Against School Uniforms Essay

I understand that many schools around the nation wear uniforms for a good reason. Such as if kids could not purchase enough clothes normally. I completely respect that and the schools which choose to do so. However, I do strongly believe that children have the right to wear whatever they want to school as long as it is appropriate. I myself have never attended a school in which uniforms are required. But I do know kids who have and a lot of them say they don?t like it. I mean I can see why. Who wants to wear a school uniform every day? For kids who go to schools that require uniforms, there is no style present. Everyone looks the same. In a normal school where kids can where whatever they want, sometimes you can tell if someone is having a good day or not. You can learn things about people just by looking at how they dress themselves. Someone?s personality is represented by their outward appearance. I bet that whoever decides to make a school have uniforms went to a school that did have uniforms as a kid and just never realized how much better it would have been without uniforms. If that person went to a school without uniforms as a child, they never would have made a school have it required. Seriously, for all you people that thinkschools should have uniforms, think back to when you were in high school or grade school. Did you really want to have a uniform to wear to school? Did you really hope that everyone wore the same exact thing every day? Did you wish back then that when you woke up in the morning to go to school, everyone would look and act and be the same? No, I don?t think so. You wanted to express yourself and see what people were wearing each day. You liked style. But now that your job makes all the employees wear the same thing, you want to drag everyone else down with you. Just because you have to suffer, doesn?t mean everyone else has to as well. I mean think about it. Other than a few exceptions, school is basically the only time in your life when you can dress freely in a work environment. I want to make that count and express myself while I still can. For me at least, that right will be taken away in a few years. But for kids who have always had to wear uniforms, they never even had that right. So I say if you don?t give kids the right to wear what they want while they learn. Then you don?t have the right to teach them.

Apple Inc Marketing Report Essay

Apple Inc. is an American multinational corporation, which designs, manufactures and sells personal computers, consumer electronics and software, and provides related services. The business has experienced a tremendous growth from 2001 when it has introduced its iPod mp3 player. Apple Inc. is considered to be the most successful electronics company in the world. Introduction Executive Summary Marketing Mix Today, Apple unveiled its new product, the iPad. The much publicized rumour about a tablet created by Apple is now a reality. Tablet pc’s have been around for a long time, but what makes the iPad different from the other market offerings? What strategy does Apple have in place in order to make this a runaway hit like its iPhone and iPod product lines? We’ll use the marketing mix (4 P’s) to see how Apple strategized its goal to make the iPad a bestseller. Marketing Mix is the set of controllable, tactical marketing tools that the firm blends to produce the response it wants in the target market. Price, product, place and promotion are the 4 P’s or components that make up a marketing mix. Product Apple sells a variety of electronic devices. In 2010, Apple introduced their first tablet, iPad. Ipad is a tablet device that has several features. It looks like a bigger iPhone or iPod Touch and possess a led touch screen interface. Its dimensions are 9.56 in x 7.47 in. It is also very thin and has a battery life of ten hours. This product has the ability to surf the internet, listen and purchase music, watch videos, view photos, read e-mail, read and purchase e-books and execute multiple applications. In fact, the multiple applications available for the iPhone will be fully compatible with the iPad! There will be different versions of the iPad at launch with different hard drive capacities and 3g capability. There will be a 16 GB, 32 GB, and 64 GB variants. Also all iPads will have Wi-Fi and are wireless-n capable. The iPad will also feature the latest Bluetooth profile and will have an on-screen keyboard for inputs. Price The base model of IPad (16 GB) without 3g capability is the cheapest at $499, 32 GB at $699, this is I pad and I phone 5 prices and 64 GB will retail for $699. If a customer wants 3G capability they will have to pay an additional $130 on top of the base price. The consumer also has the option to sign up for AT&T data plan that allows them to have access to the internet virtually anywhere and in areas without Wi-Fi connections. The data plan is two tiered: the customer has a choice between $14.99/month for 250mb and $29.99/month for unlimited access. The data plan will also allow the consumer to access various AT&T hotspots for free. Unlike the iPhone, the customer will not be locked into multi-year contractual obligation and they can terminate it at any time. As far as discounts go, Apple is known for charging higher, premium prices however, they usually offer $100 off certain products to college and University students. They also do special bundles for purchasing certain products during different times of the year. For example, I purchased a MacBook Pro during the summer and they had a promotion that gave me a free iPod and a free printer plus the $100 discount because I was a University student. They have done the same promotion for the previous two years as well. Place There are multiple Apple stores across the Australia, 20 of them, in which all the apple products will be sold. Apple’s retail stores ensure high quality customer experience; provide direct contact with knowledgeable staff and increases brand awareness. Customers can also purchase the products online in Apple’s official website. Best Buy, one of Apple’s partners, also sells Apple products and also has a large retail footprint in the Australia. Amazon, one of the largest online retailers, also carries Apple products. Apple should gauge consumer demand and produce enough in order to satisfy the market. Promotion In the past two decades, Apple has become well known for its advertisement. Its most significant ad campaigns include the â€Å"1984† Super Bowl commercial, the 1990s Think Different campaign, and the â€Å"iPod people† of the 2000s. Other than that Apple Inc. also held press conference to before each products launch debut the products. Several of the major techblogs, forums and websites also invited to cover the event. Given Apple’s track record of heavy promotion and advertisement of its marquee products, the future apple new product has a high probability of getting the same advertising treatment. The Mac, Iphone 5 and iPad is already highlighted on the front page of Apple website and the hour long keynote by Steve Jobs regarding the Mac, IPhone 5 and iPad are also available on the website.

Consistently Developing Knowledge, Skills, and Values

Consistently Developing Knowledge, Skills and Values An integral part of human is his continual development and his productivity towards excellence. It is said that knowledge is power. Yes, it is; but it should go along with one’s abilities and attitude in his life-long endeavour. Each of us should be honed to become a better citizen of our society—a true asset and a good leader who contributes to the betterment of our nation, but how?The big question lies on how we could open our eyes to the big changing world as we advance ourselves in every aspect of our lives. We have to be aware of the call for self-sustainability that will bring about mutual benefits to others. Let us take the influence of our good leaders like Mahatma Ghandi and Jawaharlal Neru as peace leaders. How about Theodore Roosevelt and Abraham Lincoln as America’s pride towards unification? Here, our national hero Dr.Jose Rizal exerted a lot of influence to us and they left an unwavering legacy. A ll these were a product of their consistent productivity that touched the lives of our people. Now you, as an ordinary citizen of our nation, could make a difference by stepping out to become a part of a successful country and by keeping yourself well directed and focused on your perceived goals towards continuous development for you and of what you could do to others.Remember that the hunger to learn, in varied levels, has always been part of your existence. The questions you encounter spring out from your intention and motivation to learn. With positive regard on every challenge thrown along your way, you must muster a needed degree of expertise and fuse it with an ample amount of experience to have the edge in acquiring and consistently developing knowledge, skills and values essential to progress in a rate that will quantify a person’s development.Therefore, whether you are teachers or students at schools, doctors or nurses in hospitals, and even organizers or judges in t his oratorical competition, 1) develop knowledge by welcoming and adding new pieces of information from all possible resources. Let it grow with an open yet analytical mind synthesizing old and new data along with current trends not allowing any room for stagnation. 2) Develop skills through constant practice aiming at accomplishing significant levels of precision and excellence. ) Align these ripening knowledge and advancing skills with values essential to the realities in life while keeping motivated. This is the very core of this subject. Without motivation that steers a person to achieve greater knowledge, information and ideas are insignificant. Guidance will point an individual to the right information, hence, feeding the soul strive to search for something of great essence to the society. His passion to learn and to grow makes him invest in developing knowledge, skills and values while harnessing his understanding on a culture that tends to evolve for greater good.One’ s thought process is the key factor followed by his interest in the subject on why and how he would retain information. An individual gathers ideas and confines the relevant and the ones with utmost value to their development. Once ideas have been proven effective in ways, he will deduct or resort to other processes in addressing future conflicts while tuning ways to consistently develop knowledge, skills and values.

Integrative Project Assignment 3 Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Integrative Project 3 - Assignment Example The primary strength of the company is its strong presence in the market. The brand utilizing the shelter of HP has a high global presence which helps it market the brand effectively. The Palm from HP is a device combining a mobile phone, (a separate product from HP) including touch controls, and a device enabled to communicate through internet (HP Annual Report , 2010). The Palm is based on HP’s Multi-touch user interface giving facilities of fast email, web browsing and many other features at a world class format. The device is compatible with both windows based PCs as well as Macintosh PCs. It also has a searching and maps feature used to give directions by connecting through internet. Palm compared to its competitors has more variety of smartphones compared to that of Apple and HP under its brand name. Recently the company had launched a new operating system named Palm series for smartphones which distinguishes it from the other brands in the same category along with givin g a disntingushed yet powerful experience to its users. Majority of the company’s phones that are launched or had been launched in the market are equipped with multimedia capabilities, having music, high resolution camera, HD playback, high resolution gaming and access to applications with the help of HP App world. The range of smartphones by HP is certainly higher as compared to that of HP’s Palm. Also within every series of HP, there are 2-3 models for the customers to choose from. Strong distribution channel is also one of the characteristic features of the HP. The synchronization of HP is considered to be far better than that of Palm. The best example for this is calendar synchronization. The HP automatically adjusts any changes in time and date whenever such changes are made in the desktop that is connected to the phones whereas synchronizing contact and calendar information in Palm is not an easy process. The primary feature that Palm has a upper hand is its acce ssibility through the use of touch screen which gives the user a real time experience with the picture quality of more than 25K pixels per inch of the smarphone. This can be regarded as the best in the industry. However, HP with faster operating systems and innovative technologies is constantly trying to match with that. The most attractive part of technology is often the much more rapid speed by which it can communicate what its manual counterparts cannot. From their tablet computers, from all over the world, a person can contact clients, business partners, family, and friends. Additionally, it allows for instant updates during communication. While a phone call may require waiting until someone is available on the phone or mailing a letter through the post office, technology allows the interaction and the update to be instant. The speed also enhances the decision-making process. Communication may involve important decisions that need to be made quickly, especially in a business con text. Before, a person may have had to go back to senior executives before finalizing a decision. Now, technology allows instant communication no matter where they are, including scanning and sending relevant documents such as contracts and instant transcription of the conversation if needed. Communication can become faster with the advent of technology. The technologies offer numerous opportunities to save money and increase productivity, thereby increasing the efficiency. The

Human Anatomy Term Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Human Anatomy - Term Paper Example The primary thing that needs to be considered is the basal metabolic rate that regulates the amount of calorie expended by the body for existence. Definitely as the net body mass becomes low on shrinkage with lowered bone density and body fat, the lowered calorie intake induces the body to burn lesser energy. Lowering of BMR is somewhat a self induced adjustment due to the metabolic changes associated with shrinkage helping the body to function as an efficient energy saver, thereby burning lesser calories. (United Nations University, 2008) The next important adaptation related to the shrinkage must be a lower cardiac output due to the lower aerobic capacity. The lowered cardiac output that is the extent of oxygen transport from the heart to the cells of the body is related to the overall cardiovascular requirements of the body. A low cardiac output is definitely coupled with the lowered tidal volume of respiration in a reduced body with a decrease in the cardiac tissue mass. There is a formidable relationship between body mass, body size and blood pressure level. In fact blood pressure has been found to vary directly to the body height. The body being smaller in size hardly requires much pumping pressure to transmit blood to the rest of the body. Hence, lowered blood pressure is an essential physiological adjustment the body makes in order to go with the small stature after the shrinkage. Heartbeat Rate Due to the lowered blood pressure and cardiac output proper blood circulation demands more heart beats for a smaller sized body as compared to a larger one. This is, in fact, seen in case of smaller animals that have a faster heartbeat rate than humans. As a matter of fact the heartbeat rate in mammals varies inversely to the fourth root of the body weight measured in kilograms. Amino Acid Metabolism The protein - energy relationship is a significant parameter that adjusts itself with the other physiologic conditions during phenomenon of shrinkage. Amino acids required as essential substrates for protein synthesis are necessary for energy production along with increased body weight and stature. Therefore shrinkage essentially involves an adaptable lowered rate of amino acid metabolism, thereby curbing the extent of fat production leading to protein synthesis at a lower profile than in regular sized individuals. Ammonia and Urea Metabolism With a smaller stature the dietary requirements become lower and result in lowered amino acid intake thereby reducing the production of ammonia and urea in the liver. Moreover due to a lowered extent of protein synthesis, the essential enzymes like urease and protease are synthesized accordingly in sparse quantities compared to the normal sized individuals decreasing the production of ammonia to perfectly go with the smaller stature after shrinkage. References 1. "Low BMIs, BMRs and Energy Requirements", 2008, United Nations University, retrieved from: http://www.unu.edu/unupress/food2/UID10E/uid10e08.htm#changes%20in%20body%20weights%20and%20stature%20and%20their%20influence%20on%20bmi%20and%20energy%20requir

CRJ 716 ASSIGNMENT # 1 (UPDATE) Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

CRJ 716 ASSIGNMENT # 1 (UPDATE) - Research Paper Example In response this study demonstrates the prevalence and effects mental illness has on the individual in terms of receiving treatment, parole and adaptation to incarceration. Research has demonstrated a positive correlation between incarceration and mental illness. The psychiatric illness rate is higher in prisons in comparison to general society (Kjelsberg, Hartivig & Kuisma, 2006). Many individual’s entering incarceration facilities did not have healthcare available before incarceration. In many situations the lack of healthcare left these individuals suffering the symptoms associated with a mental illness. However, upon incarceration researchers have demonstrated that many individuals do not want treatment (Conklin, Lincoln & Tuthil, 2000). Treatment is defined as a psychological or psychiatric intervention. This notion leads investigators to theorize that certain characteristics are associated with inmates seeking interventions. Psychological and psychiatric interventions may increase the chance of being paroled or attaining ‘good behaviors’ that would shorten the inmate’s incarceration time. In comparison of variables one study determined that approximately 79% of participants (N=2600) had children (Diamond, Harzke & Magaletta, 2009). Social ties to the outside world would cause a researcher to hypothesize that the inmate would utilize intervention services provided in hopes of being paroled. However, research concluded that only 11% of these individuals sought treatment. Research demonstrated that male participants were younger than female participants. Females were more likely to report previous mental health treatment including medication usage, suicidal ideation, and general mental health illnesses with the exclusion of hallucinations. The most commonly reported symptoms of mental illnesses corresponded with symptoms of depression and

Selecting Forensic Tools Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Selecting Forensic Tools - Essay Example ion/attack. It is, hence, computer detective work. The importance of computer forensic technologies to the securitization of information and for the detection of the source of cyber crimes, manifest in the unauthorized retrieval of data, cannot be overemphasized. As both Stephenson (1999) and Carrier (2004) emphasize, organizations which do not have a digital forensics system in place are inexcusably careless and irresponsible. The implication here is that organizations which handle sensitive data, especially data which the law holds as confidential and private such as patient information, will have a digital forensics system in place. This was confirmed by our organization's IT Director who explained that a digital forensics analysis system was implemented over two years ago. While the IT Director claimed that the organization did not abide by criteria for the determination of whether to use open source or commercial tool sets, his explanation of the system and the process of its selection underscore its efficiency. Tool Selection The selection of the tool set was determined by the needs of the organization, the nature of its data and, importantly, a review of past attacks and unauthorized intrusion attempts. As a healthcare organization, the securitization of data is of primary importance since the leakage of patient information to unauthorized personnel renders the organization vulnerable to litigation. Furthermore, because of the nature of its activities, the data information combines between text, as in medical reports and demographic data, graphics, as in patient X-rays, and numbers, as in financial information. The organization, therefore, has to protect three data types. In their analysis of the various computer forensic tools, Yasinsac and Manzano (2001) maintain that the criteria for selection should be data type and organizational needs and activities. Further explaining this, they note that the tools which are used vis--vis graphical data are not effective when used for numerical or textual information. Watermarking tools are most effective where graphical data is concerned but not so in relation to textual data (Yasinsac and Manzano, 2001). Furthermore, whether commercial or open source tool sets are used should depend on an organization's size, the complexity of its functions and the volumes of data it handles (Yasinsac and Manzano, 2001). Even though he concurred with Yasinsac and Manzano's (2001) recommendations, the IT director admitted that adherence to their tool set selection criteria was not feasible. While open-source rather than commercial tools were used as a result of the complexity of the organization's processes and the volumes of data it handles, it did not distinguish between graphic and text-based data. Doing so would involve the implementation of two different digital forensics tool sets, thereby multiplying the human and non-human resources assigned

Taxation Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Taxation - Research Paper Example When taxpayer agrees to extend the statute limitation to access income tax for a fixed period, they must sign the Standard IRS Form 872. Also, they can sign form 872-A for Special Consent to extend the access period up to 90 days after the earlier term of limitation upon assessment of income tax. The special consent form extends the statute of limitations on assessment until 90 days after the earliest of IRS mailing notice of terminating the extension; IRS sends a 90 day statutory notice of deficiency; or the taxpayer files the case Form 872-T to terminate Special Consent to extend the time to assess tax (CCH Editors 10,908) Form 870 is about Waiver of Restrictions on Assessment. It is used by Exam and does not prohibit from filing a claim for a tax refund in the future. By signing form 870 the taxpayer consents to waive certain legal restrictions on assessment, including the issuance of the 90-day letter and the right to petition the tax court (CCH 10,910). The form is used when the taxpayer and IRS have reached mutual agreement in the case, and it is effective when signed by the taxpayer and accepted by the IRS. Form 870-AD is about Offer to Waive Restrictions on Assessment and Collection of Tax Deficiency and Accept Over-assessment. The form is more final and binding between the parties. By signing this form the taxpayer consents to waive issuance on the 90-day letter and the right to petition the court. The form also limits the taxpayer from pursuing the refund claim with the respect to the taxes assessed. (CCH 10,911) Appeals Judicial Approach ad Culture (AJAC) refers to IRS Appeals Office policy for handling audit appeals. It is a program of returning appeals to a â€Å"quasi-judicial approach† in the way it handles cases and changing it away from a fact finding and raising new issues (CCH 10,909). Also, it enhances the perception that IRS Appeals Office is

College tuition Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

College tuition - Research Paper Example This paper attempts to investigate the economic costs and benefits associated with college tuition. The research will also help administrative bodies and students to identify the key factors affecting the effectiveness of college education. Finally, the conclusion will suggest effective measures to minimize the benefits cost associated with college tuition. COSTS AND BENEFITS OF EDUCATION The Opportunity Costs of College Education A number of opportunity costs are associated with college education. When a student decides to get admission in college instead of earning on a job, the lost earning is the opportunity cost. Since there is large number of applicants than the available seats, the rejection of more deserving students account for opportunity cost to that college. If the enrolled student is not utilizing his capabilities efficiently, the rejected student might have proven more successful to college and the society. Furthermore, the qualified student directly suffered emotional stress and tangible loss. The Economic Costs of College Education The tuition payment made for college education is an investment in student’s future. The cost of college education is increasing with every passing year as illustrated in figure 01. Figure 01. Increasing Trends in College Pricing Source: The College Board, 2010. However, the college tuition cost considerably varies depending on the choice of college. Around 47% of the fulltime undergraduate students are enrolled into four-year colleges with tuition fees less than $9,000 per annum. Comparatively, the private four-year colleges charge students with more than $35,000 per annum. Sometimes, these colleges also offer partial scholarships and financial aid programs attracting more applicants. The average tuition and fees at a two-year college stands around 2, 713 per annum. Few of the colleges may also offer to cover all tuition costs in full scholarships. In the year 2009-10, around $154 billion was spent in providin g financial aid to college students. Benefits College education is quite beneficial investment in terms of developing human capital. The lifetime income potential of a person far increases with education and training. These days, it is vital for a person to be prepared to work in modern economies by getting reasonable education. College tuition is thus an investment in enhancing knowledge, skills, competencies, values and habits of a person. Apart from the monetary awards, various social benefits are also associated with college education. College education has remarkably decreased the public reliance on financial assistance programs leading to the generation of more tax revenues. This also increases the serving capacity of the public sector. The costs imposed by criminal justice system on the society cannot be ignored. Over the past few decades, education has resulted in decrease of crime rates. Thus, the public sector funds spend by the system on prosecution, punishment and probat ion of criminals can be utilized for social welfare. In addition, educated people are capable of forming a more interacting civil society. TUITION DATA According to the Trends in College Pricing 2010 report, increase in grant aid has resulted in decline of average tuition and fees in the recent years. However, a large number of students are still paying full tuition charges that are increasing every year. For instance, Students at four-year public colleges with no financial funding paid 7.9% more in 2010 than they

Protestant Reformation Essay Example for Free

Protestant Reformation Essay Although the Protestant Reformation usually is interpreted as a religious movement, it did have a profound impact on European civilization in general. Discuss the political, social, and economic consequences of the Reformation. How did the Reformation affect women? The European Reformation was not a simple revolution, a protest movement with a single leader, a defined set of objectives, or a coherent organization. It was a series of parallel movements; within each of which various people with different perspectives for a crucial period in history combined forces to achieve the shared objectives. * Political Consequences: (1) Political History of the Era along with military confrontation. (2) Declining influence of the church. (3) Destroying of the concept of European unity. * Social Consequences: (1) Impact of women Including Martin Luther’s exaltation of marriage) (2) Shared responsibility of men and women- Men were leaders of household. (3) Peasants War * Economic Consequences: (1) People were free from medieval ideas and the tyranny of the Orthodox Church. (2) Moneylender was given a status in society. (3) By annihilating the economic power of the medieval Church, the Reformation paved the way for the rise of capitalism. The Protestant Reformation was the 16th-century schism within Western Christianity initiated by Martin Luther, John Calvin and other early Protestants. The 1517 posting of Luthers Ninety-Five Theses laid the foundation for this shift in European history. An immediate and unfortunate effect of the Reformation was intolerance. Instead of showing the true spirit of Christ, that is, the fatherhood of God and the brotherhood of man, the Reformation made thousands suffer on account of their religion. On the other hand, The Reformation led to a series of religious wars that culminated in the Thirty Years War (1618–1648), which devastated much of Germany, killing between 24.9 and 40% of its population.

Various Components Of Computer Network Structure Information Technology Essay

Various Components Of Computer Network Structure Information Technology Essay What are the various components of Computer Network structure. Explain in brief. Write down the differences between connection oriented and connectionless services. Explain in brief the topologies that are used for broadcasting type of communication. Television channels are 6MHz wide. How many bits/sec. can be sent if four levels digital signals are used? Assume a noiseless channel. Which of the OSI layer handles each of the following: Breaking the transmitted bit stream into frames. Determining which route through the subnet to use. Providing compatibility in data and text. Providing terminal compatibility. Providing facility for remote login. Sketch the Manchester and Differential Manchester encoding for the following bit stream: 0111000111001101 For differential Manchester encoding assume the line is initially in the low state. UPTU 2007-08 Attempt any two parts of the following: (102=20) What do you mean by a computer network? Explain in detail various goals and applications in real life of computer networks. Give different categorization of the computer networks. What are internetworks? How you will categorize internetworks using above categories of computer networks. Give a detail description of the functionality of different layer of OSI model. UPTU 2008-09 Attempt any two parts of the following: (102=20) (i) What do you mean by network topology? Explain in brief any three such network topologies. (ii) What is difference between TCP/IP and OSI model? What are channel types in ISDN to construct the transmission structure of any access link? Explain them. Which types of transmission media are used at physical layer transmission? Give a comparative study of different transmission media in guided media. When unguided media is suitable for transmission? UPTU 2009-10 Attempt any two parts of the following: (102=20) What are the reasons for using layered protocol? A system has an n-layer protocol Hierarchy. Applications generate messages of length M bytes. At each of the layers, an h-byte header is added. What fraction of the network bandwidth is filled with headers? (i) If a binary signal is sent over a 3-kHz channel whose signal-to-noise ratio is 20 dB, what is the maximum achievable data rate? (ii) What is the percent overhead on a T1 carrier; that is, what percent of the 1.544 Mbps are not delivered to the end user? Explain the advantages and disadvantages if any of the following topologies: (i) star (ii) ring (iii) bus (iv) mesh UNIT II UPTU 2006-07 Attempt any four parts of the following: (54=20) Suppose that the string 0101 is used as the bit string to indicate the end of a frame and the bit stuffing rule is to insert a 0 after each appearance of 010 in the original data; thus 010101 would be modified by stuffing to 01001001. In addition, if the frame proper ends in 01, 0 would be stuffed after the first 0 in the actual terminating string 0101. Show how the following would be modified by this rule? 11011010010101011101 Measurements of an infinite user slotted ALOHA channel show that 10% of the slots are idle: (i) What is the channel load, G? (ii) What is throughput? (iii) Is the channel underloaded or overloaded? Consider an error free 64-Kbps satellite channel used to send 512 byte data frames in one direction, with very short acknowledgement coming back the other way. What is the maximum throughput for window sizes of 01 and 07? A bit stream 10011101 is transmitted used the standard CRC method. The generator polynomial is x3 + 1. Show the actual bit string transmitted. Suppose the third bit from the left is inverted during transmission. Show that this error is detected at the receivers end. Explain Basic-Bit-Map (a collision free protocol) used at MAC sublayer. Sixteen stations, numbered 1 through 16, are contending for the use a shared channel by using the adaptive Free Walk Protocol. If all the station whose addresses are prime number suddenly becomes ready at once, how many bit slots are needed to resolve the contention? UPTU 2007-08 Attempt any two parts of the following: (102=20) What is Hamming code? For the following word pattern (message) find out the number of check bit and the bit at eleventh position. If any error is detected, show it. M = 1111 1010 0000 1110 What are medium access control (MAC) protocols? Discuss salient feature of CSMA/CD protocol. Describe the bit stuffing rule used the HDLC protocol. Consider a CSMA/CD network running at 200 Mbps over a 1 Km cable with no repeaters. The signal speed is 2 * 108 m/sec. Compute the minimum frame size. UPTU 2008-09 Attempt any two parts of the following: (102=20) What do you mean by ALOHA? How does slotted ALOHA improve efficiency? SEC(7,4) hamming code can be converted into a double error detecting and single error correcting code (8,4) by using an extra parity check. Construct the generator matrix for the code and show that the code is quasi perfect. Design a decoder for the code. Explain the IEEE 802.3 MAC sublayer frame format. What is the binary exponential back off algorithm? UPTU 2009-10 Attempt any two parts of the following: (102=20) A large population of ALOHA users manage to generate 50 requests/sec, including both originals and retransmissions. Time is slotted in units of 40 msec. What is the chance of success on the first attempt? What is the probability of exactly k collisions and then a success? Explain the working of CSMA/CD protocol. Why there is a minimum frame length restriction in CSMA/CD? Explain the working of GO-BACK N ARQ protocol. How it is different from selective repeat ARQ? UNIT III UPTU 2006-07 Attempt any two parts of the following: (102=20) Write and explain the kinds of shortest path routing Algorithm in brief. Find the shortest path in the following subnet using Dijsktra Algorithm, when the source is fixed but destination is not fixed. Describe the choke-packet method of congestion control. You are also required to explain the variation in the above mentioned algorithm. Explain the concept of Tunnelling in Internetworking. Write down the difference in IPv4 and IPv6. UPTU 2007-08 Attempt any two parts of the following: (102=20) Answer the following question: How is IPv6 different from IP protocol? Convert IP address whose hexadecimal representation is C22F1582 to dotted decimal notation. A class B class network on the internet has a subnet mask of 255.255.240.0. What is the maximum number of hosts per subnet? Explain the purpose of subnetting. What is Link Control Protocol? Give the format of LCP packet. Also how authentication is supported in PPP? Explain. (i) A computer on a 6-Mbps network is regulated by a token bucket. The token bucket is filled at a rate of 1 Mbps. It is initially filled to a capacity with 8 megabit. How long can the computer transmit at the full 6 Mbps? (ii) Discuss the token passing technique used in FDDI. UPTU 2008-09 Attempt any two parts of the following: (102=20) What is the congestion in network layer? Differentiate and explain Leaky-Bucket algorithm and Token Bucket algorithm? What is the role of routing algorithm? Explain the working of Distance Vector Routing algorithm with the help of a suitable example. (i) Explain various phases through which a PPP connection goes using transition state diagram. (ii) What is the significance of IP address classification? What problems of IPv4 are being addressed by IPv6? UPTU 2009-10 Attempt any two parts of the following: (102=20) A computer on a 6-Mbps network is regulated by a token bucket. The token bucket is filled at a rate of 1 Mbps. It is initially filled to capacity with 8 megabits. How long can the computer transmit at the full 6 Mbps? Give a classification of IP addresses used in the Internet. Suppose that instead of using 16 bits for the network part of a class B address originally, 20 bits had been used. How many class B networks would there have been? (i) The protocol field used in the IPv4 header is not present in the fived IPv6 header. Write your justification. (ii) IPv6 uses 16-byte addresses. If a block of 1 million addresses is allocated every picosecond, how long will the addresses last? UNIT IV UPTU 2006-07 Attempt any two parts of the following: (102=20) Describe Transmission Control Protocols (TCP) Transmission policy. Explain the Remote Procedure Call with suitable diagram. You are also required to explain the use of RPC in Transport layer. Imagine that a two-way handshake rather than a three-way handshake were used to set up connections. Are deadlocks now possible? Give an example or how what none exist. UPTU 2007-08 Attempt any two parts of the following: (102=20) Why does UDP exist? Would it not have been enough to just let user processes send raw IP packets? What are two army problem and a three way handshake? State the elements of transport protocol. Describe the feature of the following devices: Routers Bridges Gateway UPTU 2008-09 Attempt any two parts of the following: (102=20) A TCP connection is using a window size of 1000 B and the previous acknowledgement no was 22,001. It receives a segment with acknowledgement no 24,001. Draw a diagram to show the situation of the window after and before the acknowledgement is received. If the window size is change to 11000B and 9000B separately, than what will be the situation? Discuss the issue to be considered in designing different layers. (i) What is user datagram protocol? Give its datagram format. (ii) Would it not have been enough to just let user processes send raw IP packets? Give reason in support to your answer. UPTU 2009-10 Attempt any two parts of the following: (102=20) Draw the TCP header format and explain its various fields. A TCP machine is sending full windows of 65,535 bytes over a 1-Gbps channel that has a 10-msec one way delay. What is the maximum throughput achievable? What is the line capacity? Explain Connection Management at the transport layer in detail. UNIT V UPTU 2006-07 Attempt any two parts of the following: (102=20) Explain the architecture of Electronic Mail (i.e. E-mail). Describe the concept of Domain name System in brief. Explain the working of server side in the architectural overview of World-Wide-Web (WWW). UPTU 2007-08 Attempt any two parts of the following: (102=20) One secret key encryption method involves the permutation of bits. For example an 8 bit plain text is permuted, bit 8 becomes bit 3, bit 1 becomes bit 2 and so on. Draw a diagram to show the mapping of each bit to its new designation. Scramble the bits as you please. What is encryption and decryption algorithm? What do you mean by following : HTTP SNMP How MPEG file format is different from JPEG file format? Encode the following message using Huffman coding: INDIAN INNING Write short note on one of the following : Network security and cryptography Electronic mail and FTP. UPTU 2008-09 Attempt any two parts of the following: (102=20) One secret key encryption method involves the XOR operation. A bit patter (plaintext) of a fixed size in XORed with a block of bits of the same size to create to fixed sized cipher text. What is the encryption algorithm here? What is the decryption algorithm here? Remember that an XOR algorithm is a reversible algorithm. (i) Why do we need Domain name space when we can directly use an IP address? (ii) What is trivial file transfer protocol? How it is different from simple FTP? (i) What is the role of digital signature in cryptography? (ii) What is JPEG standard? How it is different from JPEG 2000? UPTU 2009-10 Attempt any four parts of the following: (54=20) Can a query message in DNS have one question section but the corresponding response message have several answer sections? Describe the addressing system used by SMTP. Describe the functions of the two FTP connection. What is anonymous FTP? Compare the way SMTP and HTTP transfer images. Which one do you think is more efficient? Why? The Diffie-Hellman key exchange is being used to establish a secret key between Alice and Bob. Alice sends Bob (719, 3, 191). Bob responds with (543). Alices secret number, x, is 16. What is the secret key? Can IPsec using AH be used in transport mode if one of the machines is behind a NAT box? Explain your answer.

Supply Chain of Toyota Motors

Supply Chain of Toyota Motors In the automotive industry, supply chains are extensive and include elements of producing based on several forecasting techniques. The amount of money invested is large and fixed. Key trend in the automotive industry is the increase of the variant numbers on individual models and standardization of components in the supply chain. This means that models can be adjusted to the individual tastes of customers and new models are developed and produced continuously in order to meet the changing market demand. The uncertainty in the market place is translated into mix flexibility and volume flexibility in order to be competitive in the market place. The supply chain which was developed by Toyota was one of the premier in Low Cost supply chains. The entire chain was intended to reduce the costs and get the cost to minimal possible values. But there was no compromise on customer satisfaction, quality and delivery time. It maintained reasonable service levels. The objective of the SCM was to place the Right Product at the right store in right quantities catering to the right customer at right time and a right price. The supply chain created by Toyota (Exhibit 2) was highly integrated. It had a complete integration of right from the raw material providers to its Tier 1 and 2 vendors along with the manufacturing plants, warehouses , dealers and end customers. International collaborators were also a part of the supply chain which made it even more robust and inclusive. The analyses of some of elements of this highly integrated SCM are as below Suppliers Toyota organized its suppliers into functional tiers. The first tier suppliers worked together in a product development team and the second tier suppliers made individual parts. The first tier suppliers were highly co-operative. There is a high degree of co-operation and information exchange between them. This greatly reduces the lead time in new product development as it avoids Re-inventing the wheel. Toyota also believes in having an overall technological development throughout their suppliers as well. It sends personnel to suppliers to compensate for greater working load. Besides that it also transfers senior working managers for top positions at their suppliers. This not only gives the suppliers greater insights to Toyotas management practices but is also a move to make the suppliers master Lean production practices initiated by Toyota. Related to flexibility, the following can be said. Since Toyota strives for a long-term relationship with its suppliers and also pursues a single-sourcing strategy for their strategic components, it does leave the OEM vulnerable for disruptions. But, the single-sourcing strategy is also a means to establish a long-term and flexible relationship with a supplier. Since each supplier shares its destiny with other suppliers and Toyota, the level of collaboration horizontally and vertically is higher. Therefore, a singly sourcing strategy itself is considered to be as hazardous, the relationship itself is far more flexible then a more economic-oriented relationship between a buyer-and-supplier. The concept of minimal production cost is so well practice that the vendor pricing is also done on Market Price Minus concept rather than Supplier Cost Plus This is basically a value analysis to the end user. By this particular move they try to provide the necessary value to the end product at minimal manufacturing cost. Besides that the production smoothening concept enables the suppliers to maintain a constant business volumes. Overall the intention of the company is to maintain long term relationships with co-operation and team work. Procurement Toyota does not partner with its suppliers just functionally but in operation terms as well. Suppliers are integral elements of Toyota. They are geographically located within 56 miles radius. A security of guaranteed order is given which enables them to produce the best quality raw materials at cheapest cost achieving economies of scale. Toyota does not believe in choosing supplier as a lowest bidder. But it believes in gradual mutual improvement. It believes in vendor creation and development. As an initiative in this direction it trains its suppliers as per required. Packaging is also given a great importance with respect to transportation efficiency. Packaging is done in medium box size and small pallets. There is a dedicated transport service. Consistent daily route and periodic route revision is provided so as to cater to even smaller requirements. Supplier Relations Toyota has a supplier partnership hierarchy in which it develops or builds relations with its suppliers. This is called as supplier partnership hierarchy. This hierarchy is as described below. Kaizen and training 6. Interlocking Structure Joint Improvement 7. Mutual Understanding and Trust Information Sharing Compatible Capabilities Control System As per this particular hierarchy what Toyota tries to achieve is create levels of responsibilities in the tiers itself along with strict cost and timing awareness. It has integrated the JIT (Just In Time) approach also Toyota can be considered as the first automobile brand that introduced a clear need for flexibility in its entire business system. Toyotas lean philosophy is not only restricted to its manufacturing system: it describes a philosophy that incorporates a collection of tools and techniques into the business processes to optimize time, human resources, assets, and productivity while improving the quality level of products and services to their customers. Currently, several automobile brands clearly recognize the strength of lean thinking in relation to increase flexibility in their supply chain activities. In the dyadic relationship between a buyer and supplier, emphasis is put on how the work can be done smoothly in order to improve quality and reduce costs. Best value procurement becomes more important instead of merely a cost-oriented approach that ensures a close relationship with suppliers. First tier suppliers are incorporated into the production development program. This means that suppliers make their own engineering decisions instead of designing on the basis of blueprints solely. Next to this, these suppliers have their own 2ndtier suppliers under itself who supply parts for these components. This ensures that the exchange of information is possible horizontally which improves the collaboration between suppliers. This collaborative aspect is of major importance in a relationship when market demand (or other influences) requ ires changes of demand in the buyer-supplier relationship. This collaborative aspect among suppliers is rather uncommon in many industries since sharing information increases the risk of losing the next bidding process among suppliers to an assembler. As a preliminary conclusion, the Toyota cases sheds light on the mix, volume, new product and delivery time aspects of flexibility in SCM. MANUFACTURING Toyota believes in continuous development by adopting lean production process and is a pioneered in TPS known as (Toyota Production System). The system is designed on Pull strategy and customer is at the prime focus in the entire production facility. It implements lean production facility which has features like Cellular layouts and could be set up in small time. It has pull scheduling emphasizing decreased wastes. Loss aversion is one of the basic feature of lean. Besides that Toyota also assures six sigma qualities. The overall result of this policy being excellent quality at low costs combined with fast response abilities. Exhibit 3 shows some key principles of Lean manufacturing by Toyota DISTRIBUTION It applies Toyota way to manage dealers based on 3 key principles Complete freedom to dealers to make decisions. It helps them invest in right things to improve. Dealers become extremely proactive because of this move Toyota believes in joint development with dealers. It believes in organic growth with dealers Competition is key to improvement Exhibit 4 shows the geographical distribution of Toyota WHAT MAKES TOYOTA DIFFERENT FROM ITS COMPETITORS? Toyota has an earthquake resilient supply chain- An pioneering initiative Toyota and other Japanese automakers were forced to halt a large portion of their production both inside and outside Japan for months after the earthquake and tsunami cut off the supply of hundreds of parts from the countrys devastated northeast. Toyota was taking three steps to fight supply chain risks that he expected would be completed in roughly five years. The first is to further standardize parts across Japanese automakers so they could share common components that could be manufactured in several locations. The second step is to ask suppliers further down the chain to hold enough inventory perhaps a few months worth for specialized components that cannot be built in more than one location, or take anti-quake measures that guarantee safety against any tremor or tsunami. Part of the second step would involve developing technology that would provide more options for parts and materials, such as substituting rare earths found mostly in China. The third step to becoming more resilient was to make each region independent in its parts procurement so that a disaster in Japan would not affect production overseas.

Censorship Essay -- essays research papers

Families all over America spend evening’s together watching t.v. This seems to be one of America’s favorite pastimes. But with all the violence that is involved with television programs the question arises on weither or not network television should be censored. It seems unlogical for theses censoring to take place. Network television should not be censored because of our freedom of speech rights, more violence is on cable, and it is the parent’s responsibility to monitor what children are viewing not the networks.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã¢â‚¬Å"I do not favor censorship and I am jealous of my First Amendment Rights,† Eron pg 617 To evoke censorship onto network television would most definitely take away our first amendment right. We as Americans deserve the right to freedom of speech. Many people fought long and hard so that we, as Americans, have such rights as they are stated in the Bill of Rights. To start censorship on Network television may seem like a small threat to our rights, but will become so much more. With censorship television shows and producers would not be able to freely show what they want their viewers to see. It in turn is the exact same as telling someone they can not say something they wish to say. Censorship may stop our children from seeing violent acts on t.v., but in return will take away one of our most precious rights as Americans.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  In addition to loss of one of our basic rights, it seems unlogical to censor network t...

Discrimination Challenges Essay -- Racial Relations, Social Issues, Ha

Growing up in the early 1900’s was not easy especially if you were a women and/or black. Hansberry was both and with that, she faced discrimination challenges. As she grew as a women and writer, a person respected her more and saw her for more than her race and the fact she was a woman. Throughout her life, she fought for her rights and stood up for a cause, until her early tragic death from cancer. Lorraine Hansberry grew up during the American Civil Rights movement, managed to overcome the hard times of segregation, the lack of women’s rights, and the harsh criticism of the critics to become a strong writer, which she used to make a difference for African Americans through all her writings. #1 Hansberry grew up in trying times with her two parents, from the beginning she wanted to make a difference. â€Å"Lorrain Vivian Hansberry was born in Chicago, Illinois, in 1930, to Carl A. Hansberry and Nanny Perry Hansberry and was the youngest of four children.†(#4) â€Å"Throughout her childhood, thanks to her family’s deep involvement in the black community, she was surrounded by black politics, culture, and economics. Her father, a relator, was very active in the NAACP and†¦her mother, a former schoolteacher, was a ward committeewoman†¦Ã¢â‚¬ (#4) When she was eight her family moved into a white community but was later forced out. â€Å"Hansberry learned another lesson in pride in 1938 when her father, risking jail, challenged Chicago’s real estate convents, which legally upheld housing discrimination, by moving his own family into a white neighborhood.† (#4). â€Å"Hansberry herself believed religion was a crutch†¦ and this belie f is reflected in her near-dismissal of both Christianity and the native religion of Zatembe in Les Blancs.† (Paper #2). Facing many ... ... in the Sun; Canned Film Festavel special award and Screen Writers Guide nomination, both 1961, both for screenplay, A Raisin in the Sun.† (http://libproxy.wcjc.cc.tx.us:2368) (#9) â€Å"Hansberry was named the â€Å"most promising playwrite† of the season by Variety’s poll of New York drama critic’s.†(#9) â€Å"But most critics did not perceive Hansberry as a particulary political or â€Å"black† writer, but rather as one who dealt more with human universals.† (#9) With only a short amount of time spent in this world, Hansberry was able to make difference to many people inside and outside of the literature world. She stood up for her rights, which helped her find love and peace. Hansberry faced many tough challenges throughout her life from race discrimination to harsh critics on her books and plays but she believed in herself and took charge to try to make a difference.

Alone on a Mountaintop Summary Essay

In â€Å"Alone in a Mountaintop†, an excerpt from Lonesome Traveler (1960), Jack Kerouac describes his journey west as â€Å"a fire lookout†. Jack Kerouac stated that he was â€Å"tired† do city life and sought solitude, so†[he]applied† to be â€Å"a fire lookout† and went west (218). (218) Kerouac started his journey by driving towards the Cascades, followed by taking a â€Å"lift†, riding on a ferry, followed by a tugboat, and climbing with a horse and mule up the northern cascade mountain. He them noted how the further on he traveled the less â€Å"inhabitants† he noticed. After two days of waiting for Andy, the muleskinner, and Assistant Ranger Marty Gohlke, Jack describes how they took the tugboat up †Ross Lake† and started up the mountain with mules packed with enough supplies for sixty-three days and nights on Desolation mountain. Kerouac described how he reacted when they came upon what was to be his summer home and then noted how Andy and Marty helped him set up camp. He then settled into bed for the night. (222-223)  Kerouac noted that he was now alone, Andy and Marty left. He then spent the day cleaning and turned in early to be awoken to the sounds of nature. The job, as Kerouac noted, was to watch out for fires and he noted one storm. Jack felt sympathy for all of the smoke jumpers. He noted that most days were routine. He ate breakfast and radioed in. Kerouac would lay in the meadow and eat around noon, and by nightfall he had gathered his firewood to cook his supper. Kerouac noted that two months had passed. (223-224) Kerouac explained that he discussed that the journey to solitude does not matter where you are; but it’s in one’s mind. (227-228) Jack concluded by noting as he would lead a renewed life, and as he left his summer home he â€Å"turned and blessed† â€Å"the little pagoda on top† of Desolation Mountain which he had come to adore (228). (228)

A Boy Called It

The deficits David Pelzer will have to overcome according to biological and environmental foundations and emotional and social development will deal primarily with the neglect he suffered as a child.This environmental history will play a major role and an obstacle at being accepted into new schools, new families and in any future job he holds.   He will have to come to terms with the ‘normal’ relationships children and parents have as opposed to his neglected childhood upbringing by not only his mother, but the social service system and foster families.The way in which David experience mental health is through the actions of his mother.   His mother, Catherine Roerva, tortured David both physically and emotionally by not even considering him a son, or a human being but an ‘it’.As such her mental health made it impossible for her to raise her child and instead her disease (and her alcoholism) made her torture him, not feed or clothe him and basically not treat him as a son not to mention a person, â€Å"SMACK, mother hits me in the face and I topple to the floor.   I know better than to stand there and take the hit.   I learned the hard way that she takes that as an act of defiance, which means more hits or worst of all no food.I regain my posture and dodge her looks as she screams into my ears†(Pelzer 3).   To a young child, such experiences of mental health make it detrimental to truly experience anything normal for his sense of normalcy is warped due to his exposure of these horrific experiences.Although David did have one of the worst childhood abuse cases in the state of California (he was caged in the basement, not allowed to eat, and was threatened physically almost daily) he did end up in the child welfare system where he tried to adjust to a new life outside of his mother’s abuse.Finally at the age of 12 David was taken from his mother’s care thanks to the help of school teachers and other authori ties and at that time he entered into the social welfare system through foster care.   In this system David experienced other types of both horrible and kind human activity for which he goes into detail with his other book entitled The Lost Boy: A A Foster Child’s Search for the Love of a Family.On the issue of biological deficits, David Pelzer may have to face the fact that his mother neglected him after he was born,Genetic counseling is a communication process designed to help couples assess theirChances of giving birth to a baby with a hereditary disorder and choose the best course of action in view of risks and family goals.As such, David’s mother, given the choice may not have had her son because of her own actions which was detrimental to his health.   In David’s case, it is not a hereditary disorder but more of an environmental disorder that he has in him.Works CitedPelzer, David. (1995).  Ã‚   A Boy Called It.   HCI. 1995.Wall, Charles M. (April, 1975). Child Abuse: A Societal Problem   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   with Educational  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Implications. Peabody Journal of Education. 52 (3). 222-225.  

Poet’s emphasis Essay

Although poem A contain a thematic unity but it is manifested that poet’s emphasis remained on creating a homogeneous lyrical whole instead of developing the theme in an elaborative way and in an elevated poetical manner. There is weak sentimentality that pervades the whole poem. The most important defect of the poem is that it takes into account a wide range of human roles in life and tried to culminate this human experience into the ultimate reality of death. In this attempt, poet fails to create a unifocal and forceful impact about death in the mind of the reader. Although the main though is not traditional or orthodox but poet does not present any philosophical facets, psychological impact or any other unique reflection about death. Furthermore, he is unable to manifest a great skill in making use of the arts and artifices of verse. So poem is an abject failure. Poet is unable to enjoy the visual delight of death or suffer from it pain and terror. He only changes from one role to another role with the sad demise of the first. Personal Preferences Ranking Poem F Poem C Poem D Poem E Poem B Poem A Poem F The theme is same as other poem ranked above but thematic expressions is the most important thing that elevates this poem above all other poems. Thematic expression manifested in a subtle and delicate way. So delicacy of thought mingles with height of literary expression. Subtle metaphorical attributions to seasons are another important feature of the poem. He does not rely on a single set of metaphors or symbol but he uses the financial symbols in the next quatrain to covey his message and skillfully relates it to the main theme of death and destruction. The most beautiful line of the poem is line 7 where he terminates the effect of death. He is of the view that by reproduction and regeneration, one can produce a replica of his own self, so death can not destroy him. He can conquer the death and destruction. Hence these off-spring(s) will make â€Å"thee living†. So poet has pitched the though at a higher level as compared with other poet and have utilized his language skills to create an effective expression to convey that style. Poet does not show any mystery or fascination about death. If death results in despair and terror, it also brings rest and peace. Poet negates both these conventional concept and gives a new idea that death does not terminate life if one wishes to. He can reproduce siblings like him and this is a continuation of his life. There is not magical abstraction in the poem and everything is presented and represented in clear manner with the help of concrete imagery.

The Value of Philosophy

The Value of Philosophy and the Point of Our Lives It is basic human nature to question. There is a curiosity inside all of us that leads us to wonder about everything. Curiosity leads to examination, which leads to contemplation. Through this process the mysteries of life and the universe are slowly discovered. But there are some questions that can never be answered with certainty. These questions make up the study of philosophy, and are considered using reason and logic. Two of the main arguments in philosophy discuss its value and the meaning of life.Socrates, Bertrand Russell, Blaise Pascal and Thomas Nagel attempt in their own way to reason through these questions and form their own unique answers. In Bertrand Russell’s â€Å"The Value of Philosophy†, he discusses what philosophy is and why it is important. He concludes that the value of philosophy is rooted in its very uncertainty. He maintains that all those questions that cannot be answered are a part of philoso phical discussion, and questions with definite answers are a product of the physical sciences.When Russell is explaining in detail the value of philosophy he says, â€Å"These questions enlarge our conception of what is possible, enrich our intellectual imagination and diminish the dogmatic assurance which closes the mind against speculation† (Russell 12). For Russell, philosophy opens the mind and dispels ignorance and dogmatism, allowing us to think more freely and consider more possibilities. In Plato’s â€Å"Apology: Defence of Socrates,† Socrates also holds the view that philosophy is a necessary practice for all persons when he argues, â€Å"An unexamined life is no life for a human being to live† (Plato 40).Socrates has just been found guilty of corrupting the youth and not acknowledging the gods of the city. Once the verdict is reached, he argues for execution rather than exile because he believes that his study of philosophy is supreme in his lif e and it would be more honorable to die than to flee and study philosophy elsewhere, under subpar conditions than those in Athens. Philosophy is important to him because it allows people to think for themselves rather than go along with what they are told to believe.Russell and Socrates both uphold that the importance of philosophy come from what is does for the mind. Philosophy opens our minds, allowing unawareness and hypocrisy to dissipate. By questioning, we come to know more about the universe, and ourselves. However, Russell and Socrates do disagree on the certainty of truth. Socrates believes that there is certain truth, and one can reach it through reason and contemplation. Conversely, Russell maintains that everything is uncertain, but philosophy is still valuable because thinking of all possible explanations enlarges our minds.Through philosophy we are released from presumption, obliviousness, and bigotry. Whether or not we can know the absolute truth, contemplation throug h reason still holds immense importance for human beings. I draw from Socrates as well as Russell when I consider the value of philosophy. Philosophy allows me to see the world for what it is, instead of being bogged down by the opinion of the masses, or the societal norms. Through reason I can consider the truth and it’s importance to me. Similar to Russell, I see that much of philosophy’s greatness lies in its uncertainty.We cannot know for sure what the answers are, but through observation and thought we can form many possibilities, enlarging our minds to hold more than one solution to any given problem. Consequently this allows us to have a more open mind, and we can approach life with a broadened sense of self. Another question philosophers ask is â€Å"What is the point of our lives? † The answer varies greatly between each individual, demonstrated by the separate thoughts of Socrates, Pascal, and Nagel. Socrates argues that it is worse than death to be un just.He gives some examples of what qualifies as unjust. Injustice includes: lying, injuring others, breaking the law of a just state, and hurting those who hurt you. Above all, Socrates argues that the point of our lives is to seek the truth. He condemns the sophists because they have no regard for the truth; they only appreciate material things. The sophists were a group of philosophers around the time of Socrates who taught the youth of Athens how to win arguments, whether what they were arguing for was true or not. Socrates maintains that this is not the way to live.Life is not about money or material things, rather, the point of life is to be just, honorable, and true to yourself as well as the laws of the state. He even argues that one ought rather die than live a bad life. â€Å"I suggest that it is not death that is hard to avoid, gentlemen, but wickedness is far harder, since it is fleeter of foot than death† (Plato 41). Socrates claims that it is much easier to live in wickedness than die. Therefore, injustice and dishonor are two of the greatest evils and one should avoid them at all costs.In â€Å"The Wager,† Pascal presents a view of life centered on belief in God. Similar to Socrates, he upholds that life is about pursuing the truth as well as living a good life. He argues for the existence of absolute truth when he states, â€Å"Is there not one substantial truth, seeing there are so many things which are not the truth itself† (Pascal 83). Pascal maintains that this â€Å"one substantial truth† is God, and reasons for His existence. He claims that in life, we have two choices: to believe in God, or to not believe in God.We must accept the wager; we have no choice. There are four possible outcomes from this wager, according to Pascal. If God does indeed exist, and we so believe that he exists, we will gain infinite bliss; if we do not believe that he exists, then we are damned for eternity. However, if God does not exi st and we believe the same, then we lose nothing, but we also gain nothing. If we believe that He exists and He does not, then we also lose nothing, but have lived a good life with faith, humility, and compassion.Above all, Pascal wants us to believe. His main points are summarized when he writes, â€Å"If you gain, you gain all; if you lose, you lose nothing† (Pascal 83). We must wager, and we must believe in God, for He is the ultimate truth. Thomas Nagel discusses absurdity, which is the discrepancy between how seriously humans take their lives, and how uncertain life actually is. Everything is open to doubt, and that causes us to feel that our lives are insignificant, and therefore, nothing matters.He maintains that humans deem life absurd through epistemological skepticism, or the view that nothing can be known with certainty. He presents five options, which vary from completely avoiding life’s absurdity to embracing it fully. His thoughts on absurdity and his sol ution to it are best portrayed when he states, â€Å"If†¦there is no reason to believe that anything matters, then that does not matter either, and we can approach our lives with irony instead of heroism or despair† (Nagel 27).By accepting the view that nothing matters, we accept the view that believing nothing matters also does not matter, freeing us from absurdity. Nagel urges us to not despair, but also not take life too seriously. Pascal, Nagel, and Socrates present different views of how to make our lives worthwhile; but all agree that our lives should be spent in search of the truth, which is reached through honest reasoning and individual contemplation. When faced with the absurdity and uncertainty of life, Pascal and Nagel agree that suicide is not a legitimate escape.It is not necessary and ends up robbing us of the possibility of infinite happiness or a life free from absurdity. I agree with Socrates’ view, that dishonor and injustice must be avoided in order to live a good and honest life. I accept Pascal’s wager, and am willing to place my bet on the existence of God, hoping to gain all. I have also experienced some of the absurdity Nagel discusses and have come to my own conclusions. I maintain that we should live for today. By living in the present we escape the fear of the future.We do not get hung up on the uncertainties, but still acknowledge their existence. I also agree with Nagel that life should be approached with irony, and we should not take ourselves too seriously. Russell, Socrates, Pascal and Nagel all present plausible answers to the questions â€Å"What is the value of philosophy,† and â€Å"What is the purpose of our lives†. They use reason and logic to reach their conclusions. Through philosophy, we can broaden our minds and free ourselves from the dogmatism of society.Once our minds are expanded, we are able to think with reason and discover, for ourselves, the truth. References Nagel, Thom as, â€Å"The Absurd,† In John Perry, Michael Bratman and John Martin Fischer, editors, Introduction to Philosophy: Classical and Contemporary Readings, Fourth Edition (New York: Oxford University Press) 2007. Pascal, Blaise, â€Å"The Wager,† In John Perry, Michael Bratman and John Martin Fischer, editors, Introduction to Philosophy: Classical and Contemporary Readings, Fourth Edition (New York: Oxford University Press) 2007.Plato, â€Å"Apology: Defence of Socrates,† In John Perry, Michael Bratman and John Martin Fischer, editors, Introduction to Philosophy: Classical and Contemporary Readings, Fourth Edition (New York: Oxford University Press) 2007. Russell, Bertrand, â€Å"The Value of Philosophy,† In John Perry, Michael Bratman and John Martin Fischer, editors, Introduction to Philosophy: Classical and Contemporary Readings, Fourth Edition (New York: Oxford University Press) 2007.

Discuss how you perceive risk. What toxicological risks do we Essay

Discuss how you perceive risk. What toxicological risks do we experience in our daily lives, sometimes without recognition Wh - Essay Example Sources of risks The most public health threatening toxicological risk is attributed to diet which contain with them carcinogenic chemicals that results into tumours, this include certain foodstuffs and food additives that are commonly used unknowingly. Factories emitting toxic gases also predispose individuals to contracting health related complications, chemical substances like benzene when inhaled leads to leukemia. Radon gas that is naturally produced from the ground is equally poisonous. Use of pesticides and other chemical substances to control microbial infections can also cause toxicity to human health; the toxic substances gain entrance in the body through inhalation and dermal route leading to mutations, oncogenesis and teratogenesis. Predisposing activities The risks can be accelerated by consumption of food stuffs notably vegetables that are grown in areas supplied with sewerage water leading to heavy metals presence in the plant cells that induces oncogenicity, use of pe sticides without protective gadgets impact negatively to the body hence mitigation measures have to be complied with. Consumption of salads may contain staphylococcus aureus exotoxins a causative agent of toxic shock syndrome.

Enterprise Zones Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Enterprise Zones - Essay Example The confusion occurs in a considerable number of areas where states have given their enterprise zone programs: renaissance zones, keystone opportunity zones, development zones and program areas, for example. The states’ enterprise zones present a compelling opportunity to explore the spread of ideas in the American federal system. The enterprise zones have caused a significant debate within the framework of urban policy and economic development over the past two decades. The idea of cutting taxes and regulations as a free market remedy for impoverished areas was originally a frontend brought forward by conservatives and denounced by many liberals. Today, the state zones that populate the landscape of rural and urban areas hardly resemble the anti-government, supply-side approach. A new vibrant, federal empowered zones and enterprise community programs require the inclusion of social programs which provide grants for individual zones. As to their mode of operation, enterprise zones provide special state and local economic-development incentives that encourage commercial investments and promotion of job creation in the economy. The program primarily aims at providing tax incentives to businesses within an enterprise zone. Eligibility for benefits from the program depends on physical presence in a given zone: existing businesses and those being relocated to such areas are eligible. These incentives include: hiring tax credit, sale and use tax credits, deductions of business expenses, carryover of net operating losses and deduction of net interest that lenders and banks charge. A business located within an enterprise zone may reduce its state income tax by a percentage of wages paid to qualified employees. It may also claim up to half of employee’s wages within the first year of employment. The drawbacks to enterprise zone system range from costs, training and turnover to

Bank of England Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Bank of England - Essay Example This paper highlights that it the time of the financial crisis, banks tend to raise the interest rate to discourage investors from borrowing money that is due to depositors. Yield curves are used to predict the changes in economic output and its overall growth. The line plots the interest rates at a given point in time of bonds having similar credit quality but differing in their maturity period. As the paper outlines the shape arising from the yield curve is significant to the investors as it helps give an idea of what the future interest rates change and the change of the economic environment of the country. Yield curves are of three types; Under this type of curve bonds with a shorter-term maturity period will normally yield higher than bonds with longer-term maturity period, which will tend to have lesser returns, this can be a sign of the upcoming recession. When the yield curve is flat, it means that shorter- and longer-term yields are relatively close to each other in terms of their yield; this can be a prediction of an economic transition. The gradient of a yield curve is a significant factor to investors; the bigger the gradient of the yield curve, the bigger the difference between short- and long-term rates of return to investment.The UK government is prudent to note the liability of the economy. The liability nominal yield curves are retrieved from UK gilt prices a nd General Collateral (GC) rates and the UK index-linked bond prices. Gilt-edged securities are Foreseeable and guaranteed for a future pay by the Government to the holder of the gilt. The payment is made in a fixed cash payment (coupon) semi-annually until the maturity date. At maturity, the holder receives the final coupon payment and the principal. Index-linked gilt is intended to:

Strategic issues in banking and insurance Essay

Strategic issues in banking and insurance - Essay Example In developed world where most of the sector is de-regulated and enjoy substantial degree of freedom and autonomy, political influences may not be there however, in developing countries, this may not be the case. Developing countries do not have very well grown financial sector and most of the institutions are either directly owned or controlled by the government themselves or governments have the substantial share in them. This allows the government to largely influence the banks especially to engage into practices which may not be in direct interest of the deposit holders of those banks. The era after 9/11 have seen a new shift into the industry in terms of influence of political forces on it. The anti-money laundering rules, terrorist funding etc were some of the key strategic issues which put extra pressures on the banks and insurance companies to devise methods and strategies which can effectively help in tackling issues like illegal money laundering, channeling of funds through SWIFT etc to the supposedly terrorist organizations etc. The current economic trends especially the crisis emerged due to the subprime mortgages is considered now as one of the great strategic challenge faced by most of the players in the financial sector industry. Subprime mortgages are considered as the threat which has largely been created by the banks themselves as they tend to violate their own prudent lending policies in order to capture the market. This has therefore provided them an opportunity to earn at the cost of incurring high cost. â€Å"Sub-Prime lending typically has been characterized as lending at relatively costly interest rates and fees to credit impaired or otherwise high risk borrowers.† (Lax, Manti and Raca). Subprime loans are among the newly popular mortgage products, such as interest-only loans, for people with strained budgets, including first-time buyers. Homeowners increasingly use them to refinance and consolidate household debts

Astronomy Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words - 4

Astronomy - Essay Example Global warming due to climate change is recognized by many individuals, but big business, politicians, and deniers have caused serious doubt among some. The five following current articles reviewed show the perception of today’s world about the climate change occurring. â€Å"Climate change may trigger earthquakes and volcanoes† is an article about the link between volcanoes and earthquakes and climate change. Even slight climate changes can cause responses of the earth’s crust. â€Å"Evidence of a link between climate and the rumblings of the crust has been around for years, but only now is it becoming clear just how sensitive rock can be to the air, ice and water aboveâ€Å" (Fisher). With the warming of the earth, the sensitive crust is erupting more than other. This article showed how new technology is proving the link between earthquakes and volcanoes due to global warming. It also presents the idea the whole world is already being affected by global warming, not just the Artic regions. Global warming affects the whole Earth. â€Å"Scientists: Pace of Climate Change Exceeds Estimates† is article reviewing the expectations of world scientists about global warming and the rapid climate change. Scientists are now finding out their original estimates of climate change and global warming. At first the predictions were bad, but more recently the predictions have become worse. Scientists had not planned on the earth’s reaction to climate change worsening the affects of the global warming. The cycle of warming and worsening has already begun. Scientists have found: The permafrost holds 1 trillion tons of carbon, and as much as 10 percent of that could be released this century, Field said. Along with carbon dioxide melting permafrost releases methane, which is 25 times more potent a greenhouse gas than carbon dioxide. In â€Å"Address threat of climate change† a passionate plea for the world to take action to stop climate change is asserted. Since

International Marketing ..Rococo Chocolates Research Paper - 3

International Marketing ..Rococo Chocolates - Research Paper Example The primary objective of this study is to find out the value of the concept of expanding the business of Rococo Chocolates in France. The other objectives are to find out the market potential of the Rococo Chocolates in France and the way of promoting the product to achieve a sustainable position in the French market. The integrated marketing communications and branding strategies are discussed to find out the optimum path of success in the new market. The international marketing aspects have become a great opportunity for many companies. The Rococo Chocolates which is originated from London is now looking for great business opportunities in France. It is always very much challenging for any business entity to go global or to setup new business in other country. However, in this case the market is very much challenging as the growth level of the chocolate sales is not too high in the projected market, but with the help of out of the box thinking process the hidden path of the success can be achieved. To have a sustainable position in the French chocolate market, Rococo has to go through many changes accordingly. The strength and weakness from the inside and the opportunity and threat from the market must be analyzed properly to put step into the new market. Rococo Chocolates was founded in March 1983 by its owner Chantal Coady (Rococo Chocolates). For the last two decades the company has grown steadily. It has the great product line of different flavors of chocolates, and it also has different accessories related to chocolates. However, after catering the London with the flagship store in Motcomb St, in the center of Belgravia in London and with other two in London the Rococo has gain a great reputation within the London for selling rich and high quality chocolates. The founder and owner Coady is also the head of the chocolate society in London (Coe & Coe, 2007). With the vast experience of

Corporate social responsibility british airports plc Essay

Corporate social responsibility british airports plc - Essay Example Seeing the potential of the project BAPLC share holders seek long term benefits and have also accepted that the approach for development should meet the need for corporate social responsibility. (CSR). Over the years the concept of CSR has graduated from that of philanthropy to greater involvement of corporate in communities and now is considered as a corporate-community partnership for sustained growth and development. This has also been institutionalised internationally through the Global Compact and in the European Union through the White Paper on CSR. CSR has thus emerged as a universally accepted norm of social responsibility for corporate. It has a number of components which are discussed in succeeding paragraphs. Universalisation of the principles of CSR and corporate governance crystallized during the World Economic Forum on 31 January 1999, when the United Nation's Secretary-General Kofi Annan asked business leaders to join the international initiative led by the UN known as the Global Compact. This was slated to bring together the companies, UN agencies, labor and civil society to support universal principles with reference to environmental and social issues. Formal launching of the Global Compact took place in New York on 26 July 2000. ... These principles are as given below:- (a) Businesses should support and respect the protection of internationally proclaimed human rights within their sphere of influence; (b) Business should make sure they are not complicit in human rights abuses. (c) Businesses should uphold the freedom of association and the effective recognition of the right to collective bargaining (d) Businesses should uphold the elimination of all forms of forced and compulsory labour (e) Businesses should uphold the effective abolition of child labour. (f) Businesses should uphold the elimination of discrimination in respect of employment and occupation. (g) Businesses should support a precautionary approach to environmental challenges. (h) Businesses should undertake initiatives to promote greater environmental responsibility (i) Businesses should encourage the development and diffusion of environmentally friendly technologies (j) Businesses should work against corruption in all its forms, including extortion and bribery. (Unglobal : 2006) The underlying principle of corporate governance related CSR is that the companies should undertake additional social responsibilities voluntarily which go beyond the regulatory frame work for good conduct of business and relate to the issues of social development, environmental protection, respect for fundamental rights of employees as well as the local population and adopt a policy of open governance. Thus society is an important stake holder in the company. This approach provides a unique opportunity for dialogue and management of change particularly in the present setting where BAPLC is establishing a new project in an area where local resistance is anticipated. The concept has support

When will they run out Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

When will they run out - Essay Example Scientists predict that no sooner than later people will start getting badly affected by floods, extreme temperatures, climate changes and lack of water and food. Human population will increase by 50% by 2050 and we know that human activities greatly affect the climate changes thus causing global warming. For example, human induced developmental activities in factories and industries lead to emission of toxic and greenhouse gases thus increasing the earth’s average temperature (see Figure 2). Ehrlich and Ehrlich state that â€Å"Global warming, acid rain, depletion of the ozone layer, vulnerability to epidemics, and exhaustion of soils and ground-water are all†¦related to population size.† This leads to planet un-sustainability because crop failures and AIDS will lead to many premature deaths in the coming years which will be a natural measure of population control. Since our planet’s natural resources are already being over-consumed, the increasing populati on will naturally cause global warming because too many people consume carbon-based energy. We use energy to exist, develop and grow. Energy makes our lives simpler for us. The energy industry produces for us heat, light and force. Since our needs are not going to get fewer in the next twenty years, therefore, as Taylor and Parish (viii) state, â€Å"By all accounts, the energy sector will be the growth industry of the future.† They also state that â€Å"The U.S. Department of Energy estimates that the United States will need 44 percent more electricity by 2020.† This is because the demand will increase since the country’s economy and every other field is digitally driven. Today, computers and all other technological tools take around 13% of electricity produced and this is going to increase in the coming years. Also, since internet has become a significant source of telecommunication in all informational and entertainment activities, the demand of energy will continue to increase. Renewable energy

Re-Branding Sunsilk Back Into the UK Hair Market Essay Example for Free

Re-Branding Sunsilk Back Into the UK Hair Market Essay Originally launched in the Netherlands in 1956, Sunsilk provides haircare solutions in 80 countries around the globe. No matter the hair type or problem, we have the products and the know how to make your hair feel and look beautiful. Our passion in life is to help women celebrate looking beautiful everyday, anywhere. Bad hair days are history Take on life with confidence and consign bad hair days to the bin with Sunsilk. Our range of products incorporates various natural ingredients and extracts with their own specific properties; chamomile for cleansing without limpness, ginseng extract for strength and more for any and all requirements. Get great advice and tips on hair care from us too. Key facts * Number 1 in Asia, Latin America and the Middle East * Sales of more than â‚ ¬1 billion a year * Sells in 80 countries * Also sold as Elidor, Hazeline, Seda and Sedal * Recent awards: Holds the Guinness world record for the most heads of hair washed and styled in one day Sunsilk is a hair care brand, primarily aimed at women, produced by the Unilever group, which is now considered the worlds leading company in hair conditioning and the second largest in shampoo[1]. Sunsilk is Unilever’s leading hair care brand, and ranks as one of the Anglo-Dutch conglomerates â€Å"billion dollar brands. Sunsilk shampoos, conditioners and other hair care products are sold in 69 countries worldwide. Sunsilk is sold under a variety of different names in markets around the world including Elidor, Seda and Sedal. The brand is strongest in Asia, Latin America and the Middle East and is the number one hair care brand in India, Brazil, Argentina, Bolivia, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and Thailand. * 1954 – Sunsilk first launched in the UK.  * 1955 – First advertisement of Sunsilk appeared on TV. * 1964 – Launch of Sunsilk hair spray. * 1968 – Sunsilk shampoo re-packaged in PVC bottles. * 1971 – Launch of Sunsilk conditioner. * 1975 – Sunsilk became the biggest name in hair care. * 2003 – Sunsilk glossy magazine launched in Argentina. * 2008 – Social networking site Gang of Girls was introduced in India. First advertising Sunsilk began advertising in 1955 with a campaign that focused on specific hair issues. In the UK, the campaign focused on shiny hair. During the 1960s, a television commercial of Sunsilk featured a tune composed by John Barry, â€Å"The girl with the sun in her hair†, which proved so popular that it was subsequently released as a pop single. Sunsilk radio commercials were aired in 1969 featuring Derek Nimmo to support the new Sunsilk Herb shampoo for problem hair called â€Å"Hairy Tales†. In the early 1970s, Sunsilk was advertised with the slogan â€Å"All you need is Sunsilk†. Celebrity associations Madonna, Shakira, Marilyn Monroe, and Marian Rivera all featured in Sunsilks 2008 advertising campaign â€Å"Life Can’t Wait†[3] which launched with a Super Bowl XLII spot. The philosophy behind the campaign was about girls taking positive steps to gain better control of their lives â€Å"Hair On = Life On†. Actress and former Miss World Priyanka Chopra is the brand ambassador for Sunsilk in India. [4] In 2009, singer Delta Goodrem was announced as the face of Sunsilk in Australia. The singer and her music have since featured in several Sunsilk adverts.[5] In 2007, British girlband Girls Aloud launched a campaign for Sunsilk after securing a sponsorship deal worth over  £1,000,000.[6] Members Nicola Roberts, Nadine Coyle, Cheryl Cole, Kimberly Walsh and Sarah Harding all represented the brand, which included shooting a television commercial. Sunsilk also sponsored their following tour. Magazine In 2003, Sunsilk (Sedal) launched the first hair only glossy magazine in Argentina aiming to communicate to the professional hair industry. More than 800,000 copies are published each month. The magazine focuses on hair, fashion and beauty issues as well as showcasing hairdressers’ work. It is sold locally on news stands and distributed to hair salons. Gang of Girls In 2008, Sunsilk India launched a social networking site called Gang of Girls [7], which offered its users access to a variety of local and global experts to address various hair care needs through its content, blogs and live chat room. The site includes rich content of hair care and fashion, and users can also take part in interactive games and quizzes.In 2011, Sunsilk was listed in The Brand Trust Report published by Trust Research Advisory. Co-Creation collaboration From 2009 Sunsilk started working with a number of professional hair experts to develop new and improved products. Each hair â€Å"issue variant links to an expert† with the relevant specialist hair knowledge. For example, Dr Francesca Fusco, a New York dermatologist, co-created a â€Å"hairfall† variant for the brand. The line up also includes: Jamal Hammadi for Black Shine, Rita Hazan for Vibrant Colour, Teddy Charles for Plumped Up Volume, Thomas Taw for Damage Reconstruction, Ouidad for Defined Curls and Yuko Yamashita inventor of Japanese hair straightening process YUKO for Perfect Straight. Availability Sunsilk is available in over 60 countries worldwide. However Sunsilk products seem to be no longer available in the United States. The Sunsilk website has a list of countries where their products are sold, the USA is not one of them.

Pendahuluan Malaysia merupakan sebuah negara yang

Pendahuluan Malaysia merupakan sebuah negara yang 1.0 Pendahuluan *Pendahuluan {Englsh Translation Preliminary} similar to Pengenalan {Englsh Translation: Introduction} Read this essay in English here > Malaysia merupakan sebuah negara yang terdiri daripada lebih 200 kumpulan etnik. Antaranya ialah Melayu, Cina, India, Kadazan-Dusun, Iban dan lain-lain. Dengan penduduk yang pelbagai budaya ini, perpaduan etnik atau sebaliknya sentiasa menjadi agenda dalam pengurusan masyarakat dan pemerintahan negara ini. Oleh kerana wujudnya kepelbagaian budaya, agama dan bahasa dalam kalangan rakyat di negara ini, maka timbulah pelbagai masalah yang melibatkan hubungan etnik. Boleh dikatakan bahawa perkauman akan sentiasa menjadi batas pemisah antara rakyat pelbagai kaum. Keadaan ini seterusnya boleh melahirkan ketegangan dan konflik antara kaum dan seterusnya boleh menyebabkan berlakunya pertumpahan darah. Berdasarkan kepada peristiwa 13 Mei, beberapa perkara penting yang perlu dipandang serius dalam membina nagara bangsa yang bersatu padu. Dalam hal ini, ternyata faktor hubungan etnik yang harmonis menjadi anak kunci bagi keseimbangan antara kekukuhan ekonomi dan kestabilan politik. Hubungan etnik yang mantap sangat perlu dalam kalangan rakyat sesebuah negara yg mempunyai kepelbagaian dari segi agama, bahasa, budaya dan etnik. Rakyat Malaysiayang terdiri daripada pelbagai kaum dan agama perlu menganggap diri mereka sebagai bangsa Malaysia yang berfikir dan bertindak ke arah mencapai satu matlamat. Sejajar dengan ini, perpaduan yang sedia terjalin antara kaum di negara ini perlu diperkukuhkan lagi bagi mewujudkan suasana negara yang lebih aman, maju, selamat dan makmur. 2.0 Cabaran hubungan etnik 2.1 Cabaran hubungan etnik dari aspek ekonomi Salah satu cabaran hubungan etnik dalam aspek ekonomi ialah pemisahan fizikal. Pemisahan fizikal ini wujud kesan daripada dasar ‘pecah dan perintah yang diamalkan oleh penjajah British pada masa dahulu. Pemisahan fizikal ini menyebabkan menyebabkan sesuatu golongan etnik itu tidak mengenal atau berpeluang untuk berinteraksi dengan lebih kerap kerana tinggal di wilayah yang berbeza. Hal ini merenggangkan perhubungan perhubungan dan interaksi serta memperkuatkan lagi perasaan kekitaan dan etnosentrisme dalam kalangan anggota setiap etnik. Keadaan ini seterusnya akan menimbulkan prasangka, stereotaip dan mengekalkan kejahilan dalam kalangan ahli sesuatu golongan etnik terhadap golongan etnik yang lain. Setiap golongan etnik mempunyai sistem pendidikan yang tersendiri dan masih menggunakan sukatan pelajaran yang diamalkan di negara asal mereka. Pelajar Melayu belajar di sekolah Melayudan menggunakan bahasa Melayu. Orang India pula bersekolah di sekolah Tamil dan menggunakan bahasa Tamil. Manakala bagi pelajar Cina, mereka bersekolah di sekolah Cina dan menggunakan bahasa Mandarin. Keadaan ini menyebabkan interaksi sesama mereka hanya berkisar dalam kalangan etnik yang sama. Selain itu, kontrak sosial juga juga kerap dibangkitkan oleh sesetengah pihak. Kontrak sosial merupakan persetujuan yang dicapai semasa kemerdekaan dalam merangka perlembagaan. Antara isu yang sering ditimbulkan ialah kedudukan istimewa orang Melayu, kedudukan agama Islam, bahasa Melayu, dan sebagainya. Sebarang isu atau kontrak sosial yang dibangkitkan boleh membawa kepada kerenggangan hubungn etnik di Malaysia. 2.2 Cabaran hubungan etnik dari aspek ekonomi Dalam sektor ekonomi, terdapat jurang yang luas dari segi penguasaan ekonomi. Kebanyakan orang Melayu menguasai sektor pertanian yang agak mundur. Orang Cina umumnya menguasai sektor yang lebih maju seperti perniagaan dan perdagangan. Manakala orang India pula menguasai sektor ekonomi yang berasaskan ladang. Kesannya, wujud jurang pendapatan yang berbeza antara etnik. Dasar British yang meletakan kaum berdasarkan kepada pekerjaan menyebabkan etnik tertentu mendominasi dalam satu-satu bidang pekerjaan. Orang Melayu kebanyakannya terlibat dalam sektor pertanian, nelayan dan berkhidmat sebagai penjawat awam. Kebanyakan orang Cina pula terlibat dalam sektor perniagaan dan perlombongan. Manakala sebahagian besar orang India pula merupakan buruh di estet. Perbezaan ini telah menimbulkan rasa tidak puas hati dalam kalangan etnik tertentu. Secara tidak langsung, perkara ini memperkukuhkan lgi semangat perkauman. 2.3 Cabaran hubungan etnik dari aspek politik Di negara ini terdapat pelbagai parti politik yang berasaskan kumpulan etnik dan setiap parti politik akan memperjuangkan kepentingan kumpulan etnik yang diwakilinya. Politok perkauman ini boleh menimbulkan perasaan tidak senang hati dan mengukuhkan semangat perkauman jika penyuaraan kepentingan etnik tertentu dibuat tanpa mengambil kira kepentingan semua pihak. Jika isu perkauman seperti bahasa, kebudayaan, pendidikan, agama, kerakyatan dan ekonomi dibangkitkan, maka tindakan ini tidak akan menyumbang kea rah masyarakat yang bersatu padu. 2.4 Cabaran nilai antara etnik Malaysia merupakan negara yang terdiri daripada masyarakat majmuk. Oleh itu, terdapat pelbagai perbezaan dari segi agama, bahasa dan kebudayaan dalam masyarakat di Malaysia. Setiap kumpulan etnik mempertahankan kebudayaan dan adat resam mereka, mengutamakan etnik mereka dan mungkin juga menganggap kebudayaan mereka sahaja yang terbaik. Hal ini menyebabkan anggota etnik lebih mengutamakan anggota daripada etnik yang sama dalam memilih sahabat, mendapatkan pekerjaan dan natijah akhirnya akan mewujudkan polarisasi antara etnik. Selain daripada itu kewujudan akhbar yang pelbagai bahasa dengan mengutamakan kelompok etnik mereka akan memperkukuhkan lagi perasaan kumpulan etnik masing-masing. Cabaran dari segi kepentingan nilai ini akan mewujudkan masalah yang lebih besar jika fahaman etnosentrisme itu dijadikan pegangan dalam masyarakat. 2.5 Cabaran globalisasi Globalisasi merujuk kepada dunia tanpa sempadan dimana perhubungan menjadi semakin pintas dan cepat. Kita boleh mengetahui keadaan dunia luar dengan pantas dan cepat dan segala maklumat boleh disalurkan tanpa ada sekatan. Globalisasi membawa masuk pengaruh dari Barat dari segi ideology, budaya hedonism dan nilai negatif, ekonomi bebas, sains dan teknologi yang memusnahkan dan system politik yang dianggap terbaik bagi semua manusia. Melalui globalisasi, kuasa Barat mengeksport segala macam keburukan yang merosakkan negara dan alam sekitar, budaya hiburan dan pengeksplotasian sumber manusia dan bahan mentah. Gejala ini mengakibatkan lenyapnya nilai luhar dan pemikiran Barat diterima secara ke dalam masyarakat. Kejayaan mereka ini dibantu oleh masyarakat tempatan yang menganggap segala yang datang dari barat adalah baik dan moden. Keadaan ini akan memberi kesan kepada hubungan etnik, intergrasi, perpaduan, mudah terjadinya konflik dan lebih parah lagi mengundang rusuhan kaum. Secara tidak langsung, keadaan ini akan memburukan lagi hubungan etnik di Malaysia. 3.0 Peranan kerajaan dalam meningkatkan hubungan etnik 3.1 Penubuhan Jabatan Perpaduan Negara dan Integrasi Nasional Peristiwa rusuhan kaum pada 13 Mei 1969 telah membuka mata pelbagai pihak tentang pentingnya usaha-usaha yang lebih serius diberikan tumpuan dalam mengurus perbezaan serta sensitiviti yang terdapat dalam sesebuah masyarakat majmuk seperti Malaysia. Berikutan peristiwa tersebut, Majlis Gerakan Negara (MAGERAN) telah ditubuhkan. Pada 1 Julai 1969, Jabatan Perpaduan Negara di bawah perintah MAGERAN telah diwujudkan bagi menanggani isu-isu berhubung pembinaan semula perpaduan masyarakat di negara kita pada waktu itu (Jabatan Perpaduan Negara dan Integrasi Nasional,2006). Selepas pembubaran MAGERAN, Majlis Penasihat Perpaduan Negara telah ditubuhkan iaitu pada 23 Februari 1971. tanggungjawab bagi memupuk dan memelihara perpaduan antara kaum di negara ini terus diletakkan di bawah tanggungjawab Jabatan Perpaduan Negara. Antara 1990-2004, Jabatan Perpaduan Negara telah diletakkan semula di bawah Jabatan Perdana Menteri dengan nama Jabatan Perpaduan Negara dan Integrasi Nasional (JPNIN). Bermula daripada kemerdekaan sehingga kini, kerajaan telah merangka dan memberi penekanan kepada beberapa dasar dalam bidang sosioekonomi yang menjurus kepada perpaduan dan keharmonian masyarakat pelbagai kaum serta integrasi nasional. Dasar-dasar yang dimaksudkan termasuklah Dasar Pendidikan Kebangsaan, Dasar Kebudayaan Kebangsaan dan Dasar Ekonomi Baru. Dasar-dasar tersebut telah diperkukuh lagi dengan memperkenal Rukun Negara sebagai ideologi kebangsaan. Bagi mengurangkan tindak tanduk politik yang boleh memecahbelahkan rakyat, usaha telah diambil untuk membentuk Barisan Nasional. Sebagai tindakan susulan dalam memperlengkap dan memperkukuh usaha pembentukan bangsa Malaysia., beberapa dasar lain telah dibentuk. Antaranya ialah Dasar Pembangunan Negara, Dasar Wawasan Negara dan Dasar sosial Negara. Pendirian kerajaan telah menegaskan lagi dalam pernyataan Wawasan 2020. JPNIN melalui Pelan Tindakan Perpaduan dan Integrasi Nasional 2005-2010, telah merancang pelbagai usaha untuk memupuk dan mempertingkatkan perpaduan dan integrasi nasional iaitu: 1. Strategi Politik: Persefahaman 2. Strategi Ekonomi 3. Strategi Pendidikan 4. Strategi Penggunaan Bahasa Kebangsaan 5. Strategi Agama 6. Strategi Kebudayaan 7. Strategi Integrasi Wilayah 8. Stategi Keselamatan 9. Strategi Pembangunan Kawasan 10. Strategi Penggunaan Tenaga Manusia 11. Strategi Media Massa 12. Strategi Kesukanan 13. Strategi Pemasyarakatan Perpaduan 14. Strategi Pertubuhan Sukarela 15. Strategi Penyelidikan dan Penerbitan Bahan Bacaan 16. Strategi Pemantauan Isu-isu Semasa dan Konflik 17. Strategi Penubuhan Panel Penasihat Perpaduan Negara (PANEL) dan Jawatankuasa Penasihat Perpaduan Peringkat Negeri (JKPPN) 18. Strategi Program dan Aktiviti Perpaduan 19. Strategi-strategi lain: -Mewujudkan latihan dalam bidang komunikasi antara budaya -Mewujudkan pengauditan dasar-dasar kerajaan -Menghasilkan satu etika mengenai hak dan tanggungjawab kemanusiaan untuk rakyat Malaysia -Penerbitan bahan bacaan secara meluas mengenai kaum-kaum di Malaysia. 3.2 Memperkasakan sekolah wawasan Sistem pendidikan pebagai aliran menyebabkan tidak ada acuan khusus yang boleh digunakan untuk membentuk masyarakat yang bersatu padu . sistem pendidikan pelbagai aliran yang wujud sekarang telah mengakibatkan ibu bapa pelajar memilih aliran mengikut kaum masing-masing. Usaha memupuk perpaduan haruslah dimulakan sejak awal lagi dengan mambabitkan murid sekolah rendah dalam acuan yang sama. Dengan itu, sekolah kebangsaan perlu diperkasakan bagi menerapkan semangat perpaduan dalam kalangan pelajar pelbagai etnik. Justeru, para pelajar dapat dilatih hidup saling bekerjasama dan mempunyai semangat patriotisme serta berakomodatif yang tinggi. Maka, usaha-usaha perlu diambil untuk memperkasakan sekolah kebangsaan dalam sistem pendidikan negara bagi meletakkan landasan yang lebih kukuh ke arah menyatupadukan rakyat berbilang kaum di negara ini tanpa mengetepikan sekolah rendah jenis kebangsaan yang telah dipersetujui oleh semua golongan etnik di bawah kontrak sosial. Setiap ibu bapa diberi kebebasan menghantar anak mereka ke sekolah kebangsaan. Jika mereka memilih sekolah jenis kebangsaan Cina atau Tamil, maka tidak ada sesiapa yang boleh menghalang mereka. Namun begitu, sekolah kebangsaan merupakan institusi pendidikan utama bagi anak-anak Malaysia untuk memenuhi aspirasi dan memiliki jati diri nasional. Sekolah Kebangsaan bukan sahaja berkemampuan untuk mendidik pelajar tetapi membantu menanam nilai-nilai perpaduan dalam kalangan pelajar yang terdiri daripada palbagai kaum. Sekolah kebangsaan merupakan aliran utama pendidikan untuk semua warganegara Malaysia tanpa mengira kaum. Bagi memupuk semangat perpaduan dan keyakinan terhadap sistem sekolah satu aliran, sekolah kebangsaan perlu dijadikan lebih menarik untuk menarik minat orang bukan Melayu. Dalam Rancangan Malaysia Kesembilan, bagi menjadikan sekolah kebangsaan sebagai sekolah pilihan, kualiti pengajaran di sekolah kebangsaan akan diperingkatkan dengan 100 peratus guru di sekolah menengah dan 25 peratus guru di sekolah rendah akan mempunyai kelayakan ijazah pertama menjelang tahun 2010. Semangat perpaduan dalam kalangan pelajar bukan sahaja perlu dipupuk oleh pihak sekolah tetapi juga institusi pendidikan tinggi. Antara langkah yang boleh dijalankan adalah seperti berikut, iaitu: 1. Tidak mengetepikan proses penguasaan bahasa ibunda masing-masing dengan memperkenalkan pengajaran bahasa Mandarin dan Tamil. 2. Memberi kesedaran kepada pelajar tentang kepentingan interaksi antara golongan etnik. 3. Mengadakan lebih banyak aktiviti antara golongan etnik 4. Mengadakan program interaksi antara sekolah dan memasukkan unsur-unsur interaksi etnik dalam kurikulum serta meningkatkan kemahiran berinteraksi dengan golongan etnik lain. 3.3 Program Latihan Khidmat Negara (PLKN) Program Latihan Khidmat Negara (PLKN) yang mula dilaksanakan pada tahun 2004 merupakan khusus latihan wajib selama tiga bulan secara berkhemah dan berasrama bagi remaja lepasan Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia. PLKN dilaksanakan berteraskan Rukun Negara dan mempunyai kurikulum multidisiplin yang merangkumi empat modul iaitu modul fizikal (merangkumi antara lain aktiviti kawad, merempuh halangan, merentas desa dan kembara hutan); modul kenegaraan (pengetahuan tentang pembinaan Negara atau nation-building); Modul Pembinaan Karakter (penerokaan diri sendiri dan hubungan interpersonal) dan Modul Khidmat Komuniti (merangkumi antara lain aktiviti gotong- royong seperti membersihkan, mengindahkan dan menceriakan kawasan sekitar). PLKN tidak bersifat kerahan tenaga atau mengikut trend yang diamalkan oleh negara lain. Seperti yang dinyatakan oleh Jabatan Latihan Khidmat Negara, PLKN bertujuan untuk meningkatkan semangat patriotisme dalam kalangan generasi muda , memupuk perpaduan kaum serta integrasi nasional, membentuk perwatakan positif menerusi nilai-nilai murni, menyemarakkan semangat kesukarelaan, dan melahirkan generasi muda yang lebih cergas, cerdas dan penuh keyakinan. PLKN sememangnya menyumbang terhadap usaha memupuk perpaduan kaum, terutamanya dalam kalangan golongan remaja kerana semua aktiviti yang dijalankan menekankan semangat muhibah dan saling bertolak ansur antara peserta tidak mengira kaum atau agama. Modul kenegaraan dapat menyemai semangat cinta akan tanah air di samping membolehkan para peserta mempelajari adat dan budaya pelbagai kaum. Apabila wujudnya rasa cintakan negara dalam diri peserta, perpaduan kaum dan integrasi nasional serta saling kerjasama antara kaum di Malaysia dapat diwujudkan kerana masing-masing mempunyai satu matlamat, iaitu untuk melihat Malaysia sebagai negara yang aman dan harmonis. Hal ini akhirnya dapat melahirkan remaja yang sanggup berkorban demi perpaduan bangsa. 4.0 Peranan masyarakat dalam konteks hubungan etnik 4.1 Rukun Tetangga Skim Rukun Tetangga telah diperkenalkan pada tahun 1975 berikutan dengan kuat kuasanya Peraturan-Peraturan Perlu (Rukun Tetangga 1975). Pada peringkat awal, Rukun Tetanggga membolehkan rakyat mengawal keselamatan di kawasan kediaman masing-masing. Dengan tumpuan diberi kepada tugas rondaan yang diwajibkan kepada masyarakat setempat yang berumur antara 18 hingga 55 tahun. Mulai 1 Januari 1983 kerajaan telah memperkenalkan satu pembaharuan dengan memberi penekanan pada konsep kejiranan yang bertujuan untuk memupuk serta mengukuhkan lagi semangat kejiranan dalam kalangan masyarakat setempat. Berikutan dengan ini, Peraturan Perlu (Rukun Tetangga) 1975 telah dipinda bagi tujuan tersebut. Dalam tahun 2000, pendekatan Rukun Tetangga telah dipinda sekali lagi dengan memberi mandat yang lebih luas iaitu pembangunan masyarakat secara menyeluruh ke arah mewujudkan perpaduan nasional. Visi Rukun Tetangga ialah membantu dalam pembentukan satu bangsa Malaysia yang bersatu padu dalam konteks pencapaian Wawasan 2020. Manakala misinya ialah memupuk kesefahaman dan bertolak ansur ke arah pembangunan bangsa Malaysia yang bersatu padu serta beridentiti sendiri dan motonya pula ialah Bersatu Terus Maju. Objektif Rukun Tetangga, iaitu memelihara, meningkat dan mengukuhkan perpaduan rakyat dan integrasi nasional selaras dengan dasar-dasar pembangunan negara berlandaskan Perlembagaan Persekutuan dan Rukun Negara. Bagi memastikan matlamat Rukun Tetangga tercapai, beberapa aktiviti dilakukan oleh komuniti Rukun Tetangga yang boleh dikategorikan kepada beberapa bentuk aktiviti seperti berikut: sosial: amalan kunjung-mengunjung semasa musim perayaan seperti Hari Raya, Tahun Baru Cina, Deepavali, Krismas, Hari Gawai, Pesta Keamatan, dan Hari Keluarga. Pendidikan- pendidikan tidak formal, kolokium jiran wanita, kursus motivasi, kursus kepimpinan, tuisyen, ceramah-ceramah dalam pelbagai bidang. Sukan- sukan neka, larian, permainan bola sepak, bola baling, bola jaring, sukan air, sukan tradisional, sukan rakyat dan lain-lain. Rekreasi- tai chi, ekspedisi mendaki bukit, kembara dan mountaineering, khemah kerja dan lain-lain. Kesihatan dan alam sekitar-ceramah kesihatan berkaitan antidadah, AIDS, kanser, kempen kebersihan, anti nyamuk dan menjaga harta awam. Kesenian dan kebudayaan- kelas-kelas seni tari, kraf tangan, permainan tradisional, kelas gamelan, kompang, tarian tradisional, tarian singa, pertunjukan pentas dan lain-lain. Ekonomi- aktiviti tanaman secara hidroponik, ternak ikan air tawar dan membuat air lada Skim Rukun Tetangga diperkenalkan pada tahun 1975 sebagai satu langkah membolehkan rakyat sendiri mengawal dan menjaga keselamatan kawasan kediaman mereka. Skim ini kemudiannya diperbaharui dengan menekankan konsep kejiranan dengan falsafah bahawa kesejahteraan kawasan sejiran akan menjamin kesejahteraan negara. Pada masa kini peranan Skim Rukun Tetangga diperluas lagi dengan pendekatan pembangunan komuniti bagi memastikan perpaduan dan keharmonian hubungan dalam masyarakat akan terus berkekalan dan berterusan. Sehingga Mei 2006 sebanyak 3228 kawasan Rukun Tetangga telah ditubuhkan di seluruh negara. Jawatankuasa Rukun Tetangga ini telah menganjurkan pelbagai aktiviti dalam komuniti mereka. Dari bulan Januari hingga Mei 2006, Jawatankuasa Rukun Tetangga di seluruh negara telah melaksanakan sebanyak 36029 aktiviti. Aktiviti ini bertujuan untuk membolehkan penduduk setempat berkenalan, bantu-membantu dalam menghadapi masalah bersama, berinteraksi dan merapatkan hubungan pada peringkat akar umbi antara pemimpin dengan rakyat dan antara rakyat pelbagai keturunan, adat dan budaya (Jabatan Perpaduan Negara dan Integrasi Nasional). 4.2 Rumah Terbuka Rumah terbuka akan diadakan oleh setiap rakyat Malaysia apabila tiba musim perayaan. Setiap golongan etnik di Malaysia akan sering kunjung-mengunjungi ke rumah jiran tetangga walaupun berlainan etnik. Sebagai contoh, semasa perayaan Hari Raya Aidilfitri, etnik Cina, India, Kadazan, Iban dan pelbagai lagi akan mengunjungi ke rumah orang Melayu dan begitulah sebaliknya bagi etnik lain. Etnik Cina misalnya akan berusaha menyediakan makanan yang halal kepada etnik Melayu apabila menjemput etnik Melayu datang ke rumah sewaktu Tahun Baru Cina. Hal ini menunjukan etnik Cina begitu mengambil berat dan memahami budaya etnik Melayu. Begitu juga dengan etnik Melayu tidak akan menyajikan daging lembu kepada etnik India apabila mereka datang ke rumah semasa Hari Raya Aidilfitri. Pertimbangan ini memperlihatkan keharmonian hubungan etnik sentiasa terjalin kukuh dalam kalangan rakyat dan memahami dan menghormati budaya masing-masing. Amalan ini membuktikan integrasi sosial dalam kalangan masyarakat begitu tinggi walaupun berlainan agama, bangsa dan kebudayaan. 4.3 Penerimaan Budaya Dewasa ini, masyarakat bukan Melayu di Malaysia mula menerima budaya orang Melayu dari segi pakaian dan makanan. Misalnya, orang bukan Melayu segak menggayakan baju kurung dan baju Melayu terutamanya pada hari Jumaat dan fenomena ini sesuatu yang biasa bagi pelajar bukan Melayu. Bagi orang Melayu pula, mereka mula menerima masakan orang Cina dan India serta pemberian duit raya telah menggunakan sampul atau angpau yang terkenal dalam kalangan orang Cina. Dewasa ini juga telah kelihatan di taman-taman perumahan, terdapatnya penempatan yang sama untuk semua etnik yang pastinya keadaan ini akan menggalakkan lagi hubungan etnik dalam kalangan rakyat melalui aktiviti setempat. 4.4 Program di Institusi Pengajian Tinggi (IPT) Bahagian hal ehwal pelajar melalui persatuan-persatuan dan kelab-kelab hendaklah sentiasa menggalakkan aktiviti dan program yang menjurus kepada perpaduan kaum dalam kalangan mahasiswa. Sebagai contoh, melalui aktiviti Pesta Tanglung, yang bukan sahaja melibatkan mahasiswa Cina dan India, tetapi turut juga disertai oleh mahasiswa Melayu. Menyentuh kepimpinan pelajar, ternyata tidak didominasikan oleh sesuatu kaum sahaja, tetapi turut sama dianggotai oleh pelbagai kaum seperti dalam Majlis Perwakilan Pelajar (MPP). Kandungan kursus di semua institusi pendidikan harus menitikberatkan aspek-aspek pendidikan yang harmonis dalam sesebuah masyarakat pelbagai kaum. Nilai-nilai rohani dan budaya bersama perlu diberikan keutamaan dalam subjek Kenegaraan, Tamadun Islam dan Asia serta Hubungan Etnik. Maka, adalah penting kurikulum yang ada menguatkan peribadi moral dan sahsiah para pelajar. Hal ini kerana keperibadian yang tinggi menjadi asas kepada segala nilai rohani dan budaya yang akan menyatupadukan generasi muda. Saranan diwujudkan kelab perpaduan atau Kelab Rukun Negara di setiap IPT merupakan satu langkah yang amat baik kerana saranan ini merupakan usaha bagi menyemai kesedaran terhadap kepentingan perpaduan kaum. Justeru, bahagian hal ehwal pelajar sewajarnya menggalakkan para mahasiswa menganggotai kelab perpaduan atau Kelab Rukun Negara dengan memberi beberapa keistimewaan seperti pengecualian kredit dan sebagainya. Pihak university juga perlulah memberi sokongan terhadap aktiviti yang dijalankan baik dari segi material mahupun khidmat nasihat. Aktiviti kokurikulum merupakan bidang pembelajaran yang menekankan pemupukan dan perkembangan diri individu melalui psikomotor, kognitif dan efektif. Justeru, aktiviti kokurikulum yang dilaksanakan seperti program sukan, kelab, persatuan, pameran, ceramah dan pelbagai lagi haruslah dipergiat dan dipertingkat lagi dalam kalangan mahasiswa pelbagai kaum. Di luar sistem akademik, para pelajar harus dilibatkan dalam aktiviti pelbagai kaum seperti keluarga angkat, persatuan dan badan beruniform. Hal ini akan memberi pengalaman yang sangat berharga dalam memahami bagaimana kehidupan rakyat Malaysia. Manakala aktiviti perpaduan dan khidmat masyarakat mempunyai peranan yang penting dalam menggalakan penyertaan dan pengalaman bersama antara kaum. Oleh itu, galakan kepada aktiviti seperti ini perlu diberikan dengan kerjasama rapat pihak kerajaan dan sektor swasta. Para pelajar juga perlu ditugaskan dalam projek-projek perkhidmatan masyarakat seperti operasi khidmat masyarakat, mahasiswa balik kampung dan sebagainya. Para pensyarah juga perlu diterap dan didedahkan dengan sikap perpaduan antara kaum yang positif. Para pensyarah mestilah diberi pendedahan kepada kursus seperti sosiologi perhubungan kaum atau hubungan etnik untuk menerapkan nilai-nilai yang penting dalam kalangan pelajar bagi memupuk keharmonian kaum. Sesungguhnya para pensyarah mempunyai peranan yang besar sebagai agen penyebar perpaduan dan keharmonian dalam negara pelbagai kaum ini. Mereka merupakan agen integrasi dan perpaduan yang memainkan peranan penting dalam menggalakkan lebih banyak interaksi melalui tugasan dan projek akademik. 5.0 Peranan NGO dalam Konteks Hubungan Etnik Walaupun terdapat pertubuhan yang berasaskan golongan etnik, namun terdapat pertubuhan induk pada peringkat kebangsaan yang menaungi pertubuhan berasaskan etnik seperti Pertubuhan Belia Malaysia, Dewan Perniagaan dan Perusahaan Malaysia dan pelbagai lagi. Hal ini sudah tentulah dapat mempercepat lagi proses hubungan etnik melalui peranan yang dimainkan oleh NGO. Menyentuh aspek kepimpinan pula sama ada pada peringkat negara atau persatuan, barisan kepimpinan disertai oleh pemimpin pelbagai kaum. Sebagai contoh, kepimpinan Majlis Belia Malaysia disertai oleh semua golongan etnik yang ada di Malaysia. Walaupun terdapat pembahagian pertubuhan mengikut kaum seperti Pergerakan Belia 4B, Persatuan Belia Tamil, Dewan Perniagaan Melayu Malaysia, Dewan Perniagaan Cina Malaysia dan Dewan Perniagaan India Malaysia, namun ini sewajarnya digunakan oleh NGO ini untuk mewujudkan pelbagai dialog dan seminar dalam usaha memahami permasalahan yang wujud dan dicari jalan penyelesaiannya. Contohnya, Angkatan Belia Islam Malaysia (ABIM) sentiasa mengadakan seminar bagi menjelaskan kepentingan hubungan etnik dalam konteks Malaysia. Untuk itu, peranan pihak swasta dan kerajaan amat diperlukan dalam menyumbangkan dana bagi meningkatkan penyelidikan dan pembangunan bagi menghasilkan inovasi dan seterusnya memacu pertumbuhan ekonomi negara. Dana-dana sedia ada seperti Intensive Research Priority Areas (IRPA) dan geran daripada pihak swasta dan pertubuhan institusi tertentu seperti Koridor Raya Multimedia (MSC), Akademi Sains Negara dan pelbagai lagi merupakan penjana kepada pembangunan ekonomi negara. Disebabkan sains dan teknologi ini begitu memainkan peranan penting dalam pembangunan ekonomi negara, maka aspek ini amat penting dalam meningkat hubungan etnik rakyat Malaysia. Hal ini kerana apabila pembangunan ekonomi negara itu berkembang pesat di samping kestabilan politik, akan mampu menarik lebih ramai pelabur sama ada dari dalam atau luar negara untuk memacu pertumbuhan ekonomi negara. Hal ini seterusnya memberi peluang pekerjaan kepada segenap lapisan masyarakat tanpa mengira golongan etnik. Kesannya, taraf hidup rakyat akan meningkat, jurang ekonomi negara dapat diseimbangkan dan ini mampu mewujudkan keharmonian dalam masyarakat Malaysia. 6.0 Kesimpulan Hubungan etnik merupakan perkara yang sangat penting bagi masyarakat Malaysia yang bersifat majmuk. Hubungan etnik ini akan melahirkan masyarakat Malaysia yang harmonis, saling bekerjasama dan bersefahaman dan sentiasa menghayati perjanjian sosial yang telah dipersetujui sejak awal kemerdekaan lagi. Usaha-usaha perlu diambil secara berterusan bagi memastikan hubungn etnik di Malaysia sentiasa berada dalam keadaan yang baik. Usaha-usaha ini adalah melibatkan peranan kerajaan, masyarakat dan pertubuhan bukan kerajaan. Apa yang penting dalam memastikan hubungan etnik sentiasa dalam keadaan baik, segala usaha ini perlu disahut oleh setiap lapisan masyarakat. Kepelbagaian budaya dalam negara Malaysia seharusnya tidak menimbulkan masalah perkauman. Setiap kaum ataupun etnik perlu tahu dan memainkn peranan mereka dalam memastikan konflik perkauman seperti peristiwa 13 Mei berulang semula. Perpaduan kaum ini amatlah penting bagi menyumbang ke arah menjadikan Malaysia sebuah negara maju menjelang 2020. Sehubungan dengan ini, perpaduan yang sedia terjalin antara kaum di negara ini perlu diperkukuhkan lagi bagi mewujudkan suasana negara yang lebih aman, maju, selamat dan makmur. Oleh itu, segala kerjasama semua pihak seperti kerajaan, masyarakat dan pertubuhan badan bukan kerajaan amatlah diperlukan untuk meningkatkan hubungan etnik di nagara Malaysia. Bibliografi Ishak Saat (2001). Malaysia 1945-2000. Utusan Publication Distributors Sdn. Bhd: Kuala Lumpur Shamsul Amri Baharuddin (2007). Modul Hubungan Etnik. Shah Alam: Universiti Teknologi Mara. http://agy7500.blogspot.com/2009/08/siri-225-pelbagai-soalan.html (function() { var scribd = document.createElement("script"); scribd.type = "text/javascript"; scribd.async = true; scribd.src = "https://www.scribd.com/javascripts/embed_code/inject.js"; var s = document.getElementsByTagName("script")[0]; s.parentNode.insertBefore(scribd, s); })()