Describe Commodus Essay

Commodus changes for the worse. He is innately devious and this is not resolved throughout Gladiator. He identifies his main adversary as Maximus, his father’s favourite, but in reality it is his own lack of moral fibre that is his greatest enemy. Maximus’s fallicious death triggers a surge towards a more confident, vehement Commodus, but when Maximus resurfaces there is a resumption of his initial personality. As any emergence any improvement retracts. Maximus’s strengths are Commodus’s weakenesses. Commodus realises this and holds Maximus in contempt. Maximus is everything Commodus aspires to be. Whilst Maximus’s glass is full of orthodox qualities, Commodus’s is almost empty, apart from a few unvirtuous qualities he embodies. It is this emptiness that makes his lack of moral fibre so transparent. Marcus Aurelius sees through the glass and intends to deny Commodus succession by reverting Rome to a Republic. It is here in Commodus’s murder of his father that we see the true extent of his destructive capacity. Maximus has the love of Lucilla, in which Commodus intensley desires. Maximus has the love of Aurelius, the kind of filial love Commodus has always longed for. Maximus has acceptance, the kind Commodus will never achieve because he is an effete. Maximus is loved, respected and is in commands of power, whereas Commodus is not. It is these intangible commodities that motivate Commodus to aspire to metaphorically become Maximus. He acknowledges Maximus’s charisma as an obstacle and sets out to eradicate Maximus accordingly. He is however, unsuccessful in his plight. Commodus indicts others as the cause of his deficency. He fails to recognise that his greatest obstacle is his inner-self. If he had identified the key to success as self-discovery, then he may have acheived his goals. Commodus does not however; and makes no growth positive growth as a character. He remains immoral, fearful, ambitous, greedy, weak, and shrouded in consuming jealousy. These qualities are expressed in his actions and inter-relations with others. Thriving on death and blood, seen in the gladiatorial games, he mistakes violence for power. He is willing to cheat, threaten and murder to obtain it. He instigates himself as the protector of Rome, seen in his  speech to the Senate: â€Å"I am the father of Rome and they are my children.† Attempting to appoint the adulation that comes with a virtuous hero upon himself, an unvirtuous tyrant. The greatest hindrance to Commodus is his all consuming jealousy. It motivates corruption, disallowing Commodus the ability to recognise his own character and to also expand on it. Instead he is entangled in a perpetual reminder of what he is not. This is his pestilence. This jealousy is augmented when Maximus still comands adoration even as a gladiator, when it should be directed towards Commodus; the emperor. It is here that Commodus realizes the trickery he has employed to could his absence of virtues, to gain the love of Rome, has not prospered. The antithesis of virtue is denied admiration. In an attempt to demonstrate power; Commodus challenges Maximus in the battle arena; which signifies his desperation. Maximus is a conquering general and a gladiatorial champion, whereas Commodus is a skillfull swordsman, but he is weak due to his cowardess, and they are unequally matched. This encounter could have been a growth point for Commodus, by way of conquering fear; but he utilizes his insidious qualities and inflicts a mortal wound before the battle begins; to give himself an unfair advantage. Victorious he is not, and death awaits Commodus. Commodus could never find success with the detainment of vices. It would go against the definition of the conquering hero. Commodus as a hero would distort the structure of Gladiator. Commodus is the antagonist; the one in which unvirtuous qualities are shown; to enthrall a sense of moral code in the film and to also display the virtues that compile a hero; Maximus. From the moment Commodus murders his father, Aurelius, he is doomed not to discover success, unless he redeems himself from the wrong-doing he has committed. This redemption does not occur, and illustrates that Commodus is prepared to change for the worse. Commodus carries out more treacherous acts; such as ordering the murder of Maximus and his family. It is here in the killing of innocence that Commodus spirals out of control; and becomes the epitome of immorality. Commodus faces great conflict and motivation to change his ways. He does  change, he becomes worse. It is crucial to his role as the antagonist that he does not learn from his mistakes; otherwise; he would shift to being a protagonist. The tragic hero is one who faces much adversity; but after a journey of discovery finds redemption; and usually death. The negative growth of Commodus is essential to the plot line of Gladiator. Commodus offers a comparison by which Maximus can be measured; and the two share a symbiotic relationship in the way they need each other for the personality of the characters to be fully recognised. Commodus remains trapped in a downward spiral of unvirtue; disallowing himself from experiencing redemption; the redemption that would have made him a tragic hero. This entrapment in vice is however crucial to the narrative of Gladiator.

Original Writing – Birkan Akin

It was a dark night on a small island off the coast of Maine; I heard a shot, and a gunshot that echoed in my ears it felt like I was wounded. On the night of the gunshot a fisherman disappeared. The body was absent from the day of the gunshot, a young man known as Ryan Adams was accused of the murder. Years later the fisherman was found, found for just a few seconds he was found by a young girl who was playing in the sea when she suddenly felt a hand. I was at the scene firstly it seemed like the girls was drowning, I went for her rescue thinking that she is drowning, but then a yellow raincoat flicked into my eyes. I screamed out â€Å"its him, its him it's the fisherman that went missing at the gunshot scene†. I was in shock I couldn't believe it, then I suddenly saw the fisherman moving he was getting, getting out of the sea. I screamed â€Å"he's alive he's alive† I saw for one moment and the he vanished, disappeared he was gone. I couldn't even say stop, wait, don't go†¦he was gone. The following day everybody in the island was talking about the return of the fisherman, but just for a few seconds. On the same day the young man Ryan Adams that was accused of murdering the fisherman was set free. A further investigation was in process the investigation was named as ‘who fired the gunshot?' Since the day the fisherman reappeared he was never seen again. One night I went out to the seaside to catch some fish for dinner, the sky was pitch black I couldn't see anything. When I was fishing I heard something, something that was thrown into the sea from a distance. I turned around and looked at the shaw it looked like I saw the fisherman it looked he had that same yellow raincoat I was sure it was him because it looked like he was getting closer to me. I packed up my equipment and headed towards my home. I had another look back and I saw the fisherman in distance, he was running, running towards me. When I looked carefully at him it looked like he was carrying something in his hand, it was hard to describe from such distance but as he got closer I started picturing it, it looked like a gun. I was shattered, scared in amazement. He was getting closer and closer and closer and closer, then I heard a gun shot it was echoing in my ears it sounded like the bullet was getting closer†¦then suddenly I flew out my bed and started screaming â€Å"agghhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh†¦its was a dream, a dream, a dream that know one would ever believe.

Importance of Osmosis in Living Organisms and Beings

What is the importance of osmosis in living organisms?The process of osmosis and its importance to living organisms Osmosis is the process by which there is a net movement of water through a semi permeable membrane from an area of high water potential to an area of low water potential. Within a cell, osmosis has the following effect. If the water potential of the cell is lower than that around the cell water will move across a concentration gradient into the cell. If this is the case, the increase in water in the cell, may cause the cell to swell, which could consequently lead to the cell bursting.If the concentration of water is the same both inside the cell and surrounding the cell there will be a dynamic equilibrium between the number of water molecules entering and leaving the cell, hence the cell does not change size. For example, red blood cells in the blood plasma retain their shape because of the isotonic nature of the plasma. If the concentration of water is higher within th e cell then that of outside the cell, there will be a net movement of water out of the cell, this will cause the cell to shrink and shrivel.Within animal cells there is no cell wall therefore when there is a higher water potential outside the cell to inside the cell, water diffuses into the cell, and as there is no cell wall to prevent it from bursting, the cell swells and bursts and the cell cannot become turgid. However when an animal cell is in danger of bursting, organelles within the cell pump water out of the cell to prevent this from happening. When a cell contains excess fluid it causes the membrane to split and the cell to burst, when this happens due to an over abundance of fluid, it is known as lysis.It is therefore very important to maintain an osmotic balance within animal cells. Like with all cells when the water potential inside the cell is higher than that outside the cell water moves out of the cell, causing the cell to shrink in size. Therefore it is necessary for animal cells to be always surrounded by an isotonic solution. In the human body, the kidneys provide the necessary regulatory mechanism for the blood plasma to be an isotonic solution to prevent excesses amounts of water and salts leaving the body and maintain the correct concentration of water by removing salt from the blood.This process within the kidneys is controlled by part of the brain called the medulla. Almost all of the water which enters the intestines is absorbed across the walls of the small intestine through the action of osmosis. Chyme which enters the intestines is digested and broken down, this increases the osmotic pressure, and therefore as digestion continues there is an increase in osmotic pressure. This causes water to move into the gut via the process of osmosis. On the other hand the broken down molecules move out of the lumen and into the blood stream.This decreases the osmotic pressure, and water is reabsorbed back into the body. An additional bodily functio n which uses osmosis is the production of sweat. The body uses osmosis by lowering the water potential near the skin by exerting a small amount of salt inside the sweat glands, this lowers the water potential inside the gland, and this causes water to move into the gland via osmosis as the water potential is higher outside the gland then within it. When the glands are full of water, sweat leaves the body, as mainly water, and the salt remains in the glands which allow water to continually move into the glands when needed to.Therefore it is clear that osmosis plays a large role in the body, and is needed to maintain many processes within the body. Tissue fluid also requires the process of osmosis, tissue fluid is the fluid which surrounds cells and tissues which contains blood plasma, the function of tissue fluid is to carry oxygen and glucose to cells, and carry carbon dioxide and waste products away from the cells and into the tissue fluid to be reabsorbed by the blood. At the arte riole end of the capillary, due to a high hydrostatic pressure in comparison to the solute potential of the blood is forced out which creates the tissue fluid.At the venule end of the capillary the pressure is much lower, but the capillary contains the proteins which were not forced out with the tissue fluid. This increases the osmotic potential; therefore the tissue fluid is reabsorbed back into the venule via osmosis. Plant cells are slightly different to animal cells in terms of their reaction to osmosis. When a plant cell has a lower water potential than around the cell, like animal cells, there is a net movement of water into the cell causing the cell to begin to swell.However, the turgid cell walls prevent the cell from bursting, once this has happened the plant cell is said to have become turgid, as it has become swollen and hard. This causes the pressure inside the cell to be equal to that outside of the cell, this hydrostatic pressure prevents further uptake of water by the plant cell. This is very important to the plant as osmosis cause the turgidity of the cells it allows the plant tissue to maintain its turgidity and stability.This is further helped by the fact the pressure of the cells is exerted on the neighbouring cells this allows green plants to photosynthesis more efficiently as it allows them to remain straight and tall towards the sunlight. When a plant cell is in hypertonic conditions, water is exuded from the cell, but there is no change in the size or shape of the cell wall but the cytoplasm shrinks, and the cell membrane and cytoplasm are pulled away from the cell wall, this process is known as plasmolysis.Osmosis is important within plants, as it allows water to be taken up by the roots, and move up the plant. Firstly it is necessary for moving water and dissolved mineral ions through the xylem. When the water potential is greater in the soil surrounding the roots than in the outer layer of root cells, water moves into the reels via os mosis. This causes and increase of water concentration in the outer root cells, than in surrounding root cells, water therefore moves in to adjacent root cells by osmosis.This movement of water continues as long as the adjacent cells have lower water potential, this allows water to continue moving up the entire plant. Once the water has been taken up by the roots it can continue in two ways, either down the symplast pathway or the apoplast pathway. The symplast pathway does not require osmosis as there are no further membranes to pass through until the water reaches the xylem. The apoplast pathway stops when the water reaches the endodermis because of the waterproof casparian strip, which seals the cell walls.Therefore the water has to cross the cell membrane by osmosis and enter the symplast. The uptake of water by the plant causes a pressure which pushes the water up the xylem; this is known as root pressure. However this is not enough on its own to cause water to move up the xyle m, the main forces which causes water to move up the xylem comes from transpiration from the leaves. Osmosis is also an important part of mass flow hypothesis in the phloem of plants; the process involves the movement of substances and is nown as translocation. Sucrose is important to plants and needs to e transported around the plant, firstly the sucrose is loaded into the phloem, usually from a photosynthetic leaf. The sucrose is then actively transported into surrounding cells, this causes the water potential of these cells to reduce, this causes water to enter by osmosis. As the sucrose moves out of the cells, the water follows via the process of osmosis. This results in the mass flow of substances in the phloem.Therefore osmosis is proven to be a very important element to plant survival water movement, and mass movement in plants. Therefore the process of osmosis is a vital; it allows both plants and animals to function efficiently. Osmosis is involved in many processes around the body and within different sections of plant, it is necessary for absorption in the gut, water movement in plant, the formation of tissue fluid, the stability and turgidity of plants and many other processes mentioned previously.

Green Power Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words - 1

Green Power - Essay Example In a similar fashion, using nuclear energy requires Uranium mining, which is reportedly a serious health hazard. Evidently, solar energy is far more popular than nuclear energy for its proclaimed environment-friendly nature, and hence, a rule utilitarian will argue that the uranium proposal be summarily rejected. A perfect example is Governor Bill Ritter who is against Uranium mining (227). According to the tenets of rule utilitarianism, an action is justifiable as far as it follows a general rule that makes common good in normal circumstances. However, in the given case, one can see that the request by Lane Douglas, the Powertech Uranium spokesperson, for a â€Å"fair hearing† is not irrational. This is so because though nuclear energy is normally abhorred, in the present case, the solar energy project will produce cadmium which is no less dangerous than uranium. According to act utilitarianism, an action is just if it produces maximum good in a given situation, and adherence to any general rule is not important. If that is the case, Powertech Uranium requires as much attention as AVA gets. In other words, â€Å"company proposal be judged on facts, not prejudice† (227). In such cases, engineers have many different responsibilities arising out of moral responsibility, personal morality, and professional morality. Based on their personal and professional integrity, engineers have the responsibility to be honest in disclosing the issues associated with the use of cadmium and uranium. As the case reveals, there are serious environmental and health issues associated with the use of both uranium and cadmium, and technology is not developed enough to handle both the cases. Evidently, it is possible to argue that as an employee, an engineer has the professional responsibility to promote the interests of his company. However, this professional interest should not supersede the moral responsibility. At this point, it is wise to utilize the Golden Rule to analyze

Finance and Accounting Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words - 1

Finance and Accounting - Essay Example A survey conducted by International Swaps and Derivatives Association (ISDA) revealed that out of 500 corporations, around 94% of the companies used derivative tool and they efficiently succeeded in hedging risks (International Derivatives and Swaps Association, 2009). It is seemingly clear that derivatives have economic and financial benefits for business which means they have resulted in making global financial markets safer. However, with the emergence of derivatives for financial speculations has brought this instrument under heavy criticism for making financial sector more risky and has been criticised for financial crisis. So, derivative have some benefits and risks too. The first most advantage of derivatives is the restructuring of risks by which movement in assets prices, interest rates and default of creditor can be hedged. They help in speculating the movement in the value of assets when they do not even own the assets. Secondly derivatives allows businesses to accomplish in controlling the external factors efficiently. Derivative instrument has been criticised for being used only for speculations. Derivatives contracts reduce the risk of one party while increases risk of the underlying assets for other party; this allows both parties to speculate the value of the principal assets irrespective of the fact parties are interested in the contract or not. Derivative instruments have efficient and effective economic and financial advantages which are required for the development of businesses and trade to hedge risks but it depends on the usage of this instrument which can pretence risks. Derivatives were criticised for lack of transparency in the OTC derivatives market under which standings of firms, their movement in asset prices and interest rates are not adequately transparent to the regulatory authorities and to other business companies (Financial Services Authority and HM Treasury, 2009). Sometimes business firms in the market are unaware of the mar ket standings of other companies which adds to more risks as monitoring of risks is weak and unwillingness for trade and hence the market liquidity may reduce. Derivatives contracts are affected by both operational risks and systematic risks. It is argued that operational risks can be improved by physical clearance of underlying assets and by addressing valuation differences. (Managed Funds Association, 2009) On the other hand systematic risks are caused by default of major stakeholders of derivatives market. It is usually referred to as â€Å"domino effect† (Investment Management Association, 2011). Derivatives of credit default swaps have the ultimate vulnerability to risks because they are more problematic in assess the value of underlying assets. Former Chairman of Federal Reserve, USA stated in a conference that â€Å"Although the benefits and costs of derivatives remain the subject of spirited debate, the performance of the economy and the financial system in recent ye ars suggests that those benefits have materially exceeded the costs† (Greenspan, 2003). (Part-2) Hedge funds are targeted to generate higher absolute returns for different type of investments. Hedge funds use highly advanced strategies for investment which comprise leveraged, short, long, and derivative positions designed for sophisticated investors. As hedge funds targets for higher returns that makes them more volatile and riskier besides profit compensate the risks at the end (SHORTMAN, 2010). Hedge funds are more liberal with respect to regulations and regulatory framework which makes them more flexible to use dynamic, vigorous and vibrant investment strategies with the combination of long, short and derivatives

Leadership Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 22

Leadership - Essay Example He gives other people the credit of success instead of taking it himself, and is brave enough to accept his mistakes and amend them when needed. Leader B is very organized and believes in preset rules and regulations. The case mentions that he believes in a clear hierarchy and proper division of work. He also practices empowerment and delegation of tasks to employees but then they are held accountable for good or bad performance, and then are treated accordingly. Good performance leads to appreciation whereas poor performance leads to punishment. These are the prime characteristics of a transactional leader. Transformational leaders create followers because of their inspirational personalities who work hard in the interest of the organization regardless of their personal interests. Leader C also inculcates a sense of pride amongst the employees and does not want to dominate them but be their mentor instead of boss. This ultimately creates a more comfortable working environment. He also induces in them a passion to work towards the success of the organization. The impact of leader B’s appointment as CEO would have a negative effect on overall performance of the company. Employees would become hesitant at giving their ideas or working according to their will with the fear of being punished for bad performance. Their quality of work would be hindered and the inflexibility of leader B would lead to producing average managers in the company instead of leaders. On appointment of leader B, the kind of environment that would be created in the organization would be dull, strict and the employees would lose the passion to work. It will become a half-hearted attempt for them. Overall impact on company performance is likely to be negative if Leader B gets appointed. If Leader C gets appointed, his flexibility of being a mentor instead of boss will allow employees to take

Critical Skills of Senior Executive Assistants Case Study

Critical Skills of Senior Executive Assistants - Case Study Example Most employers were from colleges, universities and other academic institutions, with average earnings of $44680. Becoming an executive assistant one requires to have some educational credentials to succeed in the dynamic business market. Some common courses include typing, computer applications, business law, records and information management, office administration and business communication. Table of Contents 2 parts Advertisement done with log for the financial review in Sydney and a case study report 1 Executive summary 1 Table of Contents 2 Introduction 3 Critical Skills of Senior Executive Assistants 3 Writing Skills 3 Project Management Skills 4 Financial Skills 5 Benefits, salary, and salary packaging options 6 Salary Trends 6 Conclusion 7 Bibliography 9 Introduction An executive assistant plays a crucial role in an organisation. In the ever changing business environment, it is the executive assistant’s job to assist the key decision maker to stay focused, effective a nd a better leader. The key skills of this position are excellent communication, creativity and ability to work independently (Yukl, 1998; Zeng, 2011, pp 2 –93; Priem, 1994, pp 421–437). ... cruit an office manager, this position has three direct officers; the receptionist and two administrative staff (Scarborough, & Zimmerer,2006;Shimek & Wen,2008). Critical Skills of Senior Executive Assistants In the ever changing office environment, the critical skills required of an effective senior executive assistant is communication. How the incumbent interacts with peers and other decision makers is paramount on how ideas exchange across the organisation. Other vital skills are interpersonal effectiveness, project management skills, financial planning abilities, and effective writing skills (Torrington & Hall, 2004, pp. 205; Drew, 2007, pp359-369). Writing Skills Effective writing skills are particularly essential for an office manager to put the right words on paper quickly. Therefore, they must be able to communicate more clearly, concisely and persuasively. Words matter and an effective office assistant must learn, develop and enhance how to use them. The key areas that requi re effective principle of writing are: successful correspondence, message shaping, writing to the point, avoiding writing traps, diplomacy and politics, refining the writing and managing minutes in a meeting (Eije ,2006; Eisenhardt,1989, pp 57-7; Fan, Wong, & Zhang,2007, pp 330-357). Communication Skills An outstanding executive assistant should possess soft skills and abilities to maximise appropriate communication skills for personal and professional potential. The positive traits needed include; self awareness, personal openness, conflict handling, frustration and stress control, assertiveness and making commitments to development. Appropriate communication skills are key to developing a positive image, giving and receiving feedback, presenting ideas with confidence and clarity.

Econometrix Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Econometrix - Assignment Example Test for Significance of Coefficient In order to test the significance of the coefficient, the following hypotheses have been drawn. Ho: The coefficient is equal to zero H1: The coefficient is greater than zero Test Statistics In order to test the significance of the coefficient of Age, t statistic is needed to be calculated. Formula In the given case, the estimated coefficient may be referred as ?Age = 0.043 while the Standard error for ?Age = 0.003. Therefore, Now for the given data set the t tabulated value had been found using the degree of freedom in the given case is 21600 – 3= 21597. The significance level for the test is 1%. The t critical value for the given data is found to be 2.326 (Allison, 1991). Decision Rule The Null hypothesis is rejected if t calculated is greater than t tabulated. Conclusion Since the t calculated value is greater than the t tabulated value i.e. 14.3333>2.326, hence the criteria suggests rejecting the null hypothesis. So it can be concluded t hat the coefficient value is not equal to zero. 1b. The equation required for the desired calculation is In the given case, Age= 30 years Size= 100 employees Therefore, the earnings calculated for the given age and size is equal to 7.337 pounds (Belsley, Kuh & Welsch, 2005). 1c) It depends as it sounds logical that a person with higher education would be earning greater than the one who has less education. Therefore, assuming that bigger organizations hire more educated people, it may be assumed that on average there is less probability that an organization employees older people. Omitting education in case if it is related to age was necessary to rule out the chances of error caused due to the correlation existing between age and education as an increase in age is termed to be negatively associated with education. Thus the model would have implied the issue of multicollinearity. When variables are extremely correlated, the variability explained exclusively by the single variables c an be minor despite the fact that the variation explicated by the variables brought together is great. (Wooldridge, 2012). d. Model 2 (2.430) (0.053) (0.285) The sample size is 83, while R2 is 0.036 1d) By and large, with an increase in sample size, the estimated values tend to be better predictor of the population parameters. Therefore, with each additional observation that is admitted in the sample, the amount of information increases and that additional information usually aids in providing better statistics. Thus if the model provides a better estimating results, the standard errors will be reduced. The model 1 has been framed using an extensively large size of sample while model 2 has eliminated the general public and has enlisted only a specified fragment of the whole population resulting in a decreased size of sample. This ultimately targets the standard errors as they are increased due to the declined size of the sample. This contemplates the information that larger samples will bring forth more accurate estimates of the coefficients’ in a regression analysis (Aiken & West, 1991). e) Hypothesis testing for model 1 Where k=3, N= 21600 while R2=0.025 (Aiken & West, 1991) Calculating the F statistic Let the level of significance be 0.05, the F critical value in that case will be 2.6. Since the F calculated value is less than the F critical, hence,

Children with Intellectual Disability Research Proposal

Children with Intellectual Disability - Research Proposal Example The apparent impression discerning from literature surveys is that of lack of consensus. Cuskelly puts it forthright; the research studies dealing with psychological adjustment of the siblings of individuals with disability, gives an impression of contradiction, or confusion (1999). Another methodical advance of recent origin emphasizes quantitative research. This approach seeks to narrow the disagreements referred above through meta-analysis. The strategy used herein is to assess factors that produce inconsistencies, stemming from both, substantive and methodological. One popular approach of quantitative research is that of vote-count meta-analysis, which presents a tabulation of studies by their outcomes. Using this technique, Howe reviewed 21 studies to show that there appears to be a negative psychological impact on siblings of intellectually challenged individual (1993). However, even here, conclusions vary. Summers et.al, reported both positive and negative consequences on the sibling of an individual with disability (1994). The research problem embodies the research study, both in its scope and depth, and unambiguously defined (Fouche, 2005). In this study, the research problem is centered around the psychosocial effects on the siblings of individuals subject to intellectual disability. The World H... The prevalence of intellectual disability is generally estimated to be between 1-3% of the population. People with intellectual disability (PWID) represent a heterogeneous group with a varied range of highly complex needs, yet they remain among the most vulnerable members of society (O'Hara, 2008). The underlying rationale and principles of care for PWID have undergone radical changes in countries such as, USA, Europe, Australia and Canada over the past four decades. The focus is now on civil and human rights, with social inclusion and citizenship free from discrimination (Bouras, 2002). The emphasis has shifted to the movement towards integration, participation and choice with the development of community based facilities, and growing empowerment and self advocacy for PWID and their families (Tsuda, 2006). The family is seen as the most appropriate living environment for PWID, which is a function both of cultural values and availability of services (Special Olympics, 2003). In this context, this study shall identify with recommendations, the counseling and support needs of siblings of individuals with intellectual disability. The study shall also seek to integrate the current efforts of agencies, organizations and support groups with the findings of this study. Research Theme: The researcher has selected the following main themes for focused study, research, and analysis with regard to siblings of children with intellectual disability: a) Psychosocial risks: kind, intensity, short and long term effects b) Coping strategies and family support systems c) Society and community empathy, sensitivity and support systems d) Cultural impact; gender impact; ageing factor; in adapting strategies e) Positive spin-offs, if

Relationship amalysis paper Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Relationship amalysis paper - Essay Example Perhaps the constant communication that we have nurtured over the months could be responsible for the harmonious relationship that we have had. Essentially, H and I have been good friends since we first stepped into the same room. This actually means that even though we have had difficulties in our relationship at given occasions, we have always injected concerted efforts to make the relationship successful. Since H and I share the same room but not the same course, we rarely spend time together unless it is a weekend or in occasions where both of us are free at the same time. With this in mind, it is worthy to note that our relationship had had its successes in the same measures it has had its failures. Speaking of failures, it is important to note that H and I have had our fair share of communication problems in our relationship. Essentially, H is an international student meaning that he studies English as a second language. In this respect, there is always communication breakdown due to some elements of language barrier. Since H is very fluent in Chinese and not eloquent in the English language, we had had to seek a third party for interpretation of certain phrases and concepts. In the spirit of improving on this, H and I have resolved to incorporate more of sign language in addition to him registering for English classes that would lead to improvement in his spoken and written English. Besides the challenge of language barrier, I have to confess that my friend H is high-tempered and had poor listening skills. This has really hampered our relationship in the sense that sometimes he misconstrues what I say to him and this has particularly led to great confrontations in the past es pecially considering his bad temper. His poor listening skill has always landed my relationship with him into the murky waters in the sense that we almost broke up our relationship in the last two months. I have tried to improve on this challenge by minimizing the level

Essay about the the movie ( A Perfect Passion - Gail Currie (2008) )

About the the movie ( A Perfect Passion - Gail Currie (2008) ) - Essay Example It is clear from the documentary that the Hopak dance is a great medium that the Ukrainians use to pass their messages across to other Ukrainians non-verbally. Thus, dance has a great value in giving people information without speaking any word. The Hopak dance was seen as an energetic and flamboyant folk dance of the Ukrainian people as it reflected their rural lifestyle. The message of this documentary is clear as it could be deduced from this dance style that the lifestyle of the Ukrainians is in line with the Cossack lifestyle (Dancers). Thus, the dance was used by the director to trace the origin of the Ukrainians and teach lessons of history. Thus, dance is also a way of teaching people their history non-verbally without having to read history books into their ears. The dance described in A Perfect Passion has no fixed pattern of steps and the dance is done according to the mood of the dancers and it helps brings matters that happen in the community to the fore. Thus, dance is seen as a way of spreading information about the society that the dance was performed and this is a non-verbal means of spreading information to the people (Dancers). Thus, dance is also a great means of spreading information to people about current events non-verbally without having to listen to the news. Dance in A Perfect Passion is also a means of spreading messages of love and folktales as lovers perform this dance in order to spread message of love to the people. The dance of couples is a beautiful dance that is used in the documentary to preach love and the sustenance of relationships. The improvised steps by the male dancers are just ways that have been devised to spread some specific messages without uttering any words (Dancers). Men and women dance differently in the Hopak dance style. The squatting kicks, high leaps and turns that are performed competitively by men and the simple dance steps, sways and claps that are performed by women are just ways

Understanding the Global Environment Essay Example for Free

Understanding the Global Environment Essay Globalization can be defined as a process whereby goods, services, labor and capital are moved around the globe (Friedman, 2000). This movement in most cases than not is a harmonized one with interconnectedness that is institutionalized. There is usually a set of relations that are global in nature that are established to ensure that the resources found in the world though in short supply, are used efficiently. The movement is acknowledged to the rise in economic integration globally that has in turn increased investments and trade. The world due to globalization is turning into a global village in that it is headed towards living in a world without borders. In a nutshell, globalization is a transformational process whereby the local phenomenons are transformed into global ones. The people in the universe are undergoing the process of being united into a single societal unit that functions as one (Ulrich, 2000). The globalization process entails bringing together of sociocultural, economic, technological and political forces. The economic aspect is more vivid in that a national economy is incorporated into international economies as a result of imports and exports trade, foreign investments, cash aids and technology spread. Though there has been sharing and exchange of goods, knowledge and even services among people and countries since time immemorial, the technological development and reduction of barriers has quickened the whole process. The state is thus put in a state where it is accountable not only to its people but to the whole globe. States are somewhat powerless in the in light of these global relations to an extent that they may be unable to control their personal economies at least in terms of autonomous economic policy implementation. The interconnectedness brought about by globalization has reduced time and space overcoming barriers to social organization and economic growth hence allowing them to be worldwide in its operations. Therefore globalization is linked to the vast spread of new technologies (Giddens, 2000). Globalization affects each and every individual. It imparts in each individual a sense of belonging not only to ones country of origin but to the global community as a whole. Globalization has made most societies if not all come to realize that they need each other to prosper and no one can live in isolation. Globalization is not a new thing. Most of the recent studies of globalization are a appraisal of the previous one just modified with improvement in technology. With time man has evolved and come up with new things thanks to evolution in technology that have eased globalization as compared to the previous face of globalization. The first globalization wave is believed to have been between the years 1870-1914 followed by the second wave in 1960 to date (Jones, 1995). These two waves of globalization have there differences too. In the first wave, there was industrialization of the north and de-industrialization of the south. As a result, wide income discrepancy was generated between groups that were close. The second wave on the other hand de-industrialized the north and industrialized a big part of south if not all. Transport costs during the first wave of globalization were very high. This led to limited trade and the industries were very rare and stagnating. The high cost in transport contributed largely in the stagnating of industries having them scattered in the north and southern parts. Therefore it was very hard for entrepreneurs to interact hence impairing innovations and any progress in technology. The world was more like retarded in its growth. The second wave came with diminished transport costs. This led to high investment rate that led to the growth of the world market as a whole. Specialization was adopted that promoted and stretched trade (Sassen, 1999). The two waves can be said to be basically different but ostensibly similar. The first wave was marked by long term flow as compared to the second wave that was characterized by short term flow of capital. Advancement in technology in the second wave is what aided in the short term fall of capital that also included very high pace of exchange of information. Therefore, in the second wave of globalization, exchange of ideas was much more important than any other form of trade as compared to the first wave. The kind of trade that existed during the first wave was that of intra-industry foreign direct investment that was among nations that had similarities and focused on services, industrializing and outsourcing. The second waves nature of trade involved much larger intra-trade between similar states focusing on differentiation of products and economies as compared to first waves inter-industry trade. Second, the initial conditions are very dissimilar and this matters greatly. There is great income difference in the countries involved that is seen now which is the second phase as compared to the previous. This has great impact on policy making and the surrounding environment more especially in the third world. Furthermore, the 19th century trade and de-industrialization disillusioned countries such as India and made it very hard for them to embrace the laissez-faire trade and policies investments. On a more positive note though, the gap between the rich and the poor slightly narrowed on the second phase of globalization due rapid technology transfer (Friedman, 2000). Though there can be skepticism about the world becoming smaller in the sense that it is termed as a global village, globalization has brought a new wake of change evidenced world wide. The time has reduced in the aspect of conveyance of information, transport systems have improved thanks to technological boost and services like medical can be termed as international thought most of them are financially bound. The fact that the world is interconnected, many parts of the world still remain left out in the globalization network. These countries include much of the sub-Saharan Africa therefore presenting thus making globalization not so much global. Global implies that it is supposed to include every part of the universe and the way it is at the moment, the inclusion is uneven. According to history, capitalism is more of the driving force of globalization. With that aspect in mind, globalization has had ambitions to the world wide level with respect to resources and market. To some extent, globalization is just an extension of capitalism in an advanced stage not something utterly new. It has been done before with Aquarius and after that with postmodernism. Globalization should therefore not be looked at as a new phase in world history because it has not taken the whole world but just a part of it. The globalization process did not start the other day, it has been an on going process for centuries now all though currently much more experiences of the same are felt. Benefits of globalization 1) Economic growth in countries The countries that participate well with the world economies have had their economies grow much faster and consistently as compared to those countries that have detached themselves closing their borders to globalization forces. These countries that are open to globalization have had their economies growth rates increase to the rate of 2. 55% higher on average scale compared to those that are closed to globalization. (Friedman, 2000). 2) Improvement of standard of living and poverty reduction Globalization has brought faster economic growth to countries that have embraced it. Due to the high rate of economic growth, the people have had their standards of living improved and in the process poverty rate reduced. An effective example is India which due to globalization has had its poverty rate reduced by half. This is due to the fact that a wide product range is made accessible to people by the availability of cheaper imports and through competition, efficiency and quality production is guaranteed. 3) High life expectancy level Growth of wealth as a result of economic improvement that comes with globalization has led to access to not only good health care but also treated water. This has increased peoples life expectancy in that people are no longer dying from curable diseases; they have access to the medical services they require. Research shows that 85% and more people are expected to live for at least 60 years. This is twice as much years as it was expected 100 years back. 4) Globalization has led to the reduction of investment barriers. As a result foreign investments have increased in many countries boosting economies and creating jobs for the citizens in that country. According to research, these foreign investments by 2003 totaled to US$575 billion as compared to US$23 billion in 1975. 5) The world has become a global village thanks to globalization therefore leading to improvement and accountability as far as the environment is concerned. This is a positive impact to the environment encouraging people to conserve the environment by use of less polluting agents of technology. There is also the use of renewable energy resources in place of limited natural resources and promoting their imports and exports (Sassen, 1999). 6) Solving of international conflicts Globalization has brought with it increased interdependence among countries leading to the formation of institutions such as world trade organization and World Bank that aid in the settlement of inter government squabbles. This has enabled international tensions on political and economic issues to be resolved having set rules that are internationally agreed upon and using those rules as the resolution approach. This has booted peace in many countries because not many countries would want to get into conflicts with their trading partners. 7) Respect of cultural diversity Migration from country to another is as a result of globalization. People are free to travel to other states and this has led to awareness and appreciation of the diversity that is there in the cultures of the world. This has improved the democratic aspects of life and every person regardless of culture has his or her rights respected. 8) Globalization has led to improvement of technology in the global sense. This has in turn reduced the cost in communication, business and even education. Disease eradication has also been made easier because the world comes together in the wake of a new ailment to find its cure. Technology and improvement of modern communication has also eased the flow of information around the world. The whole world is put on the know if anything happens anywhere in the globe (Giddens, 2000).

Nonfunctional Requirements with Data Mining

Nonfunctional Requirements with Data Mining INTRODUCTION   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The use of software has invaded our daily lives as it enable us to accomplish many tasks especially those which are associated in doing various business processes and in dealing with different business systems. It enables the use of knowledge on both computing and computers to be able to help solve various problems which confront everyday situations. The often most encountered problems encountered in the field of software engineering deals with computers and computing although its underlying causes are not actually on such dimensions, and oftentimes go beyond such. To be able to distinguish a good software engineering program, the following criteria must be accordingly observed: there is quality in what we can recognize but we cannot define; there is fitness of purpose; there is an existence of conformance relative to specifications; it is tied to inherent product characteristics; and it can also be assumed to be dependent on the amount at which the customer is wi lling to pay (Pfleeger Atlee, 2006).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  With the complexities and the complications confronting the businesses nowadays, the requirements for system engineering has been seen to offer a solution. The requirements are the ones which form the basis for planning the development of a system and accepting it on a completion. They can form a basis for project planning, risk management, acceptance testing, trade-off, and change control (Hull et al, 2005). Requirements are meant to specify the specific sets of features which are essential to the software or program. They can either be functional or non-functional. Functional requirements can be defined as the specification of a function that the system must support while non-functional requirements refer to the constraints associated on the operation of the system that is not directly related to a function of the system (Bruegge Duttoit, 2010).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  In simpler terms, non-functional requirements take into consideration not what the software will do but how the software will do it. It is geared towards a much wider scope as it deals more with the requirements for process rather than just the tools which are necessary for functionality. The researcher agrees to the fact that non-functional requirements are indeed important because they are able to address various issues which are important in the achievement of quality. They are very vital for the success of the system and if they are not properly addressed, the result can be damaged and they can be inconsistent and poor quality, users and customers would end up being dissatisfied, and it can also affect time and cost which are associated with running the system. LITERATURE REVIEW   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  One of the most recognized importance of non-functional requirements in software engineering is its capacity to define system properties and constraints. Non-functional requirements can be classified as product requirements, organizational requirements, and external requirements. Product requirements refer to specifications which deal with how a particular product which is delivered should behave in a particular way such as those related to execution speed and reliability. Furthermore, organizational requirements refer to the consequences of the policies and procedures of the organization such as the variety of process standards which are sued as the requirements undergo implementation. Lastly, external requirements are those which arise because of the various factors which are external to the development process and system. The main reason on why non-functional requirements arise because of the needs from the users, budget constraints, and existing policies of th e organizations, there is a need for interoperability with other hardware or software systems, and because of the presence of external factors such as standards for safety (Puntambekar, n.d.).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  According to Chung et al (n.d.), software engineering illustrates both pragmatic and systematic alternatives in which we are provided with the ability to to establish software systems of the highest standards and quality with regards to its usage and functionality. It calls for the need of software engineered systems to be modifiable, accurate, and secured which are some of the indications of a high performing software system. However, they are very subjective making them a hard subject for the purpose of evaluation. The system typically interacts with each other making their functions affect the general system and therefore it also affects the entire system.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Non-functional requirements are also being characterized for being hard to deal with as compared with functional requirements primarily because their impact is not generally localized to only a specific part of the system. Instead, it involves the entire system. The various changes with functional requirements in software will also inevitably affect the non-functional requirements. An effective software architecture evaluation is often the tool which is used to be able to deal with the numerous impacts of non-functional requirements (Aurum Wohlin, 2005).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Data mining can be considered as one of the important aspect of software system and of software engineering. Data mining involves solving data problems which already exist in the software particularly referring to the process of discovering patterns in the data. The process should be either automatic or semi-automatic and it should be present in substantial quantities to be able to reap the maximum benefits out of these existing data (Witten Frank, 2005). It can be aptly defined as â€Å"extracting or mining knowledge from large amounts of data† (Han Kamber,2006). It can be actually treated as the process of mining knowledge from existing data and not the other way around. The process of data mining could include the following procedures: data cleaning, data integration, data selection, data transformation, data mining, pattern evaluation, and knowledge presentation.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Data mining activities are some of the practices executed by organizations, especially among software engineers, to be able to improve software quality and productivity. Data mining in the field of software engineering ahs recently emerged because it ahs been recognized among industries that such is needed in order to increase the abundance of data and they are also helpful in solving different types of real-world problems. Data mining algorithms are by being increasingly used in different software engineering tasks to be able to improve the productivity of the system or the software. These algorithms can be able to help engineers to what code locations must be changed when another code location is changed. Data mining in the field of software engineering can be done in the series of the following procedures: collection or investigation of software engineering data; determining software engineering tasks; pre-processing of data; adapting or developing algorithm wh ich will be executed for mining; and post processing or application of mining results (Xie 1t al, 2009).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The non-functional requirements in data mining could come from the operating environment, the users, and the competitive products. In the operating environment, data can be affected by the system which is used in supporting the process. It poses problem on how the software will work towards establishing dynamic data architecture. Furthermore, users are also behind the non-functional requirements for data mining in software engineering primarily because they control a big fraction of the entire program and they are the ones who completely understand the attributes of the system. Lastly, the existence of competitive alternatives affects the non-functional requirements because of their features which generally affect the quality of the system (Malan Bredemeyer, n.d.) RESEARCH QUESTIONS:   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  In order to properly carry out the purpose of the research, that is to provide an insight on the various non-functional requirements which exist with regards to data mining, the study will attempt to answer various research questions which will form foundation of the research and which will form the backbone of the study. The research questions which the researcher will attempt to shed light to will include: What is the nature of non-functional requirements in software engineering and how they are different with functional requirements with regards to the extent of use and practice in the general industry? What are the examples of non-functional requirements in data mining? How are these non-functional requirements in data mining addressed by the software engineers of today? Are they addressed effectively? What does the future of requirements analysis in the field of software engineering hold for the non-functional requirements in software engineering? RESEARCH METHODOLOGY   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  To be able to successfully carry out the purpose of this research, the researcher will employ an exploratory research design wherein the primary objective of the study will be the provision of insights into and comprehension of the topic at hand. The research will be qualitative in nature, which will take into account significant data and previous researches which are related to the topic rather than dealing with quantitative techniques of research.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  In carrying out a qualitative research, the researcher will make use of widely available secondary data and literature from credible sources such as books, scholastic articles, academic journals, credible websites, and other reputable sources which will provide the researcher with additional information regarding the non-functional requirements of data mining in the field of software engineering. Because of the very nature of the topic, first hand information will be quite hard to obtain that is why second hand information will be preferred for this study. Widely available references will provide significant researches which have been previously done and will be geared towards shedding light to the topic. It must be however understood that although the topic is limited to data mining in software engineering, where the researcher finds its niche against other works, resources and references regarding software engineering in general will also be sued in order to pro vide a general perspective of the topic at hand. RESEARCH PLANNING   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  To successfully finish the paper and generate significant findings, there will be a pre-determined time-frame which will include all the activities which will be related to the completion of this research. In the first weeks of conducting the study, the researcher will focus into redefining or reshaping the fundamentals of the research given that some modifications can be eyed. However, since the topic seems to be good enough as an area of study in the field of software engineering, the succeeding weeks of the research will be focused towards extensive research which shall form the big part of the entire paper. Since the researcher decided to make use of secondary sources widely available, much of the time will be spent browsing through books and other reputable sources to gain more idea regarding the topic. Once the information needed has already been enough and sustainable to support the researchers claim and to give answers to the research questions earlier ide ntified, writing the general research based on a previously outlined structure will commence which will be followed with subsequent proof reading and revisions which will ensure that the work is fully furnished before finally submitting the work and the final presentation of the research. REFERENCES: Aurum, Aybuke, Wohlin, Claes, (2005). Engineering and Managing Software Requirements. Sweden: Springer Bruegge, Bernd., Duttoit, Allen (2010). Object-oriented Software Engineering. 3rd ed. USA: Pearson Education Inc. Chung, L., Nixon, B., Yu, E., Mylopoulos, J. (n.d.). Non-functional Requirements in Software Engineering. Han, Jiawei., Kamber, Michelin (2006). Data Mining Concepts and Techniques. Elsevier: USA Hull, Elizabeth., Jackson, Ken., Dick, Jeremy, (2005). Requirements Engineering. 2nd ed. United Kingdom: Springer Malan, Ruth, Bredemeyer, Dana, (n.d.). Defining Non-functional Requirements. Bredemeyer Consulting Pfleeger, Shari Lawrence., Atlee, Joanne (2006). Software Engineering: Theory and Practuce. 3rd ed. USA: Pearson Prentice Hall Puntambekar, A. A. (n.d.). Software Engineering. Technical Publications Pune Witten, Ian., Frank, Eibe (2005). Data Mining: Practical Machine Learning Tools and Techniques. USA: Elsevier Xie, Tao., Thummalapenta, Suresh., Lo, David., Liu, Chao (2009). Data Mining for Software Engineering

The Tourism Industry In Malaysia Tourism Essay

The Tourism Industry In Malaysia Tourism Essay This chapter includes parts. Part 1 is about the background of the tourism industry in Malaysia. Part 2 is about the problem statement. The following part is about the objectives of study and hypotheses of the study. Last part is significance of the study. The tourism industry in Malaysia can be considered as one of the most important and strategic industries in the Malaysia sector. Compared with other industry sector in Malaysia, the tourism industry has been estimated to boost the Gross Domestic Income so that Malaysia can be a developed nation by 2020. For example, the estimation about China tourism industry is expand accordingly to Table 1 with market share of 8.6% and will have a drastically growth in future around 8.0% in year 2020. Since the china have focusing on increase the tourism industry to boost the gross domestic income, Malaysia government are also trying to promote Malaysia as tourism country especially through a lot of advertising from inside or outside of Malaysia region. Currently, there are advertising Malaysia tourism industry with the slogan of Malaysia Truly Asia. The Malaysia tourism industry are developing because from the above table 2 show that the number of hotel was supply in Malaysia are there same amount that is 2,373 from to 2008 to 2009 but the number of hotel in every state are increasing especially for Kuala Lumpur, Selangor, Perak, Pulau Pinang, Johor and Sabah . There are only two state which numbers of hotel are decreasing are Putrajaya and Pahang. Furthermore, the total numbers of room supply are increasing about 1.9% from 165739 rooms to 168844 rooms for 2009. According to the table 2, there are increasing numbers of hotel and rooms by state showing the trend of tourist are increasing. The tables 3 are showing the number of tourist arrival from outside of Malaysia on year 2008 and 2009.The total number of foreigner tourist arrival Malaysia are increasing from 22052488 people to 23646191 people and the percentage increase about 7.2%. There are some factors which lead to encourage outside tourist to visit Malaysia, although there are a barrier of distance between other country and Malaysia but the number of foreigner are still increasing from year 2008 to 2009. Although there are distance but the tourism keep visiting Malaysia from one year to one year. 1.3 Problem Statement With the fast development of information communication technologies (ICTs) and the expansion of the Internet has affected the tourism industry structures around the world. New technologies have been adopted in the tourism industry in lot of country for more than 30 years, and the trend is likely to continue into the future. For example China, as a fast-growing developing country in Asia, is gaining importance in the international tourism market for its historical and cultural attractiveness as a destination. It is also becoming a booming tourism source country as its population starts travelling overseas. This study examines how the ICT and Internet gradually change the tourism industry structure in China; how important such changes are, and to where such changes will lead Chinas tourism industry. Does Malaysia have the same situation such as China? In this research, the main purpose to conduct is to examine the use of information technology on Malaysias tourism agencies. As we know ITs become instrumental to boost their competitiveness in the tourism industries. The evolution of ITs processing power in the last decade have change their capabilities as they constantly increase the ability of technology to influence the tourism industry. With the innovation in technology, ensure the tourism industry bigger market which had leaded to increase the Gross Domestic Income. Moreover, as the technology going advance bring lot change to tourism industry and bring more advantage to this industry. What are the factors that give a positive impact to tourism from the use of information technology? This survey being conducted to explorer the factor that encourages the use of information technology on Malaysias tourism agencies. Other than that, as many tourism agencies acknowledge that the impacts of information technology to Malaysia tourism industry are becoming more obvious nowadays. Today tourism industries are very different compare to era of 90s, especially the trend of tourist are changing also has change drastically especially after population of human is increase from year to year. Is that socio-economic influence a tourist choosing their vacation? Socio-economic is the study of the relationship between economic activity and social life. Socio-economic includes age, salaries, education, gender and others. Both high salaries and low salaries tourist will choose the dissimilar vacation. The level education also may effect for the choosing of one location for vacation. Males and females are also preferred to difference location for vacation. Mostly probably we will know what are the personal traits of tourist which lead them to choose one location as their vacation? As the diffusion of information technology occurs globally lead a use of different type of information technology for Malaysia tourism agencies. For example in tourism is the re-engineering of the booking process, which becomes rationalized and enables both consumers and the industry to save more time especially in identifying, reserving and purchasing tourism products. Moreover, tourists will be able to browse through the Internet and identify a rich variety of source from different information technology in order to make travel choices suited to their personal requirements. For example the Computer Reservation Systems (CRSs), Global Distribution Systems (GDSs), the emerging super highway by using the Internet and the World Wide Web and other information technology. Which is the most capable type of information technology being use by the tourist especially when they wanted to go for a vacation in Malaysia? 1.4 Objectives of study The objectives are to examine the use of information technology in Malaysias tourism industry. The specific objectives are: To identify factor that encourages the use of information technology on Malaysias tourism industry. To examine the tourist personnel trend from the innovation of information technology on Malaysias tourism industry. To examine the relationship between different type of information technology on Malaysias tourism industry. 1.5 Hypotheses of the study Based on the study, we are finding out whether the factor that encourage use of information technology on Malaysias tourism industry got relate with the use of different type of information technology through the tourist personal trend from innovation of information technology on Malaysias tourism industry. There are list of for the hypothesis development: H1: Factors that encourage use of information technology will predict significantly the different type of information technology. H2: There will be a significantly relationship between factors that encourage use of information technology and tourist personal trend from the innovation of information technology H3: tourist personal trend from the innovation of information technology will significantly predict the use of different type of information technology. H4: tourist personal trend from the innovation of information technology will mediate the relationships between that encourage use of information technology and the use of different type of information technology. 1.6 Significance of the study This study will show the trend of tourism industry in Malaysia can help academicians or practitioner to improve and enhance their understanding about the factors that encourage use of information technology are the most important factor in Malaysia tourism industry and how it can how it can give impact to the use of different type of information technology in tourism industry through the trend of tourist personnel trend from innovation of information technology. Through this study also can help the people of this country to identify the drastic changing in tourism industry nowadays because of the influence of information technology in this industry. As a result, most of tourism agencies going to use information technology to advertise and this encourage tourist choose different type of information technology for purpose to travel. The finding from the study can help the tourism agencies or researcher to more understand the evolution of ITs processing power in the last decade have change their capabilities as they constantly increase the ability of technology to influence the tourism industry. There is different capable type of information technology being use by the tourist especially when they wanted to go for a vacation. With the huge no of tourist from outside and inside of Malaysia has leaded to increase the Gross Domestic Income. Besides that, the trend of tourist are changing also has change drastically especially after population of human is increase from year to year. Through this study, can help tourism or researcher more focus on the personnel trend of tourist to ensure every aspect of tourist behavior being update accordingly to current situation. LITERATURE REVIEW 2.1 Introduction This chapter is discussing about use of information technology in tourism industry. 2.2.1 Literature review As the tourism industry are growing up in other countries like China tourism industry compare with Malaysia tourism. Although with new form of tourism has grow rapidly but the size and destination of Chinese outbound travel are still become an obstacle to China because of their government policies. The CPC Central Committee at its conference about economy in late 1998 giving opinion that the tourist industry as one of the new growth points of the national economy in the years to come (Qian, 1999) Therefore, Hong Kong, Macao, some of the ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asia Nations) countries, Australia and South Korea have choose China as their major target market by setting up a variety of promotion campaigns. Based on the state statistics, among the countrys 5,201 hotels entitled to accommodate overseas visitors in 1997, 734 were joint venture hotels with over 330,000 hotel bed-spaces, making up 23.5 per cent of the grand total of hotel bed-spaces in the country (CNTA, 1998). Incre asingly, ICTs play a critical role for the competitiveness of tourism organizations and destinations as well as for the entire industry as a whole (UNWTO, 2001).Based on the previous researcher, tourists who searched on the Internet mostly spend more time at their destinations as compared to those who consult other information sources.(Bonn, Furr, Susskind, 1998; Luo, Feng, Cai, 2004). There are other countries resources about tourism industry which to use as variable to measure factor the use of information technology that affect Malaysia tourism industry. By using some example about the advantage of information technology especially online application as variable to test the factor will give impact to the Malaysias tourism. Those variables may include pricing, less time spent on waiting and planning more time on enjoyment, increased the number of choice for consumer, effective mechanism to air complain, and many other factors. Other than that, the internet provides a best solution to sell their products globally to potential travelers at anytime. For example, the supplier can monitor their servers by depend on the display information of product and services at an electronic speed (Inkpen, 1998: Law, 2000). As in the modern era, Information Communication Technologies (ICTs) have impact on the process of how business is performed and how organizations compete with it (Porter, 1985, 2001; Porter Millar, 1985). There are reason of encourages the use of travel agencies is because personal agencies be able to provide personal information and advice to traveler (Palmer and McCole(1999) ; and walle(1996). For tourist, they make reservations and receive tickets at home through travel websites which can save their time on waiting and planning (OConnor Frew, 2001). As we know, there are factor which emphasizes the online booking for air ticket because this will convenient the tourist. Based on information technology applications, there are also e-shopping which provides a large geographic coverage that allows consumers to buy from a great variety of product when they shop at home (Peterson et al., 1997). Moreover, ICTs also become a very effective mechanism for consumers to make air complaints. Based on previous record there are less than 5 percent of customers who were dissatisfied and already voiced out their complaints using online application (Albrecht Zemke, 1985). For example Electronic Word-Of-Mouth (WOM) becomes useful tool to voice complaints about brands through websites, chat rooms and consumer forums (Gelb Sundaram, 2002). There are some sources call Untied.co is probably one of the most famous examples for one individual who not only used his website to complain against United Airlines himself but also to accumulate thousands of complaints from other traveler. The research being carried up to know whether Malaysia tourist using information technology when they want to travel because of is depend on the effective mechanism to voice some complain. Nowadays, individuals have enough power to take on powerful organizations such as airlines (Buhalis, 2004).This show how effe ctive the impact of information technology on tourism industry around whole world. In addition, according to (Shea, Enghagen, and Khullar, 2004) have illustrated a real case Yours is a very bad Hotel Which publish the unpleasant experience made by at least seven newspapers and magazines report. In this literature review, (Werthner and Ricci, 2004) have found that the tourism industry is leading through e-Commerce applications. This application being applied in many Malaysia tourism agencies because of the effeteness of information technology. The information technology was fully supports by Three-dimensional (3D) interactive websites have attracted the online consumer to do online purchases, and to create loyalty (Fiore, Kim Lee, 2005). Furthermore, tourists can get visualized tourism information from digital maps with aerial and satellite images in both two dimensions and even three dimensions (Raggam Almer, 2005).With this kind of information technology will lead to the factor which encourages Malaysia tourism industry to growth stable. This study reviewed the literature to determine factors encourage the use of information technology on Malaysias tourism industry. In this literature review, the objective show that the impacts of information technology to Malaysia tourism industry are becoming more obvious nowadays until change the personnel trait of the tourist when choosing one location as their vacation. This may involve the socio-economic about study of the relationship between economic activity and social life. Travel and holidays are one of the most expensive items purchased regularly by households around the world and it represents a significant proportion of individuals annual budget. The Internet has changed tourism consumer behavior dramatically (Mills Law, 2004). Moreover, majority of the customers search for travel related information, air ticket bookings using online, room reservations by online and other by online purchases themselves by travel agencies to undertake this process for them (Morrison et al., 2001). According to (Gursoy and McCleary, 2004) already have developed a comprehensive theoretical model that integrated all p sychological, economics, and processing approaches into a cohesive whole for understanding tourists information by seeking their behavior. Normally, through the increasingly of profiling will bring a better personalization, customization and interaction between consumers and tourism organizations. According to (Pouloudi, Vassilopoulou, and Ziouvelou, 2002) have stated that the Internet users profiles mostly divide into seven e-social factors, namely: geography, culture, regulation, economic, professional, social capital, and social structure. Although the online travel sales and marketing volume keeps increasing, they not depend fully to information technology application but traveler or tourist still depend on travel agents for some human touch and service( Palmer and McCole and Travel Association of America, 1998). Mostly probably when the web users search for travel information, they will tend to browse online about their holiday vacation through multiple websites. As a result, their start finding information in a generic search engine likes Google. By ensure there are systematic applications such as recommender system to ensure assistance in the social process of indicating about what options are better suited in a specific case for some individuals (Resnick Varian, 1997, Gretzel et al,, 2004). With this recommender system can provide valuable information to assist consumers decision making process (Ricci, 2002). Other than that, with this kind of recommender system can help travelers when facing complex decision-making process by correlating those to other consumers and their preferences and also by identifying better customer requirements (Fesenmaier, Werthner, Wà ¶ber, 2003, Ricci Werthner, 2002, 2006). In Malaysia, majority of the tourist still depend on tourism agencies to choose their vacation. Selection of vacation destinations and the choice of leisure activities throughout the vacation, and with other travel-related decisions are based on personality (Mardrigal, 1995). In some of the information search being make, behavior has a significant relationship with demographic and lifestyle characteristics. For example in online ticket reservation booking for room of hotel which can allow consumers to set their online profile and to include personal data that suit their preference. Thus, with such application can support tourism organizations to provide better service in future to the consumer especially the tourist. In tourism if there are understandings how different market segments appreciate different tourism products or services also can increase the possibilities to put suitable products forward for customer. For example, Lastminute.com is one of the web collects suitable information to personalize the weekly newsletter that being sent to consumers and also trace what parts of the newsletter are accessed by most of the consumers so can provide the right personalize in future. For tourism agencies in Malaysia, there are some web which provides demogr aphics and life cycle information about customer profiling. For example, when choosing a vacation for holidays depend on joint decision-making process between husbands and wives mostly. Other than that, children also can play a key role in the decision making process when involve choosing one location for vacation (Wang et al., 2004).With the attractive of the web because of games and chat-rooms on the Internet on some of the travel agencies web encourage some children often seek fun. As a result, children become the target of tourism attractions especially by provide some of interactive games in order to attract children to visit and engage with their websites (Tufte Rasmusse, 2003). Nowadays, consumer trend when using information technology to search information involve all layer of age. According to (Graeupl, 2006) the consumers aged between 50 to 60 are likely to become the most higher category involve in searching for flight information and accommodation are but most of them w ere not interested in package holidays. As a result, probably we will know there are different personal traits of tourist which lead them to choose one location as their vacation. 2.2 Proposed Theoretical Framework There are independent variables such as the factor that can influence type of information technology on Malaysias tourism industry. The independent variables in this research are factor that encourages the use of information technology on Malaysias tourism industry and the personnel traits of tourist are mediating variable. Factor there are encourage the use of information technology include the element of: Require less time and planning Price cheaper Effective mechanism to air complain Easy for making payment Increase of the number of choice for tourist The use of it without border or region barrier Virtual communities Meanwhile the dependent variable is the type of information technology use in tourism industry. The effective between factors that encourage the use of information technology on type of information technology through the personnel trait of tourist is show in diagrammed in figure 1: Independent Variables Factor of the use of IT on Malaysia tourism industry Time and planning Price Effective to air complain Easy for making payment number of choice for tourist The use without border or region barrier Virtual communities Dependent Variables Demographic variable Type of information technology on tourism industry Personnel trait of tourist Figure 1: Theoretical framework to describe effect between the factors that encourage the use of IT on type of information technology on tourism industry through personnel trait of tourist. 2.3 Hypothesis Development: A hypothesis of this study will develop to check the factor there are encourage the use of information technology on type of information technology through personnel trait of tourist. There are sample of 100 survey form being taken from different state in Malaysia to test the variable. The question is whether there is an effect between these variables. H01: Factors that encourage use of information technology will predict significantly the different type of information technology. Ha1: Factors that encourage use of information technology will not predict significantly the different type of information technology. H02: There will be a significantly relationship between factors that encourage use of information technology and tourist personnel trend from the innovation of information technology. Ha2: There will be no significantly relationship between factors that encourage use of information technology and tourist personnel trend from the innovation of information technology. H03: Tourist personnel trend from the innovation of information technology will significantly predict the use of different type of information technology. Ha3: Tourist personnel l trend from the innovation of information technology will not significantly predict the use of different type of information technology. H04: Tourist personnel trend from the innovation of information technology will mediate the relationships between that factor encourage use of information technology and the use of different type of information technology. Ha4: Tourist personnel trend from the innovation of information technology will not mediate the relationships between factor that encourage use of information technology and the use of different type of information technology. Chapter 3: Methodology 3.0 Introduction This chapter describes the research methodology used throughout the study. The study is to measure what is relationship between variables: factors that encourage the use of information technology, type of information technology and the personal trait of tourist. Topic included in this chapter is the overall research design which consists of seven chapters. First part is about the introduction, seconds is about the research design, third is data collection method ,fourth is sampling design, fourth is about the researcher instrument ,fifth involve measurement scales, sixth is data processing and last part is about data analysis statistic . 3.1 research design In the research design, there are an answer questions like how or why in designing the questionnaire (Robert K. Yin, 1994). In developing the questionnaire, there no fast rules. However there are some guideline that help prevent the most common mistake being make by researchers in develop a questionnaire. There criteria must be emphasized such as to avoid leading and loaded questions. Moreover, use of questionnaire techniques to collect data for this study. By planning on the research question can ensure the two criteria a questionnaire to meet the researchers purpose (Zigmund, 2002).The questionnaire must have relevancy and accuracy to objective. The use of word may bring to some of misleading thought (Herbert Spencer, 1820-1903). Thus, the questionnaire must be based on capability to avoid any order bias. There are also quantitative data which the number that can be used to measure the variable. There are either descriptive which mean subjects usually measured once or experimental which mean subjects measured before and after a treatment in the quantitative research designs (Will G Hopkins, 2000). When measurement the variable from theory it more on the numbers, and the neutrality makes them become the source of remedial suggestions ( Kuhn, 1961). Other than that, quantitative data very efficient because it be able to test the hypotheses but may miss some of contextual detail (Miles Huberman,1994).Moreover, the qualitative approach is a general way of thinking about conducting qualitative research. It describes, either explicitly or implicitly, In-Depth Interviews. 3.2. Data collection method Data refer to simply facts of certain phenomena (Zigmund, 2002). There are two type of data collection which divides into primary data and secondary data. The observed or collected directly from first-hand experience is called primary data .Other than that, published data and the data collected in the past or other parties, is called secondary data. Moreover, all data are classified into qualitative or quantitative from the primary data and secondary data. 3.2.1 Primary data This study utilized primary data collected survey in different state in Malaysia. A questionnaire was sent to a random sample of 100 respondents near to vacation which have many tourists near different state in Malaysia. A personal questionnaire was designed to solicit firstly: socio-economic profile of respondents; and secondly, to measure some consumer attitudinal dimension towards fundamental aspects of choosing a vacation using information technology which include time and planning, price, effective to air complain, easy for making payment, number of choice for tourist, the use without border or region barrier, and virtual communities. The socio-economic variables include: age, gender, race, education, income level and occupation. Likert scales were employed to measure the intensity of the consumers attitude towards the proposed concepts or statements. (Fatimah Mohd Arshad et al, 2001). 3.2.2 Secondary data Secondary data are usually historical, already assembly, and do not require access to respondents or subjects. The fact finding of it is aimed at collecting descriptive information to support decision making. The use of secondary data is to get more accurate information. Secondary data being used as the  research design  due to primary research and can provide a guide which the collected primary data results can be compared to it. 3.3 Sampling design 3.3.1 Target population Majority of the target population is focus on tourist from different state in Malaysia. 3.3.2 Sampling Elements The study is to choose different tourist from different age, race and country. 3.3.3 Sampling Technique There are several ways of sampling technique for taking a sample. The methods are probability and non-probability sampling techniques. A  probability sampling  scheme is one in which every unit in the population has a chance (greater than zero) of being selected in the sample, and this probability can be accurately determined. Non-probability sampling is a sampling technique in which the units of the sample are selected on the basic of person judgment or convenience. Convenient sampling is a procedure used to obtain those units or people conveniently available. Moreover, convenience sampling being use because it is a low cost and the list of population was took randomly. 3.3.4 Sampling Size In this study, survey form being distributed to 100 respondents of tourist from different age from different area. 3.4 Research Instrument There are questionnaire being used for data collection. The questionnaire involve the combination of the questionnaire on factors that encourage the use of information technology, personal trait of tourist, and the type of information technology being use by tourist in tourism industry. The questionnaire being set up and modified based on the objective of study. The factors that encourage the use of information technology The questionnaire on factors that encourage the use of information technology was measured using the factor scale developed by (Dimitrios Buhalis and Maria Cristina Licata, 2004).The scale comprised of seven parts such as time and planning, price, effective to air complain, easy for making payment, number of choice for tourist, the use without border or region barrier, and virtual communities. There are 5-point likert scale was use ranging from strongly disagree(1), disagree(2), partly agree(3), agree(4), strongly agree(5). The personal trait of tourist The personnel trait of tourist was measured using example develop by (Rob Law, Kenith Law, and James Wong, 2004).The questions pertaining to the respondents gender, ethnic, age, income, marital status, education, employees status, country origin, and travel purpose. Respondent need to choose one of preference that are suitable for them .Moreover, the choices of questions are already classified. 3. The different type of information technology The different type of information technology was measured using different type IT scale developed by (D. Buhalis and M.C. Licata, 2004). The scale consisted of type such as World Wide Web, Computer Reservation Systems (CRSs), Global Distribution Systems (GDSs) and other. The 5-point likert scale was use ranging from strongly disagree(1), disagree(2), partly agree(3), agree(4), strongly agree(5). 3.5 Measurement Scales A scale being defined as any category of item which being progressively according to value or magnitude. For normally there are four types of measurement scales used in research such as nominal, ordinal, interval, and ratio scales. In this study, only nominal and interval scales being use. Interval scales being use to test variable in section 1 and 3 and measure the different in the choice making of respondent. Nominal scale used in section 2 to measure the demographic variable of respondent. 3.6 Data processing In this study, the SPSS (Statistical Package for the Social Science) software version 17 will use to process the data being collected. SPSS data input be coding and transform to output through SPSS software. All the input be collected being put into the SPSS input to get the more accurate and reliable. 3.7 Data Analysis 3.7.1 Descriptive Analysis By changing the raw data into a form that will ensure the output is easy to understand and interpret it known as descriptive analysis (Zikmund, 2002). It also can rearr

Cuba :: essays research papers

Cuba   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Cuba is the largest island of the West Indies, lying south of Florida and east of Mexico's Yucatà ¡n Peninsula. The Republic of Cuba is combined with the surrounding islands. On the East, Cuba is separated from the island of Hispaniola by the Windward Passage. The U.S. maintains a naval base at Guantà ¡ namo Bay in the Southeast. The capital and largest city of Cuba is Havana.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The island extends about 760 miles from Cabo de San Antonio to Cabo Maisà ­ , the western and eastern extremities. The average width is about 50 miles. The total area is 44,218 square miles including the area of the Isla de la Juventud (Isle of Youth) and of other islands of the country. Land and Resources   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  About 1/4 of the surface of Cuba is hilly, the remaining consists of flat or rolling terrain. The hilly areas are scattered throughout the island and do not come from a central mass. The main 3 ranges are the Sierra de Trinidad in the central part of the island, the Sierra Maestra, in the Southeast, and Sierra de los Órganos in the West. The first two ranges are under 3000 feet. The Sierra Maestra, has the greatest in altitude and mass, and contains Pico Turquino (6561 ft), the highest point in Cuba. Most of the soil of Cuba is relatively fertile.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  One of the natural features of the island is the large number of limestone caverns. Most of the many rivers of Cuba are short and unnavigable. The main river is the Cauto, located in the Southeast. The coast of Cuba is very irregular and is indented by numerous gulfs and bays. Cuba :: essays research papers Cuba   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Cuba is the largest island of the West Indies, lying south of Florida and east of Mexico's Yucatà ¡n Peninsula. The Republic of Cuba is combined with the surrounding islands. On the East, Cuba is separated from the island of Hispaniola by the Windward Passage. The U.S. maintains a naval base at Guantà ¡ namo Bay in the Southeast. The capital and largest city of Cuba is Havana.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The island extends about 760 miles from Cabo de San Antonio to Cabo Maisà ­ , the western and eastern extremities. The average width is about 50 miles. The total area is 44,218 square miles including the area of the Isla de la Juventud (Isle of Youth) and of other islands of the country. Land and Resources   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  About 1/4 of the surface of Cuba is hilly, the remaining consists of flat or rolling terrain. The hilly areas are scattered throughout the island and do not come from a central mass. The main 3 ranges are the Sierra de Trinidad in the central part of the island, the Sierra Maestra, in the Southeast, and Sierra de los Órganos in the West. The first two ranges are under 3000 feet. The Sierra Maestra, has the greatest in altitude and mass, and contains Pico Turquino (6561 ft), the highest point in Cuba. Most of the soil of Cuba is relatively fertile.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  One of the natural features of the island is the large number of limestone caverns. Most of the many rivers of Cuba are short and unnavigable. The main river is the Cauto, located in the Southeast. The coast of Cuba is very irregular and is indented by numerous gulfs and bays.

Kierkegaard: Love Thy Neighbor as Thyself as a Basis for Ethics :: Morals Philosophy Philosophical Essays

Kierkegaard: "Love Thy Neighbor as Thyself" as a Basis for Ethics "Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets." [Matthew 22:37-40, AV] "When you open the door which you shut in order to pray to God, the first person you meet as you go out is your neighbour whom you shall love. Wonderful!" [Kierkegaard, p.64] 1 Introduction This paper is a philosophical exploration of some aspects and implications of the "second great commandment", to "love thy neighbor as thyself", which Kierkegaard called the "royal command". This is often thought to be the heart of Christian ethics [Wattles, p.8]. This agape-obligation has seemed to some to pose difficulties. Macquarrie and Kierkegaard both recognize that there has been objection. Macquarrie several times notes his opposition to the belief, "that moral laws are the heteronomous commands of a transcendent deity who demands obedience." [p.219f] and even worse, "imposed on creatures from whom he is 'wholly other', a command, moreover, which they have no capacity to obey except by grace alone, while this grace, in turn, seems to be also external and has to be 'infused' from outside." [p.221] Kierkegaard wrote that, [to the pagan,] "this command 'You shall love' will not only surprise him but will disturb him and be an offence to him. [p.41] It may perhaps offend you — well, you know it anyway, that Christianity is always accompanied by signs of offense. Nevertheless believe it .... Do not stop believing because the command almost offends you." [p.74] The thesis of this paper is that, setting aside the question of moral offense that has disturbed commentators from Thomas Paine (The Age of Reason) to William Empson (Milton's God), agape to neighbor makes sense only under monotheistic or specifically Christian assumptions, and therefore, the old saw, "Christianity may not be factually true, but it has a sublime ethical teaching", is problematical. A number of issues inevitably arise in any serious discussion of agape. Some of these issues are discussed in the sections below: 2.1 How is love for God like love for neighbor? 2.2 Is God's love for me like my love for neighbor? 2.3 How is love for neighbor like love of self?

Tatyana Tolstaya’s White Walls: Summary

White walls. In having white walls, there is always room tort improvement. You are never stuck with one look because you can always simply change it. Tolstoy is very optimistic in that she feels that with the end of Communism and the Soviet Houses 3 Union, there is great room for improvement. I believe that she is correct in this assessment because Russia today is not as big of super power as the United States, but it is certainly on its way to be there soon. Another big symbol in this piece, I believe, is Johnson + Johnson.Tolstoy never clarifies entirely what Johnson + Johnson is, but it seems to be a big company. This could be a new company that was formed after the collapse of the Soviet Union. We learned about how when the USSR dissolved the government and the economy took a huge hit. I believe this is an example of a company that is on the rise. This can definitely be viewed as a symbol due to the fact that it is not only a business, but the name Johnson + Johnson makes it seem as if it is a family run operation.The sentence after Tolstoy mentions Johnson + Johnson, she says, â€Å"From broad, there were quick-acting cleaners and spot removers-aerosols to erase memory, acids to eliminate the past. † This is another example of how she wants the past to be erased. Although Johnson + Johnson is only mentioned a few times in this short story I believe it is a crucial symbol. The business industry is on the rise in Russia. The final symbol I chose was Mikhail Avouching Jason. M. A . Jason was the builder of the dacha that Tolstoy and her family lived in when they were kids.He is constantly mentioned throughout this piece. Tolstoy alas about how she always found some of his old stuff in the attic and how she was always very intrigued by what she would find. The way they describe Jason, makes it seem that he was a very nice and kind man. The main message that I get from reading this is that Russia is a rebuilding country. All the examples in the story of tearing down old things to replace them with new Houses 4 items shows this message. If it weren't for Jason then Tolstoy would never have lived in this house and she wouldn't have found all of the old items left behind by IM.She talks about how Jason essentially dispersed without any remembrance of him. Tolstoy says that, â€Å"Jason dispersed, disintegrated, vanished into the earth. † This shows how over time things become lost. She then talks about how his plaque saying his name had been stolen by an admirer of nonferrous metals. Many people have come and gone but the country has remained alive. As new generations evolve the country has to adapt to their specific needs. Again this is why I believe Tolstoy is trying to tell us that Russia is a rebuilding country.All three symbols mentioned played crucial parts of this story. Different people could interpret them in many different ways, but this is how I see them. They all show different parts of Totality's childhood and how she grew up. All of these symbols also have historical references in them. Again it depends on how you view and interpret them. Someone could think it meaner one thing when another person could thinks it meaner the complete opposite. She never makes a comment specifically about Communism in this piece.She mentions Lenin and Stalin a few times but does not give you her impression of them. An author for The New York Review of Books says about â€Å"White Walls†, that â€Å"Totality's favorite theme is an inexhaustible one: the passage of time, often accompanied by a potent regret for opportunities lost. † This is extremely relevant because the whole story is about the passage of time and how things change. All in all the main message is that Russia is a rebuilding country that is on its way to becoming more of a super power than it is today.