Poetry Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words - 14

Poetry - Essay Example Four stanzas characterize The Road Not Taken, each having five lines. The scheme of the rhyme in the poem is ABAAB. This means that the rhymes are masculine and strict, meaning that the speaker is in a dilemma to choose a path that is rarely used by people. The poem the road not taken has received widespread recognition based on which it reflects dilemma when an individual has to make a choice in life. Based on the simple words used in The Road Not Taken the author employs (â€Å"I shall be telling this with a sigh / I took the one less travelled by†), scholars stipulate that the poem is easy to memorize without the reader really understanding it. In the case of the poem, the persona stipulates â€Å"the passing here/ Had won them really about the same.† Ideally, the two roads â€Å"that morning/ In leaves no step had trodden black.† This means that in the case of the two roads, one of them is less travelled. As such, it is inappropriate to ignore the after-effects prevalent based on the way in which they are portrayed in the poem, since the persona is unsure on the path in which he should follow. In this case, the speaker stipulates that â€Å"I took the less travelled by / And that has made all the difference.â €  The major attraction evident in the poem is the archetypal dilemma, meaning that the narrator cannot make the right decision on the path to follow. The reader encounters it both figuratively and literally numerous times and in an instantaneous manner. The paths present in the folks and woods reflect deep-rooted and ancient metaphors for a lifeline. In this case, the persona stipulates that â€Å"The roads diverged in a yellow road / To where it bent in the undergrowth.† They reflect crisis and decisions that one has to make in life. The similar folks are a symbol for fate and free will. People are free to choose anything, but they are unaware of what lays ahead based on the choice they make. The speaker states, â€Å"hen took the other, as

By world War 1 Essay Example for Free

By world War 1 Essay Introduction World war 1 had a huge impact on peoples live at home. We can see from the sources that I am analysing that all sections of society were affected by the war, men, women and government. The working classes were affected by recruitment and the upper and middle classes were affected because they had to do their own housework. Also peoples standards of living were affected, they had more of a balanced diet and the women found that they had more money because their husbands were at war. I am going to evaluate a number of sources which tell us a lot about what affected peoples lives during the war. I will look at the validity of the sources and the strengths and weaknesses. The topics I will study are Recruitment and Conscription, Politics, Role of Women and Changing Standards attitudes and beliefs. I will start by looking at how Recruitment and Conscription affected peoples lives at home during the war. Recruitment and Conscription. Many peoples lives were affected by the first world war. At the start of the war the government had to try and persuade 1000s of men to join the war. Source A1 (i) is a Recruitment poster produced by the government in 1914 as part of a Propaganda campaign to get people to sign up and fight in the first world war. The poster features a picture of Lord Kitchener who was the secretary state for the war. This poster is the most famous poster made for the war and it made men feel as if they as an individual was wanted to fight for their country. The idea of the finger pointing and using the words you and your made the men feel as if the government wants you as an individual. The weakness of the poster is the fact that it is propaganda. The poster is basically saying that you must sign up to the war. Source A1 (ii) is a photograph taken outside Southwark Town Hall in London. It was taken during December 1915. The photo is of an Army Recruiting Office. The people who are queuing in the long lines to sign up all look happy at the prospect of going to war. This seems unusual to me and this could be because the photo may have been staged by the government to make the men think that all other men are signing up so they should sign up too. The fact that this photo could have been staged makes the source unreliable because it is not real. In December 1915, the government were in trouble because they did not have enough men signing up to the war, because at this point people at home were learning of the first major casualties of the war. The men were realising that going to war was not as easy as it first looked. So in December not many people were signing up which makes the site of this many people signing up a rare site at the time. Also if there was so many people signing up, the government would not have had to bring in Conscription. A strength of this source is that it was taken at the time but a weakness is that it could have been staged. Conscription was the compulsory enrolment into the armed forces. In January 1916 the act was passed that unmarried men between the ages of 18 41 had to join the armed forces. Then in May 1916 a second act was passed that unmarried men between the ages of 18 41 had to join the army. Politics and the war effort The first world war had a big effect on Politics. We can see this in Source B3. Source B3 is a photograph of the new Prime Minister with the new members of the coalition cabinet. The photograph was taken at 10 Downing Street in December 1916. A weakness of the photo is that it maybe propaganda and could well have been staged to make the people at home believe that the government were united through the war. Its strengths are that it was taken at the time. This increases the reliability of the source because it is an actual picture from the time of the war showing that the government was united through the war. Source B4 shows how the first world war affected different Political Parties. The source is written by John Davies on the History of Wales in 1993. This source tells us that Labour was becoming more popular through the war as it had no responsibility for how the war came about, but for the Liberal party the war was a disaster because their leader Henry Asquith lost his role of Prime Minister to the Labour leader David Lloyd George. The source says: The strength of this source may be that it was written a long time after the war, so John Davies views would have been based on balanced opinions. A weakness of the source though is that the book is only about Wales. Also it may have been biased to David Lloyd George because he was welsh. The First World War also had an affect on political issues. In December 1917 the house of commons decided to give the vote to 6,000,000 Women over the age of 30. Source B5 (i) is a report from The Daily Sketch which shows this. The report tells us that the vote was won by a huge majority of 330 out of 440 votes. It shows the start of a new era for women. The strength of the source is that is an actual report from the time which makes it reliable. Source B5 (ii) is a photo of the 1918 general election when for the first time Women over 30 were allowed to vote. The picture tells us that woman were becoming more independent. The picture source may be reliable is it was taken at the time of the general election. A weakness of the source is that it was taken by the government reassuring men that the women would probably vote the same way as their husbands. Women and Social Change. World War 1 had a massive affect on the way women ran their lives. More women started going to work, fashion changed and they had more money from wages to spend on themselves because the men were away. Source C3 is a poster produced by the government showing people that women are doing their bit by making munitions for the men at war. We do not know when the poster was issued but we do know that it was from sometime during the war. The weakness of the poster is that it was propaganda to get more women to work. The strength of it though is that it was from the time. This affects the reliability as because it is from the time we know that it was actually shown to the women during the war. The First World War had an affect on how many Women were employed in different trades. Source C4 is a table of Figures that represent the changes of the amount of women that were employed throughout the war. The table shows the increase in the amount of Women employed in Britain between July 1914 and July 1918. The source may be reliable because they are official Government figures but the numbers are rounded up so we do not know the exact figure. They could have been rounded up to the nearest thousand or the nearest 100 thousand we do not know. A weakness of the source is that it doesnt tell us what happened after the war. After the war the number of Women employed may have decreased. The amount of money that women had also increased, this may be because their husbands were away, so they did not have to buy for them and also they were working. In Some cases the women were getting paid more than Corporals. We can see this in Source C5. This source was written by a full corporal, H. V. Shawyer in 1916. He says: This source tells us that the women were getting paid more than the men and were also able to spend their money on other people. This source may be reliable as it was written by the person about his experience and also it was written at the time of the war. Changing Standards, Attitudes and Beliefs The impact of the First World War changed peoples standards, attitudes and beliefs. Source D3 is an extract from an article written by A. J. P. Taylor in 1965 about England 1914 1918. The extract is about how the war affected the rich. A. J. P Taylor says: At the end of the war, there was a general change of economic outlook. Previously the idle rich had been proud of being idle. Now they were ashamed of it and idleness was becoming more difficult. Domestic servants, for instance, were hard to come by. Their number had been halved during the war. Households which had kept five servants dropped to two; those firmly with two to one; and the rest of the middle class made to do with a daily woman. This source tell us that people were happy to have servants before the war but now they know what it was like being normal they became ashamed of it. The way people used their money changed, instead of using servants they were doing the work themselves. It was more difficult for the rich to get away with doing nothing, because the working class had more better paid jobs to do. The source may be more reliable because it was written a long time after the war and he would have been able to gather more evidence. People would have also been more honest because it was a long time after the war. Source D4 shows how the war affected religion and chapels. The source is from a book by Kenneth O. Morgan called Rebirth of a Nation: Wales 1880 1980. It was written in 1981. The emphasis of the book is not actually about the First World War and so the book may have only had a page about the war. Source D4 says: The factors which had weakened the chapels before the war debt, over-expansion in rural areas and lack of support from non- Welsh speakers and industrial workers became stronger after the war Fundamentalist religious belief, barely changed since the chapels were founded. This source is telling us that the society changed during the war but the chapels didnt. The source may be reliable because the book was written a long time after the war. This means that Kenneth O. Morgan would have been able to base his book on a lot more evidence than if it was written immediately after the war. A weakness of the extract is that the book is only about how the Welsh chapels changed. Peoples Standard of living also changed as a result of the First World War. In an article by a modern historian, Clive Emsley, he said that although the war resulted in the deaths of many thousands, there was an overall improvement in peoples diet and a decline in the death rate. He also said that Lone wives were able to wages go further. This source tells us that some people were better off than theyd ever been. Because this article was written in 1996 it makes it more reliable, because he would have been able to base his article on a lot more evidence that came available a long time after the war. Conclusion From studying these sources on recruitment and conscription, politics and the war effort, role of women and changing standards, attitudes and beliefs it can be seen that the war had a massive impact on all sections of society. These changes were sometimes better, financial and Health wise. However as can be seen from Recruitment and conscription, the men had to sign up and a lot were being killed The First World War acted as a catalyst to a change in society. People who had experienced war first hand had their lives change dramatically, however those who were at home e. g. women and children, also experienced fundamental change in many aspects of their lives.

Analysis of the Organic Food Industry in Malaysia

Analysis of the Organic Food Industry in Malaysia Chapter 1 Introduction 1.1 Introduction Today, with the advancement of science and technology, humans have more exposure to information technology, knowledge and education than ever before. As a result, people become more aware and sensitive to the environment and their surroundings. A quality and healthy lifestyle have becomes a kind of necessity to the modern generation. Among others, Organic Food is recognized to be one of the contributors to a healthy lifestyle. Almost every day, you can read or see Organic topic everywhere around you. From newspaper, magazine, billboard advertisement, internet and etc, Organic has slowly becomes a trend to the modern society. However, a few issues have been identified in the Organic Industry in Malaysia. These factors have a strong role in influencing the purchasing and consuming of Organic Food in Malaysia. Therefore, it is important to identified and understand every factor of influence that affect the purchasing and consuming of organic food in Malaysia as all this factors will affect the entire industry from farmer, retailer, produces and even the consumers. 1.2 Background of Study 1.2.1 What is organic food Based on United State, European, and international definitions, organic food is define as without using any material substance in the food itself, but instead by the holistic methods used on organic farms. According to Gracia and Magistris (2007), the intention of organic production is to eliminate chemical used on the food production in order to promote healthier and safety food. Moreover, organic food also means that it is not cultivated using chemical-derived pesticides fertilizers and herbicides. As an alternative, the process of planting and farming the organic food are by using holistic methods such as compost, crop rotation, and biological agents over a natural period of time. According to National Organic Standard Board of the U.S Department of Agriculture (USDA) in year 2000, they established a national standard for the term organic. Organic food, it is defined by how it cannot be made rather by how it can be made, which must be produced without the used of sewer-sludge fert ilizers, most synthetic fertilizers, and pesticides, genetic engineering(biotechnology), growth hormones, irradiations and antibiotics (TheStar, 2005). From the individuals point of view, organic means it is grown in a natural environment without any chemical, antibiotics, genetic engineering, and any synthetic products or in simple way, organic mean natural or go back to the traditional way of modes of agricultural. As an overview, the developments of organic food always work in cooperation with nature environment. Normally peoples definition of organic food maybe was just vegetables and fruits, but actually plenty of foods category like meats, eggs, livestock, dairy products and many more are also conclude as organic food. This issues supported by the research conducted by Padel and Foster (2005) where respondents only associate organic term with vegetable and fruit. Generally, organic food includes plenty of categories which include vegetables, fruits, bread, meat, eggs, coffee, juice, rice, tea, potatoes and etc. Other than that, organic food like egg, meat must be free of all kinds of antibiotics or growth naturally in a clean environment. To sum up, organic food is more environmental friendly since it does not create any pollution and waste to the earth. Besides, they give a tremendous opportunity to human being which led to healthy lifestyle and provide a better environment. Organic consumers carry a meaning of who are not only prefer an improved and healthier lifestyle but also environmental exportation and responsible to take care of the nature (Midmore et al, 2005). In addition, it also brings advantage to whole economy by increase business activities, trade, production and consumption. 1.2.2 The fact of organic The rise of demanding organic food and healthy lifestyle in both developed and developing country is not just a passing fad. The popularity of consuming organic food is now in an increasing manner in all over the world where it also includes Malaysia. Increased consumers concern and care regarding food safety and quality as well as health and nutritional aspect of food resulted in increased demand toward organically produced food. Such trend is a kind of reaction to numerous health affair related to processed food (Davies et al, 1995). Refer to the press release post by Nestlà © Malaysia in year 2008, it shows that organic growth reached 8.9% including 3.4% of real internal growth. In Europe, organic growth of Nestlà ©s total Food and Beverages business is about 5.4% and the growth rate is presented around 9.5% in United State and Asia, Oceania and Africa is at the rate of 14.2%. Functional food such as health supplements and organic food was projected reach RM234bil (US$65bil) in 2003 at global market place. It is estimated reach RM601bil (US$167bil) in 2010 by has the growth rate of 14% annually. According Federal Agricultural Marketing Authority (FAMA), in the year of 2001 the sale for organic food has achieved USD 8 billion world wide. The sale value of organic food is estimated to have growth rate at 20-30% by year 2005. The organization stated that if compared with others agricultural products, organic food has high potential for commercialization in Malaysia. Demand for healthy, environmental friendly processed food, minimally chemical used fresh food, organic food and natural food are caused by increasing of consumer awareness in nutrition value and health conscious (Malaysia Industrial Development Authority, MIDA, 2009). Malaysian start to increase their demand since they believe that consuming organic food is one of the best ways that led to a healthy lifestyle and they view this as a worthy investment for their heath. The concern of consumers toward food safety, quality and the environment give an opportunity to the organic industry and become more valuable for produ cers and retailers. As a part from that, it also activates the organic agriculture sector in Malaysia. The rises of consumers awareness of healthy lifestyle along with environment free of pollution have created a wonderful opportunity and market for organic food. However, it is hard for producer or businessman to manage the right products at a right time, right price and still right place with attractive promotion since the changes of consumer behaviour was so unstable due to various kind of reason, so it is very complicate to fix or to define how the consumer behave. Consumer behaviour carries the meaning of activities people undertake when obtaining, consuming and disposing of products and services (Kozak, and Decrop, 2009). As a result, study and understanding the consumer behaviour and willingness of consumers to pay for organic food is a vital knowledge for marketers, producers and businessman. There is a behavioural model proposed by Von Alvesleben (1997) address that product information, product perception and attitudes are the main factors that drive consumer behaviour. When w e believe that an object or brand possess favorable attributes or have good feeling then we will have good attitudes toward it. As we all know, when consumer attitudes are more desirable, the intention to purchase is stronger. In this research, it is more focus on consumer preferences and their willingness to pay when they wish to obtain organic food. The result can help marketers and policy makers develop strategies to reach customers more effectively and efficiently. 1.2.3 Natural Food vs Organic food Most of the people are often confuse about the different between organic food and natural food. Moreover, people though organic food and natural food own the same attribute and tend to treat or mean both the same. In fact, there are certain features that distinguish organic food and natural food. Obviously, the main factor difference the two is organic food must be certified by United Stated Agricultural Department (USDA) and organic food possessed higher quality. We can notice that organic food have labelled organic and this label represent the products are considered as organic by USDA and get the stamp of approval from designed organization. Products which stamp by USDA or labelled with organic must contain at least 95percent organic. Organic food can either labelled by foreign certification which is USDA or certify by local organization which is Malaysia Organic Scheme (SOM). Products that labelled with SOM carry a meaning which is the process of production inspected by departments Crop Quality Control Division. The standard where SOM follow is Sirim MS 1529:2001 standards. The guideline applied to control whole process of organic food which includes production, processing, labelling and marketing of plant-based organically produced food and lastly, series number will be provided in order to ease the identification process (SOM). Previously, certification only offer for limited organic food such as vegetables, fruit and etc. In general, Malaysia organic aquaculture products were under the governance of Thailands Organic Aquaculture Farms and Products Certification Centre (OAPC). In order to enhance aquaculture industry in Malaysia, fisheries department provide organic scheme for organic aquaculture production. Additional, this action can minimize the cost of apply organic aquaculture certification from other country. Moreover, organic food always free of chemical fertilizers, pesticides, bioengineering or irradiation during produce, manufacture and handle (Annadana,2009). Besides, livestock must be free of growth hormones and antibiotics. On the others hand, there is not any specify standard for natural food and it is grown with pesticides, herbicides and chemical fertilizers. Basically, natural food have minimal processing and do not contain refined sugar or artificial ingredients and without altering the raw product (Hermitt, 2006). 1.2.4 Consumer vs Customer Generally, most of the people have categorized both consumer and customer in the same category where it carry the meaning of purchase any products from sellers. Conversely, both of the words carry different meaning. According to Kotler and Armstrong (2006), consumer is the person who purchases any products for personal use or they call end user. Basically, consumer is the individual who had previously purchased or current users for particular product. On the other hand, the word customer carries different meaning in different perspective. In business market, customer is the individual or organization who purchase the product but not for own consumption. The products will become their inventory for further production or resell to end user (Kotler and Armstrong, 2006). Customer can either is a current user or only a potential customer for the product (Wikipedia). 1.2.5 Organic industry in Malaysia Since 1990s organic market has grown in a favorable beat. Thus, sale of organic food and products are forecasted to be between USD 20 and USD 30 billion yearly. USA is the biggest organic market follow by Germany and United Kingdom. In certain country such as Denmark, Sweden, Austria and Switzerland have 4% share of organic food which exceed in the total food sales. On the other hand, organic market in developing countries is small but considers growing especially in upper income developing countries. Figure 1.3 shows the coverage of organic farm in different country in year 2005. Malaysia is located in Southeast Asia and consists of two mainlands which is Peninsular (west) Malaysia and East Malaysia with an area of 329,750 km2. The agricultural sector in Malaysia is about 10.24% (738,677 / 75,657) of GDP in year 2008 (Department of Statistics Malaysia). Organic farming in Malaysia was started by Center for Environment, Technology and Development, Malaysia (CETDEM). During year 1986 CETDEM started their organic farm in Sungai Buloh with only one hectare plot. According to Department of Agriculture (DoA), there is 131 hectares of organic farm in Malaysia during year 2001 and approximates organic farming increase to more than 1000 hectares in year 2005. In year 2008, there are about 1000 hectares of registered and 2800 hectares of unregistered organic farm. Table 1.1: Organic production area Source: Organic Alliance Malaysia, 2007 Organic farming and production had started up during year 1990. Due to increase in favorability and demand toward organic products this niche market is growing continuously. Consequently, there is increase in the number of organic organization which include government department and non government organization (Table 1.2). Table 1.2: Organic organization in Malaysia Source: Better Diet Islam, 2009 Malaysian organic scheme (SOM) is the organization that has the right to give certification to organic farmers. Today, there are 28 Malaysian Organic Scheme (SOM) Certificate Holders in nationwide with a total area of 1244 hectares (Table 1.3). Table 1.3: Malaysian Organic Scheme (SOM) Certificate Holders Source: Department of Agriculture Malaysia, 2009 Due to increasing in organic farming and production, the number of organic retail outlets is also in the increasing manner. As a result, there are many organic companies have started their business such as Justlife, BMS, Country farm, ZenXin, Woots and etc. Organic food was previously consumed by cancer patients or patients who had serious health problem. Today, organic food becomes a choice for every family or even each and everyone. As we know, Justlife is a famous retailer of organic food and organic products. Justlife has only owned half of a whole retail shop at SS2, Subang Selangor with limited organic products and food. Recently, they are success and owning eight retail shops in Malaysia. Accordingly, we can observe that consumer demand of organic food and products is rising in recent year. Since the demand of organic food and products are increasing, government has putting effort in order to encourage producers to involve themselves in organic farming. Besides, government mentioned in Ninth Malaysia Plan (2006-2010), they estimating the value for organic farms industry will be worth RM800 million after five year and plan to have 20,000 hectares of organic farm in year 2010 (Economic Planning Unit). During year 2001, Organic Alliance Malaysia (OAM) was found and this organization act as a private sector association to form national network. Government has tried to match the demand by increase the number of producer and organic farmer. However, we still supported by imports and the amount of foods that we imported from other country is about RM10.9bil or 8.7% of total import. Therefore, a study on consumer behaviour is crucial in order to forecast the demand and prepare for supply. According to local report, a supplier Kerby Ho of KK Hoganik told that demand for organic fruits and vegetables were increase at about 8%-10% every month (NST, 2008). Informed by organic-certified wholesaler Radiant Codes manager- Loke Siew Fong in local report, the sale is experiencing double digit growth. She added that consumers are having higher awareness on health issues nowadays and search for organic food rather than conventional foods (NST, 2008). As a result, research on consumer behaviour can tell supplier with fact reason why they demand for organic food and better understanding the trend of organic market. Moreover, the needs of communicate for both organic concept and build market confidence are vital in Malaysia market. Most of the citizen were still choosing conventional foods as usual and refuse to purchase organic food due to their own personal reason such as inconvenience, price, knowledge and others. Consequently, marketers have to know the concern of customers or citizen in order to better target the market and segments. In short, organic market is in an encouraging rate and it is a potential market for marketers, farmers, suppliers, wholesalers and retailers to aim. The reason why and how the demand increase is important for them to study in order to server the organic fans at the right time and right place with sufficient supplies. 1.3 Research Problem Consume organic food has become an important subject for today in changing social graphic and emerging trend. Government had been aware of the importance of organic sector since early of 1990s. The Organic Trade Association forecasts sales of organic food will be increase by 18% annually through 2010. Organic products become part of the picture for everyone at the present time and customer base of organic sector expected to rise and retailers continue to provide wider variety of organic food. Commissions communication > were presented in December 2002 that they are planning to increase their efficiency, transparency and consumer confidences in order to develop the market for organic food (Gracia and de Magistris, 2007). Refer to a report found in OAM in November 2008, Katherine diMatteo, president of the International Federation of Organic Agriculture; consumers seek organic produce as a way of environmental degradation, or as the best way to eat healthy foods. Besides, government and others view that purchasing organic is a good way for developing fair trade due to most of the organic farmers are small-scale producers. The trend of eating and purchasing organic has boosted up the organic sector in constructive rate. Transaction and trade of business have increase indirectly and these also bring a healthy rate for Malaysia economy. Consumers also willing to pay for organic food during economy down turn in June 2008. Economy down turn do not brought a strong impact to this industry and the sale of organic food still in a healthy and encouraging rate. As a result, we confidents there are something behind the consumers to motivate and move them to purchase organic food. At one time, people always believe that consumers choice was unstructured and natural but at this moment, people know that human behaviour is manipulated, push or even forced by reason. For instance, health conscious is affecting consumers where they will hunt for organic food in order to replace conventional foods. Nevertheless, this is only one of the hypotheses or assumption that we can made, we cannot prove that this is the accurate explanation for the question: Why the demand of purchasing organic food is increased from year to year? Additionally, there are many factors that keep moving people from conventional foods to organic food. Hence, study on the factor that affect consumers willingness in purchasing organic food is an essential issue to further understand consumers mind and support organic. Furthermore, dynamic issues and factors which influence consumers are changeable among individual and purchase decision of organic food will depend on many variables such as consumers attitudes toward environmental protection and healthiness (Gracia and de Magistris, 2007). Human behaviour and customers choice is not impulsive, unconscious, inborn and natural. Conversely, consumers behaviour is always motivated by the environment, enthusiasm, sensation and emotion (Ajzen and Fishbein, 1980). Consumer willingness to pay for organic food may influence by numerous factors. Human beings easily get influenced by the environment and objects surrounding them. We have no capability to freeze their consumption and purchase behaviour. The only way that we can do is to study deeply on what are the main aspects they are focusing and what are the essential factors that manipulate their purchasing. More to the point, people perception and motivation in purchase organic food are vary from country t o country. There is different demand in different county with different culture. In order to have a good explanation to answer the entire question and have a bottomless understanding of customers willingness to pay during obtain organic food, we come out with the problem statement: What are the main aspects that manipulate consumers willingness to pay for organic food. Policy maker seek consumer oriental analysis in organic sector since the information is crucial for them (Gracia and de Magistris, 2007). The study not only can improve the understanding of consumer behaviour and factors that affect customers but it is also a necessary research to help marketers to market the products, help government to better know the needs of citizen, help retailers or wholesalers to do some related activities to encourage consumers in order to choose organic food and help producer to estimate the production in future. 1.4 Research Objective The main purpose of this research is to recognize some of the essential variables that motivate or stimulate citizen in Malaysia in purchasing organic food. Organic market is a potential and profitable market for marketers to have a deep study on it since the demand of organic food is keep increasing nowadays. Besides, organic industry did contribute to Malaysia economy and citizens health, as well as the environment. In my opinion, customers belief, feeling, attitudes, motivation and demand trend would bring a deep impact on food industry and this will bring challenges for marketer to design marketing strategy. The following objectives are built to achieve goals of this study. i. To study the determinants that motive consumers willingness to pay for organic food. After identify all the factors, we can better target and server our customers when they doing their purchase. When retailers know all the factors and possess this advantage, they can come out with following step such as education fair, seminar or others kind of exhibition to influence or encourage customers in order to purchase organic food. Moreover, eating organic food can save and secure the earth. Consume organic food not only healthier but also more environmental friendly if compare with conventional foods. By educating others customers about the benefit of consuming organic food, sales of organic food will definitely continue to double up in the future. By the way, this also can help marketers to better market the products and also target potential customers easily. Lastly, this as well will contribute to economic growth and better environment for next generation. ii. To better understanding consumer buying decision and contribute precise data to policy makers. There is a problem that release by NST on November 2008 which is the number of organic supporter is increasing however; there are too few farmers to serve the large pool of consumers. As a result, we can overcome the problem of supply and demand after knowing the reason why customers purchase organic food or not. Moreover, most of the researchers showed consumers are willing to pay for high quality food. If this research can prove that there is a significant result between quality and willingness to pay. Related organization can immediately take action in order to strengthen organic production governance. iii. To study the impact on organic food industry due to the issue of health conscious. Recently, health conscious beca Analysis of the Organic Food Industry in Malaysia Analysis of the Organic Food Industry in Malaysia Chapter 1 Introduction 1.1 Introduction Today, with the advancement of science and technology, humans have more exposure to information technology, knowledge and education than ever before. As a result, people become more aware and sensitive to the environment and their surroundings. A quality and healthy lifestyle have becomes a kind of necessity to the modern generation. Among others, Organic Food is recognized to be one of the contributors to a healthy lifestyle. Almost every day, you can read or see Organic topic everywhere around you. From newspaper, magazine, billboard advertisement, internet and etc, Organic has slowly becomes a trend to the modern society. However, a few issues have been identified in the Organic Industry in Malaysia. These factors have a strong role in influencing the purchasing and consuming of Organic Food in Malaysia. Therefore, it is important to identified and understand every factor of influence that affect the purchasing and consuming of organic food in Malaysia as all this factors will affect the entire industry from farmer, retailer, produces and even the consumers. 1.2 Background of Study 1.2.1 What is organic food Based on United State, European, and international definitions, organic food is define as without using any material substance in the food itself, but instead by the holistic methods used on organic farms. According to Gracia and Magistris (2007), the intention of organic production is to eliminate chemical used on the food production in order to promote healthier and safety food. Moreover, organic food also means that it is not cultivated using chemical-derived pesticides fertilizers and herbicides. As an alternative, the process of planting and farming the organic food are by using holistic methods such as compost, crop rotation, and biological agents over a natural period of time. According to National Organic Standard Board of the U.S Department of Agriculture (USDA) in year 2000, they established a national standard for the term organic. Organic food, it is defined by how it cannot be made rather by how it can be made, which must be produced without the used of sewer-sludge fert ilizers, most synthetic fertilizers, and pesticides, genetic engineering(biotechnology), growth hormones, irradiations and antibiotics (TheStar, 2005). From the individuals point of view, organic means it is grown in a natural environment without any chemical, antibiotics, genetic engineering, and any synthetic products or in simple way, organic mean natural or go back to the traditional way of modes of agricultural. As an overview, the developments of organic food always work in cooperation with nature environment. Normally peoples definition of organic food maybe was just vegetables and fruits, but actually plenty of foods category like meats, eggs, livestock, dairy products and many more are also conclude as organic food. This issues supported by the research conducted by Padel and Foster (2005) where respondents only associate organic term with vegetable and fruit. Generally, organic food includes plenty of categories which include vegetables, fruits, bread, meat, eggs, coffee, juice, rice, tea, potatoes and etc. Other than that, organic food like egg, meat must be free of all kinds of antibiotics or growth naturally in a clean environment. To sum up, organic food is more environmental friendly since it does not create any pollution and waste to the earth. Besides, they give a tremendous opportunity to human being which led to healthy lifestyle and provide a better environment. Organic consumers carry a meaning of who are not only prefer an improved and healthier lifestyle but also environmental exportation and responsible to take care of the nature (Midmore et al, 2005). In addition, it also brings advantage to whole economy by increase business activities, trade, production and consumption. 1.2.2 The fact of organic The rise of demanding organic food and healthy lifestyle in both developed and developing country is not just a passing fad. The popularity of consuming organic food is now in an increasing manner in all over the world where it also includes Malaysia. Increased consumers concern and care regarding food safety and quality as well as health and nutritional aspect of food resulted in increased demand toward organically produced food. Such trend is a kind of reaction to numerous health affair related to processed food (Davies et al, 1995). Refer to the press release post by Nestlà © Malaysia in year 2008, it shows that organic growth reached 8.9% including 3.4% of real internal growth. In Europe, organic growth of Nestlà ©s total Food and Beverages business is about 5.4% and the growth rate is presented around 9.5% in United State and Asia, Oceania and Africa is at the rate of 14.2%. Functional food such as health supplements and organic food was projected reach RM234bil (US$65bil) in 2003 at global market place. It is estimated reach RM601bil (US$167bil) in 2010 by has the growth rate of 14% annually. According Federal Agricultural Marketing Authority (FAMA), in the year of 2001 the sale for organic food has achieved USD 8 billion world wide. The sale value of organic food is estimated to have growth rate at 20-30% by year 2005. The organization stated that if compared with others agricultural products, organic food has high potential for commercialization in Malaysia. Demand for healthy, environmental friendly processed food, minimally chemical used fresh food, organic food and natural food are caused by increasing of consumer awareness in nutrition value and health conscious (Malaysia Industrial Development Authority, MIDA, 2009). Malaysian start to increase their demand since they believe that consuming organic food is one of the best ways that led to a healthy lifestyle and they view this as a worthy investment for their heath. The concern of consumers toward food safety, quality and the environment give an opportunity to the organic industry and become more valuable for produ cers and retailers. As a part from that, it also activates the organic agriculture sector in Malaysia. The rises of consumers awareness of healthy lifestyle along with environment free of pollution have created a wonderful opportunity and market for organic food. However, it is hard for producer or businessman to manage the right products at a right time, right price and still right place with attractive promotion since the changes of consumer behaviour was so unstable due to various kind of reason, so it is very complicate to fix or to define how the consumer behave. Consumer behaviour carries the meaning of activities people undertake when obtaining, consuming and disposing of products and services (Kozak, and Decrop, 2009). As a result, study and understanding the consumer behaviour and willingness of consumers to pay for organic food is a vital knowledge for marketers, producers and businessman. There is a behavioural model proposed by Von Alvesleben (1997) address that product information, product perception and attitudes are the main factors that drive consumer behaviour. When w e believe that an object or brand possess favorable attributes or have good feeling then we will have good attitudes toward it. As we all know, when consumer attitudes are more desirable, the intention to purchase is stronger. In this research, it is more focus on consumer preferences and their willingness to pay when they wish to obtain organic food. The result can help marketers and policy makers develop strategies to reach customers more effectively and efficiently. 1.2.3 Natural Food vs Organic food Most of the people are often confuse about the different between organic food and natural food. Moreover, people though organic food and natural food own the same attribute and tend to treat or mean both the same. In fact, there are certain features that distinguish organic food and natural food. Obviously, the main factor difference the two is organic food must be certified by United Stated Agricultural Department (USDA) and organic food possessed higher quality. We can notice that organic food have labelled organic and this label represent the products are considered as organic by USDA and get the stamp of approval from designed organization. Products which stamp by USDA or labelled with organic must contain at least 95percent organic. Organic food can either labelled by foreign certification which is USDA or certify by local organization which is Malaysia Organic Scheme (SOM). Products that labelled with SOM carry a meaning which is the process of production inspected by departments Crop Quality Control Division. The standard where SOM follow is Sirim MS 1529:2001 standards. The guideline applied to control whole process of organic food which includes production, processing, labelling and marketing of plant-based organically produced food and lastly, series number will be provided in order to ease the identification process (SOM). Previously, certification only offer for limited organic food such as vegetables, fruit and etc. In general, Malaysia organic aquaculture products were under the governance of Thailands Organic Aquaculture Farms and Products Certification Centre (OAPC). In order to enhance aquaculture industry in Malaysia, fisheries department provide organic scheme for organic aquaculture production. Additional, this action can minimize the cost of apply organic aquaculture certification from other country. Moreover, organic food always free of chemical fertilizers, pesticides, bioengineering or irradiation during produce, manufacture and handle (Annadana,2009). Besides, livestock must be free of growth hormones and antibiotics. On the others hand, there is not any specify standard for natural food and it is grown with pesticides, herbicides and chemical fertilizers. Basically, natural food have minimal processing and do not contain refined sugar or artificial ingredients and without altering the raw product (Hermitt, 2006). 1.2.4 Consumer vs Customer Generally, most of the people have categorized both consumer and customer in the same category where it carry the meaning of purchase any products from sellers. Conversely, both of the words carry different meaning. According to Kotler and Armstrong (2006), consumer is the person who purchases any products for personal use or they call end user. Basically, consumer is the individual who had previously purchased or current users for particular product. On the other hand, the word customer carries different meaning in different perspective. In business market, customer is the individual or organization who purchase the product but not for own consumption. The products will become their inventory for further production or resell to end user (Kotler and Armstrong, 2006). Customer can either is a current user or only a potential customer for the product (Wikipedia). 1.2.5 Organic industry in Malaysia Since 1990s organic market has grown in a favorable beat. Thus, sale of organic food and products are forecasted to be between USD 20 and USD 30 billion yearly. USA is the biggest organic market follow by Germany and United Kingdom. In certain country such as Denmark, Sweden, Austria and Switzerland have 4% share of organic food which exceed in the total food sales. On the other hand, organic market in developing countries is small but considers growing especially in upper income developing countries. Figure 1.3 shows the coverage of organic farm in different country in year 2005. Malaysia is located in Southeast Asia and consists of two mainlands which is Peninsular (west) Malaysia and East Malaysia with an area of 329,750 km2. The agricultural sector in Malaysia is about 10.24% (738,677 / 75,657) of GDP in year 2008 (Department of Statistics Malaysia). Organic farming in Malaysia was started by Center for Environment, Technology and Development, Malaysia (CETDEM). During year 1986 CETDEM started their organic farm in Sungai Buloh with only one hectare plot. According to Department of Agriculture (DoA), there is 131 hectares of organic farm in Malaysia during year 2001 and approximates organic farming increase to more than 1000 hectares in year 2005. In year 2008, there are about 1000 hectares of registered and 2800 hectares of unregistered organic farm. Table 1.1: Organic production area Source: Organic Alliance Malaysia, 2007 Organic farming and production had started up during year 1990. Due to increase in favorability and demand toward organic products this niche market is growing continuously. Consequently, there is increase in the number of organic organization which include government department and non government organization (Table 1.2). Table 1.2: Organic organization in Malaysia Source: Better Diet Islam, 2009 Malaysian organic scheme (SOM) is the organization that has the right to give certification to organic farmers. Today, there are 28 Malaysian Organic Scheme (SOM) Certificate Holders in nationwide with a total area of 1244 hectares (Table 1.3). Table 1.3: Malaysian Organic Scheme (SOM) Certificate Holders Source: Department of Agriculture Malaysia, 2009 Due to increasing in organic farming and production, the number of organic retail outlets is also in the increasing manner. As a result, there are many organic companies have started their business such as Justlife, BMS, Country farm, ZenXin, Woots and etc. Organic food was previously consumed by cancer patients or patients who had serious health problem. Today, organic food becomes a choice for every family or even each and everyone. As we know, Justlife is a famous retailer of organic food and organic products. Justlife has only owned half of a whole retail shop at SS2, Subang Selangor with limited organic products and food. Recently, they are success and owning eight retail shops in Malaysia. Accordingly, we can observe that consumer demand of organic food and products is rising in recent year. Since the demand of organic food and products are increasing, government has putting effort in order to encourage producers to involve themselves in organic farming. Besides, government mentioned in Ninth Malaysia Plan (2006-2010), they estimating the value for organic farms industry will be worth RM800 million after five year and plan to have 20,000 hectares of organic farm in year 2010 (Economic Planning Unit). During year 2001, Organic Alliance Malaysia (OAM) was found and this organization act as a private sector association to form national network. Government has tried to match the demand by increase the number of producer and organic farmer. However, we still supported by imports and the amount of foods that we imported from other country is about RM10.9bil or 8.7% of total import. Therefore, a study on consumer behaviour is crucial in order to forecast the demand and prepare for supply. According to local report, a supplier Kerby Ho of KK Hoganik told that demand for organic fruits and vegetables were increase at about 8%-10% every month (NST, 2008). Informed by organic-certified wholesaler Radiant Codes manager- Loke Siew Fong in local report, the sale is experiencing double digit growth. She added that consumers are having higher awareness on health issues nowadays and search for organic food rather than conventional foods (NST, 2008). As a result, research on consumer behaviour can tell supplier with fact reason why they demand for organic food and better understanding the trend of organic market. Moreover, the needs of communicate for both organic concept and build market confidence are vital in Malaysia market. Most of the citizen were still choosing conventional foods as usual and refuse to purchase organic food due to their own personal reason such as inconvenience, price, knowledge and others. Consequently, marketers have to know the concern of customers or citizen in order to better target the market and segments. In short, organic market is in an encouraging rate and it is a potential market for marketers, farmers, suppliers, wholesalers and retailers to aim. The reason why and how the demand increase is important for them to study in order to server the organic fans at the right time and right place with sufficient supplies. 1.3 Research Problem Consume organic food has become an important subject for today in changing social graphic and emerging trend. Government had been aware of the importance of organic sector since early of 1990s. The Organic Trade Association forecasts sales of organic food will be increase by 18% annually through 2010. Organic products become part of the picture for everyone at the present time and customer base of organic sector expected to rise and retailers continue to provide wider variety of organic food. Commissions communication > were presented in December 2002 that they are planning to increase their efficiency, transparency and consumer confidences in order to develop the market for organic food (Gracia and de Magistris, 2007). Refer to a report found in OAM in November 2008, Katherine diMatteo, president of the International Federation of Organic Agriculture; consumers seek organic produce as a way of environmental degradation, or as the best way to eat healthy foods. Besides, government and others view that purchasing organic is a good way for developing fair trade due to most of the organic farmers are small-scale producers. The trend of eating and purchasing organic has boosted up the organic sector in constructive rate. Transaction and trade of business have increase indirectly and these also bring a healthy rate for Malaysia economy. Consumers also willing to pay for organic food during economy down turn in June 2008. Economy down turn do not brought a strong impact to this industry and the sale of organic food still in a healthy and encouraging rate. As a result, we confidents there are something behind the consumers to motivate and move them to purchase organic food. At one time, people always believe that consumers choice was unstructured and natural but at this moment, people know that human behaviour is manipulated, push or even forced by reason. For instance, health conscious is affecting consumers where they will hunt for organic food in order to replace conventional foods. Nevertheless, this is only one of the hypotheses or assumption that we can made, we cannot prove that this is the accurate explanation for the question: Why the demand of purchasing organic food is increased from year to year? Additionally, there are many factors that keep moving people from conventional foods to organic food. Hence, study on the factor that affect consumers willingness in purchasing organic food is an essential issue to further understand consumers mind and support organic. Furthermore, dynamic issues and factors which influence consumers are changeable among individual and purchase decision of organic food will depend on many variables such as consumers attitudes toward environmental protection and healthiness (Gracia and de Magistris, 2007). Human behaviour and customers choice is not impulsive, unconscious, inborn and natural. Conversely, consumers behaviour is always motivated by the environment, enthusiasm, sensation and emotion (Ajzen and Fishbein, 1980). Consumer willingness to pay for organic food may influence by numerous factors. Human beings easily get influenced by the environment and objects surrounding them. We have no capability to freeze their consumption and purchase behaviour. The only way that we can do is to study deeply on what are the main aspects they are focusing and what are the essential factors that manipulate their purchasing. More to the point, people perception and motivation in purchase organic food are vary from country t o country. There is different demand in different county with different culture. In order to have a good explanation to answer the entire question and have a bottomless understanding of customers willingness to pay during obtain organic food, we come out with the problem statement: What are the main aspects that manipulate consumers willingness to pay for organic food. Policy maker seek consumer oriental analysis in organic sector since the information is crucial for them (Gracia and de Magistris, 2007). The study not only can improve the understanding of consumer behaviour and factors that affect customers but it is also a necessary research to help marketers to market the products, help government to better know the needs of citizen, help retailers or wholesalers to do some related activities to encourage consumers in order to choose organic food and help producer to estimate the production in future. 1.4 Research Objective The main purpose of this research is to recognize some of the essential variables that motivate or stimulate citizen in Malaysia in purchasing organic food. Organic market is a potential and profitable market for marketers to have a deep study on it since the demand of organic food is keep increasing nowadays. Besides, organic industry did contribute to Malaysia economy and citizens health, as well as the environment. In my opinion, customers belief, feeling, attitudes, motivation and demand trend would bring a deep impact on food industry and this will bring challenges for marketer to design marketing strategy. The following objectives are built to achieve goals of this study. i. To study the determinants that motive consumers willingness to pay for organic food. After identify all the factors, we can better target and server our customers when they doing their purchase. When retailers know all the factors and possess this advantage, they can come out with following step such as education fair, seminar or others kind of exhibition to influence or encourage customers in order to purchase organic food. Moreover, eating organic food can save and secure the earth. Consume organic food not only healthier but also more environmental friendly if compare with conventional foods. By educating others customers about the benefit of consuming organic food, sales of organic food will definitely continue to double up in the future. By the way, this also can help marketers to better market the products and also target potential customers easily. Lastly, this as well will contribute to economic growth and better environment for next generation. ii. To better understanding consumer buying decision and contribute precise data to policy makers. There is a problem that release by NST on November 2008 which is the number of organic supporter is increasing however; there are too few farmers to serve the large pool of consumers. As a result, we can overcome the problem of supply and demand after knowing the reason why customers purchase organic food or not. Moreover, most of the researchers showed consumers are willing to pay for high quality food. If this research can prove that there is a significant result between quality and willingness to pay. Related organization can immediately take action in order to strengthen organic production governance. iii. To study the impact on organic food industry due to the issue of health conscious. Recently, health conscious beca

Isaac Newton and Albert Einstein :: Isaac Newton, Albert Einstein

Albert Einstein and Isaac Newton were both the sons of farmers. Although Einstein lived in Germany and was Jewish while Newton was Catholic or Christian and lived in England. Albert taught himself geometry while Newton’s family couldn’t even read or write yet. As Newton was growing up one of his closest friend was a young man named Edmund Glaley. Isaac and Albert where both living in the 1600 are in this time period. King George was the king at this time.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Einstein hated his school and all of the German studies. In 1894 Albert family left him alone in the Army and to finished his studies. At the age of only 15 he had all of his independence. The he found out that his family had moved to Paliva. His dad worked with his dad in a factory. In 1898 Einstein met Molava and it was love at first sight. While Newton was discovering hypothesis and experimenting, so was Albert but he didn’t start until later. In collage Albert was considered lazy and stupid. Newton and Albert practically studied the same thing, but just at different times. Such as light and its colors, motion, science in general, space and the universe, gravity was a really big one. They also studied orbit and calculus. Einstein studied about being a teacher, electricity and how things worked. Newton studied telescopes, light and that the word of god is more important then chemistry.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Newton was excepted into the “society'; and then he became the head of the “society'; and that was a really big deal back then. He also publishes a book. For Einstein’s future plans he planed on marrying Molava and having children although Einstein traveled all around the world although, he was still able to keep in touch with Molava and her kids. Their names were Liza and the other kids name must have just slipped my mind. He would not have communicated with them and as much he would have liked. He soon got divorced. Then in 1919 he married his cousin named Elssa. He went to see his father one day to tell him the good news his father practically told him that he was a screw up and to go home with his family. He then died that day alone. Newton dressed very sloppily and he rarely went to bed between two and three in the morning, Newton also never married and he got little laughs about that one.

A World Class E-Government: Singapore

E-government refers to the transformation of the business of the government such as processes, operations and transactions that is driven by the information technology. This can happen both internally (streamlined government administration procedures for greater efficiency and effectiveness) and externally (simplified, enhanced government-client interaction via online connections) (Tan, Pan & Lim, 2007). Singapore is a small country with a population of about four million with a small market and limited natural resources. Although Singapore’s position as an information gateway in the region has lead it to become a global hub which is attractive to many Multinational National Companies (MNC) (Chan & Al-Hawamdeh, 2002). Singapore is a leader in the electronic governance that has invited worldwide recognition. Singapore’s e-government offers 98% of all government services are provided online for businesses and the community. It is one of the first countries to have the Civil Service Computerization Program (CSCP). The above mechanism was followed by the e-Government Action Plans. These involved implementing as many public services online as possible, adding value to the e-services and providing a one stop service via the internet. Singapore has launched a iGov2010 plan in the aim of bringing the government a greater efficiency by integrating the back end processes of the government ministries and organisations. As per Tan, Pan & Lim (2007) it improves efficiency in terms of utilizing less time, effort and material resources while maintaining a constant level of output. There are two portals offered by the government of Singapore which are namely for the citizens and the businesses. The portal offered for the citizens is known as the eCitizen Portal which is the single entry point for the community to access the services provided by the government and private corporations. The portal is to be accessed by the SingPass which is given to the citizens and permanent residents of Singapore. It is the single online user identification called the Singapore Personal Access. Through this system they can access their own confidential information. Also through the e-portal the community can post any thoughts on issues they are currently facing. For example the extensions of the smoking ban or the country’s national climate change strategy. The portal offered for businesses involves the Online Business Licensing Service (OBLS). This is an one stop portal for government registrations and licenses required to conduct business in Singapore. Through this portal the applicant needs to complete only one integrated form for multiple licenses. The system provides consolidated online payment mechanisms for one-time payments for multiple license fees. This system has lead the processing time a business license to reduce from 21 days to 8 days saving businesses more than $2. million annually. Therefore the implementation of IT in the government has lead to an increase in effectiveness and efficiency in providing services to businesses. Another example of such is provided by Tan, Pan & Lim (2007) where the unprocessed tax returns accumulated in the Singapore income tax department resulted in administrative backlogs and dissatisfaction among taxpayers. The e-filing system in the Inland Revenue Authority of Singapore (IRAS) has lead to greater efficiency in the department and the use of back-end infrastructure to incorporate taxation calculations and regulations has improved its effectiveness. Question 1: Explore the two portals. What are the benefits to both the community and businesses? In Singapore, citizens have quickly warmed up to the e-Government services. Activities such as renewing road taxes and e-filing of income tax returns over the internet are now common among the community (n. a. , 2006). The main benefit for the community is the lessened administrative burdens they have to go through for payments, renewals and other services. The e-Government would lead to an improved quality of information with a reduction in the process time. It would also result in cost reduction for both the community and the ministries. These improved service levels would lead to efficiency where the community operating with the e-Government would be satisfied (Corsi, Gumina & Ciriaci, 2006). Another benefit that is enjoyed is the ability for the citizens to use their mobile phones to interact with the government services. There are many services offered by the e-Government in Singapore that is compatible with the hand held device. For example Housing Development Board and IRAS. Another benefit provided is the use of SingPass to access the individuals own MyeCitizen account. Having this unique SingPass would enable the privacy and confidentiality of the citizens. The users can personalise the portal and they have a variety of channels to choose from such as MyTravel, MyKids and MyCareer. Lastly the ability of the citizens to voice out their opinions is a great benefit for both the government and the citizens. Businesses have also benefited by the services provided by the e-Government. It is an increased efficiency and convenience to deal through the online platform. The offering of the Online Business Licensing Service (OBLS) allows the applicant to complete one integrated form for multiple licenses. The website provides the applicants with step by step guide which makes it trouble-free for the business to apply for licenses. By the OBLS the processing time of applications were reduced from 21days to 8days. This would be an efficient approach for the business where they can concentrate on other parts of starting up the business without a delay from the government authorities. Question 2: According to the chapter, there are six stages in the transformation to e-government. Which do you think Singapore is in? Why? In order for a transformation of a traditional government to an fully functional online government, there are six stages that are to be completed. These factors are explained in Wong (2000). Stage one is information publishing/dissemination which involves providing information on individual govermental departments by seting up their own website. It allows the community and businesses to choose from a range of services and contact for further assistance. By this activity the, the government departments would be able to reduce the number of phone calls customers need to make in order to clarify requests. Stage two is the â€Å"official†two-way transactions where the customers are able to submit personal information and conduct monetory transactions with individual departments through secure websites. At this stage customers should be convinced about the departments ability to keep the information private. Stage three is the multi-purpose portals. It involves integrating different departments. A portal allows the customers use a single point of entry to send and receive information and to process monetory transactions across many departments. Stage four is the portal personalisation where the customers can customise portals with their desired features. The goverment needs a much more sophisticated web programming that allows the interfaces to be user-manipulated. By the personalisation activity, the government can have a clearer read on the customer preference for electronic versus non-electronic service options. Stage fiveinvolves the clustering of common services where the customers now view the once-diparate services as a unified package through the portal. They tend to recognise group of transactions rather than than the group of agencies. Therefore the government will cluster the services along common lines to accelerate the delivery of shared services. Stage six involves the full integration and enterprise transformation. This is the stage where all departments across the government is integrated with technology. It would bridge a shortened gap between the front and back offices. Singapore’s e-government is in stage six in the Deloitte’s transformation model. E-government in Singapore has carried out Action plans since year 2000 regarding the accessibility, integration and providing value added services with one-stop service via the internet. There iGov2010 plan was launched in 2006 which involves bringing the e-government to a greater level of efficiency. This is to accomplished by back end processes across the entire government’s ministries. Question 3: What could other governments learn from the example of Singapore?  Despite the differences in Singapore and other styles of governments, there are things a country can learn from Singapore’s e-government experiences. Singapore has enjoyed political stability since independence in 1965 and the People’s Action Party (PAP) has been in government throughout that period. Due to the one party government system, there has been little or no disruption of policy implementation, which has enhanced the effectiveness of the delivery mechanism of public services. This stability has created well-organized institutions that help all stakeholders to adopt e-Services. Investments and master plans have leaded the success story of Singapore. For an instance in 2005,, the Singaporean government introduced a master plan to tackle security issues. S$38m (? 12. 3 million) will be invested in this plan to ensure a secure online environment. Incentives for tax-payers who submit tax declarations electronically, extensions of deadlines for those who are willing to declare their incomes electronically and lower fees for people who apply for their passports online are some incentives given by the government to promote e services and thereby an e governance. The social strengths of Singapore have been demonstrated by an educational system that produces a well-educated workforce to attract foreign direct investment (FDI). Not only developing its own pool of local talents, Singapore also recruits foreign talents to work in both the public and private sectors. Time saving, convenience and actual monetary savings are the main drives to pull e-Users to e-Services. In conclusion, one country cannot be a model of another country. But any country can be inspired by another. Singapore is a good example for other countries to open doors toward the success.

Free Essays on Christopher Columbus

Christopher Columbus (1451-1506) Christopher Columbus was an outstanding navigator and organizer of expeditions. He achieved fame by sailing west across the Atlantic Ocean in search of a sea route to Asia. He did not accomplish this goal. Instead, he encountered islands in the Caribbean Sea. At that time, the people of Europe and the Americas did not know of each other's existence. During his four voyages westward-between 1492 and 1504-Columbus explored what are now the West Indies and the coasts of Central and South America. Columbus was not the first European to reach the Western Hemisphere. The Norse(also called the Vikings) had settled for a time on the coast of North America about A.D. 1000. That contact did not last, and most Europeans of the 1400's did not know it had taken place. Columbus' voyages led to enduring links between the Eastern and Western hemispheres. The World of Columbus When Columbus was born in 1451, Europe was struggling against the growing power of the Ottoman Turks, who had conquered much of southeastern Europe. In 1453, the Ottomans took control of Constantinople (now Istanbul, Turkey), a major center of trade between Europe and Asia. The ottomans made Constantinople the capital of their empire, cutting off easy European access to Asian goods. The only alternative to a difficult, dangerous land journey was a sea route-either around Africa or westward across the Atlantic. The desire for a sea route to Asia started a remarkable wave of European exploration, even though Europe had limited resources. European explorers combined the seafaring skill of the Italians with the resources of the Portuguese and the Spanish. Europe constantly improved its ships and navigational aids, as well as its arms for trading and a desire to preach Christianity worldwide. Early Years Boyhood. The exact date of Christopher Columbus' birth is not known. He was born sometime between August... Free Essays on Christopher Columbus Free Essays on Christopher Columbus Christopher Columbus is often described as â€Å"one of the greatest mariners in history, a visionary genius, a mystic, a national hero, a failed administrator, a naà ¯ve entrepreneur, and a ruthless and greedy imperialist†. Throughout history, his story has been referred to in all situations, some were good and some were bad. But all who teach and hear the story agree that without him, the world would be different. There were many different ways Christopher Columbus’ voyages were viewed. His voyages expressed the general political, social, and scientific outlook of the fifteenth century in many ways. Through every thing he had the determination and strength to get through even when he had no support. From the political outlook, not many â€Å"high up† people believed in what Christopher Columbus was setting out to accomplish. He had tried unsuccessfully to enlist support for his project. He presented his intentions to many different people to ask for support. Through a combination of good luck and persuasiveness, he finally was offered help from Catholic monarchs, Queen Isabel and King Fernando, who agreed to back him up. They agreed to Columbus’s demands on the condition that he would be successful on his first voyage. He was to be rewarded with â€Å"being knighted, appointed Admiral of the Ocean Sea, made the viceroy of any new lands, and awarded ten percent of any new wealth. He took his three ships, the Santa Maria, the Nina, and the Pinta. After the voyage of 1492, the widely published reports made Columbus famous. Political support was no longer hard to come by, and he earned the title of â€Å"Admiral of the Ocean Sea† and further royal patro nage. Not only did the political outlook change, so did the social outlook. Before Christopher Columbus set sail, his fellow mariners thought he was wasting his time with mere dreams and idealistic fantasies. After receiving support from Queen Isabel and King Fernando, he se... Free Essays on Christopher Columbus Christopher Columbus (1451-1506) Christopher Columbus was an outstanding navigator and organizer of expeditions. He achieved fame by sailing west across the Atlantic Ocean in search of a sea route to Asia. He did not accomplish this goal. Instead, he encountered islands in the Caribbean Sea. At that time, the people of Europe and the Americas did not know of each other's existence. During his four voyages westward-between 1492 and 1504-Columbus explored what are now the West Indies and the coasts of Central and South America. Columbus was not the first European to reach the Western Hemisphere. The Norse(also called the Vikings) had settled for a time on the coast of North America about A.D. 1000. That contact did not last, and most Europeans of the 1400's did not know it had taken place. Columbus' voyages led to enduring links between the Eastern and Western hemispheres. The World of Columbus When Columbus was born in 1451, Europe was struggling against the growing power of the Ottoman Turks, who had conquered much of southeastern Europe. In 1453, the Ottomans took control of Constantinople (now Istanbul, Turkey), a major center of trade between Europe and Asia. The ottomans made Constantinople the capital of their empire, cutting off easy European access to Asian goods. The only alternative to a difficult, dangerous land journey was a sea route-either around Africa or westward across the Atlantic. The desire for a sea route to Asia started a remarkable wave of European exploration, even though Europe had limited resources. European explorers combined the seafaring skill of the Italians with the resources of the Portuguese and the Spanish. Europe constantly improved its ships and navigational aids, as well as its arms for trading and a desire to preach Christianity worldwide. Early Years Boyhood. The exact date of Christopher Columbus' birth is not known. He was born sometime between August...

Biography of Carl R. Rogers

Biography of Carl R. Rogers Free Online Research Papers Carl R. Rogers (1902-1987) was an American psychologist born in Oak Park, Illinois. His parents raised him in a strict and uncompromising religious and ethical atmosphere. His father was a civil engineer and his mother was a housewife and devout Christian. His description of his early life revealed the two main trends that reflected in his later work. The first was the concern with moral and ethical matters. The second was the respect for the methods of science. Rogers started his college education at the University of Wisconsin, majoring in agriculture, but after two years he changed his professional goals and decided to enter the ministry. At age 20, during a trip to China for an international Christian conference, he started to observe commitments to other religious doctrines as well as the bitter mutual hatreds of French and German people, who he thought otherwise seemed to be likable individuals. He attended a seminar entitled Why am I joining the Ministry? Although he was deeply concerned about questions regarding the meaning of life for individuals, Rogers had doubts about specific religious doctrines. Therefore, he chose to leave the seminary, to work in the field of child guidance, and to think of himself as a clinical psychologist. Rogers then attended Teachers College, Columbia University, obtaining a M.A. in 1928 and a PhD in 1931. While completing his doctorial work, he was evolved in child study at the Society for Prevention of Cruelty to Children in Rochester, New York. He became the agency’s director in 1930. His education exposed him to both the dynamic views of Freud and the rigorous experimental methods then prevalent at Teacher College. He felt pulled in different directions between the developments of two somewhat divergent trends. In his later years he represented an effort to integrate the religious with the scientific, the intuitive with the objective, and the clinical with the statistical. In 1945, he was invited to set up a counseling center at University of Chicago. While working there he published his best work Client-centered Therapy, where he outlines his basic theory. He referred to it as counseling rather than psychotherapy. The basic elements of Carl Roger’s new way of therapy was to have a more personal relationship with the patient to help the patient reach a state of realization that they can help themselves. He did this by pushing the patient towards growth, great stress on the immediate situation rather than the past. This way the person is able to use the therapy as a way to reach a better sense of self, rather than living in an irrational world. Rogers’s theory had come to be categorized as the phenomenal field – the space of perceptions that makes up our experience. The individual constructs this inner world of experience, and the construction reflects not only the outer world of reality but the inner world of personal needs, goals, and beliefs. Inner psychological needs shape the subjective experiences that we interpret as objectively real. The key structural concept for Rogers was the self – the organization of perceptions and experiences associated with the â€Å"self†, â€Å"me,† or â€Å"I.† Also important is the concept of the ideal self, or the self concept the person would most like to possess. Although the self changes, it always retains this patterned, integrated, organized quality. Since the organized quality endures over time and characterized the individual, the self is a personality structure. Person-centered therapy is the application of the person-centered approach to the therapy situation. Other applications include a theory of personality, interpersonal relations, education, nursing, cross-cultural relations and other helping professions and situations. The application to education has a large robust research tradition similar to that of therapy. Rogers described the approach to education in Client-Centered Therapy and wrote Freedom to Learn devoted exclusively to the subject in 1969. Freedom to Learn was revised two times. The new Learner-Centered Model is similar in many regards to this classical person-centered approach to education. The application to cross-cultural relations has involved workshops in highly stressful situations and global locations including conflicts and challenges in South Africa, Central America, and Ireland. This work resulted in a Nobel Peace Prize nomination for Rogers. Research Papers on Biography of Carl R. RogersThree Concepts of PsychodynamicEffects of Television Violence on ChildrenArguments for Physician-Assisted Suicide (PAS)Comparison: Letter from Birmingham and CritoPersonal Experience with Teen PregnancyInfluences of Socio-Economic Status of Married MalesRelationship between Media Coverage and Social andHip-Hop is ArtStandardized TestingResearch Process Part One

Top 7 Least Stressful Jobs That Pay Big Money [Infographic]

Top 7 Least Stressful Jobs That Pay Big Money [Infographic] Many people equate high pay with high stress but that’s not necessarily always true. There are many high paying jobs out there that are not very stressful. Here at  TheJobNetwork, we work with many industry experts who posses inside knowledge about the job market. That being said, following our research, here are our top 7 high paying least stressful jobs.Search for more jobs here

Using Kiosk Banking to Lower Cost Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Using Kiosk Banking to Lower Cost - Essay Example Such machines, also called electronic kiosks, are used for data retrieval, information gathering, and dispensing banking services. They have an interface platform and a personal computer powered by software to handle financial transactions. Some kiosks also have videoconferencing, magnetic stripe readers, smart card reader and â€Å"electronic pads† that reproduce signatures on laser printed mortgage forms. The banks also realized later that the use of kiosks needs to be marketed pro-actively. These machines can’t attract customers on their own. Olivetti North America Inc, of Liberty Lake, Washington and NCR, Dayton, Ohio are the market leaders in manufacture of kiosks, though not without competition. The kiosks may differ in variety, color, style and working. Washington Mutual Bank of Seattle has installed its kiosks in discount stores where they are used for requesting loan applications besides normal banking functions. The Bank is also experimenting in the kiosk usage in absence of store staff. The Bank feels that the kiosks have made a positive difference to the business. Ed Reger, vice-president of the Bank says that unlike some other banks, they will not give up on developing customer relations and will not put up kiosks in stand alone environment. Reger feels that places like retail outlets, offices of realtors, and retirement homes hold great potential for the use of kiosks. In a typical kiosk operation, a person can fill an application to open a bank account, append electronic signatures and discuss with customer s ervice department through video conferencing. However, the high costs associated with the technology dissuade smaller institutions from using it. Meanwhile NCR and Affinity Technology group have joined hands to put to use NCR software to develop automated lending capabilities. On the other hand, Olivetti kiosks have different core module for different operations. The machine of Dyad Inc., another manufacturer helps the customers to secure a

Markiting Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 9

Markiting - Essay Example The Diet Cereals brand is meant to assure the targeted clientele of their health status while still maintaining the delicious qualities of food. The marketing strategy would involve the messages for weight maintenance in order to appeal to the concerns of the target market segment. Matters of convenience and time-saving factors will also be included in the packaging of the message in order to meet the standards of the markets. The middle class urban individuals are informed and often engage keenly with matters of calories and weight. Particularly, the marketing will seek to appeal to the female clientele who are naturally fastidious about politics of calories. The potential employer should develop an element of confidence in my strategy, which are flexible and responsive to the changing needs on the market. The art and science of marketing requires an awareness of trends and the possession of persuasive techniques that would endear to the tastes of the market (Ranchhod and Calin 40). As such, it would be strategic to consider the weaknesses of the dominant competitors in order to respond with the kind of products that fill into the

Elements of Lean Paper Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Elements of Lean Paper - Essay Example We can therefore refer to lean manufacturing as a business model as well as collection of tactical methods which emphasizes on waste elimination and at the same time delivering quality products that are cost effective on timely basis. In this study we are going to explore the elements and core disciplines of lean manufacturing and services in software development organization. The previous emergence of Agile software development methods as well as the lean principles have brought about the thinking of lean for the interest of the software community (Kaikkonen et al, 2014). Based on lean thinking, five principles are revealed by Kaikkonen et al (2014) in the discussion of lean principles. These principles also happen to be the core elements of lean in software development, the elements are; flow, value, value stream, pull, and perfection. These elements are relevant in the creation of a lean enterprise with the concepts of value as the heart of lean thinking. With value stream, value adding and wasteful activities are necessary for bringing a product or even service into existence. This is achievable when focus is put on improvement efforts. When value adding activities are carried out smoothly, the element of flow comes in. This is to mean that at every given point of the value stream, maximum value from the perspective of the product is added. Another el ement in this case is the pull; it simply means that any upstream process would not result as product of goods and services until a signal to do so is issued from the downstream. These three principle elements and the other two generate massive gains in the software development organization. Elements required by the organization to move towards the lean environment are waste and value as they happen to be the heart of lean thinking (Kaikkonen et al, 2014). Based on lean, value is viewed from the perspective of the customer as anything they appreciate. On the general business perspective it can be typically

3 questions to be answered. 250 words per answer. Timing is late 1890s Assignment

3 questions to be answered. 250 words per answer. Timing is late 1890s in United States - Assignment Example public feelings against Spain (Gary and Murrin 14). In defense of his country, the Spanish diplomat in Washington continued to express blatant indifference and open contempt towards the American government under President McKinley. Apparently, the military campaigns used by the Spanish administration in quenching Cuban guerrilla insurgency invariably captured attention of many American sympathizers. Particularly, the use of concentration camps against Cuban rural populations, which resulted in massive deaths from diseases and starvation, upset the American public. More so, the forcible incarceration of Cuban citizens by Spanish military rulers led to massive loss of American investments, and political powers within the Western Hemisphere (Gary and Murrin 19). The tolerable boundaries of outrage and indifference harbored by Americans towards Spanish occupation in South America broke down when a U.S. battleship Maine, which had 260 crew members, was allegedly sunk by Spanish belligerents on 15th February, 1989. In combination with the previously growing hatred and intolerance towards Spanish administration in South American nations like Cuba, the sunken ship aroused immense war sentiments across the United State s population, forcing President McKinley to declare war against Spain on 25th April, 1898. With respect to the United States political history, the Progressive Era of between 1890s to the 1920s saw increasing influence by the American government in both domestic and foreign policies. In fact, the increasing progressive activism in the United States led to the Spanish-American war of 1898. Apparently, progressive political leaders were reform-minded champions of a just and rational society. Prior to the Progressive Era, the United States government and other global powers like Britain and Spain were fond of using military machinery

Single Cell Protein Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Single Cell Protein - Essay Example Although, there is a global shortage of protein, the shortage is in developing countries which cannot afford this technology. There are several advantages in using microorganisms as a food source. They occupy less room then conventional crops and animals; therefore they can grow on a wide range of cheap or waste products of agriculture and industry. They grow much more rapidly, are more easily modified by genetic engineering and so have relatively high protein content. They are independent of climate and do not occupy the large areas of land. There also are fewer ethical issues associated with there exploitation and no animal rights issues. There are different uses of yeast and fungi; like it can produce dietary supplements known as single cell protein (SCP). Yeast species are efficient in producing large amounts of different types of vitamins and is also used in the commercial production of that vitamin. Other species like yeasts can also be utilized in brewing, which can absorb as well as store vitamins from their food. It is healthy for people to take yeasts as vitamin supplements. Yeast fungi can also produce huge amount of useful stuff such as numerous enzymes, industrial alcohol, glycerol and fat. The yeasts are also helpful in commercial production of these substances. The Single Cell Protein (SCP) is produced by using bacteria, fungi, yeast or algae. SCP, for the time being, is very successful for using alternative cheaper proteins such as Soya bean, and lack of research into value-added products derived from microorganisms. Recent studies show that autolysis is an efficient method of extracting protein from the yeast; the internal cell's enzymes actions can actually cause the breakdown of cell constituents. If yeast is exposed at a very high temperature, it can speed up the process of autolysis. In reality, getting the best result of the finished product (in terms of flavor, quality or yield), totally depends on the solubiliszation of the cell contents in autolysis; it is a vital and indispensable step. In spite of this significant process, there are few common understandings of these biological modifications which happen during autolysis. Furthermore, almost every study on yeast autolysis have only been conducted with only one Saccharomyces cerevisiae know as yeast specie,and no study have been done to know the autolysis reaction of different species. Yeast was treated in laboratory which fermented the production; presently a lot of research is in progress in the department of Chemical & Life Sciences which is also examining other species like Kluyveromyces marxianus (dairy yeast),as it can produce novel yeast extracts. SCADA (Supervisory Control and Data) software is also assisting this procedure and the effect of reaction of the substance that is acted upon by an enzyme or ferment on consequential nutritive value and flavor enhancement is still being investigated. According to the recent research it is been found that yeast which produce protein contains highly nutritional matter (up to 50% dry weight basis). Therefore, controlled conditions during autolysis will result in the activation of yeast proteases which degrade yeast proteins into soluble peptides and amino acids. Another name of SCP is microbial protein or microbial food. Due to the

ECommerce Course Work Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2750 words

ECommerce Course Work - Case Study Example In this report I will access and analyze the security issues and concerns regarding the online Globetrotting Hotels system. I will discuss about the handling of the customers’ personal information and payment details on the online web. Then I will also talk about the installation of the better facilities for the customers like customer care services, physical security, online information preservation, etc. Harry Smith has planned to present the matchless group of the local self-governing hotels. These local self-regulating hotels will be combined through the worldwide chain and will proffer very friendly high quality services and local knowledge. Here in this global chain of the globetrotter will be very useful and effective through the implementation of one-stop web site. This website will be a common platform where the customers are able to fine deeper and wider information regarding the online world wide hotels chain. This also facilitates the Globetrotting for the effective management and customer services.1 In this section I will talk about the better e-payment system that will facilitate the effective online business management of the Globetrotting Hotels system. The main reasons behind this idea is to critically analyze, compare and contrast the different ways of the e-payment systems and choose a better way for the Globetrotting Hotels system. This system should have the potential of assessing more enhanced and fraud less online payment services. The first type that is mostly used for the e-payments is the credit card payment system. Through this system we will ask the credit card number and payment details from the customer for the online transaction. This information will be used for the online transaction. This method of the online payment is very useful, but in earlier few years we have seen massive number of online credit card frauds. For this reason most of the people hesitate to carry out an online transaction (e-payment, 2008). In our

3 questions to be answered. 250 words per answer. Timing is late 1890s Assignment

3 questions to be answered. 250 words per answer. Timing is late 1890s in United States - Assignment Example public feelings against Spain (Gary and Murrin 14). In defense of his country, the Spanish diplomat in Washington continued to express blatant indifference and open contempt towards the American government under President McKinley. Apparently, the military campaigns used by the Spanish administration in quenching Cuban guerrilla insurgency invariably captured attention of many American sympathizers. Particularly, the use of concentration camps against Cuban rural populations, which resulted in massive deaths from diseases and starvation, upset the American public. More so, the forcible incarceration of Cuban citizens by Spanish military rulers led to massive loss of American investments, and political powers within the Western Hemisphere (Gary and Murrin 19). The tolerable boundaries of outrage and indifference harbored by Americans towards Spanish occupation in South America broke down when a U.S. battleship Maine, which had 260 crew members, was allegedly sunk by Spanish belligerents on 15th February, 1989. In combination with the previously growing hatred and intolerance towards Spanish administration in South American nations like Cuba, the sunken ship aroused immense war sentiments across the United State s population, forcing President McKinley to declare war against Spain on 25th April, 1898. With respect to the United States political history, the Progressive Era of between 1890s to the 1920s saw increasing influence by the American government in both domestic and foreign policies. In fact, the increasing progressive activism in the United States led to the Spanish-American war of 1898. Apparently, progressive political leaders were reform-minded champions of a just and rational society. Prior to the Progressive Era, the United States government and other global powers like Britain and Spain were fond of using military machinery

ECommerce Course Work Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2750 words

ECommerce Course Work - Case Study Example In this report I will access and analyze the security issues and concerns regarding the online Globetrotting Hotels system. I will discuss about the handling of the customers’ personal information and payment details on the online web. Then I will also talk about the installation of the better facilities for the customers like customer care services, physical security, online information preservation, etc. Harry Smith has planned to present the matchless group of the local self-governing hotels. These local self-regulating hotels will be combined through the worldwide chain and will proffer very friendly high quality services and local knowledge. Here in this global chain of the globetrotter will be very useful and effective through the implementation of one-stop web site. This website will be a common platform where the customers are able to fine deeper and wider information regarding the online world wide hotels chain. This also facilitates the Globetrotting for the effective management and customer services.1 In this section I will talk about the better e-payment system that will facilitate the effective online business management of the Globetrotting Hotels system. The main reasons behind this idea is to critically analyze, compare and contrast the different ways of the e-payment systems and choose a better way for the Globetrotting Hotels system. This system should have the potential of assessing more enhanced and fraud less online payment services. The first type that is mostly used for the e-payments is the credit card payment system. Through this system we will ask the credit card number and payment details from the customer for the online transaction. This information will be used for the online transaction. This method of the online payment is very useful, but in earlier few years we have seen massive number of online credit card frauds. For this reason most of the people hesitate to carry out an online transaction (e-payment, 2008). In our