid as the interest on home mortgage loans which will generates more jobs , encourage public to purchase a local produce, reducing inflation and discourage the consumption of certain goods.In Malaysia tax system, it comprises of corporate and personal income tax, custom duty and local tax. The personal income tax is liable for the individual who has income that derived from Malaysia or received in Malaysia from outside Malaysia for a year of assessment. The tax will be imposed to the resident and non-resident individual in different ways.The resident individual will subject to income tax derived from Malaysia and income received in Malaysia for outside Malaysia whereas non-resident individual will be subject to income tax accruing in or derived from Malaysia. In contrast, non-resident is subject to tax at a flat rate of 25%. In additional, income that received by an individual in Malaysia which income is derived from outside Malaysia is exempted from tax with effect from the year of assessment 2004.Under section 4 of Income Tax Act 1967, income that is su bject to tax comprises of Section 4(1)(a) which is gains from a business, Section 4(1)(b) which is gains from an employment, Section 4(1)(c) which is dividends, interest or discounts, Section 4(1)(d) which is rent, royalties or premiums, Section 4(1)(e) which is pension, annuities or other periodical payment which are not falling under any of the foregoing paragraph and lastly under Section 4(1)(f) gains that not falling under any of the foregoing paragraphs. Besides that, non-resident individual are alsosubject to tax of the amount paid in consideration of a service rendered by the person or employee for the use of property of any plant, machinery or other apparatus purchased from such person. Under capital gains, it will be tax in the form of real property gains tax. This tax is arising from disposal of real property in Malaysia.Real property gain tax is known as tax on disposal of shares in real property companies which owns shares defined value of such asset not less than 75% of the company's total tangible assets.Starting from 2010, disposal of real properties that are held for 5 years and below are subject to real property gain tax which the tax rate is 5%. In contrast, for the employment income, employer is required to deduct tax monthly from their employee’s remuneration and submit it to the Inland Revenue Board of Malaysia.For corporate income tax, resident companies are subject to tax on income accruing in or derived from Malaysia. Income that received in Malaysia from outside Malaysia is exempted from tax except for the companies that involved on the business of insurance, banking, sea or air transportation.Non-resident companies are subject to tax on income accruing in or derived from Malaysia only. Incomes that are derived from outside Malaysia which is foreign income will be non-taxable income. Business income of non-residents is subject to tax once it derived through a permanent establishment in Malaysia.There is a self-assessment in the tax system in Malaysia which required individuals to file and pay their tax based on the time requirement. An individual must file and pay their tax if they has a chargeable income for a year of assessment and has no chargeable income for the year of assessment.An individual who has a chargeable income for the year of assessment, they required to furnish a return for the immediately preceding year and have furnished a return for the immediate preceding year. Under Income Tax Act 1967 of Section 2 describe that royalty as any sums paid as right to use the artistic, patents, copyright, design, trademarks, films where such films are to be used in Malaysia. A person who is liable to pay a royalty that has a Malaysian source to an individual who is not known to him to be a resident in Malaysia and to a company, partnership or any other body of persons who does not carry a business in Malaysia.Besides that, the royalty is said to be derived from Malaysia if the responsibility for the paym ent lies with a resident of Malaysia and the responsibility for the payment lies between the government and state government itself.There is a term of local tax in Malaysia which refers to as the property tax collected by the local authorities for the provision of service to the residents. The property tax is levied on all property such as agricultural, factories, residential and shops located in the areas under jurisdiction of local authorities.Furthermore, the rate of the tax collected is different from one local government to another and it is also different in form of the property rights. Question 1(B): Examine the taxation needs of the present times (locally and internationally).So far Malaysia is using an income based direct tax for the purpose of taxation of goods and services in the country and with international transactions. So, isn’t it better for the country to switch to a consumption based indirect taxation?First of all, what is the difference between direct and indirect tax. The difference between a direct and indirect tax is a challenging issue. It depends on whether it is viewed on the economic way or on the legal way. In this case the interest is given to the economic view only.Based on economic perspective, a direct tax will refer to any levy that is both imposed and collected on a specific group of people or organizations. An example of direct taxation would be income taxes that are collected from the people who actually earn their income.In the opposite, indirect taxes are collected from someone or some organization other than the person or entity that would normally be responsible for the taxes; in other words, an indirect tax is technically an income tax levied against people, corporations, and other legal entities.A sales tax, for instance, would not be considered a direct tax because the money is collected from merchants, not from the people who actually pay the tax (the consumers). A goods and services tax in Malaysia (GST), a v alue added tax, was scheduled to be implemented by the government during the third quarter of 2011.Its purpose is to replace the sales and service tax which has been used in the country for several decades. The government is seeking additional revenue to offset its budget deficit and reduce its dependence on revenue from Petronas, Malaysia's state-owned oil company.They estimated to four-percent the tax rate in order to replace a sales-and-service tax of between five and ten percent. The Goods and Services Tax Bill 2009 was tabled for its first reading at the Dewan Rakyat (the lower house of the Malaysian parliament) on 16 December 2009.It was delayed amid mounting criticism. The government responded by asserting that the tax on oil income will not be sustainable in the future. National Consumer Complaints Centre head Muhammad Sha’ani Abdullah has said, â€Å"The government should create more awareness on what the GST is.The public cannot be blamed for their lack of understa nding, and thus, their fears†. Sha’ani says that the GST will improve accounting, reduce tax fraud, and facilitate enforcement of the upcoming Anti-Profiteering Act.Muslim Consumer Association of Malaysia leader Datuk Dr. Ma’amor Osman said the GST could help end dishonest business practices, but expressed concern about how the tax would be applied to medical products and services. A group leading the campaign against the GST, Protes which objects to the GST because of concerns about its effects on low-income Malaysians, cancelled a planned protest but has stated that they will continue to agitate against the legislation Difference between Malaysian taxation and other countries, they need to harmonize.Most of the countries in the world currently use income based taxation. Those countries use two systems for taxation purpose: territorial or residential. Malaysia is one of the few countries in the world using territory based taxation. The tax is applied mainly over local income, in other words, income from a source inside the country. Malaysia operates under a Self-Assessment System (SAS) and income is taxed on a territorial basis.Income tax in Malaysia is imposed on income accruing in, or derived from, Malaysia except for income of resident companies carrying on a business of air or sea transport, banking or insurance, which are taxed on a worldwide basis. Foreign-source income received in Malaysia is not taxable.In the residential system, residents of the country are taxed on their worldwide income (local and foreign). This difference of tax systems may overlap some time, giving rise to a taxation issue. Some taxpayer may be taxed more than once.There is another group, the United States which applies tax based on citizenship. There will be taxation conflict at the international level. For instance Malaysia and Singapore have a tax agreement in order to avoid double taxation for the same person and the same income between the two countries.B ased on the preceding, the taxation system in Malaysia should be reviewed in order to simplify the international transactions as well as multinational operations between the country and others. This could help to ease the business transactions both locally and internationally.Taxation used as a tool to attract investors which useful to note that the Malaysian Government, in trying to attract foreign direct investment, is amiable to consider pre-packaged incentives, Factors such as the size of investment, level of spin-off, employment opportunities, and technology transfer, whether of national and strategic importance will play a role for granting of the incentive. Malaysia is experiencing an increasing inflow of investors from around the world because of various reasons. One of the main reasons is the tax incentive provided by the government to attract foreign capital and know-how.At this point the country is doing very well to gain competitive attractiveness. The tax legislature in Malaysia keeps updating the tax law very often to follow the country’s development need. Switch tax policy is a need as in a multi-stage, broad-based Goods and Service tax (GST) has been announced by the Malaysian Government to replace the existing single stage sales tax and service tax. The implementation date remains unannounced at this juncture. The Malaysian tax specialists deemed more beneficial to make this switch.Experts also have argued that complexities due to timing and inflation adjustment should be avoided. To do so, the authorities need to switch the taxation system from an income based one to a consumption based one. Under such a system all business purchases would be deducted immediately.Borrowing in excess of investment would be added to income, and lending would be subtracted; the resulting tax base would be consumption. Through the tax saving resulting from expensing, the government, in effect, becomes a partner in all investments; the revenues it subsequen tly receives are best seen as the return on its investment.A consumption-based tax imposes no burden on income from marginal investments, because the private investor keeps all of the income relating to his share of the investment. As a result, such a tax does not favour present consumption over saving for future consumption, as the income tax does.Some economists view the flat tax as an alternative that is even simpler than consumption-based taxation but would achieve similar economic effects. It works by exempting most capital income from taxation at the individual level that is, only labor income is taxed.This proposal, like consumption-based taxation, suffers from the loss of  progressivity those results when the tax on most capital income is eliminated. No country uses either of these consumption-based direct taxes. To sum up, the Malaysian authorities has some changes to make in order to improve its own tax system and support the economic growth of the country.The current ta x system is not bad or unproductive, but just to improve through the establishment of a tax policy that is more or less similar to at least the neighbouring countries or least extend the bilateral and multilateral tax agreement with the business partners, as well as the foreign investors.It is also highly advisable deepen the analysis about the implementation of the consumption based taxation to determine whether the switch could be beneficial. Question 1(C): Discuss whether system of tax on goods and services is now timely and appropriate for Malaysia.Goods and services tax (GST) is known as a consumption tax based on the value-added concept. It imposed on sales of goods and services in every production. The tax consumption which the indirect tax charged towards importations and on the value added to goods and services sold by one business to another, or to the end consumer.The new tax system of GST is considered as more efficient tax system. The implementation of GST replaces the current Malaysian service tax and sales tax. Sales tax is a form of indirect taxation which imposed on consumers and collected by business entities while service tax is a form of indirect tax imposed on specified services called as taxable services when the services are provided to the consumer at the time. There are lots of arguments arrived on the introduction of GST in Malaysia especially from various parties who is the taxpayer whether it burden the peoples when being implement.GST have more comprehensive, transparent tax system. It inclusive of the manufacturing and distribution stages as well as providing a tax credit claim for GST paid on business inputs while the sales tax is imposed only at the manufacturing stage when the goods are manufactured or imported.Thus, the GST will overcome the various weaknesses inherent in the present consumption tax system such as double tax, leakages thru transfer pricing and more. The government implement GST as part of their tax reform prog ramme.The objective of this new system, GST is to enhance the capability, effectiveness and transparency of tax administration and management. GST covers all types of goods & services sold to Malaysian & non-Malaysian residents except for common commodities.Government expected that the consumers will have benefit from the price reduction in most of the goods and services which has cheaper services. As a consumer, the GST will affect us as the prices of goods and services which currently have little or no taxes will increase slightly.Although there will be slightly increase in term of pricing, the government also has decided that 40 basic goods and services will be exempted from the GST such as basic foodstuff, residential accommodation, education, health services, communication, water and electricity, public transportation, hardware and maintenance and more.There are various types of businesses that charged to GST. GST is charged and collected on all taxable goods and services produ ced in the country including imports where they need to pay the GST at the time of importation.To business supplying the good and services, they need to pay within one month at the end of taxable period, it depending towards the classification that done by the GST authorities. Thus, businesses registered under GST can charge and collect GST.The social and pricing impact studies conducted by the Ministry of Finance indicated that the suitable GST rate is in the range of 4% of value added to good and services at each stage of production. Value added in this system basically is the mark-up in arriving at the selling price of a product and service.The rate is indicated as a standard rate which is expected to give benefits and to reduce the unduly burden of the rakyat and consumers especially to whom that fall in the lower income group. A business that have annual turnover that is more than RM500, 000 needs to register for GST, this is to ensure that the small businesses are free from GS T. The registration can be done by manually or online within 28days from the end of the month where the threshold is reached.Towards businesses that are not reached the threshold, they can voluntarily apply to be registered under the GST and the businesses must remain in the system for at least 2 years followed in the policy. If the government implement it in Malaysia, they will provide a sufficient time for business and industries to make them ready as GST is the new tax system.It will be around 18 to 24 months as various businesses have different types of primary activities in their businesses. Lots of preparation need to be done including preparing their business computer system, hardware and software to get ready for this implementation.Who will responsible to handle the GST accounting and GST taxation as it involved setting up business records, calculation of GST taxes and more. Training is needed either done by the government or by sending the staff for external training as th is will increase the rate of readiness towards this implementation.In additional, the issues on transitional of GST tax need to be study as to avoid the double taxation and disruption. Therefore, they need to understand the detailed rules and consider how GST would apply to their own business operations to avoid any problems occur in future after the system is being implemented.Corruption is not a rare thing in Malaysia as businesses has already included corruption prices in goods & services. How does that not reflect additional costs to consumers? Therefore, the government need to take step in controlling the prices.They need to ensure that the businesses do not take advantage of the GST implementation to increase prices of goods to make excessive profits. A Heavier fines and penalties will be imposed to make sure that the businesses comply with the rules and procedures formulated. Towards dealing with the issues relating to non-compliance and fraud, various approaches will be used by the government.A risk assessment programme will be used to identify types of businesses and persons with high tendency to commit non-compliance and fraud. Moreover, a comprehensive audit programmes is one of the programme that being used to all business and this programme also will be used in the system to fight non-compliance and fraud cases.Thus, a business records and accounts need to be audit by independence auditor to give a true and fair view of the financial statement. Prime Minister has guaranteed that there is no inflation but with the introduction of GST, the chain of passing the cost will end up usually at the hands of consumers.The multiple stage tax of GST would rise up the final consumption price which might lead to inflation in short while. Malaysia economic would be more conservatives and tided to move forward for low income workers with a high living cost that can be seen in present time.A good approach can be seen when the government learn and get good referenc es from countries that impose GST such as Singapore and Thailand before implemented the tax scheme. Last but not least, the result of GST implementation could not be seen in this current time but they need to ensure that the GST does not burden the people, especially the lower-income group.As a business taxpayer they need to be alert and aware regarding this new implementation. Organised seminar or workshop need to be attend to have a better understanding and at the same time will reduce any conflict occur. GST awareness and education programmes need to be conducted on an on-going basis until the GST is implemented and the answer from the survey can help the government to make decision and a proper preparation need to be done as in computer system or in other medium that GST will be used in future. Therefore, the government need to give businesses ample time to be ready for GST implementation.