Profitability of Slavery Essay

Briefly state the two opposing views. A. Abolitionists condemned slavery based on moral, social, and economic reasons. Many believed that slaves were mistreated and were often subjected to corporal punishment. Others argued that the forced labor of blacks was inefficient and unproductive for various racial and economic reasons. Ulrich Phillip’s studies from the antebellum slavery in the south claimed that although plantation slavery produced great wealth, even without the civil war, slavery was economically on a dead end due to the rising cost of factor prices (slaves) increasing faster than the product prices (cotton). B.Economists approached slavery as a business matter and tested its profitability. They perceived slaves as a capital investment and argued it was not in an owner’s interest to enforce severe corporal punishment because it would lower their rates of return. Alfred Conrad and John Meyer calculated the price of a slave along with their rates of return to determine profitability. They concluded that the rapid increase of factor prices (slaves) was mainly due to the fact that output per slave was also increasing. Outline in some detail the more traditional view. Where did it come from? What was it based upon? In 1905, historian Ulrich Phillips wrote a study based primarily on slave prices relative to cotton prices. Ulrich claims that American-born slaves were sold at a higher cost than fresh African slaves, because of their training in plantation labor and domestic service. Slave prices were low in the late 1780’s and early 90’s until Eli Whitney’s invention of the cotton gin came in 1793. Due to the increasing demand for labor, slave prices steadily increased and spiked after the prohibition of the African trade in 1807. Despite prohibition, between 1800 and 1860, the slave growth rate averaged about 2.4 percent per year (W.R. 222). Based on Phillip’s table of slave and cotton prices in Georgia, it shows the average price of a prime field hand, in 1800, was approximately $450. At the same time, the average New York price of upland cotton was 30 cents; however, in 1860 we see a significant difference in prices. The average cost for a prime field hand is now $1,800 and the average New York price of upland cotton is 11 cents. Phillips explained, â€Å"The decline in the price of cotton was due to improvements in cultivating, ginning and marketing. The advance of the slave prices was due in part to increasingly intelligence and ability of Negroes and to improvements in the system of directing their work on the plantations, also to the decline in the value of the money.† (Phillips, 268) With factor prices (slaves) rising by 600 percent from 1805-1860 (Weiher), and product prices (cotton) declining by 63 percent, Phillips concluded that slavery was becoming unproductive and unprofitable due to overcapita lization in the labor force. He saw planters as bad business people, because they purchased slaves for conspicuous consumption. Furthermore, he believed the Civil War was unnecessary because slavery was doomed to fail within the generation without emancipation. Outline in some detail the revisionist view. In 1958, economists Alfred Conrad and John Meyer conducted a study by testing the hypothesis of taking appropriate variables and computing the rate of return over cost of a slave in a lifetime. Conrad and Meyer’s studies were based on four key aspects: the life expectancy of a slave, the price of a prime field hand (fixed cost) along with the of supplies necessary to maintain a slave (variable cost), land and cotton prices, and annual returns from a slave based on field labor and procreation. By understanding these variables, Conrad and Meyer were able to calculate the yearly-expected output values by taking â€Å"the price of cotton times the marginal physical product of the slave, minus yearly maintenance costs summed over the expected remaining length of life of the slave† (W.R. 225). Based on the calculation above, they were able to explain the reasons as to why slave prices would increase. If the price of cotton increases, then the demand for labor also increases which ultimately drives up slave prices. If cotton prices stay the same but there is an increase in output per worker, then the price of slaves will increase. If the cost to maintain a slave decreases, then the difference will eventually offset once slave prices increases to its equilibrium. Conrad and Meyer found Phillip’s table involving the relationship between the prices of prime field hands compared to the prices of cotton accurate; however, they explained that Phillips was missing key data to support his claims of slavery being unprofitable. Phillips completely left out the overall productivity of a slave, which was the ultimate difference in the revision of 1958. A major factor Conrad and Meyer took into consideration concerning production was the reproduction rates for females. Their researched showed that â€Å"prime hand wenches produced anywhere between 5-10 kids, and was one-half to two-thirds productive as prime field hands† (C.M. 106-107). However, an average 3 months time is lost due to pregnancy. After calculating return rates they found that women bearing 10 children would have an 8.1 percent rate of return and a women with 5 children will have a 7.1 percent rate of return. Furthermore, the rate of return per slave averaged out to 10 percen t (Weiher). In what ways do the differences in views hinge on economic interpretation? On differences in empirical evidence? On anything else? For over 50 years, Ulrich Phillip’s interpretation of slavery set precedence. His results concluded that after the mid 1850’s, slavery was increasingly becoming unproductive and unprofitable, because of overcapitalization of labor due to the rising costs of slave prices. He also believed slaves were a fictitious form of wealth based off of conspicuous consumption, and slavery was doomed to fail even without the Civil War. His studies were precedent until 1958, when economists Conrad and Meyer published an article overturning Phillips. Evidence from Conrad and Meyer implies that Phillip’s findings were inaccurate because he failed to calculate the rates of return on investments in slaves. Phillip’s relationship table between slave prices and cotton prices were accurate, and were also used in Conrad and Meyer’s studies; however, Phillips used speculation and overlooked productivity advance. Eventually Conrad and Meyer came up with a table of their own, only this time they included output. Their data shows that during the 1840’s through 1860 (the same time period Phillips said overcapitalization was steadily increasing) â€Å"slave prices rose about one and one-half times, while the value of cotton production per hand increased rose more than three times since 1842† (C.M. 116). This data supports the overturn of the overcapitalization of labor theory, because it shows that slave prices were increasing due to the fact that production was increasing more rapidly. From the rising trend of slave prices and the slave population growth suggests evidence implicating the profitability of slavery. Phillip’s believed slave prices were increasing because of conspicuous consumption, which ultimately lowed the rates of return. Conrad and Meyer countered his hypothesis with evidence showing rates of return averaging out to 10 percent, which was good or better than New England textile mills, southern railroads, and corporate bonds (Weiher). Phillip’s also suggested that diminishing returns was occurring in the late 1850’s and that slavery was going to fail soon even without emancipation. According to Dr. Weiher, from 1860-90, cotton land planted increased 2 percent per year, which was faster than the slave population growth. Land planted doubled again by 1925, which is evidence that suggests slavery was not going away in the short-term, unless emancipated. Contrast what the belief in each view can mean to the picture we have of the past and/or present. In other word, why does this difference matter? These two beliefs play a critical role in American history. The difference factor in these two views matters significantly. The traditional view claims that the Civil War was an unnecessary bloodshed to protect a system that was economically doomed; on the other hand, the revisionist’s implicates evidence suggesting the root cause of the Civil War was indeed to protect slaveholders’ investments. After Phillip’s study came out in 1905, which claimed that slavery was economically ending in less than a generation, controversy over the Civil War suggested that the reasons for fighting the war was not because of slavery, but instead, states rights. In Conrad and Meyer’s research conducted in 1958, they were able to overturn Phillip’s hypothesis and proved that slavery was not economically doomed. Their evidence showed that the rates of return for a slave was actually increasing after the 1860’s due to increased production and expansion of land planted. These results implicate conclusive evidence that shows slavery was neither unprofitable nor dying in the near future. Slaves produced much more than the cost of actually maintaining them, so it made perfect business sense for slaveholders to want to protect their assets by all means, even if it meant war.

The Rise of Monarchies

A new monarchy brings power to the royal family. It does this in many ways. A new monarchy reduces the power of nobility, and confiscates land from the nobles that are on â€Å"their† land. They also impose taxes and tariffs on whatever they want. A new monarchy will also create standing armies and hire mercenaries to protect their land and to grow their empire. Basically a new monarchy wants to bring money, power, and control to the royal family that is in rule. An example of two new monarchies is Henry VII of England and Ferdinand I of Spain.Both the royal families and states they represent are great examples of a new monarch from the time period of 1450 to 1550. Spain exemplifies the key characteristics of a new monarch. It all starts with the centralization of power in Spain towards one royal family. This all starts with the marriage of King Ferdinand II of Aragon and Queen Isabella of Castile. Before this marriage modern day Spain was fragmented into 4 four separate state s, Aragon, Castile, Granada, and Navarre. The marriage combined Castile and Aragon, which allowed Ferdinand I of Spain and Queen Isabella to control most of modern day Spain.Along with this event Ferdinand and Isabella centralized the system of justice and made towns more subservient to the royal will in Castile. Ferdinand now is gaining control and power of his land, so he does what a new monarch should do and rips power and authority from the nobilities on his land. Ferdinand stripped the Castilian nobles of some of their privileges while he dispenses their titles and positions. In Aragon he has trouble with the nobles but they later will alliance with the King in fear of a revolt in the lower class. Now The Spanish Royal Family has gained control of their land.In order for Ferdinand to keep his kingdom safe and undisturbed from outsiders, he takes the province of Granada from the Moors. This shows Ferdinand's rise in power in 1492 and shows Ferdinand having military power as well . Even though new monarchies impose taxes on whatever they want, the Spanish monarchy didn't as much as other monarchies, like England. The royal family did take money from the church by handling the populace's tithes and the sales of indulgences and keeping some for royalty, which shows rising power of the monarch.The monarchy also only got about 10% of its income from the people. Spain's real income came from the America's. The silver from the Potosi and Spain's trade really defined the monarchs economy, power, and control during the monarchs climax years. In result of the wealth Spain had they are able to build standing armies and state themselves as the most powerful state at the time. With Ferdinand being able to control his lands, become extremely wealthy, and have power, he has created a true new monarch. As well as Spain, the English and King Henry VII of England also created a new monarch.The key factor in the start of this monarch is definitely the War of the Roses. With t he Tudor Family â€Å"victory†, Henry Tudor, the last claimant of the throne of the Lancaster's, became the beginning of the Tudor's Monarch. Henry was an ambitious ruler. He wanted to make the Tudor state so powerful, no noble factions or challengers could challenge him or his state. As most monarchs did, Henry strengthened royal authority in England by creating the Star Chamber, which became one of the highest courts in the land.These justices dispensed justice, collected taxes, enforced troop levies, and maintained order. Even though this makes the government, or the royal family, more decentralized, it strengthened the efficiency and prestige of the monarchy. It helps Henry control his land which ultimately is a goal of a new monarch. Even though Henry has a justice system, he also exemplifies that the monarch has the most power. In fact he obtained from parliament writs of attainder and forfeiture, which allows him to declare anyone of treason, have them killed and take their property from them.This definitely states that the king has the most power and he can do whatever he wants. Along with gaining more power, Henry won the loyalty of most of the nobles on his land, which now centralizes the power of England to the royal family.. Another key characteristics of this new monarch is the fact that Henry imposed tariffs protecting the cloth and wool industries in his monarch. This decreed acts unifying weights and measures, and constructed edicts punishing vagabondage and begging.This not only states more power of the throne but shows Henry building his economy with protecting his industries. All in all Spain and England exemplifies the true new monarch and all of its characteristics. Both Henry and Ferdinand strip power from the nobility, build their wealth in industry, natural resources, taxes, and/or tariffs. Their wealth allows them to create armies and gain power and control on their own lands and in the lands they conquer. Basically they gain co ntrol of their lands, get wealth and ultimately have power, which states a new monarch. The Rise of Monarchies A new monarchy brings power to the royal family. It does this in many ways. A new monarchy reduces the power of nobility, and confiscates land from the nobles that are on â€Å"their† land. They also impose taxes and tariffs on whatever they want. A new monarchy will also create standing armies and hire mercenaries to protect their land and to grow their empire. Basically a new monarchy wants to bring money, power, and control to the royal family that is in rule. An example of two new monarchies is Henry VII of England and Ferdinand I of Spain.Both the royal families and states they represent are great examples of a new monarch from the time period of 1450 to 1550. Spain exemplifies the key characteristics of a new monarch. It all starts with the centralization of power in Spain towards one royal family. This all starts with the marriage of King Ferdinand II of Aragon and Queen Isabella of Castile. Before this marriage modern day Spain was fragmented into 4 four separate state s, Aragon, Castile, Granada, and Navarre. The marriage combined Castile and Aragon, which allowed Ferdinand I of Spain and Queen Isabella to control most of modern day Spain.Along with this event Ferdinand and Isabella centralized the system of justice and made towns more subservient to the royal will in Castile. Ferdinand now is gaining control and power of his land, so he does what a new monarch should do and rips power and authority from the nobilities on his land. Ferdinand stripped the Castilian nobles of some of their privileges while he dispenses their titles and positions. In Aragon he has trouble with the nobles but they later will alliance with the King in fear of a revolt in the lower class. Now The Spanish Royal Family has gained control of their land.In order for Ferdinand to keep his kingdom safe and undisturbed from outsiders, he takes the province of Granada from the Moors. This shows Ferdinand's rise in power in 1492 and shows Ferdinand having military power as well . Even though new monarchies impose taxes on whatever they want, the Spanish monarchy didn't as much as other monarchies, like England. The royal family did take money from the church by handling the populace's tithes and the sales of indulgences and keeping some for royalty, which shows rising power of the monarch.The monarchy also only got about 10% of its income from the people. Spain's real income came from the America's. The silver from the Potosi and Spain's trade really defined the monarchs economy, power, and control during the monarchs climax years. In result of the wealth Spain had they are able to build standing armies and state themselves as the most powerful state at the time. With Ferdinand being able to control his lands, become extremely wealthy, and have power, he has created a true new monarch. As well as Spain, the English and King Henry VII of England also created a new monarch.The key factor in the start of this monarch is definitely the War of the Roses. With t he Tudor Family â€Å"victory†, Henry Tudor, the last claimant of the throne of the Lancaster's, became the beginning of the Tudor's Monarch. Henry was an ambitious ruler. He wanted to make the Tudor state so powerful, no noble factions or challengers could challenge him or his state. As most monarchs did, Henry strengthened royal authority in England by creating the Star Chamber, which became one of the highest courts in the land.These justices dispensed justice, collected taxes, enforced troop levies, and maintained order. Even though this makes the government, or the royal family, more decentralized, it strengthened the efficiency and prestige of the monarchy. It helps Henry control his land which ultimately is a goal of a new monarch. Even though Henry has a justice system, he also exemplifies that the monarch has the most power. In fact he obtained from parliament writs of attainder and forfeiture, which allows him to declare anyone of treason, have them killed and take their property from them.This definitely states that the king has the most power and he can do whatever he wants. Along with gaining more power, Henry won the loyalty of most of the nobles on his land, which now centralizes the power of England to the royal family.. Another key characteristics of this new monarch is the fact that Henry imposed tariffs protecting the cloth and wool industries in his monarch. This decreed acts unifying weights and measures, and constructed edicts punishing vagabondage and begging.This not only states more power of the throne but shows Henry building his economy with protecting his industries. All in all Spain and England exemplifies the true new monarch and all of its characteristics. Both Henry and Ferdinand strip power from the nobility, build their wealth in industry, natural resources, taxes, and/or tariffs. Their wealth allows them to create armies and gain power and control on their own lands and in the lands they conquer. Basically they gain co ntrol of their lands, get wealth and ultimately have power, which states a new monarch.

World Most Dangerous Gang: MS 13

Imagine a scared little boy wanting to be accepted by a gang. Scared to death, he walks up to a group of other boys from a rival gang, closes his eyes, and starts to shoot. When he opens his eyes he realizes that one of the rival gang members has been hit. Then imagine having to walk away, not run, because in this gang a member does not run away. All of this is just to be accepted into a very violent, dangerous gang. The Mara Salvatrucha gang, normally referred to as MS 13, has begun to make its mark across 42 states in the United States(Worlds Most), making it the most rapidly growing, dangerous gang n America.To understand MS 13’s power in this country, one has to consider its development as a major crime organization, its control over its members, and the power it holds. Mara Salvatrucha was organized in Los Angeles in the late 1980’s. In the 1980’s, El Salvador was engaged in a civil war. Men attacked as guerilla fighters, training and learning how to kill an yone for anything. To escape the civil war, these men migrated to the United States. At first, the gang’s primary purpose was to defend Salvadoran immigrants from being preyed upon by other street gangs. They banded together to form MS 13.Ernesto Miranda, co-founder of Mara Salvatrucha said, â€Å"In this country (El Salvador), we were taught to kill our own people, no matter if they were from your own blood. If your father was the enemy, you had to kill him. So the training we got during the war in our country served to make us one of the most violent gangs in the United States† (Domash). This is how MS 13 came about. The â€Å"MS† stands for Mara Salvatrucha. Mara is a word meaning â€Å"posse† and salvatruchas means â€Å"street- tough Salvadorans†. The number 13 represents the number of a street, belonging to a gang, located in southern California (Domash).The only way MS 13 could survive on new soil was to join together as a family and protect each other. The only allies they have are each other. MS 13 will do almost anything to keep safe. In the early days of their existence, MS 13 was once rivals with 18th Street Gang, a mostly variation of the â€Å"maras† gangs that appeared in Los Angeles in the 1980s. SWP-18 (Salvadorans with Pride), is another major rival, and a fatal target for many devoted MS-13 prospects seeking initiation into the gang. The Latin Kings have also shown rival behaviors towards MS-13, especially in Newark NJ. Rival gangs fear them. A rival gang member in L. A said â€Å"MS13 bout’ hurting people, they go rob and kill people for no reason†(MSNBC) Organized crime is a well thought-out process of crimes planned to be committed. This process of organized crime is type of violence that is associated with MS 13. MS13 commits crimes from murder, rape, beating, drive-by shootings, drug dealing, smuggling illegal immigrants, trafficking weapons, prostitution, and kidnapping. Oscar Alv arez, Honduran National Police Minister, states, â€Å"cutting people in pieces, raping women, killing people for fun.They might be youngsters, they might be poor. But these youngsters are monsters† (Domash). MS-13 often leaves behind dismembered corpses, complete with the decapitated head, at the scene of their murders. Often a grim note is attached to the body. (TerrorPlanet) In the history of MS 13, they cut off their victims fingers and decapitate them. Sometimes they will cut off victims’ genitals and feed them to the dogs to show no mercy. One MS 13 gang member admitted that when he was in Houston, he robbed and beat a child. Then while he was in Texas, he killed a man by stabbing him three times.This MS 13 member was asked if the crimes he committed would increase his rank within the gang. He answered, â€Å"The crazier you are known to be, the more respect the gang gives you† (Logan). MS 13 thinks the police and the community does not realize how dangero us they are ; this leads their gang to go to extreme violence to get their point across that no one messes with their gang. If someone is brave enough to mess with MS 13, they will show no mercy and will make the crime even more brutal. MS 13 is becoming more dangerous and more organized. It is working its way up to becoming the next Mafia.The rapidly growing numbers of MS 13 is a violent threat to the United States. Throughout the United States, MS 13 have been sighted in 42 states, ranging up to ten thousand members overall. Mara Salvatrucha is even all over the world. It already has members in five other countries. The estimated number of MS 13 gang members across the world adds up to more than 700,000 (Domash). Since there are so many MS 13 members in the world, one can recognize a MS 13 member by looking at their tattoos, symbols, gang colors, graffiti, and hand signs. MS 13 gang members mark their bodies with tattoos.The most common tattoos are the letters MS and the number 13 . They have certain symbols that they might have tattooed on themselves. For example, teardrops represent the shooting of a rival gang member. If a member has three dots in a shape of a triangle next to his thumb, it means the gang member has killed someone. By tattooing their bodies it shows how MS 13 is not ashamed of the violent acts they commit. (Domash) Hand signs and signals are also apart of MS 13. The main hand sign the gang has are called the â€Å"double horns†. This hand sign is similar to the same symbol commonly seen displayed by heavy metal usicians and their fans.Also, when one is about to go into battle, or a fight, they will lift up both sides on the shoulders of their shirts to indicate he or she is about to start. Whenever a gang member rubs one’s stomach in a circle motion, the member is about to shoot someone, and whenever one brushes off one’s shoulder; the member is about to stab his victim (World’s Most Dangerous Gang). This lets t he MS 13 members know what is about to happen in the fight. Fights also play a huge role in initiation. To be initiated into a violent gang like MS 13, one has to be violent or have something violent done to them.The three main initiations that MS have are â€Å"walk the line†, â€Å"jumped in†, and â€Å"sexed in†. Whenever they choose to â€Å"walk the line† to join, they must perform a violent act (â€Å"Worlds Most Dangerous Gang†). A boy’s mission is to walk up to a group of rival gang members on the street and shoot at least one of them. In being â€Å"walked in†, after one commits their violent act, one cannot run from it, but walk away (â€Å"Worlds Most†). Being â€Å"jumped in† requires the one getting initiated, to be surrounded by the five strongest guys in the gang, and they will start to beat the person for thirteen seconds, epresenting the 13 in MS 13.The last and final way one can enter the gang is to be â€Å"sexed in†. Females are usually the only ones who have to go through this to get initiated. This is when a girl is has sexual intercourse with a minimum of six members of the MS 13. The whole point of being initiated into MS 13 is to show how dedicated the joining member is and how far they will go for MS 13. Since the inductee is now a permanent member of the gang, they have three jobs that they have to fulfill: to recruit others, collect money, and to kill (â€Å"World’s Most Dangerous Gang†). As in every business, MS 13 has to earn a living somehow too.According to the interview between Lisa Ling and Jester, a former MS 13 member, told her that certain blocks in L. A. are owned by MS 13. Whatever businesses are located on the street, must pay a twenty five percent protection fee to MS 13. They also collect money from selling drugs and taxing the drug dealers who want to sell drugs on their territory. These are the drugs they sell: crystal meth, cocaine, heroin, rock, weed, and various pills. Jester said, â€Å"If you need any kind of pills, don’t go to the doctor. (â€Å"Worlds Most†)When Lisa Ling asked Jester, â€Å"What if they don’t pay? Jester responded, â€Å"They always pay. Sometimes you’ve got to get aggressive with them† (World’s Most). MS 13 knows that they can get however much money that they want because they are such a fierce gang. One of the worst things that a member can do when joining the gang is to try and get out. In MS 13 there is no way to leave the gang without getting killed unless the escapee goes to the hospital, jail, or death (Logan). If any runaway member ever goes to the police and betrays their clique, MS 13 will make ure that their life ends quickly.Once one becomes a part of the gang, one is in it for life and there is no turning back or getting out. MS 13 is spreading its violent tactics across the United States, and it is growing larger in numbers, build ing an empire of strength and power. Their crime organization development continues to grow stronger and wiser as time goes by, and their growing population of MS 13 members in the United States will increase the crime rates. Before Brenda Paz was murdered by her own gang, MS 13, she emphasized the importance and loyalty that MS 13 gang members have.She stated, â€Å"You live for God, you live for your mom, but you die for your gang† (World’s Most†). MS 13’s control in America has shown that it is a major crime organization that cannot be stopped. They have complete control over their members which makes MS 13 an army of violence. Whatever is said is done. There is no negotiating. What MS 13 says goes. While the nation focuses on terrorism, the issue of gang violence has taken a lower priority. But to many, the violent acts of MS13 are more of an everyday threat that is being overlooked.

Art Management ,Collector management Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Art Management ,Collector management - Essay Example First of all, the site will incorporate smart points where consumers will get loyalty points from which they can redeem them. For example if a consumer buys a piece of art through the website then the more they spend the more they get loyalty points. For every 100 dollars a consumers spends through the site they will get one loyalty point hence the more a consumer uses the site to buy art the more the accumulate loyalty points. These loyalty points can be redeemed in order for a consumer to enjoy a discount, a gift hamper or specific fine art for free depending on the amount of points a consumer has. For instance, a twenty percent discount can be given by redeeming 10 points. For some fine arts one can get them at no cost at all by redeeming one hundred loyalty points. This is systems will encourage consumers to use the site since currently no online auctioning site for fine art offers loyalty points to its consumers. JFlora.com will use social networking to ensure that its customers are always up to date with any new work of art that is for sale. This is another aspect of the website that currently no online auctioning website for fine art is using. The use of social networking marketing has proved to be cheap, convenient, and reliable since it has worked for other companies in other industries. Social marketing will be incorporated into the website in that once a customer registers in the website then they will be able to get information about art galleries, art events, and art products on sale making it easy for them to know what and when to buy. For instance, if a painting has been posted to be on sale on the website, then customers do not have to wait until they log in into the website. They can simply place their bids using social networks such as twitter and face book then if they are the highest bidder they will be contacted by personnel from the website informing them on their successful bidding. This is when they will be prompted to log into their acc ount where they will choose the method of payment they see fit. Jflora.com will also be conspicuous from other online auctioning websites for fine art such as paddle8 and VIP Art in its wide list of payment option. Normally such auctioning sites usually offer a limited range of paying options which are credit and debit card. However, J Flora has come up with a system where a customer can pay for the items purchased using Bank transfer, Credit card, internet currencies, wire transfers, mobile money, and personal cheques. This wide variety of payment options will be made available by the website through a system where, instead of the customers paying directly to the owner of the painting, he/she will pay to the company where the company will release the item to the buyer once they have received proof of payment. This means even if the customer pays for a painting using a personal cheque, the company will release the item to the buyer as long as a copy of the personal cheque is receive d by the company meaning that the buyer does not have to wait until the cheque matures. The J Flora company will incorporate security measures not being used by other websites to ensure that customer information is treated with a lot of privacy ensuring that they do not lose their money to identity thieves or fraudsters which has been the case in online buying and selling. In fact, quite a number of consumers

Political science Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 1

Political science - Essay Example Moreover, the revolution has resulted in the ouster of regimes such as in Egypt, and Libya. However, the revolution has not lived up to its dreams of having a regime change. This is because even after ousting of regime, there are still subsequent uprising. A classical example is Egypt where the new regime after unrest has been ousted in less than a year. There are various reasons as to why revolution is taking place recently. First, the leaders of Arab countries engaged in consolidating their countries against western control. This helped the countries to remain united against foreign powers. Second, one party system has been controlling activities in Arab countries. Therefore, any attempt to organize political parties and movement was met with authoritarian rule (Ahmed 1). Any form of resistance or objection was treated as a threat to national security. Therefore, freedom and democracy was treated as a foreign concept (Ahmed 1). The uprisings have taken place recently due to the citizen realization that their rights have been trampled for long. The civilians have also been fed up with corrupt, unjust, and cruel

Project Environment Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3500 words

Project Environment - Essay Example Project management is usually designed to fit into the scope of the project in question. Some projects are bigger than others and actually may comprise of a series of projects. In this case such projects are commonly referred to as programmes. For instance a project including some construction of an airport, roads leading to the airport, community facilities such as schools as well as a series of other related projects comprises of a really big project and there is a programme. Wembley stadium project is one of the biggest projects in the UK in the recent history (Nicholas, 2004). The Wembley National Stadium Project stretched over a period of 6 years and cost in excess of over ten billion pounds. Lessons learnt from management of the Wembley project as well as other projects serve as great case studies for organisational management especially in regard to how to address the challenges which happen in the process of organisational in change management, conflict resolution, stakeholder management as well as aligning an organisational strategy to the organisational mission. One of the major reasons why projects are conceived is the fact that there are needs in the community, in the organisation or in the society, which needs to be addressed. Project management identifies a pressing need or pressing needs, which it sets out to address by offering the necessary correctional measures. Once the needs have been identified by using the right needs assessment tools, the next step is to prioritise the needs identified in order of priority. Once the deserving cases have been isolated, the project is conceived probably by the change initiators who may include the government, community leaders, the management of the organisation or individuals who have an interest in the project. One of the greatest considerations before initiating a change in form of a project is to analyse the resources required in the project completion. The greatest threat which faces any project prior to initiation or even during the implementation process is the fact that no matter the status of affairs in an organisation or in a given setting there are some people who benefit from the given status. It is such people who pose the greatest threat to the change initiators for project conception in that they offer stiff resistance to the change initiation. Such opponents to change are usually people who benefit from the current state of affairs and see the change as a threat to the status quo, which they benefit from. Therefore there is a need for project managers to identify such people who fail to welcome the change and mange them properly. In some cases those who offer the greatest resistance in case of projects are key stakeholders in the project and therefore their continued resistance to the project may lead to the failure of the project. For example a project like the Wembley National Stadium came under opposition from the local community. Until the standoff between the project management and the local community was resolved it was impossible to move on with the project. In some projects the government may be reluctant to offer the necessary support especially in terms of is suing the right kind of licences. This

Discuss the evidence for and against schachters theory of emotion Essay

Discuss the evidence for and against schachters theory of emotion - Essay Example Interestingly, and significantly, some theories complement or reinforce each other, while some negate or refute each other. One of the most cited and discussed about theories on emotions is the Two-Factor Theory of Emotions which Stanley Schachter, together with Jerome Singer, proposed in 1962. It posits that emotion has two components or factors, the physiological arousal and cognition. In simpler terms, this means that our environment as well as our thought processes influence the kind of emotions we have in certain situations. What the theory tells us is that our emotional response to any given situation is influenced by an interplay of factors. First, the environment arouses bodily response such as change in heartbeat, sweating, etc., and, sensing these bodily changes, the individual now appraises what emotion he/she is feeling in that particular situation. Appraisal would be based on past experiences of similar events. To further understand the theory, it would be helpful to picture this out: A man is left alone in a big house which is believed to be haunted. He hears some noise upstairs. He suddenly feels his heartbeat quicken, his sweating becomes excessive. Realizing that he is alone in that house which is believed to be haunted, he now concludes it is scary and so he feels scared or frightened. Several experiments and further scrutiny by other scholars and psychologists to prove or refute the theory were conducted. There were some that supported or reinforced his theory, but there were also others that refuted it. Schachter and Singer themselves conducted experiments to prove the validity of their theory. They conducted the â€Å"Suproxin† experiment among 184 male students of a university wherein they grouped the subjects into informed and uninformed groups in two emotional conditions, which were euphoria and anger. The environmental factors introduced were the adrenaline

Plato's Meno Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Plato's Meno - Research Paper Example One very significant part of the Meno is that which demonstrates the Theory of Recollection, or the idea that â€Å"what appears to be learning something new is really recollecting something already known† (Cohen, University of Washington), or what is known as the doctrine of anamnesis, which means that â€Å"all learning is [merely] recollection† (Samet, Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy). This theory is what Socrates exactly proves to Meno when the latter asks, â€Å"†¦on what lines will you look, Socrates, for a thing of whose nature you know nothing at all?† (Plato, Meno, 80d2). The â€Å"thing† that Meno is referring to in his question is actually virtue, for this is the concept upon which the dialogue is particularly focused. Virtue, in fact, is the whole point of the discourse. However, the discussion has temporarily shifted to the Theory of Recollection in the middle part of the dialogue. This begins when Socrates has concluded that â€Å"[ no one] can know a part of virtue when he does not know virtue itself† (79c1), which means that neither Meno nor anyone else knows virtue. Upon hearing this, Meno then begins to ask Socrates a rather common sense question: How can the latter know that this is not virtue the former has been talking about early on in the dialogue when the latter himself does not know what virtue is? Socrates’ reply to this rather sarcastic accusation is the Theory of Recollection. In demonstrating the theory, Socrates first attempts to explain to Meno the roots of the theory by stating that it came from priests and priestesses (81a8) and poets â€Å"of heavenly gifts† (81b1), and that these people all say that â€Å"the soul of man is immortal† (81b1). Socrates then concludes from this premise that the soul â€Å"has been born many times, and has [therefore] beheld all things both in this world and in the nether realms [and therefore] has acquired knowledge of all and every thing† (81b1). Socrates then adds that since the soul has already learned everything, then â€Å"there is no reason why we should not, by remembering but one single thing – an act which men call learning – discover everything else† (81d1). Now, if one goes back to Meno’s accusing question - How can you look for something whose nature you do not know? – Socrates’ answer is that one actually already knows everything but simply cannot remember anything. In short, everyone knows what virtue is, only that not everyone can remember. According to Socrates, aside from courage and determination in searching, â€Å"research and learning† are needed in order to remember. Moreover, Socrates even equates â€Å"research and learning† with â€Å"recollection† (81d1), which means that, for the philosopher, the learning and the remembering are the same, and that everything is simply all remembering. After Socrates calls on the boy, what follows is an elenchus, whose literal meaning is â€Å"refutation† but may actually mean a type of â€Å"cross examination† (Ionescu 10). One purpose of the elenchus is for Socrates â€Å"to help his listeners discover for themselves the inadequacy of what they hold as true† (Johnston). A second purpose, however, is, according to Socrates himself, is for an individual to â€Å"[find] out the truth of the matter [and to] push on in the search gladly, as lacking knowledge† (Plato, Meno, 84b7). In short, the first purpose of this elenctic discourse is for someone to discover his ignorance and for him to search for the

The reasons why UK (based in the borough of Ealing) residents travel Dissertation

The reasons why UK (based in the borough of Ealing) residents travel domestically versus internationally - Dissertation Example Whenever a person decides to leave his home to go on a journey somewhere for the sake of experiencing a change of scene, to explore a new environment, experience new cultures or on a religious pilgrimage, then that person is a tourist (Cooper, 2005, 4). From the foregoing, it is quite obvious that the idea of going on a tour is a conscious decision that goes together with planning before one embarks on the actual journey. It is interesting to find out what influences such a decision. Among the options open to any prospective tourist is whether to travel locally within one’s country or internationally. Knowledge of the factors that influence this decision is important to players in the tourism industry because they can influence these decisions during their tourism promotion (Cooper, 2005, 4). The importance of international tourism as an income generating activity for countries cannot be gainsaid. In 2008 international tourism worldwide garnered a colossal â‚ ¬ 642 billion raised by 922 million tourist arrivals. This was despite a drop of 2% in tourist travel worldwide in June 2008 due to the recession that hit the world at the time. This shows that this is quite an important sector that any particular country can only take for granted at its own peril (WTO, 2009, 14). Moreover, countries such as Egypt, Greece, Lebanon, Spain and Thailand depend to a great extent for their income on tourism. These countries have great long running histories with the pyramids and mummies in Egypt and the historical edifices and culture in Greece as examples. As for little island states like The Maldives, Bahamas, Fiji, Seychelles and Philippines, tourism is simply their lifeline (WTO, 2009, 15). In Borough of Ealing, in London Britain, just like in other places, tourism plays an important role in provision of Employment. If one takes the wider national setting, by 2010 the tourism industry in Britain had already employed 2.65 million persons in 200,000 different compan ies. 80% of these companies were Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) which were either directly owned by youths under 35 years or mostly employed the youth in that category (Tourism Alliance, 2011). Borough of Ealing is an administrative division to the west of the city of London. Though it has its own administrative system, it is still part of the larger London. Boroughs are administrative divisions within major cities so formed to make the administration of the wider city manageable and efficient (Heritage Dictionary, 2000, 142). Like other Boroughs, Ealing struggles to raise part of the revenue it uses for administrative, social welfare and development purposes. One of the sources of such revenue is of course local and incoming tourists. For the purposes of this paper, the focus is on tourism in Borough of Ealing in Britain in particular and the wider London and Britain in general. In Britain tourism is a very important sector with 14.1 million visitors arriving in 2009 alone and raising over â‚ ¬ 21 billion in revenue (WTO, 2009, 15). On average tourism generates â‚ ¬ 19 billion annually out of which â‚ ¬ 3.5 billion goes directly to the exchequer. In fact in 2009 Britain was the 7th most visited tourism destination. It was also the 3rd largest source of tourists in the world after Germany and the United States. Moreover, London was the second most visited city in the world coming second only to Paris, France (WTO,

Its Mine Essay Example for Free

Its Mine Essay Group – anis,farhana,dieba| Coffin Analyse how characters are developed to enhance plot and theme. Group – bimal,kalai,aina| Coffin Analyse how historical events are dealt with in the play. Group – farah,zai| Coffin Relate the treatment of historical events in the play to critical theories. Group – uyun,wini,syieda| Jungle of Hope

Impact of Reality Shows on Younger Generation

Impact of Reality Shows on Younger Generation Jump to: Research Methodology | Research Background | Research Data | Results Analysis | Conclusion and Recommendations With the successful completion of the Sirasa Super Star Session 1 most of Sri Lankan television channels started airing various kinds of reality programs. The organizers identified that these programs can easily raise the popularity of the television channels and above all the main aim of organising such events is the money which generating behind the screen. One of the main features of such shows that proliferated in the recent past across the television channels is the active participation of celebrities in varied capacities viz; presenters are judgers. Usually organisers of such events take greater care to stage such events in a more planned, colourful and in a dramatic manner, so as to attract all the age groups in the society. Due to the tough competition prevailing among the television channels to win the viewers, innovations and differentiation has become key words to stay ahead in the reality business. Producers seems trying introducing various types of programmes but it is not hard to find those so called innovated programs happens to be just the carbon copies of American, European or the Indian reality shows. Due to this lacuna in originality these programs might not be suitable to the Sri Lanka culture as these programmes have been germinated with features related to the American or European culture. Under this light it can be posited that nowadays reality shows are adversely effecting the educational and social development of our younger generation because predominantly the spectators found to be consisted with this social group. CHAPTER 2: METHODOLOGY AIM The aim of this paper is to highlight the effect of reality programs on the younger generation in the light of their social and educational development. PROBLEM STATEMENT Does the Sri Lankan younger generation is addicted to the reality programs due to the glamour and popularity of such programmes and will it effect the social and educational development of the younger generation of the Sri Lankan society? RESEARCH HYPOTHESIS Reality programs are adversely effecting the educational and social development of the younger generation in the Sri Lankan society. SCOPE OF THE STUDY The scope of this research is to gather the views and ideas of public regarding reality programs and to measure its effect on our younger generation. GENERAL OBJECTIVE To find out the reasons behind reality shows become so popular among the Sri Lankan viewers and to discover which age groups are more prone to be attractive to these programmes. Furthermore, to surface effects if any by the broadcasting reality shows on social and educational development of the Sri Lankan Society. SPECIFIC OBJECTIVES To determine the reasons behind the popularity of reality programs among the Sri Lankan viewers. To obtain a better understanding about the financial benefits offered to the competitors and the spectators by the organisers and also to learn about the huge amount of money that circulating behind the screen. To find out true intensions of the organizers with regard to the facilitation the youths to enhance their talents, bringing talented youths to the limelight, making available monitory benefits and how the organizers (TV channels) intend to be benefited by reality programmes. To comment about the true potential of created Stars to remain bright in the show business sustaining the popularity over their contemporary traditional artists. To comment how will be the judges are qualified to judge the competitors fairly and to comment on the process of selecting the winners by the viewers through the medium of Telephones, SMS and post cards. METHOD OF DATA COLLECTION Data collection methods are as follows. a. Primary Sources. Primary source of information will be gathered by interviewing selected groups of people. A questionnaire will be administered to the following respondents. i. School Teachers ii. Doctors iii. Parents iv. Officers in No 33 JCC representing Tri Forces v. University Students vi. School A/L Students b. Secondary Source. Secondary source of information will be the related books, paper articles, web articles, library sources and relevant databases. THE STRUCTURE OF THE PAPER The thesis is structured as follows a. CHAPTER I This Chapter will cover the Introduction. b. CHAPTER II This Chapter will cover the Methodology. c. CHAPTER III This chapter will covers the background of reality programs which are airing in Sri Lankan television channels. d. CHAPTER IV This Chapter will cover the data which collected through the questionnaire. e. CHAPTER V This Chapter will cover the data which collected through questionnaire and analyzes them accordingly f. CHAPTER VI Conclusion. CHAPTER 3: BACKGROUND OF RESEARCH Reality programs are genre of television programming that presents supposedly unscripted dramatic or entertaining situations, events, competitions and usually features ordinary people instead of professional actors and the significant is the program is manipulating by a popular star  [1]  . This kind of reality programs are commonly called reality shows and often they are produced in series. Documentaries and non fictional programming such as news and sports shows are usually not classified as reality shows. Reality television frequently portrays a modified and highly influenced form of reality, utilizing sensationalism to attract viewers and so to generate advertising profits. Participants are often placed in exotic locations or abnormal situations, and are sometimes coached to act in specific scripted ways by off-screen story editors or segment producers, with the portrayal of events and speech manipulated and contrived to create an illusion of reality through editing and other post-production techniques  [2]  . Till the time all these reality programs were recognized as huge profit making exercise behind the screen and which were helping to raise the popularity of television channels. The present nature of reality shows are started in American television channels, the most successful one was American Ideal and this was become very famous all around the world. Later it was spread among some other countries with their own identities such as, Australia, England, China, Japan and our neighbour country India too. Sirasa TV is in the pioneer among the Sri Lankan television channels to air the reality shows. This has stemmed from their vision to present new energetic televisions programs to the Sri Lankan television society. General opinion held by the public of this country is that Sirasa television always comes with a different style or sometimes may be very peculiar programs which may give an impressive experience to the Sri Lankan spectators who are already bored with watching monotonous television programs. Sirasa TV introduced the new culture in TV entertainment through mega tele drama to the Sri Lankan Society deviating away from traditional tele-dramas. Initially those tele-dramas were Indian origin and subtitled or dubbed in Sinhala language (e.g. Shanthi the Indian mega tele-drama dubbed in Sinhala). The regular Hindi lovers in the Sri Lankan society may embrace these tele-dramas. The popularity of the mega tele-dramas were increased in many folds with the introduction of mega tele-dramas with a Sri Lankan touch but based on Indian lifestyle and later themes and style shifted to be in line with the traditional Sri Lankan context. The statistics shows spectators flocked to-gether with the Sirasa TV each day during the hours between 2000hrs to 2200hrs to see their favourite tele-dramas in Ran Depaya which telecasted both Indian and Sri Lankan four mega tele-dramas within two hour period in the week days. Tele dramas of Hindi origin but dubbed in sinhala such as Mahagedara, Chiththi and Praveena and also the tele-dramas with Singhalese themes but produced in Indian style such as Wasuda and Kindurangana were equally became popular among Sri Lankan viewers. Observing the grand success achieved by Sirasa TV all the other television channels had to face the challenge of regaining their lost popularity. As a counter strategy other TV channels were also opted to follow the leaders path. Hence, almost all other TV stations started to telecast mega tele-drams in their channels and some channels like Independence Television Network (ITN) become more successful than Sirasa TV since they managed to capture the taste of Sri Lankans with Sri Lankan style dramas instead of Indian dramas. Indian style Sinhala dramas also helped to boost up the popularity of the TV channel. As examples Batti, Mutu Kirilli Paba became very famous among the viewers. This series of Mega Tele-dramas were the last of the production list as produces witnessed a mark decline in popularity for such entertainment. When the time passes these Mega tele-dramas become more burdensome for the viewers and they understood that the substances of most of these stories were same, monotonous and meaning less. Because of the endless and prolonged nature of these dramas, story had to be changed aimlessly suiting to the production difficulties ignoring the viewers needs and wants. Above all busy schedules of the working class caused to refuse these programs gradually but surely. When the viewers are receding away from mega tele-dramas TV stations were forced to change their strategies to win the crowd. The requirement of the day was to innovate entertainment programmes that ensure a different experience to the tired mega tele-drama viewers. Again being the pioneer of presenting new experience to the viewers, Sirasa TV found out the solution to this. They presented an energetic, dramatic and curious program to the viewers named as Sirasa Super Star Session I, a singing competition. That was the gateway to Sri Lankan viewers to enter into the world of reality shows. The Sirasa Super Star Session I is the most successful first reality program produced by the Sirasa TV which based on a singing contest among general applicants. Because of its attractiveness and dramatic way of presenting it became vary famous among the viewers. Furthermore, because of that program telecasted during the weekend, it became ideal way of spending weekend for the people those who fed up working through week days and this has become real entertainment during weekends. Viewers found that they no longer required being bond to mega tele-dramas during the whole weekdays. Because of the popularity and financial benefits acquired by the Sirasa TV they started second session of the same program soon after the first. Mean time the other television channels also did some experiments on same reality programs and after achieving success they were ventured out to experiment more different types of reality programs and most of them again became very successful. Some times Derana TV a nd Swarnavahini were at the peak of popularity than Sirasa TV. Some of the Reality programs aired by each channels are attached to this as Annex B POSSIBLE REASONS FOR THESE PROGRAMS BECOME VERY POPULAR AMONG OTHER PROGRAMS. Locations and Stages. Normally these programs are being filmed at very attractive, colourful stages or locations or peculiar places such as ships, boats, gardens and famous hotels instead of using traditional stages. These stages are preparing in a very attractive style by spending huge amount of money due to the competition among each other. Utilization of modern technology for the stages decorations, filming and airing generally are at a higher standard and the quality is increasing day by day. Dress and appearance. During the final stages of competition the organizers are having tendency to change the appearance of the competitors. This is done by changing dresses, hair styles and doing characteristic changes. Some times all the competitors are wearing same type of dresses according to the gender but keeping unique identity of the competitors. Some times they completely change the characters such as while male is dressed as woman and female is dressed as male. Sometimes they dressed as cartoon characters and may as jokers. The dress of the day may decided by the art director which related to the particular entertainment or the event of the day. Empirical evidences shows that they changed the days dress of competitors according to the singing competition or the style of the songs or the era of the original song which sung by the first singer. In some programs like Derana Shadow Stars, the competitors are dressed up as the professional characters without any single change. However both the competitors and the organizers were blamed and criticised by the public regarding the improper dress selections of Sirasa Kumario ,Derana Kumario and loving Stars programs. In this programs the competitors and organizers were blamed that the young girls who were exposing the body in an unwanted way and which were not suitable to the society specially the children viewers. But this method of present was given a boosting popularity among the teenagers specially the men and majority of the others also accepted but not shown their consent openly. Dramatic way of presenting The most attractive feature of this kind of reality programs are the dramatic way of presenting. This dramatic style is a new experience for the Sri Lankan viewers and it is the most successful feature which supporting to these programs becomes very popular among the public. This unscripted dramatic or entertaining situation touches the hearts of viewers and they automatically become emotional and some times they wouldnt believe or like to believe the reality of the situation. The emotions feels to a competitor after loose or win can be feel even the viewers and they also become the part of that programs. During final stages the organizers are planning to take the competitors to their hometowns and giving a good publicity through media and make them to be welcomed by the people of their hometowns, sometimes these events may pre planned. The organizers make the viewers to become a participant of the program and make them to feel that the voting through SMSs is a responsibility of them and to be with their countryman till the end and make him as the winner by their SMS votes. Involvement of famous personal and stars as program announcers and masters of the ceremonies. Famous characters such as Film stars, Dancers, Singers or Politicians are taking part as the program announcers, Judges or as conductors of the program which is a significant feature in reality programs. Some times they take part in the judging panel and some times judges participating in the event may not have any relevance to the particular field or may not have any experience in that particular field. The popularity is rising up remarkably because of the participation of these people. Some examples for that are attached to this as Annex C. These kinds of programs are doing a commendable role to take out the talented Sri Lankan younger generation, those who does not having opportunity or financial support, to come out or highlight their talents. The experience is the most valuable intangible value that can gain by the competitors. Other than that popularity, good repetition in the society, identification in particular fields and opportunities are also intangible values that they can gain. Considering tangible values and financial values are at the peak and other than that other presents such as vehicles and properties and other gifts sometimes exceeds the value beyond the expectations of the participants. The Sirasa Super stars is at the cliff of presenting huge financial values to the competitors. Swarnavahini also has gained recognition as generous giver to the winners among other channels. MONEY EARNING METHODS Reality programs have been identified as most lucrative programs in the Sri Lankan society which high profits can be assured by spending less. There are lots of methods that the organizers earning money through these programs and the methods of organizing these competitions with a lowest cost. SMS Campaign In this reality programs the viewers also doing a vital role as the competitors. They are actively participating to these programs by sending their consent or the vote for a particular competitor while sending SMSs or calling to the dedicated hotlines. Sending a SMS or calling to dedicated hotlines is an effective method to attracting and bonding the viewers to the programme since they are convincing that they also being a part of the programme. Mean time it can be defined as utilization of modern communication technology to attract the people to take part of these programs. For this process all the Sri Lankan telecom providers participated and they introduced their own methods for sending SMSs and calling to dedicated hotlines to facilitate viewers. This is one of the profits gaining mechanism of reality programs. But only few of viewers know the cost they spending for a single SMS may be five times than normal SMS charges (Normal SMS Charges for Ea. Rs 1.00 and Reality show SMS Charges for Ea. Rs 10.00)  [3]  . This amount charging for single SMS is dividing between both the Organizing authority and the telecommunication provider. For facilitating this service to the viewers, the entire telecommunication providers in Sri Lanka had allocated special hotlines and hotline numbers for each program separately and introduced various types of formats and methods to sending SMSs and giving consent to the competitors since this is a good profitable mechanism for them. Further some other organizations also encouraging their customers to participate these programs. As example NDB has promoted their account holders that to win a chance of Rs 25,000.00 by sending SMSs to the Sirasa Super Stars. Advertisements Charging for advertisements which are airing during the reality programs telecasting time is also one of the money earning mechanism for the organizers (Television Canals or media sponsors). Ex: During Sirasa super Stars session 3 final day a thirty second advertisement were cost to rupees 600,000.00 Selling of songs, videos and photographs of stars. This is also one of a profitable business for the organizers. They sell the songs, which became popular during competitions, videos of special events and photographs of popular characters, stars or special events since the organizers are the dictator rights of the ownership of the program. In this case due to their whole authority the profits may be directly benefited to the organizers. Musical shows and displays of stars to the public. Since the agreements and bonds which are signed by the stars, they automatically becoming real mallets of the organizers. This type of outdoor activities are arranging for the purpose gain popularity for the program and for financial benefits. ARRANGING REALITY PROGRAMS WITH A MINIMUM COST TO BEARING UP BY THE ORGANIZERS. Arranging of this kind of reality show is huge money consuming task than a normal program. Because to get the attraction of people and competitors the organizers have to arrange these programs with mega prizes, attractive locations sometimes may overseas film shooting, attractive and different kinds of fashioned costumes and jewelleries, famous personal to lead the programs and for judging panels, cosmetics and dressing and attractive stages and luxury vehicles. To provide these facilities and come out with a successful presentation is a huge task for a single organizer. To overcome those difficulties the organizers are gathering sponsors to fulfil the above requirements. By sponsoring for these reality shows the sponsors also having opportunity to introduce and make attention of their products to the viewers. The business market that the sponsors are targeting can automatically be achieved through the programs because the majority of viewers are being teenagers. Some of the companie s sponsoring for the programs are as follows: Locations : Famous Hotels in Sri Lanka Cosmetics and dressing : Janet cosmetics and Natures secrets Jewelleries : Stone and strings Dresses : Mondy, Wills, Hamedia, Saree Mandir, Nolimit Vehicles : AMW and United Mortars Official Drinks : Pure Beverages and Elephant House Official Bank : NDB DOES THE JUDGE PANELS ARE BEING QUALIFIED ENOUGH TO PERFORM THEIR DUTIES? General question comes out with at the end of the program that the viewers that the judge panel are being qualified enough to judge the competitors. In some programs the judges were selected considering only the popularity they obtained in the society and they done their duties completely out of their relative subjects. Sometimes a well qualified dancer is in the judge panel of singing competition and some times a well qualified singer is judging a dancing competition. Sometimes performance of some judges are become real entertainment to both competitors and viewers but the problem is can they given a fair decision to the competitor without having sufficient knowledge about particular subject to choose the correct person for the next round. This type of trick is done by the organizers to attract viewers but the competitors are suffering from their incapable decisions  [4]  . FUTURE OF THE STARS Because of the recognition given in a limited time period and lack of experience some competitors are unable to identify their weak points they might be overconfident of their talents. After become a star in one night they dont have any idea to maintain their flow and they dont have clear forward vision since their recognition has achieved without any sacrifice or effort. Also these stars becoming popular among the viewers by imitating professionals. As examples in singing competition the competitors are imitating the songs which were sung by professionals and in a comedy program they are imitating the professionals. So at the end of the reality program the stars are recognize by the viewers from imitated presentations and the viewers may actually loves for the original owner of that presentation, may not for the competitor. Another factor is these stars are charging high charges from Rupees 25000.00 to 50000.00 to sing 4 or 5 songs for a musical show and the professionals are charging Rupees 5000.00 to maximum 20000.00 for the same.  [5]   Sponsoring for these high charges of the Stars for social events may bear up the Sri Lankans those who are being abroad or the wealthy social events take place in Sri Lanka. But in outdoor activities in Sri Lanka local sponsors may not willing to bear up this high charges of stars since the Sri Lankan outdoor market is earning less profits and even the indoor activities spectators may not willing to pay high charges for entrance tickets. REALITY PROGRAMS AND ITS EFFECT OF OUR YOUNGER GENERATION Most of the reality programmes are very attractive and presenting in a decent style to the audience. Some of the programmes are actually imparting knowledge to the viewers especially for the younger generation. As example Punchi Pahe MaÅ„ Sri Lankan Life Derana Real Leader etc.. EFFECT ON SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT OF THE YOUNGER GENERATION Because of the competition among the television channels the organizers are trying to implement different type of reality programmes and sometimes with or without intention they are violating Sri Lankan ethics and norms due to high competition among each other. As examples Sirasa Kumariya and Derana Kumariya programme were blamed by the general public that the organizers are intentionally selecting unethical dresses which unnecessarily exposes the body of the girls and sometimes they are appearing to the programme wearing swimming suit or wetted cloths which indirectly showing body curves to the public in an unethical way. Another example the organizers of Swarnawahini Loving Star programme was blamed because some events are unethical and which are not suitable for the Sri Lankan society and some of the events of that programme were giving wrong ideas to the younger generation. Due to displeasure of the general public especially the elders that programme was stopped after completing only one session. EFFECT ON EDUCATIONAL DEVELOPMENT OF THE YOUNGER GENERATION These programmes are airing usually after 1830 Hrs to 2200Hrs  [6]  and that time is commonly known as the ideal study time for the students. But due to addicting to these programmes the younger generation is spending their valuable study time for education some times because of the addiction of the parents to these programmes it may disturb to the children those who are engaging studies during these time period. CHAPTER 4:  DATA The required data was collected through a questionnaire and under mentioned groups were questioned through the questionnaire. Numbers of forty five people sample among the general public were selected randomly under the following heads. a. School Teachers b. Doctors c. Parents d. Officers in No 33 JCC representing Armed Forces e. University Students f. School A/L Students 52. The data which are collected through questionnaire and were re structure according to the under mentioned age groups. a. Age below 20 years (13People/ School Students) b. Age between 21 to 30 years. (8 People/Majority is University Students) c. Age between 31 to 40 years. (11 People/Majority is Armed forces Officers) d. Age above 40 years (13 People/Parents) 53. Among the questions in the questionnaire, under mentioned questions were selected and data analyzed with respected to the questions and age groups are as follows. Question No 9:  Do you think reality programs (Such as Sirasa Super Star/Comedy Star/Dream Star/ Little Star/ Sirasa Kumariya/Shadow Star etc) are badly affecting to the social development of our younger generation? Question No 10:  Do you think reality programs (Such as Sirasa Super Star/Comedy Star/Dream Star/ Little Star/ Sirasa Kumariya/Shadow Star etc) are badly affecting to the educational development of our younger generation? Question No 11:  As your view, the intention of organizing reality programs by the television channels is/are, Question No 12:  Do the winners of this kind of reality programs are having a future carrier and are they capable to maintain their popularity as professional entertainers for a long period? CHAPTER 5: ANALYSIS OF RESULTS Question No 3: Would you interested to watch reality programs (Such as Sirasa Super Star/Comedy Star/Dream Star/ Little Star/ Sirasa Kumariya/Shadow Star etc)?   Analyzing the answers given for the popularity based question, it can be justified that the people below 40 years of age are more interested to watch reality programmes than the people above 40 years among the selected people group. It can prove that the younger generation is more interested than the elder people about reality programs. Analyzing all the result of the answers given to above questions, it is proving that all the age groups are interested to watch reality programmes which are telecasting in Sri Lankan television channels. Question No 9:  Do you think reality programs (Such as Sirasa Super Star/Comedy Star/Dream Star/ Little Star/ Sirasa Kumariya/Shadow Star etc) are badly affecting to the social development of our younger generation? Analyzing the answers given for the affect to the society and social development based question, the people below 30 years are not agreed to the authors argument but people above 30 years, who can be considered as mature people, are agreed with the authors argument. Also overall result analyze for the question regarding affects to social development majority of the selected group of people are agreed to the argument which made by the author. So it can be conclude as the reality programmes are badly affecting to the social development of our younger generation. Question No 10:  Do you think reality programs (Such as Sirasa Super Star/Comedy Star/Dream Star/ Little Star/ Sirasa Kumariya/Shadow Star etc) are badly affecting to the educational development of our younger generation? Analyzing the answers given for the effect to the educational development based on question, the whole sample which consists younger and elder generation is agreed with the argument made by the author. Specially the age group above 31 years have expressed their idea that the some reality programs are being affected to the educational development of the younger generation Also overall result analyze for the question regarding affects to educational development majority of the selected sample of people are agreed to the argument which made by the author. So it can be conclude as some of the reality programmes are badly affecting to the educational development of our younger generation. Question No 11:  As your view, the intention of organizing reality programs by the television channels is/are Analyzing the answers given for the actual intention of the organizers of reality programs based on question, the each age group is having believe that the actual intention of the programmes are popularity and financial benefits of the organizers. But considering whole result of the question the sample is having believe that the actual intentions are popularity and financial benefits of the organizers and explore the young talents in relevant fields. Question No 12:  Do the winners of this kind of reality programs are having a future carrier and are they capable to maintain their popularity as professional entertainers for a long period? Analyzing the answers given

Country Profile And History Of Malta Tourism Essay

Country Profile And History Of Malta Tourism Essay Situated in the centre of the Mediterranean Sea, only some 93 km away from the southernmost part of Sicily and 288 km east of Tunis, the Republic of Malta is one of the smallest, albeit most densely populated (1307 inhabitants/km ²), European countries. The population of 412 970  [1]  is spread over Malta and Gozo  [2]  , two main islands, which together with their corresponding archipelago comprise a surface area of 316 km2. The tale of the Maltese history is a very turbulent one and it has seen a succession of many different powers ruling its islands throughout the course of time. Maltese islands have been already colonised in prehistoric times when the first settlers came down from the nearby Sicily, establishing their Neolithic communities around 5000 BC (Trump 1972). The period around 4100 BC marked the beginning of the so-called Temple Period (Ã…Â »ebbuÄ ¡ phase) around the islands, characterized by the appearance of the rock-cut chamber tombs. The peak of the Temple period ensued in the Ä  gantija phase (3600 3200 BC), named after the eponymous site on the island of Gozo (Trump 2002). This was the first phase of the extensive building activity in the form of the megalithic structures, while the second phase took place around 3000 BC However, the prolific era of architectural prowess ceased towards 2500 BC, the buildings were abandoned and islands depopulated, until the advent of th e Bronze Age with new populations arriving and raising their settlements (2500 700 BC). In the period between 700 and 500 BC, Malta was colonised by the Phoenicians who saw the importance of islands strategic location and used their harbours for their trading business. After almost 300 years of Punic domination, which started around 500 BC, and their resulting defeat in the Punic wars, the power over the islands fell into the Roman hands in 218 BC, who incorporated them in the province of Sicily and thus the Empire. After the division of the Roman Empire, Malta was briefly occupied by Vandals and Ostrogoths in the 5th century, but in 535 AD, during the reign of Emperor Justinian I, it was assimilated by the Byzantine Empire where it remained until the Arabian conquest in 870 AD (Bonnano 2005). A chaotic medieval period followed where different rulers and ruling dynasties were replacing each other, for example, Normans, Swabians, Angevins, Aragonese, just to name a few. For a brief period of 50 years, Malta was a part of the Spanish Empire, until 1530 when it was consign ed to the Knights of the Order of Saint John who were expelled from the island of Rhodes by Sultan Suleiman the Magnificent. Under the constant threat of the Turkish attack, Grand Master Jean Parisot de la Valette built the first fortifications on Malta (Birgu and Isla) and Fort St. Elmo to guard the entrance to the Grand Harbour. The inevitable Turkish invasion began in 1565 marking the event known in history as the Great Siege of Malta. The attack was successfully warded off and in 1566 the Knights started constructing their new city, which was to carry the name of their victorious Grand Master. For the next 232 years, Malta stayed under the command of the Knights until the French occupation in 1798 led by Napoleon. However, after only two years, the French will surrender the territory to the British and Malta will become a crown colony by the provisions of the Treaty of Paris (1814).  [3]   As an important strategic naval base to the Allied forces, Malta suffered great damage and loss of lives during WWII, while being bombed by the German and Italian forces. On 15th April 1942, King George VI awarded the country with George Cross for bravery, a symbol that is today embedded in the Maltese flag.  [4]   During the British rule, the government structure was constantly shifting. Malta was granted self-government in 1921 by the provisions of the Amery-Milner Constitution, which also allowed for the first Parliament to be established. The Constitution was suspended, restored and withdrawn in the period of three years (1930 1933) as the result of a political crisis (Zammit 2005). Nevertheless, self-government was restored to Malta between 1947 and 1964. Finally, on 21st September 1964, Malta gained independence from the colonial rule, gained sovereignty within the Commonwealth and joined the United Nations. In the following year, Malta also joined the Council of Europe. It was not until a decade later that Malta declared itself a republic, on 13th December 1974, with Sir Anthony Mamo as its first president. With the termination of the military base agreement, British troops and the Royal Navy withdrew from the islands in 1979.  [5]  In 1993, local government was reintroduced by an a ct of Parliament. Another milestone in Maltese history occurred in 2003 when the Treaty of Accession to the European Union was signed and on 1st May 2004, in the biggest enlargement of the EU history, Malta joined the Union with other nine states. Today, Malta is a parliamentary democracy whose government structure and public administration are modelled on the Westminster system. Its political scene is governed by two major political parties, which shifted in power since WWII, namely, the Nationalist Party (Partit Nazzjonalista; Christian Democratic Party) and the Labour Party (Partit Laburista; Social Democratic Party), with Nationalist party being currently in power. 2.2 Legislation on cultural heritage The earliest legislation on cultural heritage in Malta dates back to 1925 when the colonial government issued the Antiquities (Protection) Act which was the consolidated edition of a series of earlier ordinances issued from 1907. The Act was followed by the creation of the Antiquities list in 1932, which contained the records of sites and properties under protection. Heritage was next mentioned in 1991, in the context of Act Nr. V of the Environment Protection Act which proclaimed that ministers responsible for the environment have the power to declare any natural or cultural site as protected. In the succeeding Development Planning Act of 1992, cultural heritage is introduced through the scheduling of properties for conservation. The old Antiquities Act was superseded in 2002 by the Cultural Heritage Act which was to rectify the imbalances that had existed since the times of antiquated governance and institute structural changes which would reflect the current needs by making provisions for management, regulation and conservation of cultural heritage (Grima Theuma 2006). The Cultural Heritage Act (2002), the principal tool that protects the cultural heritage in Malta, defines cultural heritage as movable and immovable objects of artistic, architectural, historical, archaeological, ethnographic, paleontological and geological importance and includes information or data relative to cultural heritage pertaining to Malta or to any other country. The CHA established a number of different entities, such as Heritage Malta, Superintendence of Cultural Heritage, Committee of Guarantee, Malta Centre for Restoration (merged with Heritage Malta in 2005), National Forum and Cultural Heritage Fund (administered by the Committee of Guarantee). The functions and objectives of selected entities will be detailed later in this chapter (2.3). Guardianship Deed is an important tool introduced by the CHA (Article 48), with the SCH in charge of the administration process. It encourages involvement at grassroots level by allowing cultural heritage NGOs and local councils to enter into contract with the State which can transfer to them immovable cultural property in guardianship. This can only be done with properties such as archaeological sites, fortresses, towers and buildings which are public property. If the agreement in the notarial act is for some reason cancelled, the land returns to the government and the public ownership of the site is not lost. Government gives LCs or NGOs special rights on these properties, especially economic rights, because they can make money from the sites through fundraising and keep the money for restoration of buildings. This is an exception because usually, an NGO cannot perform fundraising activities on a public property. A GD is extremely helpful because it allows the state to transfer the neglected properties which would otherwise probably never be restored. Up until now, ten properties were entrusted to NGOs (nine to Din l-Art Helwa and one to Wirt Artna) and one to the Tarxien Local Council for a WWII shelter (SCH 2010). The number seems to indicate either a lack of interest or poor awareness of the opportunities offered by the GD (SCH 2010). The National strategy for cultural heritage was published in 2006 by the Ministry for Tourism and Culture as a further step in the implementation of the Cultural Heritage Act. The main objectives identified in this document are citizen participation, improved governance, development of cultural resources and sustainable use of heritage resources (MTC 2006a). The Local Councils Act was approved by the Maltese Parliament on 30 June 1993. It was based on the COEs European Charter of Local Self-Government which the Government ratified earlier that same year. The Act created a system of local government authorities and gave them considerable responsibilities and functions, all of which are described in Articles 33 through 48. In relation to cultural heritage, the LCA limited LCs involvement in cultural heritage projects, however, Article 48 of the CHA enabled them to assume the role of custodians by entering into the Guardianship deed with the government. This process has already been discussed earlier in this text. The Development Planning Act was created in 1992 and makes provisions for the planning and management of development and for the establishment of an authority with powers to that effect (DPA 1992, 1). The articles 46 through 47 are of interest here as they refer to cultural and natural heritage and authorize the agency in question (MEPA) to schedule property for conservation, to manage and review the list of scheduled property and to make emergency conservation orders. The Structure Plan for the Maltese Islands was published in 1990 by the Planning Services Division of the Ministry for Development of Infrastructure. It is different from the DPA, in that it designates various types of conservation areas and properties, Chapter 15 of the SPMI identifies complementary policies which apply to those areas and properties. It further ranks the properties according to their significance and degree of protection. Listed buildings in Urban Conservation Areas are graded as Grades 1 to 3; Areas and Sites of Archaeological Importance are classified from Class A to D, while Areas of Ecological Importance and Sites of Scientific Importance are rated from Level 1 to 4 (SPMI 1990). 2.3 Relevant authorities In the last twelve years, culture has shifted between several ministerial portfolios, presently constituting a part of Ministry for Education, Culture, Youth and Sports (Attard 2010). Before the CHA of 2002, there was only the Museums Department, the state administrative unit, which was both the operator and the regulator, functions which are today performed by Heritage Malta and the Superintendence of Cultural Heritage. Since the Museums Department was not covered by law, there was not much information to be found on the subject. They had no autonomy, but they had a budget with which they ran the museums, while the revenue from the ticket sales went back to the government (Cutajar 2010). The Superintendence for Cultural Heritage (Sovrintendenza Tal-Patrimonju Kulturali) is a national agency responsible for the regulation of all matters pertaining to the cultural heritage of Malta. Their mission, as defined by Article 7, paragraph 1 of the CHA is to fulfil the duties of the State in ensuring the protection and accessibility of Maltas cultural heritage. Article 7, paragraph 5 details all the functions of the SCH, some of which are: development, managing and updating the National inventory of cultural property; promoting research in the field of cultural heritage; authorising and conducting excavations; keeping and managing documentation and archives in relation to cultural heritage; the monitoring of import and export of cultural goods; enforcement of the laws; advising the Minister and MEPA on heritage matters; administration of Guardianship deeds with NGOs and local councils. SCH is headed by the Superintendent of Cultural Heritage and currently consists of eleven st aff members (Attard 2010). Since 2007, they have administered the Cultural Heritage Inventory Management System (CHIMS) project, a national database for heritage data management, which attempts to improve access to information. The agency keeps a meticulous record of their publications namely, Annual Reports and State of heritage reports which can be accessed online on their official website. Heritage Malta is an operating agency, established to ensure that those elements of the cultural heritage entrusted to it are protected and made accessible to the public (CHA 2002, Art.8, para.1). HMs main task is management of State-owned museums and heritage sites, their related collections on the islands of Malta and Gozo, and UNESCO World Heritage Sites (HM 2008). The agency is governed by a Board of Directors. In 2005, the amendment to the CHA merged the former Malta Centre for Restoration with HM, and thus gave rise to the Institute of Conservation and Management of Cultural Heritage which offers academic and vocational courses in conservation in collaboration with MCAST and the University of Malta.  [6]   Further functions of the Agency are elaborated upon in Article 8, paragraph 4 of the CHA, some of which are acquisition of properties, collections, sites and buildings; performing or commissioning conservation or restoration of owned or administered cultural properties; promoting education and appreciation of heritage to the general public; ensuring that all of the heritage sites entrusted to them are managed, conserved, studied and presented in the best way possible. HM has successfully managed to capitalize upon different EU funding schemes for their cultural heritage and conservation programmes. Following is a selection of some of the ongoing projects: SMARTmuseum (FP7) development of a platform for innovative IT services; Rehabilitation of Roman Baths and Christian Catacombs in Mgarr and Mosta (EAFRD); MINERVA Digitisation Project; Ä ¦aÄ ¡ar Qim and Mnajdra Archaeological Park (ERDF) installation of protective shelters, conservation and presentation, Med.Archeo.Sites: Study and Valorisation of Archaeological Sites of the Mediterranean Area.  [7]  The latest and a rather significant project is a 9.2à ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬ million Archaeological Heritage Conservation Project (ERDF) launched in mid-2008. It will run until March 2013 and includes works on three sites, two of which are part of the Maltese Megalithic temples WHS (Ä  gantija and Tarxien temples), while the third is on UNESCOs Tentative List (St. Pauls Catacombs in Rab at). The project includes construction of elevated walkways for both WHSs, a museum and a visitors centre at Ä  gantija, and a temporary protective shelter, similar to the ones at Ä ¦aÄ ¡ar Qim and Mnajdra, over the Tarxien temples (HM 2008). Malta Environment and Planning Authority (MEPA) was established by the provisions of the Development Planning Act (1992) and its role further reinforced by the Environment Protection Act (2001). It is a national agency in charge of land use planning and environmental regulation in Malta.  [8]  MEPA is subdivided into the Development Planning Directorate, Environment Protection Directorate, Directorate for Corporate Service and the Chairmans Office, all of which are carrying out the agencys responsibilities. The Planning Directorate is further split into the Forward Planning Division and the Development Services Division. It is within FPD that the Heritage Planning Unit (HPU), which is responsible for all matters pertaining to cultural and natural heritage, is placed. A full list of HPUs obligations and duties can be found explained in detail in Structure Plan for the Maltese Islands (Chapter 15), EPA and DPA (Chapters 46 48). Some of the main tasks of HPU are providing general information on heritage, legal protection of immovable heritage and heritage related planning, scheduling properties and maintaining the Malta Scheduled Property Register, publishing guidelines for restoration,  [9]  internal  [10]  and public awareness projects.  [11]   Within the Public Awareness section of the HPUs website one can find links to X-Plain and One World. X-Plain is a four-page long newsletter on MEPAs monthly activities, whose first issue was published in May 2007. There were seven issues published in 2007 and only three in 2008 which clearly shows that the newsletter has been discontinued. One world, on the other hand, was a special column in Times of Malta newspaper where, in the period from May 2007 until June 2009, a series of articles on cultural heritage of Malta were published. There is also an informative section with answers to some frequently asked questions such as the definition of buffer zones, how to check if ones property has been scheduled or which works can be carried out within scheduled property without development consent. MEPA and HPU are encouraging citizen involvement so, for instance, every citizen can request a property to be scheduled and thus legally protected and enlisted in MSPR by filling the appropriate form available on the MEPA website. The Maltese National Commission for UNESCO was created when Malta gained independence in 1964. Although a national commission, it comprises of volunteer staff members whose energy, resources and time they can spend are infinitesimal compared to national commissions of other countries that employ full-time personnel. The Maltese National Commission for UNESCO organises local projects which are in line with the mission and objectives of the parent organisation located in Paris.  [12]  Some of the projects related to Maltas WHSs include a preparation of a reactive monitoring report for City of Valletta and publication of The Tarxien Temples: Teachers Resource Book Worksheets. The Commission runs the official website where one can gather information about their activities and members. The News section of the site brings updates on news related to global UNESCOs activities. Local councils, as already mentioned in the section on legislation, were created in 1993 as required by the LCA. There are altogether 68 local councils of which 54 are located in Malta and 14 in Gozo. LCs are, by legal definition, responsible for a number of things (Articles 33 48, LCA), and specifically excluded from a number of other things, most of which are dealing with cultural sites. They have the right to organise local festas or other folkloristic activities, and deduct funding for culture from their own resources. LCs spend a lot of money on restoration of local chapels and publications, but national monuments, such as the Megalithic temples WHS, are not their responsibility as those are funded from the government budgets and managed by the national agency (Heritage Malta). Tarxien, Qrendi, MÄ ¡arr and XagÄra are local councils of special interest here since the Megalithic temples WHS are situated in their administrative units. Following is a short analysis of inf ormation that these LCs provide on the temples to interested parties. The office of XagÄra Local Council does not contain any HM brochures on Ä  gantija. A member of the LC informed the author that they do not receive these brochures from Heritage Malta at all. However, they do have a catalogue which lists all the sites of historical interest in XagÄra, though it wasnt specified if this is something available for purchase or only for library use. The book was not available for viewing at the time of the authors visit. The official website of the LC was no more informative either. It contains a link  [13]  which shows an interactive map of XagÄra with clickable points of interest. Upon clicking the point for Ä  gantija, the visitor enters a new page with information on Ä  gantija temples and one photo of the site. The text does not mention that Ä  gantija is UNESCO WHS. Another link  [14]  provides some brief information on the history of Gozo, starting from prehistoric times, and includes one more photo of Ä  gantija. The website of MÄ ¡arr Local Council provides specific information on the Ta Ä ¦aÄ ¡rat and Skorba temples accompanied by one photo of each site.  [15]  Almost everything is in Maltese, with only some content translated into English. The English version of the site displays information on the history of the village featuring links to the HM website and their information on the temples.  [16]  The author did not have a chance to meet a representative of this LC despite several communication attempts. The office of the Qrendi Local Council, just like the XagÄra LC, does not contain any HM brochures. The secretary of the LC stated regrettably that there is no cooperation between them and Heritage Malta although they have expressed their interest on many occasions. On the other hand, the LC seems to cooperate and consult more freely with MEPA concerning cultural heritage issues. From time to time the council organises cultural and educational outings, however, none of these were done at Ä ¦aÄ ¡ar Qim or Mnajdra WHSs. They have also designed several heritage walks, itineraries through the village of Qrendi and its significant buildings, mainly local chapels and churches, a palace, a tower and a public garden.  [17]   In 2009, the council organized a cultural event From prehistory to the digital era during which one lecture on the temples of Ä ¦aÄ ¡ar Qim and Mnajdra was held. The official website of the LC is available in both Maltese and English. One of the links entitled ArkeoloÄ ¡ija contains three further sections on the archaeological sites around the village, two of which are Ä ¦aÄ ¡ar Qim and Mnajdra. The article on the temples is short but it does mention their WH designation.  [18]  Another link allows access to a number of press releases related to the landfill site controversy issued by the Council.  [19]   At the time of the authors visit, the Tarxien Local Council offices were closed and further efforts to establish contact with an LC representative have failed. The official website contains a couple of links which refer to the temples, although their contents are questionable. The link which describes the history of the village, including several (incorrect) references to the temples, quotes heavily from an outdated book, published in 1932.  [20]  Another link, although entitled Postijiet Interessanti (eng. interesting places), did not find the temples interesting enough to be included in the overview. Finally, the last link brings a short article on the Tarxien temples WHS with three images.  [21]  The website is available in Maltese with Italian translation. 2.4 Cultural Heritage NGOs The two major cultural heritage NGOs in Malta are Din L-art Helwa and Fondazzjoni Wirt Artna which are both interested in various aspects of cultural heritage. Several other NGOs, with varying degrees of involvement, are also included in this overview. Din L-art Helwa (National Trust of Malta) is a voluntary organisation established in 1965. Their mission is protection, conservation, management and maintenance of historic monuments and buildings, taking care of the environment and environmental issues, raising awareness and the promotion of heritage to the public. Din l-Art Helwa functions as a Trust, implying that it is restoring the sites on behalf of the State, the Church, and private owners (Vigilo 2010). Membership in the organisation is open to all. Since 2003, Din l-Art Helwa holds nine properties in trust which were transferred to it by the Superintendence of Cultural Heritage via the first Guardianship deed.  [22]  Sites are manned by volunteers who keep them open for visitors. The Organizations website offers in-depth information about their sites, campaigns and projects. Moreover, it is often updated with information about current events and offers e-mail subscription to their newsletter. There are also many useful publications available for download, such as brochures with proposed walks through their sites and Vigilo, the organisations bulletin. Fondazzjoni Wirt Artna (The Malta Heritage Trust) is a voluntary organisation established in 1987. Their focus lies on restoration, presentation and management of mainly neglected rural and industrial sites, as well as British and medieval military heritage.  [23]   The foundation both owns properties and holds them in trust. Apart from one prehistoric temple in their ownership,  [24]  the rest of the properties are mostly late medieval and 20th century military structures such as ramparts, bastions, forts, towers, bridges and defence posts. There are several sites currently open to public  [25]  which are looked after by the volunteers and paid staff. Wirt Artna is running many different projects as diverse as conservation and restoration works on their properties, historical re-enactments as an interpretation tool (Living history), education and awareness raising about military heritage among schoolchildren (Hands-on Heritage). Membership in the organisation is open to all. The official website of the foundation does not offer a subscription to a newsletter, however, they do make good use of new internet media and opened a group Fondazzjoni Wirt Artna on Facebook, a social networking platform anyone with a Facebook account can join and automatically keep track of the groups updates. The foundations Facebook group also contains photo albums with images of various events they organised. The group currently has 813 members. Wirt GÄawdex is a non-governmental organisation created in 1981 whose activities and projects are primarily concerned with the historical, archaeological and natural heritage of the islands of Gozo and Comino. Wirt GÄawdex is involved in restoration projects on monuments such as late medieval watchtower, chapels, bastions and a gunpowder magazine.  [26]  They are also organizing tours to sites of cultural significance on the islands and holding public lectures. In relation to the Megalithic temples WHS, there has only been one lecture entitled Prehistoric Temples of Gozo, held in April 2010, since the organisation started with the lecture programme in 2006. Furthermore, in the period between 2006 and 2009, there were only a total of eight tours organized, and apart from the visit to Hypogeum and Tarxien Temples in April 2007, there were no other visits to WHS, surprisingly, not even to Ä  gantija which is situated on the island itself. The official website does not offer a newsletter subscription, but some of the issues can be downloaded in .pdf format directly from the site. Membership in this organisation is open to all. The Old Temples Study Foundation (OTSF) is a US non-profit organisation established in 1994 whose mission is to foster education and research related to prehistoric culture in Malta. The foundation has lately only been focused on organising educational travel trips for Americans who wish to visit Malta and holding lectures and exhibitions in the US on Maltese culture and heritage. In the past, the OTSF organised a number of different activities and projects, what follows is a selection of those that were addressed to the Maltese population. Student Prehistoric Heritage Awareness Project: in collaboration with the Ministry of Education and former Museums Department, OTSF published a teachers handbook on Maltese prehistoric heritage which was distributed in Maltese schools. The year the project was undertaken has not been published on their website and there is no possibility to see what the handbook looked like. Tell me about the Maltese temples is another book which evolved from the previous project. It is an illustrated bilingual (Maltese English) book for use in classrooms which was published in year 2000. In 2003, the Foundation organized an international conference entitled Exploring the Maltese Prehistoric Temple Culture (EMPTC) which gathered experts from around the world.  [27]   The OTSF hosts a FAQ section on their official website which provides information on the megalithic culture of Malta for children. The author attempted to arrange a meeting with a representative of the Foundation while in Valletta and left her contact details with the secretary, unfortunately, there was no feedback afterwards. Archaeological society Malta (ASM) is