Assignment Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 3

Assignment - Case Study Example The two main principles comprises of the superior quality and the superior efficiency. The superior efficiency include the experience curve and the learning effect   (Hill & Jones, 2013). On the other hand, the superior quality entails its excellence and reliability. As illustrated in the diagram below Superior efficiency can gladly be achieved through designing products for easy manufacturing and organizing self-managing institutions. Additionally, it was evident from the study that the superior quality can be achieved by finding ways of measuring the quality and reduce costs and error. Another important principle that was all evident in the study is superior innovation. In ‘superior design, there are proper principles when better design and good process of manufacturing are in place. For instance the average time between the part failure rose from 2500 hrs to 170000 hrs. There was a massive improvement that rose from the best manufacturing and design

My First Assignment as an Executive Assistant Essay

My First Assignment as an Executive Assistant - Essay Example At the same time, such responsibilities extend and uphold the interest of the company that works in collaboration with other insurance companies. Costs of services are then considered to be in conjunction with a pre-approved limit that carries an effective balance of duties and responsibilities. Similarly, certain conflicts arise when the balance is distorted and medical errors in the clinical institution attracts a situation in stark comparison to the ethics and laws that the company stakeholders believed in while protecting their best interests. Conflict of laws certainly worked against the achievement of a certain purpose especially where reduction results to decreased quality of service against a continuum of care provided for the patient. The question of, sacrificing and allowing cost to impede the quality of service provides as the main considerable conflict in the case. Superficially, we can identify the surface conflict within the principles of business ethics that Chris is tasked to investigate and create certain essential components and probable solutions within the scope of his study. It is a proven fact that the highly technical gadgets in the health industry costs formed a considerable amount of money as investment. Stakeholders expect to maintain appropriate cost control factors against an affordable health program commonly available for all. Yet, every labor force knows the hardships encountered just to maintain a scenario that best creates a win-win solution between the patient and family and the health provider. It is but difficult to consider such factors especially when cost drivers associates the prescription drugs cost, current medical; device, government mandates an litigation and risk management and the future of the health industry and its day-to day operations. Competition has also allowed creating a surface conflict where levels of services are in question against the actual cost of service for the public. In its entirety, the deepest conflict lies within the maintenance of a certain balance on the cost of service that cuts unnecessary expense without sacrificing the quality to create a competitive streak within the industry. Such provisions are questioned when a shift or a disproportioned share is seen inside the business community and its clients. As a move to improve the situation, the health industry has opposed the government mandates that demonstrate a stark outweighing of costs. The business sector has provided that certain rules should be subjected to cost analysis that eradicates any mandate which outweighs the standards. Prices of drugs and medicines are enjoined for availability at reasonable prices. At the same time, the government has provided that insurance providers may be encouraged to provide a variety of plans affordable to employer and employees. Similarly, the government has pushed for certain resolutions that looked into possible disputes caused by the tighter security around health insurance program ensuing social struggles (National Coalition on Health Care, 2005). It has realized

PR1MA Group Housing Affordability

PR1MA Group Housing Affordability AFFORDABILITY RATE AMONG PR1MA RECIPIENTS IN PUTRAJAYA, MALAYSIA Nur Aini Syafawani Binti Umar1 ,Shirley Tan2 and Mohd Zairul bin Mohd Nor3 Master of Architecture (M. Arch) Faculty of Design and Architecture University Putra Malaysia, 43400 Serdang, Selangor Abstract A house is one of the basic important needs for humans. According to Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR), Article 17, Everyone has the right to own property alone as well as in association with others. Affordable housing is housing that balance with the average household income and as the rule of thumb, housing is considered affordable if the costs is less than 30% of gross household income. The increasing in housing prices cause imbalance between housing affordability and household income which has becomes the dilemmas for the young starters to buy their first house. Malaysian government has introduced several affordable housing policies to facilitate home ownership among different groups of household income. However, the policies which only benefit the low-income household group have neglected the needs for affordable housing for middle income group. PR1MA housing policy is one of the methods of policies aimed at ensuring that all eligible Malaysians are given chance towar ds home ownership. Therefore, this study is to investigate the rate of affordability among young home owner of PR1MA in Federal Territory of Putrajaya using the survey method; pilot survey, a preliminary survey to gather information in smaller scale and personal interview survey to explore the responses of the respondents to gather deeper information towards understanding factors influencing rate of affordability. The findings establish that the main housing issue faced by the middle-income groups are housing price and household expenditure. Hence, it is recommended to address these issues in designing an affordable scheme for the middle-income groups based on the findings of the study. Keywords: housing, affordability 1.0 INTRODUCTION In the recent years, rapid economic development has leads to population growth and this has resulted in the increasing demand for residential housing at urban city in Malaysia. The increasing of housing prices has become the dilemma of the young starters which falls under middle income group to buy their first house. Most of the young starters are having difficulties to secure a mortgage from the final institution. Despite many assistance from the government to assist the young starters to own their dream house, the affordable issue still haunting the target group for realizing their dreams. The main purpose of this paper is to study the rate of affordability among eligible young starters for PR1MA program. The Government of Malaysia aware that housing is a basic need for every citizen and is an important element in contributing for the urban economy. PR1MA housing policy is one of the methods of policies aimed at ensuring that all eligible Malaysians are given chance towards home ownership. According to general PR1MA guidelines, those eligible to apply for PR1MA homes are Malaysians owning not more than one home and having a gross household income of not more than RM7, 500 per month. The PR1MA apartments in Putrajaya were certainly popular with over 7,000 applications received for 560 apartments (PR1MAs website, 2017). As a result, PR1MA housing in Putrajaya was chosen as our pilot study and this study aims to investigate the rate of affordability among the young starter who are eligible for the PR1MA housing program. Therefore, the objectives of the present study are: To identify the average household income expenditure among young starter who are eligible to apply PR1MA houses. To identify the affordability issue over PR1MA housing price among young starter 2.0 LITERATURE REVIEW Affordability means differently to renters and owners. Although every group in the housing market is affected by the mortgage rates, owners are affected much more as compare to the renters (CVRDs Regional Growth Strategy, 2016). Several studies or research have been done to understand what does affordable housing mean in this context. The definition of affordable housing is the subject of different analyses and debates among experts (Baqutaya, 2016). Upon the debates, definition of affordable housing is a housing that is considered affordable if the debt service ratio is 30% of the income expenditure (Zairul, 2017). Families that pay more, especially lower and medium income families, are considered cost burdened because they may have difficulty paying for non-housing needs such as food, clothing, transportation, childcare, and medical care (Gary Pivo, 2013). Rate of affordability was measured by house price to income ratio according to Median Multiple methodology (Cagamas, 2013). The definition of affordability is essential before further analyzing the root cause of housing affordability. Issues relating to affordable housing has becomes a dilemmas among low and middle income group. The root cause of affordability among the group was due to the increase of non-housing expenditure by 4.7% based on the Consumer Price Index (Cagamas, 2013). Affordability is mainly defined by the relationship between household expenditure and income. Many authors (Yates and Gabriel, 2006; Carney and Boyle, 2004) argues that housing affordability is affected by the distribution of house prices, household incomes and the structure of financing costs.  Based on the growth of current housing scenario in Malaysia, the issue has been underpinned by the interface of three forces; growing population, high rates of urbanization and growing economy. The imbalance between demand and supply, particularly in the affordable housing segment, has contributed to a high increase in housing prices. This has compounded housing affordability issues, particularly for the low and middle income population (Eco nomic Developments, 2015). Malaysian government has introduced several affordable housing policies to facilitate home ownership among different groups of household income. However, little is done to attend the needs of the middle income group. Despite economic growth, 60% of the middle income group is young starters and majority of their income level falls under lower middle category (Dr. Azriyati, Dr. Rosly and Dr Kuppusamy, 2013). The increasing in housing prices, household expenditure and the lacking of more affordable housing policies AFFORDABILITY RATE AMONG PR1MA RECIPIENTS IN PUTRAJAYA, MALAYSIA Nur Aini Syafawani Binti Umar1 ,Shirley Tan2 and Mohd Zairul bin Mohd Nor3 Master of Architecture (M. Arch) Faculty of Design and Architecture University Putra Malaysia, 43400 Serdang, Selangor Abstract A house is one of the basic important needs for humans. According to Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR), Article 17, Everyone has the right to own property alone as well as in association with others. Affordable housing is housing that balance with the average household income and as the rule of thumb, housing is considered affordable if the costs is less than 30% of gross household income. The increasing in housing prices cause imbalance between housing affordability and household income which has becomes the dilemmas for the young starters to buy their first house. Malaysian government has introduced several affordable housing policies to facilitate home ownership among different groups of household income. However, the policies which only benefit the low-income household group have neglected the needs for affordable housing for middle income group. PR1MA housing policy is one of the methods of policies aimed at ensuring that all eligible Malaysians are given chance towar ds home ownership. Therefore, this study is to investigate the rate of affordability among young home owner of PR1MA in Federal Territory of Putrajaya using the survey method; pilot survey, a preliminary survey to gather information in smaller scale and personal interview survey to explore the responses of the respondents to gather deeper information towards understanding factors influencing rate of affordability. The findings establish that the main housing issue faced by the middle-income groups are housing price and household expenditure. Hence, it is recommended to address these issues in designing an affordable scheme for the middle-income groups based on the findings of the study. Keywords: housing, affordability 1.0 INTRODUCTION In the recent years, rapid economic development has leads to population growth and this has resulted in the increasing demand for residential housing at urban city in Malaysia. The increasing of housing prices has become the dilemma of the young starters which falls under middle income group to buy their first house. Most of the young starters are having difficulties to secure a mortgage from the final institution. Despite many assistance from the government to assist the young starters to own their dream house, the affordable issue still haunting the target group for realizing their dreams. The main purpose of this paper is to study the rate of affordability among eligible young starters for PR1MA program. The Government of Malaysia aware that housing is a basic need for every citizen and is an important element in contributing for the urban economy. PR1MA housing policy is one of the methods of policies aimed at ensuring that all eligible Malaysians are given chance towards home ownership. According to general PR1MA guidelines, those eligible to apply for PR1MA homes are Malaysians owning not more than one home and having a gross household income of not more than RM7, 500 per month. The PR1MA apartments in Putrajaya were certainly popular with over 7,000 applications received for 560 apartments (PR1MAs website, 2017). As a result, PR1MA housing in Putrajaya was chosen as our pilot study and this study aims to investigate the rate of affordability among the young starter who are eligible for the PR1MA housing program. Therefore, the objectives of the present study are: To identify the average household income expenditure among young starter who are eligible to apply PR1MA houses. To identify the affordability issue over PR1MA housing price among young starter 2.0 LITERATURE REVIEW Affordability means differently to renters and owners. Although every group in the housing market is affected by the mortgage rates, owners are affected much more as compare to the renters (CVRDs Regional Growth Strategy, 2016). Several studies or research have been done to understand what does affordable housing mean in this context. The definition of affordable housing is the subject of different analyses and debates among experts (Baqutaya, 2016). Upon the debates, definition of affordable housing is a housing that is considered affordable if the debt service ratio is 30% of the income expenditure (Zairul, 2017). Families that pay more, especially lower and medium income families, are considered cost burdened because they may have difficulty paying for non-housing needs such as food, clothing, transportation, childcare, and medical care (Gary Pivo, 2013). Rate of affordability was measured by house price to income ratio according to Median Multiple methodology (Cagamas, 2013). The definition of affordability is essential before further analyzing the root cause of housing affordability. Issues relating to affordable housing has becomes a dilemmas among low and middle income group. The root cause of affordability among the group was due to the increase of non-housing expenditure by 4.7% based on the Consumer Price Index (Cagamas, 2013). Affordability is mainly defined by the relationship between household expenditure and income. Many authors (Yates and Gabriel, 2006; Carney and Boyle, 2004) argues that housing affordability is affected by the distribution of house prices, household incomes and the structure of financing costs.  Based on the growth of current housing scenario in Malaysia, the issue has been underpinned by the interface of three forces; growing population, high rates of urbanization and growing economy. The imbalance between demand and supply, particularly in the affordable housing segment, has contributed to a high increase in housing prices. This has compounded housing affordability issues, particularly for the low and middle income population (Eco nomic Developments, 2015). Malaysian government has introduced several affordable housing policies to facilitate home ownership among different groups of household income. However, little is done to attend the needs of the middle income group. Despite economic growth, 60% of the middle income group is young starters and majority of their income level falls under lower middle category (Dr. Azriyati, Dr. Rosly and Dr Kuppusamy, 2013). The increasing in housing prices, household expenditure and the lacking of more affordable housing policies  for the middle group declining the rate of affordability for home ownership. Towards resolving affordable housing issues, the National Housing Policy (NHP) has been established to outline the direction and form the basis for the planning and development of the housing sector at the federal, state, and local levels (10th Malaysia Plan, 2009). The NHP is introduced to provide sufficient and affordable houses to improve the well-being of the people as well as tackling the issues and challenges faced by the housing industry today (Dato Ahmad, 2009). However, the NHP targeting on the affordability issue for all level of income group which is the low and middle income group. Targeting on the middle income group, the type of available affordable housing scheme by the government is as follows: Table 1: Schemes for middle income group in Malaysia. Adapted from: Zairul (2017) My First Home Scheme (SRP) PR1MA PPA1M Eligibility Income limit for individual loans from RM 3,000 to RM5,000 per month or joint household incomes for up to RM10,000 per month. Eligibility to own property costs up to RM400,000 Malaysian citizen Total individual or household income (husband wife) between RM2,500 to RM15,000 monthly Single or Married Owns no more than 1 property between the applicants and applicants spouse, if any RM90,000-RM120,000 (joint income and not more than RM6000) RM150,000-RM220,000 (joint income not more than RM10,000) RM221,000-RM260,000 (joint income not more than RM10,000) 18-35 years old and first-time buyers 21 years old and above 18-60 years old (for government servant only) Table 1 shows the available schemes for middle income group in Malaysia. Most of the middle income group consists of young starters who could not afford to buy their first house and at the same time, they are not eligible for low cost housing. This study will focus on the PR1MA housing policy which is aimed at ensuring the middle income group are given chance towards home ownership. In conclusion, affordability expresses the challenge each household faces in balancing the household income and household expenditure. Affordable housing schemes launched by the government was to promote affordability in all levels of income group. Towards realizing of home ownership, little has been done to cater the needs of housing for the middle income group. Even though the middle income group are eligible for purchasing affordable house from the affordable housing scheme, but their affordability does not depends only on the eligibility but also influenced by the household expenditure. It is important for the government to revise the term affordability to ensure the affordable housing scheme is able to balance with the income level of the group. 3.0 METHODOLOGY The study was conducted by three methods: 1) desk review; 2) process analysis; 3) in-depth interview. This paper started by first understanding the definition of affordability through the method of desk review by searching relevant information on the meaning of affordability in local context. The definition of affordable housing is the subject of different analyses and debates among experts (Baqutaya, 2016). The source of reading materials was also searched through desk review. Types of affordable housing scheme available, the eligibility of the policies related, and the current issue of housing affordability was focused in this method. The second method was process analysis which involves the collection of data through questionnaire survey and in-depth interview. The questionnaire survey were done among the young home owners of PR1MA in Putrajaya to determine age, occupation, and income bracket. In-depth interview was carried out to further study and is essential to review on factors influencing housing affordability among young starters. Thus, the questions were more detail and specified on the household expenses and in-depth understanding about affordability. 4.0 DATA ANALYSIS This survey divided the study into two sections; The income category of current young starters as home owners of PR1MA affordable house unit and, The category household size of the young starter. The survey with young starters involved two sessions, starting with a pilot study conducted among the young home owners of PR1MA house in Putrajaya. The next session involved an in-depth interview with the young starters to study the factors that would influence the rate of affordability. The pilot study was conducted to determine age, occupation, and income bracket. Criteria for the selection of the respondents included the following: 1) young professionals age between 21 to 35 years old; household income or combined income not exceeding RM7500 monthly; 3) home owner of PR1MA house in Putrajaya. Total number of young starter respondents from the current PR1MA home owners according to income category surveyed is as shown in Table 1. From the survey conducted, 60% of the respondents with household income range from RM2500 to RM4000, 20% range from RM4001 to RM6000, 10% with income ranging RM6001 to RM7000 and 10% from RM7000 to RM7500. Table 2: Distribution of Young Starter Survey PR1MA Respondents by Household Income Income Category Number of response Percentage RM2500-RM4000 6 60% RM4001-RM6000 2 20% RM6001-RM7000 1 10% RM7001-RM7500 1 10% Total 10 100% The second session with the young starters involves an in-depth interview. During the interview session, the emphasis was on the factors influencing the rate of affordability. The category of household size of the young starter determines the percentage of household expenses from household income monthly. The interview feedback was used to study 1) the price of PR1MA house bought, 2) types of household expenses involved monthly, 3) alternative used by the young home owners to lessen mortgage burden. Table 3 shows the household size of the current young starter of PR1MA home owners. 50% of the young respondents are single, 20% of them are married without having children and 20% are with married status and blessed with one children. Only 10% of the respondents with higher household size with two or more children in a family. Table 3: Distribution of Young Starter Survey PR1MA Respondents by Household Size Household Size Number of response Percentage Single 5 50% Married with no children 2 20% Married and have 1 children 2 20% Married and have 2 or more children 1 10% Total 10 100% 5.0 FINDINGS AND DISCUSSIONS According to a study from Azriyati (2013), middle income households can be categorized into three sub-categories; Low-Middle Income, Middle-Middle Income and Upper-Middle Income. Table 4: Categorization Income for Middle Income Group. Extracted from Azriyati (2013) City Income Category Lower-Middle Middle-Middle Upper-Middle Kuala Lumpur RM2001-4000 RM4001-RM6000 RM6001-RM8000 Table 4 shows the sub-categorization of middle income group. The income category for lower-middle group is RM2001 to RM4000; middle-middle group is RM4001 to RM6000; and upper-middle is RM6001 to RM8000. In relation to table 1, 60% of the respondents falls under lower-middle income category; 20% falls under middle-middle income category; and the remaining 20% falls under upper-middle income category. It can be concluded that majority of the young starters income category falls under lower-middle income category which is near to the bottom line of low income group. Table 5: Calculation of affordability rate among Malaysians. (Source: flexZhouse, Zairul (2017)) CASE 1 CASE 2 CASE 3 CASE 4 PROPERTY PRICES RM500,000 RM400,000 RM280,000 RM150,000 Net pay (household) RM7,500 RM7,000 RM8,000 RM5,500 Less: statutory deductions Income tax RM225 RM210 RM240 RM165 EPF contributions (8%) RM825 RM770 RM880 RM605 Net take-home pay RM6,450 RM6,020 RM6,880 RM4,730 Less: monthly commitment Mortgage Installments (6% for 30 years) RM2,700 RM2,160 RM1,512 RM810 Utilities RM300 RM300 RM300 RM300 Car hire-purchase (one car) RM800 RM800 RM800 RM800 Petrol and maintenance for one car RM1,000 RM600 RM600 RM600 Food and other expenses RM1,000 RM1,000 RM1,000 RM1,000 Childcare (one person) RM800 RM800 RM800 RM800 Insurance plan (RM200 per pax) RM200 RM200 RM450 RM450 Parents (RM200 per pax) RM400 RM400 RM400 RM400 Net savings (-RM600) (-RM490) RM1,018 RM430 Household to income ratio 5.56 4.76 2.92 2.27 From the table above, the calculation was based on the Consumer Price Index (CPI), 2013 which has increased by 4.7% (Cagamas,2013). The calculation above illustrates the typical monthly expenses of young starters in Malaysia. Against this scenario, the acceptable range for affordability current middle income home owners is between RM150,000 and RM280,000 (Zairul, 2017). Table 6 shows the price to income category determining the affordable rate. Table 6: Ratio of House Price to Household Income (Source: Cagamas Berhad, 2013) Category House Price to Income Ratio Severely Unaffordable 5.1 Above Seriously Unaffordable 4.1 to 5.0 Moderately Unaffordable 3.1 to 4.0 Affordable 3.0 Below The house price for PR1MA house unit at Putrajaya are based on two prices, RM120,000 for 815 sqft and RM150,000 for 1,006 sqft according to the feedback through interview conducted. Table 6 shows the calculation of affordability rate among young home owners of PR1MA house in Putrajaya based on the data analysis section. It was learned that 60% of the young home owners income range falls under lower-middle income category. From table 7, both case shows negative disposable income of the PR1MA young home owners which is -RM1,174 and -RM1,218. In relation to data obtained and showed in table 3, the household size of the respondents contributes to household expenditure base on the feedback from the interview. As the rule of thumb, the housing is considered affordable if the debt service ratio is 30% of the income expenditure (Zairul,2017). Table 7: Calculation of affordability rate among young home owners of PR1MA house. Adapted from Zairul (2017) CASE 1 CASE 2 PROPERTY PRICES RM120,000 RM150,000 Net pay (household) RM2,800 RM4,000 Less: statutory deductions Income tax RM120 EPF contributions (8%) RM224 RM288 Net take-home pay RM2,576 RM3,312 Less: monthly commitment Mortgage Installments (6% for 30 years) RM670 RM810 Utilities RM80 RM300 Car hire-purchase (one car) RM800 RM800 Petrol and maintenance for one car RM600 RM600 Food and other expenses RM1,000 RM1,000 Childcare (one person) RM800 Insurance plan (RM200 per pax) RM200 RM200 Parents (RM200 per pax) 400 RM400 Net savings (-RM1,174) (-RM1,218) Household to income ratio Figure 1: Non-Affordability Rate among Young Starter of PR1MA Figure 1 shows data analysis derived from the relationship between income category (table 1) and affordability rate calculation (table 7). Based on the results obtained, 60% of the middle-income group falls under lower-middle income category and the rate of affordability was calculated based on the income range of this category which is between RM2500 to RM4000. The results show the non-affordability for this income category. Figure 1 demonstrates the PR1MA young home owners under income range from RM2500 to RM4000 shows the highest percentage of non-affordability whereas the income category from RM6001 to RM7500 shows the least percentage. Figure 2: Types of Alternative to Increase Household Income Figure 2 demonstrates different alternatives taken by the young owners of PR1MA despite the non-affordability burden. Freelance is the most common way to increase household income and shows the highest percentage which is 70%. Other alternative such as renting out room, part-time insurance agent, and overtime stands 10% respectively. Base on the findings, the rate of affordability was affected by the monthly household income. However, based on the survey conducted, the household expenditure which has incl

Israel and Terrorism Essay -- Threats to World Peace

Introduction: The Conflict, Cause for Optimism, and Skepticism Over the past 55 years conflict between Israelis and Palestinians has led to three wars, years of terrorism, and decades of poverty and displacement resulting in thousands upon thousands of deaths among both peoples. Despite the conflict, Israel has managed to develop its economy thanks in large part to generous foreign aid. Palestinians, however, have largely been living in poverty, under the rule of a corrupt government and in fear of Israeli strength. These harsh conditions have no doubt exacerbated the conflict sparked by the creation of the state of Israel in 1948. The establishment of a Palestinian state living side by side with Israel is supported by many world leaders today as the most feasible strategy for lifting the quality of life of the Palestinian people and thus cooling the conflict which has reached particularly tragic heights over the past 4 years. The death of Palestinian Authority (PA) President Yasser Arafat offers a new opportunity to advance toward this goal as Israel and the U.S. refused to negotiate with him due to his incitement of and support for terrorism, as well as the corruption within his government. The recent election of PA President Mahmoud Abbas, and his effort to fight terrorism and seek negotiations, has been viewed optimistically by much of the world as the first step toward beginning new efforts to move forward with the development of a Palestinian state. However, Abbas cannot negotiate a settlement unless his people support it. Despite views from foreign leaders and societies, and perhaps from Abbas, that a two-state solution is the best option, Palestinians have been taught by the PA for decades that a two-state solut... ...ry 2005. "Ask for Death The Indoctrination of Palestinian Children to Seek Death for Allah – Shahada.† www.pmw.org/il, 3 March 2005. http://www.jewishgrassroots.com/images/Shocking%20images%20of%20Palestinian%20toddlers_files/shocking%20images%20of%20Palestinian%20toddlers.htm, 3 March 2005. Sukhtian, Lara. â€Å"Palestinian Police Won’t Stop Militants.† Washington Post, 14 February, 2005. http://www.standwithus.com/news_post.asp?NPI=259, 4 March 2005. â€Å"Israel blames bombing on militants, Syria.† CNN World. 26 February 2005. http://www.cnn.com/2005/WORLD/meast/02/26/telaviv.explosion/index.html, 27 February 2005. Gilmore, Inigo. â€Å"Abbas orders Palestinian television to clean up its act.† Telegraph News, 6 February 2005. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2005/02/06/wmid06.xml&sSheet=/ news/2005/02/06/ixworld.html, 6 March 2005.

Heavy Metal Music

Imagine, if you will, being surrounded by millions of people, waiting in anticipation for the band to come on. You can't breathe because the people are being squeezed into you by their neighbors. You are sweating, trying to catch every bit of oxygen you can from the air, while others are jumping up and down, hitting you as they wait for the band. Finally, the band comes on stage and you are excited, and they start with: (play music here). This, is what heavy metal music is all about. I have been listening to heavy metal music since I was an infant. My first CD was Metallica's Master of Puppets CD that my dad let me have. I have researched many heavy metal bands as the years have gone by. I know what you are thinking, what does heavy metal music have to do with me? Well, metal music is all around you. You can walk down the street and hear someone's radio playing it. You can hear it in some rap songs, like; â€Å"Bring the Noize† by Public Enemy with Anthrax, and â€Å"Let's Go† by Trick Daddy who took the intro of â€Å"Crazy Train† by Ozzy Osbourne, and put a beat over it. You can even hear it in country music from Cross Canadian Ragweed as they took a solo by heavy metal guitarist Dimebag Darrell and put it in their song, â€Å"Dimebag.† Heavy metal music is one of the most copied genres of music out there. Today I am going to tell you about what heavy metal really is, the beginning of heavy metal, and the impact that heavy metal has had on today's society. First, what is heavy metal music? Dee Snider, the spokesman of all that is heavy metal, defines metal as, â€Å"Drum-pounding-, bass-booming-, guitar-distorted-, and singer-belting-music.† That is the worldwide definition of heavy metal. Heavy metal brings together three genres of music, blues, psychedelic rock, and classical music. Early bands included keyboards, or organs, into their music, but recent bands have gone away from using the keyboard. Heavy metal usually, but not always, contains a single formula. A drummer, a bassist, a rhythm guitarist, a lead guitarist, and a singer, who may or may not play some kind of instrument. With this formula, it is obvious that their music is purely based on the instruments. A heavy metal drummer uses a larger drum setup than most other rock genres. The singer of the heavy metal band is very important, equally important as the guitarists. The singers can have a large vocal range, like that of Ronnie James Dio of the band Rainbow, or they can be mellow like that of James Hetfield of Metallica. The guitarists' high distortion is the key to metal music. This gives it the heavy metal â€Å"sound.† Also, unlike many other genres of rock, the bassist is important to the band. It is not uncommon to hear a bassist throw in his/her own solo into the song. As a whole, the band uses very high volume. The louder the music, the better. Now that you know what heavy metal is, I will tell you about the beginning of it. The start of metal can be very confusing. For instance, Deena Weinstein, in her book, Heavy Metal: The Music and Its Culture, credited Black Sabbath with the start of heavy metal, but this is not entirely true. Carlos M. Pozo, in his book Caucasion Power Blues, wrote, â€Å"Blue Cheer's cover of â€Å"Summertime Blues† by Eddie Cochrane, is the first heavy metal song.† â€Å"In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida† by Iron Butterfly is another one of the earliest heavy metal songs. Then, in 1969, came Black Sabbath. At about the same time as Sabbath, another big metal band emerged. This band went by the name of Led Zeppelin. Even though these two bands did not start heavy metal, they brought it to the public. Sabbath and Zeppelin are two of the most popular rock, let alone heavy metal, bands of all time. They faced much criticism at first, but as more people hated them, others started loving them. These people were the â€Å"rebels†, the ones that did not want to listen to their parents because it was their lives, not their parents'. Because of these â€Å"rebels,† heavy metal's popularity has grown drastically over the years. Regardless of what their parents said, they continued buying heavy metal albums, sometimes they even bought more than usual, in spite of their parents. This sparked rise of heavy metal in later years. That is how heavy metal began, now it is time to learn about the impact it has had on society. Heavy metal has had a drastic impact on society today. According to Encyclopedia Metallica, which is an online website that displays news about Metallica, â€Å"All Metallica albums are banned in Jordan because newspapers called them â€Å"satanists† and â€Å"devil-worshipers.† People were listening to Metallica and destroying things around town, so they had to ban Metallica. During the '80s, parents disliked the heavy metal music so much, they decided to try to get some kind of warning on the albums. This resulted in the Parental Advisory sticker on every explicit CD you see today. This is not the only impact that heavy metal music has had. In 1990, heavy metal band, Judas Priest, were sued because the parents of James Vance, and Ray Belknap believed that Priest's music contained subliminal messages that forced these two men to commit suicide. It was found that these two men were highly suicidal before finding Judas Priest, therefore, Priest were found innocent. This is, yet, another situation where the parents dislike heavy metal so much, that they blame the bands for the death of their children. Sadly, this is a recurring action taken by the parents that will not stop until the hate of heavy metal music is gone, which will not happen any time soon. This is the impact that heavy metal has had on society. Heavy metal music has been alive since the '60s. Even though Black Sabbath are credited with being the first worldwide popular heavy metal band, they did not start it. Heavy metal has become quite popular since it began, and has changed society from day one. So, today you learned what heavy metal music is, about the beginning of heavy metal, and it's impact on society. So, I leave you with a quote from AC/DC, â€Å"For those about to rock, we salute you!†

Extinction of Certain Species

In the late century, extinction becomes common topic in our daily discussion and debates. An average of 27,000 species is currently extinct each year and there is a possibility of 22% of extinction in the overall species if action is not taken. Animal extinction is due to human immorality and irresponsible behavior just for their own benefits. Since the year 1600, a total of 83 mammals species are known to have become extinct. Wildlife population depleted the trade in live animals, damaged habitats and the countless animals of suffering. Wildlife International, 2008) Apart from that, animal is a good source to make traditional medicine. For example, Chinese believes that snake galls are good to cure diseases and strengthen immune system of the body. Sometimes, human thoughts are powerful which may kill many innocent animals. According to Jeanette McDermott, the book of Bear Muze stated that every year, approximately 10,000 Asiatic black bears are locked in cages the size of their own bodies just to have their bile drained and sold the use in traditional medicine.Besides, many ocean mammals are suffering due to the business benefits. For example, Chinese culture like to consume shark fin soup as part of the cuisine. Businessman will take the advantage to hunt shark fin for money because of its high demand. An organization devoted to preserve marine life, Ocean Environment, stated in Asian Geographic(Nov-Dec 2008) that shark fin soup prized as a delicacy in Chinese cuisine. It is becoming un-cool to consume because 90% of the sharks are un-finned while alive thrown into the sea.