“Red” by Ted Hughes Essay

‘Red’ is a final collection by Ted Hughes in 1998 before he died. It has also engages the final death of Slyvia Plath in this piece of poetry. Ted Hughes has used ‘Red’ and ‘blue’ to describe Plath’s view of life and character from the day they got married and lived in their house. In the beginning of Red, it has defines Plath’s favourite colour that seems to wrap her entire life and movement. In line 4, ‘blood-red’ may have constitute a certain image caused in life that can be related to violence or conflict inferred to Plath. Life and death signifies nothing important for her to continue life and seems to live in remembrance in her deceased family members in line 7. In the second part of the poem, Ted and Slyvia had married and she had stepped into the life of her husband. In line 2, ‘Our room was red. A judgement chamber’ refers to how deeply in love Slyvia was to the colour that mades Ted shivers upon thinking of jurys. Everything was red from the ceiling to floor, the settings of their room was like a throbbing cell in line 9 which set his heart pounding. The only colour that can escaped from Slyvia were the bookshelves which can represent a glimpse of hope and meaning to the both of them. In line 1 to 3 of ‘Red’ third portion, it tells us how Ted tried to runaway from the blood chamber by looking out to the windows but to no avail. He could not help himself from not thinking of his wife’s saddening and crimson red image. He describes his feeling like blood tossing from a wound in line 5 that eventually will lead to a sense of impending doom (line 7). In the fourth paragraph, it tells readers how Ted finds his wife’s clothing and sensual lips which spells blood and rawness. ‘A swathe of blood’ that envelopes or enfolds a hidden blood (line 1). In line 2 to 4, the way Slyvia revelled the lavish, generous red burgundy gives an imaginary picture of she was painting the town in red too. Once again, he feels the blood shimmer from the gash (line 7). From the fifth part of the poem, it depicts the gleam of hope has been  splashed with blood too. In this part, those roses refer to the colour ‘red’. Slyvia began to lose herself deeper into the helpless world of her own with occasion of optimism. Lastly, ‘Blue was better for you. Blue has wings’ express the kind of life Ted prefers his wife to be. The only times where she liked ‘blue’ was when she was pregnant. He really liked her to be like an angel or guardian in the sky as the colour of blue sky. But Slyvia Plath chose to lose herself, lost her soul in the pit of red. Ted Hughes feels guilty and remorseful of her death although he may not be the entire cause of her suicide. He uses poem to convey his feelings to the readers and to Slyvia Plath.

“Country Lovers” by Nadine Gordimer and “Veronica” by Adewale Maja Pearce Essay

Explore the ways in which relationships are shaped and influenced by traditional cultural expectations in the short stories you have studied. Relationships – platonic and intimate – are sometimes built from cultural expectations; but to what extent are people willing to go to uphold those traditions? I will discuss two short stories â€Å"Country Lovers† by Nadine Gordimer and â€Å"Veronica† by Adewale Maja Pearce, in which both focus on close relationships which are condemned from the start due to strict and uncompromising cultural expectations. Cultural influences are portrayed strongly by the non-British writers; one is set in an unnamed African village, and the other Apartheid South Africa. Both stories tragically show the destructive effect on relationships, when a tenacious fixation with tradition causes them to be obeyed beyond the point of humaneness, and everything else – including love – is disregarded. In â€Å"Country Lovers† the protagonists Paulus (heir to wealthy farming business) and Thebedi (a black farm worker) form an inter-racial relationship in the period of Apartheid rule in South Africa. During Apartheid the divide between blacks and whites was immense. Skin colour determined every aspect of social life. Whilst the affluent whites had their own well-equipped facilities, living in large houses and having well-paid jobs, blacks had to manage with a much lower standard of life. â€Å"Apartheid laws prohibited most social contact between races† (Microsoft Encarta 2006) and inter-racial sex and marriage were strongly opposed by law making it virtually impossible for a blossoming relationship such as Paulus’ and Thebedi’s to progress. They stood at two different sides of the track, whilst Paulus was son of a rich farmer, Thebedi worked on his farm. The contrast between them is great; and so their economic and social differences would be deeply frowned upon. An instance of the contrast, is the scene after Paulus and Thebedi met at the riverbed it says â€Å"and each returned home with the dark – she to her mother’s hut, he to the farmhouse†. A hut in comparison to a house proves the extent of Apartheid and the blacks living conditions. Njabulo, also a slave labourer would have lived here, and he had feelings for Thebedi. Njabulo’s relationship with Thebedi is also dictated by the expectations of a black man in that time, and also his limitations because of it. For example, Paulus returned from school, and brought Thebedi gifts, because he could afford to, although â€Å"Njabulo said he wished he could have bought her a belt and earrings† (line 35). He couldn’t display his love for her, because he didn’t have the means. When Njabulo made arrangements to marry her, he couldn’t offer her parents the customary cow that should have been given in place of Thebedi. This also shows that the customs of the blacks could not be taken under consideration whilst segregation that was going on. Also, when the â€Å"very light† (line 114) baby was being born it simply states â€Å"Njabulo made no complaint†. The preceding sentences had been very long and descriptive with many clauses, but this contrasting short simple one gives it importance and could show that he didn’t care, but could also show that he couldn’t do anything about it and so just accepted it. Despite the fact that it had been proven that Thebedi had had an intercourse with a white man, Njabulo maybe couldn’t ask her about it because he was a second-class citizen and couldn’t do anything. Also, maybe he felt uncomfortable to question her in regards to the baby, because it wasn’t uncommon for white men to rape black women in those times. Cultural expectations forced Njabulo to keep quiet, and so it impacted negatively upon their relationship. There was no trust or compassion between them as he had â€Å"no complaint† when Thebedi had another man’s child. Despite Thebedi’s marriage, the love between Paulus and Thebedi seemed very pure. In line 1 of the story it sets the scene for what the whole story is based upon – â€Å"The farm children play together when they are small; but once the white children go away to school they soon don’t play together any more, even in the holidays†. It immediately drags us into the harshness of living under Apartheid. The entire tone of the narrator is cool and unemotional, perhaps to show the thoughts and feelings of the time. Most white people didn’t really care about the inequality during the Apartheid system, and so had no compassion towards the blacks or to what they were going through. The unemotional tone of the story could also reflect the harshness of the people that were for apartheid or unsympathetic towards the experiences of black people, as the writer Nadine Gordimer was a strong activist in the anti-apartheid movement. The opening line shows how there is no discrimination when the children are young, but as they get older they discover the divide, and so blacks begin to call whites â€Å"missus and baasie† and blacks drop further and further behind in schooling. The story uses country specific words to show that it is not set in England such as â€Å"koppies† – small hill in South Africa. The story sharply contrasts the everyday relationships between whites and blacks as they get older to say â€Å"The trouble was Paulus Esendyck did not seem to realise that Thebedi was now simply one of the crowd of farm children down at the kraal†. He goes against the norm and continues to entertain their relationship, rather than just stop his feelings for her. The language used here such as â€Å"the trouble† shows that it was a problem that Paulus could not just forget Thebedi. Even when he grew up and out of childhood and experienced the things of adulthood, it did not discourage his love for her. Although it was expected of Paulus to like these white girls as it suggests in the story â€Å"the sight of their dazzling bellies and thighs in the sunlight had never made him feel what he felt now†, â€Å"The head girl of the ‘sister’ school was said to have a crush on him he didn’t particularly like her† he had stronger feelings for Th ebedi. In the story, Paulus and Thebedi both go on a walk but unaware of each other but then meet whilst on the walk. This could symbolise that they each want to follow their own paths, but it leads back to one another, â€Å"they had not arranged this, it was an urge each followed independently†. They then go into deep conversation, and during this scene the writer uses lots of descriptive language and imagery to depict their surroundings, such as, â€Å"twisted and tugged at the roots of white stinkwood and Cape willow trees that loped out of the eroded earth around them† and â€Å"old, and eaten trees held in place by vigorous ones, wild asparagus brushing up between the trunks, and here and there prickly-pear cactus sunken-skinned and bristly†. This technique may have been used prolong Paulus and Thebedi’s scene of happiness and contentment with each other – â€Å"she laughed a lot†¦sharing her amusement with the cool shady earth†. Another view is that nature is the only thing around them, it is not discriminatory and doesn’t judge them allowing them to be happy. The turning point in the story is when Paulus and Thebedi have intercourse and it is a blissful time, it says â€Å"they were not afraid of one another†¦this time it was so lovely, so lovely he was surprised†. Although, due to the segregation of the time inter-racial relationships were forbidden (as they were illegal) and so their meetings had to be secret, for being found out would have incurred harsh punishments and being socially shunned. Paulus and Thebedi hide their love from others, specifically by making excuses for Thebedi’s gift â€Å"she told her father the missus had given these (gilt hoop earrings) as a reward for some work she had done†, and by sneaking in and out of the farmhouse â€Å"she had to get away before the house servants, who knew her, came in at dawn†. They both lead double lives. Paulus leaves for veterinary school and Thebedi marries Njabulo – the lives they â€Å"should† be leading if they stuck to the cultural expectations. Once the baby is born everything changes. The writer constantly refers to childhood, during the key scene when Paulus searches for Thebedi and their baby, â€Å"He drank a glass of fresh, still-warm milk in the childhood familiarity of his mother’s kitchen† and also â€Å"For the first time since he was a boy he came right in the kraal†. Children are usually associated with innocence and naivety, and so maybe this was used to contrast with the act of murder he will commit, or maybe to remind the readers of the relationship he had with Thebedi when he was younger. In lines 132-134, the long sentences used increase the suspense and tension for the reader, as they are eager to find out what happens next, whilst the writer rambles on about non-essential information. There is a change in Paulus as he no longer enters into long conversations with Thebedi; his language is short and clipped as he says â€Å"I want to see. Show me†. After Thebedi shows him his child, she uses an anecdote which corresponds to the situation, â€Å"the gang of children had trodden down a crop in their games or transgressed in some other way†¦and he the white one among them must intercede with the farmer†. This shows that the baby was the product of some â€Å"transgression† and the responsibility befell on him, Paulus to put it right. You can see that he felt some sorrow or regret as it says â€Å"he struggled for a moment with a grimace of tears, anger and self-pity†. The relationship between Paulus and Thebedi had been destroyed because of the cultural expectations, as it says â€Å"she could not put her hand to him†. Thebedi could not even console her young lover, as she had no idea how he would react, maybe in anger he could hurt her, and he was confused â€Å"I don’t know†¦ I feel like killing myself†. This was now no longer an intimate relationship although they shared a close moment, a chance to reconcile their love Paulus walked out, because the traditions had made it impossible for them to try and rekindle their affection for one another – â€Å"For a moment there was the feeling between them that used to come when they were alone down at the riverbed† Others opinions and views of Paulus are that the prospect of being prosecuted outweighed his love for Thebedi and his child. He had to reassure that she had never been near the farm house, and willing her to take it away and finally did the only thing he could to make sure he was not found out. The last line summarises the whole story, even though they continued a relationship from childhood it was doomed from the beginning due to the pressures and harshness of living in a segregated society, â€Å"It was a thing of our childhood, we don’t see each other any more. â€Å" Adewale Maja-Pearce depicts the tragic story ‘Veronica’ in which two members of a rural African village born and raised together, begin to lead very different lives on the ground of hampering cultural expectations. The narrator Okeke recollects his experiences in the village, and his platonic relationship with a fatalistic childhood friend Veronica. Set in the middle of the last century, views of the roles of men and women were rigid and unyielding. The story shows how African women of the time were subjected to constant pressure and mounting responsibilities which in turn leads to fatal consequences. In Afrcian society, men were traditional â€Å"breadwinners† and it was a woman’s role to do childrearing and house work. Veronica automatically adopted the responsibilities of her entire family as ‘since she was the eldest child†¦bringing up the other children had fallen on her’. The adjective â€Å"fallen† does not show the responsibility in a good light, as it suggests that a heavy burden has been dropped onto her. It also describes her family situation as she had to take on tasks stereotypically associated with men- such as â€Å"chopping firewood†, as well as taking on maternal roles such as catering for her siblings. Her father abuses her â€Å"listening to her scream†, and is described as a â€Å"brute†, and her mother described as â€Å"weak†. Maja-Pearce may have used the characters as allegory for the political views of the African country. Veronica is a symbol of the abused and mistreated citizens whilst her father symbolises the government and their indifference and apathy towards the citizens deprivation, and her mother could symbolise th e â€Å"weak† bystanders that can’t do anything due to their lack of means. This view also ties in with the fact that historically during this period a civil war would soon be in progress, and also that Maja-Pearce had written several stories that challenge the principles of African society. The relationship between Veronica and Okeke is told solely from Okeke’s point of view as he gives a background, until he talks of his leaving the village. The writer could have done this to show that Veronica’s situation was probably much worse than Okeke knew about, and so the reader would imagine terrible things would happen to her whilst Okeke heard â€Å"screams in the night†, and so empathise with her more. This technique could be seen as building tension and anticipation for when they meet, or to show that this crucial dialogue is a very important part of the story. A turning point in the story when Okeke and Veronica’s friendship is ended by Okeke’s plans to leave his home village and make a life for himself in the city, whilst Veronica refuses to abandon her family. The parting conversation shows just how much cultural tradition has been impressed on Veronica. When Okeke suggests that she leave the village, she replies â€Å"Me!†. This could be vewed as mock indignance, because she feels that Okeke is telling her to forget her set role in society, or it could be seen as genuine surprise at him suggesting that she should give up everything near to her. Okeke then asks for her reasons for staying and she says ‘I can’t just leave my family’.

Recycling and Dear Fellow Friends.standing

Recycling Good morning to our beloved teachers, Puan Rusni and my dear fellow friends. Standing here today,I would like to deliver a speech entitled,†Recycling. † According to the Asian Development Bank,rapid development,rising personal consumption and unprecedented levels of waste in Asia where cities will generate on estimated 1. 8 million tonnes of rubbish per day by 2025. In Malaysia alone,we produce over 15,000 tonnes pf rubbish daily and it is a matter of time before we run out of space to dispose them.In dealing with this phenomenon,we shall discuss some of the suggestions that all of us can adapt through the process of recycling to conserve the environment. One of the ways to recycle is to sell old newspapers to the junkman who will eventually send them to the recycling centres. By selling the old newspapers,we can earn some extra money at the price of RM0. 03 per kilogramme of old newspapers. Buying recycled paper is also another option. On the average,about 17 m arket sized trees are felled to produce a tonne of paper or one tree is felled to produce 20 reams of A4 size paper.Today,we recognise the limits of resource demand and this is the reason why recycled paper is critical part of our aspiration for a healthy global environment. We should also use both sides of a sheet of paper because it cultivates the habit of not being wasterful while saving our earth from further deterioration. In addition,glass bottles should be recycled. The energy saved by recycling a glass container can light a 100-watt bulb for up to four hours. Avoiding the use of plastic products is another recommended way to protect our Mother Nature because plastic is non-biodegradable,it may survive as long as 700 years.Apart from that,it is indispensably necessary for us to save water and electricity as much as possible. We have to save electricity because we are running fast out of fossil fuels. The fossil fuels saved by turning off the water taps while brushing our teet h. By doing this we can save the energy used to filter purify and transport the water to the end users. On the other hand,electricity can be saved by switching off the light,television,radio and fan before leaving any rooms.This is because the primary environmental impact of electricity consumption is the production of greenhouse gases which contribute to global warming. Hence,saving electricity is the key preserve our Mother Nature, Another advice that everyone ought to take head of is not to throw away leftover rice but instead,make fried rice,tamarind rice,pepper rice and yoghurt rice. This is because many poor nations of the Third World countries are suffering from famine and malnutrition due to accute shortage of food such as Mozumbigue and Sudun and Myannar.Lastly but not least,we can also use water for washing clothes to wash our parents'cars and other non-drinking purpose such as watering plants,washing toilets and mapping floors. As a conclusion,our planet is in a bad shape but most people choose to be indifferent to the effects initiated by the goverment to safeguard to dire condition of the environment. Majority of Malaysians choose to ignore the gathering storm clouds and hope the problem will magically take care of itslef.In Klang Valley,for instance,it produces more than 5000 tonnes of rubbish everyday which can cover the whole of Petronas Twin Towers,one of the tallest buildings in the world,in ten days and this is the reason why we must reduce,reuse and recycle. Whether the planet lives or dies,it depends on us and so,everyone plays a significant role by starting to recycle even from homes because a small change in behaviour has a measurable impact on our Earth. Thank you for lending me your ears. I hope all of you are benefited from my speech today.

Minimum Wage in Malaysia

Minimum wage in Malaysia: need for it and its’ possible effectiveness 1. 0. Introduction Background Information There has been growing debates concerning the minimum wage in Malaysia, with strong opinions from both sides of the arguments. In 1979 edition of their introductory textbook, William B. Aumol and Alan Blinder explained, â€Å"The primary consequence of the minimum wage law is not an increase in the incomes of the least skilled workers but a restriction of their employment opportunities† (p. 7). On the other side of the debate, social activists, policymakers and other non-economists often argue for an increase in the minimum wage. Advocates of the minimum wage have included Franklin D. Roosevelt, Martin Luther King, A. Philip Randolph, Walter R. Reuther, Edward Filene, Beatrice and Sydney Webb. Finally, Malaysia took its stance and made its first legislative attempt at putting in place a national minimum wage on twenty first June 2011 . Introduced by Human Resources Deputy Minister, Maznah Mazlan in Parliament, the National Wages Consultative Council (NWCC) bill was tabled for its first reading. Most significantly, the general public does not widely share the negative opinion of the minimum wage, according to surveys. What questions us, is whether there is a need for minimum wage, and if there, how effective it might be. Statement of the Problem This paper will investigate on the need and the effectiveness of the yet to be minimum wage bill among security guards, cleaners with its current value of RM720. The idea of having a national minimum wage in Malaysia has been proposed more than 12 years ago by the Malaysian Trades Union Congress (MTUC), when Tun Mahatir was still the Prime Minister, and has been continuously rejected, until more recently, the current prime minister, Datuk Seri Najib has stated in the Malaysia Budget 2011 speech â€Å"Businesses must embrace the minimum wage as a business strategy†. A minimum wage theoretically, is planned to affect the low-skilled workers such as janitors, cleaners and security, who are paid with low wages which affect their standards of living. With a minimum wage in effect, they were supposed to be able to raise their standards of living and live a more comfortable life. Conversely, Orrenius and Zavodny (2008) and Ragayah Haji mat Zin(2007) argue that the effect of a minimum wage may just put these low skilled workers out of employment because of economic conditions in country, putting the low-skilled workers in an even worse situation: unemployment. Research Purpose This paper aims to investigate whether or not Malaysia is in need for implementation of a national minimum wage, based on the reviews of recent developments in the literature pertaining to the overall effects of a minimum wage, and the opinions of the janitors, cleaners and security guards. The focus is on the perceptions of low-paid workers as mentioned earlier and their satisfaction with the amount they are being paid and whether or not it covered their day to day expenses. Analysis can be made on whether or not these workers were exploited by the absence of a minimum wage and that a minimum wage is indeed can end such situations. To answer the questions surveys will be done and literature review will be made that will analyze on how are salaries are appointed and later on the consequences of implementing the minimum wage. This paper aims to answer the following questions: 1)Is there any need for Malaysia to implement national minimum wage? 2) As for now are low-paid workers are paid enough to cover their daily expenses? )Does the law bring a tangible change? Significance of the Study There are lots of studies pertaining to the issue of minimum wage around the globe, however, only few had focused on the issue being practiced in Malaysia, like Rohayu Abd. Ghani in her article† Salary and Wages in Malaysia† and David Lim in his article â€Å"†Sweet Labor† and Wages in Malaysian Manufacturing† . Referring to the history of an alysis, some have focused on developing countries that have already implemented the minimum wage, like P. Jones, where he discusses issues pertaining Ghana; or first world countries, like M. Bowey and A. Lupton where comprehensive explanation about implementation in United Kingdom was done or D. Neumark and W. Wascher analyzing the situation in USA. This brings us to the conclusion that more studies need to be done to find out the conditions of so-called â€Å"black workers†: janitors, cleaners and security guards in Malaysia. Ironically, many newspaper articles have addressed the economic conditions in Malaysia, the effects of those on citizens of Malaysia. But never the question of implementing the minimum wage policy was taken any further. Findings of the investigation will be helpful in determining if the minimum wage needs to be implemented, to analyze whether it would be actually successful in improving the lives of janitors, cleaners and security guards, and whether or not their current salaries will be sufficient for them to live a comfortable life, as concerning this issue Shireen (1998) has shown that poverty in Malaysia officially seen s as a situation of relative rather than absolute deprivation. By understanding their conditions, a better decision of how the minimum wage could be implemented can be recommended and the proximity of the issue can be understood. 2. Literature review Bowey and Lupton (1982) has discussed that wage and salary administration is complex and subtle, and littered with techniques designed to reduce the complexity for the administrator and cope with the subtleties. The explanations that are brought together are the descriptions of the most important techniques that are available for coping with the principal tasks of wage and salary administration, and shows how and when these may be used. They propagate that there are many systems of payment which attempt to relate earnings to the work done and before any such system can be used it is necessary to assess that work in some way by comparing the nature of the work (eg. Is it heavy work? Does it carry a large amount of responsibility? ), it may also involve assessing the rate at which the employees are working and rewarding them according to their different rates of performance. The first method is job evaluation while latter is work measurement. Regarding this matter they outline that â€Å"Job evaluation and work measurement are two subjective areas which are of crucial importance to the operative and the manager as they radically affect the payback and the quality of work† ( Bowey & Lupton, 1982, p. 159). And here is the issue that we have, why is that in some instances, wage amounts differ, regarding the fact that it’s one country, one sector of work, but yet, some workers are abused and get to be paid a very low salary. The inform us that there are three different consideration while salary is being allocated to each job. First, the mechanics of assigning different amount of money to different positions is the job hierarchy and different standards of performance. Second, consideration of the absolute levels of pay which should be given when pay in other organizations is taken into account. Third, the process of negotiation between the management and the union about levels of payment. And exactly the third consideration appears to be quite an issue. Why is that we require the workers to give the just amount of performance, finishing the assigned work, but we aren’t just in giving enough reward for the effort contributed. It appears, that using the power as an upper- manager who hires, the abundance of work supplying the market, especially with the flow of illegal immigrants, workers will have to agree on terms offered. Do we consider the undue influence and abuse of situation as an ethical act? Bowey & Lupton(1982) stated that: With management by objectives, the employee and his superior agree a set of objectives for the coming year, and the individual is given salary increase at the end of the year, which is partly determined by how well he has succeeded in achieving those targets (p. ) Theoretically, the wage systems seems just fine. Unfortunately, this is not the case in Malaysia. Plantation workers are initially paid RM350 and can achieve RM700 with bonuses. Would that be enough for an average Malaysian citizen to cover rent, food expenses? They argue that â€Å"If we give equal rations to everyone, who do we designate to carry out the most onerous tasks-and on what basis do we make this choice? † ( Bowey & Lupton, 1982, p. 159). In the end, whether we like it or not management has to make decisions about the worth of the contribution comparing different levels of jobs and finally assigns the salary, even if the appointed salary makes it cheaper than in other place as starting amount of salary differs from the budget of one institution to another. Journal Business Asia has analyzed the ambivalent attitude of government to foreign labor. Before the crisis 2. 5 million immigrant workers were regarded as â€Å"undesirable but necessary encumbrance†( Business Asia,2000,p. 2) . It is a very degrading attitude toward human being, be he from first world country or third, but what matters is that, in the end, we can’t change much. Laws and bills are issued, but these workers still are considered cheap workers for black jobs. This type of attitude is problematic, as the accountability and dignity of an employee disappears, especially when allocating the salary. Wikipedia (2011) states that the minimum wa ge that Malaysia has stated for plantation workers is RM350 and that even may reach RM700 with bonuses! The article explains further â€Å"Officially-orchestrated- and mostly employer-funded-repatriation programmes saw the number of registered foreign workers drop below 700,000 by end 1999, from peak of 1. 2million in 1997†(Business Asia,2000,p. 12) . Though, after the pressure from exasperated employers, the government announced the lifting of a freeze on the recruitment of foreign workers, but yet, â€Å"the grudging nature of the concession was underlined by an accompanying list of 138 categories of job† for Malaysians only (Business Asia, 2000,p. 12). And ironically, all these statement are done by those who â€Å"stated an intention to transform Malaysia from a production to a knowledge- based economy† (Business Asia, 2000, p. 12). Employers complain that â€Å"Instead of encouraging the free-thinking innovators needed to help realize such a lofty ambition, the education system seems expressly programmed to eliminate them† (Business Asia,2000, p. 12). All of the above had lead to the core of the issue, the rise of salary. The fear among employers is that a rise in wages will eventually begin â€Å"outstripping productivity gains† (Business Asia,2000, p. 2). Despite the increase of GDP by 3. 7% wages by relative modest grew by 2. 7%. The question is what should stand above, a just increase in wages, which a company can afford, or the increase of the profits at the expense of exploitation of decent workers. As Annil Netto reports at Indian-Malaysian Online â€Å"The Malaysian Trades Union Congress, an umbrella for private sector unions, threatened by nationwide strike if its request for a minimum would be ignored, even so, the Malaysian government gave a cool response †. In March 2000 a national survey by MUTC and International Labor Organization has revealed that some 2 million workers earned less than a poverty- line income of RM600, MTUC demanded at least RM1,200, which we still do not have in 2011. Further, Jones (1997) examines the impact of minimum wage legislation in developing countries with incomplete coverage, using the case of Ghana. Her extensive research has proved that the implementation of the minimum wage was not an efficient policy for reducing the incidence of poverty in a situation where coverage of the minimum wage legislation is partial. The reason is that people working outside of the wage sector e. g. Farmers who survive by selling and consuming their own output are not covered by the minimum wage, and they are the ones who are in need of the minimum wage. Thus, the implementation of the minimum wage becomes non-effective. Her results have shown that the minimum wage in Ghana had a negative impact on employment; there were significant job losses due to the policy. Although the study is based on the case of Ghana, it can be deduced that if Malaysia were to implement the minimum wage, it should cover a large proportion of the population, and not just those working in the public sector, to increase coverage. Ghana and Malaysia are two different countries of different cultures and mentalities, government structure, though communality are the social problems that each faces. But the differences might tell us that policies implemented in one will not necessarily give the same results if applied in the other. The main key point that could be inserted is that the minimum wage should have a large coverage, in our research cleaners and guards. Saget (2001) examines the relationship between the level of minimum wage and employment and between the level of minimum wage and poverty through literature survey and also empirical evidence. The response of employment and poverty to changes in the minimum wage on more than twenty countries was tested in the research, and â€Å"†¦ he data analysis had given strong support to the proposition that the minimum wage may bring positive results in poverty alleviation by improving the living conditions of workers and their families. † (Saget, 2001,p. 31). The literature survey however, had differing opinions, for example some papers mentioned that raising the minimum wage in developing countries may contribute to a widening of the gap between the covered and uncovered sector, similar to Jones (2007), generating relative poverty. Unlike Jones (2007), Saget's (2001) analysis proved that minimum wage had no negative results on employment whereas Jones had shown that the minimum wage policy had caused significant job losses. This is because Jones’ study was focused on incomplete coverage of the minimum wage while Saget looked into the minimum wage in general, cross country to see the effects it had on poverty and employment. Therefore based on Jones’ study, if Malaysia were to implement the minimum wage, then up till now there would be a reduction in poverty, which is positive and one of the goals of Malaysia in becoming a high income nation by 2020. Jones did not manage to find a significant link between unemployment and the minimum wage thus, this means that a minimum wage would not cause unemployment to increase significantly. However, the results could also mean that countries that implement the minimum wage are more committed to reducing the level of poverty in the country thus leading to results which imply that setting a higher minimum wage would reduce poverty. Lo (2010) in his paper titled ‘The case for a minimum wage in Malaysia† is a highly passionate in support of the minimum wage. It is perhaps due to the fact that the writer is the secretary of the MTUC which is the very same organization that has been pushing for minimum wage legislation in Malaysia for over 12 years now. Malaysian workers suffer from suppressed wages because of the influx of cheap foreign labor, but having a minimum wage according to the Malaysian Employers Federation (MEF) would hurt Malaysian’s competitiveness due to the increase in costs firms will have to incur. However this is countered by Lo (2010), â€Å"If a firm cannot even provide a decent living wage to its workers – one that is enough to meet their basic needs – it has no business being in business†(p. 3). He also suggested that Malaysia can’t always depend on cheap foreign labor forever. Although now it would be expensive to invest in research and development to develop tools that would improve productivity, it would be cheaper in the long run to use these machines. Furthermore, higher wages lead to higher productivity. It would encourage employers to invest in research and development to increase overall productivity and efficiency. Malaysia has not been spending much on research and development, especially private sector, but this would change if there was minimum wage legislation, and more on research and development would give Malaysia a better future. According to this, Malaysia should implement the minimum wage, because of the effects it has in reducing social poverty and also its potential in enhancing economic growth and productivity improvements. â€Å"There is a growing view among economists that the minimum wage offers substantial benefits to low-wage workers without negative effect. Although there are still dissenters, the best recent research has shown that the job loss reported in earlier analyses does not, in fact, occur when the minimum wage is increased† (Fox, 2006, p. 1). Also, over 650 economists, including five Nobel Prize winners and six past presidents of the American Economic Association, recently signed a statement stating that federal and state minimum wage increases â€Å"can significantly improve the lives of low-income workers and their families, without the adverse effects hat critics have claimed† (EPI, 2006). Although the paper focused purely on the evidences from the USA, the effects of minimum wage are still similar if it were to be implemented in Malaysia. However, there could be major differences as Malaysia would be implementing the minimum wage for the first time, while the USA has been doing it for much longer and their case is to do with raising the minimum wage. Malaysia would face lots of opposition in the beginning as t he adjustment process would take time. Card and Krueger (1995) extensively describe the effectiveness of minimum wages of each sector of US population. As stated by CIA World Factbook (2011) US GDP for year 1995 was 2. 51 and 3. 7 for year 2006, and current GDP of Malaysia is 3. 9,hence we can conclude similarities in the phase of economical development. Card and Krueger present us a new body of evidence showing that recent minimum wage increases have not had the negative employment effects predicted by the textbook model. Some of the new evidence points toward a positive effect of minimum wage on employment most show no effect at all. Moreover, a reanalysis of previous minimum wage studies finds little support for the prediction that minimum wages reduce employment, like Richard Lester during the 1940 or Card and Krueger initial work in 1988, California state as a case study. If accepted, the findings will call into question the standard model of the labor market that has dominated economists’ thinking for the past half century. They have showed us the empirical findings which result in later: first of all, a study of employment in the fast- food industry after the increase in New Jersey minimum wage was not affected adversely by law, stating that â€Å"modest increases in the minimum wage have no adverse effect on the employment outcomes of low-wage workers† (Card & Krueger, 1995, p. 114) as Lo ( 2010) and Saget (2001) had argued above. The results were gathered from 400 restaurants. Relative to restaurants in Pennsylvania, where the minimum wage remained unchanged, they found that â€Å"employment growth within New Jersey was higher at restaurants† (Card & Krueger,1995, p. 46). Second, a cross-state analysis finds that the 1990 and 1991 increases in the federal minimum wage did not affect teenage employment adversely. Thirdly, an increase in the minimum wage leads to a situation in which workers who previously were paid different wages all receive the new minimum wage. Card & Krueger(1995) ar gue that once there is an increase in the minimum wage it would result in a â€Å"ripple effect†, leading to pay raises for workers who previously earned wages above the new minimum. Surprisingly, increases in minimum wage do not appear to be offset by reductions in fringe benefits. Increase of such kinds has decreased the minimum dispersion, partially reversing the trend toward rising wage inequality that has dominated the labor market since the early 1980s. Finally, as a fact minimum wage is a blunt instrument for reducing poverty. It’s â€Å"an amount that is smaller than most other federal antipoverty programs, and that can have only limited effects on the overall income distribution† (Card & Krueger,1995, p. 3). They also note, that â€Å"more than 60 percent of all workers have worked for the minimum wage at some time during their careers(Card & Krueger,1995, p. ). References Anonymous (2000). No staff, no skills, Business Asia, Vol. 32 Issue 14, p12, 4/5p Card D. , Krueger A. B. ,(1995). Myth and measurement. The new economics of the minimum wage. Fox, L. (2006). Minimum wage trends: Understanding past and contemporary research. Retrieved from http://www. epi. org/publications/entry/bp178/ Jones, P. (1997). The Impact of Minimum Wage Legisl ation in Developing Countries where Coverage is Incomplete. Retrieved from http://www. bepress. com/cgi/viewcontent. cgi? article=1066=csae- redir=1#search=†jones+ghana+wage† Lo, A. 2010). The case for a minimum wage. Retrieved from http://www. mtuc. org. my/andrewminimumwageaug2010. pdf M Bowey,A. , Lupton, T. (1982)Managing Salary and Wage systems,Great Britain: Gower Publishing Company Retrieved from http://www. indianmalaysian. com/minimum_wage. htm Retrieved from https://www. cia. gov/library/publications/ html Saget, C. (2001). Poverty reduction and decent work in developing countries: Do minimum wages help?. International Labour Review, 140. Retrieved from http://www. ingentaconnect. com/content/ilo/ilr/2001/00000140/00000003/art00002

Taxation Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words - 2

Taxation - Assignment Example It was the first ever increase as the highest rate of income tax in the history of UK for over three decades. In 2010,the Chancellor Alastair Darling announced the 50% tax rate. With effect from April 2010 onwards, taxable income above  £150,000 in UK will be subject to a new top rate of income tax of 50%.The 50% additional rate of income tax was announced by the erstwhile labour government in 2010 was mainly intended to rescue the UK’s economy after the 2008 financial crisis. As per HMRC data,  £10 bn was raised during the three years when the top 50% rate was in force. The present UK government has reduced the top rate to 45% with the effect from April 2013 onwards. Evidence from UK and around the globe demonstrates that punitive tax levels either 50% or 45% will result in poor revenue collection as compared to modest rates. Young & Saltiel (2013) study found that behavioural reaction to the higher tax rates is more robust, and this is likely to hurt UKs tax receipts. The 50% additional rate of income tax in UK had a bad impact on UKs economy as its architects themselves confessed that the scheme was introduced without economic objectives. Young & Saltiel (2013) found that the policy is heading for failure as it resulted in the flat growth for a decade and ended in  £350bn of lost revenue. This essay will analyse whether the UK government restore the 50% additional rate of income tax?† or not . As per Ed Balls of Labour Party, that his party will reintroduce 50% additional rate of income tax for those whose annual income is above  £150,000 if it is voted to power in the coming election. According to him, as per recent statistics, those who are earning more than  £150,000 paid  £ 10bn more by way of taxes in the last three years starting from April 2010 when the rate was 50% for them. Again, it was reduced to 45% in 2013 by the present Coalition government. As per Ed Balls, when the

Strategic SCM - Case Analysis Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Strategic SCM - Analysis - Case Study Example Offering these dimensions has enabled Etihad Rail to offer unabated value to customer and remain relevant in the contemporary highly competitive railway transport industry. 1. Performance-8. Etihad Rail has several Electro-Motive Diesel SD70ACS that are designed to operate at speeds of 120 km/h and 200 km/h for freight and passenger trains respectively. Its trains are designed to accommodate any level of tolerances, and charge reasonable prices and customers are often contented that services delivered conform to their expectations. However, few fiascoes in its services need to be improved (John, 2011). 2. Features – 9. On arrival at Etihad owned stations, passengers receive a personal welcome. Additionally, passengers obtain assistance throughout the arrival process with staff meeting them at various points. Employees qualified in areas of service delivery help clients realize and reconsider seeking Etihad rail services. 3. Reliability-7. Often, products and passengers reach their destination with little or no delays. Despite a few instances of failures, passengers often book or purchase services from Etihad rail and obtain them, even at the most stroppy and adamant times (Etihad Rail, 2006). 5. Durability-8. The rail network has been constructed with steel and other durable materials from Al Dhafra Recycling Industries. These materials are long-lasting and can withstand adverse weather conditions. 6. Serviceability-8. Etihad Rail has several centers within its rail network. These centers are equipped with expert engineers who rapidly respond to failure in systems. Moreover, it regularly purchases materials to replace exhausted ones. Its engineers’ response to calamities or other technical glitches is on record as being among the highest in the UAE. 8. Perceived Quality-8. Customers have a high expectation of quality products and

Places Where I Do Research Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

Places Where I Do Research - Essay Example The public library that I have been for research is at (supply the name of the public library near you). It also has an extensive collection of books but I am quite uncomfortable with the place because I am not familiar with it not to mention that everybody is a stranger. Since the school library is located in the campus of the university where I attend, all of the people there are also students like me. I know many of them who frequents there either as friend, classmates or acquiantances. The others are familiar to me by face because we have already met in the campus although we do not know each other personally. The distribution of the people who goes to my school library can be said to be homogenous and heterogenous. Homogenous because all of them are students of the same school I attend. It can also be heterogeneous because as a people, there are quite a variety of them. There are men, women, caucasian, hispanics, asians, blacks who goes there. The kind of information they resear ch also varies depending on the course they are taking. Just like me, they also have choices to research on other places such as public library or even the internet. With regard to the public library, my observation is that almost all people there are strangers and that includes me. There were only very few ocassion where I observed that people know each other there. Perhaps due to the nature of library being public, that anybody can go there so its readership base is not only confined to a small group of people that knows each other. For me, I cannot establish any homogeneity among those who frequents in a public library. Everybody is just different because the people who goes there comes from different walks of life unlike in the school library where the people who goes there are only my fellow students and professors. The interactions of people who goes to in these two places are very different even if they are the same library. In the school library, you can observe that the stu dents who goes there are very comfortable with the place as what I can observe in their body language. Body language is an accurate determinant of a person’s connection with a place as Eckartsberg explained in his study that â€Å"by means of his body and through the specialized perceiving sensibilities of his body, a person is continuously connected with aspects of his world† (256). The way they sit, browse through the aisles, walk, place there books on the table etch speaks of their familiarity of the place. There is also a sense of community in the school library, where we recognize each other by subtle body language (like smile and a hello) those who comes in our path. It can also be categorized as cordial especially if friends meet there (although it is not really a place for socialization). Even the staffs are known to us that asking them about a particular book or journal is very easy. Also, if most of the seats are occupied that there can be no seat apart from each student, I can always sit beside a fellow student where I am typically welcomed by a smile. I have not done this in a public library and made sure that there are several seats apart between me and the closest researcher because I do not know how the other people will react if I will sit close to him or her. I have this feeling that if I will sit beside a fell