Monday, September 30, 2019

Common Size Financial Statement Analysis Essay

When all the items of a financial statement are expressed on a common basis, it is known as a common-size financial statement. Common-sizing of balance sheet is done generally by expressing its all items as a percentage of its total assets or total equities. Similarly, income statement is common-sized when its all items are expressed as percentage of total sales. PROCEDURE OF COMMON SIZING In preparing common-size income statement, the following procedure is to be followed : †¢Total sales revenue or total revenue is taken as hundred. †¢Each item of cost or expenses is represented as a percentage of total revenue. †¢Profit or loss also shown as a percentage of revenue. Similarly, balance sheet is common-sized as follows : †¢Total of assets side or total of liability side is taken as hundred. †¢Each item of asset is expressed as percentage of total asset total of capital and liabilities. †¢Each item of the liability side is also expressed as a percentage of total assets or total of capital and liabilities. USEFULNESS OF COMMON-SIZE FINANCIAL STATEMENT ANALYSIS †¢Inter-firm comparison becomes more meaningful when financial statement of the firms under comparison is common-sized. †¢Common-size financial statement analysis is most suitable to evaluate the performance of a company over a period of time. †¢It is useful in understanding the relative importance of different sources of financing. †¢It helps the analyst to formulate hypothesis about the most efficient business model by means of effective inter-firm comparisons. †¢Common-size financial analysis can be used to compare a company’s financial data with industry norms or average. COMMON-SIZE FINANCIAL STATEMENT ANALYSIS When all the items of a financial statement are expressed on a common basis, it is known as a common-size financial statement. Common-sizing of balance sheet is done generally by expressing its all items as a percentage of its total assets or total equities. Similarly, income statement is common-sized when its all items are expressed as percentage of total sales. PROCEDURE OF COMMON SIZING In preparing common-size income statement, the following procedure is to be followed : †¢Total sales revenue or total revenue is taken as hundred. †¢Each item of cost or expenses is represented as a percentage of total revenue. †¢Profit or loss also shown as a percentage of revenue. Similarly, balance sheet is common-sized as follows : †¢Total of assets side or total of liability side is taken as hundred. †¢Each item of asset is expressed as percentage of total asset total of capital and liabilities. †¢Each item of the liability side is also expressed as a percentage of total assets or total of capital and liabilities. USEFULNESS OF COMMON-SIZE FINANCIAL STATEMENT ANALYSIS †¢Inter-firm comparison becomes more meaningful when financial statement of the firms under comparison is common-sized. †¢Common-size financial statement analysis is most suitable to evaluate the performance of a company over a period of time. †¢It is useful in understanding the relative importance of different sources of financing. †¢It helps the analyst to formulate hypothesis about the most efficient business model by means of effective inter-firm comparisons. †¢Common-size financial analysis can be used to compare a company’s financial data with industry norms or average.

Sunday, September 29, 2019

Personal Learning Styles Essay

Everyone learns and retains information differently than one another. There are so many different types of learning styles out there. There are visual learners, verbal learners, and kinesthetic learners. Visual learners remember best what they see by diagrams, flow charts or maps. Auditory learners remember best what they hear and kinesthetic learners are best when they can be hands on. College is such an important part of my life and of many young people in today’s day and age. I have two small children and a husband who works very hard at his job so he doesn’t have time for college. My mother was lucky enough to start a job with Intel almost 14 years ago but did not go to college; therefore she does not have a college degree. My father did, however, go to college, but never used his degree to his advantage. My reasons for seeking a college degree are more than just showing my family that I can be successful and stick to something, but it’s to prove to myself th at I can do it. I want my children to know that their mom worked really hard and never gave up on her dreams, quitting is not an option. When things become hard, you push through and do your best. I am a very intense learner. I have found that I learn best visually and verbally. Visual learners remember best what they see—pictures, diagrams, flow charts, time lines, films, and demonstrations. Verbal learners get more out of words—written and spoken explanations. Everyone learns more when information is presented both visually and verbally. (Felder & Soloman, n.d ). If you are a VISUAL learner, then by all means be sure that you look at all study materials. Use charts, maps, filmstrips, notes and flashcards. Practice visualizing or picturing words/concepts in your head. Write out everything for frequent and quick visual review. (Bixler, 2010) I have found in college most teachers, not all, but most don’t use a whole of visual presentation.  If at all possible, it’s best to ask the instructor if there are references you can look to for further help or guidance. I would have to say upon taking these short tests and seeing the results I agree with the outcome of the two. I believe I am a visual and verbal learner. I do believe I do better when I can visually see what the instructor is talking about, It gives me a clear picture whether it be a map, chart or something as simple as an image, shows me what the focus point is and the topics surrounding it. I also believe I am a verbal learner as well. I reciprocate and retain information so much better when they are the ones explaining and interpreting that information. Write summaries or outlines of course material in your own words. Working in groups can be particularly effective: you gain understanding of material by hearing classmates’ explanations and you learn even more when you do the explaining. (Felder & Soloman, n.d ). I do know, that I do not do well when I am forced to read chapters upon chapters at a time with a test or quiz at the end of each one. It is extremely hard for me to retain any information like that because my mind wanders. If I have something to focus on, like an instructor, it keeps my attention; it’s exciting and keeps me eager to learn. Although there are many types of learning styles not everyone has the same techniques. Verbal, visual and kinesthetic are just to name a few. Whether it be using maps, charts or graphs, listening to lectures or having to be hands on, there is no wrong way of learning. Whatever style works best for your needs is the one that should be utilized the most. References Felder, R. M., & Soloman, B. A. (n.d.). Index of learning styles. Retrieved from http://www.engr.ncsu.edu/learningstyles/ilsweb.html Bixler, B. (2010). Learning style inventory. Retrieved from http://www.personal.psu.edu/bxb11/LSI/LSI.htm

Saturday, September 28, 2019

In What Ways Did Religion and Economics Influence the Development of Medieval Europe and Japan?

God’s laws told them that they were equal to the King. The archbishops, bishops, abbots, earls were freeman that could not be taken or imprisoned, outlawed or exiled or ruined unless by lawful judgments. General of injustice’s would cause the souls of them and the souls of their ancestors and successors to burn in all eternity. 2) How did the Magna Carta limit the power of King John? According to the Magna Carta: the king could no longer collect taxes from the English people unless the Great Council agreedany free man who was brought to trial for a crime had the right to be judged by his equals, rather than the king or his officials; this is what we know as a jurylegal decisions were also now influenced by the judges’ interpretation of previous court decisions; this made rulings more consistent so that the same crime couldn’t be punished in two different waysthe king himself now had to obey the laws of England; this was a brand new idea: that even the king was not above obeying the law3) How did the Magna Carta lay the foundation for democracy? Many of the ideas first written in the Magna Carta would later form the basis of modern democracy. It was the first document to limit the powers of the monarchy. This would influence the democratic idea of a system of checks and balances to keep one pie ce of the government (such as the president) from having too much power. It also established rights for everyday people and influenced the content of other documents that protect the rights of citizens, such as the Bill of Rights in the United States Constitution Another result of the Magna Carta was the establishment of the first English parliament. It created the Great Council, a group of 25 barons that the king was supposed to consult when he made a decision. This planted the seeds of a parliamentary government where the power was shared between the ruling monarch and the people, and the people had a voice. Later, Philip IV of France would use a similar idea in 1302 to establish the Estates-General. This was an assembly of noblemen, clergy, and townspeople that was also useful in uniting France under one national identity.

Friday, September 27, 2019

Disease Management Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Disease Management - Essay Example Controlling the symptoms with just giving medicines, did not give them any relief and they were in distress. They wanted some one to talk to them and address other aspects like taking them to church or asking some dear one to meet them, etc. However, the wards were full and nurses could not spend much time with each patient. They were working mechanically with no emotional aspect in their care. The ward incharge who realized this suggested an increase in staff to the management. However, in my opinion, what the ward needed was different case management and not just increase in staff. According to Smith (2003), "case management involves an approach and an organizational attitude to achieving these ends, not simply a team of nurses." Schifalacqua et al (2004) opined that in order to realize individual fiscal and clinical outcomes, it is very important to implement community-based advance case management program. This is because, one of the keys for self-management outcomes appears to b e a personalised partnership. References MacKinnon-Schifalacqua, M., O'Hearn-Ulch, P., & Schmidt, M. (2004). How to make a difference in the health care of a population: One person at a time. Nursing Administration Quarterly, 28(1), 29. Smith, A. (2003).

Thursday, September 26, 2019

Representation of Crime in the Media Coursework

Representation of Crime in the Media - Coursework Example From the study it is clear that media fails to provide importance to minor crimes because the same is with less violence. For instance, the case of recently disappeared teenager named as Alice Gross out focused other minor incidents related violence. This discussion highlights that the media decided to conduct research on this incident and totally neglected other criminal incidents. When the viewers are in search of breaking news, minor crimes are totally ignored and violence becomes the focal point. These broadcasting groups are aware of the fact that reporting minor crimes cannot capture the attention of the viewers. When the viewers ignore minor crimes, rating and revenue from advertisement will go down. So, one can see that news on minor crimes is non-profitable and is the reason behind the exclusion of the same from broadcasting media. On the other side, printed media provides ample importance to the sensational aspect of unexpected incidents and totally ignores minor crimes. As regular readers depend upon printed media for detailed reading, ample importance is given to the details of crime and related violence. Besides, printed media prepares and publish cover stories related to certain incidents with violence and totally i gnore other stories with less violence. So, both the printed and visual media excludes minor crimes because the same is with less news value. The reporters create reports on incidents and add some unneeded information to create false impression that criminal instinct is increasing.

Global Warming Overvirew Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Global Warming Overvirew - Research Paper Example Global warming has been consistent according to the data recorded by temperature measuring instruments and which is consistent with other observations such as rise in the sea levels due to expansion of water when heated (Miller, 34). Melting of snow and ice, increased heat levels in oceans, increase in the levels of humidity and the appearance of spring season earlier than it ought to appear are other observable changes that point to global warming. Data estimates from the national climatic data centre and the world metrological organization (WMO) show that the warmest years ever recorded in the world are 2005 and 2010, with temperatures estimated to have increased by 0.52 degree Celsius and 0.53 degree Celsius respectively, while all the years since 1986 have had temperature above the 1961-1990 average.Temperatures in 1998, which was one of the warmest years to have ever been experienced can be attributed to the El Nià ±o-Southern Oscillation, which was the largest El Nià ±o that had been experienced for the past one century. In 2010 the trend was also the same with the high temperatures experienced in that year due to the El Nino in that year, however the temperatures reduced in 2011 since it was a La Nina year. These fluctuations in temperatures are sometimes covered by periods of relative stability such as the years between 2002 and 2009.The fluctuations in temperatures due to global warming differ widely across the planet and in different surfaces. Land surface warming twice as fast as the oceans. (0.25 degrees Celsius for land compared to 0.13 degrees Celsius for oceans). This difference in change of temperatures can be attributed to the fact that oceans have a higher effective heat capacity and they lose more heat through evaporation than land surface. The northern hemisphere experience higher temperatures than the southern hemisphere due to the meridional heat transfer in the ocean that is higher in the northern hemisphere, and the albedo difference i n the Polar Regions. Causes of global warming One of the major causes of global warming is the greenhouse gases through greenhouse effect, which is the process by which emission and absorption of infrared radiations by gases warm the earth’s lower atmosphere and surface. The naturally occurring greenhouse gases warm the earth by about 33 degrees Celsius and they include water vapour, which is responsible for 36-70% of greenhouse effect, carbon dioxide that is responsible for 9-26% of greenhouse effect, methane responsible for 4-9% of greenhouse effect and ozone, which cause 3-7% of the greenhouse effect. Human activities have increased the amount of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere, which has led to radioactive forcing of

Wednesday, September 25, 2019

The impact of mobile devices on Cyber Security Research Proposal

The impact of mobile devices on Cyber Security - Research Proposal Example The proposed topic has been developed in the context of a research developed in regard to Cyber Security. As an aspect of the IT discipline, Cyber Security is highly analyzed through existing literature. However, the relationship between the Cyber Security and the mobile devices has not been adequately explored. Indeed, the review of relevant literature revealed that not all aspects of Cyber Security have been explored in the context of academic research. In addition, the popularity of mobile devices has been highly increased today, especially due to the radical development of technology on with these mobile devices are based. From this point of view, the proposed topic is considered as quite valuable, offering important information in regard to the relationship between Cyber Security and the mobile devices that have become quite popular. Another aspect of the study’s value is the following one: in the context of the research developed for this study the literature developed i n this field is carefully reviewed; academic studies have been identified and analyzed as of their impact on Cyber Security. This task is quite important due to the uniqueness of the study. Indeed, the review of relevant literature has led to the assumption that there is no study with similar topic, a fact that increases the firm’s value for supporting the academic research in regard to Cyber Security. In addition, the proposed study serves an important need: the need for identifying current material related to Cyber Security.

Tuesday, September 24, 2019

Torts - Contracts - Employment Law .. Discussions Essay

Torts - Contracts - Employment Law .. Discussions - Essay Example For a conduct to be deemed tortious, it must contain some particular characteristics. Without these features, an act might not be considered as a tort. While the society is still evolving new forms of torts are bound to be created, while the seemingly uncivilized or unworthy torts might be abolished. For example, negligence used to be a very broad phrase that implied to any form of breach of the peace, although it has evolved to become a separate entity. To some extent laws to do with torts have changed over time with respect to case law. For instance, it is through successive cases that legal principles come to be created or developed. (Dolinger, 14) The main purpose of having a contract is to create an agreement that the parties have established and to fix the rights and duties, according to that particular agreement. Moreover, courts of law are often brought on board to enforce a valid contract as it was established. However, it must be understood that different contracts are treated differently with varying circumstances. For a contract to be formed, all the circumstances must be assessed to see if; the offerer has given an â€Å"offer†, and if the offeree, has agreed that particular offer. Furthermore, in an event of a breach of contract the involved parties are allowed to sue. However, this must also happen in certain circumstances, such as within the statute of limitations. Statutes of limitations refer to laws that establish the deadline, within which a claim or lawsuit may be filed. Although more than often, contract’s deadlines vary based on the circumstances of the case, the nature of the case, geographic location, and whether the claim or suit is filed in state or federal. This is just a snippet of circumstances that normally revolve around contracts. (Chirelstein, 139) Due to the increasing workplace discrimination, there have been a lot of outcries to expand protected

Monday, September 23, 2019

Strategic value of information systems Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Strategic value of information systems - Essay Example The ultimate goal of Information Systems Management is to assimilate the utilization of information technology into business models and business processes to scrutinize its potential to attain business goals. Todays in the scenario of globalize market, which is full of large enterprises; the competition is getting tougher and tougher. As a result, IT departments are ponderous to become more aligned with business. There are lot of models for calculating the profitability with the incorporation of information technology but they all are trying to explore the conjunction between IT investments and the company's financial result .The process of introducing and use of new information technology in organizations is based on the skills and knowledge of experts who has the ability to master a series of interdisciplinary skills. Other factors like organizing and managing human resources, long term planning, employment, training, motivation, encouraging creative work and proper stimulating are also significant. Psycho-sociological and managing processes also depend on the working conditions, type of work and area of work, availability of human resources and skills available, working atmosphere, and other factors. It is imperative that the development of information technology department is the responsibility of information technology management and should offer the effective ways and leadership qualities to manage the human resources efficiently. Following are the issues that executives must consider, examine and evaluate while making decisions regarding the strategic value of information systems. Business And Knowledge Management Organizations are facing ever-increasing challenges, brought on by marketplace pressures or the nature of the workplace. Many organizations are now looking to knowledge management to address these challenges. Such initiatives are often started with the development of a knowledge management strategy. To be successful, a KM strategy must denominate the basic necessities and issues within the organization, and furnish the architecture for incorporating all these factors. Every organization has a specific environment and different set of requirements, signified by various factors like size of organization, its aim and activities of the organization, overall strategic direction, accessibility of resources, geographical situations and many others. As a result knowledge management strategies follow either top-down or bottom up approach for the organizations. This main emphasis of these strategies is to provide the architecture for the selection and prioritization of individual projects and activities. Again this strategic focus depend on the number of factors that include: Organizational strategy documents, such as the corporate plan or annual report Involvement of Senior management Results of other strategic research projects, such as staff satisfaction surveys. External market research. 2. Psychological Factors According to psychological aspect factors that leveraged factors of IT development are as follows: Professional contributions of each individual Level of personal professional development and satisfaction at work Communication whether formal or informal, also plays significant role in the development of

Sunday, September 22, 2019

Manifestations of Truth in How to Tell a War Story by Tim O’ Brien Essay Example for Free

Manifestations of Truth in How to Tell a War Story by Tim O’ Brien Essay How to Tell a War Story by Tim O’ Brien has taken into account various thematic expression and he uses an unusual style to narrate these thematic expression. It a balance-mix of story and reflective essay. O ‘Brien major concern remain the reality of truth. He illustrates various manifestations of truth and manifests that imagination is the major tool to locate the truth. In addition to that he develops a criterion for narrating a war story. â€Å"O’Brien shares the criteria with which the writer or teller and the reader or listener must be concerned by giving an extended definition of what a war story is or is not. The chapter How to Tell a True War Story focuses most extensively on the features that might be found in a true war tale. (Calloway, 1995) So story is multifaceted and its narrative technique is advanced as well unique. Tim O’ Brien has critically evaluated the criterion for writing a true war story. O’Brien demonstrates that memory and reminiscence are transient in nature and one can tell a story purely based on his memory. Memory is always prone to mental faculty of creating fiction. Sometime the character or the narrator admits the elements of fictionality in a true war story but mostly it goes unnoticed and unobserved. Same is the case with How to Tell a War Story as Mitchell Sanders admits to Tim O Brien (the protagonist) that although most of his tale is based on fact but there are elements of fiction. Hew says, â€Å"Last night, man,' Sanders states, I had to make up a few things . . . The glee club. There wasnt any glee club . . . No opera,' either (O’ Brien, 1998). But,' he adds, its still true' (O’ Brien, 1998). This is not distortion of truth but it is the limited nature of memory to recall things in proper order with minute details that urges human faculties to invent certain details. Furthermore, plain truth is not interesting enough to captivate the attention of the reader and amuse. In a Vietnam War story there can be pathos and miseries, deaths and destruction, but there is nothing pure to tell in the form of a story. O Brien himself explain this; â€Å"I think exercising the imagination is the main of finding the truth†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (Naparsteck, 1991, p. 10) So memories are true and well as invention simultaneously. In â€Å"Things They Carried†, collection short stories from which this story was taken, O’ Brien he acts as the narrator. So readers suppose that he himself was veteran of the war and observed everything on his own but his are not the first hand account of these tales. They are told by various veterans of wars and were later crafted by O’Brien. So both veterans and the writers has invented certain situations and mingled it with the real story. O’Brien says that it is not unethical or wrong to develop a story in this way. He says, â€Å"â€Å"You’d feel cheated if it never happened. †(O’ Brien). A story is developed on its own and follows a natural pattern. In this way, O’Brien implies that truth distorts when it passes through the mental processes. Various pre-conceived notions, past experiences, prejudices and men’s inventive powers cast its own impression on it. But it is natural phenomenon. O’Brien explains this in the story; In any war story, but especially a true one, it’s difficult to separate what happened from what seemed to happen. What seems to happen becomes its own happening and has to be told that way. The angles of vision are skewed. When a booby trap explodes, you close your eyes and duck and float outside yourself. When a guy dies, like Lemon, you look away and then look back for a moment and then look away again. The pictures get jumbled; you tend to miss a lot. And then afterward, when you go to tell about it, there is always that surreal seemingness, which makes the story seem untrue, but which in fact represents the hard and exact truth as it seemed. (O’Brien, 1998) Readers accept this balance mix-up of reality and invention but O’Brien, however, does not allow his readers to take these things for granted and inquires the whole idea of memoirs, recollections, and the short capability of memory to communicate the reality with accuracy. As far as the narrative structure is concerned, O’Brien himself calls it a mix of essay and fiction. In an interview to Naparsteck (1991) he says that, â€Å"In a way, it’s part essay and a part fiction but in a way it’s neither†¦To me, it has singleness or unity to it. Rather than part things this and part things that, it’s all those things together. †(p. 9) This manifests his idea of truth as a whole. He does not differentiate genuine reality from perceived reality and considers them conflation of each other and they as whole constitute the truth. Unquestionably, truth and fabrication is another theme that Tim O Brien takes into consideration in the story. He is of the view that in narrating a war story, untruth is not conflicting with truth. They are the facets of a single reality. One is real and other is inventive but both are genuine. During the war, truth is unclear and mostly uncertain. It takes varies semblances band is manifested in various contradictory forms. So both true and inventive part of the story seems contradictory but in reality, they are same and equivalent. This paradoxical manifestation of truth is symbolized by the death Curt Lemon. O’Brien as narrator is familiar with the situation in which Curt was killed. He was shot dead by a 105mm round while â€Å"he was playing catch with Rat Kiley†. But as O’Brien recollect this in his mind; he perceives that Curt was killed by daylight. This narration is different from the first one. But none is untrue. 105 round was tool but sunlight also played a major role in his death. Sunlight is also chief cause thus. In this way, O’Brien differentiates between the reality that took place and the reality that appears to take place. No account is untrue but both a different manifestation of same reality i. e. one is real and other is perceived as real. Tim Obrien does not use proper literary devices to convey this dichotomy like Golding does in â€Å"Lord of The Flies† where he use symbol of fire and convey its paradoxical nature. Conventionally, fire refers to destruction and damage but Golding uses it as a rescue symbol when boys trapped in an island use fire to get attention of the passing by ship and in the last, they are saved by the aero- plane that noticed the fire signaling rescue. But mostly, it is not possible to attach two opposite meaning to a single word as beautifully done by Golding in the novel. O’ Brien attempts the same. For example, he says, â€Å"it is safe to say that in a true war story nothing is ever absolutely true,† he generate a contradiction but it is not a single word or a symbols that he utilizes to communicate the paradox. It is the whole context that helps him make this statement. Stephen Kaplan sums up this thematic expression of reality in his book; Understanding Tim O’Brien. He says, â€Å"[O’Brien] completely destroys the fine line dividing fact from fiction and tries to show that fiction (or the imagined world) can often be truer, especially in the case of Vietnam, than fact. O’ Bren plays with truth in How to Tell a War Story and sometimes fabricates it. The chief purpose is to highlight the paradox of truth and to demonstrate its various facets and manifestations. He leaves it to the readers to discern between genuine truth and perceived truth. The writer’s use of a narrator Tim O’ Brien in this collection of short stories is at the same time appealing as well as disturbing. The confusion deepens when it told by the author that the narrator is a middle aged man telling the stories about the Vietnam War. The use of a narrator is interesting as it forces the readers to think that the story is basically rooted in some real life experiences. It also helps in joining together the disjointed elements in the tales. This tool also helps the writer to play and employ some untruths and marvelous things without suffering from the fear of being questioned for their authenticity. The readers suffer from the problem that is the narrator is just playing the role of a mouth piece for the writer or is he an independent character. However, by using this device the writer is able to convey the message to the readers that what is discussed in the story as truth is somewhat similar to what actually happened during the war. If the reader accepts that the narrator is reliable and he is telling the truth than he faced a dilemma. As in the beginning of the stories the narrator tells that he is a real person and going to tell real stories and in the end he tells them that everything that he has just told is just falsehood. The author might be using this illusion to convey the readers a way in which a war story should be told and the basic truths that these war stories carries. He might also be trying to make a point that the story is basically true and logical though it may not have actually happened in the Vietnam War. The construction of this collection of stories is not following the traditional way of telling the stories. There are stories within a story that are linked very beautifully together in a novel way. Each story is basically an endeavor, on the part of narrator, to make a point clear. In order to explain or discuss a thought or experience the narrator start telling another story. These stories, are however, not linked in the traditional way. On finishing the book the reader is made to realize the truth as an organic whole, in a strange way, and not in the ordinary way as is the truth in conveyed to them. In this style of story telling the writer is not bound to follow the chronological flow of time. He is free to roam about according to his will. He can discus the realities and the sequence of the happening of events according to how he deems it right and not by the traditional way of doing it. The writer is basically of the view that the ‘war stories’ need to present the ‘true illustration’ and it need not to indulge in ‘analysis’ so it is important that the short stories should remain true to the reality and the long story or the parent-story need not to be something actually happened in reality. Rosemary Kings explain this phenomenon in this way; OBriens word play in the title hinges on the definition of true, a word he uses alternately throughout the story to mean either factually accurate, or something higher and nobler. He does this through three embedded narratives: Mitchell Sanderss narration of Curt Lemons death; the narrators description of hearing Sanderss story; and Tim OBriens commentary on how to tell a true war story. (n1) Each narrator claims his story is an authentic retelling of events as they occurred in Vietnam, asserting the historicity of their narratives. (King, 1999) The structure of the book is such that the chapters and the short stories are basically there to help the readers understand the real story, the real and the tangible truth. These are basically the ‘things’ carried by the parent story. The comments of the narrator helps the reader understand the organic wholeness of the story just as the chapters in the long story are connected together by the connecting views and ideas of the author thrown here and there in the long story. Rosemary King also highlights the importance of title of the story; â€Å"OBriens title delivers punch not only through the conflated definition of true but also through the distinction of what makes a war story true. He underscores the importance of manipulating what actually happened to get at the essence of truth. † Above-mentioned discussion and supported arguments and evidence clearly manifest that O’Brien has successfully asserted that truth has paradoxical nature and it can be conveyed as a whole i. e. a balance mix- of what happened and what seems to happen. In reality this pradox dissolved in a complete whole. He further illustrated that human mental processes modifies the objective reality. His own description of reality from the subjective point of view of the narrators in the story is a skillful representation of this phenomenon. Thus his story is a successful example of metafiction.

Saturday, September 21, 2019

Costs and benefits of the EMU

Costs and benefits of the EMU Abstract: This paper contributes to the ongoing debate over European Monetary Union (EMU) including the costs and benefits of joining it. Advocators of EMU stressed that it is essential to create a stronger European Union with greater economic, political and social cohesion, whereas the opponents did not support this stage of the European Unions construction such as the United-Kingdom, Denmark and Sweden, reviewing the merits of a single currency (OCA) and the requirements for a stable currency (Convergence Criteria). (Bernhard Winkler, 1996) Identify and discuss the costs and benefits of joining the Economic and Monetary Union (EMU)? Do the benefits outweigh the costs? Introduction According to Franà §ois Mitterrand, â€Å"EMU is seen as a mean to recover some influence over European monetary affairs.† (Franà §ois Mitterrand, 1992)The French left wings president at time wanted the emergence of the European Union against the US dollar which has been widely used as the yardstick measurement for all currencies. In Europe, the existence of different national currencies was considered as the remaining barriers for a barrier-free single market and the influence of the dollar pressed the European Union (EU) to form an Economic and Monetary Union (EMU). The genesis of the EMU with the initial impulse given by the Werner Report in 1970, then failed in 1973 with the oil crisis and finally relaunched with the Delors Plan in 1989 and the Treaty of Maastricht in 1992, was noteffortlessly. The EMU is a type of trade block involving a single market and a common currency. At the European scale, it involves a single European market within its borders and the adoption of the Euro. Economists usually refer to the EMU as an economic trade off between perceived benefits and cost of joining the area (Thomas D. Willett, 2002). There are diverging views on the extent of these costs and benefits, and therefore, especially on the question whether to join the EMU or not. The aim of this paper is to analyse the key issues surrounding the entry in the EMU, and balance positive and negative aspects. The pros and cons regarding the EMU require a careful analysis of the economic benefits and drawbacks at both national and company level. Debate surrounding the EMU There are many benefits that a country will have by entering EMU. Recently, the euro has gained a lot of influence since many European nations have adopted it. Indeed, the benefits of EMU increase and costs decrease as the level of integration intensifies. (Krugman, 1990)The growing importance of the euro in international trades and the increasing trade activities which result from adopting the currency clearly shows that benefits will outweigh costs. For a country international trades are fundamental in order to have a stronger economy. Therefore, the â€Å"antis-EMU† advocate that the process will submerge the individuality of the European nations in an â€Å"unwieldy federation, hobbled by bureaucracy, commanding little popular support and imposing a crippling burden of regulatory and other costs on Europes economies† (David Currie, 1997, pp.14) They believe that an organized Europe will have a negative impact for most member states as it will also â€Å"reduce the volume of trade and would certainly increase the level of unemployment† (Martin Feldstein, February 20, 2008). In order to join the EMU, a country must correspond to the Maastricht Convergence Criteria: price stability, sustainable public finances, exchange rate stability and durable convergence. The term â€Å"convergence† refers to the process of unifying technological and non-rival domains, preparing late countries in terms of structure and institutions to match with those at the forefront. One of the first obvious benefits is that the implementation of those criteria represents a factor of macroeconomic stabilisation and sustainable economic growth for both EMU countries and future members. However, the convergence requirements are also a clear example of conflict because they are considered as lacking economic rationale and imposing unnecessary pain. Many economists have attacked the convergence criteria, responsible of provoking instability and serving no other purpose except to delay. (De Grauwe, 1993) The convergence criteria and EMU itself seek to guard against â€Å"unsustai nable budgetary policies in a member state† because these are seen to lead to either â€Å"default or debt monetisation† which would â€Å"be a major threat to the overall monetary stability† (European Economy, 1990:100) Furthermore, the convergence criteria make clear that fiscal discipline is defined as the avoidance of an unsustainable build-up of public debt (Emerson, 1992, pp.107) and the transition to EMU for a country will amplify the domestic effectiveness of national fiscal policy for stabilisation purposes. (Emerson, 1992, pp.115) Benefits and costs of joining the EMU Our aim is to understand the incentives of the players in the EMU, and a natural starting point is to assess economic costs and benefits of a single currency for a country like France as an example. More or less, there are microeconomic benefits versus macroeconomic costs. a) Transaction costs and stable environment One of the most obvious benefits is the resulting ease of transactions across the European Union. Countries are using one currency and as a matter of fact, the elimination of exchange rate fluctuation helped to eliminate transaction costs in intra-EU trade. Firms and business are both saving time and money. For example, an estimated $30 billion[1] a year is spent on foreign exchange transactions. The transactions involve the change from one currency to another but also from accounting systems. Additionally, joining the EMU eliminates the possibility of exchange-rate variation with the EMU zone. If exchange rates move irregularly and unsystematically in response to arbitrary speculation, exchange volatility imposes a macroeconomic cost (David Currie, 1997). Thus, its elimination represents a real advantage as it provides a more stable environment for trade within the euro zone by lowering risks and uncertainties as the economy is more flexible and resources more mobile. b) Monetary policy and the European Central Bank Despite affecting a fundamental aspect of a countrys sovereignty, member-states must abandon monetary policy. Additionally, members are deprived from revenue of seigniorage which is the net revenue derived from the issuing of currency. This loss mainly affects high-inflation rate countries such as Greece or Spain for example. Monetary policy is not anymore at the national level but depends on a supranational authority, the European Central Bank, headquartered in Frankfurt, Germany. Established in 1998, the ECB is responsible for monetary policy covering the sixteen member States of the Euro zone. Granting monetary control to the ECB means that National governments are giving monetary policy instrument such as regulating exchange rate and interest rate, and this is likely to involve a cost. This cost will occur during recession or inflationary boom, when a country will be unable to raise or lower interest rates independently of other countries within the EMU. c) Fiscal power of member-states Joining EMU severely limits the fiscal power of member-states. While they maintain formal responsibility for fiscal policy, member-states will have to show fiscal rectitude to avoid penalty. Convergence criteria require countries to reduce their debt which produced a ‘squeeze effect (Gà ¤rtner, 1997) for countries with loose fiscal policy. Indeed, fiscal policy remains the only macro-economic tool that is available to governments. At the same time, the union has the power of coordination and surveillance, and the ability to recommend modifications of fiscal policy and to apply sanctions against governments that have no taken the recommended steps. d) A single currency and its effect on public support As we already mentioned earlier, a member-state joining the EMU will have to adopt a common currency: the euro. Despite the fact that the adoption of the euro will clearly affect the countrys sovereignty, some people ‘feel closer to other countries (European Commission, 2002) which can bring Europeans together and build a notion of European identity. Therefore, the adoption of a common currency can result in undermining a nations identity. Currencies such as the â€Å"Francs† or the â€Å"Deutsch Mark† have symbolized economic prosperity, especially due to the fact that people trusted them. Moreover, the â€Å"Franc† was the French national currency since 1795 and has remained for two hundred and four years. The Deutsch Mark had the reputation as one of the worlds most stable currencies. For a country like France or Germany, the change of their currencies was a memorable step. Moreover, an obvious economic consequence is the impact on the purchasing power. For example, in France the switch from â€Å"Francs† to the â€Å"Euros† had a major effect on the French purchasing power. Twenty euro is the equivalent of approximately a 120Francs and this was perceived as a large amount of money in terms of purchasing power before the introduction of the new currency. While the adoption of the euro was meant to bring stability over the long-term, a study has been conducted showing that price rises were evident in the service sector such as restaurants, cafà ©s, hairdressers and recreational and sporting services. (Eurostat, 2003) Nevertheless, French consumers have noticed a change in the cost of living. Additionally, adopting a new currency is not always the easiest thing to do. e) Effects on firms and businesses Another benefit is the increase in attractive opportunities for foreign investors and these effects are unevenly spread across firms and businesses. Thus, larger firms will benefit more from EMU. For example, strong domestic enterprises will benefit from a greater degree of internationalisation of their markets. It will be especially helpful to small and medium sized enterprises which may not be able to reap sizeable economies of scale. Nevertheless, firms and businesses will be the first to experience the negative effects from joining the EMU. For example, travel agents and banks that are losing commission on currency exchanges and European currency traders will no longer be able to exert this business. Moreover, the single currency may lead to the â€Å"Europeanising† (Brown, B.2004, pp. 57-60.) of labour markets within the EMU zone. Consequently, it would be much easier to compare wages across the zone, especially in sectors where trade unions wield bargaining power. This w ill lead to an increase of wages and could engender major problem to companies outsourcing in low wages countries such as in Eastern Europe. The single currency will remove just the elements of labour-market flexibility. f) Price transparency and price convergence Nevertheless, joining the EMU will foster competition as there is greater price transparency across countries. Indeed, a single currency makes easier to show how prices differ between countries. It has been found that â€Å"the prices of goods differ considerably in different countries and continents due to the differences in currency.† (McCallum, 1995, pp24-25) As an example, before EMU, a customer living in France was able to buy a high value-added car cheaper when going in Germany. Hence, this leads to lower prices in the short to medium run because consumers can buy from the cheapest source and thus, drive prices down as companies are running under pressure. Indeed, â€Å"The formation of the euro zone and the SM of almost 300 million consumers will inevitably sharpen competitive pressures throughout Europe†. (Spanos et Al., Greek, pp.638) The subsequent enhancement of competition will increase economic efficiency and should cause price convergence. (Spanos et Al., Greek, pp.639) Consequently, the EMU provides information to its members and thus, enables them to make wiser decisions. g) â€Å"One fit all† policy problem: Moreover, other problems of joining the European Economic and Monetary Union will occur in the medium to long term. Indeed, the concern is that whether the states are sufficiently similar for them to co-exist with a common currency. For example, not all states are at the same stage of the trade cycle which represents a periodic fluctuation in the rate of economic activity as measured by levels of prices, production and employment. As an example, the UK is the worlds fourth largest economy and the second largest in the EU. The City of London represents Europes major European financial centre. The case of the UK has specific arguments: the UK has a lower level of intra-EU trade, one of the highest percentages of home owners and is affected differently by oil price movements due to different arrangements. It is then weaker and more vulnerable to external shocks which are unexpected shocks that do not affect every nation equally. (D. Johnson, C. Turner, 2nd edition, p180-183) Hence, if t he UK joins the euro, they will have to increase their exchange risks because the euro is turning around the dollar. The pound for example is neutral compared to the dollar and the euro. Consequently, the inappropriateness of one monetary policy for so many states is a major cost of joining the EMU. The case against the UKs entry in EMU depends also on other factors such as the recession the country is undergoing and the influence of the United-States. Benefits outweigh the costs? The case of Greece is a good example to show how benefits can outweigh the costs. Indeed, Greece has recently entered the EMU and thus, represents a good example for a number of candidates. Hence, it is an example of an economy in transition that has made a lot of progress in order to fulfil the macroeconomic convergence. A study of Greek firms has been conducted by Spanos (Business strategy analyst at Athens University) which helps to understand how firms react when entering the EMU and found that leading Greek firms â€Å"appear fully aware of the dramatic changes they will have to address in the near futureIn line with recent empirical evidence, the findings presented here are encouraging in that they suggest a strong learning effect that has presumably led Greek management towards convergence.† (Spanos et Al, pp.646) We understand that both EU membership and the panorama of competing in the EMU have acted as major catalysts. In short, the EMU has contributed toward the dev elopment of western-type of management style. Additionally, Greek firms have new challenges to overcome and this requires new competitive strategies, organizational structures, and management processes. Consequently, Greek firms strategy has shifted toward offer better quality products and services, and a tighter cost control. Trade theories are examples of why benefits outweigh costs. (Aiginger, K. et al, 1999, pp.3) The traditional theory was described by Ricardo in 1817; a country can achieve a â€Å"comparative advantage† resulting from differences in productivity or endowments between countries and regions. Consequently, trade liberalization and economic integration will result in production re-location and increasing specialization according to comparative advantages. Additionally, Mundell (1961) McKinnon (1963) and Kenen (1969) identified the reasons why a country should or should not enter a monetary union. If for every member-state benefits outweigh costs then the currency area is optimal. An â€Å"optimum currency area† (OCA) considers the premise that â€Å"when an external shock hits the economy, it is easier to adjust the exchange rate rather than domestic prices or wages.† (A. Belke and D. Gros, (1997). pp. 3/50) Indeed, this approach assesses what a country loses by giving up the exchange rate as an adjustment instrument. Conclusions To conclude, according to Martin Feldstein, EMU is seen by France as an opportunity to be a â€Å"co-manager† of Europe as an equal of Germany. Furthermore, it has been assumed that economic integration among the European countries will lead to convergence while reducing asymmetric shocks. However, classical theories assess that integration results in more specialization due to comparative advantage. Hence, core economies (France and Germany) may benefit at the expense of less efficient economies such as Eastern member-states. Furthermore, with a Single Market, firms will have to expand in size in order to compete. Such large firms are mostly located in core economies of the EU. However, Greece case study showed that EMU has contributed to the development of firms by offering higher quality products and services. We can then conclude that if a country joins EMU, benefits will clearly outweigh costs. References: Aiginger, K. et al. ‘Specialisation and (geographic) concentration of European Manufacturing, Enterprise DG Working Paper No 1, Background Paper for the ‘The Competitiveness of European industry: 1999 Report, Brussels. Ardy, B., Begg, I., Hodson, D., Mahe, I. and Mayes, D. (Eds) (2005) Adjustment to EMU: One Europe or Several? Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan Backà ©, P., Thimann, C., Arratibel, O., Calvo-Gonzalez, O., Mehl A. and Nehrlich, C. (2004) ‘The Acceding Countries Strategies towards ERM II and the Adoption of the Euro: An Analytical Review, ECB Occasional Paper Series, n °10. Frankfurt: European Central Bankn http://www.ecb.int/pub/ Brown, B. (2004) ‘Existing EMU, the International Economy, 18 (2), pp. 57-60. C. Allsopp M. Artis, â€Å"The Assessment: EMU, Four Years On,† Oxford Review of Economic Policy 19 Cambridge University Press, Bernhard Winkler. â€Å"Towards a Strategic View on EMU: A Critical Survey.† Towards a Strategic View on EMU: A Critical Survey Jan.-Apr 16.1 (1996): 1-26. Print. Commission of the European Communities (2004) ‘EMU after Five Years, European Economy, Special Report, and Number 1/2004, http://europa.eu.int/comm/economy_finance/publications/european_economy/2004/eesp104en.pdf Chang, M. 2009. Monetary integration in the European Union. Basingstoke: Palgrave MacMillan. David Currie, The Pros and Cons of EMU by, the economist intelligence Unit, January 20, 1997 De Grauwe, P. (2002) ‘Challenges for Monetary Policy in Euroland, Journal of Common Market Studies, 40 (4), pp. 693-718 Dinan, D. 2005. Ever closer union: an introduction to European integration (3rd ed.). Boulder, Colorado: Lynne Rienner. Chapter 15 European Central Bank (2008) Statistical data Warehouse, http://www.ecb.int/stats/prices/hicp/html Gà ¤rtner, M. (1997) ‘Who wants the euro-and why? Economic explanations of public attitudes towards a single European currency, Public Choice 93 (3-4): 487-510 Greek Firms and EMU: Contrasting SMEs and Large-Sized Enterprises, Spanos et al. 2001, European Management Journal, Vol. 19, No. 6, pp. 638-648. (Available electronically) Johnson and Turner, 2006, Economic and Monetary Union Chapter 15 Dinan, 2005, Economic and Monetary Union Dr Rachel Doern, Royal Holloway University of London, Lecture n °5: Economic and Monetary Union, 2009 Panos.C. Afxientiou (1998), Convergence, the Maastricht Criteria, and Their Benefits, Philip R.Lane. â€Å"The Real Effects of European Monetary Union.† The Real Effects of European Monetary Union 20.4 (fall, 2006): 47-66. Print. Susan A. Banducci, Jeffrey A.Karp and Peter H.Loedel. â€Å"Journal of European Public Policy.† Economic interests and public support for the euro(June 2009): 564-81. Print. Thomas D. Willett.Some Political Economy Aspects of EMU. Elsevier Science Inc, 2000. Print. Kathryn M.E. Dominguez, The Journal of Economic Perspectives â€Å"The European Central Bank, the Euro, and Global Financial Markets.† The European Central Bank, the Euro, and Global Financial Markets Fall 20.4 (2006): 67-88. Print. Werner Bonefeld, Economic and Political Weekly. â€Å"Politics of European Monetary Union: Class, Ideology and Critique.† Politics of European Monetary Union: Class, Ideology and Critique 33.35 (1998): 55-69. Print. http://www.unc.edu/depts/europe/conferences/eu/Pages/emu8.htm http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm200304/cmselect/cmpubacc/541/54107.htm

Friday, September 20, 2019

The Tourism Industry In Bangladesh

The Tourism Industry In Bangladesh The tourism industry is a major contributor to the gross state product of many countries (Reige and Perry, 2000) and in the last 50 years, tourism has developed into one of the worlds most powerful, yet provocative, socio-economic forces (Sharpley and Telfer 2008). Travel Tourism industry has become one of the worlds most important and fastest growing economic sectors, generating quality jobs and substantial wealth for economies around the globe (WTTC, 2007). The recent global recession has not caused the tourism industry to grind to a complete halt, and the World Tourism Barometer indicated that the recession only caused a 4% decline in global tourism from 2008-2010 (UNWTO, 2011b) and now it is expected to grow again. WTTC President and CEO, David Scowsill (2011) says Over the next ten years, its total contribution to GDP will rise by 4.2% per annum to US$9.2 trillion, bringing with it 65 million new jobs, but for that growth to be achievable and sustainable, governments must work together with the industry towards smarter policies and legislation that will help Travel Tourism to thrive. In Third world countries, governments encourage tourism investment because of the assumption that it will contribute to economic development of their countries (Hall, 1995). Third world nations and developing nations always seeks the potential benefits of tourism such as increased income, foreign exchange, employments and economic diversification (Sharpley and Telfer, 2008). According to Ferguson (2007) The tourism industry directly provides around 3 per cent of global employment, or 192 million jobs the equivalent to one in every twelve jobs in the formal sector. As with other industrial sectors and fields of academic study, tourism has also developed over the decades and has been influenced by a multitude of internal and external factors. It is not surprising that many aspects of tourism are totally different than they used to be before because of the vast rate of technol ogical change along with social, economic and environmental changes. Bangladesh is one of the worlds most densely populated countries, with its people packed into a delta of rivers that empties into the Bay of Bengal [BBC] (2011). Its implementing its developing plans for a long time. They are not only trying to secure their economic growth but also trying to improve their social living standards. In Bangladesh, tourism was almost non-existent at the countrys independence from Pakistan in 1971. More recently tourism has seen as a means of the contributing to their attainment. Tourism contributes 4.8 % to Bangladeshs Gross Domestic Products (GDP) and employs over 1509100 which contribute 1.9% of direct employments (WTTC, 2011). According to Bhatia (1986 in Jenkins and Tosun, 1998), many countries in the third world do not know the importance of tourism and the impacts that it can have, and Bangladesh is one of those countries. Essentially Jenkins and Tosun (1998) argue that, tourism development took place in most of the places of this world as an unpla nned activity (p 102). Like sustainable development sounds attractive (Butler, 1992: 64), the phrase of sustainable tourism accepted immediately by this country even the meaning of this term is not understood fully. Though sustainable tourism is the in thing across the world, Bangladesh, in spite of being endowed with natures bounties and beauty, still struggles with the concept (Mahmud, 2010). Several destinations in Bangladesh such as Chittagong hill tracts, the Sundarbans, Saint Martin coral island, Nijhum Island, Srimanagol Lawachera rain forest, Tangua Hoar and Coxs Bazar, which could be used as sustainable tourist spots (Mahmud, 2010). Coxs Bazar is the tourist capital of Bangladesh. By popular choice, Coxs Bazar has recently been ranked as one of the New Seven Wonders of the World'(Zamir, 2009), located conveniently on the east-west air-corridor making it a gateway to the Far East. It is endowed with resources and the potential for a tourism industry. In the southern edge of the country has a 125 km (77.6 miles) long beach of soft silvery sand, the worlds longest (Qadir, 2003) and a chain of hills that run parallel to the sea for almost the entire length, towering cliffs, colourful, ancient pagodas and Hindu temples (Anonymous, 2007), in a Riviera-like setting with crescent-shaped low hills overlooking the Bay of Bengal, and most visited tourist destinations in Bangladesh. The range of the hills covered in luxurious green groves is precious locations for tourists. Coxs Bazar is located at the head of this terrain. Coxs Bazar is also known as Panowa, literature meaning yellow flower. Palonkee was its other name. The daughter of the sea Bangladesh is a beautiful surprise for the tourist. Since the tourism is reported as a relatively easy way to earn foreign exchange, many countries are eager to enter international markets as fast as they can (Jafari, 1974) and Bangladesh is one of them. According to Jafari (1974), tourists and news media of a developed countries come to be a kind of promotional agents for a developing country or for a under developing country. Though Hasan in his book development tourism in Bangladesh blames the international news media for representing a wrong appearance of the country and news media carefully avoid telling the world of the brighter side of Bangladesh than the rough side of it (Khairuzzaman, 2008) still there are some positive approaches from the international media. Lonely planet is one of them. The world leader in publishing travel guides and guidebooks Lonely planet recommended Bangladesh as one of the top ten interesting travel destination in 2009 (Thoms en, 2009). This UK based publication Bradt Travel guide is known as a pioneer in tackling unusual destinations, for championing the causes of sustainable travel and for the high quality of writing (Thomsen, 2009). The first guide on Bangladesh published in 2009 and the back cover text states: Bangladesh has a reputation for being poor and beset by flooding, but this republic of rivers rewards those willing to look beyond the headlines. Leave luxuries behind and embark on the richest of travel experiences among some of the sub-continents friendliest people (Thomsen, 2009). This kind of positive focus on Bangladesh is not possible to buy for money. Lack of consistent strategy on cooperation, appropriate knowledge and sustainability; are the great barrier to a positive development of Bangladesh tourism sector. Environmental resources are an important asset not only in Coxs Bazar but to other tourism destinations in all other third world countries. The tourism in Bangladesh is especially popular due to its coastal areas of Coxs Bazar. If environmental resources are important economic assets in Bangladesh, the immediate action that need is that of sustainable utilisation of resources to benefit for present and future generations (Mbaiwa, 2005). It is well established that the presence of tourism in destination always brings with it environmental, socio-culture and economic benefit and this is why it is an effective development tool in any under developing countries and in the case of Bangladesh, A sustainable tourism strategy will have a major positive impact (Thomsen, 2009). When carrying out a broad research on any substance, it is essential to become acquainted with contextual of that topic, by using relevant literatures. For this dissertation, it is most significant to obtain information in a number of different sources. Academic books, journals, newspapers, where available, will be used in the gathering of information for this dissertation. Here in this project, I will outline the history of sustainable tourism development first which will provide the context of how it is developing and will answer either it exists in the Bangladesh, particularly in Coxs bazar. In order to gain this knowledge I will look at different publications related to research issue will be collected from academic books, daily newspaper, projects, related archives and tremendously up to date journals. For this purpose it will be extremely useful to look at relevant internet websites such as the websites of different ministry of Bangladesh and tourism industry based websites. In ternet websites will be an important source to fill in the gap by providing useful information where books and periodicals are not so unequivocal. 2.0: Literature review All tourism includes some travel but not all travel is tourism (Page, 2007). Tourism used to be recognised as an activity undertaken by those who travelled away from home for holidays, to visit relatives or to carry out professional business, in the past. Tourism is a composite of activities, services and industries that deliver a travel experience: transportation, accommodations, eating and drinking establishments, shops entertainment, activity facilities and other hospitality services available for individuals and groups that are travelling away from home (Goeldner and Ritchie, 2009). Therefore it encompasses a wide variety of purposes. The officially accepted definition by UNWTO (1993) is: Tourism comprises the activities of person travelling to and staying places outside their usual environment for not more than one consecutive year for leisure, businesses and other purposes. This definition challenges the commonly held perception that tourism is purely concerned with recreation and having fun (Holden, 2008). But according to Gunn (1994) the best working definition of tourism is that of by Mathieson and Wall (1982 in Gunn, 1994): Tourism is the temporary movement of people to destinations outsides their normal places of work and residence, the activities undertaken during their stay in those destinations, and the facilities created to cater to their needs. At the present time, tourism is even more far reaching with wider implications. Specialists have illustrious between mass tourism, which involves those features just mentioned, and alternative tourism, which can include cultural, educational, social, environmental, agricultural and political tourism (Wearing and Neil, 2009). Tourism promotes better cross culture understanding. For any third world and developing countries, tourism is seen as an important tool of their regional development, culture, environmental and in most cases; the tourism portfolio is attached to Economy. This provides us with an initi al insight into the impact of tourism within all countries it has. In addition to social, political and economic concerns, tourism has become a vastly important and global feature of environmental argument. Tourism development which consistently ignores environmental concerns is unlikely to remain viable in the longer term (Pigram, 1990). High volume of tourism can cause environmental including water, air and noise pollution which are extremely destructive to a locations sustainable well-being. It is as a significance of the growing awareness of the harmful effect that tourism has on the environment, as well as a general heightened understanding of how global warming is affecting our planet, that tourism has been given an environmental focus. Indeed, sustainable tourism is now a widely known outlet of tourism, with the state of the environment being given more and more consideration. The term Sustainable Tourism has been introduced in the context of wider debate about environmental sustainability and logically implies a form and level of tourism whi ch maintains a total stock of natural resources (Sinclair, 1998). The growing awareness of environmental damage in this modern technological world is the reason to address this term. Getz (1986) says that when tourism planning was first developed in the 1960s, the disciplines main focus came, almost totally from the perspective of maximizing economic growth (p. 21). Over the decades, the focus has shifted and is now, more sensitive to non-economic issues (p. 32). Murphy (1985) argues that it is the responsibility of the tourism industry to, develop and protect its attractions, whether they are natural or man-made, and become a hospitality industry to make visitor experiences as enjoyable as possible (p. 10). Though it is argued that too much emphasis is placed on relatively short term economic impacts at the cost of considering the long term social and environmental impacts of tourism, thereby encourages in a better awareness of the problems that the industry creates (Holloway et al ., 2009). The importance of sustainable development is to carry growing successes into the future in such a way that future generations are not troubled (Pearce et al., 1990). Sustainability, sustainable tourism and sustainable development are all well-established terms (Liu, 2003). There are two components in the definition of sustainable development. The meaning of development and the condition necessary for sustainability are those two components (Miltin, 1992). Croall (1995) compares sustainability to the link between development and conservation, which should not conflict to each other. According to Bartelmus (1986 in Tosun, 2001), development implies a process that makes an effort to improve the living conditions of people. To meet human needs and wants is the main objective of development (WCED, 1987) which involves wider apprehensions with the quality of life (Pearce et al., 1990). When applied to tourism, as Godfrey (1996 in Gunn, 1994)) points out the concept of sustainable development relates to a form of environmentally friendly tourism. Aside, Rees (Gunn, 1994 p.85) define sustainable tourism development as a positive socio-economic change tha t does not undermine the cultural, ecological and social systems upon which local communities and societies are depended. The concept of sustainability first appeared on the public sense in the report by the World Commission on Environment and Development in 1987. The outline of sustainable development is that the economic growth and the environmental conservation are not only friendly but they are partners and one cannot survive without than other. The Brundtland Commission Report defines sustainable development as development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs (WCED, 1987). The Commission highlighted that sustainable development is not a fixed national agreement, but an active process of changes which are all in harmony and enhance both current and future potential to meet human needs and aspirations (WCED, 1987: 46). A general weakness in the concept of the sustainable tourism development is that its principles and objectives have tended to manifest themselves in sets of guidelines that based on managing the limits of acc eptable environmental and social change, which is unable to account for the almost infinite diversity of tourism development contexts (Sharpley and Telfer, 2008). In a research Liu (2003) found that sustainability is praised by Bramwell and Lane (1993 in Liu, 2003) and according to them it is a positive approach intended to reduce the tensions and friction created by the complex interactions between the tourism industry, tourists, environment and the host communities to maintain the long term capacity and quality of both natural and human resources. Miles of golden sands, towering cliffs, surfing waves, rare conch shells, colourful Pagodas, Buddhist Temples and delightful sea-food all this makes what Coxs Bazar is today , the tourist capital of Bangladesh (NTO). Coxs Bazar is one of the most attractive tourist spots, not only in the Bangladesh but also in the world. The warm, shark free waters are good for bathing and swimming while the sandy beaches offer opportunities for sun-bathing (NTO). The tourist capital of Bangladesh includes conch shell market, tribal handicraft, and salt and prawn cultivation. According to a census of aquatic birds, a total of 15933 birds of 52 species have been spotted in Coxs Bazar (The Daily Star, 2009) can be seen as other attraction. Aggmeda Khyang, a Buddhist monastery at the hills, Himchari picnic spot, just about 8 km from Coxs Bazar, Innani Beach 32 km away from the city, is one of the most spectacular sea beaches in Bangladesh which is very close to the worlds longest sandy beach in Coxs B azaar and it is situated within the Inani protected forest; Sonadia island with very little human visitation, Teknaf peninsula, some 80 km from town and picturesque St. Martin Island to the south at 13 km distance from mainland are the around attraction of Coxs Bazar (Ahammed, 2010). All these places are located around Coxs Bazar and easily accessible by road and water sides what makes this place hub of tourism. As an international destination, Bangladesh has a mixed image. Tourists from abroad perceive a negative awareness of Bangladesh from news media. People from outside perceive as place where the population is living in poverty, corruption and in natural disasters. Though the new seven natural wonders search 2009 have made the country attractive for tourism and is also charted as one of the top ten interesting destinations by new travel books (Quader, 2010). Bangladesh is still one of the countries in South Asia with the fewest arrivals and the lowest revenue earned from the tourism industry. WTTC (2011) predicts that the contribution from travel and tourism will increase 6.3% per annum till 2021. According to Bari (FE, 2010), At present, around 0.50 million international tourists visit Bangladesh each year, It employs one million people. Most of the tourists visited the country for business purpose, and their stay in the country was brief as they had not been offered to explore the hil ls, seas and forests of the country brimming with natural beauty (Mahmud, 2010). The only cause for this is the lack of awareness and proper arrangements. Though the economic contribution of tourism and the share of Coxs Bazar to the national economy are not studied with reliable statistics (Ahammed, 2010) still the tourism industry leaders said in Financial Express (FE, 2010) that Bangladesh can earn US$2.0 billion in annual revenue from the tourism sector if it can attract two million international tourists. According to the general manager of Bangladesh Parjatan Corporation, revenue earning from the tourism sector is experiencing a downward trend and the revenue from tourism sector was approximately  £51 million in 2008, which came down to  £47 million in 2009. Till June 2010, the revenue was  £26 million (FE, 2010). Tourism in Bangladesh is managed by Bangladesh Parjatan Corporation under the Ministry of Civil Aviation and tourism. There is no doubt that tourism is an effective development tool, helps economy to generate revenue, country gets benefited as well as the private sector and local community, Consciousness on preservation of nature and protection of environment tends to increase. Though Coxs Bazar is easily accessible by road, still there is no rail links in this city. The government spending huge amount of money to get Coxs Bazar rail linked within 2 years. Governments infrastructure development planning includes the work on the upgraded submarine cable connection of Coxs Bazar Landing Station to increase the bandwidth (Unb, 2011). Development of major infrastructure to serve resorts should be coordinated to meet the demands of the industry with boarder economic and social needs (Brohman, 1996). The presence of tourism in any destination always brings environmental, socio- culture and economic impacts. Less developed destinations like Coxs Bazar are more susceptible. Development of tourism in Coxs bazar brings external money flow which drives the living standard of the locals to higher level. Development of tourism in Coxs Bazar on a long-term basis is to give due importance to the above impacts for its sustainability. It needs a long term planning, continuous development work, avoid the negative impacts and investment timing have to be predetermined (Quader, 2010). The current growth in tourist numbers to Coxs bazar has led to the recognition that consideration needs to be given to a sustainable tourism development strategy if the site is to be maintained for future generations. 3.0 Aims and objectives In undertaking this investigation, this dissertation has number of aims and objectives. As sustainable tourism is a very well established term in modern tourism industry due to a heightened environmental awareness, it is important to understand how it functions and whom it targets. The goal of environmentally sustainability is a maximum level of desired outcome such as economic profit, quality of life what will maintain in a steady way, subject to constraints imposed by environment. Basis on this concept it can be said that environmentally sustainable tourism implies a key importance on maintaining a certain level of environmental quality. This is highlighting that, a sustainable environment and a viable tourism industry are essential elements to make an environmentally sustainable tourism (Johnston Tyrrell, 2007). In order to do understand the term and the function of environmentally sustainable tourism, it will first be necessary to outline the basics of the tourism industry in le ss developed country like Bangladesh and how it has changed over the years. By doing this it will be possible to better understand how the sustainable tourism industry fits into Coxs Bazar. 3.1: Aims The core aim of the social and economic perspectives of tourism is to inspire more international and domestic tourists to promote the growth of tourist value which focus on creating employment, achieving revenue, developing local engagement (Gilmore et al., 2007) and enable some members of the population to move from the informal sector to higher paid jobs in the formal sector (Sinclair, 1998). The environmental aim is often conflict between the economic and social perceptions which is to protect and to conserve both culture and the environment (Gilmore et al., 2007). The host population is itself a part of the tourism product. The rapid growth of tourism in any less developed countries and destinations raises questions of sustainable tourism development, particularly the access and economic benefits to local economies. For this dissertation, it is most important to know the various facets of the relationship between host population and tourism industry of Coxs Bazar of Bangladesh. T he locals are subjects to be viewed and interacted with, or settings for tourist activities, and their attitudes and behaviour constitute the hospitality resource of a destination (Smith, 1994). According to the World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) (1993), tourism is sustainable when it improves the quality of life of the host community; provides a high quality of experience for the visitor; and maintains the quality of the environment on which both the host community and the visitor depend. Coxs Bazar have limited opportunities and resources for agriculture or industrial development and are turning to tourism to create the major source of economy though a huge part of population are still involved in fishing, collecting sea foods and sea products for their livelihood. Traditionally, it is a conservative society and socio-culture, economy and the quality of life is still below than national average (Ahammed, 2010). The aim of this project is to critically assess whether Coxs Bazar in Bangladesh can be developed in a sustainable way. 3.2: Objectives Finally, having completed a thorough investigation and after evaluation of the data collected will leads up to the current prevalence of the sustainable tourism in Coxs Bazar, it will then be possible to imagine how the industry may develop in future. Objectives are Æ’ËÅ" To evaluate and define sustainable tourism development in term of environment, economic and culture. Æ’ËÅ" To investigate and find the specific requirement for sustainable tourism development in Coxs Bazar. Æ’ËÅ" Critically discuss whether the people of tourism industry in Bangladesh really know the meaning of sustainable development? Æ’ËÅ" To illustrate useful conclusions and make effective recommendations on sustainable tourism development for Coxs Bazar that can be implemented by the tourism authority of Bangladesh. 4.0: Methodology and Method The following section of this dissertation shall outline the methodology and the method that shall be employed for the primary research section of this dissertation. 4.1: Methodology In tourism research there is an on-going need for statistical insights but qualitative research offers a great deal of understanding at social life from in a different way (Phillimore and Goodson, 2004). Phillimore and Goodson (2004) argue that tourism researchers are not bound to adopt a simple set of methods, and are therefore free to combine a wide range of approaches with a more sophisticated attitude to use qualitative research. This project used both primary and secondary data resources. In terms of primary data sources, this dissertation relied on the research work that I have carried out on sustainable tourism development in Coxs Bazar. Priority was given to the semi structured interviews I took in April 2011 which resulted in to develop conclusions and recommendations based on the findings that could be implemented in Coxs Bazar. In order to give concrete load to the primary research conducted this research will also contain some secondary research. Collecting data from people who are involved with the tourism industry in Bangladesh will give considerable ideas that will have been formed by looking at secondary literature. It will also provide the dissertation with a personal insight which cannot be gained from conducting qualitative research alone. 4.1.1: Primary Research From the outset, I decided that my research objectives more easily lend themselves to more qualitative forms of analysis. This study is essentially attempting to determine how a number of complex concepts impact and relate to one another. It requires the subject area to be looked at from a number of different perspectives and for links between these separate perspectives to be determined. Britten et al (1995) suggest that employing qualitative methodology allows for the researcher to, Address research questions of immediate relevance which are otherwise difficult to investigate (p. 105). Flick et al (2004) go on to point out that the use of qualitative methodology can aide in, the understanding of complex relationships rather than explanation by isolation of a single relationship, such as cause and effect' (p. 8). Sofaer (1999) further argues that this can result in, rich descriptions of phenomenaà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦it not only serves the desire to describe; it also helps move the enquiry towards more meaningful explanations (p. 1102). It is for these reasons that this study will approach the research objectives from a qualitative, rather than giving practical weight to quantitative, approach. 4.1.2: Secondary Research Secondary analysis has a well-established pedigree. This will provide the useful information in order to understand the background of the subject. Hakim (1982) state that, secondary data analysis is any further analysis of an existing dataset which presents interpretations, conclusions or knowledge additional to, or different from, those produced in the first report on the inquiry as a whole and its main results(p 1). Secondary data can embrace a whole range of experimental forms; it can include the data generated through systematic reviews, through documentary analysis as well as the results from government sponsored surveys (Smith, 2008). Secondary literature provides a considerable source for appreciative which is necessary when making decisions regarding any topic and placing advance theories to develop situations. 4.2: Method The first method that was considered was focus groups. MacNaghten and Myers (2004) suggest that this method is most useful for researchers who perhaps, are not entirely sure what categories, links and perspectives are relevant (p. 65). However, this method can yield data that can be difficult to understand and interpret. For an inexperienced researcher this could present a problem and could lead to data that is perhaps not as rich as it could be. I finally chose semi-structured interviews as my primary research method. Kvale (1983) states that the use of this method presents the researcher with the opportunity to, gather the life-world of the interviewee with respect to interpretation of the meaning of the described phenomena (p. 174). It is this real world experience that will give my data real depth and will hopefully help me to understand some of the complex problems faced by my respondents. Another advantage of this method is outlined by Blee and Taylor (1995) who argue that semi-structured interviews places human agency, at the centre of the movement analysis. Qualitative interviews are a window into the everyday world of activists, and they generate representations that embody the subjects voices, minimizing, at least as much as possible, the voice of the researcher (p. 96). I had hoped to be able to conduct this research in Coxs Bazar. However, it became clear to me early in my research that this was not likely to be popular. Instead, I chose to focus my research on travel agencies in the UK who offer holidays to Coxs Bazar and other parts of Bangladesh. I chose to draw my sample group from agencies located in Bangladeshi communities. Tower Hamlets, Manchester and Oldham have arguably the highest concentration of Bangladeshis in the country, so I chose to target travel agents here. As people working in the industry are answering my questionnaires, I assured them that they will remain anonymous to make them feel more confident to give honest answer. I phoned round several agencies and managed to secure interviews with 5 travel agents. A few days before the interviews, these respondents were sent an outline of my study so that they could perhaps begin to prepare their responses. This would hopefully yield richer data for me to use. These interviews were mostly conducted face to face, although two was conducted over the phone and Skype. I recorded the interviews and took extensive notes during them. I was conscious of the fact that, in semi-structured interviewing, analysis and interpretation are on-going processes (Blee and Taylor, 2002: 110). Unlike in quantitative data collection where one waits until all the data is collected before starting the analysis process, with qualitative data collection, the analysis is an on-going process. In the analysis of the data, I employed a fairly liberal interpretation of the grounded theory method. Stern (1994) suggests that this method is most helpful for researchers exploring new subject a reas or who simply want to gain a fresh perspective on a familiar situation (p. 30). The use of this method demands that the researcher constantly re-evaluates the data collected and then categorizes and codes it. I decided that my codes would be the objectives set at the start of this dissertation. I re-listened to my interviews to my interviews a number of times to find parts of the data that best met my objectives. The following section of this dissertation will present the findings from the primary research and discuss these in light of the findings from the literature search. The objectives of the study (see 3.2) were used as markers in the interviews. Although the respondents were allowed to veer off track, I always tried to bring the discussion back to the four main objectives guiding this research. Notes: I did not add references cause of the word limits. Once I finalised this work I will go through Gold proofread again.

Thursday, September 19, 2019

Mars and the Earth Essay -- Astronomy Space Essays

Mars and the Earth Geologists study the surface of both Mars and Earth by using interplanetary comparative analysis to further their understanding of the two planets. In some ways, Mars resembles Earth. Features on Mars such as an atmosphere, a wind-modified surface, near-surface water, volcanism, seasons, ice caps, dust storms, and channels can be found on Earth as well, albeit slightly different in origination or intensity. Despite their similarities, their differences are profound. Their acute differences in their tectonic framework and their quantities of liquid water affect the geological theories behind the formation of the surface of Earth and Mars. By investigating these similarities and differences, geologists can grasp and acquire a better understanding of the evolution of these two planets. Mars, named after the Roman war god, is known as the Red Planet due to its’ red or pink appearance as it glows in the night sky. Galileo first saw Mars around the year 1610, since then numerous others have viewed the mysterious planet. Just to name a few, Michael Carr in The Surface of Mars (1) describes the trail of Mars’ historical observations; starting with Huyghens in 1659 who verified that Mars, like Earth, had a north-south rotation in a 24-hour period, Cassini who observed polar caps on Mars in 1666, and Herschel who, in the late 1700’s, determined that Mars had seasons much like Earth. According to Cross and Moore, Mars is much smaller and less massive than Earth (8). They also argue that Mars and the Earth move around the Sun in different periods, making observation of geological features extremely difficult since sightings are limited to a few months every other year (12). As difficult as Mars is to obse... ... Editors of Life. The Earth. New York, NY: Time Inc. Book Division, 1962. Carr. Michael H. Images of Mars. Washington, DC: National Aeronautics and Space Administration, 1980. Carr, Michael H. The Surface of Mars. Westford, Mass: The Murray Printing Co., 1981. Gornitz, Vivien. Geology of the Planet Mars. Stroudsburg, PA: Dowden, Hutchinson & Ross, Inc., 1979. Guest, John. The Earth and Its Satellite. New York, NY: David McKay Company, Inc., 1971. Michaux, C. M. Handbook of the Physical Properties of the Planet Mars. Washington, D. C.: National Aeronautics and Space Administration, 1967. Mutch, Thomas A. The Geology of Mars. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 1976. Moore, Patrick, & Charles A. Cross. Mars. New York, NY: Crown Publishers Inc., 1973. â€Å"Poles Apart: North and South on Mars.† Valley News [Hanover] 6 May 2002, first ed:

Wednesday, September 18, 2019

Meta Tags and Meta Keywords :: Internet Technology Essays

Meta Tags and Meta Keywords Meta Tags are thought to be the be all-end all of search engine rankings. This is not true. Meta Tags are a necessary, but not a sufficient condition for high rankings. Meta tags are designed to provide basic information to the search engine about the site. Meta tags appear at the top of the HTML document within the <head></head> section of the document. In the following example, nine different types of Meta Tags are identified: Content-Type, Copyright, Resource-type, ObjectType, Author, Rating, Distribution, Description, and Keywords. The two meta tags of primary interest to search engines are the â€Å"Description† and â€Å"Keywords† tags. These tags describe the contents and key words for the search engine. <HTML> <head> <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=iso-8859-1"> <meta http-equiv="Copyright" content="1998, 1999 MotorCities.com, Inc."> <meta name="Resource-type" content="Document"> <meta name="ObjectType" content="Journal"> <meta name="Author" content="Car Pictures .com Webmaster"> <meta name="Rating" content="General"> <meta name="Distribution" content="Global"> <meta name="Description" content="Gallery of car pictures, car videos, car sounds, car photos, car photographs, automobile pictures, automobile videos, automobile sounds, automobile photos, automobile photographs, auto pictures, auto videos, auto sounds, auto photos, auto photographs, pictures of cars."> <meta name="Keywords" content="Gallery of car pictures, car videos, car sounds, car photos, car photographs, automobile pictures, automobile videos, automobile sounds, automobile photos, automobile photographs, auto pictures, auto videos, auto sounds, auto photos, auto photographs, pictures of cars, Porsche pictures, Ferrari pictures, Lamborghini pictures."> <title> Car Pictures .com -- Gallery of pictures (photos or photographs), video, sounds, wallpaper and specifications of all cars, motorcycles and all vehicles. </title> </HEAD> Several excellent sources that detail the use of the Meta Tag are: The Web Developer’s Virtual Library (http://wdvl.com/Authoring/HTML/Head/Meta/ ) Search Engine Watch (http://searchenginewatch.internet.com/webmasters/meta.html) Internet Marketing Chapter 13: Driving Traffic to Your Site: Understanding and Using Search Engines for Search and Site Optimization. Adding Keywords Using the META Tag Maximum -800 characters. Adding keywords simply requires editing the HTML code and adding the meta tags, as in the following example. The top of a web page source code on your site might look like: <HTML> <HEAD> <TITLE>ACME Corporation Devices Information</TITLE> </HEAD> <BODY> <H1>ACME Corporation Innovative Opening Devices Information</H1> Create a META tag with the following information: <META name="keywords" content="brochure"> TO ADD ADDITIONAL KEYWORDS <META name="keywords" content="brochure, widget, wholesale"> The top of your HTML document would then look like: <HTML> <HEAD> <TITLE>ACME Corporation Devices Information</TITLE> <META name="keywords" content="brochure, widget, wholesale"> </HEAD> <BODY> <H1>ACME Corporation Innovative Devices Information</H1> QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS ABOUT META KEYWORDS Q) META keywords tag - should I use UPPERCASE, lowercase or a mixture, commas or spaces? A) Use lowercase, separated by commas, with a space after the comma.

Tuesday, September 17, 2019

Islamic Leadership

Leadership An Islamic Perspective In the introductory chapter the book establishes what you should know by the time you finish the book. These points include: understand the nature and process of leadership from an Islamic perspective, describe the characteristics of effective leaders in general, and of Islamic leaders in particular, analyze your styles as a leader and follower, learn how you can mobilize, organize, and develop your followers Islamically, learn how you, as a leader, can build commitment by acting as a coach mentor, learn how to delegate effectively, and finally understand the steps that will enable you to become a more effective leader. The book defines leadership as the ability to persuade others to seek defined objectives enthusiastically. Within an organization a good leader is needed but so is good management. There are different positions of power when in an organization. The first one is legitimate power, which refers directly to someone’s position in an organization. Reward power is the second type of power, this power refers to having the authority to hand out promotions or pay raises. The third type of power is called coercive power, which uses force to get employees to work. The final type of power is information power, this type of power deals with having and giving information to others so that they can do their work. According to the text there are certain characteristics of an effective leader. The book ranks them from 1 to 8. These characteristics include: honesty, competent, forward-looking, inspiring, intelligent, fair minded, straightforward, and imaginative. These characteristics were determined by a study done by two leadership researchers named Kouzes and Posner. They surveyed 2,615 of the most successful leaders in the United States in order to figure out and rank the characteristics. The book also discusses how leaders must mobilize, developed, and organize their followers. The reason mobilization needs to be done is due to the fact that leaders cannot and should not be expected to accomplish everything on their own. The people are the target of the message and are also the ones that will be spreading the word. Mobilizing followers includes being able to reach out to everybody. The message of Islam is one that is not elitist so in essence the ides that only a few people are capable of energizing a group is not correct. It also states that the reticent person may become the best person. This statement basically means not the prejudge people and to always give them a chance because they just may prove what you believe wrong. The third statement about mobilizing says to accept the verbal commitment of others to Islam at face value. This means to always accept a pledge someone makes. Another point the book makes is to welcome even sinners and try it improve them. In order to develop followers a leader must be able to adjust their leadership style due to the fact that the followers have different types of styles. There are four different types of leadership styles that a leader can turn to. These leadership styles include: directive, coaching, supportive, and delegating. The style the leader should pick depends on the maturity of the people being led. With immature members the leader may want to use a directive style. This is because it involves clear and explicit guidelines. A coaching style may then be implemented as the members begin to learn their task. This style is characterized by two-way communication and an increased amount of supportive behavior. Once the members have gained more self-confidence in doing their tasks the leader may use a supportive style. This style consists of shared decision-making and two-way communication. Finally, in a situation where the members are mature and self-confident the leader should use a delegating style. In this style the leader allows the members to decide how, when, and where to carry out their tasks. The next and final step is to organize your followers. When trying to do this, leaders should use six steps. These steps include: 1. Clearly articulate the vision and mission of your organization, 2. Develop a statement of your organization’s philosophy regarding volunteer services, 3. Develop volunteer positions, 4. Do not go overboard by creating a multitude of tasks, 5. Reward both process and outcome, and 6. Develop a nurturing Islamic organizational climate. The book also discusses how leaders should be able to delegate tasks. When a leader is reluctant to delegate there are usually two reasons for it. The first reason depends on the organization’s culture. The second reason has to do with the leader’s personality, usually dealing with a Type A personality. There are delegation guidelines that are outlined in the book. these guidelines include: selecting the delegate with the appropriate skill level, expertise and background, select a delegate with whom you have a reciprocal trusting relationship, delegate both the pleasant and the unpleasant, the easy and the challenging, delegate ahead, delegate in chunks, delegate precisely, delegate don’t abdicate, and finally give credit. According to the text, there is one golden rule when it comes it delegation, which is â€Å"the more power you give way the more power you have. †

Monday, September 16, 2019

What can be gained by engaging in comparative education studies

It is in the very nature of logical activity to do comparings. Comparing is a simple portion of idea procedure which enables us to do sense of the universe and our experience of it. Indeed, it can be said that merely by doing comparings can we decently support our place on most inquiries of importance which requires the devising of the judgements. Comparing causes us to do statements to the consequence that one thing is intellectually or morally preferred to or more effectual or better than the other, and this can be clearly exposed in the instruction field, where the quest for betterment for making things better is ever obliging. In a universe which is chiefly focused on intense planetary economic competition and turning beliefs in the cardinal function of instruction as the beginning of possible advantage, authoritiess have become progressively haunted with the international rankings of measured educational results. Educational policy is progressively driven by national efforts to copy the sensed advantage associated with the educational schemes and techniques of other states. Margret Brown argues that documenting patterns in high-scoring states that give thoughts for alteration are really of import ( as cited in Broadfoot 2000, p.361 ) . It would be at least as of import to happen out why similar undertakings have non been successful in other states. ( Shorrocks-Taylor & A ; Jenkins 2000, p.16 ) It is important to measure any suggested patterns from one state to another. Teachers and the general public demand to be informed about the jobs of seting something â€Å" borrowed † into pattern and reform thoughts from other states to our ain system. The increasing international importance of a policy discourse of larning in relation to conventional educational establishments such as schools and universities, reflects the modern-day apprehension of the deduction of the ‘knowledge society ‘ ( Broadfoot 2000, p.358 ) ; It is of great possible and inevitableness for the whole population to be capable and disposed to take advantage of the new methods for accessing new cognition that information and communications engineering is doing available. This besides reflects the turning acknowledgment that ‘learning ‘ is non tantamount with learning. Today ‘s turning concern is womb-to-tomb larning which is strongly described in a recent European Commission study: ‘The Treasure Within ‘ . ( Broadfoot 2000, p.358 )Different position of comparative instruction by different bookmansAntoine Jullien de Paris in 1817 proverb comparative instruction as an analytical survey of instruction in all states with a position to hone national schooling systems with version and alterations from which policymakers can borrow thoughts to implement in their own-country ( Bray 2007, p.1 ) . In Hans ‘ position the public-service corporation of comparative instruction was that type of instruction which analyzes comparative jurisprudence, comparative literature or comparative anatomy in order to foreground the differences in the forces and beginnings that create the differences in the educational systems ( C.S. Oni 2005, p.244 ) . Lewis approached the issue of comparative instruction in footings of an Island formation. Lewis asserted that, no state is an island ; that each is a portion of the universe ; hence, no educational system anyplace in the universe is deserving anything unless it is comparable to some other systems in the universe. â€Å" ( Quoted from C.S. Oni 2005, p.244 ) . Comparative instruction for Blishen is the subdivision of educational theory that has to make with analysing and construing the educational patterns and policies in different states and civilization ( C.S. Oni 2005, p. 244 ) . Le Thanh Khoi believed that comparative instruction is a multidisciplinary country when he said that it â€Å" is non purely a subject, but a field of survey covering all the subjects which serve to understand and explicate instruction † ( quoted from Bray 2007, p. 35 ) . In add-on to larning about other people and civilizations, comparative instruction besides helps the research worker to cognize about oneself. As George Bereday puts it: â€Å" It is self-knowledge Born of the consciousness of others that is the finest lesson comparative instruction can afford. â€Å" ( Quoted from Kubow & A ; Fossum 2003, p. 11 ) . With the sweetening of patriotism and the increasing importance of the state states in the beginning of the nineteenth century comparative instruction was pushed in front. The aim was to larn utile lessons from foreign states, particularly refering instruction systems. This contained a really colonialist position of the western societies on the foreign states. School systems were seen as a resource of new educational thoughts, which could be â€Å" borrowed † to better the ain school system. Comparative instruction transferred itself from extremely pure description degree to a more sophisticated analysis. With the rise of the societal scientific disciplines in the 1950s the historical facet became undistinguished. Alternatively comparative instruction was introduced as a true scientific discipline by utilizing statistical techniques and more quantitative methods. The chief attack was structural functionalism.The purposes of comparative instruction:The purposes of comparative i nstruction are to depict educational systems, procedures, and stoping merchandises every bit good as to help in the development of educational establishments and patterns. It besides highlights the relationships between instruction and society and establishes generalized statements about instruction that is valid in more than one state. Comparative instruction besides deepens our apprehension of our instruction and society ; it can be of great assistance to policy shapers and decision makers ; and can be of great plus in the instruction of instructors ( Bray 2007, p.15 ) . Comparative research besides helps us understand better our ain yesteryear ; turn up ourselves more precisely in the present ; and see more clearly what our educational hereafter may be. Comparative instruction gives the research worker the ability to depict what might be the effect of certain classs of political and economical action, by looking at experience in a scope of states. From the theories mentioned supr a extracted from different bookmans, we can see that comparative instruction facilitates the research workers to larn from the achievement and mistakes that other states have made in the procedure of work outing similar educational jobs. The focal point of comparative survey in instruction is the aggregation and classification of information, both descriptive and quantitative. As Sadler stated in one of his talks delivered in 1900: In analyzing foreign systems of instruction we should non bury that the things outside the schools matter even more than the things inside the school, and govern and construe the things indoors. We can non roll at pleasance among the instruction systems of the universe, like a kid sauntering through a garden, and picking flowers from one shrub and some foliages from another, and so anticipate that if we stick what we have gathered into the dirt at place, we shall hold a life works. A national instruction system of instruction is a living thing, the result of disregarded battles and â€Å" of conflicts long ago † . It has in it some of the secret workings of national life. † ( Quoted from Philips in Alexander et. Al 1999, p.19 ) .On ComparingThe comparative instruction research worker should travel far from the familiar to see the unfamiliar ‘to make the familiar strange ‘ , in order to broader the rules, geographical and epistemic position ( Broadfoot 2000, p .363 ) . When comparing in instruction research workers are bring forthing a assortment of descriptive and explanatory informations which differ from micro to macro comparative informations analysis, leting us to see assorted patterns and processs in a really broad context that helps us to throw light upon them ( Sultana as cited in Borg 2009, p.21 ) . While less developed states have a inclination to look at more developed states to larn from them, more developed states tent to look at states that are on the same economic and educational degree to do cross-national comparings. Examples of this are figure of states that looked at USA as their theoretical account. Switzerland in mid-1990 apart from looking up to USA, it besides hired American advisers to develop a reform bundle for schools ( Steiner- Khamsi 2002, p.76 as cited in Bray 2007, p.18 ) . On the other manus, America learned besides from other states ( Levin 2010, p.96 in www.kappanmagazine.org ) like East Asia, ( Bray 2007, p.21-22 ) where the US section of instruction made an intensive survey of Nipponese instruction and came out with 12 rules of good patterns. Educators and policy shapers went to Finland, which is the top-performing state in the first three unit of ammunitions of PISA, in order to happen the key to education success to accomplish high Markss in PISA. Pr ivate companies like Cisco and McKinsey, are publishing studies on the quality of instruction around the universe. Comparisons across clip provide information about betterment or diminution over the old ages like comparing the different periods in the history of instruction. These comparings though are limited in the nature of the mention groups or standards used: that is they are normally limited to school systems similar to those being evaluated. When policy shapers look at the yesteryear to larn for the hereafter as the British policy shapers used to make in 1980 ‘s to do comparings with their ain yesteryear instead than with other states. Sometimes the ground to compare with the predecessors is to see how the society has developed every bit good as to larn from the errors that were done in the yesteryear ( Bray 2007, p.23, Bradburn & A ; Gilford 1990, p.2 ) . Comparisons with other vicinities or between provinces, provincials and parts compare similar local educational systems within the same province, or with those in other provinces or the state as a whole. Comparisons with other provinces or the state as a whole have the advantage of comparing between educational systems that are loosely similar. They provide information on peculiar state ‘s degree of accomplishment in instruction to the much broader country of the universe ‘s instruction system ( Bradburn & A ; Gilford 1990, p.2 ) .Example of such comparing is the comparing between the instruction systems of Hong Kong ( Bray 2007, p.131 ) or the instruction systems of Macao ( Bray 2007, p.134 ) . When comparing the research worker has to place the countries ; states or topographic points, and can non be generalised. As Le Than Khoi ( in Sultana as cited in Borg 2009, p.16 ) gave the illustration of the Mediterranean. There are excessively many differences in the part that we call the Mediterranean † to do it the object of comparative analyses. Culture is an of import factor when comparing topographic points. An illustration of this is the consequence that Finland got in the PISA in 2002 compared to other topographic points which was based on the reading competencies. Finland achieved good as it has centuries of cultural tradition that long promoted the reading ability ( Bray 2007, p.167 ) . A comparative instruction research worker must seek non to be prejudiced either on political, national, spiritual, racial, gender or ideological facets. It is important that the paradigms used are relevant to all geographic countries and states that are included in the survey. Differences between inter and intra-national research present challenges in comparative research that must be recognized. Such differences are frequently important resource of cultural fluctuation ( Bradburn & A ; Gilford ( 1990 ) , p.21 ) . The part of developing states in international surveies adds information to the development of local research capacity and besides widens the sample of take parting states. Third-world engagement develops North – South duologues every bit good as East- West linkages as it serves as a good beginning for edifice trust and co-operation ( Bradburn & A ; Gilford ( 1990 ) , p.22 ) . As the economic sector is increasing its value and the importance of holding a sound instruction system, the concern and industry sector may confer with comparative educational surveies in their international planning. Textbook publishing houses, developers of educational package and other educational bargainers use comparative instruction to categorise the demands and markets for new merchandises. So the inquiry raised is â€Å" In whose involvements do the instruction system and determinations taken, work? † ( My talk notes ) . Though comparings in instruction are of great benefit there are besides who is sceptic and critic about it. There is the belief amongst these that comparative research will take to a homogeneous-world attack to education that impede proper attending to each state ‘s alone history, civilization, and people. ( Bray 2007, p.178 ) . This thought comes from experiences with international establishments that forced economic policies that had negative effects in less-developed states. It is critical for policy shapers to maintain in head that non all the methods of any state can or should be put into pattern in other states. ( Lavin 2010, p.96 in www.kappanmagazine.org, Stromquist 2002, p.87 ) It is of import that â€Å" insiders † and â€Å" foreigners † work collaboratively in order to research and development work that is more sensitive to local, societal buildings of world. ( Crossley 2002, p.82 )Education research undertakings and organisations:As planetary economic competition additions, additions besides the beliefs in the instruction as the beginning of fringy advantage, authoritiess have become progressively haunted with the international rankings of measured educational results. However the issue and impact of power on the educational establishments differentiate signifier in society to another. It is going of import more than of all time as the determination devising in instruction is altering well. The chief histrions are no longer those most affected by instruction like the pupils, parents and the instructors but instead private bureaus and international fiscal establishments ( Stromquist 2002, p.87 ) . International bureaus compare forms and consequences in different states in order to better the advice that they give to national authoritiess and policy shapers. The UNESCO, World Bank and OECD are amongst international bureaus each underscoring their ain purposes changing from teaching method, course of study, economic and fiscal affairs, which play an of import portion in the instruction sphere. Their purpose is to help states in planing and implementing successful policies to turn to the challenges that the educational systems are confronting. They besides create strategies for advancing womb-to-tomb acquisition in relation with other socio-economic policies ( Bray 2007, p. 31 ) . New thoughts gained from international surveies such as PISA, TIMMS and Survey -Lang can be tried to see if they will better the instruction system and to understand why the public presentation of pupils in different states differs ( Shorrocks-Taylor & A ; Jenkins 2000 ) . Since the late 1950 ‘s with the initiation of the International Association for the Evaluation of Educational Achievement ( IEA ) such big graduated table comparative surveies have taken on considerable significance in instruction. From the get downing the IEA has been committed to analyzing larning in the basic school topics and to carry oning on a regular footing study of educational accomplishment. Over clip, these ‘outcome ‘ informations have been progressively linked to analyses of the effects of course of study and school organisation upon larning and the relationship between accomplishment and student attitudes ( Shorrocks- Taylor 2000, p.14 ) . There are different methods on how to mensurate the comparative facet which differs from theoretical grounded surveies intended to construct or prove complex theoretical accounts of educational systems to descriptive surveies whose intent is to supervise different characteristics of educational systems, patterns and results. The intent of theoretically oriented surveies is chiefly to analyze relationships among variables and expression for insouciant accounts. It is designed to analyze links between school accomplishment and such features as course of study, learning methods, household outlooks and support degrees. These highlight the degree of differences between schools or categories every bit good as on differences between pupils as the unit of analysis. ( Bradburn & A ; Gilford 1990, p.5 ) Belatedly, the intensification of international competition, spurred on by globalisation, neo-liberalism and marketizing, has major deductions for cross-national surveies of educational accomplishment, for those engaged in or covering with the powerful influence of national and international conference tabular arraies, and for the theoretical models that we employ in our analyses. If the support of research is progressively linked to commercial involvements, for illustration, the potency for critical theory, or for alternate cultural positions to act upon the building of new cognition, may be progressively challenged. Questions of power and â€Å" whose cognition counts? â€Å" , in the procedure of development arise, possibly, more strongly than of all time before ( mention from my talk notes ) . As Sultana stated, comparative instruction should travel further than the concern with comparing â€Å" like with similar † ( Sultana as cited in Borg 2009, p.9 ) . It focuses more on happening a peculiar point from where educational and related societal phenomenon can be seen from different positions ; make a deeper apprehension of the kineticss as good come up with new thoughts. Comparative instruction provides penetrations on higher instruction, educational invention, teacher instruction, power and instruction researches each conveying the experience of the research worker ‘s state, or the state or the states that research worker has studied and came together in order to portion these issues in debating Sessionss.Comparative instruction and globalisation:In a globalise universe, schools have come under greater national question sing the ways they can lend to or detain a national advancement. Claxton ( 1998 ) has described the rapidly-changing times we are populating a s the ‘Age of Uncertainty ‘ in which it is impossible to foretell the province and form of the universe in few old ages clip ( as cited in Broadfoot 2000, p. 358 ) . The educational universe today encounters systems which may finally turn out to be a revolution in what is to be taught, to whom and how, since, as Edmund King implies, ‘all its established systems were developed for a universe that no longer exists † ( quoted in Broadfoot p.267 ) . Accountability and educational transmutation rose oppugning on the instruction procedure itself. The heightened involvement in and concern over instruction has encouraged pedagogues to re-evaluate in the visible radiation of new planetary worlds, the intent of schooling, the implicit in theories about the relationship between instruction and development and oppugning about pedagogue professionalism. ( Watson as cited in Crossley 2002, p.81 ) The ways in which pedagogues in different states view these issues and the schemes employed to turn to them must be understood in the visible radiation of different cultural, societal and political context in each state. By sing the educational issue from the position of two diverse states the research worker can place factor that might be missed when sing the issue within the context of ain state entirely. If the research country is related to researcher ‘s ain cultural environment, it is non ever easy to comprehend its particular features. The instance may look excessively apprehensible and non-problematic. â€Å" A fish can non see that it is populating in H2O † ( quoted in hypertext transfer protocol: //www2.uiah.fi/projects/metodi/172.htm ) . Multiple cultural positions believing and analytic models from a multiplicity of adherent the research would supply an international context every bit good as tools for opening position to heighten the manner of seeing instruct ion.Critical thought on Comparative instruction:Comparative instruction and the critical position taking that comparative enquiry, assist the research worker to travel into a deeper analysis of the relationship among society, development, instruction and the function that citizens either straight or indirectly play in the instruction procedure. Through the development of comparative thought accomplishments research workers should be able to set about analyses of their place civilizations and systems with a more apprehension of the assorted cultural factors at drama. Comparative instruction encourages both research workers and pedagogues to inquire inquiries like: â€Å" What sort of educational policies, planning and instruction are appropriate and for what sort of society? † The field of comparative instruction focuses attending on what might be appropriate and inappropriate policy while encourage consciousness of doctrines underlying educational policies and encourages inte rdisciplinary review. ( Klein 1990, 1996, Epstein 1983 as cited in Kubow & A ; Fossum 2003, p.7 ) . Comparative instruction is good and necessary non merely for bookmans and policy shapers but for instruction practicians every bit good. As Gutek said, instructors function in two dimensions: as citizens of peculiar nation-states, they foster pupils ‘ national individuality ; and 2nd as citizens of a planetary society, they recognize that possibilities of worlds growing and menaces to human endurance traveling beyond national boundaries ( Gutek 1993 as cited in Kubow & A ; Fossum 2003, p.251 ) . Teachers must larn to look at other tantamount schoolroom and school patterns throughout the universe. As Stake ( 1978 ) said â€Å" we observe that people per se pursue the general by looking at the particular. Peoples make sense out of the new fortunes they encounter by comparing that particulars to the existence that includes their ain frames of mention. We have named the procedure of executing cross-cultural probe and so deducing penetrations from these probes the accomplishments o f comparative position pickings † ( quoted in Kubow & A ; Fossum 2003, p.252 ) . Schools are compared with spheres which constitute tenseness and combination of forces. In order to understand and command such status, involves critical accomplishments and the ability to understand the political underlining of societal and educational fortunes ( Kaplan 1991 as cited in Kubow & A ; Fossum 2003, p. 252 ) . These sorts of critical thought can advance critical inquiries like: What is the purpose of schooling? What are the just instruction and who decides? What is the appropriate balance between educator authorization and answerability? What factors reinforce or hinder teacher professionalism? ( Quoted from Kubow & A ; Fossum 2003, p. 252 ) . The field of comparative instruction continues to specify its individuality and significance in the new thought about instruction, society, colonialism and development. Ideas from post-foundational thought, post-modernism, post-structuralism and post-colonialism, are of great importance in comparative research because they deal with common metanarratives of advancement, modernness, laterality and subordination that there have been the fulcrum of the chief thoughts in comparative instruction. ( Mehta & A ; Ninnes 2003, p.238 ) , Crossley 2002, p.82 ) .Examples of Case surveies:Case study 1: Comparison literacyThe utility of comparative instruction is seen in the figure of different instance surveies. An illustration of a instance survey is ‘Literacy accomplishments in Maltese-English bilingual kids ‘ by Rachael Xuereb ( 2009 ) . The survey examines the reading and phonological consciousness accomplishments in English and Maltese of kids whose female parent lingua is Maltese and 2nd linguistic communication English. A sample of 50 typically developing Maltese kids aging between 8 old ages 0 months to 10 old ages 5 months was chosen to take part in this survey. The kids acquired Maltese as a first linguistic communication within the household and subsequently acquired English as a 2nd linguistic communication through Kindergarten and/or the early school old ages. The participants in this survey attend a church school situated in the south-western portion of the island. Since kids star traveling to school at the age of 5 old ages, the kids have been larning to read in Maltese and besides in English. For the intent of this survey, Maltese reading and reading-related trials were created to parallel the UK and US standardised appraisals. All the kids sat for the novel trials and the standardized trials. Harmonizing to the consequences found by Xuereb, Maltese kids read better in Maltese than in English, which is the linguistic communication of direction in most of the topics. Each kid was tested on the undermentioned steps in both linguistic communications: word and non word reading, non word repeat, spelling, sectioning words and non words elision, rapid naming of letters, Numberss and colorss, frontward memory for figures. Increasing research has addressed this issue for bilingual pupils, in relationship to whether phonological consciousness in the first linguistic communication predicts phonological consciousness in the 2nd linguistic communication ( Quiroga, Lemos-Britton, Mostafapour, Abbott & A ; Berninger, 2002 ) . Studies comparing first linguistic communication and 2nd linguistic communication decrypting accomplishments in readers of different writing systems suggest that these accomplishments are positively correlated and that single differences in the development of these accomplishments can be predicted on the footing of underlying cognitive and lingual abilities such as phonological accomplishments, memory, orthographic cognition and velocity of processing ( Geva & A ; Wade-Woolley, 1998 as cited in Xuereb 2009, p.331 ) . This survey aimed to happen reply for how do Maltese-English bilingual kids perform on reading and phonological undertakings and to verify whether anterior findings of cross-language transportation from first linguistic communication phonological consciousness to reading or to 2nd linguistic communication phonological consciousness be replicated in this sample of Maltese-speaking pupils.Case study 2: Comparing the function of gender and age on pupils ‘ perceptual experiences towards on-line instruction.This survey conducted by Fahme Dabaj, and Havva BaAYak, was conducted in order to inquiry and analyse the perceptual experiences and attitudes of the pupils to online distance instruction by agencies of electronic mail and the World Wide Web as the method of presenting direction through online sheepskin plans offered by Sakarya University in Turkey with regard to their age and gender. The research was based on a questionnaire as a mean of informations aggregation method. The findings of the analysis explained that although the pupils registered to the on-line plan by will, they preference was for the traditional face-to-face instruction due to the trouble of the gestural communicating, their deficiency of ability in utilizing the engineering required, and their belief in traditional face-to face larning more than on-line instruction. The research methodological analysis of this survey used the quantitative statistical methods and techniques such as significance differences, correlativity and the cross-tabulation distribution to happen out if there is a important relationship between the independent and the dependent variable inquiries, mensurating the function of age and gender of pupils towards their perceptual experiences sing distant instruction. The quantitative information was collected by study questionnaire and was analyzed via quantitative statistical methods. All the pupils enrolled in the distance instruction plans and the online classs in the autumn term of the 2005/2006 Academic Year took portion in the research. Sing gender, the consequences proofed that the female pupils have a better consciousness of the on-line instruction contrasting to the male pupils. Sing age, the consequences showed that the older the pupils ‘ penchant moves towards go toing face-to face categories.Case study 3: Comparison different Art methodological analysiss.I besides attempted to do a little comparative survey in which I compared Art methodological analysis adopted in a province school compared with that adopted by the Verdala International School. The Verdala International is a coeducational international school in which foreign pupils resident in Malta can go to. The Art section in this school in based on two Art Programs ; the IG which is tantamount to O ‘ degree test and the IB which is tantamount to the A ‘ degree test. My research was aimed at conveying out the difference in instructors ‘ and pupils ‘ attack towards the topic. The first difference which I pointed out was the degree of organisation in the province school ‘s Art room in comparing with the â€Å" organized † pandemonium that ruled in the Verdala International. Both instructors ‘ response to my remarks about the Art room environment was that it reflects the methodological analysis they adopt towards the topic. Art lessons in the province school are more structured ; pupils have to follow regulations which hinder them from utilizing their imaginativeness freely. In both schools the lessons where introduced in the same mode there was a batch of instructor talk with the instructor orchestrating the whole thing. The kids were merely asked to take part when the instructor asked them for suggestions. The two lessons differed in the manner they developed while in the province school, the pupils followed the traditional method by copying the instructor ‘s illustrations from the whiteboard and were really limited in experimentation, at Vedala international the pupils were much freer to experiment and be originative. The ground was that although the Art course of study of both schools are really similar, the methodological analysis adopted is different. The instructor at the province school believes that in order to â€Å" interrupt the regulations † in Art foremost the pupil has to larn them by utilizing the traditional method – by copying. While Art lessons at the province school are more exams oriented, although at Verdala International they do hold an terminal of twelvemonth trial, the focal point is more on assisting pupils develop originative thoughts. During my observation Sessionss at the province school, which were carried out in the beginning of November, the instructor systematically reminded the pupils about the test. On the other manus at Verdala International the concluding trial was ne'er mentioned. At the Verdala International I besides tried to compare Maltese pupils who have been to a province school and are now go toing Verdala International with foreign pupils who had been go toing to Art categories in their ain states are now at Verdala. The purpose of such comparing was to place pupils ‘ positions of the methodological analysiss used for the instruction of Art in Malta and abroad. The foreign pupils interviewed were from Italy, USA, Sweden, Germany, Russia and England. From the response given it resulted that the conservative Art methodological analysis used in Maltese province schools is really similar to that in Russia and in the early old ages of the in-between school in Germany. Lessons at Verdala International are more similar to those in Italy where the pupils are active participants and able to take determinations on what they should make. While in province schools every lesson planned out by the instructor following the course of study that is to be covered, at Verdala International the lesson is in the signifier of a group treatment. Each pupil decides on a subject that he/she would wish work on and the instructor will ease his acquisition. This manner, different pupils might be working on different undertakings unlike in province schools where everyone would be making the same thing. Maltese pupils prefer more the methodological analysis used at the Verdala International than the Art methodological analysis used in the province school. The research methodological analysis of this survey consisted of observation Sessionss, interviews with pupils both on single bases and in groups, and interviews with four instructors ( one at Verdala International and 3 at province school ) . The figure of pupils that took portion in this survey was 45 pupils ( 22 at Verdala International and 23 at province school ) .DecisionThe comparative instruction country is composed by what research workers declare about its nature, beginnings, intents, hereafters, by the â€Å" truths † people support and by the battle over what made â€Å" true † comparative instruction ( Mehta & A ; Ninnes 2003, p.240 ) . The significance in analyzing this country utilizing rational truth, the working and foreign systems of instruction will ensue in our better fitted to analyze and understand our ain piece helps to widen and intensify our apprehension of the universe it is a manner to progress our entire capacity to believe. As postulated by Sadler: â€Å" If we study foreign systems of instruction exhaustively and sympathetically-and understanding and thoroughness are both necessary for the task- I believe that the consequence on our heads will be to do us value as we have ne'er prized before the good things which we have at place and besides do us recognize how many things there are in our ain instruction systems which need pmt and seeking alteration. † ( Quoted from Bray 2007 pp. 37-38 ) .