The Impacts of Television on the United Arab Emirates Culture Essay

The Impacts of Television on the United Arab Emirates Culture - Essay Example Television has become indispensable lately; life exclusive of it has been an absurd idea for people all around the world. It was meant to educate, aware the audience to the recent occurring all around the world by sitting cozily, mode of entertainment, sharing of cultural norms and customs takes place through it and a hub for advertising and marketing lately (Peter Fincham ,2007).   Media tool and exemplary revolutionary mean; television, was invented in a more unconventional manner. The quest started in 1884 when a German Scientist introduced a Nipkow disk, which could transmit pictures over the wire through the rotation of the disk. He was the first scientist who was able to discover the scanning law for mechanical television In 1897, another German scientist Karl Braun invented Cathode Ray Tube, which is the picture tube used in contemporary Televisions. In1920, John Logie Baird invented the mechanism of transmitting the image through the technology array of transparent rods. His display of television was mainly dependent on reflective light rather than back-lit silhouettes. In 1923, Charles Jenkins invented the first moving silhouettes image mechanism called radiovision.In 1927, Philo T.Farnsworth was the first scientist who was able to broadcast a TV illustration which consisted of 60 horizontal lines. It was a picture of the dollar sign. He also developed dissector tube which is still used in current technology of television. In 1929, a Russian scientist named Vladimir Zworykin worked on the cathode ray tube technology and redesigned it and afterward it showed the characteristics of the modern picture tube. Later on Louise Parker in 1948 invented receiver of television for scrolling different channels. Later on, with the passage of time, this exceptional invention was modified initially only  colored television was more than enough to fulfill the purpose of telecommunication.

The Relativity of Virtues Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

The Relativity of Virtues - Essay Example Emerson states that â€Å"the virtues of society are vices of the saint†. This means that human beings tend to conform to the behaviors and actions that are perceived to be virtues in the society. As a result of this conformity, people fail in developing self-reliance and may perceive actions or behaviors that are not identified as virtues in their society to be vices. For example, during the era of slavery, a person who spoke of compassion or equality for the slaves can easily be dubbed a villain. However, the belief that all human beings are equal and have a right to be free is a virtue. Therefore, the person that the society dubs a villain owing to his support for the abolition of slavery is, in fact, a saint in his account. Emerson challenges reciprocity in the society that defines what actions are virtues and what actions are vices. Emerson states that the terror of reform â€Å"is the discovery that we must cast away our virtues, or what we have always esteemed such, in to the same pit that has consumed our grosser vices†. Reform in the society brings about change for the purpose of improving the human life. The actors of change in the society identify an issue or issue that is an impediment to their wellbeing and act towards changing the issue. Emerson observes that the strength of a reform movement is the continual desire for the better. However, according to Emerson, this desire for change is a weakness as reform seeks amelioration of the outward circumstances but fail to achieve full independence for the inner life.

US Economic Policy Essay Example for Free

US Economic Policy Essay The United States of America is one of the richest nations of the world, with nearly a fifth of the world’s Gross Domestic Product emerging in the country. The US has the highest level of output in the world. The total GDP in the country in 2006 was 13. 2 trillion dollars. With a population now reaching 300 million people, the per capita income in the US now is nearly 45000 dollars per annum. In the last three years however, there have been concerns voiced about the health of the economy. The chief concerns have been in the housing market, which many feel has been overvalued. The savings rate has been coming down and therefore impacting the growth rate negatively. Also the US budget has now seen a deficit on the current account as revenue expenditure has been growing faster than revenue growth. The deficit might get worse later in 2007 as the economy weakens further. Wage costs have traditionally been high, and in a tight situation have increased even more causing some amounts of inflation. The Economic Intelligence Unit of the Economist has highlighted these problems faced by the US economy in recent times and also pointed to the falling exchange rate of the dollar with respect to the Euro as an indicator of the weakening American economy. The special report of the EIU released in August 2007 points out to the fact that the emergence of the European and Asian economies in the past have led to a fall in the pivotal importance the US economy had in the world economy. The report points to the recession in the US economy leading to a likely fall in growth rates in the country in 2008 and onwards. It is in this context that it becomes important to look at the state of the economy in the US in the past three years. In the past, the US economy had been doing well, despite the slowdowns seen in the rest of the developed world. With low interest rates, high employment levels and a strong construction sector, the economy had seen balanced economic growth with a robust export performance in the decade of the nineties. Right at the outset it will be important to underline the role played by the free market operating in a democratic context. The US has remained wedded to the concept of a free market economy governed under unwavering democratic principles. This has allowed a strong civil rights movement to flourish, consumer lobbies to argue strongly for anti monopolistic practices and a competition regulatory mechanism in place. It is indeed this fundamental strength that allows the US to remain the world’s most powerful economy in the democratic framework it works on and the political freedom the constitution guarantees. It is political freedom that enables the optimal use of resources in any country. Interest groups exert pressure on governments and ensure widespread and sustainable growth. Free market based economies like the US work on the principles of rule of law, property rights and enforcement of contracts. This way growth is robust and is not vulnerable to shocks that are inherent in a globalized world. Lipset (1959) and Sen (1999) have argued that it is democracy that fosters economic growth across the world. Foreign trade and exchange rates After joining NAFTA, in its 1994 version and now with the revised agreement, the US economy is now increasingly integrated with the North American economy. As a result any slowdown in the US economy have been balanced out by the growth seen in Canada and in Mexico. The economic policy in recent times is characterized by a relatively stable prime interest rate, the exchange rate falling gradually and a healthy foreign exchange reserve. With healthy increase in exports of more than 11% last year, US external trade is critical to the economy and that is the most important reason for the monetary policy aimed at keeping the dollar a floating currency. A free float enables a currency to absorb shock. And countries that are so clearly exposed to external shocks need to be able to cushion external changes. Historically, the US’ monetary policy as regards the currency rate has been one where the state intervened in currency transactions and the central bank monitored the exchange rate. However this has now changed and the exchange rate regime follows a true floating mechanism that would change with the market situation as regards imports and exports. In the year 2006 past, the trade deficit in trade in goods and merchandise has reached US$838bn in 2006. This is primarily on account of the huge trade deficit with China, and this could give rise to some protectionism in the US economy. The cheaper local currency that is being seen now will encourage exports and discourage imports taking the trade deficit towards a positive value. Monetary policy Monetary policy is often a toll that is defined and determined by the inflation rate. In democratic countries, price rise is often politically unacceptable especially with frequent elections. Hence the central bank and the treasury tend to keep a close watch on the inflation and on the customer price index. On this front, the US economy has performed well with modest inflation helped by an interest rate that is stable. The low inflation rate might have an impact on domestic demand, as the aggregate supply curve would tend to flatten given stable prices. Also with a low unemployment rate and stable salary levels the demand curve too would be flat. Therefore growth would be restricted to growth in external trade helped by a favorable exchange rate that is what the US economy is witnessing. As a result, the major factor that would impact the economy now is the business cycle. In economic theory, business cycles show growth in initial phases, then a stability followed by a decline. These are periodic swings that most economies pass through. During these cycles production and supplies go up due to price and demand increases and then as demand stabilizes, so do prices. Producer surplus comes down, and investment levels stabilize. Then when the curve starts sliding down, prices reduce, demand levels fall and till the supply reaches a new equilibrium the economy goes downhill resulting in unemployment and retarded growth. Each country goes through such alternating phases of growth and stagnation, though the length of the cycle is very often uncertain and unpredictable. Economic expansion is the phase where the real GDP rises steadily and recession is the stage where the real GDP falls. This is followed by a phase of economic recovery. The US business cycles have not been any different from the rest of the world. A globalized economy is prone to expansion and recession in the rest of the world. The first big recession was seen in 1929. However the economy stabilized soon after thanks to some tight monetary policies and a harsh fiscal policy, where the government taxed its citizens at high rates to keep the public sector functional and to provide social security to those hurt by slowdowns. Each slowdown affects jobs, growth and economic prosperity adversely. In the post war period, the economy has been relatively stable and has only passed through two serious recessions. Since then, the US has seen a period of healthy economic expansion and prosperity, despite a slowdown in services trade and the internet bust that pushed the US into a recession at the turn of the century. Fiscal policy Fiscal policy is a tool the state uses to ensure that public expenditure is met through revenue mobilization using various taxes, levies and fees. Historically, it the monetary and the fiscal policy have been used by governments to run their economies and handle various pressures on expenditure, investment, unemployment rates and inflation. Fiscal Policy is the tool that governments use to ensure an addition or reduction in expenditure and revenue levels so the economy can be steered in a particular direction. While fiscal policy focuses on changes in the governmnet level of expenditure and revenue mobilisation, monetary policy concentrates on the money supply in the economy and by giving incentives to the citizen, governemnts encourage or discourage the velocity of money flow in an economic system. The US tax structure has been criticized for charging high taxes on business. However, over the years tax rates have been cut and now the federal corporate income tax rate is down. However, while US personal income tax rates are lower compared to most developed economies, corporate taxes, because of the various tiers of taxation are still comparatively higher. With the increase in government spending on welfare and old age pension plans, these tax rates are unlikely to reduce. The fiscal policy reflects the concerns of the political leadership in seeking to increase government revenue and expenditure. The health system is huge and needs constant doses of capital to sustain itself. In addition to the health sector, the social security system and the education system too is largely subsidized and calls for higher tax rates. Increasing tax rates tend to dampen demand and slow down the growth rate as higher taxes lead to a slowdown in supply, which also gets affected by higher unemployment. However government revenue goes up and government expenditure can increase as a result of higher tax collections. The business cycle then goes into a recessionary phase. But with increased government expenditure, public utilities get benefited. Therefore fiscal policies need to be well balanced and not cause an irreversible slowdown of the economy leading to spiraling inflation rates. In globalizing economies, the threat of borrowing slowdowns is as serious a concern as the opportunities that come through foreign expansionary phases in global business cycles. Fiscal measures tend to shore up the domestic economy in the face of external pressures. The US fiscal policy in that sense has prudently tried to balance growth with inflation, and increase government expenditure whenever unemployment threatens to increase. Also, tax revenue has enabled the setting up of a health and education system that supplies most of the skilled labour force that works in the large service sector. When there is fall in money supply, this causes a decline in demand and hence a fall in prices. However, what could very well result is a slowdown or a stagnation of the economy that could give rise to job losses and high unemployment. However, with inflation in check, the fiscal policy too has not been as drastic as it could have possible been. Conclusion The US requires a stable financial system that is able to meet the expectations of depositors, investors and the government. The democratic system and economic structure, which is heavily dependent on the world economy and the success of the WTO, presents many challenges to the formulation of its monetary and fiscal policy. It is important that the fiscal policy takes into consideration the key issues of public and government expenditures. The monetary policy should be formulated accordingly so as to bring down the threat of fiscal deficits. Taking the need for institutional changes into consideration, there should be potential improvements in the economy in order to provide the right directions to the policymakers. It is felt that the quality of expenditures at federal and provincial levels has been deteriorating over the period of time; therefore it is very important for the government to have a rational approach towards these expenditures. Expenditure restructuring must accompany expenditure control. Privatization combined with increased competition, plays a major role in reducing the fiscal deficits. Tax rates have to be brought down as the economy looks for increased investment. It is not feasible to have high tax rates in a world competing for global investments. Interest rates cannot be kept high for a long time and must compete with the interest rate mechanism in the rest of the world. Aggregate supply and aggregate demand in the US is intrinsically tied up with supply and demand in the household sector, and apart from the construction sector, all other sectors of the economy now closely follow the business cycle that is predictable. The integration of the world economy impacts North America considerably, especially by way of rising oil prices, which have a way of impacting almost all sectors of the economy. A monetary policy that ensures a stable exchange rate, low levels of inflation and higher levels of employment along with a fiscal policy that tends not to dampen GDP growth, is what the future would demand. References 1. Lipset S. M. (1959) Some Social Requisites of Democracy: Economic Development and Political Legitimacy. American Political Science Review. 2. Mansfield, E. (1982). MicroEconomics – Theory and Applications. 4th Ed. W. W. Norton and Company. 3. Ohmae, K. (1999) The Borderless World: Power and Strategy in the Interlinked Economy. New York: Harper Business. 4. Sen, A, (1999) Democracy as Freedom. Oxford University Press. 5. EIU, (2007). Heading for the rocks: Will financial turmoil sink the world economy? EIU Special Report, London.

Food And Beverage Industry | Go Green Initiative Malaysia

Food And Beverage Industry | Go Green Initiative Malaysia The main objective of this research proposal is to discuss how the research process will be carried out on the selected topic. The topic for this research is Service Industry (Food and Beverage industry) perceptive on implementing Go Green initiative in Malaysia. This topic is chosen due to the fact that there is a limited research that applies to the Malaysian FB market. The purpose of this proposal is to shows how the actual research will be carried out on the topic. However, due to the limitation of the research, the research content will contain background analysis of green practices in Malaysia as well as in other counties. Other aspects of the research are based on demographic, attitude and behaviour of how the service industry has perceived in implementing such concept from its dimension of awareness, understanding and acceptance. By breaking down and studying these aspects, it will help to provide the actual information that is useful for the service industry players to become a sustainable FB industry and take initiative on such practices. This proposal will later discuss how this concept has been implemented in other countries. This is to develop a theoretical framework of these aspects and form a Go Green framework. This includes comparison of current implementations of Go green initiatives. Moreover, the research will also look into whether the government should enforce regulations on the FB industry for Go Green initiatives as default practices. Irrespective of industries, a business is governed with the intension of being Profitable, Sustainable, Productive and aims at achieving the highest level of customer loyalty towards their products and services. Achievements of profitability in businesses are focused more on increased revenue, lower cost of operations and higher profits. Long term growth, consistent revenue and profits, low cost of labour and resources, and being self-sufficient is the focus of businesses in terms of sustainability. Optimal usage of resources, Better utilization and optimal usage of assets are the main focus of businesses for productivity. Increased customer loyalty and increase in customer traffic are the focus of businesses for customer loyalty. In the above mentioned context, sustainability and productivity is a major impact to the FB organization to achieve positive profitability. As a result of industrys major impact, Going Green concept focuses service industry to become sustainable and productive with low cost, and optimal utilization of both assets and resources. Research Problem The idea of going green is relatively new to the food service industry in Malaysia compare to other industry sectors. This is due to the fact that there is limited industrial research and government regulations undertaken on green restaurant concept implementation and its practices in Malaysian market context. Malaysian FB industry is not a highly regulated market by the Malaysian government. Licenses to operate a FB outlet is not a combined effort of various agencies but limited to Ministry of Health and other licensing agencies. Department of environment and other agencies are generally not involved. The legislations / rules and laws of Department of environment and other related agencies are more concentrated on environment issues that are generated by commercial establishments in terms of pollution control and not green initiatives. Therefore, this research focuses on understanding and comprehension of various processes, methodologies and best practices for a Go Green framework for the food and beverage industry in Malaysia. There are two reasons that this research has carried out on this specific topic. Green related articles were already published in Malaysia. Environmental concerned green programmes have been implemented in Malaysia since many years ago. And also many articles that related to its programmes has being published in various sectors like waste management, green building, recycle policy, organic food sectors, hospitality and tourism sector, and etc. Especially in service industry perceptive, there are very limited or almost none have been published green related articles. Provided government regulations are not clearly specify for service industry. There available data like environmental education, green building index, green technology guidelines and process, however, there are no clear information that are stated for service industry to follow. Appendix 1 shows that industry commitment in Green initiative has increased from 2008 to 2009, thus research was analyzed by restaurant industry forecast, 2010. However, such kind of focus has not been done in Malaysia restaurant industry. These shows that service industry in Malaysia has very limited research that give clear information on Go green implementation. From this research, industry will benefit the actual information of industry players perceptive and the best suitable framework of Go green implementation in Malaysian market context. Research Objective To measure the degrees of industry awareness towards the green restaurant concept in Malaysia market context. To identify and understand existing knowledge of green restaurant concept among Malaysia market. To discover the market acceptance ability of green restaurant concept. Develop a framework for the industry to accept Go Green concept to be implemented for long term sustainability. Objectives of the research aim to understand the used of Go green concept in service industry. This is due to limited research has not been done in this particular study area in Malaysia. The outcome of the research will not only benefits to the industry players but also will give a clear framework of how industry can sustain by developing this idea. Therefore, the research will carry out to investigate how industry perceived and identify needs of framework to implement the concept. Research Questions How good is the industry player aware of a green restaurant concept? What is their understanding of the Green restaurant concept, and what is their current contribution towards going green? What is their existing methods or processes of having a sustainable business? Is the Malaysian Food and beverage market willing to accept green restaurant concept practises? Is the food and beverage industry acceptable for the Go green initiatives to be a government regulation? Literature Review Definition Go Green or Going Green is a concerned with the protection of the environment (Oxford Advanced learners Dictionary, 2000); steps to conserve energy, reduce pollution and save money (The U.S. Chamber of commerce Small Business Nation). Tauxe.C.S (2009) mentioned that green practices as a cost-saving response to the effect of high energy prices on operations and on supply and distribution chains, and these measures are valued first in terms of efficiency gains. In restaurant industry, green restaurants may be defined as new or renovated structures designed, constructed, operated, and demolished in an environmentally friendly and energy-efficient manner (Lorenzini 1994, 119) cited by Hu.H.H, Parsa.H.G and Self.J, 2010. In Union for reform Judaism (2010) stated that going green defines as the activity of adding sustainability principles and considerations into the planning process of an event or organizational or personal lifestyle. According to Ministry for the environment of New Zealand defines a sustainable industry as an industry that anticipates economic, environmental and social trends to minimise risk and takes opportunities to improve comparative advantage. A research of Schubert.F (2008) mentioned that companies across all sectors try to develop products and practices with minimized environmental effect as part of social responsible practices, but also in order to establish themselves in a new niche for consumers with environmental concerns this is also true for the hospitality and tourism industry where businesses often rely on the integrity of the environment. Hotels located in natural areas such as mountains or beaches for example, are especially dependent on the healthiness of their sites, and therefore some have been engaging in green practices and eco-tourism for several years. Restaurants however, are often less dependent to such environmental factors and have therefore shown less care for these issues. Areas of green practices Green restaurant association (GRA) explained that fully transformed green restaurant provides a comprehensive and user-friendly method of rewarding existing restaurants foodservices operations, new builds, and events with points in each of the green restaurant associations seven environmental categories. Seven categories which compiled with water efficiency, waste reduction and recycling, sustainable furnishings and building materials, sustainable food, energy, disposables, and chemical and pollution reduction. Hence, the restaurant who are pursuing for becoming fully integrated green restaurant from GRA are also require to use products like- chlorine-free paper products, nontoxic cleaning and chemical products, renewable power, and green building and construction (Wallace.A, 2005). One of the most popular going green concepts is done by practicing the 3R principle which is by reducing, reusing, and recycling the resources used, using organic products, and installing equipments with green technology. In the restaurant industry, small daily savings often make the difference between long-term profit and loss (Restaurant waste minimization guidebook, State of Hawaii). In addition, a restaurants costs go up when it installs pricey equipment to make its operation more sustainable and pay extra to source ingredients that meet sustainability standards (Going Green: Will Customers Notice? 2010). Furthermore, Schubert.F (2008) highlighted that the details of creating an Environmentally Sustainable Restaurant Industry- Green restaurant association (GRA) has also provides guideline for the following areas: Energy Efficiency Conservation: Energy efficient technologies and conservation practices exist for lighting, heating, ventilation, air-conditioning, foodservice appliances, office equipment and transportation. Water Efficiency Conservation: Water efficient technologies and conservation practices exist for foodservice appliances, equipment, and landscaping. Recycling Composting: Recycling services exist for many waste products such as glass, plastic, metal, cardboard, mixed paper, grease, ink toner cartridge. Food waste can be diverted from landfills and made into nutrient-rich soil through the use of a composting service or an on-site system. Sustainable Food: Sustainable food products support the long-term maintenance of ecosystem and agriculture for future generations. Organic agriculture prohibits the use of toxic synthetic pesticides and fertilizers, irradiation, sewage sludge, and genetic engineering. Locally grown food reduce the amount of pollution associated with transportation primarily by fossil fuels. Plant-based food require fewer natural resources and create less pollution per calorie consumed. Pollution Prevention: Pollution prevention is achieved through source reduction, reuse, or improving operational practices. Recycled, Tree-free, Biodegradable Organic Products: Recycled products are made from materials that are collected from post-consumer or post-industrial waste sources. Tree-free products are made from alternative plant sources such as hemp or knead. Biodegradable products are capable of being decomposed by biological agents, especially bacterial. Organic products are grown without the use of toxic synthetic pesticides and fertilizers, irradiation, sewage sludge, and genetic engineering. Chlorine-Free Paper Products: Chlorine-free paper products are unbleached or whitened with alternatives such as hydrogen peroxide, oxygen, and ozone. Non-toxic Cleaning Chemical Products: Non-toxic cleaning and chemical products are biodegradable, free of hazardous ingredients, and are safe for people, animals and environment when used properly. Green Power: Electricity and power is available from renewable resources such as wind, solar, geothermal, small hydro and biomass. These energy sources cause dramatically less air pollution and environmental damage compared to fossil fuel, nuclear, and large-scale hydroelectric energy sources. Green Building Construction: Green design and construction practices significantly reduce or eliminate the negative impact of buildings on the environment, occupants, and the local community. Education: Education of staff on the environmental impact of the restaurant industry and a path toward ecological sustainability. Benefit of Go Green Publicity The GRA and its certified green restaurants have been featured in the following media outlets: NBC Nightly News, The Wall Street Journal, Time Magazine, CNN, The Washington Post, The New York Times, National Public Radio (NPR) and etc (Green Restaurant Association). Cut costs In dine-green website mentioned that some restaurants that are green certified save thousands of dollars each year, and through the help of the GRAs consultants, are able to access rebates, incentives and other money saving programs. Improve staff productivity and morale Staff awareness of going green due to the fact that the industry is currently run by young entrepreneurs who are aware of the environmental issues. GRA have reported that staff productivity and morale increase upon their certification. Restaurant employees have demonstrated that they want to work for businesses that are making real, credible and transparent environmental changes. Being a part of the solution to our worlds environmental problems goes a long way in gaining a restaurant employees loyalty. (Green Restaurant Association) Increase in new customers and customer loyalty Eating out has always been considered a splurge or extravagance in the average Americans budget. The growing trend in restaurant dining is that consumers want to feel as if they have done something good, other than just having nice meal. This fact alone can drive in new customers and create loyal ones. (Green Restaurant Association) Stay ahead of legislation Environmental legislation for restaurants is sweeping across the world, from plastic bag and Styrofoam bands, to recycling mandates. More and more cities are in the process of either considering or passing legislation relating to matters of restaurants and the environment. Because Certified Green restaurants have already completed these important environmental changes voluntarily, when legislation strikes, the GRAs restaurants are able to continue running their businesses while their competitors are scrambling to comply with the latest mandates. (Green Restaurant Association) Industry perception of Go Green According to Oxford Dictionary for the Business World (1993), perception is an intuitive recognition of and an aesthetic quality; a way of seeing, understanding. Perception is the terms used to cover those processes, which gives coherence, unity and meaning to a persons sensory input. It involves all those processes we use to select, sort, organise and interpret sensory data to make meaningful and coherent picture of our world (Rice, 1993). cited by Ramli.K. I, Yusof.N.S Mohamed.M.B.HJ (2004). A frequent research by Hu.H.H, Parsa.H.G and Self.J (2010) said that knowledge of sustainable restaurant operation is an important determinant of intention to patronize a green restaurant. Although a restaurants costs go up when it installs pricey equipment to make its operation more sustainable and pays extra to source ingredients that meet sustainability standard (Going Green: Will Customers Notice? 2010), restaurant can easily make up these costs (Carley.N, 2010). For example, A restaurant that installs a $60 spray valve that release a maximum of 1.28 gallons per minute, compared to regular valves that release 2 gallons to 6 gallons per minute, can save $500 or more a year in water bill. Research Conceptual Framework Perception Awareness Understanding Acceptance Go Green Framework Awareness of going green The following are some points that will be made during the awareness stage. Awareness of the businesses on the green initiatives, Availability of information for these businesses about going green Understating green objectives The following are some points that will be made during the understanding stage. Existing knowledge on going green Knowledge on the impact of the current environment on not going green. Knowledge on how they can be profitable and have a sustainable business by going green Acceptance of going green The following are some points that will be made during the acceptance stage. Weather they are willing to invest in going green initiatives Participation in going green by changing business processes Investments into resources to go green Methodology Methodology of this research will be used base on the primary data and secondary data. Primary data will be collected by using survey questionnaires to the restaurant managers and owners around Kuala Lumpur. Secondary data will be gathered from the relevant academic journals, books, published magazines and articles, and also internet sources. Basically, the survey questionnaires will be distributed to three different types of restaurant such as: fast food restaurants, casual dining restaurants and semi-fine dining or fine dining restaurants. Approximately 30 survey questionnaires will be distributed as sample. The questionnaires will be demonstrated in demographic, attitude and behaviour study on each type of restaurants. This is to ensure there is a balance in different types of service restaurants owner perceptive on Go green concept implementations in Malaysia. The outcome of this survey will give better understanding on how restaurant owners aware and deep analysis of their understanding on this concept. And also it will help to indicate the best options of practices needed for the Malaysian market context. Secondary data will be collected from academic journals, books, relevant magazines and articles, and internet sources. This will enhance the better understanding on theoretical framework of Go green concept practices. In additionally, local government data and non-government organisation data will also include in this research. This is to clarify such concept has been performed in other industry sector as well as to identify the availability of Green supply chain in Malaysia. From above mention data collections, this research will shows industry perceptive on implementing Go green concept and it will also show the best options of practices for Malaysia market which may or may not be an exact practices to compare to other country. Project Timeline Weeks Activities 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 Introduction Literature Review Distributing survey Findings Conclusion Submission of Draft References Hu.H.H, Parsa.H.G Self John (2010), The Dynamics of Green Restaurant Patronage, Cornell University, vol.51 Issue.3, pp. 334-362. Schubert.F (2008), Exploring and Predicting Consumers Attitudes and Behaviours Towards Green Restaurants, The Ohio State University. Tauxe.C.S (2009), Shades of Green: Discursive Plurality in the Public Conversation on Sustainability, Green Theory Praxis: The Journal of Ecopedagogy, vol. 5 no. 1, pp. 14 25. Wallace.A (2005), Creating a Sustainable Restaurant Industry with the Green Restaurant Association. Going Green: Will Customers Notice?'(2010), Observer: Restaurant Hospitality, pp.20. Carley.N (2010), Going Green in many ways, Community: Franchise Focus, pp. 26. Ramli.K. I, Yusof.N.S Mohamed.M.B.HJ (2004) Measuring Service Quality in Gourmet Coffee Restaurants in Penang, Universiti Utara Malaysia. Restaurant Waste Minimization Guidebook, State Hawaii, Department of Health and Environmental Health Administration. Conserve Solutions for Sustainability (2010), Greener Restaurants à ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¾Ã‚ ¢ Wehmeier.S (2000) , Oxford Advanced Learners Dictionary, 6th edn. Great Britain, Oxford University Press. pp.590. Six Reasons to Become a Certified Green Restaurant à ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¾Ã‚ ¢, Green Restaurant Association http://www.dinegreen.com/restaurants/benefits.asp [ACCESSED ON 1st November 2010] What Is Going Green?, U.S. Chamber of Commerce Small Business Nation http://www.uschambersmallbusinessnation.com/toolkits/guide/P15_1001 [ACCESSED ON 18th November 2010) Green Glossary: Greening/Going Green, Union for Reform Judaism http://urj.org/green/101/glossary/ [ACCESSED ON 18 th November 2010] hat is a sustainable industry?, Ministry for the Environment Manatu Mo Te Taiao http://www.mfe.govt.nz/issues/sustainable-industry/ [ACCESSED ON 18 th November 2010] Appendixes Walt Disneys Leadership Style | Essay Walt Disneys Leadership Style | Essay Whenever people interact in the organization, many factors come into play towards improving an organizations effectiveness. There are factors that influence the behavior of the employees in any organization. Behaviors such i.e. commitment, cooperation, satisfaction, decision-making, motivation, competitiveness, turnover à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦.. Etc, all impacts greatly the effectiveness of any organization. Leadership has sometimes been described as taking people to a place that they would not normally go to on their own. Once a sound strategic planning process has determined what that place should be it is the leaders prime and fundamental responsibility to assure that there is cultural alignment with the vision and that the full resources of the organization are effectively brought to bear to achieve that destination. These definitions tell us that leadership is a way of focusing motivating a group to enable them to achieve their aims. The leaders influence is non-coercive, which means that followers must consent to be influenced, which lead to that leadership is conferred from below, not above as leadership. Also leadership is a goal-directed activity. Followers consent to a leader exercising influence with a view to achieving something. This research would be a great opportunity for the researcher to get a better knowledge about the leaders influence on people and guided through their Endeavour to achieve organization objective. This report is about one of the most famous leaders whos name is known by everyone since childhood. This leader has created one of the leading entertainment businesses in the world. Walt Disney is the founder of Walt Disney Production which had a famous influence in the entertainment field in the 20th century. This report will analyze Mr. Walt Disneys leadership qualities and style. The report starts with a literature review on leadership, Walt Disney biography, his leadership qualities and styles, comments on his style and a conclusion to sum up the finding. The purpose of this study is to: To study the literature on leadership styles in organizations. To analysis the style and the role of leadership of Walt Disney and its effectiveness in reaching the organization objectives. To draw conclusions of what lessons we learn from Walt Disney case about leadership. Review of Literature Leadership is the process of influencing others to work willingly and to the best of their capabilities towards the goals of the leader. (Gallagher, K, Rose, E, McClelland, B, Reynolds, J and Tombs, S, 1997, P527) The word leadership has two common uses meanings: (A) It can be used to describe a process, in which non-coercive influence is used to direct and coordinate the activities of a group toward its objectives. (Rollinson, Broadfield, Edaward 1998). (B) To express the idea that follower perceives that a person has certain attributes or characteristics which enable him or her to exert influence over them (Rollinson, Broadfield, Edaward 1998). In modern society the words of leader and leadership carry a great deal of prestige. Thus many managers lay claim to being leaders, and some probably believe the position they occupy confer the mantle of leadership upon them. It is important to examine whether leadership and management are synonymous; are they, for example, just different words that express the same idea? The success of any group in any organization can be challenged by the effectiveness of the leader and his/her leadership qualities, knowledge leadership style. Leaders can be found in any group by default. Groups they tend to have leaders, and it belief that leadership is one of the -if not the most important- factors which determines whether a group, an organization, or even a nation will be successful granted a degree of power to influence subordinate behavior. An important leadership role is to manage and lead so the Leaders make speeches, produce written communications, listen and chat to colleagues, observe and respond to the needs and otherwise communicate for most their time in the organization. Leaders also interact with the external environment, with suppliers, markets, even competitors. What is more, leaders communicate in far more than words. For example leadership uses symbolic communication as part of a change management strategy. In a simple context, in organizations we can view leadership in: that the employees are willing to work in a more committed way with someone they view as a leader. The important of leadership Leadership is a concern for all of us. (We all share in the responsibility to contribute effectively.) Leadership is viewed and valued differently by various disciplines and cultures. (A multi-disciplinary approach gives better understanding of leadership.) Conventional views of leadership are changing. (The rapid pace of change requires new ways of relating to problems.) Leadership can be exhibited in many ways. (It is adapted to varying situations.) Leadership qualities and skills can be learned and developed. (Leaders are made, not born.) Leadership committed to ethical action is needed to encourage change and social responsibility. (Leaders must apply the highest possible standards of ethical conduct.) Leaders vs. Managers It is an important to the researcher to understand and defined the leader in the chosen Organization. Thus, to understanding the different between the manager and the leaders will help to focus in the right person once the interview taking place. Managers usually have goals or objective to achieve, and are expected to do this by the appropriate use of resources at their disposal. So mangers tend to adopt impersonal or passive attitudes towards goals. In order to get people to accept solutions, the manager needs continually to co-ordinate and balance in order to compromise conflicting values. In relationship with other people, managers maintain a low level of emotional involvement. Managers see themselves more as conservators and regulators of the existing order of affairs with which they identify, and from which they gain rewards. Leaders, they adopt a more personal and active attitude towards goals. Leader creates excitement in work and develops choices that give substance to images that excite people. Leaders have empathy with other people and give attention to what events and actions mean. Leader work in but dont belong to, the organization. Their sense of identity doesnt depend upon membership or work roles and they search out opportunities of change. So the important to organization come in a leader can have a strong influence on the behavior and performance of group members. While influence is a form of power, it is much more subtle from control than the naked use authority. Where leadership is exercised, followers willingly their own subordination, and because the whole situation is partly their idea they are more likely to be committed to performing well. Leadership Styles Leadership Styles is the manner and approach of providing direction, implementing plans, and motivating people, there are normally three styles of leadership: Authoritarian or autocratic: when leaders sets directions and motivate people by reward and punishment. Predicative or democratic: when people are involved in decision making and leaders become more relation oriented. Delegative or free Reigan: when leaders delegate powers and people are more responsible. Walt Disney Biography: Walter Elias Disney is an American business leader who brought to the world the most famous entertainment companies in 20th century. He was born on  December 5, 1901 in Illinois in Chicago in USA. His dream started when he loved drawing while he used to live in a farm and worked in selling candies and newspapers. After his coming back from the World War I in France, he worked at the Pesemen-Rubin Art Studio. Walter met Ubbe Iwwerks and they put up their own company Iwerks- Disney in 1920. The company collapsed eventually and they moved to work with Kansas City Film Ad. In 1922, he formed Laugh-O-Gram Films where he produced short cartoons and started producing Alices Wonderland. Before ending his production of Alices Wonderland, his company got bankrupt and he moved to Hollywood seeking direction job with no luck. He convinced his brother to finance the new company, Disney Brothers, and hired more people in 1925. The big success happened when they created Mickey Mouse which was his popular cartoon character and Disney regained from the loss of the Oswald character rights and his staff in 1928. He even got an Academy Award in 1932. Disney did well in the 1930s especially when he started producing full length features such as now White and the Seven Dwarfs and The Three Little Pigs. However, he faced a big break during the World War II. In the late 1940s, he start recovering when he start using Technicolor and sound scores in his work. In that period he started his vision for an amusement park which came true 1955. Walter Disney died in 1966 of lung cancer. His brother continued his dream and opened the Magic Kingdom in 1971. Walt Disney Achievements: Walt Disney is one of the largest media corporations worldwide. It is publicly traded in the New York Stock Exchange. The company has four main divisions: studio entertainment, media networks, parks and resorts and consumer products. The company owns ABC TV network, broadcast TV stations and lots of radio stations. The studio entertainment movies produced by Disney represent the meaning of family entertainment. Mickey Mouse, Snow White, the Seven Dwarfs, etc. are famous movies created by Disney and become legends for every kids and even adults. Disney Parks and Resorts is the place when you find all Disney characters. The company owns eleven theme parks in three continental, operates 35 resorts and two cruise ships. Disneys media network has arms in television, radio and internet industries. It includes television networks (ABC), radio channels, TV shows, etc. Disney consumer products started in 1929 which is mainly different products represent Disney characters in different sectors such as food beverages, toys, home dà ©cor, books, electronics, interactive games, fine arts, etc. Walt Disney Leadership Analysis: Walter Disney was so ambitious and enthusiasm to make his dream and the drop-backs he faced didnt stop him putting more effort into it. He was hard worker, visionary and devoted. As being creative is one of the main success factors in such businesses. Therefore, Walter had a passion in developing talents through training were he used to have evening classes for employees. He was a risk taker and a hands-on leader. He never stopped dreaming and never stopped trying pursuing his dreams. Since his start, he didnt stop working hard toward his goal even after many break downs happened to him in his early start. Walter was more relationship oriented as he cares a lot about his employees. He used to know each one by name and insist to call him with his first name Walter. He tried to make everyone happy and had a strong commitment to his employees. His main traits which helped him to be successful are: perseverance, passionate, dreamer, and highly imaginative and creative. These traits kept him focused in achieving his vision. Being in the entertainment business, these traits are the best suitable for him to be a leader in this area. He is also a risk taker and has courage to accept changes even with high risk. As he struggled in his early life with the bankruptcy of his early ventures, he still kept focused and took further steps to achieve his goals. He didnt change his career bath as result of the bankruptcy. Instead, he kept focused on his dream and believes as he saw an opportunity a head. He also changed with the new technologies and use technology as a way to be innovative. Walt Disney said When you believe in a thing, believe in it all the way, implicitly and unquestionable. This quotation describes his hard effort to achieve his dream. As a leader, he tried his best to have good relation with his employees. He worked closely with everyone in his company. He was willing to help employees to learn about animation. He pushed his employees to attend art school at his expense. This helped improving the quality of the work. Such attitude from Walter helped gaining the loyalty of his employees and increases their enthusiasm. He motivates people by sharing his ideas and concerns. He created a work environment where all work to gather in all business aspects. All discussion above shows how Walter communicated his vision and dreams to his employees. He was motivating them by involving them in his dream. He showed them the big picture and described his vision to them. They followed his lead with high enthusiasm to achieve his goals. Disney as a company continued toward success even after his death in 1965 and is considered one of the largest entertainment companies around the world. Mr. Walter is classified as transformational leader who influence people to follow him by his charisma. His way of dealing with people created trust, commitment and loyalty of followers which helped in achieving organizational goals and make dreams come true. Mr. Walter said: Disneyland will never be completed. It will continue to grow as long as there is imagination left in the world. This keeps Disney moving forward and keeps it successful. Disney has the characteristics of transformational leaders of being idealized influence, intellectual stimulation, individualized consideration and inspiration motivation. These factors describe his charisma which made him a successful leader. Conclusion: How to manage people become the largest challenges in any organization and is the focus of researchers. Lots of theories have been found to describe different attitudes, behaviors and management practices in organizations and development in this science will never end. As long as people are the key driver of organizations success, managing them will be the first step to achieve goals. As long as there are different people working together, there must be managers who direct them toward achieving organizational goals. Managers guide people to do their work and instruct them in order to reach the organization goals. Managers have specific knowledge and skills to do so and follow lots of techniques to motivate people to follow their orders. Some managers become leaders who capture peoples willingness to follow them. Management is doing things right; leadership is doing the right things is a famous quote by Peter F. Drucker that distinguish between managers and leaders. This case shows that leaders have strong impact on people where they become followers rather than subordinates. Followers are inspired by their leaders to do their work. Napoleon Bonaparte quoted: a leader is a dealer in hope. This can explain the willingness of people to follow them. People believe on their leaders which motivate them to follow them. Its a common sense that people will do thing better if they are willing to do it rather than forced to do it. Walter Disney case shows how leadership makes difference. It also shows how people are inspired by leaders and how they willingness follow leaders. Disney being a transformational leader gained peoples respect and become a loved person. How he involves his staff in his work kept people committed even after his death. His company still successful and his visions are followed till date. People use his quotes as inspiring quotations to motivate others. He said: If you can dream it, you can do it. He also said: All the adversity, Ive in my life, all my troubles and obstacles have strengthened meà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ You may not realized it when it happens, but a kick in the teeth may be the best thing in the world for you. People are driven till now by his vision and still willing to follow his lead after his death. He put his fingerprint in all peoples heart. His dream become true and he is an evidence of how leadership important and how it makes differences.

Salem Witch Trials V. The McCarthy Hearings :: essays research papers

The McCarthy Hearings are referred to as "witch-hunts" because of their similarity to the Salem witch trials. The McCarthy hearings are trials in which Senator Joe McCarthy accuses government employees of being Communists. He exaggerates and exploits the evidence and ruins many reputations just as the girls do in the Salem witch trials. The accused, in both cases, are used as scapegoats for society’s problems and the only way to escape direct punishment is to admit to guilt.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚     Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Joseph McCarthy and the girls from Salem begin to accuse people of being either Communists or witches to obtain, something they crave, power. No one actually has hard evidence to support these accusations, including the accusers. The more people they accuse the bigger the lies get. The girls in Salem begin to cry out that these witches are sending their spirits on them. The even go to the extent to start shivering, passing out, and mocking the accused as they walk into the room. Abigail Williams also sabotages, Elizabeth Proctor, one of the women she accuses of being a witch. When Abigail witnesses Marry Warren, the Proctors servent and one of the accusers, making a puppet and sticking a needle in it’s stomach for safe keeping Abigail knew it would be taken to her home at the Proctors. So she decides to claim she was stuck with a pin by Elizabeth Proctor through the technique of voodoo and Elizabeth is arrested that night for witchery. As for McCarthy he accuses anyone he sees. He even began to question the integrity of George C. Marshall and even President Eisenhower. He also, started an investigation on the Army. He never gave any kind of reliable evidence, he just started pointing fingers.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚     Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Instead of trying to fix the problems in their society they blame the problems on something else so they won‘t have to deal with them. In 1692 a few girls got sick, they blame it on witch craft instead of thinking that maybe they were faking it or they got some kind of unknown sickness. In 1950 people begin to think differently than one another and have new ideas, people blame it on Communists instead of embracing the new ideas and learning and politely debating them.

Earthquake :: essays research papers

LEBANON, Oh. - A 7.0 earthquake shook millions awake early Saturday in the tri-state region and derailed an Amtrak train. The quake jolted residents out of their beds and shook buildings as far away as Pittsburgh. Over 90,000 people lost their power, and a highway bridge was cracked in downtown Cincinnati. This 2:46 A.M. earthquake was more than the ordinary and caused a little more than incidental damage. â€Å"Did you ever play a pinball machine and see the ball get stuck in there and go bam-bam-bam-bam? It just threw my body back and forth as I ran down the hallway,† Dick Dale said from his home. Four of the passengers on the Amtrak train suffered minor injuries. â€Å"I was sleeping. It felt like the train jumped off the track...and I fell out of bed,† said passenger Colleen Broome, who suffered a separated shoulder. The quake was centered 32 miles north of Cincinnati in a small town called Lebanon. After the main blow from the earthquake there were after- shocks that rolled through the region for hours. A 5.8 and a 5.3 were two of the dozen aftershocks recorded. Authorities in Cincinnati and in Columbus said that there were no serious damage or injuries reported. They received a few calls, but none of them were too serious. â€Å"It shook everything pretty good, but that was about it,† said Lt. Rich Paddock of the Warren County Sheriff’s Department. The effects of the earthquake were more serious near the epicenter located near Lebanon. John Fabian, a Lebanon visitor, did not know what it was. Fabian’s wife woke him in the middle of the morning and told him they had to get out of there. â€Å"The whole place was shaking like crazy,† Fabian said. Although the earthquake was powerful, it did not cause that much damage at all. The Hampton Inn in Mason, Oh., about 5 miles away from the epicenter just suffered a power outage and no sign of any type of damage. The owner of the motel later said that he got lucky no structural damage was done.

Racism in Canada as a Social Problem Essay

Introduction Racism. A relatively new word in our vocabulary. The word was not defined until 1936, when Webster’s dictionary defined racism as 1: A belief that race is the primary determinant of human traits and capacities and that racial differences produce an inherent superiority of a particular race 2: Racial prejudice or discrimination. This is a definition of racism that was written by white men, back wen it was ok to deny the access of certain facilities to blacks. This was even considered a white man’s moral duty. (Paul Lotus, 2000) Some might think that racism is a thing of the past, yet every day individuals still face racism in a social system in which power is controlled by a white majority. see more:reasons for old age homes Racism is not only present between blacks and whites, it is an issue concerning everybody, based on the colour of their skin, their religion and other factors. For example, since the attack on the World Trade Centre, Muslims and Arabs have been experiencing an extreme amount of racism in the United States but also here in Canada (Fakhreddin Jamali, 2003). This proves that people are simply looking for someone to hate. Anything can set it off but it is hardly ever justified. Nature and Scope of the Problem Racism is difference plus power. All forms of racism suppose that different races cannot coexist equally in one society. For the racist, expulsion and elimination are the only options. Racism is discrimination based on race, it is the belief that one race is superior to others and that differences in race also mean difference in human character and ability. Racism exists when one group excludes or seeks to eliminate another based on differences that are believed to be hereditary and unchangeable. (Ormond McKague 1991) Some might say that victims can beat racism by ignoring it. â€Å"Sticks and stones will break by bones but words will never hurt me.† On the other hand, when looking at hate crimes, we can see that racism can go much further. It is not only a question of insults; it even goes past segregation. Racism can lead to hate crimes and in some places, these are even common. â€Å"A hate crime is any criminal act or attempted criminal act directed against a person, institution, or property based on the victim’s actual or perceived race, nationality, religion, sexual orientation, disability or gender.† (Lambda Community Center, www.lambda-sacramento.com) In other words, hate crimes can vary from anything that results in injury, threats of violence that look like they can be carried out to acts which result in property damage. During 1999, a total of 7,876 bias-motivated hate crimes were reported to the FBI in the United States. However, we have to remember that reporting is voluntary and hate crimes are seriously under-reported. In the year 2000, 366 hate web sites were found. ( Religion News Blog, 2002) Racism can also be expressed in hate incidents. Hate incidents are similar to hate crimes in that the act is directed against people based on the victim’s race. The difference between a hate incident and a hate crime is that a hate incident is a non-criminal act. Some examples of hate incidents are passing around offensive material such as hate flyers or hate graffiti in public places. Racist actions happen all the time but some are more serious than others. Canada has a long history of hate-motivated violence towards racial or ethnic minorities. For example, back in 1907 in Vancouver, a mob of whites attacked the Chinese and Japanese communities, causing damage to stores and several fatalities. In the 1970s, there was a series of subway attacks against members of the South Asian community. (Margaret Cannon, 1995) A Social Problem A condition becomes a social problem when most people in a society agree that the condition exists, threatening the quality of life for certain people and their most cherished values. When they also agree that something should be done to remedy it (Ormond McKague, 1991). Racism fits under all these aspects. Racism threatens the quality of the victim’s life. Day after day, people who are different experience insults, exclusion or even physical attacks. Racism also attacks some people’s religious values and beliefs. For  example, prejudice towards Jews. Furthermore, people do agree that something should be done to prevent and put an end to racism. Many programs have been started in hopes of accomplishing both these goals. Also, we live in a democratic society where we believe in equality of all but racism is proof that we do not live by that ideal. Widespread According to a recent United Nations report, racism and racial discrimination are on the rise world-wide, especially against immigrants. A document was presented to the UN Human Rights Commission, indicating that racist ideologies are spread world-wide through the most modern technologies, especially via the internet (Daily Online, 1996) There has been an increase in web sites used to provoke hatred against Arabs, blacks and particularly Jews. Racism is on the rise due to many different factors. For example, it is the direct consequence of the electoral success of nationalist and extreme right parties in a number of countries. Today there are about 22 million refugees around the world who were forced to abandon their homes because of nationalistic wars (Margaret Cannon, 1995) There has also been a significant rise in racism following September 11th. People everywhere, American or Canadian tend to identify any Arab and Muslim with terrorists. Even the US media take part in spreading a negative image of Arabs. Even in the most developed countries, racial oppression continues. In the USA, the wealthiest capitalist country, African Americans continue to face severe racial oppression. In Australia the indigenous population suffers Third World living conditions and gross racial discrimination. Who is affected? Obviously, people who belong to minority groups, such as black people. They can be affected directly if they are victims of hate crimes. They can also be affected directly but in more subtle ways. For example, a white taxi driver might not pick up a black person. (Clayton E Tuker-Ladde, 2000) Teens can also be affected. Black teenagers are more likely to drop out of school  because they worry about completing their education and not finding jobs. They also tend to do poorly in school due to low self-esteem and the negative attitudes of teachers towards black students. (Margaret Cannon, 1995) They can also be affected indirectly. Children might be growing up in poverty due to their parent’s experience with racism. Some people might not get the same opportunities in life due to their ancestor’s experience with racism. Other people can also be affected indirectly by racism. For example, children might feel pressured not to be friends with a black child if others around t hem are racist. Nowadays, white people also feel they are suffering from racism and they are responding by blaming affirmative action for not getting jobs. Racism can affect black people everyday in every aspect of their life. For example, if a black person needs to move they can never be sure of having the opportunity of renting or purchasing a house in an area which they can afford and in which they would want to live. They can never be sure that new neighbours in such a location will be neutral or pleasant towards them. They can hardly ever turn on the television or open to the front page of the paper and see people of their race widely and positively represented. They cannot go into any supermarket and find the foods that fit with their cultural traditions or into a hairdresser’s shop and find someone who can cut their hair. If they swear or dress in second-hand clothes, people will often attribute these choices to the ‘bad morals’, ‘the poverty’ or ‘the illiteracy’ of their race. On the other hand, if they do well in a challenging situation, they are often called a credit to their race. They can be pretty sure that if they ask to talk to the person in charge, they will not be facing a person of their race. They can never be sure that if they need legal or medical help their race will not work against them. They are never sure that standards of behaviour where they work or go to school will be set by people of their race and that they will be judged on their behaviour not on their race. So in short, racism can attack them at any point in their daily life. Many researchers have also found that racism is a source of stress for Blacks that negatively impacts physical and psychological well-being (James W Clarke, 1998). Emergence of the social problem The late start of the word ‘racism’ has led some to believe that the phenomenon itself must be relatively new. But contrary to this belief, racism has been around for a very long time. Racism can be traced back to the Columbus invasion of 1492. In order to get the gold and silver of the native Americans, and later to use their land for the establishment of plantations to grow sugar, tobacco, and rice for commercial export to Europe, the European colonists killed enormous numbers of native Americans. As a result, the European plantation owners faced a shortage of labour. Some system of labour was necessary to bring workers to the new lands and to force them to work for masters. At first the land relied on the servants or serfs from the mother countries. But there was one major problem. Unless they were marked, if they ran away they could not easily be distinguished from free colonists or their masters. It became increasingly urgent to find new, more abundant and more easily identifiable sources of forced labour. The African slave trade came to the masters rescue. Black slaves could be purchased cheaply and brought in unlimited numbers from Africa. The colour of their skins made them easily identifiable, stopping them from escaping and merging with the rest of the colonial population. The colour of their skins became the sign of servitude. This was the origin of racism. Contrary to popular belief, slavery was not motivated by racism. Racism, the view that those with non-white skins were inferior to those with white skins, was gradually elaborated to justify the particular form of slave labour. (Ormond McKague, 1991) Even though racism has always been present, it is only recently that it was recognised as a social problem. In 1960, the Canadian bill of rights was written. The bill of rights says. It is hereby recognised and declared that in Canada there have existed and shall continue to exist without discrimination by reason of race, national origin, colour, religion or sex, the following human rights and fundamental freedoms, namely, (a) The right of the individual to life, liberty, security of the person and enjoyment of property, and the right not to be deprived thereof except by due process of law; (b) The right of the individual to equality before the law and the protection of the law; (c) Freedom of religion; (d) Freedom of speech; (e) Freedom of assembly and association; and (f) Freedom of the press.’ Before this date, racism was very accepted and even expected in some situations (Canadian Bill Of Rights, www.laws/justice.gc.ca) The only people who saw racism as a problem were people belonging to minority groups, the people experiencing the effects of racism first hand and the rare non-racists. People have different opinions concerning racism and its history, some will say it was never a problem. What changed peoples ideologies concerning racism were different black activists who decided to speak up and let their country know they had had enough. The best example of someone who fought for equal rights till the day he died was Martin Luther King (1929-1968). After half a century of black activism, the result we saw was the end of segregation in 1954. Another decade of protest and activism led to the Civil Rights Act of 1964. Within twenty years, the federal government began an era of affirmative action retrenchment. There has been much improvement in the lives of Black Americans yet we still see racism everyday (www.MLKonline.com). In Canada there was an anti-slavery movement that went on approximately between 1830 and 1870. The abolition of slavery also brought the racism  problem to attention. At this point people started to see that it was wrong to treat people terribly simply because of the colour of their skin. The current attitude towards racism today is unclear. It obviously still exists but people still express surprise that there is a race problem in Canada. Discrimination today might be more subtle than it was in the past, but it is present, affecting where we live and work. For example, in 1994, a study gave white and black applicants equal skills and sent them out to look for jobs and rent apartments. In almost every case, the white applicant was given better treatment. In the same study, black males noted that no matter how professional they looked, when they walked into an elevator with a white woman, she would clutch her purse in fear. Despite the progress in culture, science and technology, racism has been mainly responsible for the death of over 62 million human beings in the last 100 years. (http://www.crr.ca/en/Publications/ePubHome.htm) Most Canadians today consider racism a social problem even though some do think it is a problem of the past and is now rare. For example, direct victims of racism will say that it is a current problem. Blacks, Arabs, Jews, etc. They are daily victims of atrocious abuse: verbal, physical and emotional. Non-racists also consider racism a problem. For this reason, many programs have been started in hopes of stopping racism. Sociologists also consider racism to be a problem because the characteristics fit under the characteristics of a social problem and social workers everywhere have also been working in hopes of preventing and ending racism. Causes of Racism Many theories have been developed concerning racism, one of them is the conflict theory. The conflict theory originated from Marxism and Carl Marx’s beliefs. The basic principle of the conflict theory is that the natural evolution of societies is described as a series of clashes between conflicting ideas and forces that at the end of each clash, a new and improved set of ideas emerges. Both Marx and this theory agree with the idea that when members of a class see themselves as individuals with only  individualistic needs rather than members of a group with collective needs and fate, it limits any constructive change. This can be applied to racism. (Hamlin, J. 1996) A second theory used to explain racism is the frustration-aggression theory. To understand this theory we must first understand frustration. Frustration is a feeling of tension that occurs when our efforts to reach a goal are blocked. Frustration can lead to feelings of anger, which in turn can become feelings of aggression and aggressive behavior. This theory has been used to explain a lot of violent behavior over time. This theory explains racism as a type of relief from frustration. A scapegoat is chosen and becomes the object of aggressive behavior. This is often because one cannot take out their feelings of aggression on the person directly concerned. For example, someone who is frustrated with their job cannot express feeling of aggression towards their boss or co-workers so they redirect their frustration and act aggressively towards others. However, this cannot be an adequate explanation because it neither explains the presence of racism when there is no frustration nor does it explain why the scapegoat is chosen based on their race as opposed to perhaps gender, class, etc. (Yassine, A. 2001) The next theory is the theory of authoritarian-personality. The authoritarian personality is one whose personality makes the person more susceptible to racist ideologies. Adorno (1950) suggested that authoritarian parenting style created the authoritarian personality. The authoritarian style creates aggression, frustration and hatred, which is then directed towards chosen scapegoats. When this parenting style is used, The demand for good behavior is excessive and uncompromising. There is intolerance of behavior and things that are different. Adorno reported a direct relationship between authoritarian personality and prejudice. Other studies have shown relations between authoritarianism and xenophobia If prejudice and discrimination are directly related with the authoritarian personality, then authoritarianism may explain negative put-downs, oppression and racism. But on the other hand, some studies  replicating Adorno’s work found no evidence to support Adorno, and in some cases they found contradictory results. (Brown, R. 1995) People with an authoritarian personality exist in large numbers in every society, and it is probably manipulation by them that give racism its strength. But once again, this does not really explain racism any more than it explains non-racism, because people with authoritarian personalities could be non-racists, and this would have the opposite effect, diminishing racism. The last theory is a very simple one, and the most common one. This theory says that racism is learned. It originates from Fraud’s idea of being born as a blank slate. This means that every child is born neither good nor bad. Every behavior is learned from the child’s parents and surroundings. This theory was examined and proven with many experiments. The most popular one being an experiment done by a third grade teacher in Riceville, Iowa. The teacher divided the class into two groups: blue-eyed and brown-eyed. Each group got the same special privileges and praise on alternate days while the other group was put down and deprived in different ways. Within a few hours, they started to act negatively towards each other, starting fights and insulting the children from the group who was not favored that day. Friendships were easily forgotten and hatred started to stir up in the schoolyard. Before hand, these students had no reasons to dislike each other until they were give n one. They were told by an authority figure how they should be acting towards people with different colored eyes. They were taught to be prejudice. This study proves that humans seem much better at learning prejudices than math. A similar study was done by Sheriff. He designed a boy’s camp in hopes of studying group relations. The camp was separated into two groups. Members from each group did everything together. Then, Sheriff had the groups compete against each other in various games such as tug-of-war. The friendship and group spirit within each group was evident and at first, there was good sportsmanship between both groups. But soon tension and animosity developed. There was name-calling, fights, and raids on the â€Å"enemy† cabins. After seeing these results, Sheriff tried to get the two groups together for good times. Good food, movies, etc. But nothing could be  done, the anger continued. The two groups had learned to hate each other. The groups threw food at each other, shoved, and yelled insults. Next, the camp set up several situations where the two groups had to work together to get something they wanted. There was a break in the water line that had to be fixed (or camp would be closed). The food truck broke down and it took everyone’s cooperation to push it. When they worked together on these serious, important tasks, they didn’t fight. Friendships developed. Just as competition led to friction among equals, cooperative work led to positive feelings. This also shows that any behavior, good or bad is learned and can easily be erased by the next thing the child is taught. This brings along a serious question. When was the last time our country cooperated with other countries to help those in need? Maybe the solution to racism isn’t so far away. (Tuker-Ladd, C. 2000) Social Intervention Since 1966, the United Nations has recognized The 21st of March as the International Day for the Elimination of racial Discrimination. In 1989, the department of Canadian Heritage launched its annual March 21st Campaign. The most important and effective solution to racism will always be education, on many different levels. Too many people are ignorant when it comes to racism. This is said in the sense that many people chose feelings over rationalities. They chose to ignore facts because they prefer to simply accept what they believe is the truth. For example, some might think that colored people are not as smart as white people are. They strongly believe this is the truth and chose to ignore facts such as black people working at NASA or working as doctors. Obviously these people are probably smarter than the average person is, black or white. The great accomplishments done by black people is solid proof that they are as capable as anybody but some chose to ignore this clear evidence. This is why they have to be educated. A good first step is understanding history. If we can show that racism has a beginning, then the argument that racism is part of human nature does not hold much water. And if racism has a beginning, then we can argue that it can have an end. Some will also argue that racism is something that happens  to people who are new in Canada. â€Å"The new kid always gets teased†. It is unfortunate, even cruel, but its part of life and it will go away in time, especially when somebody else newer arrives. The only response to this can be to take a look at the native people and how they are treated. The first People to inhabit this continent yet history shows that they were, and continue to be treated with discrimination. (McCaskell, T. 1994) Education is also important because only when we fully understand the conditions that promote the development of racist ideas and practices will we be able to make sure they do not happen again. All of us must also acknowledge our personal racism, our misperceptions, suspicions and hang-ups about people different from ourselves. We must avoid the temptation of anger and prejudice, even if others have wrongfully hurt us. No matter how difficult and painful it might be, no matter how unworthy of trust we might think other groups are, we must try to find our common ground and begin dialogue to heal our community and our nation Effective racist campaigns must oppose the actual racist policies being carried out in society, such as the denial of land rights to Aborigines, racist law enforcement, discrimination in employment, attacks on the rights of refugees and immigration cuts. Laws and policies Today we have laws made in the hope of eliminating racism but we have to remember that not so long ago, laws were made to promote racism. For example, in Chicago in the 1940’s, African-Americans were not allowed to eat in restaurants with whites but were forced to go to the back door to place their order and then take the food home to eat. Also, in Montgomery in the 1930’s, African-Americans were forced to sit at the back of the bus or drink in separately marked water fountains than whites. Some of he present laws include the Canadian Bill of Rights, stating laws concerning all types of discrimination (as mentioned in Part I). It is also  a criminal offence under the Public Order Act 1986 to use threatening, abusive or insulting language or behavior in order to stir up racial hatred. Preventing Racism Racism can be prevented on a macro level like worldwide or through a country. It can also be dealt with on a micro level such as in school or in the work place. On a macro level policies can be made in order to prevent people from treating minority groups in a discriminating way. A good example of this was affirmative action. This encouraged employers to hire people of color. The media is a very powerful way of getting messages to many people at once and different types of media can have a very positive influence. It can deliver anti-racism messages to many different generations. The media is very convincing. It can also use this ability to convince people in a positive way. On a micro level some of the things that we can do to prevent racism fall directly on parenting. Parents in our society have the primary responsibility to teach their children social skills. In our society, over 65% of mothers with children under the age of 5 are working outside the home. These mothers are so busy with work they are forgetting to teach their children right from wrong. (Tyler, D. 1999) Racism programs can also take place in schools, both elementary and secondary. Companies can also have a program in order to help prevent racism in the work place. It is never too late, it is as important to educate children as it is adults. (Cannon, M. 1995) Everybody can make a difference no matter how old. Another Micro level suggestion would be to accept people on all levels. For example, during the recent Olympic games in Salt Lake City, not a single new channel had a black woman anchor person. (Tyler, D. 1999) Bibliography Part II Books Cannon, Margaret. The Invisible Empire: Racism in Canada Random House of Canada Limited, 1995. Toronto Hurley, Jennifer A. Racism (Current Controversies) Greenhaven Press, 1998. San Diego McKague, Ormond. Racism in Canada Fifth House Publishers, 1991. Saskatchewan McCaskell, Tim. A History of Race/ism Toronto Board of Education, 1994 Internet www.immi/yassine.htm Causes of Racism, 2001 By: Abdel-Qadar Yassine Alleydog.com Psychology Glossary, 1999 Query: Frustration-Aggression Conflict Theory: Sociological Theories of Deviance Hamlin, John. 1996 Carl Marx and the Conflict Theory By: Jennifer A. Johnson The Blank Slate The Modern Denial of Human Nature By Steven Pinker, 2002 Disliking others Without Valid Reasons: Prejudice Calyton E tuker-Ladde, 2000 Understanding prejudice, racism, and social conflict. Brown, R. 1995