Thursday, December 12, 2019

Sustainability and Housing Provision in Malaysia

Question: Critically analyse the article titled sustainability and housing provision in Malaysia. Answer: Analysis of the article The author in this report critically analyzes the article titled sustainability and housing provision in Malaysia. The author of the article is Teck - Hong Tan. The article has been cited by other authors as well and it was published in January 2011. The article is a journal article that aims at explaining the effect of the housing process on the standard of living of Malaysian people. Housing policies based on sustainability is viewed as a necessary condition. Sustainability is not just living in a healthy environment but it means maintain a good standard living. Housing is one of the basic necessities that human requires. The housing policies and programs should be economically viable and technically feasible in order to ensure that the housing industry is sustainable. The article focuses on employment and income effects, labor productivity and growth effects of housing provision (Ong, 2013). The main aim of the paper is to analyze how successful is government in Malaysia in meetin g the housing needs of people. It also analyzes the ways that is possible to achieve sustainable housing provision. It further analyzes the roles and challenges of public and private household providers in housing provision in Malaysia for the past twenty years. Malaysia is a multi cultural country where there are three groups that are prominent. Housing provisions depends on these racial religious groups. Most of the Malays live in rural areas, Indians in rubber and oil palm estate and Chinese in urban areas. It was essential for the government to break this stereotype and implement a new economic policy in 1970. The main aim of the economic policy is to foster unity by eradicating poverty and changing tax structure for the benefit of the society (Tan, 2011). Introduction The article clearly states the plans of the Malaysian government regarding housing programs that is clearly laid in the five year plan. The main aim of the first and the second five year plan is to promote the welfare of the people irrespective of the ethnic background. The third plan aims at eradicating poverty. The fourth plan aims at providing housing provisions to all the people in the society. The fifth plan aims at providing the basic social facilities such as schools, hospitals and community in spite of the basic infrastructural facilities. In the sixth and the seventh plan housing provisions were divided into low, middle and high income group. The plan requires both the private and public housing to cooperate and meet the demand of housing plan specially the low income group. The article then specifies the housing provision plan by the public and private sectors. The second part of the article clearly specifies the importance and the role of the private and the public sector in provision of households (Tan, 2011). The third part of the article specifies challenges that they meet while providing the house. The article discusses the issues of the five year plan and the challenges that the government face in meeting the housing needs in Malaysia. After addressing the issues the author clearly states the achievement of the Malaysian government in providing housing provision. At last the article reviews the ways the issues can be addressed and solved. It provides ways to achieve the sustainable housing provision. The information and the hypotheses are clearly stated that gives a clear idea on what the author actually wants to say. But the article fails to specify various economic policies and its implication on the housing needs and provisions. The housing regulation in Malaysia is highly regulated. The housing plan needs to be approved from the federal and the state authorities in Malaysia (Stiglitz Rosengard, 2015). The Method section The public and private sectors plays an important role in providing housing needs. The first phase of the housing policy development concentrated on the public sector. Public sector plays an important role in providing housing approach specially to low income group. Before independence the British administration concentrated on providing housing facilities to the government authorities only but after independence the government concentrated on providing housing to all. The public sector is directly responsible for providing housing facilities in urban areas concentrating on urban development. Intervention of private sector is essential as the public sectors cannot meet the demands of all the housing provisions. In Malaysia there are two components of private sector housing provisions. The first component is the housing developer that indulges in initiating projects themselves and speculative building. The second component is construction firms that develops and provides organizations and entrepreneurial skills that construct the dwellings themselves. Licensed are required by the private sector builders before starting any construction (Ball, 2013). Private and public sector face many challenges and issues while providing housing needs to the people. The issues that people face needs to be addressed urgently to maintain sustainability. The main problem is with the five year Malaysian plan that does not specify provision of housing needs to the poor. The poor section has been given low priority by the public sector. The main issue with the public sector is that it is slow in approving the application for land developments. The problem with the private sector was that it only targeted the rich people and the cost of the houses provided by them was high. The private sectors are not keen on development of low cost houses as the main aim of the private sector is profit maximization. Another problem is that many projects that targets poorer section of societies has been abandoned and left incomplete. The victims are mostly the middle and the poor section. The builders aims at extracting as much money it can from then poor people for w hich they adopt various ways (Forrest Murie 2014). The housing policies and programs should be economically viable, socially feasible and technically acceptable to achieve sustainable housing provisions. The mortgage loans provided by the government should be low in order to make the housing facility affordable by everyone. Home finances should be made more affordable by providing subsides and financial assistance. The public and the private sectors should conduct the market research before formulating any housing plan. The housing plan laid and built should depend on various other factors. Both the private and the public sector should keep in mind the factors whether the buyer will purchase the house or not (Zainun et al., 2015). These factors are infrastructure and employment opportunities available. Many low cost building are available in areas where there are no employment opportunities and any infrastructure facilities that are left unsold. Proper actions need to be taken for those who are in a situation of abandoned house. Vari ous policies and programs can help the government achieve its plan and objective of proving low cost housing to the low income group. Public sector should gear up its efficiency and should be fact to pass the applications for housing provisions. A committee should be set to look into the building of the house so that the purchaser doesnt face the problems of incomplete house (Doling Ronald, 2014). The results section The author provides various datas to support its argument. A table is given to show the housing achievements under five year Malaysian housing plans. The table clearly states that the policies only benefit the richer section of the country while ignoring the poor and the middle group people. The main target of the public sector was to provide the housing facilities to the poor. But the table indicates that the housing program and plan only benefited the richer section. The condition of the private sector was even worse. The data suggest that the poor and low income group is the ones that are most affected by the five year Malaysian plan. The article fails to specify the economic implications of the housing provision plan and program. The article only specifies the achievement of the private and the public sector but it does not look into the demand side of the economy. It fails to specify the investment plan of the government as well. The main result that can be drawn from the articl e is that the housing plan and provisions in Malaysia has only benefited the rich and not the poor. The government needs to plan effectively and target in the low income group to achieve the sustainability and increase the standard of living of all the people. The article does not need any use of statistical analysis but the author could have used graphs of demand and supply to explain the economic implications of the plan (Samikon et al., 2013). The discussion section The author concludes that the government should concentrate on taking into the account the needs of the buyers. It is destructive to provide all the benefits to the builders. The conclusion does match with the results reported. The recommendation of the author is that government should formulate National Housing Policy to provide the benefit of the housing facility to all. The author also provided the ways that the government can adopt to improve the housing provisions in Malaysia. The article could have been better if proper methods could have been recommended by the government with the proper dataset and proof (Said et al., 2014). Strengths of the article The main strength of the article is that the author presents the importance of the public and private sector in providing the housing provisions. The author clearly specifies the five year plan of Malaysia and the plan of the government for providing the house to the needy it states that the main aim of the government is to eradicate poverty. The author also analyzes the issues and the challenges that the economy faces while providing housing facility. In the next part the author addresses the issues and provides the ways that can be used to correct the challenges that different sectors in an economy face. Private and public sector play an important role in providing housing facility. They also face many challenges. The article specifies that the main aim of the private sector is profit maximization while the public sector as usual is not effective. Hence the two combinations fail to provide low cost houses to the lower income group people (Hashim et al., 2012). Drawback of article The main drawback of the article is that the author does not provide any economic theories and empirical data to support the arguments. It also fails to specify the economic implications of the housing policy and programs. The economic factors such as employment opportunities, income levels, infrastructural development, interest rates, inflation rate, and economic growth affect the market for housing. The author does not specify these factors and its affect on housing. The provision of housing also is affected by the financial institutions and mortgages that the banks give. The author has just concentrated on the income level and public and private sector that affect the housing provisions. Unemployment is the main factors that affect the housing demand and supply. If the unemployment t rate rises in the country then the demand for the housing will decrease and the government will have to provide low cost housing. Shifts in demography also have its effect on the housing provisions (F oo Wong, 2014). Conclusion Hence sustainability does not only mean providing healthy environment but maintaining a healthy standard of living as well. Standard of living can be maintained by spreading the income among the different sections of the society equally. The main issue in Malaysia is that the housing facility is only beneficial to the rich while it ignore the poor. The Government should take proper measures to bridge the gap between the rich and poor by concentrating on the low income group. Subsidies should be given to the one who cannot afford a house. The interest on housing loans should be reduced. References Ball, M. (2013).Housing policy and economic power: the political economy of owner occupation. Routledge. Doling, J., Ronald, R. (Eds.). (2014).Housing East Asia: Socioeconomic and Demographic Challenges. Palgrave Macmillan. Foo, L. H. R., Wong, C. (2014). Planning for Housing Development in Malaysia: Developers' Response to the Regulatory Policy Framework.International Planning Studies,19(2), 192-209. Forrest, R., Murie, A. (2014).Selling the welfare state: The privatisation of public housing. Routledge. Hashim, A. E., Samikon, S. A., Nasir, N. M., Ismail, N. (2012). Assessing factors influencing performance of Malaysian low-cost public housing in sustainable environment.Procedia-Social and Behavioral Sciences,50, 920-927. Ong, T. S. (2013). Factors affecting the price of housing in Malaysia.Journal of Emerging Issues in Economics, Finance and Banking,1(5), 414-429. Said, R., Adair, A., McGreal, S., Majid, R. (2014). Inter-relationship between the housing market and housing finance system: evidence from Malaysia.International Journal of Strategic Property Management,18(2), 138-150. Samikon, S., Ismail, Z. U. L. H. A. B. R. I., Hashim, A., Nasir, N. (2013). Managing adaptation in low-cost public housing: A conceptual framework.Energy, Environmental and Structural Engineering Series,9. Stiglitz, J. E., Rosengard, J. K. (2015).Economics of the Public Sector: Fourth International Student Edition. WW Norton Company.

Wednesday, December 4, 2019

A New Kind of Hero free essay sample

I constantly have dreams where I am a superhero. When I’m unconscious, Super Me is wide awake; swiftly diffusing through solid walls, shooting electricity from her hands, and simply tensing her body to become invisible. She can briskly shove off the ground to fly into the air and create a flame with the snap of her fingers. But when daylight breaks, so does the illusion, as I do not exchange my regular civilian pajamas to don knee high boots and a cape. Instead, I wake up, and reach for my laptop. The tedious task of discovering what to write I usually find an impossible one, filled with un-bloomed characters, tangled plots, and chipped away endings. But when I have these dreams it’s completely different. It’s as if these stories arrive in my head each night already perfectly concocted and taped together, the only thing left to do is write them down. We will write a custom essay sample on A New Kind of Hero or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page It almost seems as if I’m cheating the game of writing, selfishly using these premade dreams as the mold for stories of my own. I don’t even find myself thinking ahead or trying to plan anything out, because the only thing that matters is getting every super thing I know out of my head and onto the page. This Super Me I create is an inflated version of myself. If I am a balloon, she is the epitome of my own personal blimp. I write her to have everything I will ever want, and be everything I wish to be. Super Me is independent, yet self conscious, strong willed and yet still relatable. She always has a sarcastic comeback to retort to her enemy, and an inspirational phrase to quote as she comfortingly rubs her friend’s back. She is my own self created role model, helping me see when I have lost my glasses, and giving me a voice when I have a story to tell. So my real life superpowers are hardly as exciting or infinite as my characters’. No, I can’t exactly stop time or teleport or manipulate luck or hypnotize. I can’t lift buildings or reflexively fade into invisibility. But I do have the power over my words, wielding the ability to phrase them in ways in which no one else can. I have the ability to spark ideas that will be sure to cause a reaction. At first I was embarrassed. I would never share my work, let alone tell people I write for fun in my spare time. But now I love when people hate what I’ve written, or if they think I’m weird. I love when they have such a strong opinion their only drive to continue reading my work is simply to have more to prod at. Whether it’s a negative or positive impact, I’ve discovered that my real life superpower is the ability to provoke thought. Sometimes heroes can come to you when you least expect it. They have been known to appear when one is distraught or frightened, and told to find you when you’re lost and scared of the dark unknown. Many peo ple idly wait for their hero. I make one for myself. Maybe writing myself as a fictional superhero shows the type of person I am. It shows me that I don’t need my own idol or role model like most people my age constantly feel like they do. Maybe my own real life hero is me. I believe it’s time to show this world how super I really am.

Thursday, November 28, 2019

Violence On Television Essays - Dispute Resolution, Crime

Violence on Television "There was murderers going around killing lots of people and stealing jewelry." This quote comes from the mouth of an eight year old girl after watching the evening news on television. The eight year old girl claims that she is afraid "when there is a murder near because you never know if he could be in town" (Cullingford, 61). A recent report from the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) pools evidence from over 2,500 studies within the last decade on over 100,000 subjects from several nations to show that the compiled evidence of television's influence on behavior is so "overwhelming" that there is a consensus in the research community that "violence on television does lead to aggressive behavior" (Methvin, 49). Given that the majority of scientific community agrees that "the research findings of the NIMH publication support conclusion of a causal relationship between television violence and aggressive behavior" (Wurtzel, 21), why is it that "the Saturday morning "kid vid ghetto" is the most violent time on T.V." (Methvin, 49), and that "despite slight variations over the past decade, the amount of violence on television has remained at consistently high levels" (Wurtzel, 23)? Why is it that, like the tobacco companies twenty years ago, the present day television broadcasting companies refuse to consent that violent films and programming can and do have harmful effects on their viewers (Rowland, 280) What can be done to combat the stubborn minded broadcasting companies and to reduce the amount of violent scenes that infest the current air waves? The television giants of today, such as ABC, CBS, and NBC continue to air violent shows, because they make money off of these programs. In general, society finds scenes of violence "simply exciting" (Feshbach, 12). Broadcasting companies argue that "based on the high ratings, they are giving the public what it wants, and therefore are serving the public interest" (Time, 77). Michael Howe states: "We have to remember that children and adults do enjoy and do choose to watch those programs that contain violence" (48). At the same time, however, we must also remember the undeniable truth that "there is clear evidence between television violence and later aggressive behavior" (Palmer, 120). Because violent television has been proven time and time again to play an active role toward inciting hostile behavior in children, the level of combative programming must be reduced. The media argument that high ratings correspond with the public's best interest is simply not valid. Even the American Medical Association agrees that the "link between televised violence and later aggressive behavior warrants a major organized cry of protest from the medical profession" (Palmer, 122). The issue of the public's infatuation with television can be paralleled with that of a young child and his desire for candy and "junk foods." The child enjoys eating such foods, though they produce the harmful effects of rotting away at his teeth. With a parent to limit his intake of such harmful sweets, however, the child is protected from their damage. Similarly, the American public desires to view violent programs at the risk of adapting induced aggressive behaviors. Because the networks refuse to act as a "mother," and to limit the amount of violence shown on television, there are no restrictions to prevent television's violent candy from rotting away at the teeth of society. Harry Skornia claims that "it is naive and romantic to expect a corporation to have either a heart of a soul in the struggle for profits and survival" (34). But who, then, is to take responsibility for the media's actions if not the industry itself? Because there has not been any sufficient answers to this question so far, "television violence has not diminished greatly; nor have Saturday morning programs for children, marked by excessively violent cartoons, changed much for the better" (Palmer, 125). One may ask: "Why can't the government or the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) intervene to control the amount of violent programming that currently circulates during most broadcasting hours?" Edward Palmer states: "The FCC's reluctance to regulate - especially directly about violent content - is consistent with that of many other groups. Because the First Amendment guarantees freedom of the press, no direct censorship os programming has ever been advocated by responsible groups concerned with the problem of television violence" (124). The American Broadcasting Company (ABC) holds fast to its claim that there are no scientific findings that show a link between television violence and unusually violent behavior in children (Rowland, 279). The network executives at ABC express the ideals that "they are self-confident about the lack

Sunday, November 24, 2019

Mariana Trench Facts and Location

Mariana Trench Facts and Location The Mariana Trench (also called the Marianas Trench) is the deepest part of the ocean. This trench lies in an area where two of the Earths plates- the Pacific Plate and the Philippine Plate- come together. The Pacific plate dives under the Philippine plate, which also partially gets pulled along. It is also thought that water can be carried with it, and may contribute to strong earthquakes by hydrating rock and lubricating the plates, which might lead to a sudden slip. There are many trenches in the ocean, but because of the location of this trench, it is the deepest. The Mariana Trench is located in an area of old seafloor, made up of lava, which is dense and causes the seafloor to settle further. Plus, since the trench is so far away from any rivers, it does not get filled with sediment like many other oceanic trenches, which also contributes to its extreme depth. Location The Mariana Trench is located in the western Pacific Ocean, east of the Philippines and about 120 miles east of the Mariana Islands. In 2009, President Bush declared the area surrounding Mariana Trench as a wildlife refuge, called the Marianas Trench Marine National Monument, which covers approximately 95,216 square miles. Size The trench is 1,554 miles long and 44 miles wide. The trench is more than 5 times wider than it is deep. The deepest point of the trench- which is known as the Challenger Deep- is almost 7 miles (over 36,000 feet) deep and is a bathtub-shaped depression. The trench is so deep that at the bottom that the water pressure is eight tons per square inch. Water Temperature The water temperature in the deepest part of the ocean is a chilly 33-39 degrees Fahrenheit- just above freezing. Life in the Trench The bottom of deep areas like the Mariana Trench is composed of an ooze made up of the shells of plankton. While the trench and areas like it havent been fully explored, we know that there are organisms that can survive at this depth, including bacteria, microorganisms, protists (foraminifera, xenophyophores, shrimp-like amphipods, and possibly even some fish. Exploring the Trench The first trip to the Challenger Deep was made by Jacques Piccard and Don Walsh in 1960. They didnt spend much time at the bottom, and couldnt see much as their sub kicked up too much sediment, but they did report seeing some flatfish. Voyages to the Mariana Trench have been made since then to map the area and collect samples, but humans had not been to the deepest point in the trench until 2012. In March 2012, James Cameron successfully completed the first solo, human mission to the Challenger Deep. Sources Alden, Andrew. 2009. Why the Mariana Trench is So Deep.Dohrer, Elizabeth. 2012. Mariana Trench: The Deepest Depths. LiveScience.Jackson, Nicholas. 2011. Racing to the Bottom: Exploring the Deepest Point on Earth. The Atlantic.Lovett, Richard A. 2012. How the Mariana Trench Became the Earths Deepest Point. National Geographic Daily News.NASA Earth Observatory. 2012. New View of the Deepest Trench.Roach, John. 2005. Life is Found Thriving at Oceans Deepest Point. National Geographic.USGS. Understanding Plate Motions.

Thursday, November 21, 2019

HRM2013 Human Resource Management Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

HRM2013 Human Resource Management - Essay Example The structure of the organization will determine the responsibilities, reporting structure and hierarchy. Organizational structure varies depending on locations, nature of business and people. It helps in arranging people and jobs to meet the requirements of the management. The structure of the organization impacts the workplace culture and employee behavior, motivation, performance, job satisfaction. (About Organizational Structure, n.d) There are 3 different types of organizational structures that are used in fast food companies depending on the size, technology and span of control; they are Bureaucratic Organizational structure: This form is often found rigid and inflexible as they are not accustomed to changes. Network structure Functional Organizational structure (Walter, 2011) Chuck E Cheese is one of the best fast food joints which are not present in the UK. It’s a great place for the kids as there are many attractions such as games and rides. Most of the fast food join ts adopt a very traditional organizational structure to their outlets. To establish Chuck E Cheese in the UK, it is best to have a centralized organizational structure where decisions are made by the top management. For chuck e cheese to enter the UK market, it is important to utilize a multinational strategy which helps the company to develop products that would reach the UK market. It helps the company to adapt to the local trends. If chuck E Cheese is to enter the UK market, it is better it practices a decentralized organizational structure where in decision making can be made by lower level management. This provides an opportunity for the top management to focus on other issues as opposed to looking over subunit level details. (Organizational Issues in Strategy, n.d) II. Employee Relations It is very important to have a good employer employee relationship as it helps in communicating issues, views and other requirements. Managers play a crucial role in maintaining good employee relations. The public sector organization considered is the British Council. This organization has well laid staff policies and procedures which includes the following- The employer employee relationship Industrial relations Grievances Discipline Confidentiality and Integrity The supervisors of the British council are given the primary responsibility in managing staff; recruitment; motivation; health safety and staff welfare; recognition and reward programs. At the British Council, the employee relations are based on equality of opportunity. There is a two way communication between the employees and the management. If there has been any deviation in the British Council policy, the reason must be clearly justified to the human resource department. There are number of factors that affect the relationship between the employees and the supervisors such as- Policies and procedures of the company Company’s internal values and standards Contractual agreement Social norms One of the main important employee policies is to provide equal opportunities to all irrespective of

Wednesday, November 20, 2019

VIsiting Los Angeles County Museum of Art Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

VIsiting Los Angeles County Museum of Art - Essay Example There were lots of permanent art collections, art galleries and dress exhibitions which I got an opportunity to see Matisse in one. In one building, the Ahmanson, the modern art collections displayed works that went all the way from back in 1900. I loved most David Hackneys’ works which ranged from paintings which spoke a thousand words about people and all the more to nature. I also was intrigued by the truth in art being everywhere. I discovered this as I moved from one piece of art to another and nature, people, common objects, Paintings, music and films revealed art. This is something I had learnt in class though I had really doubted. This visit ascertained this without a doubt. I did not however enjoy this one aspect where every piece of art had a placard giving its name though it did not give sufficient information concerning the art and the artist behind it. And can you imagine I had to pay $11 for iced tea and a bun! This was not funny at all. A serious stereotype I had before I visited this place was that it is a cultural wasteland and it made me not even think about visiting it for such a very long time. Through this project, I discovered that this is just but a lie and that contrary to it; this place is so beautiful and is so rich in culture. Am actually planning to visit it again now that I can’t say I explored it to my

Sunday, November 17, 2019

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

Bees - Research Paper Example The tiny bees may appear to be aggressive in nature but, are yielding so many benefits in the form of honey and wax. For all the women out there, one be should be thankful to these tiny insects as they have been taking care of an individual’s skin for a very long time. As one all are familiar with the common role of bees which is the pollination, some other useful role of bees include its antibacterial effect, its skin care benefits and who can forget the sweetest role of bees which is the making of honey. There are approximately 20,000 species of these little insects, the bees. The tiny creatures can be found in every part of the world but not in Antarctica. European honey bee is the most widely known specie of bees. As the human nature forces him to keep himself abreast about everything that happens around so, the human being could not resist to extract the benefits out of the honey bee. Today, beekeeping is being carried out by human beings to manage the benefits out of honey bee. Bee keeping is necessary to take care of the population of these useful creatures. Check out how one can benefit from this little creature but, do not forget to give it some space too. As far as the question is concerned how to give space to bees then the answer to it is simple! Drill deep holes into a large pine block and place a roof over it. The bee box is ready. Later, place this bee box in such an area where pollination is required. After one are done with this kind gesture, it is time to contribute in boosting pollination. This initiative will help one to ensure that maximum number of plants are building an active reproduction and producing fruits. Honey bees are required by the plants for an efficient as well as effective reproduction. Mason bees also actively play their part in pollination but, they do not produce honey. Carpenter bees are very helpful as they pollinate those plants which are not pollinated by honey bees. Please do not get wild upon seeing a bee