Greek mythology discussion questions Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Greek mythology discussion questions - Assignment Example On the other hand, a legend cannot be passed on to become a myth because myths have to originate from legends. Therefore, the reverse is impossible. The United States of America is characterized by a number of religious beliefs, which include Christianity, Islam, and Judaism all having different religious practices and beliefs. However, it is also evident that these religious groups do not perform their common rituals while in the U.S. as compared to other nations. This is because, in the U.S., there is a massive cultural assimilation that has led to the loss of various cultural rituals and languages as compared to other nations. Additionally, high profiling of people by the government bar people like Muslims from practicing their rituals due to the fear of being attached to terrorism activities. If Big Bang and law of nature were part of the intelligent design, then most people will not believe that these processes led to the creation of the solar system and everything that happens on Earth are all controlled by a supernatural being (Graves 267). The idea of apocalypse is a common thing to all cultures because everybody believes that one day the world will come to an end (Graves 184)). This is usually justified by death that is a ritual performed in all cultures. On the other hand, most cultures believe that death is a means of punishing those who offend the Supernatural being. Therefore, it is advisable to the good in order to survive. The idea of apocalypse is spread in order to instill fear in people so that they learn how to do good in order to survive death. The Ancient Romans had no myths because they did not try to humanize their deities with their personality and actions (Graves 87). It is until they met Greeks that their divine being underwent transformation. They were particularly influenced by the stories in the Greek myths. This is the reason they adopted Greek gods and gave them their own names. Numinous experience does not only happen

Emancipation Proclamation Prliminary Events Essay Example for Free

Emancipation Proclamation Prliminary Events Essay Abraham Lincoln was elected the President of the United States in 1860 with an anti-slavery agenda, and this gave the impression to the Southern States that they no longer belonged in the Union. South Carolina became the first state to secede the Union on December 20, 1860. In the following few months six more states, whose agriculture based economy was dependent on the free labor slavery provided, followed South Carolina’s lead and followed suit. The seven states, South Carolina, Mississippi, Florida, Alabama, Georgia, Louisiana, and Texas formed the Confederate States of America and chose the Mississippi senator, Jefferson Davis as their interim president (PBS). Lincoln claimed in his inaugural address in March 1861that it was his responsibility to keep the Union intact. He went on to state that he would not end slavery where it existed, or take back the Fugitive Slave Law (a 1850 law requiring all runaway slaves to the Northern states where slavery did not exist, to be returned to their masters in the South). It was understandable why this position of Mr. Lincoln’s did not sit well with the African Americans or the white Americans against slavery, but what was surprising was that it did not do anything to satisfy the Confederacy. Hence, on April 12, 1861 the Confederates attacked Fort Summer and the Civil Started had started. Immediately following the attacks another four states, Virginia, Arkansas, North Carolina, and Tennessee joined the Confederacy. Even though President Lincoln made it abundantly clear that he was fighting to keep the Union intact and not for slavery or for the rights of the blacks, from the very start the free African Americans rushed to enlist in the army. Their services were refused and laws refusing blacks the right to enlist in the army were maintained because Lincoln wanted to prove to the whites in the Northern states that their privileges as the superior race were not in any danger. The Confederacy on the other hand was using the enslaved labor for efforts to win the war. Slave labor was being used as nurses, laundresses, blacksmiths and they were working in factories and armories (PBS). As the Northern army managed to penetrate into the Southern territory, there was a large influx of refugees. The slave fugitives were labeled â€Å"contraband of war† and if it could be proven that their labor was used to help the Confederacy they were given their freedom. Despite declaring the black fugitives free, Lincoln still firmly held on to the idea that this war was not about setting the slaves free but holding the Union together. By early 1862 Lincoln was beginning to think that some kind of an emancipation order was needed if North was to win. The Proclamation As the war drew on, a number of governments in Europe started to think about recognizing the Confederacy and interceding against the Union. Also at home the Congressional and public opinion grew more towards the fact that slavery was not right and it needed to be abolished as a policy of war. Faced with such mounting pressure from all sides Lincoln felt that if a declaration was made to free the slaves, then European opinion would be with the North, and he would get the support needed for his own administration and the war effort, that he decided to draft the Emancipation Proclamation in 1862 (Emancipation Proclamation). On July 13, 1862, Lincoln read out the prelude proclamation to his Secretaries William H. Seward and Gideon Wells and both were left at a loss for words, and Lincoln did not discuss the matter further. On July 22 Lincoln read the Proclamation at his Cabinet meeting and got a mixed reaction. Secretary of War Edwin M. Stanton, deciphered the measure as a method of taking the slave labor away from the Confederacy while allowing more men into the Union Army and supported its release as soon as possible, the Postmaster General Montgomery Blair predicted doom in the fall elections, while the Attorney General Edward Bates was against equality in the political and civil arena for the Blacks. Since the President was not concerned about his Cabinet’s view of the substance of the Proclamation only its style, the direction on future action was set (www. memory. loc. gov). To show that the proclamation was being issued out of strength and not a sign of weakness, Secretary of State Seward recommended that Lincoln not issue it until there was some significant Union victory. The opportunity presented itself when there was a Union victory at Antietam on September 22, 1862 and five days after that Lincoln issued the Proclamation which became effective on January 1, 1863. The chief function of the proclamation was to bring peace back and restore Union control, and was perceived as a firm commitment to abolish slavery. Proclamation also turned around the strengths of the warring parties by taking away the slave labor from the confederates, whose backbone in war efforts was formed by the slaves and gave this advantage to the Union (Borade). England and France were dependent upon the cotton they got from the South, and the Confederacy was hopeful that these countries would enter the war on their side. By turning the war into a fight against slavery, England and France sided with the Union because their citizens were against slavery (Emancipation Proclamation Prliminary Events, 2009). The purpose of limiting the proclamation to a few states was because Lincoln had the authority to take such an action on his own, a proclamation like this would not have Constitutional power over Union states since they had certain rights (The Emancipation Proclamation). In reality the proclamation freed very few slaves, because the border states fighting for the Union were not affected by it, nor were the southern areas already under Union control, and the rebellious states ignored the order. The Emancipation Proclamation is made up of two executive orders; the first order stated that if the breakaway did not put an end to the war and return to the Union by 1 January 1863, then all the slaves in the Confederate States would be set free. The second order listed the specific states to which the order applied. The Proclamation also had clauses which focused on rebellion and how to do away with it. It was stated that any individual starting a rebellion would be incarcerated for ten years and would be fined ten thousand dollars. If on the other hand, the individual freed his slaves, the court would not punish them (Borade). The proclamation also said that freed slaves who met with the necessary requirements would be allowed into the armed services of the Union, which was a major shift from the previous policy. The original Emancipation Proclamation is housed in the National Archives in Washington D. C. , and covers five pages of text. It was held together with thin red and blue ribbons which were stuck to the page that has signatures by the seal of the United States. The emancipation document was transferred from the Department of State to the National Archives in 1936 (Emancipation Proclamation). Works Cited Borade, G. (n. d. ). Purpose and Effects of the Emancipation Proclamation. Retrieved August 3, 2010, from www. buzzle. com: http:/www. buzzle. com/articles/purpose-and-effects-of-the-emancipation-proclamation. html Emancipation Proclamation. (n. d. ). Retrieved August 3, 2010, from www. archives. gov: http://www. archives. gov/exhibits/featured_documents/emancipation_proclamation/ Emancipation Proclamation. (n. d. ). Retrieved August 2, 2010, from www. Encyclopaedia Britannica: http://www. britannica. com/EBchecked/topic/185468/Emancipation-Proclamation Emancipation Proclamation Prliminary Events. (2009, January 01). Retrieved August 03, 2010, from www. robinsonlibrary. com: http://robinsonlibrary. com/america/unitedstates/1783/slavery/emancipation. htm PBS. (n. d. ). www. pbs. org. Retrieved August 2, 2010, from http://www. pbs. org/wgbh/aia/part4/4p2967. html The Emancipation Proclamation. (n. d. ). Retrieved August 3, 2010, from www. usconstitution. net: http://www. usconstitution. net/eman. html www. memory. loc. gov. (n. d. ). Retrieved August 2, 2010, from http://memory. loc. gov/ammem/alhtml/almintr. html

Quality Of Life, Livelihood And Poverty In Pakistan

Quality Of Life, Livelihood And Poverty In Pakistan Pakistan has been in existence for nearly 64 years and has been evolving ever since. Since the partition, many people lost their livelihoods and had to reconstruct their mode of living from scratch. The refugees faced severe accommodation problems in the beginning resulting in confusion and chaos in early periods of the migration. This instance greatly affected the newly established economy of Pakistan as new businesses initiated and the 1st government had to support these new establishments as well as old settlers in order to accomplish stability and control in the region. This inflow of aid from the managers of the newly established region lacked efficient allocation and as we can assume that no one is fair and greed runs deep within this tough exterior of the skin. There came an income gap between the rich and the poor. Hence the known problem of the developing nations emerged from within, poverty. The quality of life is not the same in Pakistan. It encompasses many varying sects of society which involve different ideologies and perspectives hence different measures of quality. Being agriculture based country; naturally income is not high in the sector; therefore little livelihood and more mouths to feed causes imbalance in the order of things. Lack of resources creates a flutter of panic amongst the people and causes disturbance in the society. This is the quality of life in Pakistan where the rich keep getting richer and the poor keep getting poorer. However Pakistan is trying hard to minimize this gap by undergoing massive policy changes and development expenditures to create more jobs and to be able to educate people to the level of helping to eradicate poverty from this nation. Poverty is like a quicksand, once you set foot in it all your efforts pull you towards it. Development and equal resource allocation is the key to alleviating poverty however it may seem extraordina rily hard but it is not impossible. Historic evolution of different types of poverty Poverty is a state of severe deprivation of basic necessary needs, which includes food, safe drinking water, sanitation facilities, health, shelter, education and information. It is dependent not only on income but also on access to services. It also comprises of lack of income and resources to ensure sustainable livelihoods. Poverty is a multidimensional phenomenon and is not a single line of ants. Rather it is the effect that occurs when you obstruct a single line of ants and they have multidirectional effects. However some may assume the concept of poverty to be one-dimensional. There are advantages and disadvantages to both aspects. One-dimensional approach based on income poverty is relatively simple to use. It encompasses most though not all of the issues around poverty. Multidimensional measures produce a much broader perspective on the complex nature of poverty and a possibly richer array of clues on how poverty can be tackled. By type Poverty is the hand where there is no food, poverty is the mind where theres no thought, it is the hand with no money, it is the land with no order, and poverty is the nature when theres no life. Whenever we think of poverty only the monetary definition comes to mind. Poverty is not only the lack of funds that cast us down to that level when we may be called impoverished, it is not only when one lacks basic necessities but poverty can be of various types. Some poverty types are economic poverty, bodily poverty, mental poverty, food poverty, cultural poverty and political poverty. Economic poverty deals with the fact when one lacks resources or monetary terms that keep them from attaining the basic necessities of life such as food, cloth and shelter. The economic poverty only deals with the linkage of monetary terms and basic necessities. Continuing bodily poverty is when one lacks the physical health status and also is deprived of access to healthy living conditions. Mental poverty deals with the lacks of thought that arises due to poor or no educational standards hence the quality of education. Food poverty is when malnutrition occurs in a society due to lack of food variety and/or demand. Cultural poverty is the lack of togetherness that results in a society and which further separates the relations that hold us together in a community. It is basically the lack of mutual understanding in events and cultural gatherings. Political pov erty is when there is lack of knowledge of how the system works. The basic lacking variable is the knowledge of how to cast a vote and effectively elect a leader. By classification

Capital Punishment :: essays research papers

Among the first people to be executed were the so-called witches within the colonies. These executions became known as the Salem Witch trials. When the trials between May and October 1692 were over, there were about twenty people that were sentenced to die. According to the English law many offenses were punishable by death. Most included property crimes and such other non-violent crimes. Robbery, extortion, arson and pick pocketing were all punishable by death. In Massachusetts there were only thirteen crimes punishable by death which include; cursing, adultery, lying under oath, praying to idols, etc. Throughout the colonies Ohio, New Jersey, Massachusetts, and New York kept the death penalty while in others they opposed and abolished the law. Michigan was the first state to do away with capital punishment. After that the states followed although Maine teeter tottered until 1887, when the law was abolished. Many years passed and states went back and forth on whether or not to keep or discard the death penalty. Some discarded it while other kept it and limited the number of crimes punishable by death. Since May 1995, 38 out of the 50 states had capital punishment laws.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The ongoing debate about capital punishment is a tug of war. When crime declines the need for death penalty declines and when crime increases the need also increases. It’s all a matter of our social situation. Statistics show that by 2001 the 80 percent of supporters declined to a 65 percent and went even lower in 2002. From 1990 to 2000 the number of people sentenced to die was a good 3,550 the number of people executed was highest in 1930’s to the 1940’s.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  In 1994, as part of the crime bill, the federal death penalty was expanded to some 60 different offenses. Some of the federal crimes for which people in any state or United Sates territory can receive a death sentence are, murder, kidnapping resulting in death, fatal drive-by shootings, sexual abuse crimes resulting in death, car jacking resulting in death, and crimes not resulting in death, such as running a large-scale drug endeavor. Below are some statistics taken from another source.*   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Since 1988, the federal government has authorized seeking the death penalty against 211 defendants. Of the 211 approved prosecutions, 158 (75%) were against minority defendants. Of these defendants, 53 have been white, 39 Hispanic, 12 Asian/Indian/Pacific Islander, 2 Arab and 105 African American.

Matthew’s Sermon on the Mount Essay

To what extent was The Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5-7) intended to be a distinctive ethical teaching for all people? Matthew’s Sermon on the Mount is one of the 5 main blocks of teaching in the gospel- emulating Torah. ‘Without our noticing, faith can degenerate into religiosity†¦That is when the teaching of Jesus brings us up with a jerk.'[1] The sermon presents the reader with a radical teaching from Jesus, completely divergent to any preceding teaching in Judaism; it offers a stark contrast to the Old Testament. The radical change is the shift between legalism and obstinate Jewish law to an emphasis on person and relationship with God and neighbour. It is important, firstly, to understand Matthew’s purpose in including the Sermon on the Mount; ‘For Mt, Jesus, not the law, stands as the decisive centre of his religious universe†¦the criterion of judgement, the norm to be taught.’ The Sermon on the Mount opens with the beatitudes, which describe all types of people as ‘happy’: ‘happy are the poor in spirit†¦gentle †¦merciful†¦persecuted†¦Ã¢â‚¬â„¢ (Mt 5: 13) These beatitudes include all people, they start the sermon as it means to go on; its intention is to provide ethical teaching to all people. In this essay I will explore and aim to decipher the extent of which the sermon presents a distinct ethical teaching with the aid of diverse and important viewpoints. The first view, of the sermon’s ethical teaching, is the ‘Absolutist View.’ This view rejects compromise; ‘all the precepts in the Sermon must be taken literally and applied universally†¦If obeying the scripture costs the welfare of the believer, then that is a reasonable sacrifice for salvation.’ [2] The last part of the quote almost replicates Mt 5:30 ‘†¦if your right hand should cause you to sin, cut it off and throw it away; for it will do you less harm to lose one part of you than to have your whole body go to hell.’ There are traces of absolutism within the sermon; a deontological undertone to it. D. Martyn Lloyd-Jones would argue that: ‘The principles, it was said, were there laid down as to how life should be lived by men, and all we have to do is apply the Sermon on the Mount.’ [3]‘ John P. Meier states that ‘Mt has spiritualised and generalised the beatitudes, making them applicable to the spiritual needs and moral endeavour of every member of his church.[4]’ It is through this that he indirectly suggests  that they should/must be applied by every member of Matthew’s church. These two scholars would appear to support the ‘absolute view’ that the sermon was greatly intended to be a distinct ethical teaching for all people. In ‘Salt of the Earth and Light of the World’ and ‘The Fulfilment of the Law’ the reader may feel a strong sense of personal witness; the need to stand up for what is clearly right and what is clearly wrong: ‘†¦your light must shine in the sight of men, so that, seeing your good works, they may give praise to your Father in Heaven’ (Mt 5:16) There is an element of prescriptivism in this text; Jesus was confirming a place for the law and a clear sense of absolute right and wrong in the ‘Kingdom of Heaven’. His intentions were not to ‘abolish the Law†¦but to complete them’ (Mt 5:17-18) His teaching was an invitation to behave in a certain way. ‘†¦the man who infringes even the least of these commandments and teaches others to do the same will be considered the least in the kingdom of heaven; but the man who keeps them and teaches them will be considered great in the kingdom of heaven.’ (Mt 5:19) There is also an absolute message in ‘The Golden Rule’:  Ã¢â‚¬ËœSo always treat others as you would like them to treat you would like them to treat you; that is the meaning of the Law and the Prophets.’ (Mt 7:12) Jesus’ words are direct to his people and it is hard to argue that this is not a distinctive ethical teaching to all people because of the absolute and universal qualities held in words like ‘So always treat†¦Ã¢â‚¬â„¢ his instructions account for all time, people and place. Jerome’s biblical commentary on ‘The True Disciple’ could be seen to uphold literal living out of the sermon: ‘The words of Jesus are a call and a challenge to action; they are not mere teaching, and understanding them is an insufficient response. The challenge is serious; failure to meet it is followed by catastrophe.’[5] Some would argue that the absolute view of the Sermon on the Mount is ridiculous, that people cannot be expected to literally live out the strenuous commands of the sermon. This is supported by a view, which is more common, the ‘Hyperbole View.’ It ‘contends that Jesus deliberately overstated His demands. Jesus demonstrated this kind of teaching technique outside the Sermon’’ [6] If readers are to live out the sermon’s ethics they need to be toned-down to modern society standards. Keith Ward appears to support this  in his book, where he maintains that ‘The sermon is used properly when it is taken as a guide for meditation and for moral self-examination.’[7] It is clear to see why some of the examples given by Jesus are seen as hyperbole, because of the extreme solutions Jesus provides to problems of moral actions: ‘If your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away†¦Ã¢â‚¬â„¢ (Mt 5:30) ‘†¦if a man looks at a woman lustfully, he has already committed adultery with her in his heart.’ (Mt 5:28-29 It would be a ridiculous idea to take these two teachings literally, instead the Hyperbole view would suggest that these are exaggerations that carry a message. The message of the first is the severity of sinning and not to let evil and sin encompass you, if you sin once, cut yourself off from that experience, do not keep sinning. If the second quotation was to be ‘toned down’ to modern day society the message would not be that you shouldn’t look at any woman (who is not your wife) in any way that could be seen as lustfully, rather one should devote their attention, loyalty and lust to their wife. This eschatological view, by major German thinker, Martin Dibelius, suggests that: whilst the ethics within the Sermon are absolute, the current fallen state of the present day makes it impossible to live up to them. Their failure to live up to them is inevitable According to dispensationalism, this is the period of ‘grace’ meaning that failure to live up to the sermon is justified, but a period in the future will see mankind able to live up to Jesus’ teaching. ‘You must therefore be perfect just as your heavenly father is perfect.’ (Mt 5:48) Rob Warner quotes: ‘The Sermon on the Mount is an ethic of extremism. Jesus’ demands are positively mountainous and his idealism may appear naive and unworkable.’ [8]This may be due to the lack of emotions involved when examples of moral decisions are given: ‘Come to terms with your opponent in good time while you are still on your way to court with him†¦Ã¢â‚¬â„¢ (Mt 5:25) ‘†¦love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you.’ (Mt 5:44-45) It is not only your actions that are scrutinized, but your thoughts too.  Again, emotions and human nature are not taken into account which makes the commands appear unattainable: ‘†¦if a man looks at a woman lustfully, he has already committed adultery with her in his heart.’ (Mt 5:28-29) The Unconditional Divine Will view is linked to the ‘Repentance View’, the view which sees ‘the Sermon as basically Law in nature and is therefore designed, as Paul described in Galatians 3:24, to lead unto Christ; to repent of their sins and believe on Christ.’ The final view, of the extent of ethical teaching in the sermon, is the ‘General Principle’ view: it ‘argues that Jesus was not giving specific instructions, but general principles of how one should behave. The specific instances cited in the Sermon are simply examples of these general principles’[9] My interpretation of the sermon is in accordance with the General Principles view, a lot of the text can be seen to offer general codes of behaviour and description of character, the examples are not to be taken as literal actions, they put forward general principles that should be used when making moral judgements and actions. ‘But when you give alms, your left hand must not know what your right is doing.’ (Mt 6:3-4) ‘†¦go to your private room and, when you have shut the door, pray to your Father who is in that secret place’ (Mt 6:6) These are prime examples of ethical teaching by Jesus which should not necessarily be taken literally; they merely provide general principles. The general ethical principle provided is that prayer, fasting and almsgiving should be prompted by right motive and good will, not something to be done overtly in order to be hailed as a virtuous person. ‘To be hailed as a virtuous man is a sufficient award for those who seek recognition; they obtain what they seek and that is all they obtain.’[10] There are various ethical theories that arise throughout the sermon that portray its distinct ethical teachings. Motive and good will are general principles of Kantian ethics; utilitarianism and situation ethics also come up within the sermon, the general principles of these theories constitute the ethics that Jesus-  in his teaching- and Matthew- in his recording- intended for all people to take away with them. Utilitarianism is raised by the emphasis on reward in Mt 5 and situation ethics arises within the text in talk about purity of heart and eyes: ‘†¦if your eye is diseased, your whole body will be all darkness.’ (Mt 6:23) ‘Take the plank out of your own eye first, and then you will see clearly enough to take the splinter out of your brother’s eye.’ (Mt 7:5) ‘Jesus warned the Pharisees not to become absorbed in questions of external cleanliness.’[11] For Jesus and the Kingdom of Heaven, it is inner cleanliness, of the heart and mind, which matter: ‘For Mt, purity of the heart involves a simple directness in one’s intentions and attitudes, an undivided heart’ [12] This quotation from Meier sums up the sermon’s structure; I associate the simple directness with the lower, working class audience of which the sermon is directed to: ‘†¦teaching which (unlike the entire moral tradition of antiquity) was addressed to the lower strata of society. Jesus demonstrated the ‘blessedness’ of the poor by showing that actions of profound moral import lay within their power.’ [13] The simple directness of ‘intentions and attitudes’ transpires in Jesus’ emphasis on right motive and good will. The question of an ‘undivided heart’ is raised in Matthew 6- ‘God and Money’: ‘No one can be a slave to two masters†¦You cannot be the slave of both God and money’ (Mt 6:24) Again, money could be meant in the literal sense (material goods coming between the relationship with God) but it also serves as a symbol for anything which becomes a barrier to God; Jesus’ ethical teaching, the general principle, is that you cannot serve God with a divided heart. ‘In the sermon, Christ does not really give us precise and detailed commands to be obeyed. He draws from us the inner resources of moral discernment which enables us to see what love is and should be.’[14] I think perhaps that the general principles link into the idea that the sermon was not intended as a distinct ethical teaching in the sense that they direct moral actions because one cannot base their actions around scripture alone.  Ã¢â‚¬ËœChristian ethical thinking remains a mixture of the application of human reason, the understanding of scripture, reflection on tradition and obedience to the magisterium of the Church.’ [15] Rather, it is a teaching that inspires man to practice his virtuous religious actions. Thomas Aquinas maintains that every moral question can be reduced to the consideration of the virtues[16]. According to J.F Keenan, the real question of ethics is not ‘What should I do?’ but ‘Who am I?’ ‘Who ought I to become?’ and ‘How am I to get there?’ Aristotle advocates that one reveals their true nature when one acts in spontaneous situations, in the unplanned and ordinary life. The sermon appears to support this; Jesus presented his teachings by giving examples of ordinary people acting morally in everyday circumstances. In practicing the seven cardinal virtues (temperance, fortitude, prudence, justice, charity, hope and faith), right moral action comes naturally through clear judgement, good reason and a pure heart; all the principles that propounded by Jesus in the Sermon on the Mount. Plato juxtaposed each cardinal virtue with the social classes. Temperance was associated with the working/producing classes i.e. the farmers and craftsmen, fortitude with the warrior class, prudence with the reasoned rulers and Justice did not form part of the class system; it governs the relationship among the three classes. Word Count: 2155 with quotes Bibliography 1) Keith Ward- ‘The Rule of Love- Reflections on the Sermon on the Mount’ 2) Chp. 4 ‘The Sermon and Ethics (Part 1)’ ‘Twelve Approaches to the Sermon on the Mount 3) D. Martyn Lloyd-Jones- ‘Studies in the Sermon on the Mount’ 4) John P. Meier- ‘Matthew’ – The Sermon on the Mount 5) Jerome Biblical Commentary 6) A.E Harvey, ‘Strenuous Commands’ 7) Rev. Patrick Allsop, M.A- ‘Ethical Theory And New Testament Ethics’ 8) Thomas Aquinas, ‘Summa Theologiae’ Prologue, II-II 9) Rob Warner- ‘The Sermon on the Mount’ ———————– [1] Keith Ward- ‘The Rule of Love- Reflections on the Sermon on the Mount’ Chp.2, pg.7 [2] Chp. 4 ‘The Sermon and Ethics (Part 1)’ ‘Twelve Approaches to the Sermon on the Mount’ [3] D. Martyn Lloyd-Jones- ‘Studies in the Sermon on the Mount’ v1, pg 13 [4] John P. Meier- ‘Matthew’ – The Sermon on the Mount, pg 39 [5] Jerome Biblical Commentary [6] Chp. 4 ‘The Sermon and Ethics (Part 1)’ ‘Twelve Approaches to the Sermon on the Mount’ [7] Keith Ward- ‘The Rule of Love- Reflections on the Sermon on the Mount’, introduction [8] Rob Warner- ‘The Sermon on the Mount’ [9] Chp. 4 ‘The Sermon and Ethics (Part 1)’ ‘Twelve Approaches to the Sermon on the Mount’ [10] Jerome Biblical Commentary [11] John P. Meier- ‘Matthew’ – The Sermon on the Mount, pg 41 [12] ‘’ ‘’ ‘’ [13] A.E Harvey, ‘Strenuous Commands’, pg. 76 [14] Keith Ward- ‘The Rule of Love- Reflections on the Sermon on the Mount’, introduction [15] Rev. Patrick Allsop, M.A- ‘Ethical Theory And New Testament Ethics’ [16] Thomas Aquinas, ‘Summa Theologiae’ Prologue, II-II

Kingdom of Heaven

The Middle East has been a continuing source of rich history since the early times. Widely chronicled events in its history were the Crusades in which the â€Å"Kingdom of Heaven was based.† The story deals with the Crusades of the 12th century, and involves an artificer (a military mechanic; French: artificier) and Engineer (that is, someone who makes siege engines), serving as a village blacksmith who goes on to aid the city of Jerusalem in its defense against the great Islamic leader Saladin, who battles to reclaim the city from the Christians. The script is loosely based on the life of Balian of Ibelin (wikipedia.org, 2006) How the Crusades started were caused by religious, economical and political reasons. The order burning the Church of the Holy Sepulchre by a Fatimid caliph, and the molestation of pilgrims, cruelty of Muslims toward Christians, and following the papal â€Å"foreign policy† of expanding Christianity were religious sources of conflict why the Crusades were undertaken. One of the economical concerns was the overpopulation of Western Europe, consequently having the idea that Eastern Europe would be a new territory to conquer and would provide the necessary resources to provide for Western Europe’s burgeoning population, and politically, the Crusades would pave the way for wider trade. It would seem that the differences of faith is still one source of conflict today, considering the fact alone that Jerusalem is the central land of worship of different great religions, Christianity, Judaism and Islam, as of the present time. These different religions with different beliefs, different perspectives, try to assert the claim that Jerusalem, by right, is there own Holy land. They do not know how to share as neighbors. Conflict arises. The oil-rich Middle East today provides for a backdrop of political and economical maneuverings by different countries, with vested interests of their own, to gain control of this rich region. The phrase â€Å"History repeats itself† is justified. Reference: www.wikipedia.org, 2006 [webpage] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kingdom_of_Heaven_%282005_film%29 date accessed: 16 December 2006

Biology! Lab Report on Evolution Essay Example

Biology! Lab Report on Evolution Essay Example Biology! Lab Report on Evolution Paper Biology! Lab Report on Evolution Paper The sum of both allele add up to one or one hundred percent for that population. To calculate the frequency we use There are five conditions in order satisfy the Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium. These are, mutation, gene flow, genetic drift, non-random mating and selecting. Evolution does not occur in individuals, it occurs in a population. Charles Driven theory of natural selection states that natural selection acts to preserve and accumulate minor advantage to any trait that helps them to Bette suited for survivals. The purpose of this is to help us understand better about Evolution ND Mother Nature also the relationship between evolution and changes in allele frequency using a sample population. The null hypothesis for this experiment is that the flashier the male are more attractive they will become to the female and predators. This will lead to the decrease of population and changes in the population. The frequency for the color fishes will decrease as time passes. Methods For this particular experiment we had two different lab tests. For the first part of the experiment it was necessary to use a computer and log on the PBS. Org/high. Evolution/educators/lessons/lessons/ACTA. HTML and lunch the Sec and the Single Guppy web activity. Running the simulation on the web site and selecting Im ready to find out will start the experiment. Choosing the causes guppy color variation will give detail informations on the guppy environments. For the second part of the experiment, we had hundred red and white beads. We placed the beads in a large container and mixed the beads. We than labeled (IF) (If) and (if) in three different containers. IF) represents the dominant homozygous, (FDA is a heterozygous and (if) that having no fur. The experiment simulation took in the absence of heat. Bunnies with the (if) will not make it through the winter. Results For the first part of the experiment, brighter the color of male guppy is more likely its predator will notice the male guppy. The number of the male drab guppies will increase o ver generation because their ability of camouflage will help them to survive from the predators. Since Reproduction is also part of this population, it also plays a big role. Since the Female guppies are attractive to the Bright male guppies, few guppies will also be bright and keep the repetition even though population of bright guppies will be very low. A) This graph shows the starting point for the guppy experiment where we have equal number of male population and predators (30 rivulets, 30 Carr, and 30 child). (b) This graph shows the final generation for the guppy experiment where we have least amount of bright and the highest number of Drabbest number of male population and predators (30 rivulets, 30 Carr, and 30 child). In this case the lab is on predation and from my results we can see how predators act as evolutionary agents. Since the guppies had a verity of colors such as brightest bright, drab and drabbest there was equal amount chance for its survival but since the female are attractive to the Bright color male, they will produce more. In this experiment of trial selection, brighter the male guppy is more likely he will be seen and eaten by the predators. Over the generations male guppies population became drabbest as shown in the graph above. The Hardy-Weinberg Equilibrium, it is a principle that demonstrates how heredity cannot produce changes in the allele frequencies. Based on the results one can see that if no predator or no natural selection would have affected the population and it was allowed to reproduce, the allele frequencies would be the same. In this case the predator affects the equilibrium and cause the population to evolve because it changes the relative gene frequencies when he cold takes away the life of ferules bunnies. These results are very important in helping us understand that living organisms have been are being evolved. Ingather, Katie (2010) shows this concept of natural selection to be effected even in humans. Ingather states, A separate study by Open Universitys Daniel Nettle found that shorter women are more likely to be in long-term, offspring- producing relationships perhaps, he hypothesized, because men evolved to disavow tall women, who tend to reach puberty later. Ingather is sharing with us one of the possible affects that natural selection is having humans as you read his.

Funny Mole Day Jokes and Humor

Funny Mole Day Jokes and Humor Mole Day is  October 23 from 6:02 a.m. to 6:02 p.m. in honor of Avogadros Number (6.02 x 1023). A  mole  is a unit of measurement used when existing measurements are inadequate and its particle measurement is based on Avogadros number. Like Pie Day which is celebrated on March 14 due to the fact that it mirrors the pie number, Mole Day is celebrated on either October 23 or June 2 due to the dates being similar to Avogadros number. What better way to celebrate a holiday born out of chemistry humor than with jokes? Mole Day Jokes Q: What did Avogadro teach his students in math class?A: Moletiplication Q: What do you call a 10th grader who is taking chemistry?A: A sophomole. Q: Why does Avogadro like Cindy Crawford?A: Shes his favorite super-mole-dle (and she has a mole). Q: Why is it bad to tell mole jokes?A: Its mole-itically incorrect   Q: What did the generous mole say when people crashed his party?A: The mole the merrier! Q: What are mammoles?A: Four-legged animoles! Q: How would you describe a stinky chemist?A: Mole-odorous Q: What kind of fruit did Avogadro eat in the summer?A:  Watermolens Q: What kind of test do chemistry students  like best?A: Mole-tiple choice. Q: Why is Avogadro so rich?A: Hes a multi-mole-ionare! Q: Which tooth did Avogadro have pulled?A: One of his molars. Q: What does Avogadro put in his hot chocolate?A: Marsh-mole-ows! Q: What did one mole say to the other?A: We make great chemistry together. Q: Why was there only one Avogadro?A:  When they made him, they broke the Moled. Q: What illness kept Avogadro in bed for two months?A: Moleonucleosis   Q: What do you get when you have a bunch of moles acting like idiots?A: A bunch of Moleasses   Mole Day Pledge #1 I pledge allegiance to the mole, and to the science from which it comes, one SI unit, extremely divisible, with micromoles and millimoles for all. ~ R. Thomas Myers - Kent State University, Kent, OH Mole Day Pledge #2 I pledge allegiance to the mole, to the International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry, and to the atomic mass for which it stands, one number, most divisible, with atoms and molecules for all. ~ Sylvia Cooper - Morgantown High School, Morgantown, WV Mole Day Definitions In addition to pledges and one-line jokes, there are plenty of opportunities for mole puns: Demoleition: destruction moles cause in your yard (or on your chemistry paper, if you forget Avogadros number)Dismole: being sad on Mole DayImoleble: anything that is completely unrelated to a moleMol: the symbol for mole (of course!)Mole-mole: a mole double agentMolearchy: government controlled by Moles Mole Day is celebrated more than once a yearMolebile: a mole decoration which hangs from the ceilingMolect: the obsessive collection of Mole Day t-shirts, games, and other stuffMolectomy: the study of mole anatomyMolehill: a small mound  of dirt in your backyard made by burrowing molesMoleism: the reverence given to moles on Mole Day or on any day by a chemistMolelaberate: working together on a Mole Day projectMoleodic: a word describing the sound of Mole Day songsMoleskito: a tiny winged mole-like creature that drinks the blood of a person who forgets the date of Mole DayRemolte control: a devise used to watch television shows about chemistry and molesRemoletly: having to do with a mole, barely Sophmole: anyone in the tenth grade who is taking chemistryThermole: an adjective describing one  mole of an explosive

A Comparison of Antigones and Ismenes Reactions to Grief in Antigone by Sophocles

A Comparison of Antigone's and Ismene's Reactions to Grief in Antigone by Sophocles Response Paper to Antigone The tale of Antigone is one of the oldest pieces of literature that is still being studied today. The play is able to explore the psychology of many different characters as they are all forced to deal with the death Polyneices. While the differences between how Antigone, Haimon, and Creon respond to the situation may be widely discussed, another interesting relationship to analyze in the text is that between Antigone and Ismene. Both sisters experience a tragedy as their brothers kill each other, yet their responses are quite different. Antigone’s response to the grief is to focus on the injustice of the situation and risk herself to set things right, while Ismene is filled with sadness, yet fears the ramifications of breaking the law. Both responses are results of love, yet the specifics of each case allow a deeper look into the psychology of these characters. When reading and discussing the play of Antigone, Antigone herself is most often seen as the heroin. However, it could be argued that Antigone is the reason for the tragedy. If Antigone had expressed her grief with Haimon, it is possible that he could have convinced his father to lift the law against burying Polyneices body. Also, her rash decision to kill herself leads to the death of both Haimon and the queen as they are filled with grief. After thinking through the different endings that could have occurred if Antigone had responded calmer, it is reasonable to conclude that Antigone’s plan of rebellion was not the most practical response. Ismene, on the other hand, responds with grief but no action. It could be argued that this is a more practical response as it prevents any further harm, yet with Ismene’s response nothing is really fixed, it is all merely pushed aside as if it did not happen. After analyzing the practicality of the girls’ responses, the question of morality is raised. Was Antigone doing the right thing, standing up for her family and offering herself as a sacrifice? Or was Ismene correct in avoiding further conflict and simply grieving for the loss of her brother and his honor? This is a very difficult thing to analyze as the grief in this situation is almost unfathomable. It may be most reasonable to argue that neither girl was in the right mindset to make a moral, practical decision. They have just learned that their brothers have killed each other and one will die with honor, while the other may not. Thinking about this situation, it becomes clear that neither girl responded ethically nor practically, but they both responded emotionally according to their own personalities. The play Antigone by Sophocles includes multiple complex situations and relationships, and that of Antigone and her sister Ismene is one of the most intriguing. Watching these girls deal with the pain of losing their brothers and then deal with the pain of losing each other in disagreement over the situation makes the tragedy more powerful. Sophocles is able to include human nature in this situation as both sisters behave impractically and unethically. This is seen often in life as well as emotions overcome logic and may lead to even more tragic situations as those that occur in Antigone.

Climate change is man-made and governments should take measures to Essay

Climate change is man-made and governments should take measures to control it. To what extent do you agree with this claim - Essay Example Other interest groups, including environmentalists insist that climate change is purely attributed to the activities of man. This paper shall discuss the thesis that: climate change is man-made and governments should take measures to control it. The extent to which I agree with this claim will be assessed in this paper. Majority of the factors which contribute to climate change is man-made, and other factors are natural. Taken together, the impact of climate change is very much significant. Admittedly, the earth is warming, with most of the excess heat impacting our oceans. Our oceans serve as repository for our excess heat (Hansen, et.al., 2005). The oceans however generally have a significant capacity for absorbing heat and as such, the oceans are considered thermodynamically stable, not easily impacted by other elements. In order to effect change, any activity would have to include long-term and continuous phenomenon (Hansen, et.al., 2005). The warming of the earth is therefore being experienced over a prolonged and sustained period of time. Data supports the fact that the oceans are warming up and have gradually been warming up since the 1950s. Global warming is not caused by the increase in the internal geothermal natural heating or the heat from human activity (Willis, et.al., 2008). It is also not caused by external sources. The internal and external sources of heating have been discounted. A firm conclusion which can be drawn is that the increase in global temperature is caused by stored heat in the environment over a period of years. Any increase in the heat input would cause a rise in heat sent off into space. Such heat is not considered in measuring the increase in ocean temperature (Willis, et.al., 2008). In effect, the added source of heat needed to lead to global warming has to be higher that is considered and no source of additional

Principles of Quality Management Systems Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Principles of Quality Management Systems - Essay Example Total quality states the culture and attitude of an organization with the sole purpose of satisfying its customers with its products and services. The culture element in quality control is all pervasive in a company’s operations, removing the faults at first notice to achieve total quality control standards set in the principles of quality management systems. TQM is essentially customer-driven. It is run by top management, where improvement is a continuous process to satisfy customer needs as fast as possible. Products and services are improvised on the basis of collected data and its analysis. The employees participate in the best of team spirit feelings to attain a TQM culture and environment. All departments of an organization work for customer satisfaction – becoming internal customers first by operating as customers to some functions so that any loopholes may be checked and rectified before the product is Okayed for supply to venders. Thus, different parts of a company first become customers of its own products for some functions, then supplier to venders, who play a positive role in the process of total quality management for customer satisfaction. Products are developed in a TQM environment, where attention is paid to enhance and add quality and value to a product by checking errors instead of negative criticism. In a proce ss-oriented atmosphere, team members interact with their internal customers to attain total quality. Venders, who are external customers, become a part in the process of fulfilling customers’ demands, expectations, wishes and needs. Another important principle of Quality management systems is its â€Å"process approach†. This stress on process approach is fundamental to Quality Management Systems BS EN ISO 9001:2000.This standard is the "granddaddy" of global quality management system standards, and is designed to be used by any organization as the foundation for a QMS. It

Homework Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Homework - Essay Example For example an advertisement made in contrast of black and white may be eye catching and affects perceptual selection. Expectations Consumer’s expectations also affect how things are perceived by consumer. Consumers generally see what they expect to see. A person expecting to see some particular shop in a shopping mall will soon find out one than the one in no expectation to see that shop. Motives Perceptual selection is also influenced by consumer’s motives at that time, consumer’s current needs and desires affect the stimulus selection for perception. A consumer planning to have a vacation will be more open to resorts’ advertisements, airlines deals and hotels’ offers. These are the two major factors that affect selection of perceptual stimuli. FACTORS AFFECTING NATURE OF PERCETION Exposure Attention Interpretation Exposure Exposure highlights the stimulus to which a consumer is exposed to. Exposure can be either deliberate or random. Selective ex posure is deliberate, it happens when consumers seek out for messages that are pleasant and avoid the ones that are painful. Attention Attention explains out of all exposed stimulus, on which stimulus does the consumer pay concentration on. The attention paid by the consumer can be categorized as either of high involvement or of low involvement. The extent to which a consumer pay attention to particular stimulus is affected by a consumer’s needs interests and motives at that time. A person who is price conscious may pay attention to saver deals advertisements and on discount offers. Interpretation Interpretation defines the assignment of meaning to sensations. Interpretation of stimuli is also uniquely individual process. It is different for every person as each person perceives and interprets stimuli differently and uniquely. Attention Attention occurs when any stimulus is able to activate one or more sensory receptor nerves, and the sensation produced as a result of it, goe s to the brain for further processing. Attention requires consumers to allocate limited mental processing towards information processing. There are multiple stimulus and situational factors that affect on which stimuli consumers pay attention to. Stimulus factors Stimulus factors mostly include physical characteristics and nature of stimulus. Size and Intensity – any stimulus that is huge or giant in size will automatically catch attention of a person. Intensity may include the length, brightness or loudness of the stimulus. Color and Movement – the more colorful a stimulus is, the greater it has the chances to catch an individual’s attention. In addition to being colorful, if stimulus is mobile rather than stagnant, it has greater probability of attracting individual’s attention. A bright colored package is more likely to attract attention. Position – placement of the object in a person’s visual field. Mostly stimuli placed at prime locatio n, or at eye level or somewhere that is much unexpected for an individual to expect that stimulus to be. The greater it will attract the attention. Isolation –

Questions from international business competing in the global Assignment

Questions from international business competing in the global marketplace 8th edition by 'Hlll - Assignment Example Each country has a role to keep its network secure irrespective of the source of the suspicious cyber activities. China thus ought to protect its network from criminal activities of that manner. Cyberspace demands a lot of confidence in our current society. Hence, China should take action against such breach of security and confidentiality. All the investigation done pertaining to the case pointed China as the source and thus Google was left with no option but to stop the censorship. This should come as a warning for nations that do not protect the confidentiality of cyberspace. In my opinion, Google should have not censored China given its slogan against evil. This is because it would obviously be tough to rule where the government is deciding otherwise. Furthermore, there is no way conflict would be avoided where the interests are different as is the case with Google and Chinese government. However, looking at the positive side for Google, entering into self-censorship would benefi t the company because China is a potentially profitable market for Google. Hence, the best thing for Google is to allow the government to take charge of the censorship and reap the benefit of profits on its side as long as the security and confidentiality of other nations is not threatened. ... Thus without the search engines, this would be a challenge to China. The economy of China would be affected adversely as well as the general public (education and research) together with its government (Publicity). For the search engines, there is not much to lose because they would simply fail to invest there and conduct their business elsewhere. Hence, they would just lose once i.e. on the investment already made but China would suffer technology wise forever. Question 2 Wal-Mart is global merchandise with many stores all over the world. Its success in Mexico could be related to the acquiring of Cifra. This was the leading chain of stores at the time and offered self-service. After its acquisition, the firm added numerous innovations that had been perfected in the US. For instance, changes in pricing as well as supplies among others. The Mexicans like to have their goods fresh and this was offered by the firm. Further, the firm did not have any major competitors and thus had the ma rket to lead. Additionally, the Mexicans accepted their customer service and hence there was no doubt that it would succeed. Lastly, Wal-Mart opened smaller stores in order to cater for the needs of the masses and it was a welcome to most of the Mexicana. However, the success story is not similar in nations like Germany and China. Wal-Mart failed in Germany because the firm made many blunders in its operations since the very first day there. The firm has not found a solution to any of these problems so far. One of the major mistakes the company committed was making an acquisition entry which was flawed strategy to employ at the launching level. The management was through hubris as well as clash of cultures and thus would not stand. Wal-Mart also failed

Discharge Planning Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Discharge Planning - Essay Example Brown has been leaving a lonely life and in isolation. Supporting Mr. Brown to resume the normal physiological and mental functioning states requires that several people take part in maintaining, promoting and evaluating health care. The significance of health care practitioners is to ensure that quality and continuous health care is accorded to the patient regardless of the environment. The medical history of Mr. Brown reveals that he has had several cardiac diseases some which required surgical treatment. He suffered from hypertension which is basically a condition in which there is sustained high blood pressure in the arteries due to increased heart rate and cardiac stimulation. Ischemia heart disease is the occlusion of the coronary arteries due to fatty deposits limiting oxygen supply to the cardiac muscles and cells while coronary bypass is surgery performed to create a new path for blood flow to the heart muscles. Chronic heart failure is also cardiovascular condition whereby the cardiac function reduces significantly, the heart muscles weaken and there is reduced cardiac output. This is seen to be the complication of other cardiovascular diseases such as coronary artery disease and hypertension that form the medical history of Mr. Brown. Discharge planning; this is a usual feature in health care service provision system whereby patient needs are determined for an effective hospital-home transition with the aim of shortening hospitalization, preventing hospital readmissions and stepping up the coordination of home based health care services. A discharge plan also acts as a link between the hospital and the place of patient discharge unified by the common interest of providing quality continuous care. During discharge a number of people are involved, the doctor, nurse, social worker, patients significant others and the patient himself take an active part. In this group of people each individual plays a specific part in promoting

Homework Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Homework - Essay Example For example an advertisement made in contrast of black and white may be eye catching and affects perceptual selection. Expectations Consumer’s expectations also affect how things are perceived by consumer. Consumers generally see what they expect to see. A person expecting to see some particular shop in a shopping mall will soon find out one than the one in no expectation to see that shop. Motives Perceptual selection is also influenced by consumer’s motives at that time, consumer’s current needs and desires affect the stimulus selection for perception. A consumer planning to have a vacation will be more open to resorts’ advertisements, airlines deals and hotels’ offers. These are the two major factors that affect selection of perceptual stimuli. FACTORS AFFECTING NATURE OF PERCETION Exposure Attention Interpretation Exposure Exposure highlights the stimulus to which a consumer is exposed to. Exposure can be either deliberate or random. Selective ex posure is deliberate, it happens when consumers seek out for messages that are pleasant and avoid the ones that are painful. Attention Attention explains out of all exposed stimulus, on which stimulus does the consumer pay concentration on. The attention paid by the consumer can be categorized as either of high involvement or of low involvement. The extent to which a consumer pay attention to particular stimulus is affected by a consumer’s needs interests and motives at that time. A person who is price conscious may pay attention to saver deals advertisements and on discount offers. Interpretation Interpretation defines the assignment of meaning to sensations. Interpretation of stimuli is also uniquely individual process. It is different for every person as each person perceives and interprets stimuli differently and uniquely. Attention Attention occurs when any stimulus is able to activate one or more sensory receptor nerves, and the sensation produced as a result of it, goe s to the brain for further processing. Attention requires consumers to allocate limited mental processing towards information processing. There are multiple stimulus and situational factors that affect on which stimuli consumers pay attention to. Stimulus factors Stimulus factors mostly include physical characteristics and nature of stimulus. Size and Intensity – any stimulus that is huge or giant in size will automatically catch attention of a person. Intensity may include the length, brightness or loudness of the stimulus. Color and Movement – the more colorful a stimulus is, the greater it has the chances to catch an individual’s attention. In addition to being colorful, if stimulus is mobile rather than stagnant, it has greater probability of attracting individual’s attention. A bright colored package is more likely to attract attention. Position – placement of the object in a person’s visual field. Mostly stimuli placed at prime locatio n, or at eye level or somewhere that is much unexpected for an individual to expect that stimulus to be. The greater it will attract the attention. Isolation –

Discharge Planning Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Discharge Planning - Essay Example Brown has been leaving a lonely life and in isolation. Supporting Mr. Brown to resume the normal physiological and mental functioning states requires that several people take part in maintaining, promoting and evaluating health care. The significance of health care practitioners is to ensure that quality and continuous health care is accorded to the patient regardless of the environment. The medical history of Mr. Brown reveals that he has had several cardiac diseases some which required surgical treatment. He suffered from hypertension which is basically a condition in which there is sustained high blood pressure in the arteries due to increased heart rate and cardiac stimulation. Ischemia heart disease is the occlusion of the coronary arteries due to fatty deposits limiting oxygen supply to the cardiac muscles and cells while coronary bypass is surgery performed to create a new path for blood flow to the heart muscles. Chronic heart failure is also cardiovascular condition whereby the cardiac function reduces significantly, the heart muscles weaken and there is reduced cardiac output. This is seen to be the complication of other cardiovascular diseases such as coronary artery disease and hypertension that form the medical history of Mr. Brown. Discharge planning; this is a usual feature in health care service provision system whereby patient needs are determined for an effective hospital-home transition with the aim of shortening hospitalization, preventing hospital readmissions and stepping up the coordination of home based health care services. A discharge plan also acts as a link between the hospital and the place of patient discharge unified by the common interest of providing quality continuous care. During discharge a number of people are involved, the doctor, nurse, social worker, patients significant others and the patient himself take an active part. In this group of people each individual plays a specific part in promoting

Genetically Modified Food Essay Example for Free

Genetically Modified Food Essay Genetically modified (GM) foods are ethically unacceptable. GM foods are food product derived in whole or part from a genetically modified organism by human intention. It is a special set of technologies that concerns the alteration, deletion, or addition of the genetic makeup of living organisms such as animals, plants, or bacteria. This is an important issue because GM foods have been dubbed as the Food of the Future and although studies have shown that genetically modified foods may bring about many benefits to mankind, we must also look into the ethical issues involved in producing such food before we even consider accepting it as the way of the future. First, we must understand that the word ethical is defined as having to do with ethics or morality; or of conforming to moral standards. There will be 3 parts to this essay. Firstly, I will be presenting and defending 2 arguments that support my stand. Following that, Ill take into consideration some common objections against my thesis. Lastly, I will summarize the main points in this essay before drawing to a conclusion. The essays argument takes the form of Modus Ponens: If GM is X, GM is unethical GM is X GM is unethical My main argument is that it is unethical to tamper with nature by mixing genes among the different species. By doing so, it may actually lead to a violation of natural organisms intrinsic values. There is a very delicate balance that links this world together and this is the balance that makes things work. GM foods might actually give rise to more complications such as the disturbance of natures food pyramid. For example, the pesticide produced in the crop may unintentionally harm other creatures while producing a benefit to others. The introduction of pest-resistant genes into crops could lead to the death of the pests and other animals causing an imbalance in the food chain that could possibly lead to the extinction of some species especially if they are only localized in one particular area. In Britain, a native farm bird, the Skylark, was indirectly affected by the introduction of GM sugar beets that were designed to resist herbicides. The result in planting this crop was that weeds were reduced substantially. However, since the birds rely on the seeds of this weed in autumn and winter, researchers expect that up to 80% of the Skylark population would have to find other means of finding food. Another issue brought up is that GM crops may also pose a health risk to native animals that eat the plants and may be poisoned by the built-in pesticides. Although others might also argue that the cutting down of trees to construct buildings might also be a way of tampering with nature, GM food not just tampers with physical nature but with the foundation of nature genes. Every organism, no matter how small, is made up of genes. These genes control the physical development and behavior of the organism and are passed down from parent to offspring. The word genes (comes from the Greek word genos meaning origin) actually defines natures origin and the production of GM food would mean to change the origin of nature. Furthermore, religious communities Christians, Hindus, Jews and Muslims Ââ€" also share such concerns regarding GM products. According to Bishop Jeff Davies from the SA Council of Churches, With genetic engineering, we are tampering with the structures of life that have taken millions of years to evolve and we have the arrogance to think that we can improve on them in 10 years to transfer a gene from one species into another. Different religious communities have different believes and one of them would be their food such as kosher and halal food. But with the introduction of animal genes into plants how will they define a tomato with a fish gene? This will also be a major concern to vegetarians. All in all, I believe that people should be happy with what nature has to give and not play God and try to control nature. It is unethical to sacrifice other creatures and meddle with the delicate balance of nature. Furthermore, there will be potential chain reactions that may be unstoppable. One other argument is how GM products can affect our health especially in the long run. The unpredictable changes in our food could lead to negative reactions that are not detected by research techniques until much later. A quick acceptance of GE foods without proper testing could show corporate profitability to be very influential but that would be too dangerous because there has been no adequate safety testing to ensure that using other organisms genes is going to have the same useful effects if inserted into a totally unrelated species. Furthermore, testing has only been done on a small scale currently and its hard to predict what will happen when its used on a wider ecology. In 1989, dozens of Americans died and several thousands were afflicted and impaired by a genetically altered version of the food supplement L-tryptophan. Studies have been done to show how viruses can mix with genes of other viruses to give rise to more deadly viruses. To mass market the use of GM food when it has not been properly tested for safety issues would mean that businesses are gaining at the expense of consumers health and is therefore ethically unacceptable. On the other hand, some organizations insist that GM technology is the solution to solving the problem of world hunger. However, I feel that it is simply a ploy of corporations and countries that are using the plight of the developing world as a marketing strategy to gain acceptance of GE foods. GM technology is not an economical method that can be easily implemented by most countries. In fact, genetic engineering techniques are currently being applied to crops important to the industrialized world and not on crops which the worlds hungry depend on. GM foods could actually reduce developed countries reliance on crops from developing countries, resulting in loss of trade and severe economic damage for them and intensifying their problem of poverty. This would mean that theres a conflict of interest. Furthermore, an important factor that Friends of the Earth has pointed out is that many people in the world are suffering from malnutrition and hunger because they cannot afford to buy food, not because it is unavailable. Therefore, even with GM food, people would still not be able to afford it or have it distributed appropriately. Most of the causes of hunger are found in global politics, rather than issues of agriculture and technology. As a result, a variety of groups and people are questioning the motives behind GM foods as the political causes of hunger appear to be ignored. An article from Food First observed that most innovations in agricultural biotechnology have been profit-driven rather than need-driven and it questions whether GE technology can really ensure food security, protect the environment and reduce poverty in the developing world or is it produced simply because its patentable and thus, profitable to businesses. In some cases, as reported by The Institute for Science, pesticide usage is actually increasing, and GE crop actually yield less than conventional crops. In this essay, I have come up with several valid reasons why Genetically Modified Foods are ethically unacceptable. GM foods tamper with the origin of nature which is the genes and there is inadequate safety testing to prove that GM food is safe for human consumption. Therefore, businesses are mass marketing GM food at the expense of consumers health and proclaiming that GM Food is the solution to world hunger when it might not be true. Although there might be potential and benefits in GE technology, there are still many unknown areas that might prove to be more harmful then beneficial. Furthermore, there are still too many important ethical issues that have been ignored and that reason by itself makes it ethically unacceptable.

Trends And Development Of Malaysian Media Essay

Trends And Development Of Malaysian Media Essay What is animation. Wyatt defines animation is the image that is manipulated in frame by frame, and when moved quickly will produce the illusion of movement. Nowadays, animations have many type forms such as animated films, television series, live-action films, advertisements, corporate videos, video games and others. These had shown that the animation is not only stop in traditional areas of television animation and advertising but a step forward into areas such as web design, educational courseware, interactive comics, architecture, 3-D holograms, virtual reality and mobile games. (Hassan, 2008). The animation growth in Malaysia is still unstable. The government plays an important role in the development of the animation industry. Malaysian animation industry had influenced by the United States and Japan animation because of the early development of animation. Its present growth is hindered due to many factors such as the lack of skills, local identities in animation and due to small domestic market. The objective of this study is to investigate the influences of the United States and Japan animation industry on the development of Malaysian animation industry. We will also discuss the challenges and opportunities in the Malaysian animation industry. 2. History of Animation The development of animation start from very early age and originated from the cavemens cave painting (Stephenson, 1967). The cave painting shows a sequence of separate seems like a film strip. The cave drawings are originated during the Palaeolithic age (Stephenson, 1967:24). After that, physician John Ayrton invented the thaumatrope in Paris, 1825 (Jamalludin Zaidatun, 2005:6). Thaumatrope was invented as an entertainment device which can make two still images become a persistence of vision by twirling the strings. Another device using the idea of persistence of vision invented by Joseph Plateau and Simon Stampfer in 1830 called the phenakistoscope, in the meaning of deceptive view in Greek. The phenakistoscope is a toy which using a disc that contains a series of continuous images with in-between of each image with a metal rod placed in the middle (Jamalludin Zaidatun, 2005:7-8). In 1834, William Horner in England had invented zoetrope which same principles as the phenakistoscop e. Before name of zoetrope, it called the Daedalum (wheel of the devil). Zoetrope differences with the phenakistoscope is the series of images is placed with a metal drum. The metal drum rotate faster, the animation becomes clearer and smooth (Jamalludin Zaidatun, 2005:9). The praxinoscope was introduced by Charles Emile Reynaud after 43 years zoetrope invented. He combined the principles of the zoetrope and phenakistoscope (Jamalludin Zaidatun, 2005:9-10). The praxinoscope was the last of development of early animation techniques (Stephenson, 1967; Wells, 1998). Then, John Barnes Linnett, an inventor of flip book in 1968 who basically did not use or create any specific devices unlike others. The method of flip book is still being use at nowadays in the modern animation. Modern animation with the development of computer hardware and software, allowed animators spend less time on hand-drawing and increase the quality of the animation. D:Visual CultureToyStory[3].jpgD:Visual Culturereboot_characters.jpg Fig. 1 Reboot (1994) Fig. 2 Toy Story (1998) Before the emergence of advancing computer technology, animation is being hand-drawn so called the technology of cel animation, but now it fully digitalize and produced into 3D animation. It helps reduce physical effort and increase the quality and speed of producing animation effectively. The details and visual effects become more fine and complex compare with the cel animation. 3D visual technology which was previously limited to 2-dimensional views of the x and y axis have seen, an additional of the z axis is representing the third and newest dimension. 3D digital content is including the use of computer graphic image (CGI) and it finally came out the very first CGI technology animation series Reboot (1994) and the first 3D animation, Toy Story (1998). 2. The United States and Japan Animation Development of animation has inspring the two countries, the United States and Japan (Mohd Amir Mat Omar Md Sidin Ahmad Ishak, 2011). These countries animations grow mature and leading the way and inspiring the development of animation in other countries, including Malaysia, such as Walt Disney Animation Studio, Pixar, Studio Ghibli and Toei Animation. With the advancement and capabilities of computer technology, allowed other countries have the opportunities to grow slowly and become minor competitors. They cannot overturn the animation industries of United States and Japan although they have the capabilities, but the animations from countries have their own respective animation history according to their places origin. 2.1 A Comparison between American and Japanese Animation The difference between American and Japanese animation can be described in simple way is the narrative and the visual. The narrative of American animation is more direct than the Japanese one which tells the story in a veiled way. Additionally, the narrative of American animation follows the formula of a happy ending to guarantee acceptance by the audience, however, Japanese animation tries out different story lines and narratives for different groups of audiences. Secondly, on the one hand, American animation draws in clear lines, uses bright, vivid colours, full of fantasy, colourful and with funny characters and background designs. Sometimes the audience feels the lively rhythm when watching. On the other hand, Japanese animation is made in watercolour-like, freehand-like fashion with the pale colours that convey a sense of the hand-drawn traces. Studying American and Japanese animations history and industry structure, and analysing their successful productions may help further develop other animation industries such as the Malaysian one. On the one hand, American animation has the safety of the narrative and the genre is suitable for children and families. This kind of narrative and genre is also safe for an animation industry which still finds itself in the beginning stage such as in Malaysia as it reduces the risks when making an animation production. In addition, since Malaysians have an English language advantage, it is much easier to get animation knowledge from American companies such as Disney and Pixar. Seefood The Movie  that stars a couple of sharks is that its Malaysias first 3D animation movie in English and its style also similar like the production of Pixar, Finding Nemo (2003). On the other hand, the uniqueness of Japanese animation provides many options to other animation industries in the world. Japanese animation has a wide range of genres which includes even the erotic and its target audience is not only children. That is part of the reason why nowadays Japanese animation has developed on the scale we know. This wide range of genres of Japanese animation has inspired Malaysian animation to find its own identity through the story content, narrative, editing and/or conceptual, but not necessarily visual, style. 2. History of Malaysian Animation For Malaysia animation history, wayang kulit and traditional literary has a great influence to the Malaysian animation. The Malay word wayang means shadow. Shadow play is said to have its origins in Inida, China, Egypt, Southeast Asia (Indonesia, Thailand and Malaysia), Turkey and Europe. Wayang kulit are said to one of the earliest animation in Malaysia because it is a traditional Malaysian theater staged operas, combined oral narrative and performing arts into a piece. Hassan Muthalib (2003) points to wayang kulit as the first known example of animation. While in performances, puppet operators are sitting behind the white screen, the screen is marked light; performers are performing through the puppets and mouth telling various stories from the folk literatures. Puppet shadow show on the screen, combined with the perfomers voice, much like the art of Chinese shadow play. In fact, appearance on the screen of wayang kulit that used by the animator is in the early 1926. German animato r Lotte Reiniger used the form of wayang kulit, created her first feature film called The Adventures of Prince Achmed. Many Malaysian animators have credited The Adventures of Prince Achmeds recognizable style for generating their initial interest in animation. Malaysian animation also influenced by traditional literary. It divided intro aristocracy sponsor and appreciation in writing literature, as well as ordinary people who eulogized oral folk tales. Development of both is at the same time. The written literatures are strongly containing feudalism, mainly palace life; oral folk tales, including the story that origin of animals, customs, heroes, and in some areas. Subsequently, these elements are using in Malaysia movies, shows, modern literature, such as animation, comic and more. The visual arts are widely used. Writing literature and folk literature have played a big role in Malaysia animation. For example, the animated film Hikayat Sang Kancil, a short film produced by Anandam Xavier in 1978 which adapted from the story of mouse deer. Mouse deer in Malaysia and Indonesia is very famous, it is the size of the feline, legs and tail like a deer, the body and head like mice and often teases other small animals. With the appearance of anim ated film Hikayat Sang Kancil, a few titles Sang Kancil Monyet, Sang Kancil Buaya, Gagak Yang Bijak, Arnab Yang Sombong and Singa Yang Haloba which ranged from 1984 to 1987 came out (Mohd Amir Mat Omar Md Sidin Ahmad Ishak, 2011). Development of Malaysian Animation Malaysia animation productions are still in the process of developing. Most of animations which have been aired in Malaysia are either from the United States or Japan because of the influences of early development of animation. However, the development of technology in computer hardware and software has allowed and offered the local developers a space to be creative and a helpful tool in developing the industry towards maturity and international standard. Thus, animation in Malaysia began in 1946 through the establishment of the Malayan Film Unit but now known as Filem Negara (Hassan, 2003). Animation was only limited to moving text and objects. Malaysia animation began to develop commercially around the 1990s with the appearance of Usop Sontorian animated series in 1995 and Silat Lagenda animated film in 1998. Since the publication of the animated series Usop Sontorian in 1995, the animation sector growing with the appearance of many television series, films and telemovie related to animation. This is an exciting development among ASEAN countries, as Malaysia did not have a big and strong studio compared to Philippines, Thailand, Vietnam, and Indonesia (Hassan, 2008). Malaysia has produced close to sixty animated television series and films. However, the growth and development of animation have slowed down from 1987 to 1994 and from 1996 to 2007 (Mohd Amir Mat Omar Md Sidin Ahmad Ishak, 2011). The first gap of the development of Malaysia animation begin from 1987 after the end of Anandem Xaviers, producer of Hikayat Sang Kancil, work to 1995 when Kamn Ismail of Kharisma Production produced the first animated series, Usop Sontorian(1995).The acceleration of animation is due to Malaysia government pushes for the use of digital technology in animation production (Hassan, 2003). In the meanwhile, animation also have appeared in other forms as text and advertisements but were simple at the time and only used minor for increase the attraction of films or advertisement. The second gap is the lack of printed media on Malaysian animation. After Usop Sontorian broadcast out, a number of animation series have appeared, such as Keluang Man, Yokies, Anak-anak Sidet and more. Unfortunately, Malaysia encounter economic crisis that appeared in 1998 and why animation production has slowed down. 3.1 The Recent Animated Features In Malaysia, there is a lot of talent in the field of animation and it is comparable to overseas. Thus, the animated film War of The Worlds: Goliath, it certainly opened the eyes of the world to Malaysia where able to produce an animated film quality and international standards. The development of local animation show remarkable improvement every day. Animated series such as Upin Ipin, BoboiBoy and Seefood between local products should be proud of as full use of the expertise of Malaysian. However, Malaysian also identified no less pleased with the production of the animated film War of The Worlds: Goliath (WOTWG) that will find in theaters on November 2012. Production Tripod Group of Companies (Tripod) published WOTWG under layer in Kuala Lumpur and Los Angeles, United State of America, an animated first local generated in 3 dimensions (3D) with combined stereoscopic 2D cell hybrid technology and computer generated imagery (CGI). This is the first project resulting Tripod with Kevi n Eastman cooperation with the originator of the famous animated series, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles as publishing executive Chief Executive Employees and co-founder of Tripod, Leon Tan serves as a major publisher. The film gets a touch of the director, Joe Pearson who is not arbitrary because the individual has 30 years of experience in the field of animation Hollywood. The author was David Abramowitz previously been involved in the famous television series Highlander. Although the main stem is external energy certainly has expertise in animation production, more than 200 of the 300 workforce-oriented science-fiction films produced is Malaysian. Interestingly about this movie, it has already won the Best Film Award at 3D Animation 3D Film Festival Los Angeles in September. WOTWG victory sweeter when beating other Hollywood movies that is equally as ParaNorman, Madagascar 3 and Tinker Bell. WOTWG comic adapted from HG Wells writing this 100-year-old also screened at the San Diego Comic Convention, July. The film received funding and support from Malaysia Venture Capital Management (Mavcap), Multimedia Development Corporation (MDeC), the creative industry loan fund bank and CG visual effects of the National Film Development Corporation (Finas). Overall, WOTWG has put a new benchmark that local creative energy is already ready to explode 3D content creation globally. 4 Challenges The lack of training and skills Lack of conventional training such as drawing, painting, layouts and story-boarding for animation production might have been the main reason for many small and poorly produced local animations especially during the starting years of this industry. Malaysian film industry is due to small domestic market One of the major challenges facing Malaysian film industry is due to small domestic market. While in the programs rating for television broadcast, film that achieve 2 million viewers are already considered a successful film. It is evident that most successful animation industries that achieve export potential are those with huge home-based markets like Japan, not to mention Disney and Pixar. The animation industry in Malaysia is a small industry in terms of the quantity of films produced annually as well as its contribution to the economy. The main challenge faced by the local industry as a result of globalization is mainly from the influx of foreign film products. As a commitment to embracing the open market and globalization, Malaysia does not protect the importation of foreign products. Foreign films are free to enter the local market under minimal requirements. First, it has to pass through the Malaysian Film Censorship Board, which is the government authority that is responsible for granting licenses to the film for public viewing, and second is to provide subtitles in the Malay language (Rosnan, 2012). Other than the rules and regulations stipulated under the Film Censorship Act, films from any country are free to enter the Malaysian market. To a certain extent, the local film industry is affected by foreign products that undermine the local films in the local market. In Malaysias case, the indigenous film industry is striving to compete with foreign films in the local market. In this circumstance, it is obvious that it will be tougher for the industry to compete in the international arena. Furthermore, it is especially difficult for local films to compete with big-budgeted foreign films. Lack of local identity Malaysia animation industry also greatly influence by American and Japan animation, a initial evidence was the farming out of ink and paintwork in 1985 to Lensafilm, a commercial film studio (Hassan,2003). This scenario eventually brings Malaysia personnel to undergo training in Toei Animation, Japan and influenced physical aspect in certain ways of Malaysia Industry. Animation styles and techniques have been confined to the classical tradition but the emphasis by universities and colleges on research and development has led to the exploration of alternative methods. The early days of animation tended to copy, in particular, the Disney or MGM (Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer cartoon studio) styles of animation. One studio, Lensamation, did out-sourcing work for Toei and other Japanese studios, resulting in a whole generation of animators who indulged in the anime tradition. Many studios are still using the contemporary American style of animation as they find that it looks good and is easier to market. But character design and animation in the style of Johnny Bravo, Power Puff Girls and Sponge-Bob Squarepants appears to be standard for the digital generation and local producers are taking the cue. The PIXAR-style highly-stylised animation and design is also the trend for computer games and web-based content both for local industry and out-sourcing as clients and audiences seem to relate to the form. Hassan (2004) described the relationship between student animation projects and identity of Malaysia various heritages and races. In his citation, currently Malaysia neither distinctive animation trend nor local identity (Hassan 2008). At the same time, Hassan also did not specifically mention cultural identification identify within Malaysia Animation. Hence, it would be a long ways effort to understand how culture is portrayed in Malaysia animation. It has been argued that competition in animation business is very stiff with developed and Western countries dominating global animation business. Opportunities Animation from the United States and Japan are taking over the television channels in Malaysia. In fact, these animations are come as cultural products which are different values for Malaysians. With the Malaysia culture influence of Upin and Ipin, a proud and strong impression of the advancement of Malaysian animation may leave on Malaysians and change their though for the Malaysian animation. Mickey Mouse and Dragonball which Malaysians watching since young may find the emergence of Upin Ipin, as local animation able to portray local environment, it provides proposal for character characteristic that define our motherland country. The effort started with Usop Sontorian , the first local tailor made movie for Malaysia market. The production of Kharisma Production under cartoonist Ujang and director Kamn Ismail have leading Malaysia market by Upin Ipin and Boboi Boy. Story As we said just now, the wide range of genres of Japanese animation has inspired Malaysian animation to find its own identity through the story content, narrative, editing and/or conceptual, but not necessarily visual, style. Seefood The Movie  is jointly produced by Silver Ant Sdn Bhd and the Al-Jazeera Childrens Channel (JCC), with a grant from the Science, Technology and Innovation Ministry and also support from the Multimedia Development Corporation (MDeC). Seefood The Movie  is the Malaysias first 3D animation movie in English. Seefood has been compared with Finding Nemo (Fig. ) by Pixar because both of them have a similar story line, background setting, and graphic design. Although Seafoods visual and style is not better than Finding Nemo, but the difference lies in the core concept. Finding Nemo focuses on the family, whereas Seefood focuses on the environment and humanity. Although Seefood has a happy ending, the difference in core concept shows the influence of Japanese animation on Malaysian animation while the story was being written. As mentioned, one of the major differences between American and Japanese animation is the story concept. American animation is always focusing on the family a nd the main target audience is children, however, the target audience of Japanese animation is both children and adults and their story concept could be any topic or social issue. However, good looking does not mean good overall. There is still room for improvement, especially as far as editing, music and storytelling are concerned. Government Support International producers are taking advantage of the emergence of the new international division of cultural labour by searching for cheaper production costs in foreign countries. As in the case of FDI(Foreign Direct Investment) in Malaysia, which has contributed to economic growth and provided externalities, the government foresees that similar benefits would accrue to the film industry by attracting foreign film producers. However, neighboring countries, including Thailand and Singapore, also have the same strategy. Malaysia should have a competitive advantage in competing with other countries for foreign film projects. This is not easy, as the government has to formulate policies and provide an incentive structure that is attractive to foreign producers. In Malaysia, it is estimated that 200 companies are under a program called Creative Content Centre set up by the government including those involved in the field of animation (Mohd Amir Mat Omar Md Sidin Ahmad Ishak, 2011). Another support program called the MSC (Multimedia Super Corridor) Malaysian Animation. All of these companies are in need of help and support, especially from the government because animation in Malaysia still not strong as in the United States and Japan, they may not stand on their owns without direct aid from the government. So, the establishment of Multimedia Super Corridor (MSC) and Multimedia Development Corporation (MDec), which aims to advance the field of information technology and multimedia including creative multimedia is very significant. A total of RM750 million fund has been allocated for this purpose and is made available to developers of video games, visual effects and animation (Mohd Amir Mat Omar Md Sidin Ahmad Ishak, 2011). D:Visual CultureWD_geng_Meluncur.jpg Fig. 4 Geng: Pengembaraan Bermula (2009) Success of Upin Ipin animation is the best example can be seen revenue initiatives and support provided by the MSC and MDeC. This animation has become a huge phenomenon not only in Malaysia, but outside countries such as Indonesia, Turkey, Brunei, and Thailand. Similarly, the diversity in Malaysia film industry. Animation films are seen as global products and easily directed towards enticing global audiences. After so long upon the presence of a film that is capable to displaying the trule Malaysia, it finally came out. Watching Geng: Pengembaraan Bermula(2009), Les Copaque Production took Malaysians to a great exploration of nature and amazing. By simply based on the popularity of the television series Upin Ipin that aired on television, this animated film turned out to be able to bring people from all ages and races together to watch it in a theater. Movie Geng: Pengembaraan Bermula(2009) has grossed RM6.3 million revenue run in cinema (Maimunah, 2009) and this has brought a new phenomenon in local animation industry. In addition, collaboration between Multimedia Development Corporation (MDeC) with Al Jazeera Childrens Channel (JCC) in publication of 26 series episode at Saladin television (Al Bawaba, 2007). With the achievement made by a local production house, Les Copaque Production Sdn Bhd, the government is optimistic that locally, Malaysians have the capability to benefit from the animation sector. Nevertheless, to compete in the animation sector would mean that the industry is competing with big-budgeted giant global players like Pixar and Disney. This is a challenge for a relatively small industry. Thus, government support is deemed necessary, as the local producers are definitely not in the same league as other global film players. Conclusions In the case of the Malaysian animation industry, it is acknowledged that the local market is small and that the market size of a nation dictates the budget for animation production. Hence, to compete with big-budgeted foreign animations is not a feasible option. Rather, the industry should venture and compete in an area where it has a competitive advantage. One area that local people have shown their capability is the animation sector. Les Copaque Production was the first private production house that produced 3-D animation and was very successful in the local market. Their products have subsequently been marketed internationally. In 2009, their animation series is now available on ASTROs Disney Channel. This proves that local people are actually capable of developing their own film products. In another area of animation, Malaysia has skilled people that are capable of taking up outsourcing jobs. With the relatively cheap cost of labour, Malaysia should attract global animation clust ers such as Disney or Pixar to outsource their production of animation work. Local public and private universities are offering more animation and multimedia related courses for students. Every year, quite a number of students graduate from animation related courses. Taking advantage of the emergence of the new international division of cultural labour will provide employment opportunities, especially for new graduates. The government plays an important role in nurturing and promoting the development of the indigenous film industry through its policy and regulatory framework. The government, through FINAS, has taken the necessary action to promote the development of the indigenous film industry. Nevertheless, much needs to be done to ensure that the governments funds are properly channeled and used in the most efficient way. In most animation, culture is reflected through different areas. Some are reflected by the physical appearance of character and even the language they speak. As yet, distinctive animation trend is seen in Malaysia that can be considered unique or having a local identity. However, it is a global trend in which if better understood, the more benefits we can get from animation. Animation can become a powerful business tool with its impact but importantly as well is the fact than the culture and identity of a nation can be shared through the animation.