Discussion Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 26

Discussion - Assignment Example It is unfortunate that judges and other top government officials have personal immunity, which comes by professional courtesy and law. After one going through several blogs, one realizes that tyranny is greatly used as a strategy and the best example to illustrate this is the fact that Hamilton had tactics that worked with regard to tyranny. It is obvious that words are not sufficient and there must be true change in the United States of America when it comes to industrial espionage since the threat is not overblown. The main reason behind the US changing is the intelligent activity that the United States gathers foreign intelligence similar to that gathered by all nations globally. Being the superpower country, there must be some data protection, which can only happen with the help of changing the industrial espionage. Having data protection will be beneficial to almost every American citizen but mostly the leaders. Claims that America spies on other nations mean that the threat is not overblown but true change in industrial espionage will cover up

New Venture Creation Project Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

New Venture Creation Project - Essay Example This is because it influences the manner in which they interact with their peers, and the manner in which they conduct their business operations. For instance, the current century is shaped by the emergence of the social media. People look for friends and associations in sights such as facebook, web2.0, and twitter (Pakroo and Marcia, 20). A large percentage of people access these sights by using the computers. Business men on the other hand peruse through the internet in search of information concerning their business activities (Murthy, 23). Murthy (25) further denotes that business organizations cannot achieve their objectives without using computers. Basing on this background, there is a ready market for computer products. On this note, it is advisable to invest in this sector, and to do this, an entrepreneur must have a business plan. A plan will help in raising funds for the business enterprise, and therefore set directions for the business. For instance, this plan identifies t he computer services and products my business intends to offer, and the location of the business establishment. It identifies the scope of the business operations, and the managerial personnel. It also identifies the marketing strategies of the business establishment, its growth plan, and the expected sales revenues. It also identifies the capital required and whether there is a need for an investor. Products and Services offered: The computer products for sale are all computers hardware and software. This includes hardware components such as central processing units (CPUs), tfts, monitors, and a computer key board. The business also sells products such as Kaspersky’s; an anti-virus. The business concerns itself with the repair of broken computer parts, and the designing of websites for companies, and individual people. A central processing unit is a computer hardware whose main function is to carry the instructions of a computer program through logical and arithmetic operati ons of a computer system (Murthy, 34). It is a core requirement for a computer system to be complete. On this note there, these hardware’s will form a majority of the computer products that my organization will sell. Other products are the TFTS, the monitors, and the computer keyboards. My organization can also assemble these parts for purposes of producing a complete computer system. But this service will only depend on the requirements of the customer. Computer systems are also under attack from viruses, and other computer malwares. On this basis therefore, a computer system needs to have software’s that protects it from such kind of attacks. Basing on this need, my organization will seek to sell anti-virus and anti-malwares software such as Kaspersky. Kaspersky is effective in protecting computer systems from malware and virus attack (Murthy, 27). Basing on this notion, Kaspersky’s is a much sought after computer software, and it will prove to be profitable i f we trade in it. The business establishment will also have a repair unit, composed of highly trained individuals on all manner computer maintenance and repairs (Perryer, 28). I believe this service is essential considering the nature of our business. For example, a customer might buy a product from us, and it becomes defective. The proper way is to repair the product, instead of returning back his or her cash. The business will also concern itself with the designing of websites, for individuals and corporate organizations. In the current

Malaysia Household Income And Expenditure Trends Economics Essay

Malaysia Household Income And Expenditure Trends Economics Essay This section will discuss the background of the study, which explained the economic activities and economic growth by sector and by employment share, Malaysia household income and expenditure trends. This study also mentioned the concept of sustainable development and growth. This study chooses energy consumption in order to identify the factor of environment. From energy consumption, this study will observe the effect of energy consumption on environment. Next, the problem statement will cover the issues and objective, significant, scope and limitation of the study. Background of the study Malaysia is the third wealthiest country in Southeast Asia after Singapore and Brunei Darussalam based on GDP at purchasing power parity (PPP) per capita are shown in Table 1.1. It had a population of around 26 million people in 2007. According to the United Nations Development Programme, the population of Malaysia is estimated to grow to 29.8 millions by the year 2020. Most Malaysian is active economically and independently. The start of a sustainable recovery cycle was seen in 2002 but the activity slackened in 2005: GDP growth rate was 7.2% in 2004 and 5.2% in 2005 as shown in Table 1.2. Domestic demand and export dynamism are two major growth factors. Malaysia is characterized by its economys large openness and favourable behaviour towards foreign investments. During the New Economic Policy 1971 1990, a number of policies could be identified to explain the pattern of income. The promotion of export-oriented industrialisation driven primarily by foreign direct investment has seen a need for labour, thus lowering unemployment and raising household incomes. The most dynamic activity sector is electronics, given that the country is one of the worlds major exporters of semi-conductors and electronic components in the 1990s. Table 1.1: Countries of Southeast Asia sorted by their gross domestic product (GDP) at purchasing power parity (PPP) per capita in US$ Southeast Asia Country Rank International Monetary Fund (2009)[+] World Bank (2008)[++] CIA World Factbook[+++] Singapore 1 50,523 49,321 50,300 Â  Brunei 2 49,110 50,100 Â  Malaysia 3 13,769 14,215 14,800 Â  Thailand 4 8,060 8,086 8,100 Â  Indonesia 5 4,157 3,994 4,000 Â  Philippines 6 3,521 3,513 3,300 Â  Vietnam 7 2,942 2,787 2,900 Â  Cambodia 8 2,015 1,951 1,900 Source: +Data refer to the year 2009. World Economic Outlook Database-April 2010, International Monetary Fund. ++Data refer to the year 2008. World Development Indicators database, World Bank.Note: Per capita values were obtained by dividing the PPP GDP data by the Population data. +++GDP per capita (PPP), The World Factbook 2010, Central Intelligence Agency. The economic activity has been much reliant on electrical and electronic sector and the country must find new growth-generating activities, especially in the face of the soaring competition between countries of this region. Besides, Malaysia is classified among the worlds largest producers in the agriculture sector, particularly of palm oil, cocoa and rubber. Table 1.2: Malaysias Economic Growth from 2006 to 2009 Economic Indicator 2006 2007 2008 2009(f) GDP $million 125,051 132,988 139,159 139,174 Growth of GDP % 6.0 6.0 5.0 -3.1 Inflation (CPI) % 4.0 2.0 5.0 1.1 Unemployment % 3.0 3.0 3.7 4.5 Foreign direct investment % of GDP 4.0 5.0 3.0 4 Export growth % 7.0 4.0 1.5 (16.6) Import growth % 9.0 5.0 2.2 (14.9) Current account balance $million 26,200 29,243 38,914 21,053 Sources: The World Bank, World Development Indicators 2010 for 2006-2008, Economic Planning Units Forecasting for 2009. The country is also the leading exporter of tropical woods. The United States, Singapore and Japan are Malaysias major trade partners. The country imports mainly manufactured products, machine tools and vehicles. Nevertheless the economic growth of Malaysia has wide implications for structural change in the economy (from agriculture sector to industrialisation), growth of employment opportunities increase in personal income and change in consumption pattern. It has also effected the environment through a variety of techniques such as pollution; natural resources overexpolitation; degradation and wildlife habitat disappeared, and changes in weather. The result of the larger consumption levels in the environmental problem as proven in the declining in the fisheries haul, increasing in threatehned and endangered flora and founa, destroyed of wilflife natural resources, polution and purposely exotic killing, (Khalid, 2007) Environmental policies usually take into consideration the value of natural resources in contributing to processes of biological particularly in controlling flood levels, climate change rules, production of oxygen and absorption of carbon dioxide in the open areas as well as protection of flora and fauna. Environmental degradation is not accurately measured by GDP because the economic growth of the nation depend on natural resources but the strength of the economy must include the condition and sustainability of natural resources. This situation is not happening in Malaysia but those concerned about the protection of wildlife believe good treatment needs to be given to the erosion impact of economic growth on wildlife. Recently, environmental concerns have grown among the community and society, policy maker and government through the sustainable development, despite environmental problem never won against the mega development project, for instance Bakun dam project. The main objectiv e among the developing countries is economic growth through the natural resources exploitation. 1.3 Overview of Malaysia economy Malaysia is the one of the developing countries have transformed itself from 1970s to 1990s from raw materials producer to the multi-sector economy particularly manufacturing and services sector. This transformation was induced by positive economy growth which almost exclusively driven by export of electrical and electronics components. Consequently, global economic crisis and the slump in the information technology (IT) sector in 2001 and 2002 have affected Malaysia economy. However, Malaysia economy grew 5.7 percent in 2003 despite at first half very difficult to sustain due to external pressures such as Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) and the Iraq war to be concerned among business society. In 2004, growth peaked 7 percent and 5 percent in 2005-2006 and 4.6 percent in 2009. The economic growth thereafter was not as remarkable as before, though some recovery took place in 1987. This was the time when the manufacturing sector for intermediate goods started to expand, which subsequently drove the Malaysian economy forward. This established a new structural change from merely producing primary commodities to process manufacturing and advanced manufacturing, including electronic semiconductors and components of electrical products. In the middle of 1997, the economy faced another economic disaster, the Asian financial crisis that began in Thailand and later spread to all over the ASEAN countries including Malaysia. In fact the exchange rate badly affected most of the ASEAN countries. ASEAN countries had no other choice but to liquidate their current assets in order to offset their losses resulting from the currency devaluation. Slightly more than one year later, the Malaysian economy recovered. All these events have changed the structure of the Malaysian eco nomy to what it is today. It has become a tradition at the dawn of each decade to predict the path or direction and magnitude of economic growth within the context of the challenges and prospects for the next 10 years or more. The 1980s were an enormously difficult and turbulent decade for the global economy. In fact in the 1990s, though expected by some to be somewhat less turbulent and difficult, the struggle should be quite different for Malaysia in its quest to become a newly-industrialised economy. Given the diverse structures of the economy, it has its own internal problems, with its strengths and weaknesses. Malaysia has benefited from higher world energy prices although at the time the cost of domestic gasoline and diesel rising and it has forced the government to reduce the subsidies as well as contributed the higher inflation. Malaysia has reduces the risk of financial crisis throughout the strong foreign exchanges reverse and a small external debt. However, Malaysia economy is still depend on continued growth in the US, China and Japan as a top exporting countries and main sources of foreign investment. All these plans are stated in Ninth Malaysia Plan for its five years national development agenda. The plans targets the development of higher value added manufacturing and an expansion of the service sector stated in Tenth Malaysia Plan. 1.3.1 Economic growth by sector and employment share Malaysias gross domestic product (GDP) grew from RM10 billion in 1970 to about RM37 billion in 1980. It increased further to RM119 billion in 1990 and RM222 billion in 1995. In 2005 and 2009, it increased from RM449 billion to RM528 billion. These figures represent a GDP growth rate of 11% between 1970 and 2009 as shown in Table 1.3. The manufacturing sector expanded from 15% of GDP the in 1970 to 19, 24, 26, 33 and 27 % in 1980, 1990, 1995, 2000 and 2009, respectively and declined to 31% in 2005, while the share of agriculture in the GDP declined from 28 % in 1970 to 25, 15, 13 and 10 % in 1980, 1990, 1995 and 2005 respectively. The services sector declined from 42 % in 1970 to 39 in 1980. This sector increases to 46 % and 51 % in 1990 and 1995 respectively but declined to 47 % in 2005, indicating the growing government role and common enhancement in the services condition. All the sectors also changed during the last two decades, particularly in agriculture and mining sectors. In t he mining sector, tin production has declined subsequently crude petroleum became the majot contributor to the Malaysia economy growth. The manufacturing sector transformed from agriculture based products to the manufactured of electrical and electronic components, petroleum products and palm oil products. the export was significant contributor to growth particularly on manufactured goods which has contributed 74.8 percent of total export in 2007. (sources:MITI, Vol.18, date 30 Otc.2008). the electrical and electronic products became the major export of manufactured product, followed by chemical products, machinery, metal, wood products and scientific equipment. Table 1.3: Malaysian gross domestic products by industry, 1970-2005 (RM million in 2000 prices) Source: Economic Report, various issues, Ministry of Finance, Kuala Lumpur The unemployment rate has been relatively decline with a increase in the employment situation for manufacturing and services sector but decrease in agriculture and mining sectors. The services sector has absorbed 52 percent in 2009 compared to 32 percent in 1970. Figure 1.1 shows the contribution to the GDP by the main sectors in Malaysia for year 2009. The services sector became the largest contributor to the GDP compared with the manufacturing sector. This sector includes electricity, water, transportation, wholesale, health, education, hotel and restaurant. Source: Economic Planning Unit, 2009 Figure 1.1: Contribution to the GDP by sector, Malaysia, 2009 In 1970, employment share of the primary sector (agriculture and mining) accounted for 53 % of the total employment. In 1980 and 1990, it declined to 41.4 and 26.6 % respectively as shown in Table 1.4. Employment in the primary sector declined further to 15.2 % and 12 % in 2000 and 2009, respectively. On the other hand, the secondary (manufacturing and construction) sector absorbed about 35.0 % of the workforce in 2009, compared with 26.2, 21.3 and 11.4 % in 1990, 1980 and 1970 respectively. Table 1.4: Gross domestic product and employment share by industry (In 2000 prices) GDP Share (Employment Share) 1970 1980 1990 2000 2005 2009 Primary Sector Agriculture, forestry, livestock and fishing 28 (53.5) 25 (39.7) 15 (26.0) 9 (15.2) 10 (12) 7 (12) Mining and quarrying 7 (2.6) 10 (1.7) 12 (0.6) 11 (0.4) 13 (0.4) 8 (0.4) Secondary sector Manufacturing 15 (8.7) 19 (15.7) 24 (19.9) 33 (27.6) 31 (28.6) 26 (28.4) Construction 4 (2.7) 4 (5.6) 4 (6.3) 4 (8.1) 3 (7.0) 3 (6.6) Services sector 42 (32.5) 39 (37.3) 46 (57.2) 48 (48.7) 47 (51.0) 56 (52.6) Total 100 100 100 100 100 100 (Unemployment):% 7.4 5.7 5.1 3.1 3.2 4.5 Per capita GDP (RM) 1,932 3,038 4,426 8,899 16,497 18,838 Source: Economic Report, various issues, Economic Planning Unit The GDP per capita increased from about RM1,932 in 1970 to about RM3,038, RM4,426 and RM18,838 in 1980, 1990 and 2009 respectively. The employment share in the primary sector decreased from 56.1% to 12% while that of the industrial and services sectors increased from 8.7 % and 32.5 to 28 % and 52.6 % respectively over the thirty-year period from 1970 to 2009 (shown in Table 1.4). With the rise in the employment opportunities, the unemployment rate contracted, except for the mid-1980s, from 7.4 % in 1970 to 3.2 % in 2005 but has since then risen slightly to 4.5% by 2009. The labour market became so tight in the 1990s that some sub-sectors had to resort to imported labour from abroad. (EADN, 2006). Since the 1970s, Malaysia has transformed itself from an economy dependent on raw materials production with a largely poor population to a multisector economy with a middle-income population. These changes have affected the Malaysian household through employment opportunities especially when the Malaysian economy has undergone major structural changes since 20 years ago consequence, the quality of life improved due to the strong growth in the manufacturing and services sector. The Malaysian household has benefited through on increase in its income as well as an improvement in its standard of living and change in expenditure pattern. 1.3.2 The Malaysian household income and expenditure trends Since Malaysia has experienced a remarkable change from an agriculture country to an industrialized country, its GDP has grown from RM37 billion in 1980 to RM528 billion in 2009. As Sanne (1998) pointed out that there is closely relationship between expenditure and income because expenditure patterns tend to change when incomes increase. However, expenditure or consumption plays an important role in generating GDP after export. Figure 1.2 shows a comparison of the GDP per capita between Malaysia, Asia and the world. During 1991 to 2006, Malaysias GDP per capita rapidly increased twice compared with Asia and World. Mean thats, the income of every Malaysian household has increased from time to time except for 1997 when Malaysia suffered from the economic crisis, but the Malaysian economy was still under control compared with other developing countries. Source: Earth Trends Country Profiles, Malaysia Figure 1.2: GDP per capita, 1991-2006 Figure 1.3 shows the Malaysian mean annual household income between 1985 and 2007. Households benefited from the continued increase in disposable incomes arising from high export earnings and positive economic growth which also generated full-employment and income-earning opportunities among the Malaysians. Moreover, the competitive credit provided further support to more household spending. The growth and structural transformation of the Malaysian economy has wide implication on the growth of employment opportunities as well as the distribution of labor force by sectors. Source: Economic Asian Development Network, Economic Reports (Various Issues) Table 1.3: Malaysian mean annually gross household income (RM) 1985-2007 As income level increased, the monthly consumption expenditure per household grew from RM731 in 1980 to RM1, 935 in 2005 (Department of Statistic, 1980-2005). With this quantitative rise in spending came a shift in the type of goods and services under demand. Income grew at an average rate 4 % during 1997 to 2007. According to the Economic Planning Unit, household income in 2004 was around RM38,988. This suggests that the average Malaysian household was quite capable of managing its finances and avoiding overspending. In 1980/82, the average household spending amounted to RM732 monthly, compared with RM412 in 1973. The rise in household expenditure during the period 1994 -1999 was not due to price increases only that households were consuming more, indicating an increase in their income and purchasing power, corresponding to the many years of healthy economic growth. After adjusting for inflation, households recorded a 3.4 % growth in expenditure, in real terms, during the period of 1994-1999. The higher household spending in 1999 was accompanied by the increase in the bundle of goods bought by households, not just because of higher prices. 1.4 Sustainable development and population The basic issue between economic development and environment is the concept of sustainable development. The concept of sustainable development is a broad view of human wellbeing, a long term perspective about the consequences of present activities and full participation of civil society to reach possible resolutions. There are many predecessors (see, for example, Barry, 1977; Page, 1977), the most popular formulation given by the World Commission on Environment and Development on the subject of the sustainable development basic concept: development that meets the needs of the present generation without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs (WCED, 1987, p43). In terms of economic, the concept of sustainable development implies the important relationship between economic growth and environmental protection in conducting economic activities and utilizing natural resources to fulfill human needs. In Malaysia, sustainable development cannot be achieved if economic growth, social development and environmental protection work separately. Hence, the policy on the environmental has been developed to take into consideration the incorporation of these three actions. Through the sustainable development, Malaysian government plans at continued in enhancing the economic performance, social and quality of life of its people (National policy on environment, 2002). The issue of environmental is crucial for policy-makers in their effort to appear green, in terms of global warming, destruction of the ozone layer, deforestation and population pressure. A number of competing issues and possible solutions to threats ranging from air to water, ground, noise pollution, radioactivity, toxic wastes, pesticides, and endangered species have been implemented (Khalid, 2007). Most of the important goals of sustainable development such as providing a high quality of life for present and future generations were achieved but the economic and social problems are still exist. The economic and social problems faced by Malaysia were mostly from the lack of development and insufficient infrastructure in its early period of industrialization. The rapidly economic development through urbanization, industrialization and other land-use activities since 1980s later gave rise to water, air and land pollution, which have remained as serious environmental problems in Malaysia (Khalid,2007). This problems related to the lack of development in Malaysia gave rise to environment imparts due to inadequate hygienic facilities and lack of proper housing particularly in the rural area. This is the same arise to urban settlement where the unchecked sprawling growth resulted in crowded condition and pollution of rivers by human being. Figure 1.4 shows that quality of life index pe rformed better from 1992 to 2002, while environment index not performed well due to economic and social problem. Environment index grew at -4.3 percent from 1990 to 2007 and this sturcutre should be taken into consideration. In generally, human being is need the clean water and hygienic services because it is very important to ensure good health and proper living. Source: Malaysia Quality of Life, 2004, Economic Planning Unit (EPU),Malaysia Figure 1.4: Malaysia quality of life index and environment index, 1990-2000 Moreover, environmental problems are also closely related to industrialization activities directly and indirectly by households. Economists view on the purpose of production is to feed consumption or household demand. Evaluation of the environmental and social impacts of households need to account for both the direct impacts of the household, such as disposal of household wastes and the emission arising from fuel combustion in a household, and the indirect impacts which are caused during the production of the goods and the delivery of the services to the household. In Malaysia, three factors that influence the intensity of environmental pollution are population size, economic activities and production activities. From these factors, production activities are the most responsible for worsening industrial pollution in Malaysia (Khalid, 2007). Some studies suggest that population growth is one of the major factors causing CO2 emissions (York et al., 2003; Shi, 2003; Cole and Neumeyer, 2004), but the growth of population in Malaysia can also contributed to the worsening of natural resources or system of biological life support. As population increases, the symptom of ecological pressures and scarcity of natural resources will be occurred including deforestation, soil erosion, overfishing and overcrowding as well as economic stress is indicated through lower output, inflation and unemployment, and social problems. Due to the increasing population, pressure builds up for increased production from land use, hence the results from these activities will raise the soil erosion and degradation. These activities are not limited to the destroyed of land but also a declined in the flow of rivers, increased flood levels and silting of reservoir and dam. (Khalid, 2007). A growing population also leads to increase in energy consumption especially electricity, to meet the increased demand and to service the new development areas. Motor vehicle ownership is also increased with a growing population that becomes more affluent, and consequently contributing to greater pollution, particularly in generating CO2 emissions. Sources: United Nation Statistic Division, IMF/2005 Figure 1.5: The total number of newly registered motor vehicles and energy consumption per capita, 1980-2004 From 1980 to 2004, a general increase in CO2 emission was experienced by Malaysia. Only in 1998/1999 was a decline to about 17.6 % seen Figure 1.5. At this time, there was also a drop in the number newly registered private motor vehicles and energy consumption as shown in Figure 1.5. This indicates that a reduction in the use or ownership of motor vehicles will reduce energy consumption (of petroleum) and thereby the generation of CO2. Figure 1.6 shows the total of CO2 emissions in Malaysia. Therefore, household expenditure continues to shift away from food towards transports particularly in fuel consumption even though spending on motor vehicles fall. Fuels consumption continues to rise with worsening in public transport system have declined from 11 % to 6 % and it grew at -4.1 % between 1999 and 2005 (DOS). Sources: United Nation Statistic Division, IMF Figure 1.6: The Carbon dioxide emissions (CO2), Malaysia In order to reduce the CO2 emissions, many policy-makers have implemented various pollution control policies, for example by improving the public transportation system and increasing the oil price. However, the best way to reduce CO2 emission is to reduce energy consumption by household direct and indirectly. 1.5 Total primary energy supply and final consumption in Malaysia The rapid economic growth in Malaysia has largely impact the energy supply and consumption. The annual growth rate of GDP and total households energy primary use are 5.7 and 7.4 respectively in the 1990s as shown in Table 1.5. However, the economic growth slowed down from 1996 to 2000 due to economic crisis of 1997 in Asian region. The annual average total primary energy supply (TPES) growth increases much from 1991 to 2000 due to major investments particularly in the transportation and industrial sectors, 41.8% and 37.7% respectively. The trends in energy use of Malaysia are relatively same to the trends found in many developing countries such as study done by Park (2007) for Korea and Pachauri (2002) for India. The total primary energy supply (TPES) in Malaysia increased from 5-10 Mtoe between 1991 and 2006. Table 1.5: Income and energy supply and consumption in Malaysia Annual growth rates in % 1991 2000 2008 1991-2000 2000-2008 1991-2008 GDP in Ringgit Malaysia at 2000 constant prices (Million) 205,312 356,401 476,182 5.7 2.94 8.78 Total primary energy supply (Ktoe) 26,335 50,710 69,846 6.8 3.25 10.25 (Per capita TPES in Ktoe) 1.39 2.17 2.59 4.6 1.77 6.41 Total household primary energy use (Ktoe) 13,961 28,705 42,901 7.5 4.10 11.88 (Per capita total household energy in Ktoe) 0.74 1.23 1.59 5.2 2.59 7.94 Direct household primary energy use (Ktoe) 843 1,650 2,565 6.9 4.51 11.77 (Per capita direct household energy in Ktoe) 0.04 0.07 0.10 4.7 3.10 9.04 Sources: Department of Statistic Malaysia and own calculation The enormous growth rates of Asian economy give a large impact to the energy consumption. In the 1990s, the petroleum production and consumption increased tremendously as well as an increase of hydroelectric and coal in generating the electricity for the nation. The demand and consumption of energy increased tremendously from 1991-1997 as shown in figure 1.7. A large amount of investment on electrical infrastructure and automobile has caused primary energy consumption reached at approximately 27.23 million tones and electricity generation almost 6 Mtoe in 2000 and will continue to rise. Source: Malaysia Energy Centre, 2000 Figure 1.7: The total energy consumption and GDP in Malaysia from 1991 to 2006. The future economic growth for any country is hard to forecast but to generate an exactly estimation, firstly must account for the physical and economic growth of the nation. Malaysia projected to grow at 5.7% % annually and will continue at this rate for many years. With increasing rate of urbanization, total primary energy demand is set to increase by nearly 7 % annually. Moreover, political stability and development will continue to drive the economy forward. The Malaysian Ministry of Energy suggest that to provide for its citizens energy demands, RM 4.86 billion dollars will be required over the next 10-15 years: 60% allotted to energy generation and the remainder to transmission and distribution of energy. Such enormous economic growth and increasing infrastructure and demand will likely send the total energy use to well over 100 Mtoe in the year 2020. The growth rate of urbanization shows that the industrial sector of the economy, the sector remains unchanged to require large portions of the total amount of energy used in the nation. The industrial sector could increase to upwards of 50% of the nations economy in continuing competition. The switch towards public transportation in urban areas will potentially cause a decline in the percentage of the economy occupied by the transportation sector. The energy use of residential and commercial sector remains relatively constant occupying only 13%-14% of the total energy use. Vision 2020 sets goals and standards for the nations future as a whole. Malaysia is become a totally developed and united country by the year 2020. In line with to this, Malaysia targets to raise the living standard of rural and urban peoples as well as reducing poverty, finally leading to an increase in the total household primary energy consumption all over the nation. The annual growth rate of total household primary energy consumption is 7.5% and direct household primary energy consumption about 6.9% from 1996 to 2000. Since households income and consumption expenditure increased, the household energy requirement increased too as shown in Figure 1.6. The total primary energy supply of 50,710 Ktoe in 2000 was for an income of RM 356,401million economy very high compared to 1991. 1.6 The effect of energy consumption on the environment Energy use contributes to a range of environmental pressures and is a major source of greenhouse and acid gases. The most polluting fuel, in terms of CO2, SO2, NOx and particulate emissions, is coal, followed by oil. Natural gas burns much more cleanly, can be used more efficiently in domestic boilers, and produces as much CO2 per unit of energy. Disposal of electronic waste such as dry batteries presents serious risks associated with carcinogenic substances, which can be leached to soil and groundwater over the medium and long term. Uncontrolled land filling also releases contaminants, with a time lag. Incineration or co-incineration of electronic equipment waste with neithe

Capital Punishment and Catholicism :: Argumentative Persuasive Essays

Capital Punishment and Catholicism 2 sources cited Among the major nations of the Western world, the United States is singular in still having the death penalty. After a five-year moratorium, from 1972 to 1977, capital punishment was reinstated in the United States courts. Objections to the practice have come from many quarters, including the American Catholic bishops, who have rather consistently opposed the death penalty. The National Conference of Catholic Bishops in 1980 published a predominantly negative statement on capital punishment, approved by a majority vote of those present though not by the required two-thirds majority of the entire conference (1). Pope John Paul II has at various times expressed his opposition to the practice, as have other Catholic leaders in Europe. Some Catholics, going beyond the bishops and the Pope, maintain that the death penalty, like abortion and euthanasia, is a violation of the right to life and an unauthorized usurpation by human beings of God's sole lordship over life and death. Did not the Declaration of Independence, they ask, describe the right to life as "unalienable"? While sociological and legal questions inevitably impinge upon any such reflection, I am here addressing the subject as a theologian. At this level the question has to be answered primarily in terms of revelation, as it comes to us through Scripture and tradition, interpreted with the guidance of the ecclesiastical magisterium. In the New Testament the right of the State to put criminals to death seems to be taken for granted. Jesus himself refrains from using violence. He rebukes his disciples for wishing to call down fire from heaven to punish the Samaritans for their lack of hospitality (Luke 9:55). Later he admonishes Peter to put his sword in the scabbard rather than resist arrest (Matthew 26:52). At no point, however, does Jesus deny that the State has authority to exact capital punishment. In his debates with the Pharisees, Jesus cites with approval the apparently harsh commandment, "He who speaks evil of father or mother, let him surely die" (Matthew 15:4; Mark 7:10, referring to Exodus 2l:17; cf. Leviticus 20:9). When Pilate calls attention to his authority to crucify him, Jesus points out that Pilate's power comes to him from above-that is to say, from God (John 19:11).

“Blueback” by Tim Winton Essay

Essay Question: How does Tim Winton use the elements of narratives to covey his theme? Have you ever read a story about a boy whose best friend is a fish? In Blueback by Tim Winton this is exactly what happens. Like in many of Winton’s stories Blueback is set in a seaside town in Western Australia. Winton uses the setting, characters, conflict and resolution to portray the message that we should protect the environment and not plunder the oceans for our own benefit. The main Characters in Blueback are Able and his Mum, Dora, who live in the sleepy seaside town of Longboat bay. Winton constructs Longboat bay as a peaceful quite place that belongs only to Able, Dora and Blueback, a place were they enjoy diving and were â€Å"Able swims with his mother in turquoise waters †. Winton constructs this setting to make the reader think of it as a healthy easygoing place to live away from the city. Winton makes Abel’s home sound like a very pleasant place to live being nestled between Longboat bay with its abundant marine life and pristine national park, with thriving wild life. Able and Dora enjoy the simple life and are very self sufficient and do everything from fixing motors to collecting abalone and selling the shells. Able and Dora take advantage of the land and go fishing and planting crops Dora Tells Able that â€Å"Able and his mother lived of the sea and land. Jackson had been living here like this for more than a hundred years†. Able is constructed as a strong willed character that does his best to help other people and the environment. When Able sees Costello â€Å"stripping the reef bare† he goes out to try and stop him and in the process saves Blueback, this to me shows that Abel is a very unselfish person. Another example of able being unselfish is when Longboat Bay is almost ruined by an oil spill, and Able rushes home from the city to try and help. Able and his  wife even quit their jobs to look after his mum when she gets sick. Winton constructs Able as a character that makes us think about the environment and other people more. One of the main conflicts in Blueback is when Able and Dora try to save Blueback from Costello. Able sees Costello taking all the fish and all the Abalone from the bay attempts to stop him. Able quickly boards Costello’s boat and throws the abalone back into the water hoping they might survive. Meanwhile Dora swims down to check on Blueback. Able swam down to his mother and realised that Costello was trying spear Blueback, Costello had already shot one spear that had missed Blueback my the narrowest or margins and was reloading. Unexpectedly Blueback swam away. On the surface Dora told Able that she â€Å"Biffed† the fish on in the head to scare it away. Winton uses this conflict to make the reader think about not taking to much from the ocean for your own benefit and preserving what we have. Costello is constructed as a mean selfish character who is only interested in doing something for his own gain. Costello is the complete opposite of Able and only thinks about himself and doesn’t care for the environment at all. Dora describes Able as a â€Å"hard case† and says there is nothing Able can do to stop him taking all the abalone from Longboat Bay. Even though Able does stop Costello taking more Abalone he still took many undersize fish and broke the law. When Able got on Costello’s boat he saw that, â€Å" the deck was awash with blood, Able had speared fish nearly every day of his life but he had never seen such slaughter like this.† Winton uses Costello’s character makes the reader think about being more aware of actions that may impact other people and the image of a deck awash with blood to make people feel disgust. Winton uses the setting, characters, conflict and resolution to tell his story and to give us the message that we must protect the environment. He does this by having two main settings in Blueback, the first is Able’s home, a peaceful tranquil bay and the second setting, the city which is constructed as a dull noisy place that Able describes as â€Å"hemmed in†. The main message in this novel is that we must preserve what we have.

Amadeus Biopic

Amadeus Milos Forman’s movie Amadeus produced in 1984 is both great as far as theatrics go and telling a story, but ultimately rather portrays an inaccurate depiction of Mozart’s life. Told from the flash back perspective of an aged Antonio Salieri in an insane asylum to a priest for a confession, the movie reveals Antonio's introduction to Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, his professional career with Mozart, and his bitter rivalry and betrayal of Mozart. The film depicts an inaccurate account of Mozart’s life but still delivers on the pieces which he composed.Throughout the film, we’re exposed to what are clearly historical inaccuracies. I understand that this film is an adaptation of the original Peter Shaffer’s Amadeus performed on Broadway in the 1980’s and for purely theatrical purposes to endow the story with a plot, these changes had to either be implemented or just purely fabricated in order for the story to make sense. However, some of the e rroneous interpretations of Mozart’s life are just impossible to ignore for anyone who even had even the simplest understanding of his life, such as myself.The predominant trait of Mozart that stuck out to me like a sore thumb was his high pitched cackling laughter. The movie’s laugh for Amadeus was constructed from letters that referenced Mozart having an â€Å"infectious, giddy laugh† much like â€Å"metal scraping glass† according to Forman. However, Robert L. Marshall, author of â€Å"Film as Musicology: Amadeus,† discredits this notion as there were no citations that provided the existence of such letters. Since Mozart lived over two centuries ago, there’s no possible way to know exactly how he sounded.However, the brilliant Mozart in the film is supposed to be Gods creature (The Latin translation of Amadeus translates to â€Å"lover of God† or â€Å"beloved by God†) that usurps the mediocre Salieris position as the  "voice of God. † So in effect, his laugh is God mocking Salieri in his mediocrity which further drives the frustration and anger of Salieri towards Mozart thus pushing the plot along. While we’re on that subject, there is little evidence that Mozart and Salieri actually rivaled each other to the extreme that the movie depicts. Certainly, they were rivals, but they were professional rivals.By professional rivals, I mean that even though they often butted heads in their pursuit of music and their attempted publicity of their works, they still admired and respected each other greatly. Despite Salieri being the inferior musician, he still pooled great respect from Emperor Joseph II and his subjects and served as court composer, director of the Italian opera, and court conductor. Mozart on the other hand came as an outsider therefore did not possess the same influence or reputation as Salieri. To me, this just appears to be the politics of music; it’s not what you kno w, it’s who you know.Regardless, Salieri really didn’t have a reason to hate Mozart as much as the movie shows because his influence alone virtually neutralized Mozart as a threat. I’m sure when Mozart attempted to get his operas on the Italian stages it must have certainly irked Salieri, but never to the point of violence. However, once again the fiction is created in order to develop a sensical plot line. Without that aggressive rivalry, there’s no movie. One last thing that I personally found confusing is that absence of Joesph Haydn from the entire movie.History tells us that Mozart and Haydn met somewhere 1783 or 1784 and instantly hit it off. They both admired each other’s work immensely and Mozart even went as far as to dedicate six string quartets to Haydn as a tribute to the father of the string quartet. Throughout their lives, they were in correspondence with one another up until Mozart’s death. However, despite this documented his torical fact, Haydn is still left out of the movie. The movie itself is about two famous classical composers so why not add Haydn to attract Haydn fans to the play or movie?One can only guess as to why that is. Perhaps Forman thought that the addition of another prominent classical composer would ultimately lessen the importance of the feud between Mozart and Salieri. But Forman fashioned other characters throughout the film in order to serve roles that further drove the plot, so why not use Haydn instead? Or at least mention him? At one point in the film, Mozart mentions that he doesn’t care for Gluck (which is also inaccurate, he was an admirer of Gluck), but nevertheless, he still at least mentions the name.At this point it’s all speculation and I can’t find anywhere an explanation for his absence. The movie is riddled with other inaccuracies that raise a lot of questions, but if anything I learned in English is true, it’s that in order to read any lit erature that’s fiction or watch any movie, you’re supposed to â€Å"suspend yourself in willful disbelief† meaning that enjoy it for what it is without dissecting it too much, which I can honestly and wholeheartedly say I did. Although it doesn’t give an accurate portrayal of Mozart, Salieri or the setting it’s supposed to be placed in, it still gives an enjoyable experience.Despite the erroneous depiction, the musical pieces revealed chronologically throughout the film are in fact the offspring of Mozart’s genius. Whilst enjoying each piece as much as the next, I don’t have the musical ear or expertise to discern which piece is being played in which scene, aside from the operas. However, the films composer John Strauss created a two disc soundtrack for the film and I have to admit, even though I lack the expertise, I am astounded by Mozart’s ability.Luckily, between the internet and my own mothers personal love for music (Fort unately, she had a library of CDs that included many of Mozart’s work), I was able to essentially find each individual piece within the movie. I have to say, my favorite musical piece offered in the movie is the finale of the Don Giovanni. Perhaps some of it is because of the twist that Salieri puts on it; that â€Å"only [he] understood that the horrifying apparition was Leopald raised from the dead! The inference that I took from that between the monumental sounding music and the fervently conducting Mozart in the scene is that Mozart poured his personal misfortune of not living up to his father’s expectations in his work. It just makes it seem to be so personal, so passionate. I know that was the movies intent for me to feel that way, but I couldn’t help getting sucked in, between seeing the gargantuan black commander singing in the deep bass voice is what seems to me to be such an accusing tone allegorically â€Å"accusing his son in front of the worldâ₠¬  as Salieri puts it.All the while the plot twists during this play, as the madness grew within Salieri as he discovers such a simple way to destroy Mozart. It’s just so epic, for lack of better words. One of the brighter operas in the film â€Å"The Marriage of Figgaro† has a much lighter note. Despite all of the red tape Mozart endures, he nevertheless through the exceptionally brilliance of his music and borderline arrogance persuades the emperor to allow him to perform his opera.While we obviously never get to see the whole thing, the music and performance we do see is good. I wouldn’t say I particularly cared for it. The colors, the notes, the lighting, it’s just too bright. However, the most impressive part of it is that his confidence in his music allowed him to break the traditional rules in order for his perform his opera. This seems metaphorically to portray the fact that Mozart’s music didn’t follow these contemporary musical ru les of the time which contributed to his genius.Perhaps that’s a long stretch, but that’s immediately what came to mind. While the movie is composed (Pun intended) of Mozart’s work, it would take an entire separate paper to dissect each one individually. Regardless, each piece performed in the play is enjoyable from one degree to another. Overall, I have to say I was more than happy with this movie. For a while, I dreaded watching the movie thinking it would be a long drawn out boring biographic film, but to my surprise it shared little characteristics with a biography.The central thematic message of the movie is mostly if not entirely fictitious, but still lays a foundation in which the movie tells factual information about Mozart and sets a stage in which one can hear the pieces and enjoy them chronologically. To be frank and honest, if these fabrications of the bitter rivalry between Salieri and Mozart weren’t there, I would have had a hard time truly appreciating the Mozart as seen in the movie. Not to say his music is bad, it’s brilliant, but the underlying plot is what made the movie so interesting.Ultimately, if you’re looking for historical facts about Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, look elsewhere. If you’re looking for a movie that’s interesting and loosely based on one of the world’s greatest composers who ever lived, look no further. Biliography  ·Ã¢â‚¬ Amadeus (1984) – 10 Mistakes. † Movie Mistakes. Web. 08 Mar. 2012. .  ·Ã¢â‚¬ Amadeus. † IMDb. IMDb. com. Web. 08 Mar. 2012. .  ·Irving, John. Mozart: The â€Å"Haydn† Quartets. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1998.  ·Ã¢â‚¬ Who Killed Amadeus? † Suite101. com. Web. 08 Mar. 2012. .