Why I want to work in Critical Care Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Why I want to work in Critical Care - Essay Example Most patients who are in Intensive Care Unit are not only in severe pain but also have life threatening condition. It is in this situation where patients need the utmost critical care because their lives and well-being are at stake. Without a nurse that would attend to the patient, their health condition will not only deteriorate but worst could also end their lives. As a nurse, my profession matters the most in this situation because the patients needed me the most to save their lives.I am aware that working in Intensive Care Unit will not be easy. Patients who need critical care must have health professionals who are competent and compassionate to look after them to make them better. As a nurse, this job would be very demanding because most cases that we will be handling are life threatening and extreme. This, however, will make me become better as a professional because I will be exposed to difficult cases that would stretch my professional capability thus making me a better nurse .As a personal health professional, I do not only want to excel in my profession but also would like to make a difference in other people’s lives. The best way to make a difference in other people’s lives is to be there both as a professional and a person during the patient’s direst situation. The satisfaction that will be derived from of making patiently’s better during their life-threatening situation cannot be remunerated by any form of compensation but can only be had by a unique opportunity to work.

Integrative Approaches to Psychology and Christianity Essay Example for Free

Integrative Approaches to Psychology and Christianity Essay Just as the title describes, Entwistle explains within the book the attempts and varied approaches of integrating both psychology and Christianity, two entities which seem to have been at odds with each other since the time of Galileo. By explaining key historical conflicts, such as instances of friction between religion and science, readers are able to understand how psychology and Christianity are intertwined, and how the same principles that hold them together also seek to push them apart. As said best by Entwistle, â€Å"The interaction of psychology and theology is virtually inevitable due to their mutual interest in understanding the ambiguities and mysteries of human behavior, and healing human brokenness. † (Entwistle, 2010, p.51) According to Entwistle each person has their own worldview, a unique way in which one sees the world around them shaped by their own experiences, knowledge, and culture. The family we were born into, the town we grew up, the continent our town is located all help shape our worldview. Our worldview allows us to question if what we believe is true and if our beliefs have a place within our religion. In taking a Christian worldview believing and understanding in the creation, Fall, redemption, and consummation provides a starting point for integration by allowing Christians to understand how the world around them began and their place in that world. (Entwistle, 2010, p.67) Five paradigms are described as ways of relating psychology to Christianity and they are as follows: enemies, spies, colonialists, neutral parties, and allies as subjects of one sovereign. As enemies, there is no possible way that psychology and Christianity can be integrated. As spies, allegiance is held to one while borrowing principles from the other. As colonialists, there is a recognition of the importance of psychology, but does not attempt to use any of its principles. As neutral parties, both psychology and Christianity recognize findings that are paramount between the two, however both are separated from one another. And lastly, as allies the integration of both psychology and Christianity embrace the word and works of God and his ability to rule over both disciplines. (Entwistle, 2010, p.154) In conclusion, the road to integrating psychology and Christianity continues to be a long one. As Christians, we know that God is the creator of man and that we are born in His image but have sinfully fallen short, and that Jesus died for our sins so we are able to seek forgiveness. The Bible remains our guide for daily living. Psychology is the scientific study of the mind and our behaviors attempting to explain why we think and behave the ways we do. â€Å"Rather, the task at hand is the difficult work of reading the psychological and biblical sources, checking the research and the interpretations, and then asking how together they can help us attain a more complete picture of the human condition.† (Entiwistle, 2010, p.267) Concrete Response In reading this book it triggered a memory from over ten years ago. In 2001, I lost my great-grandmother to heart related issues. For me her death went farther than just losing a relative. As far back as I can remember my great-grandmother was a part of my daily life. My mother had me when she was still in high school so naturally she still lived at home. My father was nonexistent in my life so my world revolved around a house full of women: my mother, grandmother, and great-grandmother. I had just graduated high school and was anxiously approaching the start of my first semester in college the following August. Everyone else in the household was at work, while I was enjoying my summer vacation. It was still early in the morning and my great-grandmother had decided to lay down for an early nap. At this point in her life she needed help remembering when to take her medications so I went to her bedroom to wake her up. Upon entering her bedroom I did not notice anything out of the ordinary, but as I nudged her and called her name I became more frantic as the realization of my worst fears came to fruition, that no matter what I did she would never wake up again. One of the first questions that came to mind was, â€Å"Why God?† Then, â€Å"Why me?† soon followed. But as a Christian, I understood that God has a plan for all of us. When I was able to see through my grief I knew that her suffering on Earth was over and she was in her heavenly home. However, this event solidified in my mind the concept that we are mortals and our days on Earth are numbered. In some way I feel this event helped shape my decision to help others. Reflection In reading this book, some questions come to mind. While discussing the history and innate differences between psychology and Christianity why did Entwistle not find it relevant to discuss the ways the two had been integrated in the past? Relevant to the history of both are the few people through history that have used both psychology and theology in healing the minds and bodies of followers. Even Native American shamans used both the healing properties of plants and medicines and their belief and worship of spiritual beings to restore health to believers. I think it is important that in moving forward for one to understand the past in preventing history from repeating itself and by learning from others mistakes. Another point I feel that Entwistle failed to make is the possibility of our worldview changing. I feel that although our worldview is shaped over the course of our life that there are reasons that would cause a person’s worldview to change dramatically. For instance, let’s consider a child that has known nothing but abuse and neglect since being brought into the world. Everything they know about the world is skewed by the will to merely survive from day to day. Consider how that child’s worldview would change once that child has been removed and placed with either a foster-family or relative that can begin to teach them that love, trust, and stability do exist in the world. Would that child now hold a different worldview? Action I believe that I have learned many things concerning the integration of psychology and Christianity. The community mental health facility in which I work does not endorse the use of religion in counseling sessions due to their ethics and boundaries policy. However, I feel by allowing the client the opportunity to discuss their own feelings and stance on religion opens the door for me as a therapist to utilize that information in integrating religion into their counseling sessions. By allowing them to include such an integral part of their life I feel they are going to be more successful in overcoming illness and life problems that are their undoing. In conclusion, knowing that I have such limited expertise and experience in combining both religion and psychology, I think it is important as a therapist to know if you are practicing outside your realm of knowledge, therefore I am interested in learning what facilities exist that provide Christian counseling in proximity to my hometown. Clients should feel empowered and have options with which services they receive. It is through my years of working as a therapist that I have also learned clients’ want to feel like they are choosing what is best for themselves rather than being forced. I know I share the same views in my own life and hope I can help others heal within theirs. References Entwistle, D.N. (2010). Integrative Approaches to Psychology and Christianity. (Second Edition e.d.). Eugene, OR: Cascade Books.

Cybersecurity: Advantages and Disadvantages

Cybersecurity: Advantages and Disadvantages Cybersecurity: Friend or Foe? From 2005 to 2020, the digital universe will grow by a factor of 300, from 130 exabytes to 40,000 exabytes, or 40 trillion gigabytes.[1]The Internet is growing at an outrageous rate, and with it so must security. Cyber Security is â€Å"measures taken to protect a computer or computer system (as on the Internet) against unauthorized access or attack†(Webster). This word was first used around the year 1994. While the internet and cyber security are symbiotic, what happens if one grows faster than another? Will that set fire to the internet and topple it, or make it stronger? In recent years, cybersecurity has become a hot topic in many countries. In the U.S., cyber security is now a major issue and one that many people do not comprehend. Actually cyber security helps our everyday lives and keeps us safe from cyber attacks. These cyber attacks could steal important information like credit card numbers or addresses even age and any other information stored on a site with no cyber security measures. The US government and the private sector are utilizing numerous strategies to keep up with the rapid pace of increasingly sophisticated cyber security threats. However, U.S. citizens are beginning to question if the government’s and private sector’s attempts to effectively combat cyber security is now undermining civil liberties and exceeding limits of government secrecy. In the past, present and future, cyber security has been both an ally and enemy of the U.S. government and U.S. citizens. First we begin by rewinding to the past to see how Cyber Security has changed the Internet. The Internet originated in 1962, hatched from the brain of Paul Baran of RAND, who developed the idea of distributed, packet-switching networks. This was the first idea of its kind and would revolutionise the world in years to come. With the help of Paul Baran and DARPA an agency of the United States Department of Defense; In 1969 the Advanced Research Projects Agency Network aka (ARPANET) goes online and is the worlds first fully operational distributing, packet switching-network. Shortly after the rise of ARPANET, Bob Kahn and Vint Cerf both noticed the usefulness of the internet and began to draw out and develop the basic ideas of the Internet. Finally In 1974, the company BBN launched the first public packet-switched network called Telenet (X. Cringely). The civilian Internet was born in the mid-1990’s as an off shoot of ARPANet’s military network. The Internet is bringing a revolution across with it bringing global supply of endless vital information that brings new reformed conventions and destroys old world definitions. Much time goes by and we finally see the full rise of the World Wide Web. In 1992 the number of hosts, which means computers or servers supplying information, breaks 1,000,000. By its third year the World Wide Web has a growth rate of 341,634% in service traffic. And the Internet was baptized in 1996 by holding the â€Å"first World Exposition† ever shown on the Web. It has now become so embedded in our everyday lives that it has radically altered the way individuals and societies interact (Kaufman). From this point on we see the birth of a new force that will bloom into a beautiful flower in later generations, yet the question remains whether this flower be a sweet smelling rose or poisonous Lilie. With the advent of the Internet came the need to protect information from being taken; this came in the form of Cyber Security. In the beginning Cyber Security did not matter a great deal because there was no real confidential data being handled on the web. It was still a relatively new concept. Thus there was not much security other than the CIA or NSA would occasionally use the web to track down criminals individually by surveillance (McCracken). When the Internet began to intertwine with our daily lives, cyber security problems began to occur. Large amounts of confidential information began to be stored on the Internet, and hackers began to penetrate through simple defenses to steal this critical information. In response, the NSA and CIA implemented multiple layers of Cyber Security to their servers. Following numerous cyber attacks, private sector companies also began to tackle this issue by hiring Information Technology experts capable of protecting their information from hacker s. As companies everywhere were in need of Cyber Security to keep others’ vital information safe, they began their search for people with the skill set they needed. This new type of job pays a lot because of the high demand for this technical knowledge (Lawrence). At this point cyber security basically is only showing its friendly face. The industry was adequately protecting critical information without encroaching on peoples privacy. Lastly, the need to protect information became a global issue with countries committing warfare via digital frontiers and borders rather than physical ones. Cyber Security began to create divisions among countries such as China, Russia, U.S as these three countries became leaders in hacking, stealing information and digital espionage. A great example of this is in 2001 of the FB â€Å"hack which raised concern all over the world of for security reasons. This hack happened when the FBI went on a sting operation to retrieve small part of information without being noticed from two Russian intelligence based computers. However layers are afraid that this act may bounce back to them as they have committed a cross-border hack many people believe that they have done this with poor judgement (Lemos). They obtained this information from these servers without the assistance of Russia. This could mean that the U.S. can widen its borders on where it can search and capture criminals. However thi s also bring the law up of Whatever we do to them, they can do to us, said Yarbrough, a former Department of Justice cyber crime prosecutor†(Lemos). Clearly this inter-country cybersecurity warfare marked the beginning of the negative results of cyber security and paved the way for increasingly complex issues in the present. Now we currently face a critical situation in which Cyber Security is becoming more of a foe than an ally. It has gotten out of control and is now forcing citizens to question whether the government and private sector are respecting their very civil liberties. With the advent of the cloud both the government and private sector store huge amounts of information outside of their physical offices, making it even more risky for cyber attacks. The enemies are able to attack just as easily from within the organization as from without. A well known example of internal hacking was Wikileaks, in which a U.S. soldier J. Kirk Wiebe downloaded confidential embassy communications from around the world and shared them with the press. Another U.S. government leak was perpetrated by Edward Snowden a famous whistleblower from within the NSA. He downloaded thousands of classified files, attacking from within the NSA , to show the world what he considered to be an overreaching of the U.S. government in citizens and other countries privacy (Riley). While the government and the private sector may be winning the battle of effectively keeping citizens and their data safe, they are sacrificing civil liberties and privacy that has been the hallmark of our country since its founding over two hundred years ago. Now Cyber Security threats are not only pertinent to government based servers but as to the private sector as well. Companies such as Target and Sony have been widely affected by these attacks. Target recently lost large amounts of market share due to the cyber security attack they suffered in which numerous amounts of confidential customer information was stolen. People are shying away from Target due to the general fear of having their information stolen. Sony has been attacked numerous times but has now learned from the past and is creating new security and encryption platforms to ensure customers it is safe. Every time a company is attacked, a beneficial outcome rises from the overall flaws that are exposed, allowing organizations to improve their Cyber Security. An example of this is a recent bug called Heartbleed. HeartBleed is a bug that breaks through OpenSSL to find passwords and other confidential information. It attacked what were previously considered impenetrable platfor ms including Yahoo, Instagram, and even Google. Weeks later all breaches were sealed and lessons were learned. Currently, the competition from both the government and private sector for the same scarce Cybersecurity professionals is resulting in a war for resources and talent, making it even more difficult for the friendlier side of cyber security to prevail. Now the government targets these cyberwarriors when they are still students and lures them in before they can go to a private company. How? They begin to pay scholarships, tuition, books, and a salary. â€Å"Unlike many government programs, Cyber Corps has seen its budget triple to $45 million a year in the past three fiscal years,† says Victor Piotrowski, lead program director for Cyber Corps at the National Science Foundation† . â€Å"Almost four in 10 IT security positions went unfilled in 2013, according to a survey of more than 500 organizations by the Ponemon Institute, which studies privacy, data protection, and information-security policy† (Lawrence). Frequently, government employees are lured away by substant ially higher salaries in the private sector. An increasingly important challenge for the government in retaining skilled cyber warriors is that many employees choose to leave government employment because because they say they do not want to spy on U.S citizens behind their backs (Lawrence). With these many challenges, cyber security currently appears to represent more of a foe than an ally. [1] New challenges will surface in the future in cyber security. Just as less than 70 years ago, the world had no idea that internet was about to revolution the way we look at the world and interact, it is difficult to speculate on the direction of cyber security. However it is possible to hypothesize on the near future and what is to come. Cyber security has already begun to be a problem for mobile telephony, and it is likely to increase exponentially. Mobile phones are an enticing target as they display important information such as location, credit card accounts, secret work files and photos. More and more hackers are begging to target this growing platform. Between April and December 2012, the types of threats detected on the Google Android platform increased by more than 30 times from 11,000 to 350,000, and are expected to reach one million in 2003. (Center for European Policy Studies, CEPS)*insert end connecting some what to thesis and future*[2] What began as small cyber battles between countries has now given rise to a full scale â€Å"Digital World War†. Now a days we see countries aggressively hack each other. The U.S. is deeply worried about China, as it has attacked its intelligence agencies multiple times. The U.S. government has prohibited â€Å"Chinese hardware in US institutions such as NASA, the Department of Justice and the Department of Commerce, unless a thorough assessment of â€Å"cyber-espionage or sabotage† (CEPS) risk by specialised federal officials has been carried out.† Furthermore, the U.S. government recently accused 5 high ranking chinese officials of cyber espionage. This unprecedented accusation has led to increased tension between the two governments with both accusing each other of espionage. Is this the end of the internet and where will we go from here? The Internet just keeps expanding and expanding and so does cyber security and its accompanying abuse of privacy and civil liberties. The NSA could eventually cause the downfall of the internet because they have fatally altered the perfect balance of self-expression, internet cyber security, and governance. In a recent speech that Snowden gave with techies, he stated that â€Å" the NSA is setting fire to the internet, and that you are the firemen† (McCracken). An additional issue that is just as important to the future of the internet and cyber security is the recent FCC decision regarding â€Å"fastlane†, which allows internet service providers to charge a premium for faster service for websites. A likely scenario is that large corporations with large budgets will have greater access to sharing files than small corporations or nonprofits. Some experts fear that this intrusion on free and equal access to s haring information over the internet sets a dangerous precedent that could allow organizations a great power in manipulating what information is available to world wide web users. This U.S. government policy could be the greatest enemy to the civilian internet and civil liberties than any cyber security initiative. While the internet and cyber security have existed for a relatively short period of time in human history, it has radically changed the way governments, corporations and individuals interact. In its inception, cyber security played a friendly role in protecting the limited information available on the world wide web. Currently, a darker side of cyber security, developed in the name of protecting U.S. citizens, has radically changed the U.S. government’s approach to cyber protection. U.S. citizens and other governments have been shocked to learn that their phone calls and their data is all open to scrutiny by the U.S. government. People and organizations, such as Snowden and Wikileaks, have begun to fight back to reestablish the balance of civil liberties and cyber security. The future of this critical issue is yet to be written, but it is clear that cyber security hackers will become increasingly sophisticated, requiring additional intervention to ensure citizen safety. Indust rialization of new viruses and digital weapons could truly change the balance of power between countries and threaten our way of life as we know. In the past, mercantilism allowed countries with the most land to maintain the greatest power, yet now this reality has taken a paradigm shift. The country with the most readily available digital warriors and resources will triumph in this new world order. Cyber security was developed to help protect law abiding citizens, but the balance has begun to dangerously tip. Many Americans believe that the civil rights, upon which our country was founded, are now severely threatened in the name of digital protection. Cyber security issues will most likely bring about a retrenching of how we share information. The global openness of the world wide web as we now know it will likely become a thing of the past as organizations react to the cyber security enemy and build dedicated communications platforms that deny access to the world. What the world h ad built as an open platform is now destroying itself from the inside out. Citations: Kaufman, Micha. The Internet Revolution is the New Industrial Revolution. Forbes. Forbes Magazine, 5 Oct. 2012. Web. 30 Apr. 2014. Klimas , Liz . Connecting the Dots: A Timeline of the NSA. The Blaze 3 June 2013, Technology ed.: n. pag. Print. Lawrence , Dune . The U.S Government Wants 6,000 New Cyberwarriors by 2016.Bloomberg Businessweek Technology 15 Apr. 2014, Technology ed.: n. pag. Print. McCracken, Harry . SXSW: Edward Snowden Has No Regrets About NSA Leaks. TIME 10 Mar. 2014: n. pag. Print. Riley , Michael. Snowdens Access to NSAs Deepest Secrets Disputed. Bloomberg Businessweek Technology 18 July 2013, Politics Policy ed.: n. pag. Print. X. Cringely , Robert . A History of the Computer. PBS. PBS, 1 Jan. 1996. Web. 30 Apr. 2014. [1] http://idcdocserv.com/1414 [1]better closing present and tying it to the thesis and main idea of paraagraph [2]j

abuse :: essays research papers

Its natural for children to be raised in a warm and loving home and growing up in a nice environment ,but in todays society that is not what our children get to experience. On Feb. 14th,Albany police removed three unattended children from a home on Sheridan Ave.. Conditions in the apartment included rats and mice running around. Feces clogged the bathtub and squalor throughout the apartment and endangered the safety of the children. The children were taken and removed quickly from the apartment and placed in a caring household. Police told reporters that they had been at the house for three months earlier on November 4th, however, caseworkers found conditions better than what they were on the 14th. The apartment was warm and clean and also had food. The mother told caseworkers she was to get foodstamps the next day but caseworkers insisted on getting some more food . On Dec. 6th, the mother visited the office of child protection services with her children. She was offered assistance and told them she needed some help. At no time, however, the caseworkers note the condition in the house that justified the removal of the children. The county is required to do everything possible to keep a family together . This story is still being looked into, but as of now the children are staying in a warm home. This is strictly child abuse, not much as hitting but neglect. These children were left for days without food, water, baths, or a place to use the restroom. It is said each day in the United States, more than three children die as a result of child neglect and/or abuse. Most of the children who die are younger than the age of five. These children are innocent and have done nothing wrong, but the mother seemed not to be able to take care of them. Child abuse is reported on average every ten seconds, and these types of abuse are as follow, Neglect- 53.5percent, Physical Abuse- 22.7percent, Sexual Abuse-11.5percent, Emotional Abuse-6percent,and Medical Abuse 6percent. The statistics say that neglect is the number one abuse that children experience. Parents are not understanding when a child is abused, it effects their whole life, and it will stay with them forever. Men and women who today are serving time in jail and prison have incidence of

Explain the new Features of the New Deal Essay

In October 1929 the Wall Street stock market crashed in New York and panic selling of shares caused a wave of bankruptcies, destroying all confidence in businesses and investors. The great Depression led to 13 million people being unemployed. President Hoover, the government did nothing at all to help the Americans, he didn’t even think of helping them rebuild the American economy. In 1932 president Roosevelt came into power in the presidential elections. He had many concerns and considerations for the Americans and the economy. The first stage of the act of the New Deal to put the US back to work and create jobs in 1933 he introduced the first Acts during the hundred days, which involved the creation of Alphabet Agencies to deal with the economic problems. By 1935, the Supreme Court thought some of the New Deal laws as interfering too much. , so then Roosevelt’s response was to introduce the second stage of reform- The second New Deal. The 3 aims of the New Deal were: Relief; Recovery and Reform. Which were introduced by Roosevelt- the three ‘R’s’. Relief was measures to help relieve the suffering of the unemployed. Recovery was to try to rebuild the depression-shattered economy and Reform was aimed to give workers better working conditions and fairer wages. The aim of the relief was achieved by the: Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC); Federal Emergency Relief Administration (FERA); public works Administration (PWA); Home owners Loans Corporation (HOLC) and the works Progress Administration (WPA). The Civilian Conservation Act was set up to provide work for unemployed men under 25 years by encouraging them to work on projects in the countryside such as fish farming, planting trees and strengthening river banks. They also organised the army. The PWA stood for Public Works Administration, their aim was to use Unemployed unskilled workers to work on a large scale of public construction such as roads and bridges. The main part of the act was to set up public construction for the large scale building work, to build schools, hospitals and city halls. The FERA was set up to stop the threat of starvation that existed by making grants to local and state governments to help them give relief to the unemployed. Roosevelt thought that the right way to help the unemployed was to put them back to work after the threat of starvation was over instead of just giving them money. The HOLC stood for Home Owners Loans Corporation, the aim of this act was to ensure that people could continue to repay their mortgages. The government gave low interest rates to home owners to allow them to continue paying their mortgages until they were unemployed. The WPA stood for Works Progress Administration. Their aim was to find emergency short-term employment for unskilled workers in construction projects. The Acts that were part of the New Deal and helped with Recovery were: The Emergency Banking Act; the Securities Act; the Agricultural Adjustment Administration (AAA); the National Recovery Administration (NRA) and the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA). The Emergency Banking Act aimed to solve the financial crisis after the Wall Street Crash by forcing all banks to remain close for 4 days. This actually worked and saved all the banks. The Securities Act was about providing full information about the companies issuing new shares, to the public. This established with a Securities and Exchange Commission in 1934 which was giving powers to control the activities of the stock market. It was the AAA’s duty to solve agriculture’s most serious problem which was over-production. Prices were low and farmers were unable to make a decent living. Roosevelt paid farmers to stop producing. The AAA gave the government power to destroy surplus food and give farmers compensation. The NRA stood for National Recovery Administration; they tried to create partnership between government and Industry to get rid of Child Labour, Long hours and Low pay. Each industry would agree an employment code with a government. The code was to guarantee workers fairer working conditions and wages. The TVA stood for Tennessee Valley Authority. The main parts of the act was to help encourage industry come to the hard hit valley and to build damn to use hydroelectric power of the river. Finally, there were parts of the New Deal that helped to reform the USA. They were: Collecting Bargaining; the Wagner Act and the social securities Act. Collective bargaining was where workers had the right to collective bargaining of wages. This gave an enormous boost to the trade unions. The Wagner act (1935) was the given right for workers to join the trade union which restored protection for the workers also. The Social Securities Act was introduced in 1935. This provided old age pensions, unemployment benefits and financial support for the handicapped. It was funded by contributions paid by workers, employers and the government. In Conclusion, when Roosevelt came into power he aimed to achieve relief, recovery and reform. The CCC, FERA, WPA and the HOLC. The emergency banking act, the Securities Act, NRA, AAA and the WPA achieved recovery. Collective Bargaining, Wagner Act and the Social Securities Act achieved reform. These Acts were all produced to help America by these 3 aims.

Development of M1 Garand - World War II Rifles

Development of M1 Garand - World War II Rifles The M1 Garand was the first semi-automatic rifle to be issued to an entire army. Developed in the 1920s and 1930s, the M1 was designed by John Garand. Firing a .30-06 round, the M1 Garand was the main infantry weapon employed by US forces during World War II and the Korean War. Development The US Army first began its interest in semi-automatic rifles in 1901. This was furthered in 1911, when testing was held using the Bang and Murphy-Manning. Experiments continued during World War I and trials were held in 1916-1918. Development of a semi-automatic rifle began in earnest in 1919, when the US Army concluded that the cartridge for its current service rifle, the Springfield M1903, was far more powerful than needed for typical combat ranges. That same year, the gifted designer John C. Garand was hired at the Springfield Armory. Serving as the chief civilian engineer, Garand began work on a new rifle. His first design, the M1922, was ready for testing in 1924. This possessed a caliber of .30-06 and featured a primer-operated breech. After inconclusive testing against other semi-automatic rifles, Garand improved the design, producing the M1924. Further trials in 1927 produced an indifferent outcome, though Garand did design a .276 caliber, gas-operated model based on the results. In the spring of 1928, the Infantry and Cavalry boards ran trials which resulted in the .30-06 M1924 Garand being dropped in favor of the .276 model. One of two finalists, Garands rifle competed with the T1 Pedersen in the spring of 1931. In addition, a single .30-06 Garand was tested but was withdrawn when its bolt cracked. Easily defeating the Pedersen, the .276 Garand was recommended for production on January 4, 1932. Shortly thereafter, Garand successfully retested the .30-06 model. Upon hearing the results, the Secretary of War and Army Chief of Staff General Douglas MacArthur, who did not favor reducing calibers, ordered work to stop on the .276 and that all resources be directed to improving the .30-06 model. On August 3, 1933, Garands rifle was re-designated Semi-Automatic Rifle, Caliber 30, M1. In May of the following year, 75 of the new rifles were issued for testing. Though numerous problems were reported with the  new weapon, Garand was able to correct them and the rifle was able to be standardized on January 9, 1936, with the first production model cleared on July 21, 1937. Specifications Cartridge: .30-06 Springfield (7.62 x 63mm), 7.62 x 51mm NATOCapacity: 8-round en bloc clip inserted into an internal magazineMuzzle Velocity: 2750-2800 ft./sec.Effective Range: 500 yds.Rate of Fire: 16-24 rounds/minuteWeight: 9.5 lbs.Length: 43.6 in.Barrel Length: 24 in.Sights: Aperture rear sight, barleycorn-type front sightAction: Gas-operated w/ rotating boltNumber Built: approx. 5.4 millionAccessories: M1905 or M1942 bayonet, grenade launcher Magazine Action While Garand was designing the M1, Army Ordnance demanded that the new rifle possess a fixed, non-protruding magazine. It was their fear that a detachable magazine would be quickly lost by US soldiers in the field and would make the weapon more susceptible to jamming due to dirt and debris. With this requirement in mind, John Pedersen created an en bloc clip system that permitted the ammunition to be loaded into the rifles fixed magazine. Originally the magazine was meant to hold ten .276 rounds, however, when the change was made to .30-06, the capacity was reduced to eight. The M1 utilized a gas-operated action that used expanding gases from a fired cartridge to chamber the next round. When the rifle was fired, the gases acted upon a piston which, in turn, pushed the operating rod. The rod engaged a rotating bolt which turned and moved the next round into place. When the magazine was emptied, the clip would be expelled with a distinctive ping sound and the bolt locked open, ready to receive the next clip. Contrary to popular belief, the M1 could be reloaded before a clip was fully expended. It was also possible to load single cartridges into a partially loaded clip. Operational History When first introduced, the M1 was plagued by production problems which delayed initial deliveries until September 1937. Though Springfield was able to build 100 per day two years later, production was slow due to changes in the rifles barrel and gas cylinder. By January 1941, many of the problems were resolved and production increased to 600 per day. This increase led to the US Army being fully equipped with the M1 by the end of the year. The weapon was also adopted by the US Marine Corps, but with some initial reservations. It was not until midway through World War II that USMC was completely changed over. In the field, the M1 gave American infantry a tremendous firepower advantage over Axis troops who still carried bolt-action rifles such as the Karabiner 98k. With its semi-automatic operation, the M1 allowed US forces to maintain substantially higher rates of fire. In addition, the M1s heavy .30-06 cartridge offered superior penetrating power. The rifle proved so effective that leaders, such as General George S. Patton, praised it as the greatest implement of battle ever devised. Following the war, M1s in the US arsenal were refurbished and later saw action in the Korean War. Replacement The M1 Garand remained the principal service rifle of the US Army until the introduction of the M-14 in 1957. Despite this, it was not until 1965, that the changeover from the M1 was completed. Outside of the US Army, the M1 remained in service with reserve forces into the 1970s. Overseas, surplus M1s were given to nations such as Germany, Italy, and Japan to aid in rebuilding their militaries after World War II. Though retired from combat use, the M1 is still popular with drill teams and civilian collectors.

Heap vs. Stack for Delphi Developers

Heap vs. Stack for Delphi Developers Call the function DoStackOverflow once from your code and youll get the EStackOverflow error raised by Delphi with the message stack overflow. ​function DoStackOverflow : integer;begin result : 1 DoStackOverflow;end; What is this stack and why there is an overflow there using the code above? So, the DoStackOverflow function is recursively calling itself without an exit strategy it just keeps on spinning and never exits. A quick fix, you would do, is to clear the obvious bug you have, and ensure the function exists at some point (so your code can continue executing from where you have called the function). You move on, and you never look back, not caring about the bug/exception as it is now solved. Yet, the question remains: what is this stack and why is there an overflow? Memory in Your Delphi Applications When you start programming in Delphi, you might experience bug like the one above, you would solve it and move on. This one is related to memory allocation. Most of the time you would not care about memory allocation as long as you free what you create. As you gain more experience in Delphi, you start creating your own classes, instantiate them, care about memory management and alike. You will get to the point where you will read, in the Help, something like Local variables (declared within procedures and functions) reside in an applications stack. and also Classes are reference types, so they are not copied on assignment, they are passed by reference, and they are allocated on the heap. So, what is stack and what is heap? Stack vs. Heap Running your application on Windows, there are three areas in the memory where your application stores data: global memory, heap, and stack. Global variables (their values/data) are stored in the global memory. The memory for global variables is reserved by your application when the program starts and remains allocated until your program terminates. The memory for global variables is called data segment. Since global memory is only once allocated and freed at program termination, we do not care about it in this article. Stack and heap are where dynamic memory allocation takes place: when you create a variable for a function, when you create an instance of a class when you send parameters to a function and use/pass its result value. What Is Stack? When you declare a variable inside a function, the memory required to hold the variable is allocated from the stack. You simply write var x: integer, use x in your function, and when the function exits, you do not care about memory allocation nor freeing. When the variable goes out of scope (code exits the function), the memory which was taken on the stack is freed. The stack memory is allocated dynamically using the LIFO (last in first out) approach. In Delphi programs, stack memory is used by Local routine (method, procedure, function) variables.Routine parameters and return types.Windows API function calls.Records (this is why you do not have to explicitly create an instance of a record type). You do not have to explicitly free the memory on the stack, as the memory is auto-magically allocated for you when you, for example, declare a local variable to a function. When the function exits (sometimes even before due to Delphi compiler optimization) the memory for the variable will be auto-magically freed. Stack memory size is, by default, large enough for your (as complex as they are) Delphi programs. The Maximum Stack Size and Minimum Stack Size values on the Linker options for your project specify default values in 99.99% you would not need to alter this. Think of a stack as a pile of memory blocks. When you declare/use a local variable, Delphi memory manager will pick the block from the top, use it, and when no longer needed it will be returned back to the stack. Having local variable memory used from the stack, local variables are not initialized when declared. Declare a variable var x: integer in some function and just try reading the value when you enter the function x will have some weird non-zero value. So, always initialize (or set value) to your local variables before you read their value. Due to LIFO, stack (memory allocation) operations are fast as only a few operations (push, pop) are required to manage a stack. What Is  Heap? A heap is a region of memory in which dynamically allocated memory is stored. When you create an instance of a class, the memory is allocated from the heap. In Delphi programs, heap memory is used by/when Creating an instance of a class.Creating and resizing dynamic arrays.Explicitly allocating memory using GetMem, FreeMem, New and Dispose().Using ANSI/wide/Unicode strings, variants, interfaces (managed automatically by Delphi). Heap memory has no nice layout where there would be some order is allocating blocks of memory. Heap looks like a can of marbles. Memory allocation from the heap is random, a block from here than a block from there. Thus, heap operations are a bit slower than those on the stack. When you ask for a new memory block (i.e. create an instance of a class), Delphi memory manager will handle this for you: youll get a new memory block or a used and discarded one. The heap consists of all virtual memory (RAM and disk space). Manually Allocating Memory Now that all about memory is clear, you can safely (in most cases) ignore the above and simply continue writing Delphi programs as you did yesterday. Of course, you should be aware of when and how to manually allocate/free memory. The EStackOverflow (from the beginning of the article) was raised because with each call to DoStackOverflow a new segment of memory has been used from the stack and stack has limitations. As simple as that.

Terrorism Essays

Terrorism Essays Terrorism Essay Terrorism Essay Terrorism Name: Institution: Date: Terrorism The September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks on U.S soil made the country realize its vulnerability to terrorist attacks. A decade later, the terror threat remains present despite the efforts made by the United States to thwart terror agents across the globe. The Western countries such as the UK, Spain and the US have been some of the major targets. Israel being aligned to western ideals has also been an object of terror attacks. Terrorism in U.S soil in 2001 changed the face of the United States in terms of domestic security and foreign policy. Terrorism in the world varies since terror attacks are heavier in other areas as opposed to others. Areas that are the most vulnerable are countries that harbor terrorist and extremist groups and the countries next to them. Pakistan, for example, saw one of the highest terror attacks in 2011 with 1,436 attacks (NCTC 2011, p10). The country’s proximity to Afghanistan makes it more vulnerable to terror attacks since the Afghanistan harbors the Taliban extremist group. The only other countries with high terrorist attacks were Afghanistan and Iraq. The sites of terror activities usually enjoy freedom from government interference. An example is the Taliban in the mountains of Afghanistan or the Al-Shabaab in Somalia. The lawless nature of these countries gives them the opportunity to operate freely within these countries. The failed attacks of an Israeli jetliner, for example, the terrorist were said to have come in through Somalia where lawlessness makes it impossible to control terror groups (Shinn 2004, p33). As a result, several terror attacks have taken place because of the operational freedom terror groups have to further their causes. Laws and procedures need to be applied stringently to ensure that terror groups are not allowed to operate. The Wars on terror in Iraq and Afghanistan by the international community are some of the efforts made to ensure that countries have legitimate governments that protect the rule of law. United States have embarked on a scheme to monitor the communication among its citizens after the events of September 11, 2001. If law enforcement agencies were monitoring communication, in realtime, maybe the attacks would have been averted. However, the most important thing is to advocate for strengthening terror laws in countries where these laws do not exist. Government should be at the forefront of designing policy, law and organizations to carry out the procedures requirements set out in the laws and policies. The government has the mandate to provide security to its citizens. It is only right that they should be accorded the mandate to determine anti-terror laws and agencies fit to enforce such law. However, while the government play a major role in anti-terror activities, it is also necessary that it includes other parties such as the public and private sector since the laws directly affect them. It should also liaise with other countries to ensure that terror attacks involving terror attacks on American people in foreign lands are under control (Shinn 2004, p37). The moral obligation or practical reason of the United States has been questioned with regard to being involved in terror activities in other countries. However, they have both a practical reason and a moral obligation to fight terrorism in the world. A practical reason would be that America cannot stand by yet they have felt the full effects of terror on their own soil. America standing by means that they leave room for the terror groups to strengthen and cause more harm to the world and to the American people at home and away from home. In 2004, armed assailants stormed into the American embassy in Jeddah Saudi Arabia resulting in five deaths. If America is not concerned with the terror implications to its people from other countries, then it will have failed in its mandate to protect its citizens. Morally, the United States is obliged to interfere in terror activities in other countries since these activities usually perpetrate human rights violations. The vast military resources are unwarranted if they cannot be used to safeguard global citizens who have the right to a peaceful existence. Since 9/11, the idea of terrorism has affected every American in one way or the other. The immediate impact was the fear that gripped the nation and the many lives lost in the bombings were unbearable. Security measures have been felt across the country so that people can feel much safer since the terror attacks inspired fear. This fear has had negative effects to the Islam community living the United States and abroad (Elshatain 2003, p20). These Americans have been considered enemies in their own countries despite the fact that they had no involvement in the attacks and were as equally shocked like other fellow Americans. In this sense, the events of 9/11 have brought about racial tensions between people of Mid East Asian descent and other American people (Elshatain 2003, p33). The terror attacks also destroyed the picture Americans had about how the country was perceived around the world. The American people realized that they were not a beloved nation all over the world. The nati on also entered into two wars that have been some of the longest wars the U.S has ever fought. As a result, American lives have been lost in these wars leaving loved ones behind. The American people are now concerned with how safe they are. Security remains among the top priorities for the American people. This has made the government increase expenditure on security issues both internally and externally. Its main aim is to ensure that terrorism in the world is finished. The United States have recorded successes in the battle against terror. For example, the killing of the Osama Bin Laden, the leader of the Al-Qaeda showed the commitment of the country with regard to terror. The levels of terrorism in the world have reduced by 12% in 2011 (NCTC 2011, p9). America has been an effective contributor in achieving these results. References Elshtain, J. B. (2003). Just war against terror: The burden of American power in a violent world. New York: Basic Books. National Counter Terrorism Center. (2011). The National Counterterrorism Center Report on Terrorism. The U.S Government. Retrieved from nctc.gov/docs/2011_NCTC_Annual_Report_Final.pdf Shinn, D. (September 2004). â€Å"Fighting Terrorism In East Africa and the Horn†, Foreign Service Journal, pg 36-42. Retrieved from afsa.org/FSJ/0904/index.html#/1/

Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas Research Paper

Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas - Research Paper Example He later proceeded to Yale Law School where he helped establish the Black student Union while at the same time developing a conservative approach to issues. After his legal training, Thomas moved back to the South in 1974 where he worked as the assistant to the Attorney General of Missouri Mr. John Danforth before later on taking up the job of being a lawyer to Monsanto, an agricultural firm. In 1981, he was appointed the Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights at the United States Department of Education majorly due to his past in the civil rights movement and to balance the composition of this important part of the US government. He is now a conservative and controversial judge though initially he had wanted to pursue a religious life having had seminary education stints at the St. John Vianney Minor Seminary and Immaculate Conception Seminary in order to become a catholic priest or cleric. He however left the seminary and decided to fight for civil rights after he overheard a fellow student at the seminary make fun of the assassination of Martin Luther King Jnr. In the year 1982, President Ronald Reagan appointed Thomas as the Chairman of the EEOC, a position in which he held til the year 1990 when President George H.W Bush nominated him to serve as a Judge in the U.S Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit. On July 1, 1991, after sixteen months as a judge of appeal, he was nominated to fill the position left vacant by Mr. Marshall who was almost similar with his views on civil rights at the Supreme Court. However, his nomination was opposed by critics who attacked him due to his views that were largely deemed conservative for the highest court of the land while others had the view that he had little experience as a judge of the superior courts. At the confirmation hearings, Thomas decided to remain quiet on a number of issues including rights on abortion and faced a difficult moment explaining himself out about suggestions that he had made unwelc ome sexual comments on a colleague both at the Department of Education and at the EEOC. However, he was confirmed by the United States Senate through a vote of fifty-two votes for him against forty-eight who opposed him. Thomas’s views at the Supreme Court have been the interpretation of the United States constitution from the original meaning by following from a conservative point of view (Totenberg). He has argued that the powers of the federal government must be limited and the states empowered as well as having a strong executive branch within the federal government. Clarence Thomas’s Legal Career and the Supreme Court Thomas was admitted to the Missouri bar on the 13th day of September 1974 from where he practised as an assistant Attorney General of the State of Missouri under Attorney General Danforth whom he had met at the Yale Law School. At the AG’s office, he worked at the criminal appeals section before being assigned duties at the taxation and revenu e division. After the election of Danforth to the United States senate, Thomas joined Monsanto as an attorney before moving to Washington to work with his former colleague Danforth where he worked as a legislative attorney attached to the Senate Commerce Committee. Later on Dansforth played a key role in the confirmation and appointment of Thomas as a judge of the Supreme Court. After a one year stint as Assistant Secretary of Education for the Office for Civil Rights in the U.S. Department of Education from 1981-1982, he became the Chairman of the United

Piaget and Vygotsky Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Piaget and Vygotsky - Essay Example Both Piaget and Vygotsky have deeply influenced the techniques and approaches to teaching. Furthermore, they have explained the childrens cognitive learning styles and capabilities. Jean Piaget’s theory on children’s cognitive development, particularly with quantitative concepts, has gained a lot of attention within the field of education. Piagetian ideas on student’s quantitative growth have offered teachers teaching mathematics with significant understandings of how individuals acquire mathematical models and phenomenon. Piaget asserted that the development of a child takes place in the course of a constant change of thought processes. A developmental stage entails a period of months or years when a particular development occurs. Even though students are frequently classified by chronological age, their development levels might vary considerably, also the rate at which each child goes through each stage. This variation may be due to maturity, knowledge, society, and the capacity of the child. Piaget further suggested that children develop progressively and slowly throughout the different stages and that the experiences in one stage form the basis for shift to the next. Piaget presented four main stages of development; sensorimotor, preoperational, concrete operational, and formal operational (Ojose, 2008). In the sensorimotor stage, an infant’s mental and cognitive characteristics evolve from birth until the emergence of language. This stage is featured by the gradual attainment of object permanence in which the child is able to locate objects after they have been moved, even if the objects have been completely removed from his or her field of vision. Another feature of children at this stage is their capacity to associate numbers to objects (Piaget, 1977). To widen the mathematical ability of a child in this stage, he is permitted sufficient opportunities to take action on the

The Personal Application Assignment Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words - 1

The Personal Application Assignment - Essay Example We fight all the time over petty matter like who will pay the bill and who will take the car front seat, what we wonder about is when wars will end. The people we meet on an everyday basis on the campus are either groups of natives or groups of non-natives. No mixes of non-ordinary type. People who try to form such groups either fall out in some semester over cultural differences or over religious matters. People who are hardliners, somehow find excuses to impose ‘my way or the highway’ sort of values on the group. That is when the group starts to fall apart. I always think and always have thought that our group of friends is the most awkward type. We were all sitting in a coffee house once when I said it out loud. I was seconded and even laughed at, especially by Jerry. Sabrina the smart one as she calls herself said that she thought it was a rare thing and not many people were gifted. I agreed with her. Isaid I felt at home with was everybody, even though none of them spoke mynative language. That stunned my friends a bit. Silence at the table brought home a realization which we never actually thought of earlier. I was the only guy who actually was of Asian origins while all others were either Europeans or Americans. For us it has never been about rules, it has always been about discovering new things together.My friends had come to love anIndonesian dessert which is I make at home. We went with Arthur on his religious trip, met with Matilda’s guy and discovered that they will marry soon enough, learnt about law and congratulated Sabrina on picking such a boring subject.Together we went to see the Grand Canyons which was my idea and the Disney World which was the girls’ idea during the term break; driving from one place to the other. I think of our group and our mischiefs often. Not that we were into serious kind of stuff. We were just the naughty kind of

Final Test Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Final Test - Essay Example The effect of this is that the reader does not receive a type of â€Å"whiplash† when dealing with the alternating topics that the author seeks to reveal. However, the general weakness of such an approach is the fact that the author does not have a broad enough subject matter in order to engage the reader with an undifferentiated narrative approach such as the one that has been employed without risking belaboring the point and losing the attention of the reader. Although the subject matter is nonetheless fascinating, it is difficult to hold on to the argumentative narrative with such a limited and shallow grip upon a narrow aspect of the subject matter. The third book, Sizwe's Test, employs a mixed style of argument that is concentric upon both rebuttal and definition. By means of employing such an approach, the author is able to engage the reader by raising key questions regarding the extent of the AIDs dilemma in S. Africa while at the same time offering a rebuttal for the m eans by which the disease is not able to be slowed or stopped to a greater degree. Rather than attempting to define the issue and argue for a given outcome, the author seeks to define the issue and then rebut the ways in which the disease has been currently handled. As a function of this, a far greater and more effective argument is drawn and the reader is able to gain valuable insight into the disease as it exists as well as attempting to understand nuances that would otherwise be obscured by much of the disinformation.

Law Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words - 3

Law - Essay Example These doctrines are specific performance and partial performance. When and how these doctrines were invoked and why they are rarely ordered in construction cases are the major points to consider in this essay. Doctrine of Specific Performance This doctrine of specific performance is a remedy granted by the court in cases where there is breach of duty or contract committed either by the owner or by the contractor. It is an equitable remedy that compels a party to execute a contract according to the precise terms agreed upon or to execute it substantially so that, under the circumstances, justice will be done between the parties ( Hill, 2005). It is the right of the party to a contract to demand that the defendant (the party who it is claimed breached the contract) be ordered in the judgment to perform the contract. Specific performance may be ordered instead of (or in addition to) a judgment for money if the contract can still be performed, and money cannot sufficiently reward the pla intiff (Ibid). The basis for the grant of this remedy is equity. Doctrine of Partial Performance The doctrine of partial performance is an exception to the requirement prescribed by the Statute of Frauds that any agreement to transfer land must be written and executed. Partial Performance of an oral agreement can render it as a binding contract (Gervais et al, 2010). The essence of this doctrine was that if the plaintiff could show that he or she had acted under the contract - had partly performed the contract - then a court of equity would enforce the contract even though a court of law would not. The doctrine of part performance requires that the plaintiff must be able to show that he or she has made a substantial commitment to the contract so that it would be unconscionable to allow the defence. Note that it must be the acts of the plaintiff. The doctrine is based on the idea of unconscionability generated by the plaintiff's reliance on the existence of a contract. It does not ma tter whether the acts of the defendants clearly show that there is a contract (Heffey et al. 1998). Difference between the two doctrines and their application to construction cases The invocation of Specific Performance is based on a written contract or any agreement entered into by the parties. And non-performance of any provision or stipulation in the contract will make the erring party liable for breach of contract and an action for specific performance will be granted as in the case of Kasten Construction Co. v. Maple Ridge Construction Co. There is no blanket prohibition against a court ordering the equitable relief of specific performance in a case involving breach of a construction contract as held in the case of Granite Broadway Dev.  LLC v. 1711 LLC. However, this doctrine of specific performance is rarely a remedy in construction cases. If a contractor fails to perform or renders defective performance, it is unlikely than the owner will want the court to order the same c ontractor to continue the work. Instead, contract damages are the primary remedy in construction cases (Wanek, nd). The doctrine of partial performance on the other hand is invoked based on the intention of the parties strengthened by the fact that it was partially performed. In Elsberry v. Sexton, the Supreme Court of Florida unequivocally held that part performance is an equitable doctrine only and is not available in actions for damages at

Critique Paper - All Quiet on the Western Front Essay

Critique Paper - All Quiet on the Western Front - Essay Example Pauls’ suppression of emotions has made him into an emotional cripple who is unable to relate to his family and live a normal life outside the battlefield (Remarque). Being stuck in a shell hole with a man he stabbed forces Paul to consider the nature of war and how it makes strangers into enemies. The horrors of war take away his friends one by one and often in front of his own eyes. He is ruined by war and when he is given a short leave, he wonders how he will adjust to civilian life, Paul dies during an enemy attack and he doesn’t have to find out how his life would have been off the battlefield (Remarque). Paul is the novel’s main protagonist and his inner battle with his feelings and actions is what is intriguing about him. His personality and the way war forces Paul to behave are in stark contrast to each other. He was a sensitive young lad, full of idealism and life but war made him into a remorseless soldier who must remain emotionally numb in order to survive on the battlefield. Paul’s past and future are snatched away by war and he struggles to remember what his past was like and wonders what his future will be without war. But despite all this, he still has some humanity left in him and there are instances where he is overcome by grief. This struggle is representative of all those men who were enlisted to fight in the army at a very young age and Pauls’ story is similar to all those adolescents who lost their childhood, their friends, their family and even their lives on the battlefield. The trauma and hardship they suffer snatches away their innocence and Paul was long dead on the inside before the war actually killed him. Paul’s story revolves around the main theme of the novel which is about the horrors of war and its effect on the soldiers. War is often painted with glory and honor but this book sets out to debunk those notions and show war through the eyes of a soldier. It shows the butchery of

Final Test Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Final Test - Essay Example The effect of this is that the reader does not receive a type of â€Å"whiplash† when dealing with the alternating topics that the author seeks to reveal. However, the general weakness of such an approach is the fact that the author does not have a broad enough subject matter in order to engage the reader with an undifferentiated narrative approach such as the one that has been employed without risking belaboring the point and losing the attention of the reader. Although the subject matter is nonetheless fascinating, it is difficult to hold on to the argumentative narrative with such a limited and shallow grip upon a narrow aspect of the subject matter. The third book, Sizwe's Test, employs a mixed style of argument that is concentric upon both rebuttal and definition. By means of employing such an approach, the author is able to engage the reader by raising key questions regarding the extent of the AIDs dilemma in S. Africa while at the same time offering a rebuttal for the m eans by which the disease is not able to be slowed or stopped to a greater degree. Rather than attempting to define the issue and argue for a given outcome, the author seeks to define the issue and then rebut the ways in which the disease has been currently handled. As a function of this, a far greater and more effective argument is drawn and the reader is able to gain valuable insight into the disease as it exists as well as attempting to understand nuances that would otherwise be obscured by much of the disinformation.

Critique Paper - All Quiet on the Western Front Essay

Critique Paper - All Quiet on the Western Front - Essay Example Pauls’ suppression of emotions has made him into an emotional cripple who is unable to relate to his family and live a normal life outside the battlefield (Remarque). Being stuck in a shell hole with a man he stabbed forces Paul to consider the nature of war and how it makes strangers into enemies. The horrors of war take away his friends one by one and often in front of his own eyes. He is ruined by war and when he is given a short leave, he wonders how he will adjust to civilian life, Paul dies during an enemy attack and he doesn’t have to find out how his life would have been off the battlefield (Remarque). Paul is the novel’s main protagonist and his inner battle with his feelings and actions is what is intriguing about him. His personality and the way war forces Paul to behave are in stark contrast to each other. He was a sensitive young lad, full of idealism and life but war made him into a remorseless soldier who must remain emotionally numb in order to survive on the battlefield. Paul’s past and future are snatched away by war and he struggles to remember what his past was like and wonders what his future will be without war. But despite all this, he still has some humanity left in him and there are instances where he is overcome by grief. This struggle is representative of all those men who were enlisted to fight in the army at a very young age and Pauls’ story is similar to all those adolescents who lost their childhood, their friends, their family and even their lives on the battlefield. The trauma and hardship they suffer snatches away their innocence and Paul was long dead on the inside before the war actually killed him. Paul’s story revolves around the main theme of the novel which is about the horrors of war and its effect on the soldiers. War is often painted with glory and honor but this book sets out to debunk those notions and show war through the eyes of a soldier. It shows the butchery of

Last Day of the Last Furlough Essay Example for Free

Last Day of the Last Furlough Essay Lessons learned from Isolation in A Complicated Kindness and The Catcher in the Rye Love, sex and drugs; the few things that affect teenagers as they transition to adults. When becoming an adult there is a realization that one can no longer depend on their parents and there are overwhelming responsibilities such as going to school and getting the job. Teenagers are notorious for believing that it is themselves versus the world. The stress of becoming an adult is overpowering, and people cope differently with the change. Some teenagers rebel against their family and friends. This causes them to grow distant from the people they are close with. As a result some teenagers gradually isolate themselves, they confine in their isolation as it is their comfort zone. People can also isolate themselves because they cannot relate to others; this causes them to be excluded. In the novel A Complicated Kindness, the main character Nomi Nickel feels isolated as she does not agree with her community’s rules. To cope with her isolation she decides to rebel against her humble upbringings. Similarly, the character Holden Caulfield from The Catcher in the Rye faces isolation, to cope he begins to fail most of his classes. Although Nomi Nickel from Miriam Toews’ A Complicated Kindness, and Holden Caulfield from J.D Salinger’s The Catcher in the Rye rebel to compensate for their isolation , both ultimately realize valuable lessons. Nomi Nickel realizes that she is accepts her Mennonite community, whereas Holden Caulfield realizes that people have to change in order to develop character. The characters Nomi Nickel and Holden Caulfield lose loved ones; in order to cope with their grief they seclude themselves from their surroundings. Nomi is abandoned by her sister Tash Nickel and her mother Trudie Nickel. Trudie and Tash were excommunicated from the town, it causes their departure from East Village. Trudie and Tash were considered defiant to the conservative Mennonite community. The feeling of exclusion caused emotional distress on Trudie and Tash, they did not have any option but to leave. Margaret Boe Birns argues â€Å"By excluding those who come into conflict with the community, shunning can destroy the relationship between neighbours and, as in the case of the Nickel family, cruelly divide family members.† This is true in Nomi’s case because the dividing has separated her family, the family members are in a predicament on whether to choose each other or their religion. The church’s shunning is highly responsible for separating her family as some of her family members were no longer welcomed in the community. Since Nomi lost her mother and sister she is isolated. She furthers this isolation by not having a relationship with her father, Ray Nickel. Nomi has waited three years for her family to rejoin, â€Å"If we could get out of this town things might be better but we aren’t we are waiting for Trudie and Tash to come back† (Toews 4). Nomi is disheartened that her family is broken up, but she remains in the town in case her mother and sister come back. Although things may be better elsewhere Nomi and Ray stay in the town in hopes that their family will no longer divided. Ultimately, until a possible reunion Nomi goes against her community’s rules and teachings as it is the driving force of her family splitting. She isolates herself from the community as she feels loyal to her mother and sister when doing so. Similarly, Holden suffers the loss of his brother Allie who died of cancer this causes Holden to alienate himself. Holden is isolated because the only person he can relate to is his brother who is dead. Holden’s last remark â€Å"Don’t ever tell anybody anything. If you do, you start missing everybody† (Salinger 214), shows that Holden does not want the chance of losing a loved one again. As Holden transitions to an adult he feels that he is abandoning his brother, because Allie died young. Holden acts in an immature way by trying to stay a child, he isolates himself from his age group because he believes that he is better than his peers. Moreover, Holden is completely alone as he is sent to boarding school on his own. Lisa Privitera writes about Holden â€Å"he tells the world that he made connections and feels the intensity of the emotions these connections bring up for him and that blissful ignorance might have been the better choice†. It is apparent that Holden does not want to get hurt by forming new friendships. Although he may not get hurt the small chance of him being mistreated completely turns him off from forming new relationships. Allie’s death has lead Holden to believe that Holden will lose anyone that was once close to him. Holden is successful in isolating himself because he cannot open himself to others. In both novels the situations are parallel as the characters lose loved ones. In both novels the main characters are resentful towards the community in which they live in. This compels them to go against the norms and to further their isolation. Nomi lives in a strict Mennonite community that is secluded from the rest of the world, and the community disapproves of secular ways. The community has ridiculous rules which are difficult to comply with when living in a western society. This makes it difficult for Nomi to obey the rules, as a result she does not follow the town’s teachings. When Mr. Quiring asked Nomi what she was doing with her life she responded, â€Å"I ended up saying stupid stuff like I just want to be myself, I just want to do things without wondering if there a sin or not. I want to be free† (Toews 48). It is evident that Nomi wants to enjoy herself. Her Mennonite religion has prevented Nomi from being free, as everyone is in a constant struggle to determine if their actions are religiously correct. Nomi, ultimately goes against her community and engages in outrageous behaviours such as doing drugs, partying and having sex with her boyfriend. Margaret Boe Birns states about Nomi, â€Å"She struggles against all things Mennonite. She makes a major departure from the ways of her community when she acquires birth control pills in preparation for her first sexual experience with her boyfriend Travis†. When Nomi engages in sex, she goes against the Mennonite teachings this is scandalous as her uncle â€Å"The Mouth† is the leader of the church. Nomi goes to the extent of burning a sign put up by The Mouth. This ultimately causes Nomi’s excommunication. Nomi rebels against her towns rules and isolates herself, to prove that she is better than what her town have people made to be. Moreover, Holden faces similar challenges to Nomi, as he is resentful towards his school’s community and feels that everyone is phony as he does not fit anywhere. This drives Holden to go to New York before he is to return home from his private school. Like Nomi, Holden partakes in risquà © behaviour. As Holden attempts to relate to someone he ends up associating with the wrong crowd. In one instance Holden calls for a prostitute to come to his room. Instead of engaging in sex, Holden opts for a conversation it is obvious that Holden is in need of a companion. He is unable to create successful relationships because he believes he cannot relate to anyone. Lingdi Chen writes, â€Å"Alienation is both the source of Holden’s strength and the source of his problem†¦his loneliness propels him into his date with Sally Hayes, but his need for isolation causes him to insult her and drive her away.† Holden does not realize that because he isolates himself from his surroundings it gets him into trouble, he begins to drink underage as an attempt to meet new people. Holden is bitter because he cannot relate to anyone and to compensate he acts morally wrong. When Holden is walking alone at night he thinks to himself, â€Å"New York`s terrible when somebody laughs on the street very late at night. You can hear it for miles. It makes you feel so lonesome and depressed. I kept wishing I could go home and shoot the bull with for a while with old people† (Salinger 113). This quote shows in its entirety how lonely Holden is, he lies to himself that New York is quite, as it is known as the city that never sleeps. He does this to make himself feel better that he has no one. In both books the characters end up isolating themselves as they do not agree with the circumstances they are in. Although the Nomi and Holden are at a constant struggle with their isolation, it has made them realize valuable lessons about themselves. Nomi comes to realization that she accepts her Mennonite community. When The Mouth informs Ray that his daughter has been excommunicated he says â€Å"It has been determined, said the mouth. What has? Asked my dad. Nomi’s excommunication, said the mouth†¦ Based on what criteria†¦ lack of attendance†¦ setting fires† (Toews 235). Ray is obviously disheartened that Nomi got excommunicated, but surprisingly Nomi does not leave East Village. Although she has been longing to move out, once she gets the opportunity she does not. Her constant need to be isolated from her town makes her appreciative of her town, but when she is given the opportunity to leave she realizes that she accepts her roots. After Nomi has sex with her boyfriend Travis he abandons her, Nomi’s father Ray also leaves her as he cannot bear to ignore his daughter who is excommunicated. Even though Nomi losses people who are remotely valuable in her life, she decides to stay in East Village. Since, Nomi is isolated she is able to look at the children, notice the beauty in the simple things and she has a reason to stay. Margaret Boe Birns writes â€Å"†¦Nomi hopes her family will one day reunite on earth. There is also a tactic hope that somehow her Mennonite community will find a way to look on the Nickel family with sympathy and understanding†. It is clearly apparent that because Nomi was isolated she is able to be more hopeful of her surroundings. She is no longer resentful of her community, as she believes that one day the Mennonites will approve of her family. This hope provides comfort to Nomi, as she remains alone in the East Village. Like Nomi, Holden learns an important lesson. Holden discovers that maturing is part of life, and he is unable to stop people from growing up. Lingdi Chen argues â€Å"Holden tells the symbolic meaning of the museum’s displays: they appeal to him because they are frozen and unchanging. He also mentions that he is troubled by the fact that he has changed every time when he returns to them†. Holden believes that humans should also mimic the museum displays, and to be true to oneself, one must never change. Holden’s way of thinking enables himself from making friends, as he does not want a relationship with someone who changes. Holden fails to realize that people are always changing as they need to mature and develop character. He would rather save children and prevent them from entering the adult world, so they can maintain their innocence. It is until Holden is with his sister Phoebe, that he makes a realization about human nature. Holden thinks to himself after seeing Phoebe on a carousel trying to catch a ring, â€Å"The things with kids is, if they want to grab the gold ring you have to let them do it and not say anything† (Salinger 221). When Holden allows Phoebe to grab the ring he realizes that people have to learn lessons for themselves, and he cannot protect people from making mistakes, he realizes that these lessons make people grow. Even though there is a possibility that Phoebe may fall catching the ring it allows her to learn and make better judgements. Holden firmly believed that people are phony for changing themselves, but that is because he did not consider that people have to mature. Since Holden was isolated and confined in his sister for comfort, he realized that he cannot prevent people from growing up and people need new journeys. Both, Nomi and Holden learned and grew for the better from their isolation. Nomi Nickel has grown appreciative of her Mennonite community, and Holden has realized that to grow people have to change and make mistakes. They both make these realizations as a result of their isolation. Although, people may need their personal space to think, completely isolating oneself may not be a clever idea. Isolation can cause for problems such as depression, it is better to be open minded to others and the surroundings as new valuable lessons can be learned. Works Cited Birns, Margaret Boe. A Complicated Kindness. Advanced Placement Source. EBSCO, 2007. Web. 31 May 2013. Lingdi Chen. An Analysis of the Adolescent Problems in The Catcher in the Rye. Asian Social Science. N.p., May 2009. Web. 31 May 2013. Privitera, Lisa. Holdens Irony in Salingers THE CATCHER IN THE RYE. Academic Search Alumni Edition. EBSCO, 2008. Web. 31 May 2013. Salinger, J. D. The Catcher in the Rye. Boston: Little, Brown, 1951. Print. Toews, Miriam. A Complicated Kindness: A Novel. New York: Counterpoint, 2004. Print.

Analysis of Singapore Integrated Resorts

Analysis of Singapore Integrated Resorts 1 Introduction Singapore is a small island city with a total population of about 4.98 million. The local population consists of approximately 74.2% ethnic Chinese, 13.4% Malays and 9.2% Indians. The remainder 3.2% is made up of Eurasians and other foreign workers. It is a relatively young population with only 217,000 or 7% of the population currently over the age of 65. This is set to change dramatically from now to 2030 when 800,000 or 18.7% of the population will be aged 65 years and above. The proportion of those between 15 and 45 years currently make up nearly half the population (Singapore Facts and Figures, 2009) The objective of the Integrated Resorts is to strengthen the leisure and entertainment options to enhance Singapores reputation as a must-visit destination for leisure and business visitors. The Integrated Resorts will be part of a larger spectrum of tourism products and are developing to enhance our destination appeal, and will enhance the tourism industry and economy. (Ministry of Trade and Industry, 2010) The Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in Singapore expanded at an annual rate of 24.00 percent in the last reported quarter. From 2007 until 2010, Singapores average quarterly GDP Growth was 7.62 percent reaching an historical high of 45.70 percent in March of 2010 and a record low of -12.50 percent in June of 2008. Singapore along with Hong Kong, South Korea and Taiwan is one of the Four Asian Tigers. Singapore has a highly developed and successful free-market economy. It enjoys a per capita GDP higher than that of most developed countries. The economy depends heavily on exports, particularly in consumer electronics, information technology products, pharmaceuticals, and on a growing service sector. This page includes: Singapore GDP Growth Rate chart, historical data and news. (Trading Economics, 2010) There are over 7,000 Multi-National Corporations (MNCs) with operations based in Singapore, 4,000 of which are regional headquarters (Singapore Facts and Figures, 2009). Definition of Socio Economics In most cases, socio economists focus on the social impact of some sort of economic change, which is basically a study of the relationship between the economic activity and social life (Davis et al, 2008). Involve both economic and social factors. 1.2 Objectives of the Research The main objectives of this research are to understand the Socio-Economic Perspective of the Singapore Integrated Resorts. This research deals with the socio-economic factors that have potential impact of the Singapore Integrated Resorts. Its focus is to investigate and analyze the socio-economic impact. Identify and evaluate the significance of the social and economic factors of the Integrated Resorts. For instance gambling addiction, money laundering, Revitalizing of Singapore Tourism Industry and Boost in Singapore Tourism and Economy. The objective of this research to understand the socio economic perceptive of Singapore Integrated resorts, would they have bad or good effect to Singapore and understand the factors how these factors have positive or negative effect on Singapore. 1.3 Research Focus The Focus of this research is to understand the Socio-Economic perceptive of the Singapore Integrated Resorts. The main aim to understand how, the impacts of the Singapore Integrated Resorts can play a vital role in the socio and economic ways. Revitalizing Singapore Tourism Boost for Singapore Tourism and Economy Compulsive Gambling 1.4 Research Questions In this report we have to invest the socio economic- perceptive of Singapore Integrated Resorts and the effects of these socio and economic perceptive could be negative and positive. How the Integrated Resorts would help in Revitalizing Singapore Tourism. How the Integrated Resorts would help in boosting Singapore Tourism and Economy How the Integrated Resorts could cause Compulsive Gambling Chapter 2 Literature Review The purpose of literature review is to make sure that we analyze the Socio Economic- Perceptive of Singapore Integrated Resorts and the purpose of the literature review is to select promising measure, methods (Mamchak and Mamchak, 1994) The Integrated Resort (IRs) is undoubtedly a necessary step to Singaporeà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s future economic viability. As Singapore has no natural advantages, it must capitalize its ability to stay at the front of the global economy, with focus to attract foreign investors, tourists and talent. Surveys have suggested that Singapore is seen as unexciting compared to other travel destinations, and has been labeled as conservative, moderate and stale; concentrating on traditional cultural projects like the Asian Village, Tang Dynasty and Haw Par Villa, and failing to move on with new innovations (Straits Times, 2005). Identify and highlight the important variables and document the significant results of earlier research that will serve as the basis on which the theoretical framework of the investigation can be built and the hypothesis developed (Sekaran, 2003). Based on the research objectives, the researcher will provide relevant concepts in the review of current literature in this chapter. Revitalizing Singapore Tourism Singapore achieved good growth in visitor arrivals of 4.6% during Jan-May 2008, visitor arrivals to Singapore started to decline from June 2008 coinciding with the economic downturn. September/October saw a slight pickup in arrivals due to the 2008 FORMULA 1 SingTel Singapore Grand Prix. Stronger arrivals from West Asia (+15.5%), South Asia (+5.6%), Oceania (+6.6%) and Europe (+4.5%) also helped to cushion the downward pressure on arrivals. As a result, Singapore ended the year with a marginal decline of 1.6% in arrivals to reach a total of 10.1 million visitor arrivals. Visitor arrivals to Singapore fell by 4.5% year-on-year in July 2009 to reach 881,000 visitors. Visitorà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s days were estimated at 4.6% million days, year-on-year decrease of 11.6% in comparison of July 2008 (923,000), The decline in tourism is certainly a concern for Singapore and the solution is to revitalize Singaporeà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s tourism and create a unique Singapore niche. There is little po int in selling Singapore as a country rich in heritage and culture; rather, the Integrated Resorts will market the modern entertainment, vibrant city life, and a constantly changing environment Singapore can best call her own (Singapore Tourism Board, 2009). Figure 1 Decline in tourism in 2008 C:UsersDickeyDesktopSingapore factsdrop in numbers.png Source: Singapore Tourism Board, 2010 Singapore Tourism Boards (STB) can see the potential attraction of the Integrated Resort as an economic case to revitalize the tourism attractions which have become luster over the years. The two Integrated Resorts can bring more prospective investors and they could invest up to some $5 billion and create about 35,000 jobs for the whole economy. (Ministry of Home Affairs, 18th April, 2005) The integrated Resorts played an important role and the visitor arrivals to Singapore registered 18.4% growth to reach 947,000 in September 2010, the highest number of arrivals received in the month of September. This also marks the tenth consecutive month of record visitor arrivals. This monthà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s visitor arrivals can be partly attributed to the hosting of the Formula 1 SingTel Singapore Grand Prix, the worldà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s only Formula One night race and the draw of the many leisure and entertainment events under the Grand Prix Season Singapore 2010 (Singapore Tourism Board, 2010). China is ranked third among the top 15. There is good potential for the Chinese tourists market. With the rise of China and the influx of middle-income Chinese tourists the segment with the largest growth potential, in which most are willing to gamble at the gaming tables, the IRs would become more crucial than ever. The Feedback Unit itself has ascertained that Singapore wants an iconic destination resort that offers world-class entertainment and leisure facilities not a mere gambling facility like Macau. Figure 2 Visitors arrival 2009/10 C:UsersDickeyDesktopSingapore factsvisitors arrivals.png Source: STB 2010 Figure 3: Visitors arrival top 15 markets 2010 C:UsersDickeyDesktopSingapore factsvisiots arrival 2010.png Source: STB 2010 Figure 4 Visitors arrival 2007/08 C:UsersDickeyDesktopSnag itVisitordec 07,dec08.png Source: STB 2010 The socio economic perceptive of Singapore Integrated Resorts have really revitalized the tourism sector of Singapore as shown in the figure above and the tourism industry has grown rapidly as there are a lot of visitors coming to Singapore to check out the new Integrated Resorts, leisure and recreation purpose. Singapore had rapid hotel growth and development over the past two years with the openings of The St. Regis Singapore (April 2008), Capella Singapore (March 2009), Integrtaed Resorts and the Fullerton Bay Hotel Singapore. The hotels are doing very good business as their occupancy rate has really grown up and they are performing well. The new hotel openings come at a time when visitor arrivals numbers to Singapore are seeing an increase. The destination saw visitor arrival numbers increase by 30.3 percent to 946,000 visitors total in May 2010, compared to the same period last year, which saw 726,000 visitor arrivals. May marked the sixth consecutive month during which Singapore saw record tourism arrival numbers. The country expects to reach its goal of at least 11.5 million total visitor arrivals by the end of 2010 (Travel Age West, 2010) Average Occupancy Rate (AOR) posted a 5.2 percentage point increase over September 2009 to reach 82% in September 2010. (STB, 2010) Figure 5 Hotels average occupancy 2009/10 C:UsersDickeyDesktopSingapore factshotel occupancy in 2010.pngSource: STB, 2010 Average Room Rate (ARR3) increased by 13.1% over September 2009 to reach an estimate of S$233 in September 2010. Figure 6 Average Room Rate 2009/2010C:UsersDickeyDesktopSingapore factshotel arr.png Source: STB 2010 2.2 Boost Singapore Tourism and Economy The Integrated Resorts brings in entertainment and conventions, hospitality and retail outlets, which will help to increase the demand for hotel services, greater patronage at restaurants and heightened convention and exhibition activities. Studies and surveys have shown that tourism numbers and spending increase with the development of IRs. The Integrated Resorts in Singapore is not like the gambling facilities in Macau or Australia, which mainly cater to local patrons. One possible model for Singapore is a premium themed mega-resort, which has a large scale development that takes advantage of beach and marina settings to create a truly get-away holiday feel for visitors and locals Supporters of Integrated Resorts have claimed that touristà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s duration and repeated visits would also increase. Singapore Tourism Board also supports the project, as it believes that the IRs has help to boost the tourism industry and enhance Singaporeà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s attractiveness as a tourism destination. Being among the top-three visitor-generating markets, China (with increasing number of middle-class), and Japan (with existence of high rollers), serve as attractive target segments for Singapore (Singapore Tourism Board, 2009). There has been a great change from the paradigm over the past century. Governments and developers around the world have caught on the race to mastermind, create and develop Integrated Resorts and Entertainment which creates positive value propositions and potential growth to the countryà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s image and economic strength of Singapore. Between 1993 and 2002, tourismà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s contribution to GDP dropped from 6.1% to 3%, and our share of the Asia Pacific tourist flow fell from 8% in 1998 to 6% in 2002. Extremely moderate. Figure 7: Assessing the Economic Impacts Integrated Resort: Assessing the Economic Impacts Total Revenue of about $ 270 million, of which $212 million are derived from gaming activates Contribution to GDP of about $500 million, which is 0.4 of Singaporeà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s 2003 GDP Employment of people of 3600 Source: Forecast by Assoc Prof Winston Koh, Singapore Management University The Singapore Tourism Board (STB) has forecasted its tourism industry for 2010, predicting that between 11.5 million to 12.5 million visitors will arrive, with S$12.6 billion ($9 billion) to S$13.3 billion ($9.52 billion) in tourism receipts. The forecast can be attributed to Singaporeà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s dramatic transformation as a result of multibillion-dollar investments in new tourism infrastructure (Singapore Tourism Board, 2010). The Integrated Resorts play a vital role in attracting the visitors through Casinos, Shopping Centers, Universal Studios, different types of Hotels, Convention halls and restaurants. Singapores two integrated resorts are a major boost to the countrys economy, said Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong. The Prime Minister said he is glad that visitors are generally happy with the IRs as such attractions make the economy more vibrant and the city more colorful. He added that the IRs have created buzz and both were packed with visitors on their opening days, creating many jobs in the hospitality and tourism sector. According to media reports, nearly 200 bus loads of Malaysian tourists a day are visiting the IRs. (Channel News Asia, 2010) Asia in particular is fuelled by rapid growth, economic interest for the business and leisure group. Plenty of investors both local and foreign are becoming aware that Integrated Resorts are now becoming the of city life with important socio economic implications. (Integrated resorts and Entertainment 2010) Singaporeà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s growth accelerated to a record 18.1 percent pace in the first half of 2010, spurring the currency and putting the island on course to overtake China as Asiaà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s fastest-growing economy this year. Gross domestic product expanded at a 26 percent annualized pace in the second quarter from the previous three months, after a revised 45.9 percent gain in January to March, the trade ministry said today. Growth in the first half was the fastest since records began in 1975, prompting the government to predict GDP will rise 13 percent to 15 percent in 2010 (Bloomberg,2010) Figure 8 Singapore GDP Growth rates 2007/2010C:UsersDickeyDesktopSingapore facts11-10-2010 1-48-36 PM.png C:UsersDickeyDesktopSingapore factsgdp.png Source: Trading Economics (2010) Singapores two integrated resorts are a major boost to the countrys economy, said Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong. The Prime Minister said he is glad that visitors are generally happy with the IRs. He added that the IRs have created buzz and both were packed with visitors on their opening days, creating many jobs in the hospitality and tourism sector. (Channel News Asia, 2010) In the case of the tourist-related services, like Hong Kong, Singapore has enjoyed a big bounce in tourist arrivals during the first 5 months of 2010, and theres an extra boost from the Integrated Resorts opening. Jimmy Koh, head of Economic-Treasury Research, United Overseas Bank, said: Most of us are still expecting a moderate 5 to 6 more per cent growth for 2011. This will put Singapore on track to possibly becoming the worlds fastest growing economy, surpassing even China. On an annualized and seasonally adjusted basis, Singapore economy expanded 26.0 per cent in the April-June period (Channel news Asia, 2010) Figure 9, 10, 11 Visitors arrive 2009/10. 2008/09. 2009/10C:UsersDickeyDesktopSnag itjuly 2010 visitors.png C:UsersDickeyDesktopSnag itVisitor10-23-2010 2-22-36 PM.png C:UsersDickeyDesktopSingapore factsvisitors arrivals.png Tourism in Singapore is expected to experience a boom this year due to Integrated Resorts. Industry players say there are now over 950 travel agents in Singapore an increase of over 100 from previous year. Travel agents told Media Corp that there are now more queries on visiting Universal Studios Singapore, Casinos and Hotels. Some operators are also increasing investments to expand their businesses and gain a bigger share of the tourism dollar. The two integrated resorts are expected to bring in more tourists to Singapore in the next one to two years. (Channel News Asia, 2010) 2.3 Compulsive Gambling As reported in à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“Todayà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬? on 27 August, 2009, Singaporeans have a love for gambling. Singaporeans reportedly indulged in gambling, such as 4D, TOTO, and Football betting and horse-racing. Their growing appetite for gambling drove an increase of 3.6% in betting and sweepstakes duties, totaling S$1.4 billion (4D accounted for S$1.1 billion). Individuals claimed S$19 billion in reliefs (for example CPF, child, caregiver, maid levy, NS man); 218,600 people with assessable income of over S$20,000 did not have to pay tax (Today, 27 Aug, 2009). Figure 11 People Queuing outside Singapore Pools C:UsersDickeyDesktopSingapore factsSingapore pools.png Source: Today 2009 PM Lee Hsien Loong at Parliament Sitting, 18 April 2005. Integrated Resorts (IRs) are a significant proposal to boost our tourism industry. The government has been studying this idea for over years. The issue has been debated intensely, both among the public and within the government, because the IRs has a gaming component that is a casino. Many Singaporeans have spoken up both for and against. One of the key issues would be compulsive gambling as a social impact of having a casino in Singapore. So there will be the casino regulator. The Ministry of Home Affairs set up a new regulatory agency to regulate the casino. The casino regulator will put in place a strict regulatory to ensure that the casino remains free from criminal influence and that illegal activities on the premises are kept under control. Singaporeans love for gambling could be issue as people would have a compulsion for gambling. Casino gaming is becoming widely available around the world and Singapore, intention is not to develop a gambling attraction that compete in the gambling market (Lee, 2005). The Integrated Resorts in Singapore will not be like the gambling facilities in Macau or Australia, which mainly cater to local patrons. One possible model for Singapore is a premium themed mega-resort, which has a large scale development that takes advantage of beach and marina settings to create a truly get-away holiday feel for visitors. The Integrated Resorts are having issues raised included concerns that the casinos is resulting in increased compulsive gambling and undesirable activities linked with gambling such as loan sharks and organized crime.  In what is said to be one of the biggest losses yet at a Singapore casino, a local businessman lost $26.3 million over three days of gambling in June 2010. This included a staggering $18 million that he lost in one day alone. (Today, June 2010). These are the signs of compulsive gambling. Singapore love for gambling can become a compulsive gambling issues and casino industry in Asia has been booming over the years, both legally and illegally, despite moral and religious barriers in legalizing and operating gambling facilities for recreation. Now the Integrated resorts being operating in Singapore which gives the residents of Singapore to gamble but with a levy charged upon entry. Singapore has being the hub for gambling for several years as shown in the figure below before the Integrated Resorts even, but now it is legally allowed by law to gamble with responsible gambling. Figure 12 Gambling Participation Rates by Type of Games (%) C:UsersDickeyDesktopSingapore facts11-15-2010 10-17-29 PM.png Source: Gambling Survey 2008 2.4 Theoretical Framework Based on the theoretical framework the theoretical framework is there to test the validity of an existing theory. It is easier to understand the theoretical framework if it is viewed as the answers to the collected interrelated concepts. Revitalize Singapore Tourism IV 1 Socio Economic Perceptive of Singapore Integrated Resorts DV Boost Singapore Economy and Tourism IV 2 Compulsive Gambling IV 3 2.5 Hypothesis Development Hypothesis development is necessary as it shows a relationship between two or more variables expressed in the form of testable statement. (Sekaran, 2003: pg 103). Based on the research topic the final independent variable and dependant variable are as follows. Revitalize Singapore Tourism. (IV 1) Boost Singapore Economy and Tourism. (IV 2) Compulsive Gambling. (IV 3) Socio Economic Perceptive of Singapore Integrated Resorts. (DV) 2.6 Null hypothesis Addressed by: = 0 Finding: There is no relationship between the IVs and DV The null hypotheses represent that the independent variable (IVs) and do not have effect on the outcome of Dependent Variable DV. Table of Null Hypotheses H1 = Hypothesis 1. Revitalize Singapore Tourism H2 = Hypothesis 2. Boost Singapore Economy and Tourism H3 = Hypothesis 3. Compulsive Gambling = 0 => = Ho H1= Ho There is no significant effect of Revitalize Singapore Tourism on Social Economic Perceptive of Singapore Integrated Resorts H2= Ho There is no significant effect of Boost Singapore Economy and Tourism on Social Economic Perceptive of Singapore Integrated Resorts H3= Ho There is no significant effect of Compulsive Gambling on Social Economic Perceptive of Singapore Integrated Resorts Alternative Hypothesis Addressed by: à ¢Ã¢â‚¬ °Ã‚   0 meaning that à ¢Ã¢â‚¬ °Ã‚   Ho Finding: There is either negative or positive relationship between the IVs and DV Procedure : The alternative hypotheses represent that the outcomes are different from zero; in particular, it could be greater (positive) or lesser (negative). As a result, IVs positively relate to the DV if alternative hypotheses greater than zero and negatively relate to the DV if alternative hypotheses lesser than zero. To find out how significant IVs positively or negatively relate to DV, Alternative Hypotheses are measured. The alternate hypothesis  which is the opposite of the null is a statement expressing a relationship between two variables or indicating differences between groups. (Sekaran Bougie, 2003) à ¢Ã¢â‚¬ °Ã‚   0 => à ¢Ã¢â‚¬ °Ã‚   Ho H1à ¢Ã¢â‚¬ °Ã‚   Ho There is either positive or negative effect of Revitalize Singapore Tourism on Socio Economic Perceptive of Singapore Integrated Resorts H2à ¢Ã¢â‚¬ °Ã‚   Ho There is either positive or negative effect of Boost Singapore Economy and Tourism on Socio Economic Perceptive of Singapore Integrated Resorts H3à ¢Ã¢â‚¬ °Ã‚   Ho There is either positive or negative effect of Compulsive Gambling on Socio Economic Perceptive of Singapore Integrated Resorts Research Design The main aim of this research is to conduct a descriptive study and a correlation study. Descriptive research is used to obtain information concerning the current status of the phenomena to describe what exists with respect to variables or conditions in a situation. The methods involved range from the survey which describes the status, the correlation study which investigates the relationship between variables, to developmental studies which seek to determine changes over time. (Key, 1997) In this research the researcher wants to relate the independent variables and the dependent variables. Descriptive study and a correlation study would help in identifying the information, design a procedure to gather the information and analyze the information with the help of the IVà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s and DV. 3.1 Research Methodologies In order to collect the data for my research it is necessary to get an understanding of the data collection methods. There are many research methods but according to the topic nature we are doing a qualitative study. Qualitative research is unstructured exploratory in nature based on small samples and may utilize popular qualitative techniques such as group interviews, word association asking respondents to indicate their first responses to stimulus words and interviews For the purpose of this research the survey questionnaire of quantitative research is more effective in collecting and analyzing a huge amount of data. Furthermore the time to collect and study the answers from questionnaire is shorter as well. As a result the survey questionnaire of quantitative is the most suitable method to this research. (Malhotra, 2007) 3.2 Data Collection Methods According to the research design we are going to the following methods Secondary Data: Secondary data are the existing sources which were produced by earlier researchers for some specific purposes. According to the research topic we are using secondary data collections ways as it is from existing sources. (Blaxter et al, 2001) Primary Data: Primary data are original information collected by researchers to fulfill numerous purposes of research. The investigators could collect primary data by using various methods such as direct interviews, interviews through telephone, questionnaires, observations and others. (Macneill and Chapman, 2005) In this research, secondary data will be collected through magazines, journals, newspaper reports, company manuals, brochures and annual reports. 3.3 Data Collection Methods In this research, the researcher uses a questionnaire to gather data due to questionnaire is an effective data collection mechanism when the researcher knows exactly what is required and how to measure the variables of interest (Sekaran, 2003). Data would be collected through magazines, journals, newspaper reports, and brochures. To capture data, questionnaires are designed accordingly to specific information needed. In order to be precise, the question will be set as simple as possible. The number of question is small and the words are simplified. Before the questionnaire is practiced, they should be pre-tested to see how it works and improved if there is any mistake. 3.4 Data analysis The researcher needs an effective data analysis tool to examine the chosen hypothesis at the beginning step. SPSS which stands for Statistics Package of Social Science is considered the best method in statistical analysis. This software allows researchers to enhance their perception of the data and interpretation of the output. (Weinberg and Abramowitz, 2002) The main jobs of researcher are to decide the needed variables before entering the input to the software, to select correct statistical tests to analyze data and to interpret the final output results. (Bryman and Bell, 2007) 3.5 Pilot-Testing The purpose of doing pilot testing is to detect weaknesses in design and content in the instrument before it is reach final steps. (Fink, 2003), 12 peoples are required to be tested. The pilot tested should monitor the ease with which respondents complete the questionnaire, and also the ease with respondents to complete the questionnaire (Fink, 2003). 4 Ethical issues While conducting survey and interview for the research, the researcher should consider the code of ethical issue. The major responsibility of the researcher is to inform clearly and accurately the surveyà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s purpose and content to respondents so that they can make decision whether they wish to participate. The researcher should also show the respect to the participants by keeping their answers confidential based on the guidelines of the university. Furthermore researcher need to guarantee the data must be used only for this particular report. No Content Month Nov, Dec 2010 Jan Feb 2010 Mar Apr 2010 Week 1,2 3,4 1,2 1,2 1,2 3,4 1,2 3,4 1,2 3,4 1,2 1 Problem Identification 2 Literature Review 3 Research Design 4 Choice of Methodology 5 Data Sources 6 Data Collection 7 Data Analysis 8 Writing up Draft 9 Editing 10 Final Document 11 Binding of Document 5 Schedules Figure 13: Singapore Population .Source: Singapore department of Statistics C:UsersDickeyDesktopSingapore facts11-10-2010 2-07-49 PM.png Analysis of Singapore Integrated Resorts Analysis of Singapore Integrated Resorts 1 Introduction Singapore is a small island city with a total population of about 4.98 million. The local population consists of approximately 74.2% ethnic Chinese, 13.4% Malays and 9.2% Indians. The remainder 3.2% is made up of Eurasians and other foreign workers. It is a relatively young population with only 217,000 or 7% of the population currently over the age of 65. This is set to change dramatically from now to 2030 when 800,000 or 18.7% of the population will be aged 65 years and above. The proportion of those between 15 and 45 years currently make up nearly half the population (Singapore Facts and Figures, 2009) The objective of the Integrated Resorts is to strengthen the leisure and entertainment options to enhance Singapores reputation as a must-visit destination for leisure and business visitors. The Integrated Resorts will be part of a larger spectrum of tourism products and are developing to enhance our destination appeal, and will enhance the tourism industry and economy. (Ministry of Trade and Industry, 2010) The Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in Singapore expanded at an annual rate of 24.00 percent in the last reported quarter. From 2007 until 2010, Singapores average quarterly GDP Growth was 7.62 percent reaching an historical high of 45.70 percent in March of 2010 and a record low of -12.50 percent in June of 2008. Singapore along with Hong Kong, South Korea and Taiwan is one of the Four Asian Tigers. Singapore has a highly developed and successful free-market economy. It enjoys a per capita GDP higher than that of most developed countries. The economy depends heavily on exports, particularly in consumer electronics, information technology products, pharmaceuticals, and on a growing service sector. This page includes: Singapore GDP Growth Rate chart, historical data and news. (Trading Economics, 2010) There are over 7,000 Multi-National Corporations (MNCs) with operations based in Singapore, 4,000 of which are regional headquarters (Singapore Facts and Figures, 2009). Definition of Socio Economics In most cases, socio economists focus on the social impact of some sort of economic change, which is basically a study of the relationship between the economic activity and social life (Davis et al, 2008). Involve both economic and social factors. 1.2 Objectives of the Research The main objectives of this research are to understand the Socio-Economic Perspective of the Singapore Integrated Resorts. This research deals with the socio-economic factors that have potential impact of the Singapore Integrated Resorts. Its focus is to investigate and analyze the socio-economic impact. Identify and evaluate the significance of the social and economic factors of the Integrated Resorts. For instance gambling addiction, money laundering, Revitalizing of Singapore Tourism Industry and Boost in Singapore Tourism and Economy. The objective of this research to understand the socio economic perceptive of Singapore Integrated resorts, would they have bad or good effect to Singapore and understand the factors how these factors have positive or negative effect on Singapore. 1.3 Research Focus The Focus of this research is to understand the Socio-Economic perceptive of the Singapore Integrated Resorts. The main aim to understand how, the impacts of the Singapore Integrated Resorts can play a vital role in the socio and economic ways. Revitalizing Singapore Tourism Boost for Singapore Tourism and Economy Compulsive Gambling 1.4 Research Questions In this report we have to invest the socio economic- perceptive of Singapore Integrated Resorts and the effects of these socio and economic perceptive could be negative and positive. How the Integrated Resorts would help in Revitalizing Singapore Tourism. How the Integrated Resorts would help in boosting Singapore Tourism and Economy How the Integrated Resorts could cause Compulsive Gambling Chapter 2 Literature Review The purpose of literature review is to make sure that we analyze the Socio Economic- Perceptive of Singapore Integrated Resorts and the purpose of the literature review is to select promising measure, methods (Mamchak and Mamchak, 1994) The Integrated Resort (IRs) is undoubtedly a necessary step to Singaporeà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s future economic viability. As Singapore has no natural advantages, it must capitalize its ability to stay at the front of the global economy, with focus to attract foreign investors, tourists and talent. Surveys have suggested that Singapore is seen as unexciting compared to other travel destinations, and has been labeled as conservative, moderate and stale; concentrating on traditional cultural projects like the Asian Village, Tang Dynasty and Haw Par Villa, and failing to move on with new innovations (Straits Times, 2005). Identify and highlight the important variables and document the significant results of earlier research that will serve as the basis on which the theoretical framework of the investigation can be built and the hypothesis developed (Sekaran, 2003). Based on the research objectives, the researcher will provide relevant concepts in the review of current literature in this chapter. Revitalizing Singapore Tourism Singapore achieved good growth in visitor arrivals of 4.6% during Jan-May 2008, visitor arrivals to Singapore started to decline from June 2008 coinciding with the economic downturn. September/October saw a slight pickup in arrivals due to the 2008 FORMULA 1 SingTel Singapore Grand Prix. Stronger arrivals from West Asia (+15.5%), South Asia (+5.6%), Oceania (+6.6%) and Europe (+4.5%) also helped to cushion the downward pressure on arrivals. As a result, Singapore ended the year with a marginal decline of 1.6% in arrivals to reach a total of 10.1 million visitor arrivals. Visitor arrivals to Singapore fell by 4.5% year-on-year in July 2009 to reach 881,000 visitors. Visitorà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s days were estimated at 4.6% million days, year-on-year decrease of 11.6% in comparison of July 2008 (923,000), The decline in tourism is certainly a concern for Singapore and the solution is to revitalize Singaporeà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s tourism and create a unique Singapore niche. There is little po int in selling Singapore as a country rich in heritage and culture; rather, the Integrated Resorts will market the modern entertainment, vibrant city life, and a constantly changing environment Singapore can best call her own (Singapore Tourism Board, 2009). Figure 1 Decline in tourism in 2008 C:UsersDickeyDesktopSingapore factsdrop in numbers.png Source: Singapore Tourism Board, 2010 Singapore Tourism Boards (STB) can see the potential attraction of the Integrated Resort as an economic case to revitalize the tourism attractions which have become luster over the years. The two Integrated Resorts can bring more prospective investors and they could invest up to some $5 billion and create about 35,000 jobs for the whole economy. (Ministry of Home Affairs, 18th April, 2005) The integrated Resorts played an important role and the visitor arrivals to Singapore registered 18.4% growth to reach 947,000 in September 2010, the highest number of arrivals received in the month of September. This also marks the tenth consecutive month of record visitor arrivals. This monthà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s visitor arrivals can be partly attributed to the hosting of the Formula 1 SingTel Singapore Grand Prix, the worldà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s only Formula One night race and the draw of the many leisure and entertainment events under the Grand Prix Season Singapore 2010 (Singapore Tourism Board, 2010). China is ranked third among the top 15. There is good potential for the Chinese tourists market. With the rise of China and the influx of middle-income Chinese tourists the segment with the largest growth potential, in which most are willing to gamble at the gaming tables, the IRs would become more crucial than ever. The Feedback Unit itself has ascertained that Singapore wants an iconic destination resort that offers world-class entertainment and leisure facilities not a mere gambling facility like Macau. Figure 2 Visitors arrival 2009/10 C:UsersDickeyDesktopSingapore factsvisitors arrivals.png Source: STB 2010 Figure 3: Visitors arrival top 15 markets 2010 C:UsersDickeyDesktopSingapore factsvisiots arrival 2010.png Source: STB 2010 Figure 4 Visitors arrival 2007/08 C:UsersDickeyDesktopSnag itVisitordec 07,dec08.png Source: STB 2010 The socio economic perceptive of Singapore Integrated Resorts have really revitalized the tourism sector of Singapore as shown in the figure above and the tourism industry has grown rapidly as there are a lot of visitors coming to Singapore to check out the new Integrated Resorts, leisure and recreation purpose. Singapore had rapid hotel growth and development over the past two years with the openings of The St. Regis Singapore (April 2008), Capella Singapore (March 2009), Integrtaed Resorts and the Fullerton Bay Hotel Singapore. The hotels are doing very good business as their occupancy rate has really grown up and they are performing well. The new hotel openings come at a time when visitor arrivals numbers to Singapore are seeing an increase. The destination saw visitor arrival numbers increase by 30.3 percent to 946,000 visitors total in May 2010, compared to the same period last year, which saw 726,000 visitor arrivals. May marked the sixth consecutive month during which Singapore saw record tourism arrival numbers. The country expects to reach its goal of at least 11.5 million total visitor arrivals by the end of 2010 (Travel Age West, 2010) Average Occupancy Rate (AOR) posted a 5.2 percentage point increase over September 2009 to reach 82% in September 2010. (STB, 2010) Figure 5 Hotels average occupancy 2009/10 C:UsersDickeyDesktopSingapore factshotel occupancy in 2010.pngSource: STB, 2010 Average Room Rate (ARR3) increased by 13.1% over September 2009 to reach an estimate of S$233 in September 2010. Figure 6 Average Room Rate 2009/2010C:UsersDickeyDesktopSingapore factshotel arr.png Source: STB 2010 2.2 Boost Singapore Tourism and Economy The Integrated Resorts brings in entertainment and conventions, hospitality and retail outlets, which will help to increase the demand for hotel services, greater patronage at restaurants and heightened convention and exhibition activities. Studies and surveys have shown that tourism numbers and spending increase with the development of IRs. The Integrated Resorts in Singapore is not like the gambling facilities in Macau or Australia, which mainly cater to local patrons. One possible model for Singapore is a premium themed mega-resort, which has a large scale development that takes advantage of beach and marina settings to create a truly get-away holiday feel for visitors and locals Supporters of Integrated Resorts have claimed that touristà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s duration and repeated visits would also increase. Singapore Tourism Board also supports the project, as it believes that the IRs has help to boost the tourism industry and enhance Singaporeà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s attractiveness as a tourism destination. Being among the top-three visitor-generating markets, China (with increasing number of middle-class), and Japan (with existence of high rollers), serve as attractive target segments for Singapore (Singapore Tourism Board, 2009). There has been a great change from the paradigm over the past century. Governments and developers around the world have caught on the race to mastermind, create and develop Integrated Resorts and Entertainment which creates positive value propositions and potential growth to the countryà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s image and economic strength of Singapore. Between 1993 and 2002, tourismà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s contribution to GDP dropped from 6.1% to 3%, and our share of the Asia Pacific tourist flow fell from 8% in 1998 to 6% in 2002. Extremely moderate. Figure 7: Assessing the Economic Impacts Integrated Resort: Assessing the Economic Impacts Total Revenue of about $ 270 million, of which $212 million are derived from gaming activates Contribution to GDP of about $500 million, which is 0.4 of Singaporeà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s 2003 GDP Employment of people of 3600 Source: Forecast by Assoc Prof Winston Koh, Singapore Management University The Singapore Tourism Board (STB) has forecasted its tourism industry for 2010, predicting that between 11.5 million to 12.5 million visitors will arrive, with S$12.6 billion ($9 billion) to S$13.3 billion ($9.52 billion) in tourism receipts. The forecast can be attributed to Singaporeà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s dramatic transformation as a result of multibillion-dollar investments in new tourism infrastructure (Singapore Tourism Board, 2010). The Integrated Resorts play a vital role in attracting the visitors through Casinos, Shopping Centers, Universal Studios, different types of Hotels, Convention halls and restaurants. Singapores two integrated resorts are a major boost to the countrys economy, said Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong. The Prime Minister said he is glad that visitors are generally happy with the IRs as such attractions make the economy more vibrant and the city more colorful. He added that the IRs have created buzz and both were packed with visitors on their opening days, creating many jobs in the hospitality and tourism sector. According to media reports, nearly 200 bus loads of Malaysian tourists a day are visiting the IRs. (Channel News Asia, 2010) Asia in particular is fuelled by rapid growth, economic interest for the business and leisure group. Plenty of investors both local and foreign are becoming aware that Integrated Resorts are now becoming the of city life with important socio economic implications. (Integrated resorts and Entertainment 2010) Singaporeà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s growth accelerated to a record 18.1 percent pace in the first half of 2010, spurring the currency and putting the island on course to overtake China as Asiaà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s fastest-growing economy this year. Gross domestic product expanded at a 26 percent annualized pace in the second quarter from the previous three months, after a revised 45.9 percent gain in January to March, the trade ministry said today. Growth in the first half was the fastest since records began in 1975, prompting the government to predict GDP will rise 13 percent to 15 percent in 2010 (Bloomberg,2010) Figure 8 Singapore GDP Growth rates 2007/2010C:UsersDickeyDesktopSingapore facts11-10-2010 1-48-36 PM.png C:UsersDickeyDesktopSingapore factsgdp.png Source: Trading Economics (2010) Singapores two integrated resorts are a major boost to the countrys economy, said Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong. The Prime Minister said he is glad that visitors are generally happy with the IRs. He added that the IRs have created buzz and both were packed with visitors on their opening days, creating many jobs in the hospitality and tourism sector. (Channel News Asia, 2010) In the case of the tourist-related services, like Hong Kong, Singapore has enjoyed a big bounce in tourist arrivals during the first 5 months of 2010, and theres an extra boost from the Integrated Resorts opening. Jimmy Koh, head of Economic-Treasury Research, United Overseas Bank, said: Most of us are still expecting a moderate 5 to 6 more per cent growth for 2011. This will put Singapore on track to possibly becoming the worlds fastest growing economy, surpassing even China. On an annualized and seasonally adjusted basis, Singapore economy expanded 26.0 per cent in the April-June period (Channel news Asia, 2010) Figure 9, 10, 11 Visitors arrive 2009/10. 2008/09. 2009/10C:UsersDickeyDesktopSnag itjuly 2010 visitors.png C:UsersDickeyDesktopSnag itVisitor10-23-2010 2-22-36 PM.png C:UsersDickeyDesktopSingapore factsvisitors arrivals.png Tourism in Singapore is expected to experience a boom this year due to Integrated Resorts. Industry players say there are now over 950 travel agents in Singapore an increase of over 100 from previous year. Travel agents told Media Corp that there are now more queries on visiting Universal Studios Singapore, Casinos and Hotels. Some operators are also increasing investments to expand their businesses and gain a bigger share of the tourism dollar. The two integrated resorts are expected to bring in more tourists to Singapore in the next one to two years. (Channel News Asia, 2010) 2.3 Compulsive Gambling As reported in à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“Todayà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬? on 27 August, 2009, Singaporeans have a love for gambling. Singaporeans reportedly indulged in gambling, such as 4D, TOTO, and Football betting and horse-racing. Their growing appetite for gambling drove an increase of 3.6% in betting and sweepstakes duties, totaling S$1.4 billion (4D accounted for S$1.1 billion). Individuals claimed S$19 billion in reliefs (for example CPF, child, caregiver, maid levy, NS man); 218,600 people with assessable income of over S$20,000 did not have to pay tax (Today, 27 Aug, 2009). Figure 11 People Queuing outside Singapore Pools C:UsersDickeyDesktopSingapore factsSingapore pools.png Source: Today 2009 PM Lee Hsien Loong at Parliament Sitting, 18 April 2005. Integrated Resorts (IRs) are a significant proposal to boost our tourism industry. The government has been studying this idea for over years. The issue has been debated intensely, both among the public and within the government, because the IRs has a gaming component that is a casino. Many Singaporeans have spoken up both for and against. One of the key issues would be compulsive gambling as a social impact of having a casino in Singapore. So there will be the casino regulator. The Ministry of Home Affairs set up a new regulatory agency to regulate the casino. The casino regulator will put in place a strict regulatory to ensure that the casino remains free from criminal influence and that illegal activities on the premises are kept under control. Singaporeans love for gambling could be issue as people would have a compulsion for gambling. Casino gaming is becoming widely available around the world and Singapore, intention is not to develop a gambling attraction that compete in the gambling market (Lee, 2005). The Integrated Resorts in Singapore will not be like the gambling facilities in Macau or Australia, which mainly cater to local patrons. One possible model for Singapore is a premium themed mega-resort, which has a large scale development that takes advantage of beach and marina settings to create a truly get-away holiday feel for visitors. The Integrated Resorts are having issues raised included concerns that the casinos is resulting in increased compulsive gambling and undesirable activities linked with gambling such as loan sharks and organized crime.  In what is said to be one of the biggest losses yet at a Singapore casino, a local businessman lost $26.3 million over three days of gambling in June 2010. This included a staggering $18 million that he lost in one day alone. (Today, June 2010). These are the signs of compulsive gambling. Singapore love for gambling can become a compulsive gambling issues and casino industry in Asia has been booming over the years, both legally and illegally, despite moral and religious barriers in legalizing and operating gambling facilities for recreation. Now the Integrated resorts being operating in Singapore which gives the residents of Singapore to gamble but with a levy charged upon entry. Singapore has being the hub for gambling for several years as shown in the figure below before the Integrated Resorts even, but now it is legally allowed by law to gamble with responsible gambling. Figure 12 Gambling Participation Rates by Type of Games (%) C:UsersDickeyDesktopSingapore facts11-15-2010 10-17-29 PM.png Source: Gambling Survey 2008 2.4 Theoretical Framework Based on the theoretical framework the theoretical framework is there to test the validity of an existing theory. It is easier to understand the theoretical framework if it is viewed as the answers to the collected interrelated concepts. Revitalize Singapore Tourism IV 1 Socio Economic Perceptive of Singapore Integrated Resorts DV Boost Singapore Economy and Tourism IV 2 Compulsive Gambling IV 3 2.5 Hypothesis Development Hypothesis development is necessary as it shows a relationship between two or more variables expressed in the form of testable statement. (Sekaran, 2003: pg 103). Based on the research topic the final independent variable and dependant variable are as follows. Revitalize Singapore Tourism. (IV 1) Boost Singapore Economy and Tourism. (IV 2) Compulsive Gambling. (IV 3) Socio Economic Perceptive of Singapore Integrated Resorts. (DV) 2.6 Null hypothesis Addressed by: = 0 Finding: There is no relationship between the IVs and DV The null hypotheses represent that the independent variable (IVs) and do not have effect on the outcome of Dependent Variable DV. Table of Null Hypotheses H1 = Hypothesis 1. Revitalize Singapore Tourism H2 = Hypothesis 2. Boost Singapore Economy and Tourism H3 = Hypothesis 3. Compulsive Gambling = 0 => = Ho H1= Ho There is no significant effect of Revitalize Singapore Tourism on Social Economic Perceptive of Singapore Integrated Resorts H2= Ho There is no significant effect of Boost Singapore Economy and Tourism on Social Economic Perceptive of Singapore Integrated Resorts H3= Ho There is no significant effect of Compulsive Gambling on Social Economic Perceptive of Singapore Integrated Resorts Alternative Hypothesis Addressed by: à ¢Ã¢â‚¬ °Ã‚   0 meaning that à ¢Ã¢â‚¬ °Ã‚   Ho Finding: There is either negative or positive relationship between the IVs and DV Procedure : The alternative hypotheses represent that the outcomes are different from zero; in particular, it could be greater (positive) or lesser (negative). As a result, IVs positively relate to the DV if alternative hypotheses greater than zero and negatively relate to the DV if alternative hypotheses lesser than zero. To find out how significant IVs positively or negatively relate to DV, Alternative Hypotheses are measured. The alternate hypothesis  which is the opposite of the null is a statement expressing a relationship between two variables or indicating differences between groups. (Sekaran Bougie, 2003) à ¢Ã¢â‚¬ °Ã‚   0 => à ¢Ã¢â‚¬ °Ã‚   Ho H1à ¢Ã¢â‚¬ °Ã‚   Ho There is either positive or negative effect of Revitalize Singapore Tourism on Socio Economic Perceptive of Singapore Integrated Resorts H2à ¢Ã¢â‚¬ °Ã‚   Ho There is either positive or negative effect of Boost Singapore Economy and Tourism on Socio Economic Perceptive of Singapore Integrated Resorts H3à ¢Ã¢â‚¬ °Ã‚   Ho There is either positive or negative effect of Compulsive Gambling on Socio Economic Perceptive of Singapore Integrated Resorts Research Design The main aim of this research is to conduct a descriptive study and a correlation study. Descriptive research is used to obtain information concerning the current status of the phenomena to describe what exists with respect to variables or conditions in a situation. The methods involved range from the survey which describes the status, the correlation study which investigates the relationship between variables, to developmental studies which seek to determine changes over time. (Key, 1997) In this research the researcher wants to relate the independent variables and the dependent variables. Descriptive study and a correlation study would help in identifying the information, design a procedure to gather the information and analyze the information with the help of the IVà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s and DV. 3.1 Research Methodologies In order to collect the data for my research it is necessary to get an understanding of the data collection methods. There are many research methods but according to the topic nature we are doing a qualitative study. Qualitative research is unstructured exploratory in nature based on small samples and may utilize popular qualitative techniques such as group interviews, word association asking respondents to indicate their first responses to stimulus words and interviews For the purpose of this research the survey questionnaire of quantitative research is more effective in collecting and analyzing a huge amount of data. Furthermore the time to collect and study the answers from questionnaire is shorter as well. As a result the survey questionnaire of quantitative is the most suitable method to this research. (Malhotra, 2007) 3.2 Data Collection Methods According to the research design we are going to the following methods Secondary Data: Secondary data are the existing sources which were produced by earlier researchers for some specific purposes. According to the research topic we are using secondary data collections ways as it is from existing sources. (Blaxter et al, 2001) Primary Data: Primary data are original information collected by researchers to fulfill numerous purposes of research. The investigators could collect primary data by using various methods such as direct interviews, interviews through telephone, questionnaires, observations and others. (Macneill and Chapman, 2005) In this research, secondary data will be collected through magazines, journals, newspaper reports, company manuals, brochures and annual reports. 3.3 Data Collection Methods In this research, the researcher uses a questionnaire to gather data due to questionnaire is an effective data collection mechanism when the researcher knows exactly what is required and how to measure the variables of interest (Sekaran, 2003). Data would be collected through magazines, journals, newspaper reports, and brochures. To capture data, questionnaires are designed accordingly to specific information needed. In order to be precise, the question will be set as simple as possible. The number of question is small and the words are simplified. Before the questionnaire is practiced, they should be pre-tested to see how it works and improved if there is any mistake. 3.4 Data analysis The researcher needs an effective data analysis tool to examine the chosen hypothesis at the beginning step. SPSS which stands for Statistics Package of Social Science is considered the best method in statistical analysis. This software allows researchers to enhance their perception of the data and interpretation of the output. (Weinberg and Abramowitz, 2002) The main jobs of researcher are to decide the needed variables before entering the input to the software, to select correct statistical tests to analyze data and to interpret the final output results. (Bryman and Bell, 2007) 3.5 Pilot-Testing The purpose of doing pilot testing is to detect weaknesses in design and content in the instrument before it is reach final steps. (Fink, 2003), 12 peoples are required to be tested. The pilot tested should monitor the ease with which respondents complete the questionnaire, and also the ease with respondents to complete the questionnaire (Fink, 2003). 4 Ethical issues While conducting survey and interview for the research, the researcher should consider the code of ethical issue. The major responsibility of the researcher is to inform clearly and accurately the surveyà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s purpose and content to respondents so that they can make decision whether they wish to participate. The researcher should also show the respect to the participants by keeping their answers confidential based on the guidelines of the university. Furthermore researcher need to guarantee the data must be used only for this particular report. No Content Month Nov, Dec 2010 Jan Feb 2010 Mar Apr 2010 Week 1,2 3,4 1,2 1,2 1,2 3,4 1,2 3,4 1,2 3,4 1,2 1 Problem Identification 2 Literature Review 3 Research Design 4 Choice of Methodology 5 Data Sources 6 Data Collection 7 Data Analysis 8 Writing up Draft 9 Editing 10 Final Document 11 Binding of Document 5 Schedules Figure 13: Singapore Population .Source: Singapore department of Statistics C:UsersDickeyDesktopSingapore facts11-10-2010 2-07-49 PM.png