Running Head: Discussion Board Essay

1. What are some ways the Christian gospel is perceived in our culture? The Christian gospel is perceived in our culture as â€Å"confusion† or that Christians consider themselves to be greater than people of other religions. The one that bothers me is that Christians are hypocrites and that Christians say one thing and do another. Some of the perception are well grounded because Christians, especially carnal Christians have a tendency to package the gospel in a way that would benefit them instead of bringing others to inquire about the word of God. 2. What are some specific moral reasons people may reject the Christian gospel? A lot of people believe that there’s no way that Jesus could be fully human and fully God at the same time. Some say that there is no way that God could love and save them, being that they are mere mortals. Some people reject the Christian gospel because of sexual, marital or political reasons. Being a Christian means that you must adhere to a certain moral code and standard that most people will decline to adhere to. 3. What are some specific emotional reasons people may reject the Christian gospel? A lot of people simply doubt that all you have to do in order to be saved is to believe in the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ and you will be saved. To believe is to be accompanied by faith and a changed mind. Most people have a problem believing in something that can’t be seen. The fear of change is always difficult when a person has been used to doing things a certain way. â€Å"But the natural man receiveth not the things of the spirit of God.† (1Co. 2:14, King James Bible,) 4. What are some specific intellectual reasons people may reject the Christian gospel? A lot of people are so bent on knowing everything about everything that when they are confronted with the truth of the gospel  it’s usually met with skepticism. Intellectual individuals like thing to be logically presented and the Christian gospel carries with it the element of faith and faith is something that a lot of intellectual individuals aren’t willing to invest a lot of time into or anything else for that matter. 5. What can Christians do to address these objections and better communicate the Christian gospel? First of all the Christian gospel must not be forced on anyone. Secondly the best way to communicate the Christian gospel is for individuals to see the difference that Christ has made in your life. â€Å"Preach with mildness and deep respect† (2 Timothy 2:25 King James version). â€Å"Believe what we are teaching†. ( Deuteronomy 6:6, King James version). Christians should also be open to providing more information with the situation present itself.

Public Administration : Chief Executive Essay

Governmental power is three-fold, legislative, to make laws; judicial and to interpret the and to execute or carry out those laws. There is a separate organ which will look after each function function, but the separation is not rigid. A complete separation would lead to perpetual deadlocks in administration. Thus there are various points of contact between all the three organs of the government to ensure smooth functioning of governmental programmes. With expanding complexity of the activities of the modern State, the Legislature is not in a position to have direct dealings with the administrator and so is the executive branch which is becoming more and more powerful. The modern State assigns a variety of functions to the executive. Thus it has become a vital part of the government. In this unit, we shall analyse the functions of the chief executive in the light of the differences between the real and the nominal executive. The unit will also highlight the growing strength and importance of the chief exccutive.We shall also discuss the need for staff and line agencies for advising the chief executive and in carrying out his policies. The unit will enable the student to understand the crucial role of chief executive in the task of administration. We will also come to know the factors and forces behind the chief executive at the Union, State and local levels. The executive is that branch of government which is charged with the execution of taws. It consists of various administrative agencies which are involved in the implementation of the laws. According to F.A. Nigro, â€Å"the executive branch of government in Public Administration is a truly visible form†. The executive branch of the government includes the chief executive and the civil servants who exec ute the laws made by the legislature. Thus the role of the executive is of paramount importance. . By ‘chief executive’ we mean the person or body of persons at the head of the administrative system of a country. The administrative hierarchy of a country resemb1es.a pyramid, broad at the base and tapering off towards the top till it ends at a single point, the apex. The chief executive is at the apex of the administrative pyramid. He is a person or persons in whom the executive power has been authoritatively vested for performing various functions. In a political system, the person or persons in whom the constitution vests the executive power of the government is the chief executive. In public or private organisations, the person who is at the top position with the major responsibility of carrying out the work of organisations is the chief executive. The chief executive has to perform various political and administrative functions. He occupies a central position in Public Administration. He determines the goals of the organisation, prepares plans, determines the tasks, fixes priorities, takes crucial decisions, mobilises resources, recryits personnel, coordinates the work of all the departments under him, motivates the personnel, provides leadership and supervises .[1] the implementation of plans. He sees that goals of organisation are achieved with maximum efficiency and optimum use of resources. The success or failure of an organisation, therefore, depends on the dynamic nature and character of the chief executive. The type of executive varies with the form of government. In a dictatorship, the chief executive comes to power through a military coup and continues to be in power through army support. Modern democracies have either a Presidential or a Parliamentary/ Collegiate executive, which is chosen from, and responsible to, an eIected legislature. The parliamental and Presidential. TYPES OF CHIEF EXECUTIVE : In countries like India and the UK, with parliamentary system,the chief executive consists of the Prime Minister and other Ministers. The Prime Minister heads the cabinet in these countries. There is a close, continuous and intimate executive legislative relationship as the cabinet is accountable to parliament in the parliamentary system. President of US can be impeached and removed from office by the legislature i.e. the US Congress by two-third majority. In the USA, for instance, because of the system of checks and balances, Congress, the President and the judiciary have become separate. entities independent of each other. The Titular and the Real Chief Executives In parliamentary form of government, all executive power is vested in the titular or constitutional head in theory and all decisions arc supposed to be taken in his name. It means that the head, whether it is the King or the President can exercise his powers only on tbs advice of the ministers and not independently. Thus, though the Constitution vests the powers with ihe President or the King, in practice these are not his real powers and cannot be exercised by him without the consent, of ministers. The chief executive in this sys te.~re mains titular or nominal. The real executiveis the Council of Ministers or the Cabinet to which the legal powers of titular executive pass, It means that legally he does not havepny powers but in practice exercises ail tfnepowers vested in the titular head. In England, the Queen andin India, the President are the titular chiefs and in both the countries the real executive is the cabinet headed by the Prirne Minister. In countries like the USA, the President is the real chief executive, as the powers legally vested in him are also exercised by him independently. Single and Plural Chief Executives In countries where parliamentary system of government prevails, the real chief executive is the cabinet which is a plural body. Thc body comprises the Prime Minister and other ministers. The Prime Minister works on the advice of his ministers. Unlike this, the chief executive in the Presidential system of government (like in the USA) is: single individual, the President. Though he functions under the system of separatiom of powers and checks and balances, he takes his decisions in an independent manner. VARIOUS TYPES OF LOCAL CHIEF EXECUTIVES The type of executives discussed so far are present at the Union or Central level. Besides these, there are various executives at other levels, the study of which is also important. The local executive, assumes different forms in different countries and is variously designated. It can be single or plural, political or administrative, elective or . re-elective. The executive shares two types of powers and functions: political and administrative. The local executive can be classified as single executive when political authority is vested in a single person. The American, the European and the Japanese Mayors, the Indian Chairman of Zila Parishads and of Panchayat Samitis are examples of single and strong political executives. The plural executive consists of a group of individuals, one of whom is chosen as its chairman. The plural type is illustrated by the committee system of executive under the English local bodies. ‘ Apart from the political executives, at the other end of the spectrum are the municipal commissioners/the chief executive officers in the district development officers of Indian local authorities, the city managers of the USA and the chief executives of the U.K. They offer effective administrative leadership, sharing some executive powers which are political in character. Thus the local executives, may be political on the one hand and non-political, official or expert on the other: The American mayor, the committees of the English local bodies and the heads of the English local bodies are. political. There are executives who are primarily administrative like the American city manager and chief executive[2] officers of looal authorities in India, who are appointed by the State government. There are local executives who are strong, others which are weak. The involvement of thk executive in administration also makes it a strong executive. Its relationship with the local council is another factor which determines the position and status of the executive. It can be said,that an effective local executive can be one that combines ‘ . strong political leadership with professional leadership. But the Indian’rural local authorities are provided with strong leadership both in politics and administration with two separate positions present i.e, politician and professional administrator. In India, the city municipal corporations which are known for effective administrative leadership with the Municipal Commissioner as their chief administrator, suffer from ineffective political leadership as the executive authority is dispersed among various municipal authorities. FUNCTIONS OF THE CHIEF EXECUTIVES The chief executive is the head of the country and in that capacity have far reaching legislative, executive and judicial powers granted by the Constitution of the country. Besides him there are numerous lesser chief executives at the state and local levels who also have to perform various legislative, executive and judicial functions in their respective areas. The nature and quantity of functions keep changing at every level. In companies or corporations the chief executive has the important task of interpreting the policy of the Board of Directors to the rest of the management and the general public. He has to ensure that policies and programmes laid down by the board of directors have been understood by all the employees. He has to devise the various procedures of organisation and determine its structure. The chief executive, at any level has a dual role to play i.e. political as well as administrative. Political Functions The source of political power under democracy is primarily the people themselves and secondarily the legislature which is the representative body of the people. The chief executive obtains his office through the votes of his people. It means that the office of the chief executive is the end-result of apolitical process. For executive discharge of the duties of his office and proper working of the administration, the chief executive needs the support of the legislature and the people. Therefore, he must always work for winning :he support of the legislature and the electorate. The chief executive has to perform his[3] activities by keeping in view the public interest as well as the interest of the nation. Administration cannot run smoothly unless there is interaction between the people and the administration. Thus, political management is one of the most important functions of the chief executive. we mentioned earlier, chief executive also exits at other levels e.g., in public organisations, private enterprises etc. At these levels too, the chief executive has an important political role to perform. In actual practice, the chief executive in a parliamentary form of government performs many functions which the head or heads of the public or private organisation (which ran be a general manager, managing director or a secretary) perform. The executive in a parliamentary system is controlled by the legislature and in an organisation it is controlled by the Board of Directors. Even though the chief executive in public organisations, is not a result of political process. he has to interact with peoplc, press etc., to run the organisation. He mobilises the efforts of the personnel to achieve organisational goals. This means that political role of a chief executive is very crucial and he cannot avoid it, whether it is at the national level, state level or local levels. His political function of galvanising the entire administration to action in pursuit of the accepted goals and objectives and winning the people’s support and consent thus assumes importance. Administrative Functions The chief executive has to perform a number of administrative functions. Luther Gullick sums up these functions in thc acronym POSDCORB, which has been referred to in the earliar units. Marshall Dinlock summarises these function is none sentence: â€Å"He is a trouble shooter, a supervisor and a promoter of the future programme†. We will now discuss the major functions of the chief executive in some detail. F’orrnulation of Administrative. Policy One of the major functions of the chief executive is the determination and formulation of administrative policy. He issues a number of specific policy directions, written or oral, which enable the administrative officers to perform their duties in a proper manner. They actually serve as a guide to administration. Thc chief executive is consulted by the departmental heads and other administrative officers on certain important and controversial matters. His ability and personality has close bearing on administrative efficiency. The Iegislature only enacts laws in general terms. The executive fills them with details to make then fit for application. Deciding the Details of Organisation The legislature provides for the establishment of main units of organisation, like[4] departments, commissions and corporations for the implementation of various laws. But the details of internal organisation are to be filled in by the chief executive. Thc chief executive can also create new administrative agencies or reorganise the existing ones. The chief executive also prescribes, how the operating personnel shall perform certain or all of their duties. Thus the chief executive authorises the structure of the organisation. Issuing Directives, Proclamations, Orders etc. In order to make any decision really meaningful, it is necessary to convert it into effective action, which the chief executive achieves by directing. The chief executive issues directives, proclamations, orders etc. to make the administrative activities conform to the statutory provisions, directives, circulars etc. and to help in bringing about uniformity in the behaviour of people involved in the implementation of policies and programmes. The kind and number of directives, orders etc. issued by the chief executive sets up the tone of the adminristration.He has to direct the personnel to start or stop or modify an activity.. Appointment and Removal of Personnel It is the responsibility of the chief executive to see that the heads of different Departments perform their duties sincerely and efficiently. Hence he also has the power to select the officers. In almost all the countries the chief executive makes appointments to higher offices. In India, all important appointments such as that of State Governors, Ambassadors, Chief Justice and Judges of the Supreme Court and State High Courts, the Attorney General, the Chairman and members of the Union Public Service Commission are made by the chief executive. Recruitment of administrators to other ranks is made by Public Service Commission on the basis of competitive examinations. So even where merit system of recruitment normally prevails, key appointments are made by the chief executive. In public and private organisations, key appointments are made by the chief executive. The recruitment of personnel is done under his supervision and with his due consent. The chief executive also has the power of dismissal or demotion of public servants, if he finds it necessary in the interests of administrative efficiency. Dismissals are subject to certain constitutional arrangements. In the removal of personnel of the lower cadre he is guided by the Civil Service Rules. Coordination of Various Executive Activities Modern administration consists of various departments, commissions, divisions and sections each performing a specialised part of the function. In order to create unity in[5] this huge mass of diversified activities, a very high degree of coordination and integration is needed. The chief executive has to bring harmony, settle conflicts and guard against overlapping and duplication in administrative activities. For this, he may create inter-departmental committees .and other coordinating agencies at various levels. Thus coordination is one of the most important functions of the chief executive. It is his foremost duty to see that numerous activities undertaken by several departments in implementation of a particular policy lead to fulfilment of administrative goals.

Border security issues (week 3) Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 1

Border security issues (week 3) - Essay Example Of course this shows that the Mexican public had little confidence with the police handling border security issues. In the midst of all these hardships, there is hope for radical transformation on the horizon, with the onset of a new government. Under the new leadership of the new President Enrique Peà ±a Nieto, perhaps there might be changes. During the Mexican Election campaigns Peà ±a Nieto ran for president on promises that he would end the drug wars and promote police reforms. Currently, it may be too early to determine whether the new administration is doing something to promote reforms in the Mexican police departments. This is because the Mexican public has lost faith in police the police in Mexico. It is no secret that the police force has committed so many atrocities and violated human rights. The expression that Rome was not created in one day plays a significant role in Mexico’s problems. For the new administration to change this trend there is more to do than just introducing police reforms. The operational policies and procedures in police departments need to change. The training and development of officers also needs to change into a system that encourages officers who are not corrupt (Adams, 2006). Increasing reward systems in the force may also aid in promoting the officers to deliver the right services. It will promote the general police force image from a brutal force to one that is professional and fair, thereby resulting to more respect from the Mexican

Debating Public Policy Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Debating Public Policy - Essay Example However, the role of such organizations has been largely unnoticed since they fund advocacy groups (Weissert, Knott, 1995, Pp. 275). The policy process can play a significant role in safeguarding minority rights which involve protection of basic human rights such as freedom of speech and expression, freedom to choose and follow religion of choice and beliefs, freedom of seeking equal protection under the law, and the liberty to participate with equal strength and vigor in the public life of the society. The protection of rights of minorities is essential to the governments and policy makers to enable them to substantiate the cultural identity of the minorities as well as their social practices and traditions. The minorities may involve people belonging to ethnic backgrounds, following different religious beliefs and customs, as well as those who are geographically located in areas where their community is less in number, and differentiated on the basis of their income. Such groups are encouraged to participate in the policy making process to facilitate smoother functioning of governmental organizations and to mai ntain national and political integrity (America.gov, 2008). The prime objective of any public decision process revolves around protection of their individual as well as collective rights through promoting welfare of their society. The choice of an appropriate and suitable public policy is the key to bringing about the desired reforms and facilitating implementation of the policies that promote and initiate welfare and overall socio –economic development of their societies. The establishment of a customary perception is assisted by increased familiarity of the social fabric of the community at large. The heightened knowledge about the existence of pre requisites which hampers the social life in a complicated metropolitan environment is reflective of conflict (Cohnstaedt, 1966,

Marketing Article Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 5750 words

Marketing - Article Example In very much the same way, the article in question analyzes the means by which thou you based marketing can be used in pharmaceuticals to ensure that long-term ability to innovate and value is not lost. Moreover, the article indicates that the pharmaceutical firms have suffered a great deal with regards to public image in the past three years as exorbitantly high prices have not been able to integrate correctly with the simplistic definition about you based marketing which is as follows: value= benefit/cost. Naturally, an understanding of value-based marketing that would seek to promote a level of continued good or service availability and favorable consideration would necessarily place a positive and larger value of benefit once the entire equation has worked out. In much the same way, the article seeks to engage the consumer of pharmaceuticals in a way that actively promotes a â€Å"language of value†. Although pharmaceuticals has been used as the case in point for this part icular article review, the fact of the matter is that any and every product must engage in value-based marketing if it intends on its product or service offerings to continually be integrated with in a positive manner by the consumer base.... As the article indicates, Apple chose to engage with the Indian subcontinent by selling their otherwise highly expensive mobile devices through a series of Apple backed finance plans. Rather than engaging any other financial institutions in securing such short-term financial obligations, Apple Inc. the cited that a far better approach would be to offer such financing options in house as a means of engaging tens and even hundreds of thousands of potential clients that otherwise would not have the discretionary income to afford an outright purchase of their device. With this illustrates is that a firm which is able to integrate into specific markets utilizing specific tools is invariably able to experience a higher degree of success and longevity than one who uses a rather formulaic and unimaginative market penetration strategy that is not based on the dynamics of the needs of the region/socioeconomic situation in question. Chapter 3: Ethics in Marketing http://www.marketingmagazine.co .uk/article/1184004/understanding-britains-upmarket-ethical-consumers Although it might be nice to imagine that firms engage in ethical marketing merely due to the fact that it is the right thing to do, the fact of the matter is that this ordinarily takes place only as a means of generating further profitability. It doesn’t take a great deal of imagination to recall any of the major companies in the world advertising that they are engaging in ethical work as a means of providing what many market colleges refer to as a â€Å"warm fuzzy† feeling within the end consumer. However, the particular article in question, Understanding Britain’s Upmarket Ethical Consumers† details the means by which firms that engage in ethical marketing can reap a verifiably and statistically higher

Allowing Mobile Devices In The Office Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

Allowing Mobile Devices In The Office - Essay Example Purpose The purpose of the report is to establish whether veteran affairs will allow or reject introduction of mobile device by offices. Summary has to be made on the different devices that can be allowed and their use in the organization. Scope The scope of introduction of mobile phones should extend to only those devices that are used in organizations. The devices mostly looked at are the mobile phones, laptops and tablets. The devices use should affect the working conditions of the workers. The devices covered are discussed below. Mobile phone Almost every worker in the office environment owns a mobile phone. Critiques argue allowing workers use their mobile phone in the office premises will lower productivity. These devices give voice and data communication ability. Their portability reason can allow easier location of workers. Businesses which allow workers to use their mobile phones have policy on which place to use devices. This reduces the possibility of workers making noise to others when talking on their mobile phones. The veteran affairs should set up locations where people can use their mobile phones in the offices. This will cut stress on worker and increasing on productivity (Anindya, 2007). Laptop and Notebooks These devices are almost replacing the desktop computers in the offices. Workers like them because of their high processing speed and flexibility. Modern laptops are blue tooth and Wi-Fi enabled. This enables them to connect to the institutions network. Use of personal laptops in the workplace should be controlled but not eliminated. The veteran affairs can set up policies on access limitation using these devices. People who would like to use these devices have to join the domain of the institution. This will enable them save every work carried... This paper approves that there is a greater assumption that after introduction of mobile devices in different offices workers will follow principles that will be laid down by the veteran authority. The introduction of mobile devices in the organization will require change of infrastructure to accommodate them. It is assumed organizations will have financial capability to buy this technology. In reality most organizations work with a constrained budget which would not allow them make any provision for such changes. Managers are the most influential people in organization. Manager’s refusal to take up the new technology will lead to juniors rejecting introduction of the new technology. The assumption is that they will accept the technology without any resistance. Workers comfort ability plays a major role in their production. Providing workers with the most recent technology in their working place increases their optimism. The optimistic atmosphere making them feels the need of being associated with the institution. Workers who are using portable devices feel as if no one is watching. This report makes a conclusion that there are many benefits associated with portable device. These benefits make it necessary to introduce them in the working environment. The veteran affairs should allow their use but with some limitation to eradicate misuse. Focus on improving working conditions of workers and service delivery to the public. The other measure is educating workers on the benefit of using those devices in the right way. Education will cut resistance from worker because of change in the working environment.

Religion and Secularism Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words - 1

Religion and Secularism - Essay Example In one sense Secularism is understood as the case of absence of religion and in other sense as treating all religions equally. Thus, it is difficult enough to define secularism according to a single ideal and social, political and cultural conditions define the secularism in a particular context and area. The afore-mentioned aspect points out the origins of secularism from religion. As one of the concepts in understanding secularism is to oppose the religion in at least until some extent, the concept developed from religious context. Though the secularism has origins in religion, it is a political and social movement and retains a philosophical aspect. In many contexts, the philosophy is to oppose religion and this resulted in different type of applications of it in different situations. However, in any type of understanding the secularism a common opposition to supernatural and faith in god will exist. The concept of secularism and secularization differ as the secularization questio ns the role of religion in society and argues for sphere of knowledge. Thus in the course of questioning the religion, secularization opposes the presence of religious authorities and opposes their public authority. As a result, it catches criticism from the opponents of secularism or religious minded people. One of the important opposition is regarding favoring of explicitly basis for politics at the cost of another religion, which generally happens in developing countries like India, Pakistan and Gulf countries.

Generating electricity Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Generating electricity - Assignment Example Most of the energy is generated in large power stations located too far from where the energy is in use. Therefore, they rely on the importation of energy so as to meet the increasing demand. Electricity is imported from New Zealand, which is characterized by a series of generation plants, and transported to the region through the national grid (David 2002). Natural gas from Taranaki is piped via a series of underground gas pipes and lines, whereas, petrol and aviation fuel produced at Marsden Point Refinery is conveyed to the county via a single pipe. Auckland portrays strong energy demand since the war characterized by high costs of transportation of fuel, increasing reliance on imported energy and low resilience towards altering energy supplies. The council has recognized that Auckland’s continued dependence on imported energy and the lengthy supply chains will pose risks to the future energy security of the country. Therefore, they must appropriately manage their energy so urces by ensuring proper land use decisions are made on the understanding of the current peak oil demand, and the perception of the climate change. Implications of Erecting Additional Transmission Lines The need to invest in the national grid For Auckland wellbeing and continuous economic performance, a secure energy source and supply is required. All the families and business in the region rely on the existence of a dependable energy supply in the form of electricity, gas or in other form. There is a high likelihood of Auckland’s demand for energy to rise in the future. Therefore, Transpower has to ensure that there are sufficient energy sources to meet the rising demand. Security of energy supply in Auckland has raised significant economic issues. There have been various challenges that have raised concern, for example, in 2006 extreme weather conditions lead to a failure at Otahuhu substation disrupting power supply to a large part of Auckland (Ray 2012). The majority of t he Auckland community needs the continuous supply of electricity. It is not only the residential and commercial markets that depend on electricity but also the entire activities of the country. The community’s public utility base or infrastructure relies on the uninterrupted supply of electricity. Other parts like water and waste treatment, schools, hospitals and ports heavily depend on electricity for efficient operation of their activities. Without electricity, the security and safety, health and environmental conditions are adversely compromised. Cost and funding implications Any project designed or implemented will experience and, therefore, meet some costs during the process, which will demand internal and external funding to complete the project as desired and fulfill all specifications and requirement expected. The choosing of a funding system will significantly affect the individual and state contribution to the share of the financial report. Although these effects ma y be negative, they also show the outcome levels achieved by the system, who receives formal support and the level of support given or received. Funding can be tendered by either private or public or both at the same time. Each system is always affected by both political and economical judgments (Sowell 2011). In choosing a funding system, the first criterion is to assess the performance of available

Intercultural Communications Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Intercultural Communications - Essay Example This study operated on two essential aspects of international and non-international friendships of students. The scores based on intercultural attitudes and multicultural personality characteristics. The irony of the study regards the fact that students who had international friendships had low scores of intercultural interaction conception. It is vital to note that the study had a limited number of varieties to participants. This regards the fact that USA is an extensive area of varieties of cultural attitudes. For instance, there are schools that are located in rural areas. They differ from those that are located in town areas. The research group should have noted this and integrate varied data from different cultural scenarios. There are considerable and varied reactions to international students. For comprehensive information about cross-cultural interactions, research needs different contexts of intercultural friendships (Williams and Johnson 43). This is essential in eliminatin g barriers to comprehensive results. However, the research had a unique articulation. This regarded the fact that it based its theme on host attitudes, to international friendships. This was different from the familiar perspective of researching on international students, perceptions of their social scenarios. ... There were three hypotheses that based on this. To begin with, students, who had no international friendships, would have low emotional and cultural empathy. In addition, they would have low scores on open-mindedness and flexibility. Additionally, US students with no international friendships would have high scores on racism and related concepts of intolerance and emotional instability. Lastly, students, who had international friendships, would highly score on intercultural experiences and activities. The first hypothesis was the same to the result that stated of international friendships. It stated that students, who had international friendships, scored highly on open-mindedness. It is vital to note that the concept, of open-mindedness, is crucial for cross-cultural interactions. This is consistent with previous findings that state the same. In this sense, individuals, who are open-minded, have less inclination towards withdrawing themselves from other ethnic groups. The scores, of open-mindedness, are core elements of determining prejudice and intolerance. In this sense, highly open-minded individuals would have greater experience in inter-cultural communication and general interaction. As regards level of apprehension in communication, the results confirmed the second hypothesis. In this sense, students, who had international friendships, reported low apprehension in multi-cultural scenarios. This means that such students had low anxiety in cross-cultural scenarios because they had more experiences in the same. These findings are in line with the AUM theory that states of the same. It states that anxiety and apprehension

Safety Management Plan Implementation Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Safety Management Plan Implementation - Essay Example However it needs to be accepted in general. The service providers include authentic training organizations which are uncovered of safety risks throughout the stipulation of their services, aircraft providers, organizations liable for designing and manufacturing the aircrafts, approved maintenance organizations, and air traffic service providers. Apart from the aforementioned authorities certified aerodromes are also included (Fhwa, n.d.). Therefore the service providers should execute and implement a Safety Management System which is acknowledged by their respective state. The functions are as follows:- The main function is to identify the safety hazards related to it. It should ensure that corrective actions necessary to sustain a satisfactory level of safety must be implemented. This is also liable to provides continuous monitoring as well as regular appraisal of the safety level that has been achieved. It should also aim to make constant improvement to the overall level of safety and security. It should also promote an improved safety and security culture all through the organization. Realizing a return on Safety Management System investment through enhanced competence and abridged operational risk. Apart from the requirements of ICAO Safety Management Systems has been also incorporated into IATA Operational Safety Audit (IOSA). Implementation Plan It is an important factor to realize that the mentioned plan must only be used as a general guiding reference only. Therefore it can be customized according to the need. Etihad, the national airlines of United Arab Emirates will be chosen as the company where the Safety Management System action plan will be established. Now in the context of the company, a safety management system will be implemented in its overall infrastructure. This will ensure more safety and securities to the passengers availing Etihad airways (Etihad Airways, n.d.). The company is also focused in providing the best Arabic hospitality to the clients (Etihad Airways, n.d.). Safety Management Implementation plan of Etihad Airways Etihad Airways has developed its own Safety Management System in context with the United Arab Emirates’ Civil Aviation Law, recommendation of ICAO, CAR Part X, GCAA CAR-OPS 1.037, Federal and Emirate statutory requirements for health and safety and also from the suggestions by Abu Dhabi Health and Safety Regulatory Framework (ADEHSRF). Most of the elements required for formulating a Safety management system have been ascertained. Moreover it has been also linked with the supervision and control of the operations of the company. In Etihad Airways the establishment of SMS also took place to counter the existing dictatorial requirement and to establish according to the new requirements of the regulatory board. The safety management service of Etihad airways covers the following aspect:- Safety of the airport Industrial safety The safety of the aircraft and also its operation. The newly establ ished SMS of the company provides the methods to identify the perils and also offers ways to control and reduce it to an acceptable range. This will also help to determine whether the risk control tools are efficient or not. Furthermore the SMS sets the desired goals and performance levels for safety. It also seeks to develop safety culture within the organization, training and promotion system. Now the steps or the building blocks to implement SMS are suggested

Gothic Genre Explored in Tim Burtons Films Essay Example for Free

Gothic Genre Explored in Tim Burtons Films Essay

Corporate blogs and applications in the real world Essay Example for Free

Corporate blogs and applications in the real world Essay Different types of blogs have been posted in the internet ever since the adoption of different corporations in the late 1990’s. Corporate blogs however have different types in which each is branded according to the specific user or blogger. Dearstyne (2005) cites five different types of corporate blogs as: employee blog, group blog, executive blog, promotional blog, and newsletter blog. Employee blogs are blogs which are much like personal blogs and are maintained by a single rank-and-file employee. They vary in their content and are sometimes managed by different hosts which the corporations recognize. Although, often times, corporations gather all the blogs their employees post. Majority of employee blogs are still hosted independently of the Web site, employee blogs are increasingly being hosted independently of the company Web sit, employee blogs are increasingly being hosted on company-owned domains as more and more companies are officially sponsoring employee blogging. (Lee et. al. 2006, 319). Group Blogs are blogs which are written by several people or groups. Employees collaborate and write on a specific topic or different topics pertaining to a certain theme; they are made by those who are experts on the certain topics. Group blogs are sometimes made through the initiatives of employees themselves and self-hosted. Though, many group blogs are driven by strategic plans crafted by management and hosted by companies own Web sites (Lee et. al. 2006, 320). Executive Blogs, coming from the name itself, executive blogs are blogs which are written by various corporations’ executives. Corporations and consumers have been keener on what position blog writers are on as awareness about corporate standing is widespread. People have become more interested in top executives who run companies than in individual companies (Gaines-Ross 2000). Promotional blogs are those which primary purpose is to create a buzz about products and events of corporations. This blog however sparks controversy as most of the blogs which are promotional blogs are often times computer generated and is largely called as fake by some bloggers who remain critical about using blogspots as advertising media. The blogging community severely criticized this strategy as deceptive and bloggers even proposed product boycotts (Gallagher 2003). This case suggests that, marketing in the blogsphere is often times discouraged due to the lack of human voice in the ads which are placed in the blogsphere. Some corporations have moved from the traditional type of blog with a domain, and instead created a newsletter type of blog wherein opinions, thoughts, and positions of different corporate or organizational members are voiced out. They carry different information about the corporation, the people inside the corporation, and the corporation’s products which are widely discussed by members of the organization through the electronic newsletter. Sprague (2007) further explains the influence of blogs to the American society. There is an increasing number of both bloggers and blog readers each day. At present, the blog has already extended its influence to the business society. Blogs are reported to influence what people think, do and buy. By the summer 2005, it is estimated that there are nearly 5,000 corporate blogs. Nowadays, there are a number of companies who have already set up their own corporate blogs. Aside from the influx of bloggers, talking about anything and practically everything under the sun, in some countries wherein political turmoil is prominent and shouting against a regime could practically lose you your head. Blogspheres are considered as sanctuaries wherein anyone could voice off their thoughts. In Iran, the Blogsphere is one of the major mediums wherein the populace could voice out their political positions freely with minimal risk of persecution. Any foreigner who visits Iran is struck by the gap between the image projected by the regime to the outside world and the reality of Iranian society. The blogs quoted here vividly convey the bitter disillusionment many Iranians feel not just towards the hard-line mullahs, but toward the failed reformist project and its erstwhile leader (Berkeley 2006, 73). The safeness and freedom of the blogosphere from any political and other accusations which may arise from its use due to the arbitrariness of the policies governing the blogosphere may be seen as an advantage of corporate personalities in advertising and the diffusion of their advocacy especially in corporate social responsibility. The benefit for the corporate blogs is obviously gathered: 1. Corporate blogs are great for search engine marketing 2. Corporate blogs build and brands your company to be a thought leader in your industryÃ'Ž 3. Corporate blogs are great crisis handlers; Blogs give you the power to publish at an instant. With a blog, companies do not need to write a full article and then send them through the traditional media to be published 24 hours later. Everything is instant. This makes the blog a very powerful update tool 4. Corporate blogs help to engage customers in conversation, and help in building relationships 5. Corporate blogs help to put a human voice to a company 6. Corporate blogs help you show the world that you have nothing to hide 7. Customer service and feedback, corporate blog as a direct communications channel, blogs provide an avenue for your to solicit feedback from your customers, and understand their needs. 8. Corporate Blogs are a differentiator, Well, this may change, but judging from the corporate websites I see today, I would say at least 80% are there because they need website. A blog pulls you over your competitors and makes you different. At least, your website presence is different. 9. Blogging encourages you to find out what others are talking about youÃ'Ž

Place Branding And Sustainable Development Marketing Essay

Place Branding And Sustainable Development Marketing Essay According to Tasci and Kozak, as an interdisciplinary area, tourism borrows and applies many aspects from other areas of inquiry; branding is one of them from the field of marketing (p.300). This chapter is to examine the discipline that encompasses literature on the place branding. It is comprised of two parts. The first part concerns with place branding and its branding initiatives, and the second part is regarding the brand image formation process of tourism destination that leads to sustainable growth of the tourism industry. This literature review is divided into several sections. It begins with a general discussion of place marketing, following on with a clear distinction regarding the term place brand and the term place branding from a marketing perspective. Moreover, place branding will be examined to illustrate the relationship of branding and in tourism literature, with various place branding context such as brand identity, brand image and brand equity. Marketing of a Place Marketing of a place is defined as a strategic planning procedures attempted by places brand developers with the objectives of satisfying the variety needs of target markets (Kotler et al, 1999). Market-a-place is able to give positive contribution to the economy of a country. However, there is a shifting from rather narrow view of economic development to broader set of strategies and plans since the past few decades (Govers Go, 2009). These strategies are aimed at attracting new businesses, strengthen traditional culture of a country, developed global trade, build tourism industry and target local and foreign investors from outside the country (Kotler et al, 2008). Furthermore, some places have transformed their informal economic campaigns into highly targeted, stylish marketing strategies aimed at building competitive markets within diverse consumer segments, targeting specific buyers, and positioning the communitys resources in order to respond to the specific buyers needs and wa nts (Maheshwari et al, 2011). Hence, many countries aim to promote economic growth by improving their physical infrastructure with high technology facilities, thereby upgrade the place image which in turn brings in more business opportunities and growth. Moreover, marketing a place is not considered to be more than just carrying out few promotional activities, but it involves specific planning initiatives that is designed to encourage the processes that would further increase a place identity and profile, therefore attractive more new inward investments, improving the infrastructure and strengthening the public and private sector services. As a result, developing an effective place marketing strategies is now considered to be the important focal point to local economic development plans (Walker, 2000). Place Brand Place brand is the peoples perception about a place, region or a country; and also the reputation of a place among those people that the place embraces (Anholt, 2005). Place brand is considered complex and multi-dimensional construct with constantly changing reputation as people will have different perceptions of a place; no matter from residents, investors or visitors. According to Anholt (2005), place brand is various individual perceptions and beliefs which coincide at some point but may have different point of view from others. Gold (2006) explain that place brand is residual perception left in the mind of recipient regarding a place after encountering its various facets either through their own experience, expose towards the media, through word-of-mouth or from purchasing of goods and services. Likewise, the worlds marketplace is currently going through the phase of globalisation. According to Kotler and Gerner (2004), place brand is considered an important requirement because of the advancement of technology, and increase mobility of people and resource in this 21st century. Moreover, the advance brand theories of city marketing, nation branding and destination marketing (Anholt, 2004) such as those applied specifically to countries, destinations, regions and cities have been developed to increase their respective images. Largely, this has been achieved by nurturing the tangible and intangible assets of a place, such as culture and heritage, aborigine architecture, local skills, prosperous communities and investments for good future growth. Place brand is thus a process that will facilitate the creation of the most realistic and most compelling strategic vision for a city, region or country (Placebrands, 2006). This is to ensure that a place can get appreciation that it deserves for its existent strengths and positive attributes and behaviours, and that the place brand gains appropriate brand equity from the recognition which those behaviours bring (Keller, 2008). Also, place brand provides a far broader spectrum of research areas if compared to those associated purely with conventional brand management, and brand strategy. It has attracted interest from the areas of sociology, history, national identity, geography and politics. Nevertheless, place brand still remains as an area that is still predominantly practitioner-led and where academic research-led knowledge has been slow to accumulate, although greater interest from academics is now beginning to develop. Place Branding The concept of place branding is consisting of many parts and elements, which requires an in-depth analysis of the literature. As such, to define the term place is essential for this research. According to Buhalis (2000), place is considered as an amalgams of tourism products, which can offer an integrated experience to the people (p.97). As a result, a place is something of like products and experiences that are available rather than geographical scale and cultural diversity. So a place can be comprised of a wide variety of diverse attributes which it can be called as a city, a country or a continent. Hu and Ritchie (1993) explained that a tourism place is a package of tourism facilities and services in which like any other consumers product or service, is composed of a number of multidimensional attributes that together determine its attractiveness to a particular individual in a given choice of situation (p.26). Indeed, a tourism place is much subjected to different individual per ceptions and thus there is a need for differentiation and competitiveness transpires. As a result, the ability to attract the tourists attention to a particular place and to spark their curiosity can be achieved by the means of place branding. Meanwhile, Hankinson (2004) defined branding in the context of a place brand as the built environment in which the various services forming part of the core brand take place (p.117). Another author Fan (2006) argued that nation branding is concern with applying branding and marketing communications techniques in order to promote a nations image (p.6). Further explanation from this author is that place branding is to promote the country or city as a destination for tourism (Fan, 2006, p.7). As a matter of fact, wide definitions have been suggested for place branding due to lack of agreement among academics (Pike, 2008). Regardless of the wide array of place branding definitions within the academic literature, place branding can best describe in this research as : (a) the set of marketing activities that support the creation of name, logo or other graphic that can identify and differentiate a place; (b) a brand that can give a memorable travelling experience that is associated with that place; (c) activities that can serve to create a branding image that positively influences consumer choice of destination (Blain et al, 2005). To differentiate a place from the rest of the competitors is a key function of a place branding. The ability to capture the attention of potential tourist to a place and to foster an emotional connection between the individual and destination is essential element of brand effectiveness (Morgan Pritchard, 2004). According to Nickerson and Moisey (1999), showing the feelings and emotions in place marketing campaigns will capture the attention of consumers, but not all will have the same feeling and perceptions. Rather than capture the feeling of consumer through photo, it would be more effective to provide visual image with feature such as mountain or sea that will allow the consumer to have the sense of relaxation, physical challenge or spirituality. To enhance successful connection between customer emotion and that particular place, a place brand must be deliverable, differentiating, conveying powerful ideas and must be enthusing for stakeholders, especially the consumer. As a resul t, if a place has the capable to market itself through positive image building, it will help to differentiate itself among other places that offering the same characteristics (Cai, 2002). Further explanation from Moilanen and Rainisto (2009) is that strong national brand must not only attract business and investments, it must also help to promote the goals of the tourism industry that will strengthen the national identity. Moilanen and Rainisto (2009) identified that brand development process takes a long period of time with time span of five to ten years, due to the numerous steps involved in the process; this include: (a) start-up and organise, (b) research stage, (c) forming brand identity, (d) making execution and enforcement plan, and (e) implementation and follow up. One of the critical elements of place brand is positioning. Positioning is establishing an image for a product or service in relation to others in the marketplace (Hudson, 2005, p.54). To attain competitive advantage in the marketplace, three steps under positioning are needed to be followed: product differentiation, prioritising and selecting the competitive advantage, and communication and delivering the position. Moreover, Pike (2008) noted the three core positioning elements for a place, including the place name, the symbol and the positioning slogan (p.299). These are important as they represent something good about a place and that help to differentiate the product from the competitors. Yet, brand logo is important as it is the visual representation of a product, service, company or a place that is being advertised. Logo should be able to achieve product identification and differentiation, as well as to raise consumer awareness and enhance recognition (Blain et al, 2005; Hender son et al, 2003). In relation to introducing a place to consumers, the logo should attract and stimulate the interest of consumer and influence destination of choice (Blain et al, 2005). Place Brand Identity According to Cai (2002), brand identity is often regarded as a missing link between branding and image building, meaning that image building does not consider the identity. In fact, Olins (2002) argued that despite of changing country names and political contexts, for example, nations have always been engaged in building their identities. Morgan et al (2002) claimed that brand thus represents the identity of a place and is likely to be relevant across markets being the core of the proposition of a country. Hankinson (2004) explained that the destination brand core, which represents an identity of a place, include a statement of brand personality, positioning and brand reality. According to Morgan et al (2002), sometimes brand identity and brand personality is termed as the same. However, Ekinci and Hosany (2006) claimed that brand personality is dealing with human traits and thus is different from identity. Research on tourism has traditionally drawn from economic and cultural geography. Approaches inspired by cultural geography view identity as an essence of nationhood or community (Palmer, 1999; Ballesteros Ramirez, 2007). Sometimes, marketing and culturally inspired approaches to identity may seem contradictory, because some perspectives see branding as a sense of place, detracting from a countrys essence and superficially commodifying nationhood. However, both of these approaches seem to view identity as a reality of a destination or restricted as an expression of a brand personality (Cornelissen Harris, 2001). Drawing from identity discussions in marketing and organisational literature, the attempts to a more holistic aspect towards destination identity have occurred. According to Berry (2000), brand identity is not only customers dominant perceptions of the brand, but also constructed in an ongoing relationship with the brand, and adding meaning or value to the consumer. Tourists and also residents defined meanings of places by being at places, by consuming and by interacting with others at the place and thereby forming a social communication system (Snepenger et al, 2004). Williams et al (2006) explained that brand identity is determined by the visitors values and how well they align with the experiences that they have encountered. This view emphasises visitors perspective as the source of place brand identity. To conclude, these approaches seem to view a place identity being not something that a destination has but something that will engage in social interaction. In the corporate identity studies, the focus has expanded to employees and other stakeholders besides the customers (He Balmer, 2007). Leitch and Richardson (2003) claimed that the understanding of stakeholders towards the organisation identity is continuously evolving in an unpredictable process and thus corporate brand is considered to be the outcome of an interactive process with stakeholders. Stakeholders may not only involving customers or visitors but also local people, associations, politicians etc. Hence, place identity is identified as originating in the interaction by all components, characteristics and stakeholders of a place. Moreover, in the branding context, place identity and brand identity are in identical context, as customer-centric view sees the place brand identity as a perceptual entity in the customers mind, and the destination-centric view defines brand identity in terms of how the brand owners want the brand to be seen (Kavaratzis Ashworth, 2006). Place Brand Image How people perceive a country or a specific region is developed based on individual basis. As such, how perceived images can be created will solely depends on personal beliefs and demographic factors. According to Pike (2008), the research area related to place image has been studied in the literature of tourism in more than 30 years. Richardson and Crompton (1988) claimed that place image is dictated through income and is reflected towards the attributes of vacation. Kozak (2002) noted a variety of factors that may have influence on choice of destination in terms of place image income, age, personality, distance, risk and motivation. Further research is that people perception towards place image will be influence by information source from various media outlets. From the advertising perspective, the challenge would be to capture images that most likely enhancing an image of that particular destination, motivation towards purchase decision and induce visitation (Butler Bennett, 200 8). Anholt (2004) explained that in order to develop an individuals perception of a place will be depending upon six areas, based on National Brand Hexagon: tourism, exports, governance, investment and immigration, culture heritage, and people. Therefore, how a tourist perceives a place is not only influenced by information sources, but will also influenced by the policies and national identity of that country. There are broad ranges of meanings for the term image and the concepts of place image have been introduced within the academic literature (Cai, 2002; Gali Donaire, 2005; Goodall, 1992). The American Marketing Association (2009) defined brand image as how a brand is perceived in the mind of a consumer, and it is what consumers think, feel and expect about a product. Consequentially, emotional connection in between people and the projected product image is interrelated that will influence their buying behaviour. With regards to image of a place rather than a tangible product, the term place image is defined by Buhalis (2000) as what a traveller expect and perceive towards a destination or a place. Cai (2002) noted that place image are subjective introspections that are held in the mind of the visitor and that illustrate the complexity of a place brand which requires the need to market specific attributes in order to reduce further ambiguity by tourists. To go to a larger extent, the i mage formation process can be further influence by a promoted place personality. According to Ekinci and Hosany (2006), a place personality is the set of human characteristics in accordance to a place as perceived by tourist rather than from a local resident viewpoint. It is important to identify the personality traits of visitor as there are possible emotional connection between tourist and a particular place. It can be argued that there is a possibility that the place image can be perceived differently based on the type of traveller involved in. For example, a perception of a place by business tourists may have different perceptions by adventure tourists towards a particular place. Added by Bigne et al (2001) is that image will influence a tourist in the process of choosing a stay, the subsequent evaluation of that stay and his or her future intentions of whether he or she will come back to the place again. As a result, place image has a significant function as a place can influen ce the tourist prior to travel, throughout travel by means of their behaviour, and upon return after their travel experience. Regardless of the place brand being marketed, a place image is often changed by personal stereotypes, past experiences or word-of-mouth. Therefore, even though different types of tourist might view a place differently, it is still an integral part for a place to have the initiative to market the place effectively; as this will minimise unsecure feeling among the potential tourists and enhance the identity of that place. Place Brand Equity In the economic context, brand equity is a term defined as the brand value as determined by the consumers, usually in a measurement of performance (Aaker Biel, 1993; Pike, 2008). Brand equity is usually comprised of five assets name awareness, perceived quality, brand associations, brand loyalty and other proprietary brand assets (Asker Biel, 1993). How successful a product or service will be looking at brand equity, as it is considered the last stage in branding process; whereby consumers will be loyal to that particular product or service in long-term period of time. However, for place branding, especially in the tourism context, the measurement of product brand equity as mentioned earlier is ineffective due to the intangibility of the brand itself; as a result, consumer-based brand equity (CBBE) was introduced. CBBE is termed as the differential effect of brand knowledge on consumer response to the marketing of the brand, and is made up of two underlying attributes brand aware ness and brand image (Keller, 1993, p.8). However, Pike (2008) suggested another four attributes for CBBE: brand awareness, brand associations, brand resonance and brand loyalty. It can be explained that brand equity is depending on how consumers are aware of the brand itself (brand awareness), as what the previous researchers have agreed upon. Essentially, increased brand awareness and having positive image will lead to increase consumers choice and lastly to increase tourist arrivals due to effective marketing of the brand (Keller, 1993). More likely, tourist will revisit the place again in the future and spread good things about the place. Added by this researcher is that there are two different approaches to measuring CBBE, namely the indirect and direct approach. The indirect approach attempts to assess potential source of CBBE through brand knowledge measurement, while the direct approach attempts to measure CBBE more directly by assessing the brand knowledge of consumer throu gh responses of different elements of marketing program. Hence, consumers ability to be able to recognise with a place brand and make associations is a determinant of how effective is the marketing campaign. Aaker (1991) explained that there are 11 types of brand associations: product attributes, intangibles, customer benefits, price, application, customer, celebrity, lifestyle/personality, product class, competitors and country/geographical area (p.114). These associations can help the consumer to relate the brand to specific attributes, therefore increasing brand awareness and to recall the brand information. As a result, the greater the ability consumer can make these associations, the greater likelihood that success can be placed on the marketing initiatives. Place Branding and Sustainable Development Campbell (1996) claimed that sustainable development is comprises of elusive elements that represent three areas: development, property and resource conflicts of conventional planning strategy, around which are the key planning goals such as economic growth, social harmony, employment and financial relief and environmental protection. As such, sustainable development involves reformation and restricting of local economic and political policies to regeneration and planning activities all with the aim to have success growth in the future. Meanwhile, to achieve ongoing local development from a places perspective is to consider hosting large events (Andranovich et al, 2001) such as Olympic through the mega-event strategy, like South Korea (1988), Australia (2000) or China (2008). Studies on places that had hosted or were about to host these games had provide to provide some direct benefits such as infrastructure development, improved economical and political support. This can show that such mega-events can have positive impacts on brand image and the ability to increase future economic growth of a place that leads to sustainable development of the place. Nevertheless, there are few uncertainties associated with place branding campaigns (might be due to limited funding and tangible resources) which seek to have low raising awareness and limits the differentiation of place branding process to the mere propagation of logos and symbols (Hankinson, 2001). Added by him is that places that have successful attracting appropriate resources have however, successful in developing positive brand images; for instance, resources such as heritage and history and attractive place-specific facets. Generally, the development of positive brand images such as these has led to the successful transformation of several post-industrial cities, such as Seoul, Beijing, Bangkok into vibrant leisure and business tourism destinations which reflect sustainable development and continuous growth aspects (Ward, 1998). As such, there is very little evidence that place branding are essential drivers of sustainable development of a place. However, according to Pedersen (2004), there were few publications suggested there is a link between successful place branding and sustainability. For example, in a survey in 2002 commissioned by the Malaysian Tourism Promotion Board, Singapore was seen, by a broad selection of selection of travellers and tourist agents from USA, Japan, India, Germany, Australia, UK and Sweden as clean, modern and safe. Chinas dominant image and attraction was culture. Whereas Thailand had a brand image of exotic, fun and friendly people. Tourism as an Economic Development Tourism has contributed to the economic growth of a country, and is considered the most profit-making industry. Yet, the tourism market has the ability to transform an emerging place both positively and negatively. Tourism industry itself has variety of sub-sectors that can cater to different tourists demands. According to Hudson (2005), tourism is a powerful economic force that is able to provide employment, foreign exchange, income and tax revenue (p.4). This identifies that tourism development is a powerful tool for change and cause for rapid global transformation. The interest gained within the academia concerning tourism marketing and place branding is a preview of the importance of place differentiation. Clancy (1999) explained that when developing countries tend to promote tourism, they put into account by greater integration into worlds economy, leading to direct economic and political effects on the region. With that, the contribution of tourism to the worlds economy will en courage place marketing organisations to become more innovation in their advertisement in order to attract more tourist arrivals. As a result, the importance of place branding and marketing campaigns are vital in this growing global competition. Moreover, the needs of a community are reflected in marketing policies which contributes to the economic development. To achieve this, creative strategies need to be memorable in the market the area and to encourage travel so as to gain economic benefits of tourism, for example, a study of competitive advantage of Oresund region using place branding as tool (Pederson, 2004), and the case of New Zealands tourism development (Ryan Zahra, 2004). As a result, sustainable development is still considered vital in increasing the number of tourists into a country, modernising the infrastructure and encourage more inward investments. Sarawak Tourism Industry Sarawak is situated in the Borneo Island and is part of the state of Malaysia. It is considered the largest state in Malaysia, and is considered an adventure land covered with a dense rainforest, and jungle-clad hills. Sarawak is a destination that usually provides unique products and experiences to visitors who come to Sarawak. According to Sarawak Tourism Board (2011), Sarawak is the place for history, mystery, romance and exotic adventures. Sarawak tourism started from the cultural tradition and heritage from different ethnic groups in Sarawak which successfully attract visitors to come. This ancient rainforest land is a home to 27 ethnic groups, whereby these people have their own language, lifestyle and culture. Apart from that, Sarawaks treasure of natural wonders is best appreciated in its many protected national parks and ancient rainforests like alluring caves and exotic wildlife. Its protected national parks are sanctuary to rare flora and fauna, such as Orang-utans, probos cis monkey, mouse deer, and a variety of birds, with the famous protected wildlife like the hornbills (SEDC, 2010). One of the states most alluring attractions is the Mulu National Park, a UNESCO World Heritage Site featuring razor-sharp limestone pinnacles (UNESCO, 2012). According to the deputy minister of tourism, Datuk Dr. James Dawos Mamit, he said that there is still a need to come up with effective strategies to promote Sarawak. He encouraged those tourism players to be more active and work together so that Sarawak tourism can be successful in the South East Asia region. Besides that, due to lack of promotion in Sarawak tourism industry, the ministry has set up facilities like websites and fairs in order to promote tourism related products and packages. He also mentioned that industry players should make more effort on their part, citing the embarrassing brochures provide by some tour agencies because he observed that they are not giving good information towards specific destination (Bernama, 2011). In 2009, Minister of Urban Development and Tourism, Datuk Michael Manyi set the Sarawak tourism industry a target of 5 million visitors by 2011 (Press Collections, 2009). In association with the announcement of this target, the Sarawak Tourism Board initiated a Discover Sarawak campaign, with the aim to promote Sarawak to the rest of the world. Only 3.8 million outbound and inbound visitors came to Sarawak in 2011. Nevertheless, 3.3 million visitors had visited Sarawak in 2010 (Ministry of Tourism and Heritage Sarawak, 2011). This can be shown that the number of visitors has maintained at about 3 million visitors. Despite the increased marketing effort to attract a greater number of visitors and higher levels of visitor spend, a recent report (Borneo Talk, 2011) has found out that there is still a dominance of day visitors from the immediate surrounding area with low levels of associated visitor spend. Moreover, there is a perceived belief by local tourism industry that Sarawak suffe rs from lack of identity and low awareness by potential visitors, especially when compared with other similar but seemingly higher profile destinations, such as Sabah state. As such, Sarawak is frequently omitted from Malaysia travel features in the national press, despite the fact that Sarawak tourism players having embarked on a proactive public relations programme which included hosting a number of visits for travel writers. Although these visits have directly resulted in some positive press coverage in the media, Sarawak still appears to maintain a low profile. Added on is the statement made by the Malaysian Tourism Ministry where efforts had been made over the years to get more flights from international routes to Sarawak but with little progress (Borneo Post, 2012). This has shown that Sarawak has least number of international flights if compared to other states of Malaysia. This can be problematic in such a highly competitive market, as well as economic uncertainty. The question for Sarawak tourism government is why some countries which has the same characteristics as Sarawak are able to attract more visitors than others? There must be few lessons that Sarawak can opt to gain from these countries. It can be said that Sarawak has not focused on active marketing of its tourism industry. Despite the governments interest in making Sarawak as a famous travel and tourism industry among the foreigners, marketing of the industry has not gone beyond the concept of branding. Conclusion Throughout the academic literature within both tourism and marketing disciplines, insight into the different aspects of place branding has confirmed its complexity. While place branding has been researched for decades, place branding initiatives towards sustainable tourism development have not been extensively researched. Nickerson and Mosey (1999) claimed that there is a lack of practical application and field research concerning place branding and the travel decision process of tourists. Also, Boo et al (2009) identified there is also the lack of research of place brand measurement as evaluated by tourists which confirms the complexity of this issue of place branding. Generally, there is a call for further research combining place branding and sustainable development of tourism destination for travel and choices of place. An enhanced understanding of the correlation of these issues will aid in recommending effective place branding strategies in order to ensure tourists satisfaction . The places ability to effectively market itself will require in-depth analysis of image perception and therefore further research will help to conceptualise this multidimensional issue. This paper has combined both tourism and marketing disciplines and had set out to further enhance comprehension of what tourists seek in a place brand.

The First Crusade and the Ideas of Crusading Essay -- essays research

Contrary to many commonly held notions about the first crusade, in his book, The First Crusade and the Idea of Crusading, Jonathan Riley-Smith sets out to explain how the idea of crusading thought evolved in the first crusade. In his book, Riley-Smith sets out five main arguments to show how these ideas of crusading evolved. Firstly, he argues that Pope Urban’s original message was conventional, secondly that a more positive reaction was drawn from the laity (due to the ideas surrounding Jerusalem), thirdly, that the original message of crusading had changed because of the horrible experiences of the first crusaders, fourth, that due to these experiences the crusaders developed their own concept of what a crusade was, and lastly, that these ideas were refined by (religious) writers and turned into an acceptable form of theology. Riley-Smith makes excellent points about the crusade; however, before one can delve directly into his argument, one must first understand the backgro und surrounding the rise of the first crusade. Throughout the ten-century, particularly in France, the world had become an extremely violent place. Feudal Knights were often quarreling over land possession, looting, and looking to lay people to provide them with sustenance . Likewise, the power of these knights and the extent of violence flourished due to the increasingly lacking power and authority of the kings . The Church, in an attempt to halt the violence and anarchy attempted to take control and issued such concepts as â€Å"the Peace of God† . Similarly, at this time other movements for peace by the Church were underway, and one of the commonly held ideas was the need to transform the world to more â€Å"monkish ideals†. From these ideals also sprouted the concept of the laity having â€Å"God-given functions to perform, functions that could include fighting to protect the Church†. Pope Leo IX (1049-1054) is an example of this idea; he often used militia to fight against his opponents. In the early ele venth century, there came a pivotal figure in the ideas of Church sanctioned war, Pope Gregory VII (1073-1085). Pope Gregory was involved in the Investiture Contest, and soon turned to scholars to seek out â€Å"justification for his conviction that violence could be used in defense of the Church and could be authorized by it†. The movements generated by Pope Gregory, as well as the results of the Inve... ...f knighthood. The idea of the crusade, and the affiliated pilgrimage came to be regarded as temporary, adopted, migratory monastic life. Although none of the ideas of Robert, Guibert, and Baldric were new, in fact they were derived from the accounts of those who survived the first crusade, they romanticized the idea of the holy war and knighthood, making it more appealing to the common person, and more morally acceptable in religious circles.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Riley-Smith adequately proves his argument that although the idea of crusading was not a new one; the outcome of the first crusade had a direct impact on the ideas surrounding a holy war. His book, The First Crusade and the Idea of Crusading, is a well developed and coherent argument that is neatly organized and concise, allowing the reader to gain a good understanding of the topic. This book was an excellent choice for first year university students, as it was an easy read, and very easy to identify the main points and arguments of each chapter. Bibliography/Works Cited Riley-Smith, Jonathan. The First Crusade and the Idea of Crusading. The United States of America: University of Pennsylvania Press, 1986.

The revolt of Israel congregation against Aaron and Moises Essay

The pericope that I choose for this reflection paper is Numbers 17:1-13. This pericope is the last in the series of three narratives about the revolt of Israel congregation against the high priest position of Aaron and the leadership of Moses. The first revolt came from Korah. Korah was a member of the tribe of Levi, the same tribe of Aaron (Exodus 6:16-20). Korah’s rebellion is not merely a personal attack on Aaron but also on his appointed-by-God priesthood. The second revolt led by Dathan and Abiram and the 250 other lay leaders defied and rejected the leadership of Moses. These revolted leaders have a very democratic argument, which is the will of the people must have higher authority than the leadership appointed by God. God answers by kill all the leaders and the followers of these two revolted parties. All those events establish the context for the text in Numbers 17:1-13. In this pericope, God instructs Moses to set up one final test in order to show His approval for A aron’s prietshood. This final test is intended to put an end to the people’s questioning and challenging of the authority of both Aaron and Moses. In this final test, Moses is instructed to take a staff from each tribal leader. The name of each leader is written on his staff. Aaron’s name is inscribed on the staff represents for the Levi tribe. Moses puts all these staves in the Tent of Meeting before the Lord. The next morning, Moses comes to the Tent and the staff of Aaron is sprouted, budded, blossomed and produced ripe almonds. There is something interesting in the way the text describes the staff of Aaron. The text does not simply say the staff of Aaron reaches the final stage of the production cycle and has ripe almond fruit on it. The text lists in det... ...ope that Jesus will come back in the same way He was lifted into heaven (Acts 1:11). The message of this pericope for Christian today is very clear that is honoring your spiritual leaders even when they fall short of fulfilling their callings. God gives salvation universally available for all, but God elects some to save and among whom He saves, He calls a few to lead. There are always failures and corruptions waiting to happen in the ministries of whom God calls to lead, that is inevitable. God wants Christian to honor their spiritual leaders not because who they are but because what they do. A true spiritual leader does two main things: preach the Word of God (Hebrews 13:7) and care for the souls of other Christians (Hebrews 13:17). As long as a spiritual leader commits to do these two things, the church as the God’s people ought to submit to his leadership.

Juvenile Bootcamps Essay -- Teens History Boot Camp Essays

Boot camp is an alternative to incarceration. In this paper I will prove that Boot Camps for youthful offenders are effective. Boot camps started in the year 1888 by Warden Zebulon Brockway at the Elmira Reformatory located in Elmira, New York. The warden did this because he wanted to invoke a new way of disciplining and keeping the inmates active. The reasoning that this style of imprisonment worked was because there were virtually no prison guards which saved thousands of dollars. Another reason that it worked was because the men would work day and night producing quality goods that were much less then the competitors. Yates Law prohibited the inmates from competing in the open market which eventually lead to the end of the military like structure. Another reason for and end of this type of incarceration was due to World War I. Prior to the war local citizens were invited to the facility to witness the military like drills and ceremonies. As soon as the war ended the people didnâ €™t like the military which shut down the program.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The United States Army used basic training to rehabilitate soldiers who committed crimes. They used this system because prisons were overcrowded and very expensive. This way reduced the cost and allowed the return of 42,000 soldiers into active duty.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  In 1965 shock incarceration was developed in Ohio. This was an attempt to â€Å"shock† inmates by making them think twice about what they were going to do. The length the incarceration was on for 90-180 days. An analysis of the program in Ohio proved to be successful. There was a 130 percent less recidivism then those with prior records.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  In Kentucky they had the highest rates of rearrest, reconviction and the return to prison. There reincarceration rare was only 21.4 percent. This was consistent with the finking form other shock probation programs that were heralded as effective (Vito and Ellis).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The First Juvenile boot camp was established in 1985 in Orleans Parish, Louisiana. The kids who were accepted into boot camps were between the ages of 17-26 and the offence had to be one that was nonviolent or less then one first degree offense.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Boot camp incorporates military drill and ceremonies and physical training. After care is now one of the steps in a successful program. Most states now believe that group counseling are vital for the inmates succ... ... graduates of boot camps and the recidivism rate was at 21 percent but the prison rate is at 34 percent. This seems to be the key when wanting to help and lower the rate of recidivism. Proper aftercare and close monitoring will in fact help these troubled teens as you can tell by the number stated above.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The future of boot camps as well as shock incarceration will grow because of their success. My feeling is that if one troubled teen is helped then it is all worth while. Why stop trying to help if the majority is not willing to change but if that one will work hard and follow what they have learned in the boot camps then we should continue what were are doing. References   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Anderson, J. , Burns, J. , & Dyson, L. , (1999). Boot Camps: An Intermediate Sanction. New York: University Press of America. Hebert, E. , & MacKenzie, D. , (Eds.). (1996). Correctional Boot Cmaps: A Tough Intermediate   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Sanction. New York: Russel.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Vito, G. F. And Ellis, J. (1985). An offender-based tacking system study of three districts in the commonwealth of Kentucky Research Report Series: No. 4). Louisville, KY: University of Louisville, College of Urban And Public Affairs.

How Does Barack Obama Engage His Audience

Barack Obama engages his audience through means of promoting inclusivity, an informal friendly stance and a family appeal. The non-verbal communication and rhetorical devices Obama uses adds up to a very engaging speech. I will be comparing Obama’s race speech in Philadelphia with the David Letterman interview. The structure of Obama’s Speech is very important. The words are made to flow from beginning to end, without break. The speech starts by Obama placing himself in history with the 1787 US Constitution – this factual evidence establishes Obama’s authenticity. The main body of the speech has a recurring theme of a ‘perfect’ America that ‘could be and should be’ perfected over time. He claims that America ‘may never be perfect’ but it can ‘always be perfected’. This encourages hope for the future generations within the audience. This repetition is memorable and has emphasis on the future generation, gaining the support of the families. Another key feature of the structure is the rule of three. Obama uses many words repeatedly, for example, ‘constitution’. A union between the government and its people is also a repetitive theme, as it tightens the bondage with all the people, ‘black or white’. The end of the speech is simple but blunt to the point – ‘but this is where we start’. This again places him in history, and gives the speech a circular form. Establishing rapport with the audience is a key in any speech. Obama’s main method is using non-verbal communication (NVC’s). A simple ‘chop’ gesture is often used throughout Obama’s interview and sometimes speeches. It separates selected points to emphasise them to the audience, and is a subtle gesture to show Obama’s organisation. Eye contact is also essential, as it will engage individual crowd members, making them feel enlightened or special. Stories are used to engage the audience on a more personal level, especially if they are about children. This was the case about the end of Obama’s speech, where he speaks about Ashley, a young girl who brought together black and white people. The single phrase’ I’m here because of Ashley’ indicates a pause where Obama consolidates and the audience take in the whole story. Just because this story was a bout a child the supporters are engages on so much of a more personal level, and the moment of recognition between the ‘young white girl and the old black man’ is magnified in its glory. Then Obama slowly flows into the end paragraph – ‘this is where we start’. The whole speech is very serious, unlike Obama’s interview with David letterman, where humour was the main method to win support of the audience. Small things like Obama’s clothes, posture or background made a huge difference in both the speech and the interview. For example, Obama is very relaxed and moves his hands a lot during the letterman interview. On the other hand, Obama is very static during the speech, the background is also important, as in the race speech the background is embellished with lots of huge American flags. This shows Obama’s authenticity and patriotism. In the interview, there was a more relaxed cosmopolitan New York background. Obama uses many forms of non-verbal communication (NVC’s) to establish a strong rapport with his audience. Firstly, Obama begins with his hands pointing at the crowd, signalling the start. He uses this o calm down the crowd and to attract their attention. During the speech he often holds his hands out in a ‘welcoming embrace’. This is more personal and shows that he is an open, friendly person. He also holds his hands out straight out to emphasise a point or idea – this catches the audience’s attention, making them remember the point. Obama went on the David Letterman show to reveal his more relaxed side to America. It was his opportunity to reach a different type of audience. Very like his speeches he kept to a strict timing, where he has pauses for the audience –except that he left time for letterman to reply. For example, after being asked a question, Obama would pause and let the question sink in. While telling a joke on the show, he would never laugh at it and would keep a ‘dead pan’ face. This is because he then counts on the audience to laugh for him. He also used many filler words, such as ‘basicly’ to space out questions and awnsers evenly. Similarly to the race speech, Obama placed himself in history, mentioning JFK, FDR; similar to when he mentioned the 1787 Philadelphia conference. However, unlike the race speech; Obama was excellent at making good eye contact with the audience. This was because the audience at the race speech was much larger than the one at the David Letterman show. He also showed good willingness to joke – which engaged the audience into his conversation with Letterman. This is how the speech was similar with the interview; in both Obama was keen to establish a strong rapport with the audience. Unlike the race speech, Obama uses many slang or friendly words during the interview. He describes people as ‘folks’ and his family as ‘goofs’; showing the audience that underneath the fancy tie and suit he is just a normal guy. Obama uses many rhetorical devices to engage his audience during his race speech. The first three words in Obama’s speech are: ‘four years ago’. This is the start of a story (anecdotes) and is also used as an icebreaker. It calms the audience down –they might not hear it, but it signifies the start of the speech. The personal story gets the audience interested and focused. Then the collective pronoun, ‘you’ is used: ‘I stood before you and†¦Ã¢â‚¬â„¢ This addresses the crowd as one and is used so every body feels included – it is inclusive. Phrases such as ‘our children and grandchildren’ promotes the feeling of inclusivity and again wins the support of families – it makes everyone feel that they are in on the ‘Obama deal’. Along with the collective pronouns Obama strings together emotive language, such as ‘victims of racial abuse’ instead of just people. This makes the speech feel very personal. One of the most important rhetorical devices he used was the rule of 3. This is the repeating of 3 certain phrases or words so they catch the audience’s attention and make it memorable. In the 5th paragraph he uses the rule of 3 to emphasise a ‘more caring, more equal and more prosperous America’. This slogan stays in the heads of the supporters. Another example of the rule of three is where Obama says ‘ordinary men and women, students and soldiers, farmers and teachers’. As well as the three pairs, he starts with ordinary men and women. This is used so he can relate with the audience, creating a better rapport. Also in that sentence was alliteration: ‘students and soldiers’. This also is easily remembered. Obama also has a repeating theme of the ‘American promise’. This repeating theme is used so it will stick in the audience’s head. Timing is essential within a speech. There is strong modulation within the context of the speech, as Obama will pause to evaluate after a lengthy paragraph or strong point. This separates certain points and gives the audience time to take in the speech. The tone of voice also sets a background atmosphere to his speech – for example, during a theoretical or metaphorical sentence; Obama would get louder in a crescendo before almost shouting at the end of the sentence. This is always followed by a huge applause and long pause. Obama pauses after his icebreaker: ‘Four years ago’ – this gives his audience time to calm and let them know that is his turn to speak. In conclusion, Obama uses many unconventional and interesting techniques as well as hand gestures to engage his audience, to appear either more friendly or serious. In comparison between the race speech and the Letterman interview, in the speech Obama is much more static and serious, while in the interview he is more relaxed and friendly.

Marriage amendment in the USA

trade juncture has take a long trend since it was first adopted in America. cozy union was first use for property shield, fiscal and political gain. Now however, the great unwashed atomic physical body 18 to a greater extent about be in cacoethes and devoted to a evidentiary separate. In past Ameri base history, with our laws it had been amerci fitting for a analogous agitate matrimony. jovial spousal relationships should be effectiveized in the unify States, because e very iodin deserves rejoicing.There invite been m whatsoever crusades for mountain to get a join evidence, un little take in been denied because they were jocund. win virtu completelyy v. Virginia was case when the Supreme court of cleanices decision was tell as The dissolvedom to marry as long been recognized as one of the vital individual-to- soulfulness rights essential to the orderly pursuit of happiness by free hands. jocunds looked as this as a bid to be satisfactory t o enjoy their own(prenominal) rights (Lahey 16). The Loving decision gave hope to the bely community in promises to equality.Two early attempt cases that actually started pratcelled the resembling-sex wedding ceremony were the trials of bread maker v. Nelson and Singer v. Hara (Cabaj 131). The argument in the bread maker case was establish on radical guarantees of due operation and Singer was based on equal process. Due process was the states denial of a marriage license by diminishing the exemption of a person to marry whom they penury with the limits of basal couple uprial requirements (Cabaj 132).When the Baker case was interpreted to the Superior Court it was expected that the referee would dismiss the case, entirely the argument was make that by the definition of marriage was that it was a heterosexual union (Moats 116). Both cases used equal process because passel were being denied marriage, when chthonian the Fourteenth Amendment equal tri plainlye was stat ed. In the end of both cases neither were accessed marriage license. Hawaii Supreme Court stated that the denial of resembling-sex marriage would be presumed constitutional unless that state could prove that it could go by to state inte relaxation and order.What is the real disability in self a the like(p)(prenominal)-sex marriage? Everyone should deem the misfortune to marry whatsoeverone they argon in delight with, and want a future to shargon. Homosexuals atomic number 18 out for the same thing heterosexuals argon looking for in a marriage personal intimacy, close relationships and mixer credenza Vermont had resigned courteous unions (which was just equivalent a marriage license), and people from all everyplace the United States filled for the application.The complaisant unions were make in 2000, but by 2003, 3,579 civil unions were accounted for, and hardly 625 came from Vermont. The civil unions clear plow a sanctioned provide in the different states, beca use twains wanted to separate, but Vermont all allowed their residents to dissolve the civil union. Judges in some otherwise states did non approve of the firing off of the civil unions, since they were non in opt of the idea in the beginning (Moats 245). roughly unfearings did non like the idea of civil unions, because they wanted a marriage like any other person was allow.They cut the civil unions as a counseling to make the braves non protest as mush as they did, and keep quiet. numerous of the people that did pass the civil union act were threaten by the people who opposed the idea. In Vermont thither has been no proven evidence that society or the values of the people deplete been harmed (Moats 264). mickle do non pick their sexual orientation, and they be born the way of life everyone else is with the same rights and privileges any other American receives.Gays argon discriminated all of the time, and nothing is being through about it. African Americans we re first brought to the United States as slaves, but they have buzz off a long way since then. They have the same rights as any blanched person life sentence in the ground. Homosexuals come in all types of color and should not be case-hardened as a second class citizen. Legalizing marriage would only make marriage better off because then people are not forced to marry aboutone they have little attraction for, and sometimes have innocent barbarianren into a stressful position.Having dauntless marriages would decrease the divorce rate, because then people would be happier with themselves and who they choose to shaft. How is it far to them they are not attracted to the opposite sex, and are enured different for that? Who secerns it is wrong for someone to hump another person of the same sex? You can not fight who you are in love with, it is a tactile sensation everyone should be able to find in another person. Isnt happiness a describe ingredient for a healthy marria ge?There are many plain values to a tribadistic in a same-sex marriage. One benefit is homophile(a)s would receive affluent court-ordered equality (Rauch 55). They would receive the same rights as a man and cleaning lady marrying. Homosexuals would have the ability to put in law the love and compassion they dole out for each other. Gay people want to be able to spend the rest of their live wit that one exceptional person and the legalization of cheery marriages would allow for that to happen.They want the simple things in sprightliness such as living together, pity for another when they are sick and feeding dinner every night with that other person. A new level of mixer acceptance to the gay community is a benefit to the marriage. The couple from a gay marriage benefit like any back-to-back couple having someone thither for you when you need them. No one wants to go through life lonely. When a human asks for marriage they are looking for a different and better variety of life, but really a better kind of love.Gay couples are not in a relationship for just sex, but more for love and affection. many a(prenominal) heterosexuals animadvert that a homosexuals relationship is based on sex. A benefit to heterosexual society of gay marriage is the fact that the commitment of a marriage means the couples are demoralized from having sex with multiple partners. This has the advantage of fall the spread of sexually transmitted diseases (Rauch 72). Heterosexuals benefit from gay marriages because gay couples can not have babies of their own they testament adopt, or have handcuffs of a tiddler from a previous marriage (Rauch 74). Legalizing same-sex marriage allow for only strengthen the intend of marriage, and banning same-sex marriage go out infract marriage. Marriage is for everyone and each one is unique.The character states that everyone is born with equal rights. So wherefore cant homosexuals share the same rights as heterosexuals in the exp erience of marriage? People of any sexual orientation should be able to choose who they want to be with. The government activity may not approve of same-sex marriage but they should no deny it. Gays are also American citizens with all the same rights. The Fourteenth Amendment states that the law can not deny any persons of equal protection (Sullivan 107).Again, why are the courts denying marriage amongst same-sex couples? The government does not allow gay couples to file their taxes as a joint, and moldiness file as single taxpayers (Burda 47). Same-sex couples do not benefit from the federal guarantee of payments to a surviving spouse, former spouse, widowed fryren, or kidskinren that are disabled sooner age two (Burda 98). They also do not receive joined benefits under Medicare. Government benefits are not able to gay couples, but able to heterosexual couples.There are many arguments against same- sex marriages. roughly people believe that marriage should be shared between just a man and women. Others believe that a gay couple can not name a child normally. Gays are very capable of raising a child just like anyone else. chela molesters are allowed to marry, and bring children into the human beings, so why cant a gay couple raise a child when the only thing they will do for the child is show love and commitment.People say that gay relationships are immoral, but to who? The Bible says it is immoral. The freedom we have we can choose what religion we want, and in some religions same-sex relations are celebrated, and not sinned. other reason why people say same-sex marriage should not be legal is because they can not produce offspring, and draw out a generation, but gays do not need to worry about that because there are many babies in the world looking for a good position to go to.Now, in reality the real reasons for why same-sex marriages are not legal uncomfortable, offends religion, unnatural, betray, repulsive, and recruitment. Some people are ju st uncomfortable with same-sex couples, unremarkably called a homophobic. Gays are normal people and should be set like that. America has religious freedom and everyone has their own views on different situations and not all religions are at a disagreement with gay couples.Some people count that it is unnatural for the gay couples to act the way they do. Men believe that when gay men act feminine it betrays their masculine traits they should have. cracking people think it is repulsive to gather up affection of gay couples, but gay couples also think it is repulsive to suck straight coupless affection. For some reason some people think that gay people go out and look for straight people to make them gay. Someone can not make another person gay sexual orientation is unlearned and can not be changed. Having a fear of being recruited is just punch-drunk to even think about. Homosexuals should be swear outed better and not stereotype as second-class citizens.Many homosexuals dec ide to have a family together, and many adopt since they can not produce with each other. There are many children that are put up for adoption and/or put in foster fellowships, and now there is a shortage of places to put these children. Now, a cud of gay couples adopt these children to give them a healthy and happy life. There have been proven test showing that same-sex couples flip out to be great parents. openhanded a child a engaging and nurturing home is how a child should be do by, and gay couples have the ability to treat the child like any other parent would (Drucker 42).There is no evidence that children living in a gay home are less intelligent, suffer problems, less popular, or having a low self-esteem. The children of the homosexual families grow up happy, healthy and fountain organize adjusted as if they would in a heterosexual family. If a same-sex adoptive couple separated there are cardinal scenarios that can bee looked at when both parents are legal parents, when one partner is the legal parent but the law grants some rights to the nonlegal parent, and when the law denies nonlegal parents all rights.When both parents have legal custody over the child they are tough as if they were married because then they hold custody and visitation rights and need to work up out through the parents. In the other cases the court says how the child will live with the parents. Many gay parents feel that their children and their parenting will be harder than it really is because of their sexual orientation. Many of the parents are feared about what their neighbors will think of their actions about having a different life style than the social norm. Same-sex parents need to raise their child with gender awareness to live a open minded lifestyle (Brill 107).A number of leading health and child offbeat organizations, however, have found that same-sex couples should be able to adopt and raise children. They include the Child Welfare League of America, No rth American Council on Adoptable Children, American honorary society of Pediatrics, American Psychiatric Association, American psychological Association, and the National Association of Social Workers (Drucker 117).A child being raised by same-sex parents does not cause the child to be homosexual. The parents are aware that there will be many expressions of sexuality, but they are usually more concerned with the personality and personal goodness of a potential mate that they are with their partners gender (Drucker 198). Girls that are tomboys and boys that shirk with dolls dont necessarily grow up to be gay or a lesbian. For the nigh part homosexuality is more of an issue for out of the family then the members of the family.Gays and Lesbians have the same equal rights as anyone else in America. We have been born in the United States and straightway granted natural rights. Gay or straight everyone should have the same opportunities and not be denied something they dream for. Allo wing same-sex marriage will decrease heterosexual divorces and increase the love people feel for each other because they can be with someone they in truth want to be with.The United States holds its head up high when it comes to our constitution and what it stands for, but in reality not everyone is treated equal. It is not right for people to be denied something that they are and not have the same rights as any other person because they did not live like the social norms. America varies in everything from race, religion, and sexual orientation, and everyone necessitate to be treated as if they were not second class citizens. The pursuit of happiness is in our constitution and for gays and lesbians they should be granted their happiness also, for they are also citizens of this country and need to be treated like they are.ReferencesBrill, Stephanie. The Queer Parents Primer ground forces new-fangled Harbinger Publications, Inc. 2001.Burda, Joan M. Estate Planning for Same- hinge on Couples. USA ABA General Practice, Solo & Small incorruptible Section. 2004.Burns, Kate. Gay and Lesbian Families New York Greenhavens Press. 2005.Cabaj, Robert P. On the Road to Same-Sex Marriages. USA Library of sexual relation Cataloging-in-Publication Data. 1997.Drucker, Jane. Families of Value New York Plenum Press. 1998.Lahey, Kathleen. Same Sex Marriage Canada Insomniac Press. 2004Moats, David. Civil Wars, a Battle for Gay Marriage. New York Harcourt, Inc. 2004.Rauch, Jonathan. Gay Marriage New York Times Books hydrogen Holt and Company 2004.Sullivan, Andrew. Same-Sex Marriage Pro and goldbrick USA Library of CongressCataloging-in-Publication Data 1997.