Media and communication Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words - 1

Media and communication - Essay Example Gerbner’s therefore insists on the economically-determined nature of media violence, this he says undermines our chances of realizing effective reforms in the media. George Gerbner urges the society to think about the impact in complex and new ways and that media violence causes real world violence and therefore encourages us to think about the political, psychological social and development effect of growing up and living within a cultural environment of persistent, ritualized violence images (Gerbner, 1990). He mainly focused his theory of the content of our TVs and the impact of the content on the growing population of the children and the highly growing population. The cartoon network shown to most of the children on the Saturday was his major point of argument where he argue that the viewers are highly affected by what they watch and if they watch violent things on the TV then they will automatically become what they see and that violence comes with power and therefore ou r children will follow suit. Cultivation theory is a social that scrutinizes the long-term impact of television. It proposes that full television exposure produces a world of ideas and mental content that is similar and biased toward reality as is portrayed in media content. The main proportion of cultivation theory states that the more time people spend living in the television world the more they are likely to believe in social reality depicted on televisions and therefore tends to leave people of the misperception of what is true in the world. According to this theory, those who view television are cultivated to view reality the same as what they watch in the television. Most of the television shows are normally very easy to access and very easy to understand and for this reason they provide very easy means through which people socialize within the society without these people considering the social dangers caused by these programs

The effects of U.S. recession on other countries economies Research Paper

The effects of U.S. recession on other countries economies - Research Paper Example Economy has affected other nations although it should be noted that the downturn in is a global phenomenon. At least superficially it is the case that the recession is affecting different nations for reasons other than changes in the U.S. economy specifically. Firstly it is the case that this economic downturn is a recent event relatively speaking. As a consequence, there are not many peer reviewed academic articles on the topic. Furthermore it may be the case that the full effect of this recession has not yet been felt and by extension there is a research gap for what is currently transpiring and future consequences. Secondly any information disseminated from the economic downturn can be beneficial for future potential economic downturns. As it is the case that any impact that the downturn may have on a specific economy may yield possible contingency plans. Why this information would be relevant to others is because any information gathered theoretically is of use to subjects as diverse as international commerce and policy, economics, developmental economics as well as sociology. The article first highlighted that the BRIC nations (Brasil, Russia, India and China) are the most likely candidates for a speedy economic recovery and by extension are poised to help push a global economic recovery whilst the more economically developed nations (Europe, North America and Japan) are expected to lag. How this relates specifically to the United States is that the article specifically sites that American corporations and consumers are presently tamping down the impact of the economic stimulus package by increased saving. What this translates to is an estimated overall shrinking of the American economy of 2.8% in 2009. As a negative consequence of this action it could be predicted that this emerging/developing market growth could theoretically push interest rates in developed economies which in turn would increase the price of oil. Furthermore, increased savings

The desire for wealth and possessions

The desire for wealth and possessions Materialism in American Society Over the course of the last century America has undergone many societal changes, none of which have had as great an ethical effect as the nations transition towards ever increasing materialism. Materialism, or the desire for wealth and possessions, has faced virulent opposition for thousands of years from both religious institutions and social activists. Throughout time, materialism has been widely slandered not only as spiritually corrupting, but also as a major cause of a multitude of societal ills throughout the world. Although absolute materialism would obviously be awful for all involved, to date materialism has overall been very positive for American society, driving it towards ever-greater productive, intellectual, and ethical heights. First, the most obvious benefit bestowed upon America by materialism is the increased productivity of its people. With the attainment of wealth and possessions as the predominant motivation, it is to be Is American materialism increasing? Is American materialism increasing? To answer this question, we need only look at the current buying trends in present day society. Even a cursory glance at these trends would cause the question to be answered with a resounding YES! The pursuit of the American dream has become rather costly in that it is fraught with a large quantity of material possessions. The requirements to â€Å"keep up with the Joneses† are becoming more and more burdensome. Americans are made to feel that they absolutely must have certain things that had not even been invented just a few years ago. The increase in high tech, computerized, and digitized devices in the areas of electronics and household appliances has altered the landscape of the American home and family. What has fostered and fed these new trends? First and foremost, Americans will continue to subscribe to the pursuit of material goods, especially high tech devices for two basic reasons: the need for comfort and the need for entertainment. The deep, sometimes unspoken desire is to be coddled, catered to, and distracted. Embedded in this need for comfort and entertainment is the need for easy, quick access to information and resources. So, along with popping the family dinner into a microwave oven and eating the meal in a room with perfect temperature control, bill paying can be done from the comfort of home without ever writing a check or mailing an envelope. One can simply place his or her laptop on their laps from the comfort of any room in the house (thanks to a home-based wireless network), type in a few digits and press â€Å"go.† Any topic may be researched from the limitless stores along the information highway from how to treat a skin rash to exploring ancient religion s. Next, a parent can â€Å"talk† back and forth with a son or daughter in college or to an elderly mother halfway across the world. Such things were virtually unheard of many years ago. After the bill paying, research, and e-mailed correspondence, one can relax in the family room and choose from literally hundreds of movies or programs accessed through their cable or satellite TV provider. The picture will be viewed on a screen nearly covering the entire wall while the stereo sounds fill the entire room. These are just a few of the things that have become necessities, along with video games, luxury cars, summer homes, boats, designer clothing, and disposable contact lenses. These are the â€Å"must haves† of the American dream. Families, couples, and individuals expend hours, days, and years of their lives to obtain these things so that they may feel that they have â€Å"arrived† and so that they may be comfortable. This increase in American materialism, unfortunately, exists along with other less fashionable increases; teen suicide, depression, divorce, the disintegration of the family, bankruptcy, and despair. It does not appear that those living by the law of materialism are necessarily happy or fulfilled. The increase in the pursuit of things is evident; satisfaction from possessing these things is suspect and spurious. Jesus declared in John 10:10b, â€Å"I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.† He also asked the rhetorical question, â€Å"Is not life more important than food, and the body more important than clothes?† (Matthew 6:25b). While Americans continue to search and work for the â€Å"full life† it is urgent that they also discover the real source of full life. Materialism And Consumerism In The 1920s A crucial transformation to the structure of American culture during the 1920s was the rise of consumerism and materialism. As the country experienced an extraordinary economic boom, the outlook of America shifted. People began receiving higher wages, and there was a sudden increase of spending on discretionary goods which advertisements claimed people could not live without. The progress of the automobile industry, radio and motion picture production, and advanced technologies made it possible for this great escalation of the economy. There were many notable critics of the decade that made their opinions known in various ways. One such critic was F. Scott Fitzgerald, who wrote the novel The Great Gatsby. In this novel, he is critical of the 1920s as the obsession of consumerism and materialism flourish throughout the United States. Fitzgerald feels that it is this mindset that ultimately leads to the tragedies and miseries at the end of the novel, as well as at the foreseen end of t he 1920s. The Great Gatsby portrays an image of abundant leisure and excess, which parallels similar ideas with those of the 1920s. To illustrate this, Nick Carraway, the storys narrator, compares his â€Å"eye-sore† of a house with the man In addition to Jay Gatsby, materialistic and consumerist elements are also present in other characters in the novel. Daisy Buchannan becomes conscious of the fact that her husband Tom is cheating on her, yet she does nothing about it. It can be argued that she doesnt confront him, or threaten to leave him because Tom has all the money that she could ever need. That is what truly matters to Daisy and what will always make her happy, not honesty and commitment, but financial benefits. Also all the people in attendance at Gatsbys parties are guilty. They have no problem showing up at his home to party, drink, and dance all night long, but when it came to his funeral, â€Å"the minister glanced several times at his watch so I took him aside and asked him to wait for half an hour. But it wasnt any use. Nobody came† (p. 182). This shows that all those materialistic party-goers werent really friends of Gatsby, but just there to use him for his wealth with no common courtesy for him. Another character in the novel, Jordan Baker, seems to be rather superficial in her outlook on life. She appears to lie her way out of bad situations she may get herself in, and her lack of honesty and careless attitude are some of the factors that turn Nick away. Nick says â€Å"she wasnt able to endure being at a disadvantage† (p. 63). Another character, Meyer Wolfshiem, Gatsbys business associate, apparently had been the man responsible for fixing the 1919 World Series. It is fitting that Fitzgerald included a Wolfshiem type of character in his novel, for the fixing of the World Series mirrored the idea that money could buy any American utterly anything, even love and happiness. As Americans continued to gain material prosperity, in return, they began to lack spiritual wealth and strong religious faith. In The Great Gatsby, Fitzgerald depicts a world in which value systems have been distorted and religion faded. It illustrates a nation that gets too caught up in the moment to reali 1. The theory or attitude that physical well-being and worldly possessions constitute the greatest good and highest value in life. Advertising generates new needs and establishes brand loyalties. Ads alert people to both new products and new versions of old ones. Consumption today is not only about keeping up with the Joneses. The labels you wear, the food you eat, the restaurants you frequent, the haircut you flaunt, where you go on holiday, even your spiritual cravings are social symbols. What is happening to the average man, the man who is caught in the web of a consumerist and materialistic culture with all the temptations it offers him? The general scenario is one of utter helplessness and nobody seems to have any control over his future. Added to this is the acquisitive tendency of those who are tempted to go for all kinds of things the market offers. A kind of insatiable greed seems to have taken control of all of us and no effort is being made anywhere to limit ones wants. And this has become a global phenomenon and no country seems to be free from it. Thus the average man finds himself to be tr! In conclusion, most advertisements do not tell the whole story. They neglect to tell you the problems that their car can cause the environment. In most of these cases the advertising agency attempts to gain your interest through certain aesthetics in the ad. I chose to show a car ad because they have so many components that directly effect society and the environment in a harmful way. Because car ads like to show you what the ideal car (without pollution) would be like, society needs to simply keep in mind that what you see is NOT always what you get. Carbon dioxide is another gas released through exhaust emissions. It isnt dangerous directly to humans, but it is considered to be a â€Å"green house gas.† A â€Å"greenhouse gas† is a gas that is associated with global warming. Global warming is the gradual increase of temperature due to human activity. Certain gases, such as carbon dioxide, methane, and ozone allow radiation from the sun to break through the atmosphere and go to the earths surface. Global warming affects all living things on the entire planet.1 In a few ads, like the Outback commercials, you see the car in the wilderness with green lively trees and wild life flourishing. A true, maybe exaggerated, depiction would be animals suffering from car pollution and the sky covered by smog. One of the most important things that is neglected is the fact that, there may not be a hugely visible affect of pollution where you are but in other parts of the world there is plenty; in other words, we have only one Eart h. The fact that most of society does not care enough about the environment to take a bus, or carpool to minimize the amount of hydrocarbons in the air, only encourages manufacturers. Sure society can say that in a few years we wont have to worry about these emissions and there is nothing to worry about now. That sounds great, except following the trend of the human race thus far, we have only created more harmful and destructive things such as the atom bomb and biological warfare. The thing to keep in mind is that the things that affect the environment now may be gone in a few years, but who is to say there will not be something even worse Materialism: As Seen Through Four Different Authors As defined materialism refers to the theory that physical matter is the only reality and that everything, including thought, feeling, mind, and will, can be explained in terms of matter and physical phenomena. Although it is far too easy to merely look up the definitions of materialism understanding the concept is rather difficult. To help with the comprehension of materialism we take a look at four renowned authors who are tied to the idea of materialism. These four men are Karl Marx, Friedrich Engels, Morton Fried, and Marvin Harris. First we take a look at Karl Marx and Friedrich Engles, who collaborated to produce Feuerbach: Opposition of the Materialist and Idealist Outlook. Both Marx and Engles were idealist in every sense, they grasp on reality was far reaching. Although they were both idealists, Engles believed that ideas where what shaped people, and that if a person where to think like a wealthy land owner they would indeed start feeling like a wealthy land owner. Marx on the other hand had a more sensible approach he felt that means of production were what drove society not ideas. The things in particular that drove society were not only basic needs such as food, clothing, shelter, and protection, but also, money, need for material things, division of labor, exchange, and ownership. Ownership is a concept that ties in with materialism, ownership as presented in the article has various forms. The first form of ownership is tribal ownership which is limited to within the family. This is followed by state o wnership which is where there is a collaboration of many tribes which have the power to control the workers only under their state ownership. Finally, there is estate property which gave rise to the concept of princes and peasants. As we can already see these different Materialism I can get no satisfaction There is something perverse about more than enough. When we have more, it is never enough. It is always somewhere out there, just out of reach. The more we acquire, the more elusive enough becomes. -Unknown. Materialism is todays religion. We always value ourselves by what we wear, what we drive or how much we can spend. Brands are taking over the world very fast and today a 3 year old child is more likely to recognize and remember McDonalds than to know his last name. (Lynas, 2007) As the quantity and variety of brands and products grow, so does our need to have it all, apparently we can get no satisfaction. But what is materialism and why is it spreading so quickly around the world? The two most important definitions of materialism include those of Belk (1984,1985) and Richins and Dawson (1992). Belk describes materialism as â€Å"believing the acquisition and possession of thing is the ultimate source of happiness†. Richins and Dawson define materialism as a â€Å"set of centrally held beliefs about the importance of possessions in ones life.† The people who follow this trend are the perfect consumers, willing to buy anything the industry convinces will make them feel better. They are easy prey for advertisement and follow it without further thinking. When buying they are low involved and not pay attention to the product characteristics. But why do people focus so much on their possessions and turn into materialists? Researchers have found that family communication is a decisive factor when determining if a person will become materialistic or not. Families where parents do not fulfill the childrens needs, adolescents who do not have good communication with their parents and who make social Ethics Of Materialism Repercussions of Materialism Materialism and the want of consumer goods, has proved to be a prevalent force in the last century. When superficially thinking about materialism, one would not immediately register that there is a relationship between materialism and ethics; although, under examination, we can see that there is indeed a great association between the two. Are materialism and the obsessive consumer culture we have made for ourselves ethical? Peoples opinion on this question can be polar opposites. Some people believe that materialism has great benefits for the technological and economic growth, while others argue that materialism strips people of their individuality and creates unethical division between the rich and the poor. Its very easy to understand why someone would chose to live a life full of materialism as there is a lot of luxuries, lavishes and comfort. However, looking at it deeper, consumers have now become victims of this never ending cycle of materialism where they always want the newes t and latest goods. Also, people who cannot afford to pay for these products try and find illegal and immoral ways to gain wealth so they can be accepted in society. So, although materialism promotes technology and modernity, excessive amounts of it creates a division between social classes, which causes poor people to act unethically in order to live up to the materialistic standards society has created. The goal of a materialistic life style is to be on the top of the social hierarchy, to be recognized as the most powerful and to be able to flaunt the greatest amount of luxuries. Without consciously realizing it most of us judge others on their status and position in society. This means, that we are internally programmed to look at people based on the amount of materialistic goods they have. This is one of the main reasons why people who can not afford to live up to the materialistic standards set by the privileged, have to resort to unethical means American Materialism Materialism in American Society Over the course of the last century America has undergone many societal changes, none of which have had as great an ethical effect as the nations transition towards ever increasing materialism. Materialism, or the desire for wealth and possessions, has faced virulent opposition for thousands of years from both religious institutions and social activists. Throughout time, materialism has been widely slandered not only as spiritually corrupting, but also as a major cause of a multitude of societal ills throughout the world. Although absolute materialism would obviously be awful for all involved, to date materialism has overall been very positive for American society, driving it towards ever-greater productive, intellectual, and ethical heights. First, the most obvious benefit bestowed upon America by materialism is the increased productivity of its people. With the attainment of wealth and possessions as the predominant motivation, it is to be expected that the majority of Americans go to great lengths to attain material success. Even with such a relatively short lifetime as a nation, Americas capitalist beliefs have catapulted it to the forefront of the world as the only true modern superpower. One of the most significant factors contributing to Americas dramatic rise in power is the capitalistic drive for success and achievement, a love for material possessions that has manifested itself in the typically American value of hard work, both in ones profession and in school. Since education and socioeconomic position are closely correlated, it is not surprising that America is the worldwide leader in higher education. Not only does America produce great thinkers, but it also attracts the best and the brightest of other countries, people who are drawn to Americas freedom of thought and the material possibilities that abound. So many great minds have made America a land of unprecedented innovation. The copious amounts of money Materialism Materialism: Can it make you Happy? Can Greed and Materialism lead to true happiness? â€Å"Greed is good. Greed is right. Greed works and greed will save the USA.† (Wall Street) â€Å"Cause we are living in a material world and I am a material girl† a theme in one of Madonnas most famous songs. Greed and materialism stand in apposition to any manifestation of true happiness. People are under a false perception that money will solve all of their problems and as a result bring them their utmost joy and happiness. Many psychologists, philosophers, and religious figures throughout the ages have refuted this assertion. People in American society take money very seriously because it can either make or break your life choices. In order to fit in todays society Americans feel the need to obtain material assets so that they are looked upon as being â€Å"in style† or being economically sufficient. Money and greed is the main factors that cause people to be in debt. People today work hard to obtain wealth and success not so that they can be happy but just because they want to â€Å"keep up with the Jones†. Money can only make you happy temporally because if you are working hard just so that you can buy material things you really are not going to enjoy them because all o f your time and energy is put into maintaining your material wealth by working extra hard. It is Normal to think that money is not everything in life, although in the world we live in your not going to accomplish anything or get anywhere or even live a life that is considered normal to the world without money. Even though you cannot buy love or happiness you are very unlikely to find either if your living under a bridge. We rely on money, if all the money in the world disappeared tomorrow the world, as we know it would collapse. Everything is connected to money in some way. Everything essentially has a price tag on it if your pocket is fat enough. This is what makes money extremely appealing. But money shouldnt be the Materialism Is The Root Of All Evil There is an old adage which says, â€Å"The root of all evil is money.† This, however, is not true in America. In America, money is not the problem, the love of money, or materialism, is the problem. Materialism is at the core of our American dream. We grow up learning that success is rooted in material wealth and power. We live in a country where material things mean more to the general populous than a good education, where material things dictate the amount of money we spend, and where material things motivate our lives in most every way; something needs to change. Realizing that we are corrupted by materialism is not difficult. What is difficult, however, is finding a solution to the problem. Habits recognizes the difficulty by saying, â€Å"And since we have believed in that dream for a long time and worked very hard to make it come true, it is hard for us to give it up, even though it contradicts another dream that we have- that of living in a society that would really be worth living in.† (Bella, et. Al. 285) Materialism is closely tied to our individualism. We are taught to pursue our materialistic American dream, to get ahead in life, to be somebody, to pursue our own happiness. Even our own Declaration of Independence assumes we are individuals first and for most: â€Å"We hold these Truths to be self-evident, that all Men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness. . .† For Americans to be primarily self-reliant and selfish is not surprising. Americans only do what is beneficial to themselves, if it helps someone along the way, then thats great, but helping people is not their initial motive. In order to have the necessary balance between individualism and community, we must be willing to give and then, only after giving, take what has been given to us. If we learn to give, and then take what has been given to us, we Materialism In the oxford English dictionary materialism is described as a tendency to consider material possessions and physical comfort as more important than spiritual values. This theory is far more than a simple focus on material possessions. It states that everything in the universe is matter, without any true spiritual or intellectual existence. We live in a world surrounded by and composed of matter. It is natural; therefore, that we may become distracted from spiritual or intellectual pursuits by material possessions, but this is frequently where problems occur. We can become obsessed by a desire to obtain them, or simply frustrated by the need to maintain them. In a short play called Rodeo written by Jane Martin, a young girl name Lurlene, becomes unsuitable for the rodeo because she doesnt dress like a showgirl and wear material clothes (Martin 9). In an essay called Super-Size It written by Lisa Colletti, consumer commodity and must need material possessions are major concerns in the daily lives of Americans. Money is a valuable thing and wasting it on unnecessary items is a sin. Contrary to popular belief, Americans spend on average $3500.00 a year on unnecessary products such as a new iPod, a flat screen TV, a computer, clothes, dining out or a vacation. Nowadays, new products advertised on TV make the people watching it feel as if they need to buy that item. This is the problem with Americans; we buy what we dont need just so we can say I have that! And show off to our friends. We spend money we dont have just to be up to date with the latest fashion trends. Its unethical what this world is coming to, what happened to the days were people watched every penny they made and only bought necessary items. Stores that have been in business for decades are being remodeled by new management in order to lour in customers. In the same fashion, Lurlene from the story Rodeo is kicked to the curb by new management because she is not up to date with the new fashion True Materialism It is human nature for people to desire material possessions. Our material yearnings are an attempt to satisfy are need to special and wanted. In a world where most of society defines â€Å"socially acceptable† as the material possessions one owns such as, the latest clothing, the biggest house, or the fastest car one comes to believe that you need all of these things to be viewed as a part of society. For many, work has taken over community life and has had a major effect on happiness. Advertising has also become a primary determinant of our satisfaction, and is only a small part of a larger materialistic culture in which we are not only enticed customers but also prominent consumers. We have been beguiled into believing that material possessions will bring satisfaction and happiness. We imagine ourselves as being more than we are and in this we see how powerful images are. As a teenager I have fallen victim to the web of deceit and lies that has been spun by the stereotypical belief that we need to buy the latest fashion or the best technological devices. I put a lot of effort in my appearance and my material possessions. I watch and look at the advertisements and the images presented within them wishing that I had, or could afford what they are selling. I have come to realize that I am a very materialistic person and that I buy expensive phones, cars and clothing in order to appear better than others who do not have what I have. For instance, I wanted a new cell phone that cost well over four-hundred dollars. So I got a second job just to afford it. Another instance was when I bought my new car. It is a 2006 Phantom. I now have three jobs just to afford the car note, insurance, gas, and general up-keep of the car. This only goes to show that I have become so enamored with the desire for material possessions that I will go to unearthly lengths to obtai n them. Some of the possessions I have show me for what I want to be, but not for who I really am. My cell phone, Has America known its finest hour? Are we losing our religion and sanity as well? What is wrong with our society anyway? These are baffling questions that are frequently being asked by more and more people, even the media. From environmental pollution to spiritual pollution, from artificial food to artificial joy these are the side effects of the pursuit of materialism (a by-product of the American Dream, as we know it). Today, everything is fair game in the pursuit of pleasure and avoidance of pain and personal responsibility, not to mention the absence of morality and a wholesome values system. Is America at risk of reaching a point of no return, or worse becoming a third world nation? According to universal laws, its all a simple matter of cause and effect or as its been said â€Å"as you sow so shall you reap.† What we are witnessing is the powerful consequences of these laws from which no one is exempt. We live in a time characterized by a modern battle between good and evil which can be defined as limited awareness (the norm) and integrity and enlightenment (which are the exception). Its a time when chaos and anarchy are the order of the day. While technologically we may live in a space age, morally we are still living in the stone age as reflected in our social ills, the failure of our systems and institutions and the growing conflicts both domestically and internationally. One of the greatest human tragedies is not the lack of resources and/or control over our own circumstances, but rather the lack of awareness. Whether we realize it or not, the current climate of insanity, including terrorism, is a reflection of a moral and spiritual crisis. Its indicative of our denial of our own spiritual roots and the perception that we are separated, which eventually leads to conflicts and even wars. An engineer can look at the foundation of a building under construction and tell you its eventual height and even fate of a structure. Similarly, a society is as strong and free as the pillars of the spirit upon which its built. Spiritual roots are the foundation upon which total prosperity and peace and harmony are built. When we reject concepts of spirituality, integrity and morality we also deny the greatest part of our existence (our spirit) which enables us to prosper and experience a fuller life of meaning, purpose, real joy, fulfillment and peace (inner and outer). By so doing, we also deny our access to the ultimate real and positive power, the ever-present force (God) that builds and doesnt destroy. Thats because we are spiritual beings experiencing the human experience and not the other way around. As such we were designed and meant to live a life of meaning and purpose through spirit and integrity beyond the narrow boundaries of the material world. In a materialistic-driven society where vanity, not virtue, is worshipped, all the things we used to hold dear like, religion, marriage, family, loyalty, faithfulness, hard work, and being of service to the community are no longer sacred. Instead consumerism, in the spirit of â€Å"He with the most toys lives,† rather then â€Å"He with the most joys lives,† is promoted and driven by profit and greed to the point that even a holiday like Christmas is now more of a marketing concept and devoid of any real meaning. The media, especially Hollywood, is also at fault. Rather than celebrating excellence and the human spirit, by promoting positive concepts such as personal responsibility, making a difference, tolerance, kindness, giving and sensitivity to the human condition, the media produces shows and movies that celebrate human weakness, vanity and perversion. These productions promote social ills such as anti-social behavior, excessive self-indulgence and entitlement, instant gratification, greed, corruption, compromised integrity and obsession with external, shallow values, including the obsession with fame, fortune, and youth. This has led to a significant increase in substance abuse, senseless violence in our schools, and increased teen suicide. You can blame it all on the pursuit of the American Dream, as we know it, which is an illusion based on a materialistic values system characterized by corruption, greed, compromised integrity and the erosion of morality whereby the love of power overcomes the power of love. It certainly does not represent the true spirit of America, which was based on perspiration, innovation, risk and reward and where the focus used to be on a strong work ethic, high integrity, family and community. All of which created a nation of producers with an enviable prosperity that created real joy and fulfillment. Its obvious that America has gone off track and is in desperate need for healing and revival if we are to maintain a free and thriving nation, not to mention our leadership in the international arena. The solution to restoring our spirits and our economy is through increased awareness and by reconnecting with our spiritual roots. Awareness can be used as a useful tool to better understand the unity of life, our place in the universe and ourselves. By understanding ourselves better, we come to understand God as the

Abortion - Americas Answer to Hitler Essay -- abortion argumentative

Abortion - America's Answer to Hitler      Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Who should live, and who should die? Who has the right to make these decisions? People have been asking these questions for years but can't seem to decide if abortion should really be considered murder. Is it right to kill a blessing from God when the baby is healthy and so is the mother who carries it? And is it acceptable to abort if imminent death is the only thing in store for the baby after its birth? As difficult as these questions may seem, I believe that we must protect all human lives at any stage of development whether it be puberty or the first trimester. However, if terminal diseases are to cut short the lives of these little ones, and pain and suffering will be all they know of this world, then I believe the parents have the right to abort and stop their child's suffering. With this exception, people should see that all children have the right to life, if they are able to live, because of their potential of becoming a person.    The taking of a human life is not justified when that human is not capable...

Introduction to Psychological Testing

Introduction to Psychological Testing Psy 475 October 22, 2012 Introduction to Psychological Testing The history of personality and intelligence testing, dates to the beginning World War II. In psychology, clinicians use psychological tests as a tool to help aid in identifying important information in regard to the behaviors of an individual or a group. There is a major difference between regular testing and testing used for psychological purposes. There are various tests that can be administered to determine specific abilities or identify the characteristics of an individual.This paper will define the term â€Å"test†, describe the major categories of tests, and identify the major uses and users of these tests. Also this paper will also discuss the comparison and contrast the concepts of reliability and validity and explain how they affect psychological testing. Test According to Hogan, a test is a standardized process used to provide information about specific behaviors or c ognitive process through standardized procedures. Psychological tests are a battery of tests that evaluate and measure functions of emotions and behaviors in human beings.The test batteries are composed of interviews, and assessments that focus on specific areas such as learning, memory, attention, and academic capabilities. Tests can be conducted in various ways such as verbal, visual, oral, and written assessments or evaluation. Information gathered from standardized tests are useful and effective because they categorize specific behaviors with scores and provide results, which are reliable and valid. Psychological testing can be performed by licensed professionals; such as clinical psychologists, counseling, and school psychologist.Major categories of tests, Uses and Users Psychological tests provide a platform for providing information and insight, which helps to gain a better understanding of human behaviors. There different types of tests are used to measure various contexts o f specific areas of behavior. According to Chadha, Psychological tests are grouped into several categories, which include personality, mental ability, attitude, achievement, and neuropsychological tests. These test can be administered to an individual alone or to a group of people.According to Hogan intelligence test focuses on various functions of the individual who measures potential and basic ability, such as memory, cognitive functions, thinking skill, and visualization. Two of the most popular intelligence test are the Stanford-Binet and the Wechsler Intelligence Tests. Achievement and aptitude tests are commonly used in educational or employment settings. Educators and employers use these tests to identify how much an individual knows about a certain topic, such as academic subject or employment position.Educators use achievement tests to identify and compare abilities of students, while employers use these tests to identify talents, interests, and special skills (2008). Accor ding to Hogan, personality tests are commonly used in research and forensic settings to assist with providing a clinical diagnosis by measuring personality styles. Personality test is set up in two, formats. The first consists of yes or no questions and the second questions are true or false.According to Hogan, interests and attitudes are mainly used for high school and college students to identify interests related to job fields. The most common test used to measure and identify vocational interests is the Strong Interest Inventory (SII) or the Kuder Career Search (Hogan, 2007). The last category of testing is the neuropsychological tests. These types of test focus cognitive abilities as related to brain functions such as thinking, reasoning, memory and motor coordination.According to Hogan, uses and users of psychological tests include clinical, educational, personnel, and research settings. Clinical settings such as counseling and psychology use testing to identify the nature or severity of a specific problem or a behavior. The testing results are used to develop treatment plans used to carry out interventions for therapeutic application. According to Hogan, educators use assessment as a tool for assessing levels of student learning and abilities in efforts to help the student improve.Another major user of psychological testing are businesses. Personnel and employment testing according to Hogan, was developed to identify and select the best candidates for employment positions. Employers also use testing to conduct performance and promotion evaluations. The last use of testing involves research. According to Hogan researchers use testing as a viable part of research studies because they are replicable and provide reliable information that useful and valid.Compare and Contrast Reliability and Validity Test reliability and validity are very important concept of testing. These tools used to measure the data that has been collected for the test to determine if t he results are sustainable and effective. According to Hogan reliability is meant to be consistent and dependable. A reliable test provides the same scores continuously for an individual. Test reliability relies on specific criteria to determine the quality and accuracy of psychological measurements (Chadha, 2009).To determine reliability there are five methods that can be used to estimate test scores. These methods identify the proportion of the score, which may include error variances. Although these methods are used to determine reliability and identify errors there various factors, which can affect the results of the reliability of a test. Test validity is an important aspect of test evaluations. The validity of the tests focuses on specific criteria used to ensure that testing concept meets requirements and professional standards of scientific research methods.There are two common methods used to test validity, the first is criterion validity and content validity. According to Chadha, content validity focuses on the selection of items for ability and achievement test; judgments are used to identify the usefulness or application of the test. Criterion validity according to Chadha, focuses on the ability of test score used to observe behaviors or other information gathered from the test. Reliability and validity test the same aspects of a test but in a different manner.Reliability is more focused on the stability of a test score and validity evaluates this information based on specific criteria (Chadha, 2009). Conclusion In conclusion psychological testing is used to provide, identify, and measure characteristics, abilities and the behaviors of an individual or a group. There various types of testing be used in several contexts, which provide valuable information to the test examine. Several fields or professions rely on testing to provide information that can be used for purposes of assessments, treatment, learning, and identifying needs. Reliability and a lidity methods are used to ensure that the information received from testing is effective and properly used for the purpose intended. References Chadha, N. K. (2009). Introduction to psychological testing. In Applied psychometry. (pp. 71-87). New Delhi: SAGE Publications India Pvt Ltd. doi: 10. 4135/9788132108221. n5 Hogan, T. P. (2007). Psychological testing: A practical introduction (2nd ed. ). Hoboken, NJ: Wiley. psychological test. (2008). In The Columbia Encyclopedia. Retrieved from http://www. credoreference. com. ezproxy. apollolibrary. com/entry/columency/psychological_test

Emotional Couples Therapy Essay

This is a paper on a video named Emotional Focused Couples Therapy, it is about a couple that is talking to a counseling professional about issues they are having, the biggest one being the husbands anger. Throughout the videos you see how the professional uses the three stages in interviewing to support the couple. She also does a great job on summarizing and paraphrasing what the couple is saying and feeling. The professional uses both open and closed ended questions during the session. There is also a lot of body language happening by everyone involved, some good and some bad. The professional really shows the clients that she is really there for them in her body language and the way she is reflecting their feelings back at them. The couple listens to each other and expands on their feelings with the support of the professional. They also both realize that they want to work things out between them and are willing to keep working at their relationship. Open and Closed Ended Questions In this therapy session the therapist asked many open and closed ended questions to help get the full picture of the client’s relationship. When the therapist was asking these questions she was using verbal and nonverbal cues from the couple, to see how and what she should be asking next. The questions that where asked in this session is: 1. Is it hard to be supportive? 2. Is it had to be close? (Meaning affectionate) 3. Do you withdraw? (From the conversation and the relationship) 4. How do you deal with the message, that you are a are screwed up? (Not ever said he just fees that way.) 5. Are times that you can be close? (Affectionate) 6. Do you think that your wife sees you as a mean and nasty person? 7. Do you feel rejected? 8. Am I getting it? (The therapist states this several times during the session as she is reflecting on their conversation.) 9. Is lonely an ok word to use? (The wife was having a hard time thinking of a word.) 10. Scott do you think that you wife knows how you feel? 11. Do you feel that she does not care in the heat of the moment? 12. Have you ever tried to explain to her how you are feeling? 13. Can you help her understand the feeling of rejection? 14. What is it like to tell her how it makes you feel when you feel rejected? 15. What would be the worst thing that would happen if you told your wife your softer feelings? 16. Would you like to be able to trust your wife and be able to talk about your softer feelings? 17. Would you like him to be able to talk about his softer feelings? 18. Do you let the feelings touch you at all? 19. Do you hear her and find that comforting? (The feelings) 20. What do you think about what he did today? (Opening up during the session.) This professional has a way that when she is reflecting what the clients are saying and expression she is asking them if she is right and they add to the conversation. Above are some of the separate questions that she was asking during the session. There were very few closed ended questions. She would reflect and they would open up even more. The professional summarized and paraphrased what the couple was saying many times during the session to make sure that she understood what they were saying is what she was hearing. The professional was very effective in summarizing and paraphrasing the relationship and the feelings that both parties were talking about and expressing. Verbal and Nonverbal There was verbal and nonverbal communication, actions and skills happening in the session by the couple and the professional. Watching the couple expressional the husband he had his arm and feet crossed and turned away from his wife most of the session. The wife kept going from arms being crossed to out in front of her. She also was turned away from her husband  most of the session. The couple showed in their nonverbal body language that there was a problem and they both where uncomfortable with the situation. When certain question and answers where given the body language changed in the couple. The professional could tell when something was uncomfortable by their body language and she help the couple talk about it more, even though they were not picking up on the nonverbal cues for each other. The professional at the beginning had paper in her lab taking notes, after a while she put it down and leaned forward towards the couple showing them that she was really listening to them and was really involved in what they were saying to her. The professional was able to use verbal and nonverbal skills to help the couple during this session and help them to start to listen to each other. The verbal skills that the professional used where very effectively, she was to be able to summarize their feelings and thought. The nonverbal skills showed the couple that she was supportive and involved in helping them. By sitting up and leaning forward in her chair it was another way for the couple to see she was involved in the conversations. Stages of the Interview There are three stages to an interview, exploration, clarification and action. The exploration stage involves helping the client examine his or her thoughts and feelings. The second stage is exploration helps the clients understand their feeling and their thoughts. The final stage is action, which is where the clients start making the change towards their goals. During this interview, the professional listen to both clients on what they thought was the problem and their feelings. They both agreed that anger was the steam of the troubles that they were having, and them not listening and communicating with each other. When the second stage was introduced the professional was involved more. She helped both parties of the couple to understand and reflect on what they each where saying and helping them truly understand and really listen to each other. The professional also very effectively summarized and paraphrased what they were saying again, so maybe they could hear it said in a different way. By doing this she was able to get even more information from them about more if the true problems they were facing. The third and final stage is action. During this session you see that they are starting to listen to each other  and even open up more. Having the husband talk about his softer feelings and also for him to hear that is wife does not think that he is a monster was a great start to the process. They both also stated that they want to work things out and be together. That statement alone should the professional that they both were committed to the process. Self-disclosure and Reflective Feelings During the interview the professional really worked hard to get the couple to talk about their feelings and express their thoughts. Throughout she was able to get them both to self-disclose and reflect on each other’s feelings. As times this was not an easy thing to so especially for the husband but he did do it. He was not sure about showing his softer side, he thought it made him feel week and like a sissy. The wife disagreed she thought the angry side of him was the sissy side. They both listened to each other’s feeling and acknowledge them and respected them throughout the session, but may not have always agreed with them. This interview was very emotionally charged and at sometimes uncomfortable for the couple. With that said, they both listened and rejected each other. The professional was able to summarize both of their feelings very well, and understand what both of them where saying about the situation. Overall the therapy session was a great starting point by the couple not no were being done with their therapy and situation. Being able to talk about feelings is hard and sometime intimidating, when you are in front of a stranger. The comfort level of the session was ok, they looked uncomfortable, not just because they were there but the chairs and the overall appearance of the room, not very inviting. The structure of the interview flowed very well and the professional was able to keep the conversations moving in the right direction so the session was helpful for the couple. References (2009). Emotionally Focused Couples Therapy [Video file]. Retrieved from Phsycoheapy,bet website: http://ezproxy.apollolibrary.com/login?url=http://vast.alexanderstreet.com/view/1779000.

Free Essays on Intelligence Testing

According to Merriam-Webster’s dictionary, intelligence is described as the ability to apply knowledge to manipulate one's environment or to think abstractly as measured by objective criteria. Many psychologists have their own view on what intelligence really is and the debate over its true definition is very controversial. Most agree, however, that intelligence measures our ability to adapt to challenges. Intelligence varies for every person. It has been proven that intelligence tests can accurately predict performance on the job, dropping out of high school, and even chances of divorcing. These tests are not always completely accurate though. Many times these tests can be culturally biased and provide inaccurate results. Some psychologists believe intelligence is influenced by genetics, others believe it is environment which influences intelligence. I personally believe a combination of environment, genetics, and health determine a person’s in intelligence. Alfred Binet was one of the first psychologists to create an intelligence test. He created this test so the French public school system could properly place their students. Over time, the Binet test has been changed and modified by many other psychologists. Different types of intelligence tests were also created. There are two major types of intelligence tests. Some are designed to test aptitude, while others are designed to predict achievement. The most widely used intelligence test today is the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale - Revised (WAIS-R). This test gives an overall intelligence score, and also assesses verbal and performance scores. These tests, although prominent in intelligence testing, have flaws. A major flaw it posses is its culture bias. Many questions, which are asked seem to be a product of American culture and may not be understood by those from different backgrounds, resulting in wrong answers. Many concerns were first raised by the ... Free Essays on Intelligence Testing Free Essays on Intelligence Testing According to Merriam-Webster’s dictionary, intelligence is described as the ability to apply knowledge to manipulate one's environment or to think abstractly as measured by objective criteria. Many psychologists have their own view on what intelligence really is and the debate over its true definition is very controversial. Most agree, however, that intelligence measures our ability to adapt to challenges. Intelligence varies for every person. It has been proven that intelligence tests can accurately predict performance on the job, dropping out of high school, and even chances of divorcing. These tests are not always completely accurate though. Many times these tests can be culturally biased and provide inaccurate results. Some psychologists believe intelligence is influenced by genetics, others believe it is environment which influences intelligence. I personally believe a combination of environment, genetics, and health determine a person’s in intelligence. Alfred Binet was one of the first psychologists to create an intelligence test. He created this test so the French public school system could properly place their students. Over time, the Binet test has been changed and modified by many other psychologists. Different types of intelligence tests were also created. There are two major types of intelligence tests. Some are designed to test aptitude, while others are designed to predict achievement. The most widely used intelligence test today is the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale - Revised (WAIS-R). This test gives an overall intelligence score, and also assesses verbal and performance scores. These tests, although prominent in intelligence testing, have flaws. A major flaw it posses is its culture bias. Many questions, which are asked seem to be a product of American culture and may not be understood by those from different backgrounds, resulting in wrong answers. Many concerns were first raised by the ...

Life as a sioux indian essays

Life as a sioux indian essays These days as a Native American have become almost obsolete. My people are moving up the trail of tears in search of a better way of life and hopes of peace again. As we move the elderly grow weak and fall more and more. The children are restless and continually asking how much farther. I must keep my composure though and know that it will be all right someday. However, many of my Sioux brothers have lost their lives and now there are not much left to hope for. News spreads through the different tribes that the cavalry officers have been harassing and raping the Sioux women. As we make our way up the trail, bounty hunters and renegades come up out of the woodworks. Not only are our people defending their lives against the army but also our own Indian people who have abandoned our culture and become traitors to the white mans lifestyle. Thus, we must stick together in order to save our civilization. As we pass by some skeletons on the ground, I envision Sioux warriors being scalped and skinned by the white man; as well as a battle on a hilltop where the Sioux warriors prevail. The conditions are growing slightly worse as the winter is going to be a long and harsh one. My family has almost been but completely destroyed due to the white man. The only loved one I have left is my youngest daughter. In hopes of raising a proud warrior like myself, the white man came along and destroyed those dreams by taking my sons lives as well as the rest of my family. As I sit down and comfort my sole survivor, my daughter asks me feebly if we are going to make it. I say, Yes, a Savior, will rescue us. With hopes that she will trust that everything will be all right and the journey is soon over, I doubted what I had told my daughter. We are traveling hundreds of miles to a place weve never been in which the white man set up a reservation. There we are restricted to a remote piec ...

Rules for Latin Syllabification

Rules for Latin Syllabification The syllables in the first line of Vergils Aeneid separated word-internally by /:(1) r/ma vi/rà ºm/que c/no Trà ³/jae qui prà ­/mus ab à ³/ris Knowing the way Latin words are divided into syllables will help you to pronounce Latin and translate Latin poetry. There are a few basic points you need to know. As with most things, there are always exceptions. The number of syllables the number of vowels/diphthongs pronounced separately. For example, Caesar contains 1 vowel and one diphthong, so there are 2 syllables: Cae-sar. There are no silent vowels in Latin. Exercise:Q.How many syllables in the English word alphabet?A.There are 3 in alphabet and they center around the 3 vowels in the word.Q.How many syllables in the English word same?A.There are 2 vowels in same, but 1 is silent, so there is only one syllable.Q.How many syllables in the Latin example (1) above?A.15Check for vowels. The first word r/ma has two vowels and two syllables, the second word vi/rà ºm/que has three vowels and three syllables. Whats that you say? There are 4 vowels? The u after q acts as it does in English, and doesnt count. The third word c/no has two vowels and two syllables. The fourth word Trà ³/jae has three vowels, but only two are pronounced separately, since the ae, being a diphthong (see below), is pronounced together. You can analyze the last three words (qui prà ­/mus ab à ³/ris) on your own. The Latin diphthongs are ae (earlier, ai), au, ei, eu, oe, and ui (rare) [See Wheelock].Examples:TrojaeAurum golddeinde thenEuropaproelium battlecui whoLike English, the Latin syllable divides between consonants or after a vowel and before a consonant. For example, mitto has two vowels and therefore two syllables. Mitto has a double consonant, so the syllable is divided between the ts: mit-to.More examples:Caesar: Cae-sarDeinde: dein-deProelium: proe-li-umThis page is a quick tip about syllables, not stress, but since they are related, and both are necessary for a reasonable pronunciation of Latin, you may be interested. Stress is normally on the penultimate (second to last) syllable if it is long and on the one before (the antepenultimate), otherwise, generally. If you look up amicus in a Latin dictionary, there will be a long mark or macron on the i. That means the i is long and so the syllable is stressed. If there is a diphthong in the penultimate syllable or it is followed by tw o consonants, it is generally counted as long and therefore stressed.Look at the opening example:(1) r/ma vi/rà ºm/que c/no Trà ³/jae qui prà ­/mus ab à ³/risThe ictus is marked with an accent mark. This shows the stress.

Air Quality and Health Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Air Quality and Health - Essay Example Environmental Protection Agency 2006, 2009). Before the start of clean air laws in advanced nations, the fatal impacts of air pollutants,because of fuel burning were obvious throughout numerous severe air effluence incidents. It turned out to be clear to the civic that huge numbers of people deceased and several were fell sick by way of dust and sulphur dioxide, the ‘Great Smog’ incident in 1952 (Davis 2002, Bell 2001). The incident was occurred because of combustion of coal, petroleum fuels and gas in blend with stagnant climate environments. The awfully high levels of contamination affected huge and noticeable upturns in the number of day-to-day demises and sicknesses due to lung and cardiac ailment, obvious regardless of the absence of refined statistical analyses. These episodes created consciousness that free burning of fossil fuels in and near metropolises was injurious to civic well-being. Ultimately, state, local and, centralized rules and guidelines for instance ‘The Clean Air Act’ initiated in monitoring pollution from burning of fossil fuels (Stevens, ND). Air Quality Air effluence can have a grave consequence on publics’ wellbeing. ... Air pollution as well has undesirable influences on the atmosphere, together with straight impacts of contaminants on flora, andsecondarily, by properties on the acid and nutrient status of soils and waters. The UK Government’s main goal is to make certain that all people must have right to use open air devoid of substantial menace to the well-being, everywhere this is financially and technically feasible. (DEFRA,2007) The AQI (Air Quality Index) is an index used for to assess daily air quality. It gives an idea how fresh or contaminated the air is, and what related health impacts might be an alarm for the concerned. The AQI emphases on health impacts one might experience in a period of time after exposing to contaminated air. United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) analyses the AQI for five most important air contaminants regulated by the Clean Air Act: ground-level ozone, particle matter, carbon monoxide, sulphur dioxide, and nitrogen dioxide. For all of these co ntaminants, EPA has given national air quality standards to safeguard civic wellbeing. Consider the AQI as a gauge that calibrated from 0 to 500. If the AQI value is higher, the greater is the level of air contamination and the greater is the health disquiet. For instance, an AQI value of 50 signifies good air quality with no risk to civic wellbeing, whereas an AQI value over 300 signifies harmful air quality. An AQI value of 100 normally agrees to the national air quality standard for the contaminant that the level set by EPA to protect community wellbeing. AQI values under 100 are normally considered as acceptable and when AQI values are higher than 100, air quality is harmful for some delicate clusters of persons, and then for all people as AQI values get more and higher (EPA, 2003).

WWII Uboat campaign Term Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

WWII Uboat campaign - Term Paper Example German boats were equipped with 5 torpedoes and one main gun (Russell 122). U- Boats were mainly constructed for intelligence gathering of enemy movement and for launching special operations. German war planners very efficiently used U-boats to threaten and ultimately target the royal and merchant navy. U-boats sunk Royal navy and merchant ships sunk in huge numbers in different occasions. Restrictions of â€Å"treaty of Versailles† could not compel German navy to do away with submarine tactics during the Second World War (Gannon 47). Besides sinking battleships, boats also sunk an aircraft carrier in the Atlantic waters. U-boats almost compelled Britain war planners to consider surrender in the war. After the completion of German campaign in Western Europe, Hitler’s navy employed all the u-boats in Atlantic for patrolling the waters. This posed great threat to British merchant fleet as very less escort was available to guard the ships against German u-boat attacks. Sub marines had already proved the metal in the First World War but after passing about 20 years the U-boat tactics played havoc in Atlantic waters (Russell 119). U-boats played an important part in world war two, Winston Churchill claimed that U-boat war in Atlantic was so impressive and result oriented that Britain was forced to consider surrender during the Second World War.... German navy decided to target merchant fleets to threaten trade in the Atlantic. Merchant fleets used to travel with inadequate fleet so vulnerability to German attacks was already increased. It was almost impossible for Britain to provide complete protection and aerial cover to fleets throughout their Atlantic route. German navy started analyzing the points on the sea route where these fleets were coverless and no aerial or naval support available to merchant ships (Showell 71). Mid Atlantic was one of the lucrative options for attacking these fleets. The royal Britain navy was already over tasked in different regions of the world. Royal navy was facing challenging situation in accomplishment of the tasks in Atlantic, Far East and the Mediterranean. Therefore, the royal navy was already overstretched in the war. Such huge tasks of royal navy demanded careful planning and use of intelligence and tactics from naval and army commanders (Russell 132). Royal navy was greatly assisted by the French navy in defending the Mediterranean. Germany had 56 boats out of which only 46 were operational at the start of the war. According to the understanding of the famous â€Å"treaty of Versailles† Germany was not allowed to maintain any submarine as part of its naval fleet (Stern 58). Therefore, Germany took other measures by sending the troops abroad for submarine training. The treaty posed no restrictions on training the troops for anti submarine tasks. U-boat commanders were told to target merchant ships in Atlantic to break the backbone of British trade. In august 39, seventeen U-boats were sent to Atlantic Ocean with the mission of patrolling and laying mines (Showell 72). At the start of the battle, u-30 attacked and sunk liner â€Å"thania† casting 112 life causalities

Prosecutor report Term Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Prosecutor report - Term Paper Example While wearing masks, the offenders stormed the store. Offender B hit the guard with the butt of his gun in order to knock him down and held hostage two patrons in a small closet. Offender A went to the manager’s office threatened the manager and ordered her to fill their bag with money. In the process, offender A noticed an employee trying to trigger a silent alarm and shot the employees dead. The offenders left the parking lot with offender A driving the vehicle carelessly and at a high speed. A patrolling Montgomery County police officer noticed the carelessly driven car and tried to stop the car, but the offenders tried to escape resulting in a high speed chase. After the chase, the offenders escaped on foot and tried to resist arrest but were overpowered and arrested by the police. Basing on these facts, the two offenders committed multiple offenses that are punishable under the Maryland’s statute codes and the US law in general. Offender A Maryland Criminal Statuto ry Code Criminal Charge Facts relevant to this charge Maximum Criminal Penalty (Felony/ misdemeanor) CL  § 7-105 Motor vehicle theft .The defendant stole a Ford Explorer that he intended to use in robbing a liquor distributor store. The defendant is guilty of a felony and subject to a sentence of imprisonment not exceeding 5 years or a fine not exceeding $ 5,000, or both  § 3-403. Robbery with dangerous weapon. ... The defendant is guilty of misdemeanor and liable for a $10,000 fine or imprisonment of up to five years or both.  § 2-201. Murder in the first degree. During robbery, the defendant shot and killed a liquor distributor employee as he was trying to trigger a secret security alarm. The defendant is guilty of a felony and is subject to life imprisonment without a parole, death sentence or life imprisonment.  § 21-901.1. Reckless and negligent driving. The defendant was spotted by a patrolling Montgomery County police officer driving erratically and at a very high speed. The defendant is guilty of misdemeanor involving careless and high speed driving and is subject to a fine of $1000.  § 9-408. Resisting or interfering with arrest. After the robbery and while driving carelessly, the police attempted to stop the car using Sirens and emergency light, but the men evaded the police triggering a speed chase. The defendant ran the car into a guard rail and Fled. After a chase, they physi cally fought with the police officers who tried to arrest them. After the struggle, the men were arrested by the police. The defendant is guilty of misdemeanor for violating this section and should be subjected to a fine not exceeding $5,000,imprisonment that does not exceed 3 years or both imprisonment and fine.  § 7-104. General theft provisions. The defendant together with his compatriot were in possession of a stolen car that they used in robbery, escaped with it and abandoned it after it had rammed into guardrail. Since the truck exceeds $100,000, the defendant is guilty of a felony and is subject to a fine not exceeding $25,000 and imprisonment not exceeding 25 years or both. Offender B Maryland Criminal

Battle of the 73 Easting Thesis Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Battle of the 73 Easting - Thesis Example The 2ACD and 1ID of the US Army utilized advanced technology and superior military strategy to launch an intensive sustained surprise attack which destroyed the Tawakalna forces. This paper examines the main battles fought by the two US divisions that broke through the central lines of the Tawakalna force and the events that occurred in the two-day duration of the battle. The US-led Coalition Force victory over the elite Iraqi Republican Guard unit, Tawkalna division at 73 Easting is the most decisive ground combat that weakened the Iraqi military and gave way for the destruction of the other Iraqi Republican Guard units which ended the Gulf War (Borque 2). The Coalition victory in the 73 Easting battle is attributed to the superiority of the Coalition military forces, strong and decisive leadership and the utilization of a good battle plan. The victory of the Battle of 73 Easting is the result of the optimum combination of several Army Doctrines (Atkinson 9). First of all, the posse ssion of modern equipment and technology is important in battles. Secondly, a superior military strategy, audacity, effective communication and co-ordination can help defeat the most resolute and bravest army. Surprise, followed by intensive assault is an important tool to destabilize the enemy and prevent them from gaining their tempo and ensure their defeat. Finally, there is the need to use specialized units to execute specific tasks in order to gain military success. The Battle of 73 Easting culminated from the need to destroy and weaken the Iraqi Republican Guard (IRP), which had been a tool used by Saddam Hussein to destabilize international peace by invading Kuwait (Atkinson 2). The battle started on the 26th through to the 27th of February, 1991 at a barren desert just 25 kilometers off the Kuwaiti-Iraqi border. The 7th Corps of the US Army played major role in the Battle of 73 Easting under the command of Lieutenant General Fredrick Franks Jr (McGregor 2). General H. Norman Schwarzkopf held the Central Command of the operation (McGregor 2) . Jointly, the 2nd Armored Cavalry Division of the 7th Corps was the main unit of ground troops that was tasked with facing the Tawakalna central position in the 73 Easting Battle. They were ably supported by the 1st Infantry Division. A total of 4,500 troops made up the core of the 2ACD. However, for the purpose of the battle, 5,500 more troops joined the 2ACD in its three squadrons (Daily 52). Each squadron was equipped with a tank company, howitzer batteries, headquarters troops and three cavalry troops (MacMaster 1). Each troop cavalry had 120 soldiers, nine armored battle tanks and 12 bradley fighting vehicles (Daily 52). The British 1st Armoured Division in the south and the 3rd American Armored Division in the north supported the 2AD in the operation (Donaldson 182). The plan was to encircle the Tawakalna stronghold and meet the 2ACD and 1ID to cut off the Tawakalna stronghold. There is no report of the comma nder of the Tawakalna forces in the war (Adrian 362). It is logically inferred that it reported directly to and took orders from Saddam Hussein. In events leading to the battle, the Iraqi government, in defiance of international law had invaded Kuwait claiming it as an Iraqi territory (Musallam 1). The Tawakalna Division of the IRP was a significant elite unit that played a central role in the invasion and maintenance of Iraqi military presence in Kuwait (Adrian 362). The

Quidelines for Communications Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Quidelines for Communications - Research Paper Example The controller is mainly nominated by the state or even the society law. It is essential and mandatory to ensure that the EU citizens are never in a position where their privileges to privacy are compromised. Therefore, there must be a satisfactory and valuable means of scrutinizing the dispensation of the personal identity data by an appointed controller. Thus, the EU member ought to assign a competent controller to do the work. When private data are accumulated, they are mainly used in a variety of ways. An individual can give his personal data when he for instance, records for a library tag, or when he signs for gymnasium association, or even opens a depository account. Therefore, personal data can be gathered unswervingly from the individual or from an existing database. This information may afterwards be utilized for other reasons and further shared with extra parties. Personal data can be any data that recognizes an entity, such as a person’s name, an individual’s telephone number, or moreover an individual’s photo. The idea of development in computer knowledge and also in telecommunications system is permitting personal data to go across borders through superior simplicity. As personal data is collected and exchanged more frequently, regulation on data transfers is necessary (Bennet & Raab, 2007). The Specific Role of the EU Member State Controller with regards to EU Citizen Privacy Protection The controller is chiefly appointed by the government body. The key roles of the controllers in the EU include a variety of duties. For instance, they must be able to ensure limited types of personal data are collected from the member states of the EU. For instance, the data that is capable of revealing an individual’s ethnic, or the race, the political conviction, religious beliefs, or even the health as well as the sexuality is not to be collected unless the individual collecting that information has the right to do so in the member co untry. For example the government body or the employers are an example of those who have full rights and privileges to collect an individual’s personal data. Secondly, the controller must guarantee accuracy of the data collected. The controller ought to ensure accuracy of data and any data without accuracy must be deleted. This is to enable the availability of correct data and therefore the inaccurate data must be removed or updated and rectified. Additionally, the controller of the EU members must further ensure that the data collected from the individuals is kept securely and safely. Moreover, the data controllers must further ensure that they have implemented appropriate technical and also organizational measures so as to protect personal data against any forms of accidental loss, or even the alterations, or from any unauthorized disclosure or even access. Furthermore, the controller’s role is also to fully guarantee redress of the personal data. This is an independ ent mechanism that ensures individuals have recourse if they want to and feel like their rights to their personal data has been interfered with or infringed. Eventually, the controllers must ensure that the individual has a right and access to the power to investigate claims of data protection violations. They must also have a right to intervene and further stop the collection of any personal data and further initiate a legal procedure against any violators of the data protection rights (Staples, 2001). The Required

Condition monitoring - fault detection and diagnosis Literature review

Condition monitoring - fault detection and diagnosis - Literature review Example Hybrids of SVM methods such as combined SVM (CSVM) have been used extensively for process control such as in the Eastman process. Results indicate the superiority of SVM based methods over other methods of control (Tafazzoli & Saif, 2009). SVM methods have been employed extensively in order to classify reciprocating compressor faults. SVM methods were employed in order to classify faults of reciprocating refrigeration compressors through the application of wavelet transform and statistical methods. Significant features were extracted from both raw noise signals and vibration signals. The selection of relevant RBF kernel parameters was carried out through iteration (Yang et al., 2005). In a similar application, SVM methods were applied to reciprocating compressors butterfly valves to classify cavitation faults (Yang et al., 2005). A comparable research was performed on reciprocating compressor valves to classify faults through vibration signals alone. Data for this purpose was gathered from the surface of the valve and the resulting vibration signals were decomposed by applying local wave methods (Ren et al., 2005). One of the larger problems posed by reciprocating compressor valves is the non stationary and non linear characteristics of the extracted vibration signals. In order to deal with the non stationary and non linear nature of such data, information entropy with good fault tolerance potential was utilised as the feature parameter fed to a SVM. This was utilised as being a comprehensive characteristic of the raw vibration signal. The resulting decision function was used to solve the limits of traditional fault classifications. The added strength of the SVM was its ability to be trained with only a few input samples to deal with multiple new faults (Chen & Lian, 2010). The small linear pattern recognition performance and relatively small data sets extracted from reciprocating

Quidelines for Communications Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Quidelines for Communications - Research Paper Example The controller is mainly nominated by the state or even the society law. It is essential and mandatory to ensure that the EU citizens are never in a position where their privileges to privacy are compromised. Therefore, there must be a satisfactory and valuable means of scrutinizing the dispensation of the personal identity data by an appointed controller. Thus, the EU member ought to assign a competent controller to do the work. When private data are accumulated, they are mainly used in a variety of ways. An individual can give his personal data when he for instance, records for a library tag, or when he signs for gymnasium association, or even opens a depository account. Therefore, personal data can be gathered unswervingly from the individual or from an existing database. This information may afterwards be utilized for other reasons and further shared with extra parties. Personal data can be any data that recognizes an entity, such as a person’s name, an individual’s telephone number, or moreover an individual’s photo. The idea of development in computer knowledge and also in telecommunications system is permitting personal data to go across borders through superior simplicity. As personal data is collected and exchanged more frequently, regulation on data transfers is necessary (Bennet & Raab, 2007). The Specific Role of the EU Member State Controller with regards to EU Citizen Privacy Protection The controller is chiefly appointed by the government body. The key roles of the controllers in the EU include a variety of duties. For instance, they must be able to ensure limited types of personal data are collected from the member states of the EU. For instance, the data that is capable of revealing an individual’s ethnic, or the race, the political conviction, religious beliefs, or even the health as well as the sexuality is not to be collected unless the individual collecting that information has the right to do so in the member co untry. For example the government body or the employers are an example of those who have full rights and privileges to collect an individual’s personal data. Secondly, the controller must guarantee accuracy of the data collected. The controller ought to ensure accuracy of data and any data without accuracy must be deleted. This is to enable the availability of correct data and therefore the inaccurate data must be removed or updated and rectified. Additionally, the controller of the EU members must further ensure that the data collected from the individuals is kept securely and safely. Moreover, the data controllers must further ensure that they have implemented appropriate technical and also organizational measures so as to protect personal data against any forms of accidental loss, or even the alterations, or from any unauthorized disclosure or even access. Furthermore, the controller’s role is also to fully guarantee redress of the personal data. This is an independ ent mechanism that ensures individuals have recourse if they want to and feel like their rights to their personal data has been interfered with or infringed. Eventually, the controllers must ensure that the individual has a right and access to the power to investigate claims of data protection violations. They must also have a right to intervene and further stop the collection of any personal data and further initiate a legal procedure against any violators of the data protection rights (Staples, 2001). The Required

Victorian Period Literature Essay Example for Free

Victorian Period Literature Essay The Victorian spirit, and 4 representative poems (50 pts.) The Victorian spirit is the change from the idleness of the admiration of natural things to the movement and excitement of innovation and change itself. It has turned from the love makes the world go round ideal of the Romantics to a tell it like it is attitude. While the Victorian spirit moves to new explorations and energies from what was traditional submission by women, dominance of men, and the focus on reaching an Ideal World through the beauty of nature it maintains many aspects of the Romantic period that it is trying to escape. C. Rossettis No, Thank You, John In Rossettis No, Thank You, John, the speaker is a woman who is refusing the advances of a man John. The woman has a mind of her own, and she does not need a man in her life. She does not conform to the traditional role of a woman, which includes servitude and subordination. The woman is not afraid to express her true feelings to John here, where in a previous time, a woman would have jumped at the chance to be some guys trophy. The woman in this poem portrays the Victorian characteristic of exploration in a sense. She is exploring life as a single woman instead of sacrificing herself and giving in to a man that she cares very little about. A. C. Swinburnes A Forsaken Garden In Swinburnes A Forsaken Garden, we see a reference of the Romantic past linked with the Victorian present. The garden was once filled with beautiful flowers, bushes, trees, and lovers who sat in the garden to admire all of the beauty. Just as the garden was filled with these things, so was the poetry of the Romantics. Since the Victorian spirit is about laboring and being on the go, one has had neither the time nor the desire to care for the garden. As a result, the garden has become a ground filled with weeds, thorns, and withered, dying, and dead flora. Just as the Romantic period and all of its ideals were at this time, Love was dead (line 48). O. Wildes Impression du Matin Wildes Impression du Matin somewhat describes the transition from the Romantic period to the Victorian period and the grand contrast between the two periods. The first eight lines describe a landscape, as do many of the Romantic poems. Just like the Victorians were anxious to change the pattern that the Romantics had set, this poem shifts its focus from the beauty of the land to the hustle and bustle that is the Victorian spirit, fueled by the Industrial Revolution. O. Wildes The Harlots House Wildes The Harlots House can be related to John Ruskins The Stones of Venice. Ruskin talks about people becoming tools in the Industrial Revolution, performing the same monotonous tasks over and over again so that the process is almost mechanical. In The Harlots House, the people have become tools not of industrialism, but of artistry. They dance because the music is playing, and their movements seem to be controlled by some stronghold instead of being free and from the heart. The energy characteristic of the Victorian period and the Victorian spirit are lost inside the house. The lover of the speaker even loses her own energy while listening to the music and watching the people inside the house. At the same time, she goes inside the house to fulfill the Victorian characteristic of exploration she is going to explore and participate in something new and different. Brownings dramatic monologues and their ironic discrepancy (30 pts.) In Andrea del Sarto, Andrea attempts to paint the picture that he is one of the worlds greatest artists with a wonderful, beautiful, loving wife. Dose of reality: his work is only mediocre, his marriage fell apart a while ago, and his wife is cheating on him, which he is aware of and seems to be okay with. Andrea believes that his work would be even greater if he was a single man (lines 135-136). He comes to realize that he will never be the great artist that he claims to be, but that will not stop him from striving to beall that he can be (lines 97-98). Andrea is somewhat indecisive. He asks himself what good is having a woman around if his work suffers because of it, but he is glad to have his wife (line 176) and would do almost anything to keep her around (lines 222-223). Either he wants to get rid of her in order to become, in his mind, a better artist, or he wants to keep her around and work out their marital differences. The latter probably would not happen since Lucrezia already has another lover. She is bored with Andrea because he cant seem to stop talking about art and because their relationship is both emotionally and physically sterile. For some reason, Andrea just doesnt get it, and he continues to wonder why Lucrezia goes to her lover instead of staying with him (lines 242-243). Finally he lets her be free to go with her lover and at the same time he lets go of his obsession with her (capitalization of Love, line 267). In Fra Lippo Lippi, the illusion is that Lippo is spiritual in the tradition of the monastery he believes in and acts according to everything that he was taught by the monks. Lippos reality is that he wants to fully enjoy life, and one cannot truly be spiritual without embracing physical beauty and pleasure. Lippo does what he does not believe is complete so that the monks will be happy (lines 242-244). This upsets him and leads him to do things out of spite that go against the teachings that he has received from the monks (lines 252-254). Lippo sees himself more as an artist than a monk, and since God gave us bodies to house our souls (lines 265-269), the body has to be portrayed in art so that the soul can be seen in its fullness. We were given bodies for physical satisfaction; if no one finds the physical attractive, then no one will want to know what the soul is like. Encasing the spiritual soul in the physical body is how life and God are fully experienced (lines 300-306). In The Bishop Orders His Tomb, the Bishop does not believe that he has lived as he should. He has not done his work as a clergyman to be active in making meaningful differences in peoples lives although his devotion seems to be to the church. While the Bishops illusion is one of humility, humbleness, and faithfulness, his reality is very secular materialism, vanity, and sexuality. He has an unhealthy obsessive desire to beat or  out-do his old rival Gandolf, even in death. His concern is with his material possessions in both life and death being better than Gandolfs in life and death, as if this will make him a better person somehow. The Bishop is also either incredibly indecisive or very confused. He doesnt even know what he wants his tomb to be made out of. He changes his mind from rosy peach marble (lines 29-30), to lapis lazuli (lines 42-44), to black basalt (lines 53-54), to jasper (lines 68-72), and back to lapis (line 102). He also asks himself the question Do I live, am I dead? a few times, which could be a reference to a spiritual death. The Bishops sexual nature comes through when instead of wishing for his sons to be monogamous with God-fearing women who have inner and outer beauty, his concern is on the physical (line 75). Even the holy image of the Madonna is not safe from the Bishops corrupted mind. In describing how blue the lapis lazuli should be for his tomb, he does not compare it to eye color or the color of an article of clothing. Instead he says that the lapis should be Blue as a vein oer the Madonnas breast (line 75). Review: Rudyard Kiplings Without Benefit of Clergy (10 pts.) Kiplings Without Benefit of Clergy is the story of two lovers, an Englishman and an Indian woman. Interracial relationships of this type were practically unheard of during this time period, which is why John Holden and Ameera were never married. This story is a wonderful one of love, shown by the relationship between Holden and Ameera and the relationship that the two of them have with their son Tota tragedy, exhibited by the sudden deaths of Tota and Ameera and greed, displayed by Ameeras mother, who seemed to care more about the benefits of her daughters relationship with a white man than she cared about her daughter. Throughout the story, Holden shows his emotions reluctantly unless he is speaking lovingly to Ameera. It is interestingly beautiful how he calls her his queen and she calls him her king, and they call each other life of my life. The words themselves are beautiful in any relationship, but it is interesting because at one point Holden wished for the death of Ameera, their type of relationship was practically seen as a disgrace anyway, andHolden seemed to be somewhat ashamed of his relationship with Ameera when he was away from her. He never spoke of her while in the presence of other Englishmen, he never mentions or defends his relationship when those Englishmen say that he is lucky to be a bachelor and not have the burden of a wife, and he never mentions his son. It took Holden a while to get used to the idea of having and loving a son. It was with that same type of reluctance that he grieved for Tota when the boy died. It seemed as if he did not want to allow Ameera to grieve in her own way for her son. He was correct in his attempts to keep her from blaming herself for Totas death, but how on earth could anyone, especially the love of her life, tell a grieving mother to let it go? Only when Ameera dies does Holden express his emotions openly and immediately. He even chastises Ameeras mother in his grief. He now realizes how difficult it is to just let it go when you have lost someone that you love so much. Ameera was full of emotion throughout the story. At the same time she was very submissive, as probably was the culture in India at the time. Even in grieving for her son, she did not try to feel better until she knew that Holden had become more content. Because she was an Indian woman in love with an Englishman, she felt the need to seek reassurance about his love for her almost constantly at least, until their son was born. Then, Ameera knew that she and Holden shared a bond that could never be broken because she had given him something that her English counterparts could never give him his firstborn son. I think that Ameera was very dependent on Holden. While it may appear that she called Holden my life in a loving and endearing way, under the surface it is almost as if she seems to say that she cannot exist without his love and his physical presence. When Holden tries to send Ameera away, out of the path of the black cholera, that is when she grows a little bit of a backbone. She reminds him that he is not her husband, and he cannot tell her what to do. Almost as suddenly as she exhibited her temporary independence did her insecurity about Holden and the English women return. Only on her deathbed does she accept the possibility of Holden marrying a white woman, and she declares that he is the only God in her life. Nonsense Poetry (10 pts.) A Limerick There was a Young Lady of class Who created a stair made of glass, Then formed a connection With her own reflection In that little stair made of glass. Another Limerick There once was a village idiot Who liked to touch womens ends a bit. He pinched the wrong booty, Then came Big Rudy, And no more is the village idiot! The Stag and the Doe The stag and his doe went all through the forest Frolicking happily with glee, When the stag got a whirl to say to his girl, Id love it if youd marry me. The doe, with bright eyes, said, Id be much obliged to become your faithful and loving wife. With that they didnt tarry and soon went to marry and begin a family life. Its honeymoon time for the newlyweds now, and they are both filled with great joy. But now the stag cries, for to his surprise, His doe is not a girl, but a boy. Extra Credit (up to 5 pts.) I enjoyed the Victorian period texts. The vast majority of them were very long, but it helped me to be more devoted to the reading. The Victorian period seemed to be a very artistic time for both literary art and paintings/drawings. It seemed to me that there was a central theme that drove most of the conflicts in the Victorian literature remnants of the Romantic period. The Romantic period, for the most part, discussed spirituality as a result of a love for and an understanding of nature. The period attempted to instruct people on how to obtain and fully experience spirituality without very much physicality so that the Ideal World could be reached. In the Victorian period, the body and the spirit are one. In order to truly experience one, you have to fulfill the other. The Victorians mostly concentrated on their work and creations, not ideal escapes.

Sustainable Forest Management Concepts

Sustainable Forest Management Concepts CHAPTER 2 LITERATURE REVIEW 2.1 Background of SFM The sustainable forest management idea has been promoted for the past 20 years in government of Sabah since 1989 but there had not been any serious attempt to put such idea into any effective practice. To solve this challenge, the BN State Government ensured that SFM is implemented in all future forest related activities (SFD, 1998). Seven main elements of SFM which act as a reference framework for sustainable forest management are the extent of forest resources; forest biological diversity; forest health and vitality; productive functions of forest resources; protective functions of forest resources; socio-economic functions of forests; and the legal, policy and institutional framework (Sarre Sabogal, 2013). All the main stakeholders involved in forest management such as: forest managers, government, non-government organizations (NGOs) and other stakeholders need to understand what is SFM mean in order to work together to achieve the objectives (Higman, 2005). FAO had studied almost 80 cases of successful SFM implementation which shown the economic, social and environmental benefits that can be achieved under SFM (Sarre Sabogal, 2013). One of the efforts in practice of SFM is adopted and implemented principles of sound forest management at Deramakot Forest Reserve in Sandakan. The Deramakot Forest Reserve is FMU No.19. It had covered 55,083 hectares of mixed Dipterocarp forest in the east of Sabah (Mannan, Awang, Radin, Abai Lagan, 2002). In 1989, Malaysia- German Sustainable Forest Management Project was extended to Sabah and conducted in Deramakot Forest Reserves. The main goal of this project is to apply an ecologically and scientifically substantiated forest management system (Mapa, 2003). This project was undertaken by the Sabah Forestry Department with the help of forest resource management such as stock inventory, reduced impact logging (RIL), the skyline yarding system, forest rehabilitation and silviculture. Due to the successfu l of SFM at Deramakot, in September 1997, the state Government had an agreement with 10 organizations from private sector which became active partners of the Government to ensure that the SFM practice at Deramakot is extended to other commercial forest areas in Sabah (SFD, 1998). According to Li (2014), SFM aims to ensure that the goods and services derived from forest meet peoples’ needs meanwhile maintain their continued availability and contribution to long-term development. Over the last 10 years, China has made a great amount of achievements in the forest sector based on sustainable forest management concept. For example, China had ranked the sixth in the world in terms of forest stock volume, following by Brazil, Russia, Canada, the United States of America and Democratic Republic of Congo. All these examples show that sustainable forest management concept can help to maintain ecosystem balanced. 2.2 Forest Management Unit (FMU) FMU is clearly defined as forest area which managed to a set of explicit objectives based on a long term management plan. SFM is divided all the commercial forest areas into 27 blocks called Forest Management Units (FMUs). Each FMU is about 100,000 hectares wide (Toh Grace, 2006) and every unit will be managed by selected companies (Mapa, 2003). Currently, the level of the FMU in Peninsular Malaysia is an individual state; in Sabah the FMU area will cover by each Sustainable Forest Management License Agreement (SFMLA); while in Sarawak, the FMU is an individual concession area (Ng, Tong Lim, 2002). 2.3 Forest Management Plan (FMP) FMU divided their forest area into severe compartments. Each compartment has to prepare its own FMP. A FMP is a strategic plan that can provide an overview or description of the forest area and the basis activities for monitoring the forest (Armitage, 1998). FMP can also name as medium-term forest management planning which have a minimum duration of 10 years (Kleine Heuveldop, 1993). FMP translates the forest policy and prepared a well operational program for regulating forest activities. A FMP should include description of forest resource base, the management actions of the resources, review at the mid-point of the plan, review in the final year of the plan and the preparation of a new plan when the present plan expired (Armitage, 1998). FMP is an important strategy which conducted by FMU to well manage the community forest and bring benefits to local communities. 2.4 Community Forestry Community forestry is a village-level forestry activity which also can be defined as the participation of local communities in the planning, establishing, managing and harvesting of forest crops in a forest, so they can receive a major proportion of the socio-economic and ecological benefits from the forest (Nixon, Herbohn Harrison, 2001). The participation of local community is very critical to promote sustainable livelihoods and maintain forest resources (Murdiyarso, 2006). According to Metha (2002), both India and Nepal have a wide variety of forests. At that time, the use of forest is controlled by local community’s traditions. However due to massive loss of forest, the governments of India and Nepal began to take over the forest management authority in the late 1980s. This cause the local communities lost their stewardship. As a result, the community forest programs are implemented to give communities financial stake so they have an incentive to preserve the forest. In 1988, the master plan for Nepal’s program was adopted which states that the forest administration should allow people to have full control over the forest. 2.5 Issues during implementation of SFM concept According to Hickey (2004), during evaluating progress in monitoring and reporting information for SFM, some issues related to forestry such as: trade considerations, socio-economics conditions, forest resource characteristics and forest land ownership need to be considered. There are some challenges faced by local communities who living in the forests for manage the forests sustainability. For example, lack of available land especially those peoples with no legal claim to their native customary right (NCR) of land within forest reserves. These communities are limited from clearing additional land for their use (Toh Grace, 2006). Local communities argued about the forest boundary. They are restricted to enter into the forest to collect forest products (Lintangah, 2013). According to Lintangah (2013), another issue that faced by local communities during implementation of SFM concepts is the relationship with the FMU holders. Local communities have a low level of cooperation because they lack of consultation from FMU holders and some FMU holders begin their activities without permission of local communities. Besides that, lack of understanding about SFM concept among local communities also becomes an issue during implementation of SFM. SFM implementation also brought some impacts to locals such as lack of infrastructure development and maintenance for example road; lack of provision of job opportunities to the local communities and environmental pollution. Richards Yaron (2003) stated that the main problem or issues for sustainable forest management is the failures of market and policy which cause more profitable to cut down trees than to retain or manage them. All these challenges or issues can cause limitation of use right among local communities and occurred conflicts between local communities and forest managers (Duguma, Hager Gruber, 2009). To solve all these conflicts between stakeholders, SRM approaches should be conducted. It is important to conduct a study about the perceptions of communities towards SRM approaches which can help to solve the issues during SFM implementation. Based on Wang (2008), perception is the insight or intuition gained by perceiving. It can be defined as the sixth sense of human beings. Perception is an important cognitive function that can determine personality. 2.6 Stakeholder Relations Management (SRM) The stakeholder relations management approach refers as the framework for analyzing and evaluating a corporation’s relationship with external groups to achieve â€Å"win-win† situations that can benefit everyone (Lintangah, 2013). However, there are usually occurs winners and losers in a complex situations. As a result, stakeholder management approach is conducted for planning and implementing collaborative relationship to obtain win-win outcomes among stakeholders. SRM approach is a response to the growth and progress of corporations to understand how the corporation operates with their stakeholders (Lintangah, 2013). An effective SRM can well-managed the relationship among stakeholders for mutual benefits (Post, Preston Sachs, 2002). The six steps that focus in stakeholder management approach are first identify key stakeholders, describe their stakes in the organization, determine if those stakes are significant, evaluate the opportunities and challenges, determine t he organization’s responsibility to the stakeholder, and finally create relationship strategies (Shannon Thomas, 2015). One of the examples of SRM approaches is Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) which means â€Å"a voluntary management system used by the companies to incorporate a variety of social, environmental and economic pressures into their business operations and their interaction with their stakeholders† (Lintangah, 2013, p.36). Stakeholder management approaches can help to solve problems related with SFM implementation. Most of the stakeholders feel that the dialogue is one of the useful tools in dealing with their claims and interests besides media and technology. It can solve the conflicts among stakeholders through communicating, negotiating, contracting, managing relationships and motivating (Freeman, 2004). The SRM approaches that conducted under SFM at FMU level included community forestry, joint forest management, CSR programmes, inter-agencies involvement, and contract forestry that will promote and support the SFM implementation at the FMU level. According to Lintangah (2013), the supporting tools for SRM include the Forest Management Plan, Annual Work Plan, related government policies at the state and federal level, the Forest Enactment of 1968, and the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA). 2.7 Sustainable Forest Management License Agreement (SFMLA) In September 1997, Sustainable Forest Management license Agreement (SFMLA) which is valid for 100 years is formed and replaced the timber license agreement (Toh Grace, 2006). On 10 September 1997, 10 companies had signed SFMLA with the government to show their cooperation in forest management. They were: Yayasan Sabah; Idris Hydraulic (Malaysia) Bhd; TSH Resources Bhd; Sapulut Forest Development Sdn Bhd; Bugaya Forest Sdn Bhd; The North Borneo Timber Corporation Berhad; Modern Innovation Realty Sdn Bhd; Anika Desiran Sdn Bhd; Bornion Timber Sdn Bhd and Timberwell Bhd (SFD, 1998). SFMLA holders are responsible for forest planning, forest inventories, preparation of forest management plans, implementation of the SFM, the establishment and maintenance of infrastructure, the security and protection of the FMU area, the protection and conservation of the unique environment within the SFMLA area, support financial of all the expenses and the accommodation of local communities’ interests (Lintangah, 2013). Under SFMLA, licence holders have to implement community forestry (CF) projects within their respective FMUs. All the companies have to submit annual work plans and harvest plans for each logging plots based on reduced-impact logging systems. All the management and operational plans, especially monitoring the activities of licence holders had to approve by Forestry Department (Toh Grace, 2006).