Importance Of Conservation And Preservation In Malaysia Tourism Essay Essay Example

Importance Of Conservation And Preservation In Malaysia Tourism Essay Essay Introduction Conservation and environmental protection are really of import in Malaysia. Environment stabilisation and keeping to guarantee that Malaysia create protection country for zoology and vegetations such as constitution of national Parkss. It is because input from natures resources are of import to economic. While environmental quality on the other manus is productive plus for society. Tropical natures are one of the of import assets to tourism sector of a state. As a state with equator clime, Malaysia has alone natures and island row. Recently, Malaysia started move frontward to go a developed state. Assorted sectors which become function theoretical account in order in development schemes for illustration industrial sector, agribusiness and touristry. Through touristry sector, Malaysia have introduced some natural topographic point which become focal point point for tourer as their diversion topographic point for the intent to kill their clip and for gratifying activities for illustration at national park, forest modesty and islands. Therefore, Malaysia afford make touristry sector as a major beginning of returns if the natures beauty can be ever maintained. At the same clip, touristry industry has betterment and turning clearly show that Malaysia has alone attraction. Besides that, multi racial people with different cultural stay peace in one state do Malaysia g o more alone and more attract outside tourer reaching and this is a beginning of net income for the state. Therefore cultural diverseness and humanistic disciplines is cardinal determiner in attract tourers. Table 1.1: Number of arrival harmonizing to nationality Sarawak Year Nationality 2004 2005 We will write a custom essay sample on Importance Of Conservation And Preservation In Malaysia Tourism Essay specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now We will write a custom essay sample on Importance Of Conservation And Preservation In Malaysia Tourism Essay specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer We will write a custom essay sample on Importance Of Conservation And Preservation In Malaysia Tourism Essay specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer Malaya 2,092,704 2,248,829 Singapore 40,329 42,912 Australia and New Zealand 30,403 28,066 Canada 11,310 9.062 Hong Kong 1,100 593 India 12,924 12,426 United Kingdom and Ireland 44,267 42,136 Brunei 1,280,135 1,354,148 America 10,973 11,207 China 11,768 11,207 West Europe 19,268 18,729 East Europe 992 1,355 Filipina 104,341 101,521 Dutch east indies 379,477 449,327 Japan 10,245 9,142 Taiwan 8,283 7,472 Siam 17,189 17,994 Others 258,183 198,704 Entire 4,333,891 4,577,489 ( Beginning: Immigration Department, Sarawak ) Table 1.2: Number of arrival harmonizing to province Sarawak Tahun State 2004 2005 Kuching 779,135 859,320 Sibu 127,454 166,018 Abor 311,445 332,669 Bintulu 41,032 73,167 Limbang 243,762 238,465 Entire 4,333,891 1,669,639 ( Beginning: Immigration Department, Sarawak ) Apart from that, substructure installations is one of the factor of tourer reaching. It is because tourers will necessitate comfort and seek consolation when visit to a state. For illustration, many tourers who come to the Malaysia is to bask scenic beauty of the natures and the unique of cultural diverseness. So the comfortable of adjustment such as hotel, chalet and so on as a factor to pull tourist reaching. Accommodation installation drama of import function cause this will be a factor to find whether tourer will remain long or otherwise. Sarawak is the biggest province in Malaysia which celebrated with rich of assorted cultural groups of civilization and rich in history and heritage and besides known as Land of Hornbills. Sarawak non merely the largest province in Malaysia, it besides was the province that divide to a batch country and contain longest river in Malaysia, largest flower in the universe, largest moth in the universe, widen cave in the universe, oldest tropical rain forest and the first individual emerge in Southeast Asian available in Sarawak. This had show that Sarawak is alone and typical. Diversion topographic point in Sarawak consist of natural position country and cultural centres such as Sarawak Cultural Village. Sarawak Cultural Village popular with natural beauty among local and oversea tourers. The rich of ecology, biological and tradition in Sarawak Cultural Village truly astonishing. Therefore, attempts was being improved towards preserve ecology diverseness, biological and tradition in Cultural Village. It is because cultural diverseness and tradition of the local people able to pull a batch of tourers visit to this land of hornbills. Sarawak province so rich with assorted type of civilization and cultural such as Malay dance, Chinese and others ethnic in Sarawak which able to entertain tourer particularly those tourer that like to see community life in Sarawak. Since cultural small town started unfastened to see, so indirectly exist harm and pollution hazard to the natures and beauty scene. Therefore, cultural small town have to be preserve scenic beauty and traditional abode from threatened by homo. Sarawak Cultural Village Background Sarawak Cultural Village located at Damai Beach Santubong and about 35km from the province capital Kuching town and dubbed as life museum in Sarawak. Sarawak Cultural Village besides become a finish must be visited for those who first measure to Land of Hornbills. This life museum officially opened since February 1990. This life museum consists seven hectares broad and about 150 people populating in the small town which include seven cultural group viz. Bidayuh, Iban, Orang Ulu, Penan, Melanau, Malay and Chinese. And each ethnic have their ain life style and traditional civilizations for illustration the edifice of each cultural is different, longhouse of the Iban, Bidayuh and Orang Ulu, Melanau live at tall house while Chinese is farm house. Apart from that, the entryway fees to Sarawak Cultural Village show as Table 1.3. Table 1.3: Entrance Fees Entrance fees Class Sarawak citizen Not Sarawak Citizen Adult RM25 RM60 Children ( between 6-12 of age ) RM18 RM30 Student RM15 RM15 ( Beginning: Sarawak Cultural Village ) Figure1.1: Sarawak Cultural Village Location ( Sumber: Malaxi Damai Beach ) Cultural Bidayuh known as Dayak Darat achieve 8.4 per centums out of entire population in Sarawak. Majority cultural Bidayug stay in long house that located nearby incline of mountain and besides nearby river. Their house are made from board and bamboo with sago thenar roof. Tourists can bask long house life style when visit to this topographic point. Iban tribesman known as Laut Dayak which their long house construct built up with big life room and several bed room. This cultural most of import hoarded wealth courage. Every soldier able to kill enemy, will acquire grasp as warrior and greeted with usage dances. Hence, Penan life style is nomad manner means that disfavor stay in a topographic point with long clip. Therefore, their abode size besides rather little size. Apart from that, Orang Ulu like to construct house scattered in upland and river bank. While Melanau house is the most alone among other Sarawak ethnic, it is because their house is build up 40 pess tall from land, chief intent is to forestall onslaught by enemy and inundation. At the same clip, local cultural dance public presentation including Ngajat Lesong and Ngajat Pahlawan, cultural musical public presentation show in Theater Sarawak Cultural Village start from 11.30 oclock in the forenoon to 4.00 oclock in the afternoon, and every public presentation take 45 proceedingss long. Figure 1.2: Entire population with cultural Sarawak 2005 ( Beginning: Jabatan Penduduk dan Perumahan Malaysia ) 1.3 The Important of Conservation and Preservation natural resource and cultural in Malaya Tourist industry depends extremely on natural resources and cultural diverseness which has potency to advance and pull tourer reaching. Natures is one plus that used to pull tourers arrival to see beauty and feel new experience. Awareness on the of import of preserve natures in assorted degree ( authorities sector, private sector and society ) for constitution of several protected country. Establish Sarawak Cultural Village is one of the attack that used to do certain the topographic point that rich of ecology diverseness, biological and cultural heritage preserved and preserve for future coevals cause by clip base on balls. Since Sarawak Cultural Village unfastened visit to tourist in twelvemonth 1990, cultural small town record around 70,000 people visit per twelvemonth. Tourists get benefit while visit to cultural small town including position natures scenic, cultural heritage and handcraft and do assorted diversion activities and every bit good as research and acquisition besides. So their entry capable addition economic growing and besides Kuching capital development from the return of the cultural small town. Indirectly, cultural small town set up economic chances to society such as occupation chance, income degree and others Fieldss. At the same clip, touristry growing in Sarawak due to act upon development at that country. Therefore society nearby can bask high quality of substructure and installations. 1.4 Problem Statement General know that the beauty of natural scenic and rich of assorted tradition cultural drama different of import function and map. Conservation and keeping cultural small town concept need betterment but it involves high cost. Therefore, entrepreneur cultural small town enforce a entrance payment rate around RM60 for grownup non Sarawak citizen for the preservation and keeping intent. Harmonizing to policy shapers particularly authorities, whatever determination on resource use require information related cost and benefit. For illustration, preservation and keeping attempt, authorities require information about cost and benefit to do a determination whether executable or non. So, the issue is the benefit value from preservation and keeping could non be valued in finance signifier. That is, benefit value from the preservation and keeping merely can gauge in quantitative with utilizing construct Willingness To Pay ( WTP ) . The value of WTP on entryway fees to cultural small town typified their willingness pay apart from purpose enjoy recreational installation but besides preservation and keeping plan. Evaluation preservation and keeping plan divide to two facet viz. direct usage value and indirect usage value. Direct use value consists goods and services such as natural scenery and traditional dances of assorted tribesman. Indirect use value could non be valued in market in fact it more focus on ecology and biological science, tribesman abode and diversion protection. Therefore, preservation and keeping create indirect usage value to human and besides natures every bit good. Aim To analyze and gauge WTP value for the intent of preservation and saving Sarawak Cultural Village. To place those factor influence WTP for the cost of saving for air quality, scenic position. Tradition edifice in Sarawak Cultural Village. To analysis the of import of Sarawak Cultural Village to society s tradition Sarawak. To develop scheme to guarantee that keeping convey optimal benefit to society Sarawak. 1.6 Research Scope Data aggregation in this survey is refer to research design which primary informations collected through questionnaire method. Sampling point focal point at country Damai Beach, Santubong, country Sarawak Cultural Village. Entire respondent in this survey around one hundred and will utilize interview method based on nonsubjective survey. Respondent class chosen is single that has worked. Statistical Package for the School Science ( SPSS ) package will be used to reinforced consequence of the survey by looking relationship among each variables. 1.7 The Important of Research Since 1984, touristry industry show possible returns to economic growing. Hence, authorities had develop several program to better and enlargement touristry industry by set up a ministry particularly for cultural touristry able addition this industry by Tourism Development Company to advance and enlarge touristry market, installation betterment has been given for investing in this touristry industry. Investing for adjustment undertakings such as hotel and motel and substructure such as diversion centre and other installations were given innovator position or revenue enhancement inducement to authorities. Indirectly those inducements give growing to the state. Government recommend small town touristry was one of the new effectual option which this development merchandise is based on the natural resources and usage of different cultural. Nowadays, assorted schemes generated by authorities to advance natural touristry and the unique of usage as a new attractive force tourers. Therefore, tourers today more involvement with nature touristry, so authorities drama of import function in preserve and keep the quality of the diversion centre and nature in Malaysia can convey positive growing and give benefit to society every bit good. Besides can advance cultural small town which rich of natural environment, society indirectly besides can acquire the benefit and impact from this touristry scheme. From this surveies, preservation and keeping plan were of import to environment in Malaysia. Environment stabilisation or known as environmental sustainability encourage Malaysia develop more protection country to continue vegetations and zoologies in a certain park or forest. It is because input from natures is of import beginning to economic. While environmental quality on the other manus is productive plus to society. 1.8 Research Organization This undertaking paper will split to five chapters: Chapter 1 discuss about the of import of preservation and saving of the cultural country in Malaysia. Therefore, this survey will publish nonsubjective to accomplish the preservation survey. Apart from that, research range and methodological analysis besides be explained clearly in this chapter. Chapter 2 is portion to increase cognition in the capable country. Besides that, aggregation old surveies from others economic expert research worker as a mentions to place information and thoughts that relevant to this research. Chapter 3 focal points on depicting the associated methodological analysis in the analysis of the contingent rating for preservation and keeping of the Sarawak Cultural Village. Method that will be used is Contingent Valuation Method ( CVM ) . Furthermore, Statistical Package for the School Science ( SPSS ) package will be used to reinforced consequence of the survey by looking relationship among each variables. Besides, assorted trial will be run for the independent and dependent variables. Model will be use in this survey will be explained clearly in this chapter. Type of informations aggregation in this survey is primary informations through questionnaire method. Therefore, trying point focal point at country Damai Beach, Santubong, country Sarawak Cultural Village. Entire respondent in this survey around one hundred and will utilize interview method based on nonsubjective survey. Chapter 4 presents the information analysis consequence of the survey with different trial. Every determination will be elaborated clearly and executing in graph signifier and agenda. Interpretation of consequence will be stated in this subdivision. Chapter 5 is the last chapter in this survey. This chapter would be sum up the survey been discussed and provides information to develop policies and schemes to guarantee preservation and keeping plan on cultural small town continuously so that future coevals have opportunity to bask the benefit and economic value from this preservation.

You Can Stumble But You Wont Fall Religion Essay Example

You Can Stumble But You Wont Fall Religion Essay Example You Can Stumble But You Wont Fall Religion Essay You Can Stumble But You Wont Fall Religion Essay Essay Topic: Everything I Never Told You Things Fall apart The Lord delectations in the manner of the adult male whose stairss he has made house ; though he stumble, he will non fall, for the Lord upholds him with his manus. Doug Wilcox That s Psalm 37:23-24 and this is Word Alive produced by Good News Broadcasting where we take the Bible and use its message to every twenty-four hours life. Hello and welcome. I m Doug Wilcox. Dr. Derek Stringer is our Bible Teacher. He s here once more to learn the subject Fresh Hope . . . That s what God wants to set into each of us. I ll be back from clip to clip, but here s Becky Kelly to state a little more about Derek s subject for today. Becky! Becky Kelly Thankss Doug. . . and allow me add my welcome to Doug s. Dr. Stringer has spoken about How to Have Joy All Year Long and Will You Be Happy Tomorrow? Today, the subject is You Can Stumble But You Wont Fall. That s something we all need to cognize approximately. Doug Wilcox The words of David in Psalm 37 are the focal point, verses 23 and 24. After you listen to what Derek has to state I think that you ll happen yourself utilizing these words to promote the people that you know who were traveling through difficult times. Listen to those poetries once more: The Lord delectations in the manner of the adult male whose stairss he has made house ; though he stumble, he will non fall, for the Lord upholds him with his manus. Over to Derek. Derek Stringer Thankss Doug and Becky. Though he stumble. Some interlingual renditions say, When he falls. Note that it does non state, If he stumbles. There is a large difference between when and if. The latter states a chance ; the former declares a certainty. David understood that all trusters fall finally. We stumble, we lose our manner, we struggle. No 1 is exempt. We all fall sooner or subsequently. It s what happens when we stumble along that makes all the difference. We can sum up the instruction of this text in two simple statements: ( 1 ) God ordains every measure we take-the good and the bad, the happy and the sad, the positive and the negative. The verb made house is really strong in the original Hebrew. It means to set up something so that it has a strong foundation. Proverbs 16:9 Tells us that in his bosom a adult male plans his class, but the LORD determines his stairss. Same thought as our text. Most of us know that God directs our stairss. But this verb is even stronger. God non merely directs our stairss, he besides determines or ordains our stairss. Because he is God, there are no accidents with him. No circumstance-whether good or bad-can semen to us apart from God s determined intent for us. All of us wonder what the following few months will convey. What will go on? Will it be a good clip or a bad clip for us personally? I ve researched that inquiry diligently and I know the reply: The following few months will be a batch like the last few months. In some ways, it will be concern as usual. You ll hold good yearss and bad yearss. You have some triumphs and some lickings. You ll be ill for a piece and you ll be healthy much of the clip. Some of your supplications will be answered ; some wo nt be answered. Some of your dreams will come true ; some will be dashed on the stones of difficult world. You ll detect that some of your friends will be at that place when you need them. Others will neglect you when you need them most. In many respects, life will be the same following hebdomad because we all face the same on-going challenges in our walk with the Lord. But know this: Your stairss in approaching hebdomads are made house by the Lord. He is in charge of the inside infor mations of your life. ( 2 ) God promises that when we fall, we will non be absolutely destroyed. Let s read the beginning of verse 23 of Psalm 37 once more. Doug Wilcox Though he stumbles, he will non fall. Derek Stringer Picture a trail that winds through a heavy wood. As the individual walks frontward, he does nt see the stone buried merely beneath the surface, and so he trips and falls to the land. Life is like that. We all stumble in many ways. The word translated utterly destroyed means to be cast hasty into a deep cavity. It s what happens when you stand at a drop border peering over the border, looking down 500 pess, when person pushes you from behind. When you eventually hit underside, you wo nt dust yourself off and maintain on traveling. You ve been utterly destroyed. God promises that wo nt go on to you and me. Though we may confront despairing, life-changing fortunes next twelvemonth, God will non let us to be utterly destroyed. Nothing can go on that will break up our relationship with him. The ground is clear. He upholds us with his mighty manus. Think of a male parent walking along with his immature boy by his side. There are two ways father and boy might keep custodies. The immature male child may make up with his bantam manus to hold on his male parent s immense manus. That works until the kid lurchs and he is forced to allow travel of his male parent s manus. But if the male parent places his immense manus around his boy s bantam manus, the male child is safe no affair what happens because his male parent s manus holds him up. He may falter but the male parent s manus upholds him. The autumn may be a autumn into problem or calamity, or it may be a autumn into serious moral wickedness. The autumn might be occasioned by the loss of a occupation, a wellness job, the break-up of a matrimony, the terminal of a friendly relationship, bankruptcy, or any kind of personal crisis that causes the loss of your repute. Or it could be a series of foolish picks that led you in a incorrect way so that you hurt your walk with God and hurt those around you every bit good. Sometimes the autumn of fortunes causes a autumn into resentment, substance maltreatment, choler, fury, opprobrious address, foolish determinations, lecherousness, criminal conversation, or other bad actions. The Bible repeatedly shows how easy this can go on to even the best people. The Bible Tells us the whole truth about human nature. We see work forces and adult females who are faithful one twenty-four hours and fickle the following. We see Peter self-praise, and so he is busted by his ain wickedness. We see worship assorted with concern, bravery followed by cowardliness, religion matched with uncertainty, generousness followed by greed, kindness overcome by haughtiness. We learn that strong people sometimes do really stupid things. Saints frequently act like evildoers. Derek Stringer These narratives are in the Bible both to teach us and to promote us. They teach us that even the best work forces under force per unit area can make really foolish things. No 1 is beyond the range of enticement. Very godly people can do some really incorrect choices-and suffer greatly as a consequence. And cause others to endure with them. It s good that the Bible shows this to us-or we would be tempted to deny this world. We like to believe, I m beyond that enticement. Do nt of all time state that. You do nt cognize what you re beyond. Today s triumph may really put you up for tomorrow s licking. Satan roams the universe like a mighty king of beasts, looking for cocksure Christians he can devour. Doug Wilcox Here are two other poetries we should see. Proverbs 24:16, Though a righteous adult male falls seven times, he rises once more, but the wicked are brought down by catastrophe. Derek Stringer We may fall once more and once more, problem may come once more and once more, we may fight once more and again-and once more! But it is the Lord s intent that we should rise-again and once more and once more. Doug Wilcox Psalm 145:14 declares that, The Lord upholds all those who fall and lifts up all who are bowed down. Derek Stringer When you fall, retrieve this: God neer intends you to remain down everlastingly. He intends for you to lift up and maintain on walking with him. Okay. So what does this intend? What practical aid is at that place in cognizing all of this. You say, Derek, Life hurts. . . or it may make really shortly. What s the application of this truth? Here are four practical applications. Number 1. Every item of life is under God s control. If God is God, so he must cognize about all the things that happen to us, and in some sense we ca nt to the full understand, that all things includes both the best and the worst that comes our manner. Becky Kelly Does this intend even our wickednesss are ordered by the Lord. Derek Stringer Well, we have to believe carefully in replying a inquiry like this. God is neer the writer or provoker of wickedness. Never. Sin is ever our ain duty. But that does non to the full reply the inquiry. If our wickedness can somehow be independently of God so that our wickedness ( and so, all the wickedness and wretchedness of the existence ) can somehow exist outside of God s ageless program, so God can non genuinely be sovereign over all parts of the existence. We might inquire the inquiry this manner: Is God crowned head over Satan? The reply must be yes. When you come all the manner to the bottom line, the reply goes something like this: God reigns over all parts of the existence all the clip, and he does it in such a manner that all things must suit into his ageless program. This even includes the world of wickedness itself. For grounds that we merely partially understand, God decreed to allow wickedness to come in the existence ( chiefly to expose his glorification through the grace that would be shown in delivering evildoers through the decease of his Son, the Lord Jesus Christ ) . When we sin, we remain to the full accountable for the incorrect picks we make-and the negative effects we must confront. But if God did non let it to go on, it would non go on. Therefore in the broadest sense of God s sovereignty, even our wickedness can non take topographic point apart from God s Godhead edict. Doug Wilcox There s a enigma here is nt at that place? Derek Stringer Absolutely, and it is a enigma so tremendous that we will pass infinity larning more about it, and wondering at the wealths of God s grace and the wisdom of his program. But if this is non true, so God is non genuinely God at all, and we are ( to borrow an Apostle Paul phrase ) of all work forces most suffering. But it is true, and hence we rejoice to function a God whose ways are far beyond our limited heads to understand. He can do the wrath of adult male congratulations him. And there is an of import personal application to be made at this point. Since every item of life comes under God s control, we can stay confident and peaceable even when life itself seems to whirl out of control. Are you familiar with the name George Muller of Bristol? There s a route ( a long 1 ) named after him in Bristol. For over 60 old ages, George Muller directed an orphanhood in Bristol, England, that provided for over 10,000 male childs and misss. Here is the astonishing fact: He neer one time made an entreaty for money. He depended on God for whatever was needed to back up the work. He would garner with his fellow workers to shout out to God for aid. On many occasions, the aid came while they prayed-a grocer would come by with staff of life, cheese, meat and eggs so the kids would hold breakfast in the forenoon. Mr. Muller proved in his ain life that you can take God at his Word. After he died, person picked up his well-worn Bible and began to flick through it. Because Mr. Muller was an devouring Bible reader, its pages were filled with jottings from his day-to-day devotednesss. Following to the words of Psalm 37:23, he had added two small words to the text: The stairss AND STOPS of a good adult male are ordered by the Lord. How true that is. For the Christian the way of life is neer an unbroken consecutive line to heaven. We all go through many dangers, labors and traps on our manner to the Heavenly City. How good to cognize that our God ordains both the stairss and Michigans of life. Second. God takes pleasance in our battle to walk in sanctity. Read the beginning of verse 23 Becky. Becky Kelly Okay. . . it says, The Lord delectations in the manner of the adult male. Derek Stringer See a male parent and his immature girl who is merely larning how to walk. For months she has been creeping ; late she has learned how to draw herself up and stand on her coggling legs while keeping her male parent s manus. One twenty-four hours she pulls her manus free, wobbles for a minute, tries to take a measure frontward, and falls down. Does her male parent state her off for falling down? Of class non. He smiles a spot at her cryings, and so he helps her dorsum up. Good parents know that falling is a necessary portion of larning how to walk. If you neer fall, you ll neer larn how to walk. And parents do their kids no favor by being so protective that their kids neer fall down. Falling is nt merriment for the kid, but a wise parent knows that falling ever comes before walking. This applies straight to the falls we take spiritually. Our battles are necessary even though they are non pleasant or easy to digest. Sometimes ( frequently! ) we bring problem on ourselves by the foolish picks we make. And sometimes we end up aching ourselves and those around us really greatly by reiterating those bad picks over and over once more. Marriages terminal, friendly relationships are broken, churches split, our kids suffer, and the cause of Christ is hurt by the things we say and do. Sin is serious concern, and we neer sin without aching ourselves, and really frequently, those around us. I do nt intend to propose that God takes pleasance in our wickedness or that our wickedness does non convey penalty. But when we sin, we sometimes wrongly conclude that God must detest me now. And in our desperation we want to conceal in a cupboard and neer come out. How could God of all time take us back after what we did? The reply is, God loves his kids with an everlasting love. Nothing we say or do can of all time divide us from the love of God in Christ Jesus. We are joined to our Father with sets of ageless love stronger than steel. He loves us excessively much to allow us travel on in wickedness forever. And when we turn back to him, with trembling lip, profoundly guilty, fearing the worst, believing all hope is lost, we discover the good intelligence that he waits with unfastened weaponries for us to come place to him. When the Prodigal Son eventually came to his senses in the far state, holding wasted his heritage on exuberant life so that he ended up eating with the hogs, holding rehearsed what he would state, experiencing no longer worthy to be called his male parent s boy, in the thick of his shame and desperation, sloging down the long route place, after all that, when he was yet a long manner off, his male parent ran to run into him, hugged him, and smothered him with busss. When your kids disobey and you punish them, do you detest them or make you love them? You discipline them because you love them and because your bosom is broken over their noncompliance. The same is true a million times more of our heavenly Father. The things we suffer because of our noncompliance prove that God still loves us. He waits uneasily for the slightest bend in his way. No affair what we have done, if we will return to the Lord, he will copiously excuse us. One other point and we will travel on. God licenses us to fall when he could halt it. If he permits it, so what he permits must finally be for our religious benefit. Not the autumn itself, but what we will finally larn from it. God allows us to endure when he could halt it. Not that enduring itself is good, but it is frequently the tract to tremendous approval for us. ( 3 ) God designs our tests so they will non destruct us. This follows from all that I have said. Verse 24 assures us that though we may falter or autumn temporarily, we will non be absolutely destroyed. God will non let anything to for good destruct our relationship with him. Not even decease itself can break up our strong connexion with God. Doug Wilcox Job 23:10, He knows the manner that I take ; when he has tested me, I will come away as gold. Derek Stringer When you are in the furnace, it is difficult to believe that any good could ensue from the ardent test, but God says, Wait for a piece and you will see pure gold. During the worst minutes, we take this by religion and bent on to God, believing that better yearss must finally come. Thus it is that Job lost everything, Joseph was cast into prison on a hypocrite colza charge, and Jonah ended up in the abdomen of a great fish. Jonah was a really loath prophesier whose concluding words are both angry and impeaching. But still he was God s adult male for Nineveh. God said, I m traveling to direct you to the abdomen of a fish so you can believe about things for a piece. He did, and finally he was puked out on the beach ( non a really pleasant experience ) . Job lost everything and gained back more than he lost. Joseph ended up the 2nd most powerful adult male in Egypt. Sometimes our tests lead to a publicity ; other times we feel like we ve been puked up on the beach. God does it both ways-and we ll likely see both if we live long plenty. But God had bigger things in head in all three instances. He was nt through with Job or Joseph or Jonah. Nor is he through with us merely because we stumble and autumn. See what Jesus said to Peter in the Upper Room on the dark before he was crucified: Doug Wilcox Satan has asked to sift you as wheat. But I have prayed for you, that your religion may non neglect. And when you have turned back, beef up your brothers. Derek Stringer This statement deserves particular notice because Jesus said it before Peter s treble denial. In fact, Jesus said it merely before Peter made his braggart promise of unending fidelity. The point is, Jesus saw it all coming, knew everything before it took topographic point: The self-praise, The teenage miss around the fire, The curse, The perennial denials, The shame, The acrimonious cryings, The guilt, The Restoration. He knew Peter better than Peter knew himself. He knew the stairss Peter was about to take in the incorrect way. In a sense, he had more echt assurance in Peter than Peter had in himself. By himself, Peter was merely full of himself. But Jesus said, I have prayed for you. He did nt halt Peter from touting or from denying. He let affairs take their natural class, but he prayed for Peter, cognizing that Peter at bosom was a good adult male who loved him, and cognizing that his denial was non the existent Peter. The existent Peter was the adult male who declared, You are the Christ, the Son of the life God. The nazarene allowed Peter to fall off, cognizing that through his supplications, Peter would finally return, and when he did, he would be a better, stronger adult male, humbled by his failure, ready to function the Lord with a humbleness Born of painful failure. ( 4 ) We will non absolutely autumn because God will non allow travel. Theologians call this the philosophy of ageless security. It merely means that those whom God saves, he saves everlastingly. Though we stumble and fall a 1000 times, God s love is house because his intents are ageless. Our redemption rests non on our public presentation but on God s unchanging character. Doug Wilcox Charles Spurgeon once more: No saint shall fall eventually or fatally. Sorrow may convey us to the Earth, and decease may convey us to the grave, but lower we can non drop, and out of the lowest of all we shall originate to the highest of all. Derek Stringer Martin Luther said that it takes three things to do a adult male of God-meditation, supplication and enticement. We re all right with the first two because we know we need to read the Bible and pray. But most of us would non add enticement to the list. Luther meant that godly character can merely be developed in the melting pot of life where we fight many conflicts with the universe, the flesh, and the Satan. The enticement to discontinue, to desperation, to give in to bitterness, to fly the battle, to give to crave, to give in to greed, to indulge ourselves, to walk in pride, these things either destruct us or they make us stronger. Prayer and Bible reading entirely can non do us godly. We need the battles of life to do us strong. One Minister made this remark. Looking back on his life he was really certain of himself in his mid-twentiess. But he said, I have bumped up against the difficult border of my restrictions and wickedness, once more and once more. I am less certain about what s incorrect with Christendom, and more certain about what s incorrect with me. Those are wise words from a adult male who has experienced the grace of God through the ups and downs of life. We do non feign that our tests neer happened or that Christians neer suffer. We suffer merely like everyone else on this sin-cursed planet. Nor is it good when we fall into wickedness. Just inquire any Christian who fell into serious moral wickedness how good it was. Sin merely delights for a season. All Satan s apples have worms. But there is an of import truth in our transition that we need to understand: God is at work in our tests and in our falls in a manner we neer dreamed, neer knew, and neer saw at the clip. Nothing is wasted with God. All things genuinely do work together for our good and for God s glory-even though we seldom see that in progress. I remember sing a adult male in infirmary. He told me that he had less than a twelvemonth to populate. In fact he had less than a month! He said, I had known that was a possibility, but it is still jaring to hear it said. I saw no resentment or choler at that place, and no fright either. My friend wanted to populate every bit long as he could, and he fought every bit difficult as he could, but if you had asked him, Are you all right? he ll answer, Yes, I m ok. It s non easy but my friend had come to clasps with the fact that God loves him and is telling every measure he takes. That s what this great truth can make for us. Pray for yourself that the truth of these poetries will truly travel place and beef up you now and for future yearss. Pray for the people around you in your life excessively. Pray for me. Prayer is a strength to our psyche. Some of the replies we can see. Others are known merely to God. I mention that to indicate out that the supplications of the trusters are one manner the Lord upholds his kids as they walk the way that leads from Earth to heaven. Doug Wilcox Thank you Derek. You re listening to Word Alive produced by Good News Broadcasting. Dr. Derek Stringer is our Bible Teacher. Here s a idea that may promote you: If it is possible, God loves you even more when you struggle because that s when you need him most. When is a male parent most honoured? When his kids are in problem and turn to him for aid. Even so, our God is honoured and shows his particular attention for his kids when they go through battles on Earth. Here s Derek once more. Derek Stringer Let s sum up the application of this message with three simple statements: ( 1 ) Your battles are necessary battle on! ( 2 ) Your Father has non forgotten you bent on! ( 3 ) Your hereafter is assured walk on! Here are three good slogans for you: Fight on! Hang on! Walk on! God will non set you in an intolerable state of affairs. But he may set you in a state of affairs that seems intolerable so that you will turn to Him. Remember that God does non give his strength in progress but merely when needed. Each twenty-four hours this hebdomad you will hold what you need. We may therefore travel away into the approaching yearss with assurance, hope, and joy. And in the terminal we come back to the Lord Jesus and back to the cross. If you are tired of your wickedness, run to the cross. If you want a new start in life, run to the cross. If you feel like a failure, tally to the cross. If you fear the hereafter, run to the cross. If you need trust and encouragement, run to the cross. If you want to run into Jesus, run to the cross. Becky Kelly Reach us about this because we truly would wish to assist you. Reach inside informations are coming up in a minute. Derek Stringer For those who do nt cognize the Lord, the Bible says there is merely one measure between you and devastation. But there is besides merely one measure between you and Jesus. It s the measure of religion. Reach out to Jesus as Lord and Saviour. He will come to you and your life will neer be the same. I said earlier that the following few months will be merely like last few months. Let me amend that statement merely a spot: The following few months will be merely like the last few months-only wholly different! Some things will be the same, much will be different, and some things will be trade name new to us. Be encouraged. The hereafter rests in the good custodies of a God who loves you more than you can conceive of. You may falter, but you wo nt wholly fall. This is God s promise to you. Amons. Doug Wilcox You Can Stumble But You Wo nt Fall . . . Psalm 37 poetries 23 and 24. That s been our subject today in Dr. Stringer s current series on happening Fresh Hope. You can acquire the complete series of six messages on Cadmium or cassette merely reference Fresh Hope when you call. Becky Kelly Following clip Derek will undertake the topic Managing Life When Confronting Deep Regret. Do nt lose it. Doug Wilcox Thankss for being with us today for Word Alive produced by Good News Broadcasting.

The Turn of the Screw Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

The Turn of the Screw - Essay Example Whereas a conventional fiction-writer endeavors to establish the credibility of the reality which s/he depicts in his fiction, James intentionally attempts to stir up the readers’ doubt about the credibility of the narrator’s presentation of the uncanny monstrosity of the children’s and the monstrous environment in the House. In the novel, James has employed various narrative strategies to support his assertion that nothing truly exists outside the human imagination or takes precedence over the human imagination, using the characters to defend and analyze this position. His first strategy is to instill the uncanny monstrosity in the characters of the novel. The novel does not directly tell the readers whether the Children are really monstrous or not. Rather it inspires the readers to decide whether they are monstrous. Another strategy of James is that he makes the Governess’s character unreliable. The way how the Governess tells the story necessarily provo kes the readers to think that there must be a number of different possible interpretations of the reality which she presents. In the novel, James has made a shrewd application of the uncanny to justify his comment that the fictional reality is what and how we perceive it. ... Even sometimes she herself proves to be wrong and seems that she suffers from hallucination. This uncertainty of the Governess’s storytelling provokes the readers to question whether the children are really monstrous or this monstrosity is a misperception or fabrication of the Governess. Both any possible conclusion what a reader may reach is that the horizon of a fiction is, indeed, a vast area where the writers enjoy the utmost freedom to arrange the events in a particular sequence to make the plot credible. While reading the novel, the readers’ attentions become focused on two focal points. First, they grow doubtful about whether the children, Miles and Flora, are really monstrous or not. Secondly, they question whether there is something wrong on the Governess’s part. Indeed, James’s success to divide up the readers’ attentions on two apparently contradictory focal points tends to establish his claim that, whatever the reality about the children is, the ultimate reality is how we perceive it. For example, a reader can tell for sure whether Miles and Flora maintain a secret relationship with Quint, the dead valet and Miss Jessel who is also dead now. Flora’s nocturnal movement and the discovery of her ‘too free’ intimacy with Miss Jessel, Miles’s association with the ghosts, his unexplained banishment from the school –all these events seem so supernatural and ominous. The Governess claims that she could see some ghostly associations of Miles and Flora with the dead valet and governess. Even she claims that she has encountered with their ghosts for several times. But this claim makes the readers dubious about her psychological sanity, when they once

Woman, Arshile Gorky, David Garnand, Roy Lichten, One Dot At A Time, Essay

Woman, Arshile Gorky, David Garnand, Roy Lichten, One Dot At A Time, Fantastic Child - Essay Example Pollock’s inspiration by Garnand is seen to be photos within the modern and real life environment. The photos are mainly focused on a tree section, and the background appears to be misty or foggy. The photos are taken on an elevated view focusing the sky as the background. The tree section appears to be dry and quite dark signifying a winter period. The white and mostly clear background give more focus on the tree section which is seen to be quite dark. An essence of nature and its effect are seen from these photos which make them look quite beautiful and natural. Corey Egbert illustration photo portrays a woman who is depicted with a cartoon appearance. There is use of bright colors that are focused upon by the dark background. The photos portrays emotion within the paintings while maintaining a real life emotional situation, like the use if tears and facial expression. The photo also portrays a beautiful woman who makes the observer feel sorry about the tears from her eyes. From looking at the painting, I am able to blend in within the mood of the painting setup even without my knowledge. There is some good work applied on this painting. The one dot at a time art is some colorful pictures which include emotions and feelings within the picture. There is great use of color and perfect combination of the background. If checked closely, the pictures are seen to be formed by little dots placed and drawn in a picture to pull out a perfect picture at the end. The dots are quite small and cannot be seen.

Orem's theory of self-care in the maternity department Essay

Orem's theory of self-care in the maternity department - Essay Example As the essay declares the subject of short study here is, ‘The concept of Self-Care’ in nursing practice as envisaged in the maternity department of a hospital. It will be argued that the Praxis of Self-Care could greatly improve the rehabilitative role of nurses by positively influencing an individual’s self-care agency; which is the power component of self - care behavior, as according to Dorothea Orem’s Theory. This paper discusses that the term ‘Self-Care’, is familiar through Orem’s Self-Care Deficit Theory of nursing. Orem’s theory is composed of three related theories: the theory of Self-Care, the theory of Self-Care Deficit and, the theory of Nursing Systems. Orem’s theory views the individual as a self – care agent with especial needs. When ‘self-care’ is practiced it enhances health and well-being being. There is a visible link between responsibility and self-care; Self-care can be stated as a self-initiated, deliberate and purposeful activity linked to health and well-being. Pertinent action is performed to meet the therapeutic self-care demand arising out of known needs for care. This varies from time to time, as required by the various stages of life-cycle, of the individual person. The non-fulfillment of this demand, gives rise to a self-care deficit, which denotes the need for nursing. The decision to provide self-care is tak en jointly by the patient and the nurse. Herein the nurse plays a pivotal part in the influence of the patient.

Corporate Governance in Different Countries

Corporate Governance in Different Countries Corporate Governance and theories Development of Corporate Government is a global occurrence. Different countries have different Theories in relevance and also depend on the stage of economic condition the country is in, the corporate structure of the country and the ownership groups present. It is also important to understand that not only shareholders but other stake holders are also involved wit a company and therefore emphasis should be given to other interest groups as well like employees, suppliers, customers and local communities (Christine A Mallin 2007). Theories associated with development of corporate governance Agency theory In the theory, there are two parties – principals and agents. Owners are considered Principal and director – agents. According to the theory due to self interest agents may not be working towards principals interest. In such cases the result may not be as expected by the principals or owners. A good corporate control is thus required to reduce agency problems and to keep control over directors actions. Transaction cost economies As firms desire to grow overtime, they need capital to expand. Often a firm raises a capital by going public or including other shareholders into the firms. As the owners in the company increase it is possible that the separation of ownership and control (which mostly remains in the hands of directors) may create problems. Stakeholder theory As discussed earlier, a firm has a member of stakeholders and is not just accountable to shareholders. If there are other stakeholders that need to be given emphasis then the governance system is developed accordingly. Corporate governance has only recently gained more importance and although agency theory was the main theory that led to its development, stakeholder theory is gaining more importance as it evolves further. It has been observed that good corporate governance have helped business perform better and provided better access to finances. Corporate Governance in UK Cadbury and Greenbury reports had a major contribution in UKs Corporate Governance. Cadbury Report (1992) â€Å"The Report of the committee on the financial aspects of corporate governance†, also known the Cadbury report, was published in December 1992. After 1980s financial scandals, a committee was formed in may 1991 by the financial reporting councils the London stock exchange and the accountancy profession. The committee worked in the financial aspects of corporate Governance and produced a code of Best Practice, which all UK listed companies related to director remuneration, responsibilities and tenure. Some of the recommendations were as follows. The majority of non-executive directors should be independent of management and free from business or other relationship. Non-executive directors should be appointed for the specified terms. Executive remuneration should be subject to the recommendation of a remuneration committee made up entirely or mainly of non – executive directors. Greenbury Report (1995) The rise of remuneration of directors and absence of necessary incentives for directors to perform better works a rising concern for investors and the public at large especially for listed firms. The Greenbury committee was thus established to address the above-mentioned issue. The committee submitted its report in 1995 and much of its findings were incorporated into the code of Best Practice on Directors Remuneration. The report addressed for major issues â€Å"The role addressed for major issues in setting the remuneration package for the CEO and other director. Service contracts - performance†. Hampel Report (1998) After the Greenbury report in 1995, a committee was established in 1996 to review and revise the earlier recommendations of the Cadbury and Greenbury committees. The committee recognized that it was important to understand the situation of each company and the principle of corporate government should be more flexible to be applicable to all companies. While Cadbury and Greenbury reports addressed the abuse of the discretionary authority entrusted to management, Hampel viewed the same to maximize the shareholder value. Combined Code (1998) The combined code was formed from recommendations of Cadbury, Greenbury and Hampel reports put together. It outlined the best practices, which were not mandatory for companies to provide sufficient information to the shareholders about its practices. Higgs Report The report was dedicated towards determining the role, independence and recruitment of non-executive directors. Higgs identified non-executive directors role contributing to corporate strategy, setting remuneration of executive directors, monitoring the performance of executive management et. And recommended that one third board should comprise of non-executive directors. Corporate Governance in Germany In Germany, most of the firms are either public or private limited that have shareholders who control the firm and its policies. Like many other European countries, in Germany there are a number of shareholders in a firm. Both financial and non financial investors hold considerable shares in a firm and are the most influential people. It is therefore important to take into consideration these cross-holdings that investors have when analysing the corporate governance in Germany. According to Charkham (1994), banks have considerable investment in large firms and therefore play a central role in determining the corporate policies of the firm. Banks provide long term loans to the firms and develop long term relationship with the firms in the course of time. Due to these facts the corporate governance in Germany can also be called an ‘insider system (Charkahm, 1994). The German corporate governance has a dual board system comprising of a management board and a supervisory board. The management board handles the day to day activities of the firm and is responsible for management of the whole firm. The supervisory board on the other hand is responsible for appointing the directors in the management board, supervising them and deciding their remuneration. The supervisory board also advices the management board on various aspects of business. According to Charkham (1994), â€Å" if there were a spectrum with ‘confrontation at one end and ‘co-operation at the other, we would definitely place German attitudes and behaviour far closer to the co-operation end than, say, those of British or Americans.† (Charkham, 1994) What Charkham (1994) indicated was how close the shareholders in German firms are to its operations and the interests of different stakeholders are given equal emphasis. This is supported by the Works Constitution Act 1972, according to which work council has the right to deal with employee matters and conditions of work. This is done to improve trust of the employees in the organisation by keeping them informed about companys activities and allowing them to participate in the decisions of the company that may have effects on the workers. However the first corporate governance code, Cromme code, was first published in 2002 as discussed in the next section. Cromme Code (2002) A committee chaired by Dr Gerhard Cromme was assigned the task to submit a report on corporate governance. The committee submitted the Cromme Report, also know as the Cromme Code, which was published in 2002 and has a number of sections that provide guidelines about different aspects of corporate governance. Later in 2005 there some amendments made to the code. Some of the sections that Cromme Code covered are: General Meetings and shareholders According to this section of the code, it is required by the companies to submit annual reports and other financial statements in the general meeting. The meeting decides how the net income has to be disclosed and whether the decision made by the management and the supervisory boards are appropriate and approved. The code also requires the firms to publish these on their website, with any other agenda for public transparency. Co-operation between the Management Board and the Supervisory Board The management board being the set of directors who actually run the company operations, and the supervisory board being the one that advises and sets goals for the management board, it is important that the two boards co-operate with each other. The code therefore suggests that the management board should report its activities to the supervisory board so that the companys strategic approach is rightly followed. The management board can seek guidance of the supervisory board in case of any issue and should look to report these immediately. The supervisory board on the other hand should monitor the progress of the management board and check if the duties assigned to management board are being performed effectively and if there are any changes to be made into them. If there is any deviation from the Cromme Code then it is the duty of the management board and the supervisory board to mention them in the annual report explaining why such deviations had occurred. The company has to keep t hese details available for public viewing for atleast five years. Management Board The management board is set up by the supervisory board, and it is required as per the code to report these notes in the accounts. In case of any difference in the interest of the management board and the supervisory board, it should be immediately conveyed to the supervisory board. This is important so that management board can work independently and in the best interests of the company. The code also mentions that the remuneration of the management board should consist of both fixed salary and variable salary, as in many companies where variable salary is based on performance of the firm. Supervisory Board The supervisory board has the responsibility to determine the composition of the management board and monitoring of the management board. It is therefore important that the supervisory board has suitable knowledge, experience and ability to make good management board and set good targets. Not only this a good supervisory board can provide good guidance to the management board. The code suggests that the supervisory should be independent and not related to the management board so as to avoid any conflict of interests. The code also forbids the chairman of the management board to become the chairman of the supervisory board. The code also states that the management board directors cannot be in the supervisory board of more than 5 non group listed companies. The remuneration of the directors in the supervisory board can contain both fixed and performance related pay and needs to be disclosed n the annual report as well. The remuneration can be determined in the general meeting or in the articles of association. The Cromme Code has an important requirement that if supervisory board take part in less than half of the meetings in a fiscal year then it has to be mentioned in the supervisory board report. Transparency The code requires the management board to disclose any information or fact that might affect the company operations and not known to the public. This is so as to keep all shareholders equally informed about the companys facts. Disclosure should be made through media which is accessible in time to the public. Reporting and Audit of the Financial Resources In order to avoid any fabrication of the reports the code requires the supervisory board or the audit committee to obtain a statement from the auditor clarifying that there is no financial or any other relation between the firm and the auditor that can affect auditors independence. According to the amendments, from 2006 onwards, it is important for the companies to disclose all elements of the directors remuneration. However, if 75 percent of the shareholders feel that further disclosure is not required then the firm can chose to do so. It can be said that the corporate governance code in Germany has provided great emphasis on serving the interests of various stakeholders. Corporate Governance in India Government had set new reforms introduced in India after the economic downturn in 1990-91 to open up the economy to depend on market mechanisms instead of the government. With the new reforms the committee Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI), which became the regulator of the securities market aimed at transforming the public sector and the banking sector in line with international norms. As the disclosure requirements were introduced to safeguard the interests of shareholders these markets were altered. After the economic downturn in India during 1990 – 91, Indian government introduced new reforms to open the economy to rely more on the market mechanisms instead of the government. The new reforms were mainly aimed at making the public sector more efficient. There were also reforms in the banking sector to bring India in line with international norms, and in the securities market, with the new committee Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) becoming the regulator of the securities market. The securities market was altered as disclosure requirements were introduced to safeguard shareholders interests. Kar (2001) mentions how â€Å" foreign portfolio investment was permitted in India since 1992 and foreign institutional investors also began to play an important role in the institutionalization of the market†. India has a range of business, including the public limited companies listed in the stock exchange, private companies and foreign companies. Main ownership of the companies is difficult to determine as there are very few studies in this area but we can say that after the economy opened up after 1990-91, institutional investors are gaining more shares of the market. The Confederation of Indian Industries published a ‘Desirable Code of Corporate Governance in 1998 and many companies took the recommendation of the committee on board. Still there are many companies that have poor governance practices which has led to the concerns about financial reporting practices, their accountability to losses being suffered by investors and the resultant loss of confidence that this caused. A recent example of Satyam Computers proves this that still there are companies, which are not following the Code of Corporate Governance. SEBI formally established the Committee on Corporate Governance in May 1999, chaired by Shri Kumar Mangalam Birla. The report of the Kumar Mangalam Birla Committee on Corporate Governance was published in 2000. The report emphasizes the importance of corporate governance for future growth of the economy and the capital market. Three key aspects underlying corporate governance are defined as accountability, transparency, and equality of treatment for all stakeholders in terms of information. The recommendations of the SEBI are split into mandatory requirements, which are essential for effective corporate governance, and non-mandatory requirements. Board of Directors Board in Indian companies should comprise of the Executive Directors and Non-Executive Directors and Independent Directors. The code recommends not less than 50 percent of the board should be comprised of the Non-Executive Directors, where there is a non-executive chairman, and at least one-third of the board should comprise independent directors, where there is an executive chairman, and finally at least half the board should be independent, the latter being mandatory. Nominee Directors The Indian system allows nominee directors appointed by the financial or investment institutions to protect their investment in the company. Such directors should have the same responsibility as other directors and be accountable to the shareholders. Chairman of the Board The roles of the chairman and the chief executive are different, the code identifies the roles as related and may be combined and performed by one person. Audit Committee The audit committee has many mandatory recommendations, like the committee should comprise at least three members, all of them being the non-executive directors. The audit committee is empowered to seek external advice as appropriate and to seek information from any employee. Remuneration Committee Remuneration committee is set up to decide on the remuneration of the executive directors. Committee should be comprised of at least three non-executive, chaired by an independent director. All the remuneration package of the directors must be disclosed in the annual report with details on all the elements including the fixed salary and performance based incentives. Another mandatory requirement is that the board of directors must decide on the remuneration package of the non-executive directors. Board Procedures Board Meetings should be held a minimum of 4 times in a year with a maximum of 4 months between two meetings and that a director must not be involved in more than 10 committees or act as a chairman in more than 5 committees. Management Management should ensure smooth day – to – day activities of the company. There should be disclosure of the companys performance, position and other things of interest to shareholders in the annual report. Shareholders Shareholders are allowed to be able to participate in the annual general meeting, therefore whenever there is a new appointment of a director it must be in the knowledge of the shareholders about the same. Manner of Implementation Companies must have a separate section on Corporate Governance in its annual report. Non-compliance of any recommendations should be highlighted and explained. The Indian code is rather complex as compared to UK and Germany as it has a number of mandatory and non-mandatory recommendations in its code. Although India has good recommendations on corporate governance code but still the acceptance of code in many companies is still lagging. Roles, Duties, Responsibilities and Liabilities of Directors Functions of Directors In 1844 an Act in Parliament described directors as ‘ the persons having direction, conduct, management or superintendence of a companys affairs. (Alfred Read) described director as a special kind of agent, whose function is to control the companys affairs. The directors in a company have certain responsibilities at law, which they must perform efficiently and effectively. In large organisations the major role of the board is to set the context of the strategy and not to formulate the strategy. To accomplish this, the board must keep on reviewing the corporate definition ‘what business are we in. This can be done by assessing and reviewing strategic proposals and changing them by giving comment and advice on the same, by encouraging managers to work on their strategic aims. The results of these sets the standards of the organisation as well as the standards others have to attain. Another challenge for the directors in an organisation is to balance the powers of managers w ith accountability to the shareholders. The board of directors act as the internal mechanism for control to overcome the principal agent problem. Directors also help in acquiring critical resources and responding to environmental forces and their impact on the organisation. These were however how the roles were perceived in the 1970s and after a number of highly publicised cases of corporate fraud and failure there has been a strong focus on policy issues. According to the Companies Act 2006, the duties of the directors have been identified seven-folds. These have been formulated to keep the acts of the directors in the interest of the company they serve and their shareholders. It is quite interesting how the roles and duties are slowly being more specifically defined and the need of the directors to comply with these by enforcing these into the Company Act. The Company Director His Functions, Powers and Duties by Alfred Read, Jordan Sons Limited, London, 1971 Safeguarding the Shareholders An important function of the board is to ensure that the interests of the members are properly safeguarded. If saving and investment are to play their proper part in the future, the investor must be assured of fair treatment and an adequate return, and it is for the directors to ensure that, so far as is consistent with the circumstances, he is not disappointed. Take Over Bids The function of the board in safeguarding the interests of shareholders is of particular importance in take-over situations. The general rule regarding the exercise of directors powers applies that the interests of their company must be their paramount consideration. It follows that the directors of a company, when advising their shareholders whether to accept or reject an offer for their shares, must disregard the effect he take-over will have on their own personal positions. Ensuring Progress Another function is that of ensuring that the operations of the company are kept under constant review so that changes which are necessary are made without delay when changes take place in public taste or in political and economic conditions. Checking Up on Progress A board must check up on results in order to ensure that the policy that has been laid down is being carried out and that the results expected from it have been obtained. Proper statements should be presented to the directors at regular intervals to keep them informed of what is happening. Powers of Directors The duty of the board is to see that the business is carried in accordance with the memorandum and articles of association. While some powers may be reserved for shareholders, some powers can only be exercised by the board of directors. Often the directors are given power to declare and pay interim dividends during the year if in their opinion the profits of the company justify them. It is also usual for the fixed dividends on preference shares to be authorized by the board. Other powers usually vested in the board are the allotment of shares, the making of calls, the forfeiture of shares for non-payment o calls, the appointment of the chairman and of agents, officers and servants of the company and all matters of policy and management which are of special importance. Also the directors may delegate any of their powers to committees consisting of such members of their body as they think fit; any committee so formed shall in the exercise of the powers so delegated conform to any regulations that may be imposed on it by the directors. Remuneration of Directors Salary has traditionally been described as a word that represents as monthly income of an individual. Directors Remuneration has been a major concern for investors for long. It is observed that directors remuneration has some or most elements of the following: Basic Salary Benefits in Kind Annual Bonus Share Options Pension Rights Basic Salary Basic Salary is a fixed part of the salary that directors get. The basic is generally in the range that similar jobs are offered. Individual experience, skills, and commitment also form an important factor of determining the basic salary. It is also important for the company to analyze skills, and job security related to the individual while setting the basic pay. Benefits in Kind Certain companies provide the directors with some benefits in kind. For example provision of goods, travel and luxury items are some kinds of benefits given to the directors of the company. It is however important that the remuneration committee keeps a close check on such benefits and reviews them periodically, annually provided to improve executive performance. Annual Bonuses Annual bonuses are given based on the performance of company or division. It is mostly a variable form of remuneration and is generally a percentage of basic pay. Annual bonuses can act as motivation for directors to improve their performance. It is therefore important that the remuneration committee sets the good performance targets for the directors. Long Term Incentive Schemes (Share Options) Executive share option is a long-term incentive scheme that has been used by companies for long. Share Options are provided at a lower price than that in the market or at some future date at current prices. This is a factor used to align directors and shareholders interests. The directors thus would want the share prices to go up so as to benefit from the returns from their holdings. However, the directors may sell off their shares and loose interest in share prices thereafter. In UK a provision in the code C6, limits directors to exercise their share options, for at least three years. This is done to keep directors interest in the share prices high for at least that period. A benefit for share options is that it is not taxed until the shares are sold and thus provide the directors a non-taxed form of investment for a specified period. Pension Rights â€Å"Pension Entitlements are a key element in the total Remuneration, with important longer term implications for the individual and the company† (Greenbury, 1995). The pension provision is carefully considered by the remuneration committees, and is measured in terms of the value of pension entitlements earned during the year. (As written in proposal needs more changes but not sure of the books from where it was written) Remuneration can be defined as the aim to reward people fairly, consistently and equitably in accordance to their value to the organization. The impact of executive remuneration on the efficiency of the company can be explained with many different theories. Other policies and theories on effective remuneration, like theory of Human Motivation, are based on the need for stability and sustained staff commitment. Also there are surveyed and comparable pay market for different grades and specialists. Remuneration also depends on the pay structure practice in comparable organizations. Members of board of directors who are not the employees or major shareholders are paid for their services as directors of the company. In the past directors compensation was relatively dependent on the number of hours they devoted to the company but according to the new federal law a new sense of public outrage has appeared and a new fear of shareholder litigation has caused directors to work even harder as before and hence many of the determinants have changed since then.

American History: Emerson and Whitman

In a democracy Emerson wrote that man does not buy his rights and pay for his privileges. He has every right to speak up on an issue and does not need to pay the government to do so. Likewise he does not need to pay to cast his vote in an election. In a democracy man observes rules because doing so is the proper thing. He can not buy his way out to be exempted from obeying laws. The young will benefit from the fruits of democracy because the old shall have had their time.If the youth is able to use their God-given gift of â€Å"piquancy and charm† they would make the older generation â€Å"very unnecessary. † They would know how to take care of themselves and secure their future. Democracy for Whitman is where people are able to go about their daily lives without fear, â€Å"the machinist rolls up his sleeves, the policeman travels his beat, and the gatekeeper marks who pass. † Obviously, the people are the ones who enjoy the fruits of democracy as it allows them to pursue their business in the best and legal means without doing harm to others.According to Emerson it is easier to conform or to adapt to what the collective society stands for, but to be truly independent one must hold on to what he believes in despite overwhelming opposition. He has only his conscience to trust as to what is right and what is wrong. This attitude is what will spell the big difference â€Å"between greatness and meanness. † Whitman was more poetic in his take of independence. He said that it is when one has the â€Å"best of time and space, was never measured and will never be measured.† It meant that when a man is given the opportunity to do what he wanted, given the freedom to use it the way he thought fit is Whitman’s take on independence. Emerson believed that for man to be self-reliant he must first know himself, love his strengths and accept his weaknesses. While nature abounds with what can feed, clothe, and shelter man, he must tap and work on them by his own sweat or labor. Man is so endowed by God that there is nothing he can not do if he tries. Whitman likened self-reliance to travel. He showed a friend what there is to see in places near and far, and the road to take.The analogy could very well mean life in general. He can only be with the friend at some point but the rest will be up to the friend. He told his friend that â€Å"he must travel it for himself. † In life there are questions which answers â€Å"he must find out for yourself. † On cultural independence, Emerson challenged old traditions of the Church, to obey without question. He maintained that it was one’s conscience that he must listen to and not dead institutions and irrelevant societies. Whitman had a different approach with institutions, he was more for maintaining the status quo.Whitman wrote, â€Å"I accept reality and dare not question it, materialism first and last imbuing. † As for the spirit of social ex perimentation, Emerson opposed philanthropies of giving college grants, building half-way homes, alms-giving and organizing charities to the undeserving and regrets every cent and dollar doled out, despite the â€Å"obligation to put all poor men in good situations. † As for the issue of the slavery and the plight of the Blacks in Africa, Emerson said that â€Å"love afar is spite at home. He was for ensuring the welfare of one’s own before one can be so concerned with those of others.As for Whitman he welcomed, fed and cared for a runaway slave. He treated everyone equally, be they â€Å"the wicked or the righteous. † Emerson was among the American Transcendentalists and Romanticists from New England, who believed in the power of the mind which God had use to reveal the truth. He listened to the â€Å"voice of the mind. † Whitman was a Romantic writer especially with his association of the commonplace to Nature, like â€Å"the grass is itself a child, the produced babe of the vegetation. † Emerson approached Nature in the context of Man.He referred to â€Å"the nonchalance of boys as a healthy attitude of human nature,† and â€Å"pretty oracles nature yields us are the face and behavior of children, babes and brutes. † Whitman did not separate man, animals, the grass, the flowers, the fishes and the birds as he treats them all as Nature. He told of the activities of each without distinction of man and animal, bird or fish, flower or grass, â€Å"the wolverine sets traps, the young fellow drives the express wagon, the wild gander leads his pack. † Works Cited Emerson, R. W. â€Å"Self-Reliance. † Whitman, W. â€Å"Song of Myself. †

Language Of Race Essay

(Review of Lawrence Blum, â€Å"I’m Not a Racist, But†¦Ã¢â‚¬ : The Moral Quandary of Race (Ithaca; Cornell University Press, 2002). Theory and Research in Education 1(3), pp. 267-281. ) Lawrence Blum’s book, â€Å"I’m Not a Racist, But†¦Ã¢â‚¬ : The Moral Quandary of Race, is excellent and thought-provoking. It is a model of moral philosophy done well, and, as importantly, done with a purpose. At no point does one wonder, as one does with all too much moral philosophy these days, â€Å"Why does this matter? † Blum makes it clear from the start why we should care about the language and concepts of race and racism, and he does a brilliant job of integrating careful philosophical analysis with contemporary examples, historical explication, and creative thought experiments. Blum’s purpose is basically two-fold: first, to fight against racism and racial injustice by proving that the notion of â€Å"race† is both descriptively false and morally inimical and replacing it with the more accurate and useful notion of â€Å"racialized group†; and second, to enable and promote productive dialogue about racism and racial inequality, especially between members of different racialized groups. He is explicit only about the second of these aims — as he comments in the preface and reiterates in similar terms throughout the book, â€Å"If we agree that racism is so important, don’t we need to know what it is? How can we talk intelligently, especially across racial lines, unless we do? † (p. viii) — but the first aim clearly determines the structure and content especially of the second half of the book. In both cases, Blum suggests that language is a key: we can both move forward in the fight against racial injustice and promote cross-racial dialogue about racism and other racial ills, he suggests, if we analyze and clarify what we mean by certain words that are often used too loosely (such as â€Å"racist† and â€Å"racial 2 discrimination†); recapture other terms that have inappropriately been divested of moral weight (such as â€Å"racial insensitivity† and â€Å"prejudice†); and abandon the language of â€Å"race† altogether because its history of use has made it inherently misleading. This is the primary thrust of the book. In this essay, I will question Blum’s emphasis on language and naming. I will suggest that disagreements about the racial language we use, such as about â€Å"what racism is,† are integral elements of the debate about race and racial injustice, rather than something that can and should be resolved ahead of time. Although Blum characterizes his analysis of racial language as being merely clarificatory, therefore, and designed to advance cross-racial dialogue from the outside, as it were, I will argue that instead he is doing something far different. At best, he is staking a partisan position within the debate itself; at worst, he is cutting it off from the start by building the answers to most of the important questions about racism and racial discrimination into his definitions. In addition to these methodological concerns, I also will query the practical results of implementing the linguistic shifts Blum proposes. I will argue, first, that implementation of â€Å"racialized group†-talk will be harder than Blum suggests (even among people who fully accept his arguments and are willing and even eager to abandon â€Å"race† in favor of â€Å"racialized group†), and second, that it is unlikely to have the social psychological effects Blum predicts. In both of these cases, I will consider teachers’ practices in implementing anti-racist curricula as an important test case, since teachers (along with parents and the media) play a crucial role in shaping the racial language and attitudes of the next generation. i Before I tackle these issues, however, a brief summary of (and a couple of quibbles with) â€Å"I’m Not a Racist, But†¦Ã¢â‚¬  are in order. 3 Blum establishes the moral and conceptual grounding for his project in his first and longest chapter, â€Å"‘Racism’: Its Core Meaning. † In this chapter, Blum provides a deft historical, moral, and conceptual analysis of â€Å"racist† and â€Å"racism. † He is concerned to construct a definition that preserves the strong moral opprobrium that attaches to â€Å"racism† while avoiding the â€Å"conceptual inflation,† â€Å"moral overload,† and â€Å"categorical drift† that have come to characterize the terms â€Å"racism† and â€Å"racist† — i. e. , the indiscriminate application of these terms to a wide variety of categories (such as motives, beliefs, acts, and people) encompassing any and all â€Å"racial ills† from bigotry to prejudice to racial discomfort, as well as even to non-racial ills such as discrimination based on age, religion, nationality, or physical appearance. By contrast, Blum limits the application of â€Å"racism† to things stemming specifically from antipathy and/or an inferiorizing attitude toward a racial group. He shows why antipathy and inferiorizing are both sufficient and necessary to his definition — for example, one may feel benevolent toward blacks in part because one feels superior to them, but feel antipathetic toward Asians because one assumes they are smarter than oneself; both attitudes would be properly classified as racist, and he argues persuasively that all other examples of racism could fit into one or both of these broad categories. Hence, Blum shows, although racism can be attributed to motives, acts, people, symbols, beliefs, images, epithets, remarks, attitudes, individuals, societies, and institutions (all categories that Blum discusses in detail), each attribution must be independently justified; one cannot just assume that a person who displays a racist symbol, for example, is a racist herself, or even that she necessarily has racist motives. In this respect, Blum is sensitive to the mitigating (although still morally suspect) issues of individual ignorance, unreflective adoption of social norms and behaviors, and unconscious attitudes, any of which may cause an individual to appear but not to be racist, or alternatively to be racist in fact, but to have adopted these racist attitudes 4 subconsciously or even unconsciously. ii Finally, in this chapter Blum gives significant attention not just to racism’s definition but also to its particular moral character. He argues that racism is morally evil not just because it violates â€Å"general moral norms† such as equality, respect, and good will, but also because of its â€Å"integral tie† to historical â€Å"race-based systems of oppression† that were clearly evil. â€Å"‘ Racism’ draws its moral valence from this historical context in two ways. First, the mere fact that these historical systems were based on race provides some of that opprobrium, even if current instances of racism no longer take place in the direct context of, for example, segregation, apartheid, or slavery. . . . [S]econd . . . we continue to live with the legacy of those systems† (Blum 2002: 27-8). In chapter 2, Blum asks â€Å"Can Blacks Be Racist? † and answers in the affirmative. No matter what preconditions one places on racism (e. g. that it must be ideologically embedded, or combined with social power), Blum argues, there will be (and are) some black people (as well as members of other minority groups) who meet these criteria and hence must be judged to be racist. Insofar as the denial that blacks can be racist is motivated by a desire to highlight the inherent inequalities among different racist acts and beliefs, however, Blum would agree — and argues that — there are important â€Å"moral asymmetries† in racism. Because of such acts’ â€Å"historical resonance† (p. 44), â€Å"greater power to shame† due to minorities’ positional inferiority (p.46), reflection of on-going patterns and prevalence of racism (p. 48), and contribution to maintaining â€Å"systematic racial injustice† (p. 49), â€Å"Everything else being equal, greater moral opprobrium rightly attaches to racism by whites against people of color than the reverse. This is the most important moral asymmetry in racism† (pp. 43-4). Chapter 3 catalogues â€Å"Varieties of Racial Ills,† which are acts or attitudes that deserve some (often substantial) degree of moral condemnation but do not rise to the level of â€Å"racism† as 5 such. These include racial insensitivity, racial ignorance, racial discomfort, white privilege,exclusionary same-race socializing, and racialism (a term used here to mean â€Å"conferring too much, or inappropriate, importance on people’s racial identity† (p. 59), but which Blum confusingly reuses with a different meaning in chapters 5-9). Chapter 4 then moves into an extremely careful and thoughtful discussion of â€Å"Racial Discrimination and Color Blindness. † He deduces four reasons that discrimination may be wrong: â€Å"(1) it unfairly excludes a qualified individual on the basis of a characteristic irrelevant to the task for which selection is being made; (2) it is done out of prejudice; (3) the prejudice is pervasive and (for that or other reasons) stigmatizing; (4) the discrimination helps to sustain the group whose members are discriminated against in a subordinate position† (p. 89). Hence, he argues, the term â€Å"racial discrimination,† which automatically carries with it the implication of moral condemnation, should be confined â€Å"to forms of discrimination involving race that either stem from race-based prejudiced [sic] or that disadvantage an inferiorized or stigmatized group† (p. 95). In contrast, he argues, forms of racial differentiation that avoid the four pitfalls listed above may be tolerated or even embraced: for example, racial egalitarianism, which does rely to some extent on racial differentiation but not on discrimination as defined above, is preferable to color blindness. Chapters 5-7 form an undesignated second section of â€Å"I’m Not a Racist, But†¦Ã¢â‚¬ , focusing specifically on the concept, history, and science of â€Å"race† in order to debunk it. Blum analyzes the empirical outcomes of thinking in racial terms in chapter 5, â€Å"‘Race’: What We Mean and What We Think We Mean. † He identifies four moral dangers of racial thinking: (1) â€Å"a moral distance among those of different races — an intensified consciousness of a ‘we’ of one race counterposed to a ‘they’ of another† (p. 102); (2) the â€Å"imposition of false commonality on all those classified as members of the same race† (p. 103); (3) the suggestion of â€Å"an inescapable 6 ‘racial fate’† (p. 104); and (4) â€Å"associations of superiority and inferiority of value† (p. 104). These lead into chapter 6’s fascinating discussion of â€Å"‘Race’: A Brief History, with Moral Implications,† in which Blum shows the historical contingency and relatively recent vintage of racial thinking, at least in the West. (Although Blum’s language about race’s recent arrival on the scene is fairly global, his examples are almost entirely confined to ancient Greece and Rome, Europe, and North America; this leaves the reader a bit confused about the intended scope of his historical analysis and claims. ) Finally, chapter 7 boldly asks, â€Å"Do Races Exist? † and marshals a fair amount of scientific evidence (in conjunction with the historical evidence from chapter 6) to answer a resounding â€Å"no. † This outright rejection of race sets up the challenge he confronts in the final two chapters (and unstated third section) of the book: how simultaneously to rid ourselves of the inimical concept of â€Å"race† while still promoting the causes of racial justice and equality — causes which, as Blum showed in chapter 4, require for their achievement that we name and pay attention (as opposed to blind ourselves) to differences among racial groups. iii In chapter 8, â€Å"Racialized Groups and Social Constructions,† therefore, Blum proposes to replace the concept of â€Å"races† with â€Å"racialized groups,† arguing, â€Å"The term ‘racialized groups’ is preferable as a way of acknowledging that some groups have been created by being treated as if they were races, while also acknowledging that ‘race’ in its popular meaning is entirely false† (p. 160). Blum further justifies use of the term â€Å"racialized groups† in chapter 9, â€Å"Should We Try to Give Up Race? † He argues that racial justice and even a positive sense of racial identity can be promoted by â€Å"racialization†: â€Å"its recognition supplies a more accurate understanding of the character of the racialized social order, encourages a stronger recognition of commonalities of experience and of political and moral commitments across ‘racial’ lines, and, arguably, would in the long run be 7 more politically effective in mitigating racism and racial injustice than would a belief in the reality of race† (p. 170). But Blum recognizes that merely transforming our language is not enough; this act will not itself transform the unjust social structures that inform and shape our language: â€Å"In the real world, ridding ourselves of the myth of race can not be severed from the politically more challenging task of changing the structural relationships among racial groups† (p. 178). Hence, he concludes by implicitly urging a two-pronged approach to promoting racial justice and equality: altering our language, on the one hand, and engaging in direct social action (especially integrationism), on the other. Critique I find most of Blum’s arguments compelling taken on an individual basis. â€Å"I’m Not a Racist, But†¦Ã¢â‚¬  convinces me that the term â€Å"racism† should be reserved for race-related, morally egregious beliefs/motives/acts/etc. , that there’s a wide range of racial ills, that pursuit of racial equality does not amount to racial discrimination, that â€Å"race† is a morally inimical concept, and that â€Å"racialized group† better captures the historical genesis and conceptual construction we call â€Å"race. † I am not convinced, however, that these arguments taken together satisfy the central articulated aim of the book: namely, to promote cross-racial dialogue about race. This is not, as I’ve said, because I question his reasoning or his conclusions; rather, I question whether his method, of using substantive moral philosophy, is consonant with this aim. First, some reminders about Blum’s stated aim. As I noted at the beginning of this essay, Blum asks in the preface of â€Å"I’m Not a Racist, But†¦Ã¢â‚¬ , â€Å"If we agree that racism is so important, don’t we need to know what it is? How can we talk intelligently, especially across racial lines, unless we do? . . . . We need to clarify what racism is, to find a basis in history and current use 8 for fixing a definition† (p. viii). He reiterates this concern at the beginning of chapter 2: â€Å"My goal of an adequate account of racism is entirely antithetical to race-based attachment to definitions of ‘racism. ’ I am seeking an account that will facilitate communication between groups about the character, forms and extent of racism (and other race-related ills). For that we need some agreement on what racism is, and from there we can attempt to settle differences about its extent† (p. 35). Blum’s aim is clearly to establish a baseline for discussion — to foster productive communication by providing moral and conceptual clarification and then to get out of the way in order to allow the now â€Å"intelligent† and â€Å"facilitated† debate to proceed on its own. This is an admirable goal, but I don’t think that â€Å"I’m Not a Racist, But†¦Ã¢â‚¬  achieves it — nor do I think that it could achieve it in its current form. This is so for a few reasons. First, it is misleading to suggest that moral philosophy is necessary to fix a definition of â€Å"racism. † So long as there’s an agreement, or at least mutual comprehension among the interlocutors, as to what each person means in using various terms, then that is sufficient to promote dialogue. For example, if all people accepted that only whites could be racist, then â€Å"cross-racial dialogue† could proceed on that basis; there’s no reason that Blum’s definition of racism (which asserts that all people can be racist) is necessary to promote dialogue. Of course, one of Blum’s implicit points is that there isn’t agreement about what racism is, and that such agreement, or even mutual clarification and comprehension, is very unlikely to arise on its own. Rather than revealing a troubling weakness or gap in the discussion, however, this reveal instead the essential nature of the debate about race and racism: namely, that debating the meaning of these terms is part and parcel of debating the things themselves. In other words, fixing a definition is not a neutral act. It is a partisan act. This is because much of the dispute about racism is bound up in how one defines the problem. If individuals unintentionally benefit 9 from the legacy of racism (e. g.via â€Å"white privilege†), are they morally responsible in some way? Is it racially discriminatory for an association serving mostly Latino youth to try to hire mostly Latino staff? Is it racist for a small business owner to hire people she â€Å"feels comfortable† with, if it turns out she tends to feel comfortable only with people from her own racialized group, since that’s among whom she grew up? These questions lie at the heart of the â€Å"conversation about race†; they cannot and should not be settled ahead of time. Thus, Blum’s second methodological mistake is to think that setting a neutral baseline for discussion is even possible. Blum’s approach is inevitably partisan — simply in trying to clarify meanings, he takes stances on a number of controversial issues — and hence he is within rather than above the fray. This is perfectly appropriate — taking and defending particular stances about how we ought to live our lives is what moral philosophy is, or at least should be, about — but it is not what Blum professes to be doing. Furthermore, Blum’s approach is at least partly opposed to his stated aim of promoting cross-racial dialogue about race and racism, insofar as to the extent that readers accept Blum’s positions as given, their avenues for debate about race and racism will be cut off rather than expanded. I hope (and expect) instead that readers will be drawn to engage with and debate the arguments themselves, as any good work of social and moral philosophy should inspire people to do; they do not, however, provide a neutral starting point for others’ conversations. iv My concerns about the match between Blum’s stated objective and the content of his book are irrelevant to my assessment of his arguments or his conclusions, most of which I think are generally on target. I do wonder, however, about the concrete, â€Å"on the ground† implications of his conclusions, especially but not solely for those responsible for educating the next generation. I will address two especially pressing questions: (1) How would one use the 10 language of â€Å"racialized groups† in a way that was clearly distinct from using the language of race, especially in institutional contexts? (2) Is there convincing psychological evidence to support Blum’s claims about the results of redescribing social and identity groups? For example, is there convincing evidence that thinking of oneself as being a member of a socially constructed racialized group has more positive psychological effects than thinking of oneself as a member of a biologically-determined race? These questions raise issues that are significant for assessing the practical import of Blum’s arguments in general; they are also crucial for determining how his conclusions would alter anti-racist curricula and pedagogy in the classroom, which presumably will be central to the realization of Blum’s moral philosophy. First, Blum’s claim that we can combat racism (at least to some extent) by altering our language about race has moral purchase only if there is some way to â€Å"operationalize† — and especially to institutionalize — this linguistic adjustment. Blum seems to acknowledge this, and to be optimistic about its potential: â€Å"Appreciating the difference between race and racialization, and at the same time attempting to do justice to the unreality of race and the reality of racism, may point us toward new ways of thinking and new forms of institutional practice† (p. 166). He gives one (and only one) example of how one might adopt â€Å"new forms of institutional practice† in relation to the Census, which is a key tool for tracking racial patterns and disparities in society — but also hence for seeming to legitimate racial categorization. In response to this dilemma, Blum suggests, â€Å"Were the federal government to encourage a broad understanding that the purposes for which the Census is now explicitly used do not require a commitment to the existence of races in any form, but only to racialized groups, the legitimate discrimination- monitoring function of Census racial categories could be severed from any implication of racialism† (p. 167). But then frustratingly, Blum gives no specifics about how the Census could 11 do this. Would Blum hope for a statement of disavowal of race? If so, where? Just in the preamble (which already includes a â€Å"baby step† in that direction (see p. 227, fn. 11)), which nobody reads? Or in the census itself, which seems impractical since it is intentionally kept as short as possible in order to maximize response rates? Instead of a statement of disavowal, the Census could replace â€Å"What is this person’s race? † (the question currently asked) with â€Å"What is this person’s racialized group? †, and then use quotation marks (or â€Å"scare quotes†) around terms such as â€Å"black,† â€Å"Spanish/Latino/Hispanic† (which is currently kept separate from the â€Å"race† question), and â€Å"white† to reinforce their constructed status. This is also unsatisfactory, however, for two reasons. First, â€Å"racialized group† will likely be either greeted with confusion or treated as a synonym of â€Å"race,† especially in the absence of an explanation of the term; in the latter case, it is likely to end up acquiring the separatist, hierarchical, and essentialist connotations or â€Å"race† (just like â€Å"disabled† and even â€Å"differently abled† acquired those of the maligned term â€Å"handicapped† they were designed to replace). Second, many of the choices given are not (yet) â€Å"racialized groups,† at least not in the United States, but are nationalities: Samoan, Filipino, Native Hawaiian, Asian Indian, Japanese. Should these terms all be in scare quotes? I would think not — but then how would one deal with the presence of scare quotes some places and their absence others? One could add â€Å"nationality and/or ethnicity† to the â€Å"racialized group† question, and then surround everything with quotation marks — but this then gets cumbersome, to say the least, and is likely to raise other dilemmas. As the Census example shows, institutionalizing â€Å"racialized group† language is hard in print, particularly when it comes to naming and labeling the racialized groups themselves (â€Å"black,† â€Å"white,† â€Å"Vietnamese,† â€Å"Native American†). It is substantially harder in conversation, 12 such as in the oral give-and-take of a classroom. Consider Ellen, a teacher of ten and eleven year-olds, who is eager to incorporate anti-racist education into her teaching. Ellen reads â€Å"I’m Not a Racist, But†¦Ã¢â‚¬  over the winter holiday and then sits down to revise her January lesson plans, which include a unit on non-violent protest designed both to fit into the school’s conflict resolution initiative and to lead up to the celebration of Martin Luther King, Jr. ’s birthday. As she reads over her plans, she quickly inserts a mini-lesson on â€Å"racialized group† at the beginning of the unit and converts â€Å"race† to â€Å"racialized group† throughout the unit. She adds in a two-day lesson called â€Å"What is Racism? †, and develops an interactive group activity for near the end of the unit designed to help students decide when it’s okay to refer to or take someone’s racialized group membership into account and when it’s not. Reviewing her social studies lessons on Ghandi, Martin Luther King, Jr. , and the March on Washington, D. C. , she is pleased. She also thinks her English lesson on an excerpt of King’s Letter from Birmingham Jail will prove challenging but inspiring to her students. But then Ellen suddenly gets worried. Throughout her lessons are references to blacks, whites, Indians, British, Hindus, Christians, Jews. Which of these are racialized groups and which are not? How can she help her students figure out the difference? How can she talk about â€Å"blacks† and â€Å"whites† to her class without her students falling back into racial thinking? She can hand-signal scare quotes each time, but will that just turn into a joke among the students? And which groups would she use the hand signals for? All of these concerns are predicated on the conclusion that language matters — that it influences how we think, reason, behave, and interact with one another. This brings us to my second question about implications of Blum’s conclusions: is there social psychological evidence in favor of them? Throughout the book, Blum clearly operates on the assumption that if people recognize the socially constructed, rather than biologically inherent, nature of racialized groups, 13 then they will better be able to fight against the â€Å"hierarchical† and â€Å"inegalitarian† (p. 107) assumptions inherent in racial thinking. This is partly because racial identity then becomes in some way a matter of choice. â€Å"Whether a group is racialized is a matter of its treatment by the larger society. Whether the group takes on a self-identity as a race is a different matter† (p. 148). In recognizing their racialized treatment, rather than believing themselves defined by an immutable racial identity, individuals who are members of racialized groups can decide how to respond. Will they embrace their racialized identity, as those do who proudly join the Asian- American club, volunteer with La Raza, or wear t-shirts proclaiming â€Å"It’s a BLACK thing — you wouldn’t understand† or â€Å"Hot Latina Mama†? Will they reject it, declaring â€Å"that’s not who I am† and/or trying to assimilate? Or will they try to subvert it in some way, say by reclaiming the term â€Å"nigger† (or â€Å"queer† in the [non-racial] case of gays) and defiantly using it as a term of affection for others inside the group? By choosing the extent and nature of their racial identities, Blum seems implicitly to be arguing, individuals and groups are empowered; whether they choose to appropriate, reject, or subvert the characterizations thrust upon them by racializing others, the very act of choosing liberates them from the racialist (and racist) assumptions of innate difference, inferiority, and/or stigma. Two substantial bodies of work in social psychology, however, cast serious doubt on this claim. The first is system justification theory — the theory that â€Å"psychological processes contribut[e] to the preservation of existing social arrangements even at the expense of personal and group interest† (Jost and Banaji 1994: 1). The second is the notion of â€Å"stereotype threat† — the idea that in certain situations (those posing â€Å"stereotype threat†), members of stigmatized groups worry about confirming a negative stereotype about their group through their performance on a task, and then, precisely because of this anxiety, end up performing worse on 14 the task than they otherwise would (and than others do) — thus paradoxically performing true to negative stereotype (see Steele and Aronson 1995; Steele 1997). I will address each in turn. According to system justification theory, people implicitly support the status quo, including hierarchy differences between low- and high-status groups, even when they are members of low-status groups, and even when they reject the distinctions on a conscious level. Thus, in studies done under both â€Å"authentic† and experimental conditions, women ask for lower wages than men do for the same work (or they work 25 percent longer than men if offered the same wage (Cite forthcoming)); individuals rate even initially unwanted outcomes (such as tuition increases, or a member of the opposing political party winning an election) more desirable the more likely they are to occur (Kay et al.2002); And they rationalize the legitimacy of existing inequalities (e. g. , if told that graduates of University B earn more on average than University A graduates, University A students will rate University B students as being smarter and better writers than they; if told the opposite, however, then University A students will express the opposite prejudice and rate themselves higher (cite forthcoming)). Even individuals who explicitly articulate egalitarian beliefs tend to demonstrate moderate to strong implicit attitudinal biases toward higher-status groups (whites, young people, men); this is true regardless of the individual’s own group membership(s) (Greenwald and Banaji 1995; Banaji 2001). In other words, individuals internalize prejudice, discrimination, racism, and/or oppression (Jost and Banaji 1994; Jost et al. 2002; Kay et al. 2002). â€Å"[M]embers of disadvantaged groups internalize negative stereotypes and evaluations of their own group, to at least some degree† (Jost et. al. 2002: 598). Thus, even if people know that they are members of a group that is treated (merely) as if â€Å"there were inherent and immutable differences between them; as if certain somatic characteristics marked the presence of significant characteristics of mind, emotion, and 15 character; and as if some were of greater worth than others† (Blum 2002: 147), they are still likely to believe, subconsciously at least, that these are accurate assessments of their group membership. It takes a great deal of inner strength to stand up to stigma, discrimination, and prejudice. Even those who consciously reject racialist presumptions may respond differently subconsciously. This may be because of internalized oppression, as discussed above. But it may also be a result of rational adjustments in motivation or expectations. Knowing that one â€Å"is discriminated against, stigmatized, or inherits a history of racial† disadvantage (p. 177) may very well (and rationally) lead one to adopt a presumption of disadvantage — a belief that one’s effort will not be rewarded because of on-going discrimination and racism, and hence a reduction in effort, motivation, and/or aspirations. There is clear evidence of both effort reduction (Stone 2002) and aspiration reduction even among people who consciously reject stereotypes, such as women who profess a liking for mathematics (Nosek et al. 2002). This lowering of expectations is clearly compounded if individuals accept, whether implicitly or explicitly, the idea that they really are inferior in some way (as system justification theory suggests). Furthermore, as Claude Steele’s acclaimed work on â€Å"stereotype threat† shows, there are significant psychological and performative costs even simply in knowing that one is a member of a group that is perceived in a negative light. For example, research over the past few years has consistently shown that black students do worse on verbal tests if told the test is a measure of ability than they do if they are told the test is non-diagnostic (Steele 1997); the same is true for women’s performance on math tests (Keller 2002). Similarly, white students do worse than controls on tests of athletic skills if told that the their performance will indicate their â€Å"natural athletic ability,† but black students do worse if told their performance indicates their â€Å"sports 16 intelligence† (Stone, et. al. 1999). This response to â€Å"stereotype threat† is evident even among very young children (ages six to ten): children above seven years old demonstrate high levels of stereotype consciousness (awareness of others’ stereotypes about various groups), and children who are members of stigmatized groups perform worse when they think they are being measured along stereotypic lines than they do on the exact same test when their stereotype awareness (and hence sense of stereotype threat) is not activated (McKown 2002). These results pose a serious challenge, I believe, to Blum’s claims about the practical import of his moral philosophy. Although it is true that this research has all been done under conditions of â€Å"race† rather than â€Å"racialized groups† being salient (insofar as â€Å"racialized groups† has not become a popular or widespread term), it strikes me as being highly unl.