Free Essays on Filipino Culture

Definition and Description/Historical Information Without knowing any information about the history of the Philippines and its people, many times Filipinos are labeled as â€Å"Orientals†. To this day, it is not uncommon to hear someone refer to Filipinos as â€Å"Orientals†. Filipinos are not â€Å"Orientals†. The Philippines is one of nine independent States in the Southeast Asia region. So the correct description of Filipinos would be Southeast Asian. The nature of the land surface of the Philippines is mostly agricultural; therefore the Filipinos are practically farmers. A great majority of the Filipinos are peasants and are mostly subsistence-level peasants. They are hard working people with the bare necessities of life. The first migration of Filipinos were Sacadas. They were convinced by propaganda materials distributed to them by the Hawaiian Sugar Planters Association in 1906. The term sacada should be constructed from the original Spanish word sacar, which means to take. The following year, fifteen Sacadas started their adventure in the plantations of Hawaii. By the year 1946, there were 125,917 Filipinos in Hawaii alone. According the 1970 Census, Hawaii stood number one in Filipino population followed by California. Officially there were 336,731 Filipinos in the U.S. in 1970. The main center of Filipino Culture in the U.S. mainland was the San Joaquin Valley in California. This is where all the farmlands of California were located (Bonpua, 1979). 2 Treatment By American Society A major problem for Filipinos in the U.S. was the issue of citizenship. Since their arrival in the U.S. and up until 1946, Filipinos were classified as American nationals. West Coast exclusions during the depression years used a campaign of hate to oppose Filipino immigrations and citizenship. Without citizenship, Filipinos were closed out of certain profession and had a difficult time ... Free Essays on Filipino Culture Free Essays on Filipino Culture Definition and Description/Historical Information Without knowing any information about the history of the Philippines and its people, many times Filipinos are labeled as â€Å"Orientals†. To this day, it is not uncommon to hear someone refer to Filipinos as â€Å"Orientals†. Filipinos are not â€Å"Orientals†. The Philippines is one of nine independent States in the Southeast Asia region. So the correct description of Filipinos would be Southeast Asian. The nature of the land surface of the Philippines is mostly agricultural; therefore the Filipinos are practically farmers. A great majority of the Filipinos are peasants and are mostly subsistence-level peasants. They are hard working people with the bare necessities of life. The first migration of Filipinos were Sacadas. They were convinced by propaganda materials distributed to them by the Hawaiian Sugar Planters Association in 1906. The term sacada should be constructed from the original Spanish word sacar, which means to take. The following year, fifteen Sacadas started their adventure in the plantations of Hawaii. By the year 1946, there were 125,917 Filipinos in Hawaii alone. According the 1970 Census, Hawaii stood number one in Filipino population followed by California. Officially there were 336,731 Filipinos in the U.S. in 1970. The main center of Filipino Culture in the U.S. mainland was the San Joaquin Valley in California. This is where all the farmlands of California were located (Bonpua, 1979). 2 Treatment By American Society A major problem for Filipinos in the U.S. was the issue of citizenship. Since their arrival in the U.S. and up until 1946, Filipinos were classified as American nationals. West Coast exclusions during the depression years used a campaign of hate to oppose Filipino immigrations and citizenship. Without citizenship, Filipinos were closed out of certain profession and had a difficult time ...

How to Treat Postpositive Adjectives

How to Treat Postpositive Adjectives How to Treat Postpositive Adjectives How to Treat Postpositive Adjectives By Mark Nichol Nearly a thousand years ago, the Norman Conquest had a profound effect not only on the English nation but also on the English language. One of the manifestations of this event is the survival of the postpositive adjective. In many languages, including French, a modifying word follows the word it modifies, such as in the phrase ressource naturelle (â€Å"natural resources†). Because of Norman French’s influence on law, politics, and other matters sovereign, we still sometimes use this form in the mongrel melange that is the English language. Thus â€Å"attorney general† (as well as â€Å"secretary general† and â€Å"postmaster general†), which refers not to a military rank but to the office holder’s generic scope of responsibility. Thus court-martial, which literally pertains to a court of a martial, or warlike, nature but practically applies to a military court in wartime or peacetime. Thus â€Å"heir apparent† and knight-errant, artifacts of feudal system. (Note that compound form is inconsistent: Open compounds prevail, but some hyphenated forms persist. When in doubt, look the term up. If certain, look the term up anyway.) This form reaches even into the quotidian vocabulary of business, with â€Å"accounts payable† and â€Å"accounts receivable,† as well as â€Å"notary public,† and in terms that apply to government but have entered general use, such as â€Å"body politic.† There’s even a pair of ordinary words that sometimes take postpositive adjectives in some contexts; I used one earlier in this post, in the phrase â€Å"matters sovereign.† Another is things, as in â€Å"things unsaid.† And how are such terms pluralized? Generally as shown in the first two examples in the paragraph above the noun, not the adjective, logically takes the plural form: for example, â€Å"attorneys general† (but attorney-generals in British English), courts-martial, and â€Å"notaries public.† The same is true of mother-in-law and like terms, the plural form of which is rendered mothers-in-law, and similar constructions such as â€Å"editor in chief† (sometimes hyphenated, though that style is outmoded), right-of-way, and sergeant-at-arms (pluralized as â€Å"editors in chief,† rights-of-way, and sergeants-at-arms, respectively). Want to improve your English in five minutes a day? Get a subscription and start receiving our writing tips and exercises daily! Keep learning! Browse the Grammar category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:Does "Mr" Take a Period?Writing Styles (with Examples)

Paper #1 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Paper #1 - Essay Example I am interested in ‘straight’ sex. For example, â€Å"The Invention of Heterosexuality† interested me. I never realized that sexual identity had to do with the progressing cultures. What is acceptable today would have had you locked up in earlier times. Everyone knows heterosexuality started with Adam and Eve (Katz). I know I am heterosexual. The thought of being with a girl makes me uneasy. However I cannot show too much interest due to my fear of Brooke’s disapproval and my ultra preppy crowd’s opinion. I am interested in Freud’s psychosexual stages. The oral, anal, and genitalia stages made sense. I never thought that everyone is sexual at all ages, but I guess it is true. The sexual theories of Kinsey were boring. I do not need an answer to why my body reacts to Nathan. It just does. The science behind sex is useless. Chemistry just happens is my theory. I was extremely bored during this part of the reading. I walked away with a general understanding of the science behind sex, but Kinsey’s whole concept escaped me. The whole sex thing makes me uneasy. This topic is icky to me. I just wish I could be more comfortable with my sexuality at least as comfortable as my friends Brooke, Nathan, Rafe, Trenton, and our group. Maybe when I have sex with Nathan I will understand what it is all about. Being heterosexual or straight is not a choice for me. I feel attracted to boys. I have always been turned on by images of men. Nathan especially turns me on. Lately when I am around him all I think about is his physical presence. His smooth chest makes me want to touch it. His lips make me want to kiss and explore them. I have chalked all this up to hormones. It seems natural. Heterosexuality is my sexual identity. I have never thought about another girl. Since being with another girl makes me sick, I guess heterosexuality is for me. Gays and lesbians do not fit in with my crowd. No one at Acadia is openly homosexual.

Islamist and historical Thesis Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3750 words

Islamist and historical - Thesis Example The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, historically, originated from the foundation of Jihadism. Its cornerstone was established in 1744 AD when Bedouin Saud outlaws headed by Mohammad bin Saud initiated an agreement with Muhammad Ibn’ Abd al-Wahhab, an unknown militant Islamist and a supporter of Jihad (Esposito 1992). The agreement was founded on a contract for the formation of a headed Islamic state led by a Saud King. With combination of imperial politics and theology as tactic they instigated an antagonistic Jihad in the Arabian Peninsula and emerged victorious in the violent invasion of non-Wahhabi tribes (Moussalli 1999). Executing a similar tactic they also occupied in 1924 the international hub of Islam, Mecca (Esposito 1992). After the official proclamation of Saudi Arabia in 1932 as an autonomous Kingdom of Saud, the major priority of the monarchy was how to sustain their guardianship of the two most sacred temples of Islam and uphold highest position of the kingdom in the Islamic world (Furnish 2005). In actual fact, due to the lack of a reliable history of becoming the guardian of the most sacred cities of Medina and Mecca, the House of Saud consistently dreaded the non-Wahhabi Islamic militants. As a result, while using Jihad as a continuous tactic they transformed the Kingdom into the headquarters of Islamic fanaticism (Gold 2004). From then on, dominating the Islamic realm under the Wahhabi ideal of traditional Islam it turned into the main programme of its succeeding monarchs for strengthening their status (Gold 2004). After World War II, when there was a steady disintegration in colonial supremacy of the Christian realm, the Kingdom of Saudi became determined to invade the Islamic realm by propag ating Wahhabi Islam and afterward to move towards the extension of Islamist hegemony beyond their protective borders (Crone 2004). Unearthing of a large portion of world oil reserve and its development in partnership with western superpowers not merely

The Effects of Alcohol on the Human Body Essay Example for Free

The Effects of Alcohol on the Human Body Essay Introduction Today, alcohol is one of the most common substances that people abuse. It is an addictive drink that has become a popular way of having a good time or relaxing in social gatherings. It is among the most commonly used psychoactive drugs. Alcohol is a popular social phenomenon, yet most societies forget its effects on their bodies. Research has carried out in the recent years on the effects that alcohol consumption is having on people. The resulting data has been extremely negative. The introduction of Alco pops, led to a substantial increase in the youth population drinking alcoholic beverages. On average, young people start drinking at approximately age thirteen. Parental and peer influences are a major factor in these early habits. Before the legal age of 21; almost seventy percent of people manage to get away with at least one alcoholic drink. This increases the probability of adolescent consumption in the future. Alcohol, specifically ethanol, depresses the central nervous system and it has many side-effects. Cell membranes in the human body have high permeability to alcohol, so alcohol diffuses into nearly every biological tissue of the body once it gets into the blood stream (Dasgupta 2011, pg.88). It starts affecting the body and mind from the second one sips it. After taking it for a while, one starts feeling more sociable, but drinking too much makes basic human functions like walking or talking harder. One might start saying things they don’t mean and behave out of character. Some of the effects of alcohol disappear overnight, while others stay longer or become permanent. Other effects are impaired judgment, addiction, poor mental health, hormonal change and withdraw as a result of deciding to quit. Alcohol affects most important organs within the human body. Alcohol interacts with the gamma amino butyric acid receptors located in the brain. These receptors are the center of inhibitory neurotransmission in the human body and is synthesized from glutamic acid (Miller 2006, pg. 23). First and foremost, it depresses the brain tissue, the nervous system and destroys brain cells. The problem with destroying brain cells is that, once lost they cannot be regenerated. Excessive drinking over a long period of time may cause severe problems to one’s memory and cognition. Alcohol affects parts of the brain like the cerebral cortex; limbic system; cerebellum and the hypothalamus. The cerebral cortex is the center of voluntary muscle movement and it processes one’s thoughts and senses. Once inhabited by alcohol, it slows down our bodies on reaction time and impairs judgment. This makes an intoxicated person more talkative and confident. Also in the cerebral cortex, alcohol increases the pain threshold. It affects the hippocampus as it impairs memory and causes inflated feelings (Miller 2006, pg. 48). The limbic system controls emotions and memory. Alcoholic effects on the limbic system occur when the intoxicated person endures memory loss and uncontrolled emotional outbursts. The cerebellum controls the body’s muscular movements. When it is affected by alcohol there is involuntary muscle movement and incoordination. The hypothalamus controls the body’s automatic functions and release of hormones. Alcohol affects the hypothalamus through sexual performance and arousal (Brigg 2010, pg. 71). An intoxicated person is more sexually aroused, though the performance is not as normal. The liver can fairly process alcohol safely when the drinking is moderate. Heavy drinking however, overtaxes the liver causing serious damage. A fatty liver is one of the first stages of liver destruction among heavy drinkers. It interferes with oxygen distribution and nutrition of the liver’s cells (Horsley 2008, pg. 94). Persistence of this condition causes the liver cells to die and form fibrous scar tissues. This is the second stage of the deterioration of the liver. Part of the liver cells may regenerate with proper nutrition and abstinence. However during the last stages of deterioration the damage to the liver cells is irreversible. Alcohol abuse is a major contributing factor in cancers, including mouth cancer and liver cancer, which are both on the increase. Alcohol comes second to smoking as risk factors for digestive tract and oral cancers. Research suggests that this happens since alcohol breaks down into a substance called acetaldehyde. This substance then binds to proteins in the mouth triggering an inflammatory response from the body. In severe cases, cancerous cells eventually develop. Alcohol alters the chemistry within the brain and increases depression risk. It is associated with various mental health problems. People suffering from either anxiety or depression are twice likely to be heavy or addicted drinkers. Extreme drinking levels may often cause psychosis. This is a severe mental illness that causes development of hallucinations and delusions of persecution. Psychotic symptoms may also occur when heavy drinkers suddenly decide to stop drinking and as a result develop a condition referred to as ‘delirium tremens’. Moderate drinking does not suppress food intake. It may actually increase appetite. Heavy alcohol consumption has an opposite effect. It causes euphoria, which leads to lack of appetite. As a result, heavy drinkers often eat poorly and get malnourished. Alcohol contains seven calories per gram thus is rich in energy. However, just like fat or pure sugar, these calories lack nutrients. The more calories consumed in alcohol make it hard for the drinker to eat enough food to get enough nutrients. Worse still, alcohol abuse displaces calories from required nutrients and interferes with metabolism of nutrients in the body. This damages the liver, the digestive system and most every bodily organ. Alcohol irritates and disturbs the stomach. Therefore, heavy drinking may easily cause nausea, diarrhea and also sickness. Alcohol also has a dehydrating effect (Newell 2004, pg. 39). This is one reason why heavy drinking may lead to a severe pounding headache the next morning. Hydration also determines the extent of a hangover. After drinking heavily, unconsciousness may occur and extreme consumption levels often lead to alcohol poisoning. Death can also occur in a situation where alcohol concentration within the blood stream is more than the blood. Alcohol may also cause death when there is asphyxiation from vomit (Haven 2001, pg.43). Drinking too much alcohol is not good for your skin either. It causes dark circles under a person’s eyes and bloating. It also dries out the human skin and may lead to premature aging and wrinkling. Drinking heavily may cause acne rosacea (Taylor 2000, pg. 70). This is a skin disorder which starts with likelihood to blush and flush and eventually progresses to facial disfiguration known as rhinophyma. Conclusion Use of alcohol is a great, enjoyable and safe experience if used moderately and with caution. If one does decide to drink they should drink slowly and responsibly. A drinking person should always consume alcohol with food. A person should drink no more than one drink in an hour. Consuming plenty of water in between drinks is also very important and helpful. Pregnant women should not drink and also one should not drive under any alcoholic influence whatsoever. Mild and moderate alcohol use benefits the coronary system (Newell 2004, pg. 98). Generally, for healthy people, moderate alcohol is considered as one drink a day for women and around less than three drinks a day for men. This is considered the maximum advised amount of alcohol consumption. Healthy people refer to those women who are not pregnant, people who are not addicted to alcohol and without any pre-existing medical conditions. However, the quantity of alcohol safely consumed by an individual is highly personal and dependent on genetics, family history, sex, weight and age (Taylor 2000, pg. 79). References Brigg, J. 2010. The Practitioner, Volume 5. California: University of California. Dasgupta, A. 2011. The Science of Drinking: How Alcohol Affects Your Body and Mind. Boston: Rowman Littlefield. Haven Emerson, G. N. 2001. Alcohol and Man. New York: Ayer Publishing. Henry Newell Martin, H. C. 2004. The human body: a beginners text-book of anatomy, physiology and hygiene : with directions for illustrating important facts of mans anatomy from that of the lower animals, and with special references to the effects of alcoholic and other stimulants, and. New York: Henry Holt and Company. Horsley, S. V. 2008. Alcohol and the human body . London: Macmillan. Miller, M. W. 2006. Brain Development: Normal Processes And the Effects of Alcohol And Nicotine. Oxford: Oxford University Press. Taylor, B. 2000. Everything You Need to Know About Alcohol. New York: The Rosen Publishing Group.

Daniel Defoe and Robinson Crusoe :: Defoe Robinson Crusoe Essays

Daniel Defoe was an extraordinary man. Although he never had the benefit of a university education, he spoke six languages and was able to read even more. His curriculum included having been a government spy, a shopkeeper, and a journalist. As the latter, he was employed by both major parties. Of course, serving two lord is impossible, so after he got into trouble with both of these parties, he turned to writing as another means of living. The first major difference between Defoe's work and most other books dating from this time is that Robinson Crusoe is really entertaining, quite exhilarating and at times even amusing to read. This is in sharp contrast to most contemporary novels which stuck to a Spartan diet of unreality and dullness, their only charm lying in the complete strangeness to anything human. Basically, most stories at the time were chronicles of wonderful, magical events, not even attempting to resemble human life at all. Robinson Crusoe was one of the first few books to have characters with whom a reader could actually identify. Therefore, it was very popular and this idea of recognition of oneself in a character in a book is nowadays only discussed when it fails, implying that it now has become a natural 'recipe' for writing any book.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Most of today's popsongs become 'hits' due to a hook; a melodic chorus or instrumental piece which basically does not need to convey any meaning whatsoever. Its only function is to keep the listener listening. Defoe also had grasped the idea of a hook. Only his is fairly bigger, namely about 10 pages, than your average popsong-hook, which contains 4-5 words, if any... For sometimes the lyrics are degraded to a repeated monosyllabic sound. Defoe put this theory into practice in Robinson Crusoe. First, he has Robinson's father lecture him on `the middle station' which is apparently `the best state in the world.' Of course, this little section is only needed to charm his middle-class audience. By refusing his father's ideas, Robinson already seems like an ungrateful son in the eyes of the reader.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Defoe adds more Christian morals as Robinson sinks deeper into sin. He drinks his repentance away after his first encounter with a storm, he refuses to listen to the captain who tells him 'you ought to take this for a plain and visible token that you are not to be a seafaring man.

A Study on the Customer Satisfaction and Customer Loyalty of Furniture Purchaser in on-Line Shop

The current issue and full text archive of this journal is available at www. emeraldinsight. com/1598-2688. htm AJQ 11,2 146 A study on the customer satisfaction and customer loyalty of furniture purchaser in on-line shop Yongju Jeong and Yongsung Lee Department of Business Administration, The University of Incheon, Incheon, South Korea Abstract Purpose – The paper intends to explore the in? uencing factors on customer satisfaction and customer loyalty in the internet shopping mall through service quality based on the data obtained from furniture purchaser. Design/methodology/approach – The research model and the relevant research hypothesis were set up through the data derived from the existing researches, and then the relevant hypothesis was tested through regression analysis. Findings – As result of analysis, the in? uencing factors on customer satisfaction of furniture purchaser in the internet shopping mall were proved to be product diversity of service quality, tangibles, responsiveness, interaction, stability, and customer satisfaction was found to be a signi? cant in? encing factor on customer loyalty in the internet shopping mall. Research limitations/implications – Although this study was carried out against actual furniture purchaser in selecting the samples, it reached the limit in considering the diversity of internet shopping mall, and sorting into on-line and off-line concurrent shopping mall and internet exclusive shopping mall. Originality/value – The study reviews the service quality measure suggested in the existing literature on service quality, newly applying it to on-line services environment, and then ? ding out the in? uence of service quality in internet shopping mall on customer satisfaction, customer loyalty, and repurchase intention as well as in which dimension they are built up. Keywords Internet, Shopping, Customer satisfaction, Customer loyalty, Electronic commerce Paper type Research paper The Asian Journal on Quality Vol. 11 No. 2, 2010 pp. 146-156 q Emerald Group Publishing Limited 1598-2688 DOI 10. 1108/15982681011075952 1. Introduction Owing to rapid development of information communication, e-commerce through internet is picking up briskly throughout the world. According to the survey of Korea National Statistical Of? ce, the volume of transaction in domestic cyber shopping mall in Korea steadily grew starting from 2001 when it reached approximately 3,400,000,000,000 won, which is well over 20,000,000,000,000 won in 2009. Like this, internet market is growing in non-negligible scale, and even it is expected to grow more and more in future. Development of various information communication technology including computer has changed the consumption life of the consumers, and especially tons of changes take place in the consumers’ selection through their decision making. Such changes suggest a new environment characterized by global market, collapse of hierarchy, and economy of information era. Internet shopping mall is a business that can be operated at minimum expense with minimum labor force, which allows to ecure price competitiveness by minimizing distribution stages, and further provide better customer service than the existing off-line shopping by providing various information. These days, rapid growth of do-it-yourself furniture stimulates the tendency of purchasing furniture through internet shopping. On-line furniture sales system was attempted by a small-scale ? rm at the beginning, but large furniture suppliers soon after jumped on to the on-line market band wagon without hesitation (The Korea Economic Da ily, 2007, July 16). This study is intended to ? d out the factors of customer satisfaction and customer loyalty by exploring the characteristic of the users regarding customer satisfaction and customer loyalty of the furniture purchasers in the internet shopping mall, and then reviewing the literature on customer satisfaction and customer loyalty, conducting empirical research through statistical data obtained from questionnaire survey by establishing model and hypothesis after reviewing the literature on customer satisfaction and customer loyalty in order to discover the characteristic that appeared through the user’s purchase of furniture. . Theoretical backgrounds 2. 1 Internet shopping mall Internet shopping allows the purchaser to search and survey the information on service or product by accessing internet shopping site through internet in remote place instead of retail shop as a physical space, and then enables to select or order the goods, and ultimately pay the mone y using credit card to purchase the goods/services (Ruth, 2000). It is de? ed as the collective concept of on-line shops having the products in a variety of lines where advertisement and exhibition of the products for internet shopping is carried out through electronic shopping mall, server is equipped with data like prices, structures, characteristics of various products, webpage provides information on the product together with multi-media information (Hoffman and Novak, 1996). Internet shopping mall is characterized by connecting producer directly with ? al end-user while traditional off-line market comprises four steps from producer through ? nal consumer. In addition, it is rarely restricted by time/space, and easy to acquire information from customer. Traditional commercial transaction requires a large amount of investment to maintain ? xed assets and human resource, while e-commerce requires investment mainly for system installation only. Besides, in terms of advertisement, p romotion, etc. owing to conversion to two-way from the existing one-way, it is changed into the style of one-to-one connection with customer. . 2 Furniture industry The structure of Korea’s furniture industry is driven to domestic demand while Taiwan to export market. Therefore, the industry is very weak in its management foundation owing to extremely ? erce competition within the same industrial circle, generalized phenomenon of design being imitated and the subsequent deterioration of pro? tability, etc. In addition, because of insuf? cient timber source at home, the industry depends on import from Indonesia, etc. for 95 percent of major raw materials such as plywood for furniture production, etc. Domestic furniture industry has structural problems in both design and distribution sectors. Especially, in distribution sector, attacked by aggressive merchants who seek unlawful deals with low-price sale, general tax payers A study on customer satisfaction 147 AJQ 11,2 148 with sincerity tend to lose their competition foundation, and furthermore event companies or representatives hold their own discount sales ruthlessly, disturbing domestic distribution order, resulting in sharp drop of quality and subsequent damage to the consumers. Accordingly, it is necessary to develop our furniture business circle again in such a manner of reinforcing production foundation centered on own specialized product of each while expediting cooperative relationship with professional companies for the other non-specialized products, and thus it is needed to establish production and operation strategy under new system, and then reinforce the competitiveness in price and distribution. 2. 3 Service quality Service means an intangible activity or bene? provided by the services provider to customer, which can be tangible product and something that is added to intangible service, or in an independent form (Kotler, 1991). With regard to the nature of service, there exist some different opinions among the researchers, but service is known to have four properties; being intangible, inseparability of production and consumption, heterogeneity, and perishability (Parasuraman et al. , 1985). The concept of service quality can be represented in different way depending on aspect and approaching method. Especially, service quality has a aspect emphasized by subjective assessment recognized by each individual customer rather than that examined objectively being dif? cult to measure owing to its specialty. Generally, the de? nition of quality varies depending on the methods of approach driven to transcendental experience, product, manufacture, value, and user (Garvin, 1984). Parasuraman et al. 1985, hereinafter â€Å"PZB†) de? ned cognitive service quality, aside from objective quality, is a type of attitude â€Å"that is the comparison between consumer’s recognition of the result of service provided by the corporation and the expectation of consumer that should be provided by the corporation in their opinion†. Accordingly, cognitive service quality was observed through the degree and direction of the difference existing between consumer’s recognit ion and expectation (Woo-seong, 2006). According to PZB, although there exists the difference of relative importance that assess the service quality depending on service types, there exists basically similar assessment criteria, and therefore the service quality observation system developed by them is the decisive factor of service quality that may be generally applied to service industry. Since then, Parasuraman et al. (1988) discovered that there exist correlation among ten decisive factors of service quality that were examined from Parasuraman et al. 1985) conducted against the corporations such as machinery repair and maintenance, bank, long-distance telephone company, credit card company, and security broker. Finally, they named SERVQUAL for it by combining ? ve factors (tangibles, reliability, responsiveness, assurance, and empathy). SERVQUAL can be also measured by gap score between the score of consumer’s performance recognition and score of expectation. Five dimensions comprising SERVQUAL and the descripti on of each dimension is as shown in Table I. As a result of reviewing the precedent research on the service quality of on-line shopping mall, it was found that the study on the satisfaction with loyalty and consumer satisfaction as result of the service quality of on-line shopping mall was conducted in such a manner that the property of on-line shopping mall was re? ected in the existing service quality dimensions to develop the dimension of on-line shopping mall service quality. 2. 4 Customer satisfaction and customer loyalty 2. 4. 1 Customer satisfaction. In the study on customer’s satisfaction/dissatisfaction, there exists inconsistency concerning its concept among the researchers, and a variety of attempts are carried out in its measurement. The de? nition of customer satisfaction can be divided into two; de? nitions driven to outcome and driven to process (Lee, 1995). From the aspect driven to outcome, customer satisfaction is conceptualized as the result of consumption experience such as the recognition felt by customer that the price paid is rewarded in proper or improper manner, emotional reaction against the retail shop or purchasing behavior related with purchased speci? product or service, or emotional reaction against the behavior in wider meaning such as consumer’s behavior or the market on the whole, comprehensive mental state that occurs when the emotion due to inconsistent expectation is combined with the emotion prior to the customer’s experience of purchase. The aspect driven to process is useful i n that it generalizes the whole consumption experience, and it enables to examine an important process that reaches customer satisfaction through the measure of observing unique elements at each stage (Oliver, 1981). Internet shopping mall is a web site in virtual space in the name of internet. Chen and Wells (1999), in measuring the attitude to the web site, suggested three aspects; informativeness that shows the degree of usefulness of information provided by web site to the visitor, entertainment of web site that shows the degree on how it meets emotional necessity and desire of the visitor, and organization of web site that shows the degree on how it provides the visitor’s desired information and product/service in convenient and prompt way. 2. 4. 2 Customer loyalty. Typically, customer loyalty means the property of customer to repeatedly purchasing speci? c subject (brand, product, service, shop, etc. with affection regardless of the change in the circumstance (Jacoby and Chesnut, 1978; Oliver and Swan, 1989). There are the variables for measuring customer loyalty such as devotion into speci? c subject, repurchase intention, and intention to recommend to others, etc. (Reichheld, 1993). Especially, customer loyalty is known to arise from the result of customer sa tisfaction in general. Customer loyalty in on-line can be de? ned the tendency of customer to keep on using speci? c web site with affection (Anderson and Srinivasan, 2003). Customer with high loyalty is supposed to keep a speci? web site with him/her using bookmark function, frequently visit it, and show high site adhesion with high detention time. In addition, Dimension Tangibles Reliability Responsiveness Assurance Empathy De? nition Physical facility, equipment, outlook of employee Ability to perform the committed service in reliable and correct manner Will of assisting the customer and providing quick service to the customer Knowledge, courtesy, ability of the employees that give rise to reliability and assurance Careful concern and individual interest in the customer A study on customer satisfaction 149 Table I. Five types of SERVQUAL AJQ 11,2 they are very friendly with the site, and positively promote or recommend it to the others. The customers of high customer loyalty like this is very possible to purchase the goods from that site, and tends to consistently purchase again from that site in spite of positive marketing activity by other sites (Anderson and Srinivasan, 2003). 3. Design of research 3. 1 Research model and establishment of research hypothesis This study aims for reviewing service quality measure suggested in the existing literature on service quality, newly applying it to on-line services environment, and then ? nding out the in? ence of service quality in internet shopping mall on customer satisfaction, customer loyalty, and repurchase intention as well as in which dimension they are built up. Therefore, research model for empirical analysis was established as Figure 1 based on the result of precedent research. As research model, based on the results of previous studies; Lee and Lin (2005), Lee (2 006), Jeon (2006), etc. the dimension of on-line service quality were suggested to ? nd out its in? uences on customer satisfaction, customer loyalty, and repurchase intention: H1. Product diversity of service quality in on-line shopping mall will have positive (? in? uence. H2. Tangibles of service quality in on-line shopping mall will have positive (? ) in? uence. H3. Responsiveness of service quality in on-line shopping mall will have positive (? ) in? uence. H4. Interaction of service quality in on-line shopping mall will have positive (? ) in? uence. H5. Stable service quality in on-line shopping mall will have positive (? ) in? uence. H6. Customer satisfaction with service quality in on-line shopping mall will have positive (? ) in? uence on customer loyalty. Service quality Product driversity H1 Tangibles H2 H3 H4 Interaction H5 Customer satisfaction H6 Customer loyalty 50 Responsiveness Figure 1. Research model Stability 3. 2 Method of research In this study, the questionnai re survey was targeted against the customers aged from 20s to 50s who had experience of purchasing furniture from on-line shopping mall. To accomplish the purpose of research, questionnaire survey was carried out for approximately ten days from August 6, 2009 to August 15, 2009. Total 140 questionnaire sheets were collected out of 150 distributed to the subject. Among 140 sheets collected, 131 were adopted except nine returned deemed to be answered with insincerity. In this study, survey was targeted to the persons who purchased the products in furniture category 1 made of steel or wood available in on-line shopping mall. 4. Empirical analysis 4. 1 Reliability analysis In this study, in order to measure reliability, Cronbach’s a coef? cient – internal consistency analysis – was used. The reason of adopting Cronbach’s a coef? cient was to enhance variable reliability by sorting out the items affecting reliability and then ruling out those variables when several items were used to measure the same concept. Normally, it proves to be suf? cient when Cronbach’s a coef? cient appears at least 0. 6, and therefore reliability coef? cient on each variable was suggested in Table II to show reliability for each item. 4. 2 Validity analysis In this study, the result of exploratory factor analysis on service quality, customer satisfaction, and customer loyalty in deriving the factors that in? uences on customer satisfaction and customer loyalty of furniture purchaser in the case of on-line shopping mall as shown in Table III. As result of factor analysis, product diversity of service quality, tangibles of service quality, responsiveness of service quality, interaction of service quality, stable service quality, customer satisfaction, and customer loyalty were classi? ed to be the factors, and the variable to be excluded being less than 0. 5 in factor loading did not appear. 4. 3 Testing of hypothesis To test the hypothesis, analysis of correlation among variables and multiple regression analysis between antecedent and dependent variables were carried out. Multiple regression analysis normally aims for estimating one dependent variable from the knowledge of several variables. Accordingly, this would enable to ? nd out the In? uencing variable acting on the use of internet shopping mall Product diversity of service quality Tangibles of service quality Responsiveness of service quality Interaction of service quality Stable service quality Customer satisfaction Customer loyalty Cronbach’s a coef? cient 0. 827 0. 773 0. 829 0. 843 0. 758 0. 739 0. 917 A study on customer satisfaction 151 Table II. Result of reliability analysis AJQ 11,2 Factor Product diversity Component Variable Factor 1 Factor 2 Factor 3 Factor 4 Factor 5 Factor 6 Factor 7 sv1 sv2 sv3 st1 st2 st3 st4 sr1 sr2 sr3 sr4 sc1 sc2 sc3 sc4 ss1 ss2 ss3 cs1 cs2 cs3 cr1 cr2 cr3 0. 840 0. 770 0. 791 0. 129 0. 087 0. 028 0. 419 0. 145 0. 161 0. 113 0. 071 0. 264 2 0. 011 0. 189 0. 104 0. 329 0. 170 0. 187 0. 466 0. 363 0. 269 0. 180 0. 180 2 0. 027 0. 066 0. 238 0. 123 0. 820 0. 851 0. 772 0. 667 0. 231 0. 160 0. 104 0. 048 0. 175 0. 166 0. 162 0. 304 0. 019 0. 139 0. 069 0. 111 0. 109 0. 141 0. 019 20. 006 0. 006 0. 138 0. 146 0. 114 0. 113 0. 135 0. 195 0. 045 0. 707 0. 712 0. 801 0. 810 0. 075 0. 157 20. 040 0. 321 0. 299 0. 83 0. 134 20. 001 0. 141 0. 221 0. 213 0. 203 20. 024 0. 103 20. 056 0. 181 0. 052 0. 192 0. 112 0. 153 0. 263 0. 359 0. 086 0. 041 0. 682 0. 780 0. 807 0. 649 0. 315 0. 172 0. 125 0. 197 0. 089 0. 042 0. 035 0. 065 20. 023 0. 011 0. 129 0. 219 0. 225 0. 133 0. 205 0. 026 2 0. 095 2 0. 105 0. 221 0. 198 0. 167 0. 111 0. 168 0. 255 0. 573 0. 838 0. 854 2 0. 042 2 0. 219 2 0. 106 2 0. 154 2 0. 138 2 0. 263 0. 003 0. 172 0. 202 0. 227 0. 134 0. 190 0. 041 20. 059 20. 072 0. 208 0. 172 0. 221 0. 199 0. 261 0. 303 0. 279 0. 169 0. 099 0. 634 0. 751 0. 844 0. 091 0. 120 0. 004 0. 065 0. 109 0. 090 20. 097 0. 068 20. 015 0. 163 0. 05 0. 102 20. 079 20. 288 0. 254 0. 269 0. 233 0. 253 0. 233 20. 031 20. 014 20. 050 20. 024 20. 091 0. 808 0. 834 0. 545 152 Tangibles Responsiveness Interaction Stability Customer satisfaction Customer loyalty Table III. Result of factor analysis Notes: Extraction method: principal component analysis; rotation method: varimax with Kaiser normalization; rotation converged in six iterations strategy of enhancing customer satisfaction and customer loyalty by grasping which factors in? uence on customer satisfaction and customer loyalty of furniture purchaser in on-line shopping mall, and to which degree it has in? uence if so. In carrying out regression analysis, it may produce wrong interpretation if independent variables are not mutually independent or regression coef? cients are estimated incorrectly. In other words, there could exist the problem of multi-collinearity. In order to conduct the test for equal variance and normality that are the premise of multiple regression analysis, testing of multi-collinearity was carried out. Pearson’s correlation was used in the analysis of correlation, which shows there exist no problem of multi-collinearity (Table IV). 4. 3. 1 Testing of hypothesis between customer satisfaction and antecedent variable. As the antecedent factor of customer satisfaction, diversity of service quality, tangibles of service quality, responsiveness of service quality, interaction of service quality, and stable service quality were set up, and then multiple regression analysis was conducted to test the in? uence on customer satisfaction (Table V). Table VI is the result of analysis on the signi? cance for individual variables. Each b coef? cient appeared 0. 361 for diversity of service quality, 0. 526 for tangibles of service quality, 0. 364 for responsiveness of service quality, 0. 486 for interaction of service quality, and 0. 32 for stable service quality. Standardized regression coef? cient (b) that represents Constructive concept Diversity Tangibles Responsiveness Interaction Stability Customer satisfaction Customer loyalty Customer Customer Diversity Tangibles Responsiveness Interaction Stability satisfaction loyally 1 0. 201 * * 0. 125 * 0. 256 * * 0. 534 * * 0. 361 * * 0. 431 * * 1 0. 075 0. 601 * * 0. 512 * * 0. 526 * * 0. 367 * * A study on customer satisfaction 153 1 0. 219 * * 0. 438 * * 0. 364 * * 0. 547 * * 1 0. 608 * * 0. 486 * * 0. 249 * * 1 0. 332 * * 0. 341 * * 1 0. 236 * * 1 Notes: Correlation coef? cient is signi? cance at *0. 05 and * *0. 1 levels, respectiviely, at both sides; n ? 131 Table IV. Correlation matrix of constructive concepts R2 0. 487 Adjusted R 2 0. 476 F-value 50. 647 F-signi? cance 0. 000 Durbin-Watson 2. 016 Table V. ANOVA Independent variable (Constant) Diversity Tangibles Responsiveness Interaction Stability Unstandardized coef? cients b SE 2 0. 005 0. 361 0. 526 0. 364 0. 486 0. 332 0. 041 0. 061 0. 098 0. 057 0. 060 0. 054 Standardized coef? cients b 0. 360 0. 518 0. 375 0. 497 0. 356 T 20. 073 8. 053 12. 438 8. 215 10. 573 7. 663 Signi? cance probability 0. 292 0. 000 0. 000 0. 000 0. 000 0. 000 Note: Dependent variable: customer satisfaction Table VI. Multiple regression analysis between customer satisfaction and antecedent variable importance of regression coef? cient appeared 0. 360 for diversity of service quality, 0. 518 for tangibles of service quality, 0. 375 for responsiveness of service quality, 0. 497 for interaction of service quality, and 0. 356 for stable service quality. In the result of analysis, absolute value of beta coef? cient for tangibles of service quality appeared large and therefore, it is deemed to be the variable of best explanation of all. F-value of regression model was 50. 647 (? 0. 000) proved to be of signi? cance, and Durbin-Watson value was 2. 16 (close to 2) deemed to satisfy the assumption of independence. As result of testing, the coef? cient of determination (R 2) – one of the measures that show the adequacy of regression estimated from sample data to the observed value appeared 0. 476. Therefore, 47. 6 percent of variation on customer satisfaction that was the dependent variabl e as result of regression analysis was well explained by antecedent variables. AJQ 11,2 154 Thus, ? ve factors such as diversity of service quality, tangibles of service quality, responsiveness of service quality, interaction of service quality, and stable service quality were found to directly in? ence on customer satisfaction at a signi? cant level. 4. 3. 2 Testing of hypothesis between customer loyalty and customer satisfaction. F-value of regression model was 38. 763 (? 0. 000) proved to be signi? cant, and Durbin-Watson value was 1. 912 (close to 2). Therefore, it is deemed to satisfy the assumption of independence (Table VII). The coef? cient of determination ( ) was 0. 212, and therefore 21. 2 percent of variation on customer satisfaction that was a dependent variable as a result of regression analysis. That is, customer loyalty is explained by customer satisfaction, and it was found to directly in? ence on customer loyalty at a signi? cant level (Table VIII). 5. Conclusion T his study aimed for analyzing the in? uence on customer loyalty exerted by product diversity, tangibles, responsiveness, interaction, stability, and customer satisfaction that are suggested as service quality factor felt by furniture purchaser in internet shopping mall. The result is as follows. First, as result of exploring the factors in internet shopping mall service quality which in? uence customer satisfaction, it was proved product diversity, tangibles, responsiveness, interaction, and stability have positive in? ence on internet shopping mall customer satisfaction. As on-line shopping mall market reaches maturity, it is thought time-saving is the main reason for the customer to prefer internet shopping, and the shopping malls focus on their service on such needs. Second, as for the relationship between customer satisfaction and customer loyalty concerning internet shopping mall service quality, more satisfaction with internet shopping mall appeared to have more positive in? u ence on customer loyalty. In result, it seems that the consumer satis? ed with internet shopping mall can keep consistent relation with internet shopping mall in future. As aforementioned, the result of this study shows that excellent service quality of internet shopping mall operator becomes the factors that can improve the competitiveness of shopping mall, and furthermore the internet shopping mall could R Table VII. ANOVA 0. 216 Adjusted 0. 212 F-value 38. 763 F-signi? cance 0. 000 Durbin-Watson 1. 912 Independent variable Table VIII. Multiple regression analysis on customer loyalty (Constant) Customer loyalty Unstandardized coef? cients b SE 2 0. 002 0. 236 0. 052 0. 051 Standardized coef? cients b 0. 238 T 20. 036 5. 603 Signi? ance probability 0. 962 0. 000 Note: Dependent variable: customer loyalty raise customer loyalty if they would improve service quality consistently to get satisfaction from the customers. Although this study was carried out against actual furniture purchaser in selecting the samples, it reached the limit in considering the diversity of internet shopping mall, and sorting into on-line and off-line concurrent shopping mall and internet exclusive shopping mall. Thus, a further study needs to be done to ? nd the aforementioned area. References Anderson, R. E. and Srinivasan, S. S. (2003), â€Å"E-satisfaction and e-loyalty: a contingency framework†, Psychology & Marketing, Vol. 20. Chen, Q. and Wells, W. D. (1999), â€Å"Attitude toward the site†, Journal of Advertising Research, September-October. Garvin, D. A. (1984), â€Å"What does product quality really mean? †, SLoan Management Review, Vol. 26, Fall. Hoffman, D. L. and Novak, T. P. (1996), â€Å"Marketing in hypermedia computer-mediated environments: conceptual foundations†, Journal of Marketing, Vol. 60. Jacoby, J. and Chesnut, R. W. (1978), Brand Loyalty Measurement Management, Wiley, New York, NY. Jeon, H. -B. 2006), â€Å"Research about quality of service of cybermall†, Industry Management Research, Vol. 29. (The) Korea Economic Daily (2007), The Korea Economic Daily, July 16. Kotler, P. (1991), Marketing Management, 5th ed. , Prentice-Hall, Upper Saddle River, NJ. Lee, G. -G. and Lin, H. -F. (2005), â€Å"Customer perceptions of e-service quality in online shop ping†, International Journal of Retail & Distribution Management, Vol. 33. Lee, J. -S. (2006), â€Å"Effect research that quality of service factor importance by service type gets in customer satisfaction†, Is Service Management Learned Society, Vol. No. 1. Lee, Y. -J. (1995), â€Å"Research on justice and measurement of customer satisfaction†, Management Symposium, Vol. 29. Oliver, R. L. (1981), â€Å"Measurement and evaluation of satisfaction processes in retail settings†, Journal of Retailing, Vol. 57. Oliver, R. L. and Swan, J. E. (1989), â€Å"Customer perception of interpersonal equity and satisfaction in transactions: a ? eld survey approach†, Journal of Marketing, Vol. 53, April. Parasuraman, A. , Zeithaml, V. A. and Berry, L. L. (1985), â€Å"A conceptual model of service quality and its implications for future research†, Journal of Marketing, Vol. 9, pp. 41-50. Parasuraman, A. , Zeithaml, V. A. and Berry, L. L. (1988), â€Å"SERVQU AL: a multiple-item scale for measuring consumer perceptions of service quality†, Journal of Retailing, Vol. 64. Reichheld, F. F. (1993), â€Å"Loyalty-based management†, Harvard Business Review, Vol. 71. Ruth, C. (2000), â€Å"Applying a modi? ed technology acceptance model to determine factors affecting behavior intention to adopt electronic shopping on the world wide web: a structural equation modeling approach†, doctoral thesis, Drexel University, Philadelphia, PA. Woo-seong, L. 2006), â€Å"The effects of service quality on customer loyalty in online shopping mall†, Master’s thesis, Sejong University, Seoul. A study on customer satisfaction 155 AJQ 11,2 Further reading Gefen, D. and Straub, D. W. (2000), â€Å"The relative importance of perceived ease of use in IS adoption: a study of e-commerce adoption†, Journal of the Association for Information Systems, Vol. 1. About the authors Yongju Jeong is graduated from Korea National Open Univ ersity. He is also graduated in MA from University of Incheon and doing PhD in University of Incheon. Yongju Jeong is the corresponding author and can be contacted at: [email  protected] net Yongsung Lee is graduated from the Department of Administration, University of Incheon. He is also graduated in Information and Communication Engineering, University of Incheon. He received his Master of Business Administration from University of Incheon Admission. 156 To purchase reprints of this article please e-mail: [email  protected] com Or visit our web site for further details: www. emeraldinsight. com/reprints

Psychology Post Labor Day

This Sync drone results in anxiety, lack of motivation, difficulty concentrating and a feeling of e emptiness during the first few weeks of returning to work. There is a lot of factual inform action that is used to back up this idea. Most of the research is professionally studied and scientifically proved. However, some evidence is stronger than others. This article provides a lot of evidence. This article is mostly scientific because almost all of the information comes from professional doctors, journals, or SST dies.For example, a study of 96 Dutch workers â€Å"found that health and wellbeing return De to pre vacation levels during the first week back at work. † This was conducted by pro fissionable and published in the journal Work and Stress. The article also states information on and then tells the readers where that information came from, weather it was a jog renal or a person. For example, after the article explains to be alert for symptoms of Pos t Vacation Syndrome, it refers to its source, â€Å"†¦ Says Katherine Mueller, assistant director o f the Center for Integrative Psychotherapy in Allentown, P. † The article gives a thou rough description of who the person is. Her occupation/ position and her location. Some evidence is slightly stronger scientifically than others because of its accuracy. Not all the people who are mentioned in this article are 100% correct but they are not war Eng either. Some evidence gives a more accurate description than others. For example, † An estimated 6% of the U. S. Population suffers from SAD† (Seasonal Affective Dies order) This piece of evidence gives a numerical value which makes it more accurate than the statements above.Most evidence in this article is factual however there are some opinions. Facts are pieces Of information that are scientifically proven while opinions are the way someone thinks and their viewpoint on a topic. For example, Emily Clicking has an opinion on children' s' and adults' mindsets on going back to school. ‘†General Y, kids can't wait to go back to school. For parents, that means months of purchasing , planning, nagging, chauffeuring, chaperoning and negotiating. † This is an opinion because SE it is not true for all children and parents to view going back to school that way.That SST atonement reflects more on Clinician's point of view than on scientifically proven facts. If Clicking would have mentioned a percentage of how many kids are excited to go back to school and how many parents are not excited for the school year to begin, it would b e a more reliable source. Findings in this article are trustworthy because it uses a lot of sources such as different people and different studies in different journals. This create s an unbiased argument.

The usefulness of the concept of structural violence in analyzing and understanding international conflicts

The usefulness of the concept of structural violence in analyzing and understanding international conflicts Introduction Structural violence is a fundamental concept in the analysis and understanding of international conflicts. The contents of structural violence include disputes, where comprehension between two parties does not come to a point of consensus because of differences in their social setting. The failure of distinct entities in an ecosystem to comprehend each other acts as an instrument of causing conflicts in the international scope.Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on The usefulness of the concept of structural violence in analyzing and understanding international conflicts specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More The international conflicts arise from societal setting, affecting people around the world. The comprehension of the influence of structural conflict has a rationale of enhancing the analysis, as well the comprehension of the scope of the international conflict. The understanding is also vital in the creation o f a path for strategic implementation of ample methodologies that would prevent or eradicate the conflicts. A vast theoretical literature has also been presented in regards to the importance of structural violence in comprehension enhancement, with some authors arguing that conflicts have been a major drawback to economic, social, and political triumph over the years, owing to the state of misunderstanding distinct takes of different individuals and groups (Burchill, et al, 2005, p. 291). The recent decades have seen researchers, academicians, scholars, as well as psychologists develop enthusiasm in the area of the effects of violence on the international relations. The discussion in this paper seeks to establish the usefulness of the concept of structural violence in analyzing and understanding international conflicts. The comprehension of this is enabled by comprehensively analyzing the concept of structural violence as well as the international conflict. The theoretical approach towards the same is critically discussed, in addition to the provision of rationale and impacts of the study at hand. Analyzing the concept of structural violence The form of violence whose basis is on the social structure or social institution that harms some populace and prevents them from fulfilling their essential needs encompasses structural violence. Structural violence is product of the organization of political, social, and economic settings and systems in ways that have both negative and positive effects on the immediate community. The rationale of the impacts is portrayed when some segments of the population in existence are oppressed, intimidated, and dominated, while other segments are privileged in one way or the other.Advertising Looking for essay on social sciences? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More Conflicts that have their fundamentals on the societal structures deprive part of the population their pea ce, food, security, healthcare etc, while others still enjoy the abundance of the same in similar setting. For instance, movement of large numbers of rich people into a community may lead to the increment of housing costs, affecting people that lived originally in a similar place under low costs. In addition, structural violence is mostly recognized at the level of a society due to life quality shortfalls that occur in certain societal groups. The accomplishment of structural violence mostly occurs via the existence of political repression in a society. This entails the presence of many groups in power concentrating the societal resources for their personal gain in expense of people who are not in power. The most pronounced examples of structural violence are inclusive of racism, elitism, classism, sexism, adultism, ageism, and nationalism in addition to heterosexism and ethnocentrism (Lipsky, 2010, p. 31). Structural violence is characterized by poor societal settings that allow ro om for existence of more than one class and clusters of individuals depending on the societal niche that they hold. An imbalanced state as well as international realm is established when structural violence takes preeminence. This is in regards to unequal resources distribution among the existing populations. Discrimination also finds its way in such a society where some people appear more important than others do, in terms of wealth and health. The systems of structural violence are dominated by numerous justices in all realms, and unjust arguments prevail in place of justice requirement. Oppression of high quality is experienced whenever structural violence is evident, for instance, the deprivation of widows and orphans of the inheritances by corrupt governments. Increased death rates are also associated with those that live at rung positions in any society setting as opposed to low death rates for the higher in a contemporary society with poor settings. Most countries in the have had such structural violent systems, posing great troubles for those living in them. The rationale of these poor structural systems is experienced when considering the rate of international conflict today that has drastically increased.Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on The usefulness of the concept of structural violence in analyzing and understanding international conflicts specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More The understanding of these conflicts is also important in performance of the analysis of the levels of the international conflicts that thrive today. Various pronounced effects are experienced in presence of structural violence, which is inclusive of pain infliction on the victims when war and terror etc incidents occur due to structural distinctions. It is always in the accompaniment of the deprivation of essential needs that are fundamental to the life of an organism in the ecosystem. The freedom of human is ta ken away for there is no room for addressing their grievances in case of the structural problems. Moreover, the creation of non-identity society with racial, material, and all-round differences results from the cultivation for the structural violence (Mansfield and Pollins, 2003, p. 97). An analysis of International conflicts The recent years have seen concerted efforts directed towards international peace relations in a bid to counter the rampant international conflicts. A conflict is regarded as a level of difficulty where parties cannot understand one another, resulting into an avoidable chaotic situation. The accomplishment of a conflict is done via stage performances whose possible outcomes are undesirable, and may not be beneficial to any party. The international conflict describes those critical incidents in which no human entity is exempted from the effect of a particular happening, and every human race is a liable object of experience. The most flabbergasting conflicts in t he worldly realms are inclusive of wars, terrorism, and political clashes among others. The causes of the international conflicts range from human to situational causative factors that become so overwhelming to an extent of causing tremendous outcomes. The outcomes never choose a particular path to follow; rather, they affect a large number in the international realms including fresh waters, oil, other resources and so on (Westing and Stockholm International Peace Research Institute and United Nations Environment Programme., 1986, p. 10, 28 and 58).Advertising Looking for essay on social sciences? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More Johan Galtungs literature classifies conflicts into three categories, which are inclusive of direct conflicts that entail direct pain and suffering infliction on individuals or groups. The second type is indirectly imposed on a group of individuals due to poor structures in the societal set up. International conflicts are mostly caused by structural violence as a result of the instabilities and disorganizations that are caused by their rampancy. The effects of the international conflicts are inclusive of economic inflations due to poor methodologies of spending a country’s resources. The political crises are also experienced everywhere in the international scope due to power wrangles that thrives in the hearts of many. The poor and the oppressed have a tendency to rise up against the unjust regimes and these reactions are transformed into conflicts. Cultural conflicts are also internationally evident due to people’s take of others in regards to their background (Bercov itch, 1996, p. 6). Indeed, cultural conflicts have been known as causative factors to the structural and direct conflicts in many cases since the disregard for one another is a causal factor for promotion of jealousy, as well as the oppressive nature evident in most societies. More over, most social structures in the world have acted as causal factors for international conflicts due to poor organizations and structural arrangements. Political and economic structures are also known to be major causes of conflicts in an international scope. The international conflicts have often led to the prevalence of negative peace; indeed, alleviation of peace on the parties involved in disputes at a particular time is a rationale for international disagreements. The magnitude of international suffering is measured via the impacts in experience to the parties internationally. For instance, massive deaths and concrete conflicts that are not liable for recovery are the extreme magnitudes for interna tional conflicts. In addition, there are incidences of countries fighting against each other due to economic, structural, and cultural failures. In addition, leadership and governance structures are also considered as main causal factors of international conflicts. Major international conflicts have long been portrayed via terrorism attacks, massacres, wars, deprivation of rights, and other methodologies that are deemed crucial in the fulfillment of such laws (Likosky, 2002, p. 393). Usefulness of the concept of structural violence in analyzing and understanding international conflicts Structural violence is an excellently significant tool when it comes to the analysis and understanding of international conflicts. The concept of structural violence explains the fundamentals on which international conflict emerges, as distinct groups interact with others in social setup. The fact that structural violence entails deprivation of people’s rights and freedoms, as others enjoy priv ileges and honors makes this form of violence be considered vital in international violation explanations provision. Theoretical explanations of international conflicts rebuke the violation of social theory via the utilization of structural violence in available human settings. The current world is largely affected by international conflicts that emerge repeatedly, with research findings proving that most of the happenings in the international realms are products of structural violence. This majorly entails social, cultural, political, and economical and the overall human set up within an inclusive ecological system (Ohlson and Stockholm International Peace Research Institute. 1988, p. 7). The concept of structural violence is normally viewed as a hypothetical instrument that provides supposition that is considered tentative, with the intention of gaining comprehension of facts that are legally acceptable. Therefore, it creates a rationale for the understanding and analyzing interna tional laws, as well as being considered a fiction. This implies that structural violence entails making mistakes with a conscious mind in its take that armed conflicts are used in the deprivation of other people’s rights and privileges. Therefore, it gives an ample understanding of the operational international law, as well as a prediction of what just laws would mean in the society. The understanding is also boosted in the fact that individuals or groups affected or infected by structural violence face it indirectly. They therefore advocate for close monitory and supervision in the promotion of the effectiveness of international law (Jacoby, 2008, p. 26). Structural violence is a long-term cause of system’s instability. Instability means that no system can be subject to human trust, since it does not amply cater for the available humanity desired satisfaction. The instability-affected areas are inclusive of political social and economical stands. Normally, the state of instability in any realm leads to the creation of emotions on those affected or infected by the causal factors. The deprivation of privileges from some people, as others enjoy, creates a rationale for the instability complement to act as a stage-setter for international conflicts. Moreover, instability is an ultimate cause of physical, emotional, and psychological wars among people as well as states. The structural instability analysis also proves it as a ground for human suffering, rendering a lot of dissatisfaction among individuals involved (Jacoby, 2008). Additionally, structural violence paves way for undesirable human aspects, which finally lead to conflicts. The aspect of militarily arises from international conflicts due to poor structural settings. For instance, countries from European and American continents have to concentrate on weapon building strategies in a bid to counter any international attack, reason being that the structural setup of every country is a source of structural violence due to poor settings. The understanding of the world wars that took place in the 19th century is enhanced by the presence of people superseded by hunger for power prosperity, in regards to territorial control and proprietorship. The wars created a structural environment that enabled some countries to be in possession of powerful arms and ammunitions, thus looking down upon others. The perception that other countries are weak entities by the American continent, and eventually causing war is a rationale towards understanding international conflicts. The recent rampant terrorist attacks that prevail in the international scope are also as a result of the presence of countries that are more favored in military wealth than others. Moreover, the desire to exercise military power, while ignoring human dignity is a long-term rationale for international conflicts (Lawler, 1995, p. 67). The existence of extreme poverty cases in human life is an indication of the preemine nce of structural violence. In most cases, some countries have a common trend that has rampantly taken preeminence. Every country is marked by an interaction of extremely rich persons, who adversely interact with extremely poor persons, though living in a similar environmental context. Those people associated with the leadership of any country in the international realms are always found in possession of wealth, while those far from power are in most cases poor. A recent environmental scanning study concluded that poverty has become a major problem in the world. Similarly, refugees that move to countries for the sake of their safety are said to suffer due to the fact that host countries do not easily recognize their presence. Those people afflicted with chronic diseases are said to live in chronic poverty due to lack of support from the neighbors as well as the government. Thus, international conflicts are known to occur rampantly, as campaigns for such poverty controversies arise f or the sake of protection of the common person (Waart, et al., 2001, p. 325). Structural conflicts are known to have offered an ample ground for exploitation and oppression, as well as intimidation in every realm of the society. The understanding of these fundamentals is best explained via structural violence existence. The international conflicts have rampantly arisen due to the prevalence of the expletory and oppression nature in human realms. Many countries have been recently faced by rampant pre and post-election violence and conflicts, owing to the existence of unfaithful regimes. The service to the general society by governments has been today converted to the attendance to personal needs since social structures are already paralyzed. This is a causative factor for exploitation and intimidation to most people in a societal setup. The oppression and intimidation factors are known in history as the main causes of societal aggression and ultimately leading to international confli cts (Kent, 1993). Structural violence is also useful as an instrument for indication of difficulties associated with change acquisition. For instance, recent years have experienced dramatic shifts in all reams, and every international entity needs adopting new ideas. However, the employment setup is already violated by poor governance and monitoring of the international structures, leading to aggression. Land disputes have also been sources of international conflicts, where poor ruling structures are in control and denying room for dialog to maintain peace. The effects are peace alleviation and overriding international conflicts. Moreover, poor ruling methodologies that do not provide room for the weak and the oppressed in the society are factors that lead to the structural violence occurrence. However, structural violence resulting form unequal resources distribution provides a better comprehension of international conflicts. The fact that wealthy and prosperous regimes are always entitled to privileges causes international aggression, leading to international conflicts (Kent, 1993). Theoretical approach to international conflicts on the basis of structural violence The recent decades have seen large numbers of theorists arise in their bid to provide explanations of the international conflicts on the ground of structural violence. The main theory that leads to the realization of denial of human satisfaction to some individuals or groups is the human needs theory by John Burton in 1915. The frameworks of the theory advocate for meeting of human needs as an instrument of peaceful human interactions and relations. The conflict theory is also important in explanation provision of international conflicts. This relates to the incompatibility of distinct parties in their presentation as the main causal factor for conflicts. The structural violation in any society leads to a negative interaction nature between the two theories, leading to conflicts between parties. T he structural violence is viewed in disregard for some people in the society, leading to the violation of the requirements of the human needs theory, and paving way for the preeminence of the conflict theory. The correction of situations thus requires the intervention of conflict resolution theoretical approach (Juma, et al., 2002, p. 134). Kurt Lewis model of management plays a vital role in addressing the need for ample societal management strategies as a step towards combating the structural violence extremes. The social theory that was early developed is very crucial in addressing the importance of a good societal interaction. It requires that all social entities in a setting recognize the importance of each other as an ample weapon for fighting societal conflicts. The social theory propositions entail the need for societal construction on the basis of the available entities’ requirements to create a satiable nature. The most recent research has also come up with internat ional relations theory that advocates for compatibles in accordance to the international laws. Compatibles are considered as vital in fighting the spirit of intimidation, oppression, as well as discriminatory societal rules. The international law is useful as a tool for stabilization of structural and physical systems via the application of the best possible ideologies. Therefore, international conflicts solution has long been developed via the requirements of international law. The normative theory is very useful in assisting the execution of international law. It requires that appropriate norms be followed in the understanding and prevention of international conflicts caused by structural violence (McEvoy and Newburn, 2003, pp. 6, 7). The rationale and impacts of Understanding international conflicts and Violence The comprehension of international conflicts and violence creates a ground for the enactment of peaceful attributes. The understanding is especially essential to those in the peace and conflict studies, since a ground for positive peace is easy to establish. It is always considered worthy where prevention takes the first position instead of cure. Whenever this understanding is available, government regimes and policy-makers gain a better understanding of the common structural violence problems that their immediate society is facing. It is therefore easier to address the problems in better ways that can counter international conflicts. The laying of foundation for peace rebuilding is facilitated by the analytical understanding of influences of structural violence on international conflicts. The realization that international conflicts are rampant in the society makes many to rise up in advocating for peace in the society. The campaigns conducted play a pivotal role in societal restoration. The interference of the undesirable human acts that sometimes take preeminence in the society is easy, with the understanding of the paths they take. It is also ea sy to set frameworks that are necessary in addressing diverse magnitudes of international conflicts, as well as violence that may hinder the overall international development (Keenan and McDonagh, 1996). Combating international and local conflicts is possible when there is clear information of the impacts of the structural violence on the society. The effect of the psychological and physical systems of the people that have been deprived of their positive peace by the structural violence is eased when there is understanding. The government systems find it easier to lay grounds for advocating for a hopeful future whenever they analyze possible causes of international conflicts. The balancing of races, and background differences is duly addressed in understanding that races distinctions are major causes of structural violence that cause international conflicts. The comprehension of violence relationship with the international conflict acts as an ample tool for stabilization of the econ omy, politics, as well as the social structures. This is done via the employment of ample strategies that would enhance the compatibility of all systems. Cultural differences can be easily solved with the understanding of the problem that arises from the structural violence. Moreover, the rampancy of issues like sexism, health facility accessibility difficulties, and other impacts of structural violence can be easily addressed in the comprehension of their causal factors. The moderation of the international law above all is enabled through the comprehension of international conflicts on the basis of structural violence (Keenan and McDonagh, 1996). Conclusion Structural violence is a fundamental concept in the analysis and understanding of international conflicts. Structural conflicts arise from the creation of room that benefits and privileges a certain group in the society, while the rest suffer inadequacy for their desires. International conflicts occur due to incompatibility of d ifferent parties in regards to a matter of concern, and at a particular time. The usefulness of the structural violence in the understanding of the international conflicts lies in its comprehensive nature in addressing negative issues that affect the society indirectly. However, the understanding of this usefulness is crucial in the construction of a stable society in all realms of human interaction. Nevertheless, more empirical and theoretical studies should be conducted to enhance the importance of structural violence in understanding the international conflicts scope. List of References Bercovitch, J., 1996. Resolving international conflicts: the theory and practice of mediation. NY: Lynne Rienner Publishers. Burchill, R., et al. 2005. International conflict and security law: essays in memory of Hilaire McCoubrey. NY: Cambridge University Press. Jacoby, T., 2008. Understanding conflict and violence: theoretical and interdisciplinary approaches. London: Taylor Francis. Juma, M, e t al. 2002. Eroding local capacity: international humanitarian action in Africa. Uppsala: Nordic Africa Institute. Kent G., 1993. Analyzing conflict and violence. Peace and change, Vol. 18, No 4. Council of peace research in History. Web. Available from:Â  http://www2.hawaii.edu/~kent/analyzing.pdf . Keenan, J and McDonagh, E., 1996. Instability, structural violence and vulnerability: A Christian response to the HIV pandemic. UK, Progression Unit 3. Web. Web. Lawler, P., 1995. A question of values: Johan Galtungs peace research. Colorado: Lynne Rienner Publishers. Likosky, M., 2002. Transnational legal processes. NY: Cambridge University Press. Lipsky, L., 2010. Trauma Stewardship: An Everyday Guide to Caring for Self While Caring for Others. NY: https://www.readhowyouwant.com/ Mansfield, E. and Pollins, B., 2003. Economic interdependence and international conflict: new perspectives on an enduring debate. Michigan: University of Michigan Press. McEvoy, K. and Newburn, K., 2003. Cri minology, conflict resolution and restorative justice. New Delhi: Palgrave Macmillan. Ohlson, T. and Stockholm International Peace Research Institute. 1988. Arms transfer limitations and Third World security. Oxford: Oxford University Press. Waart, P. J. et al. 2001. Reflections on international law from the Low Countries: in honour of Paul de Waart. Hague: Martinus Nijhoff Publishers. Westing, A., Stockholm International Peace Research Institute and United Nations Environment Programme. 1986. Global resources and international conflict: environmental factors in strategic policy and action. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

Average ACT Scores by State (Most Recent)

Average ACT Scores by State (Most Recent) SAT / ACT Prep Online Guides and Tips Did you recently get your ACT scores back and are now wondering how your score compares with those of other test takers in your state? Or perhaps you're curious as to how your state’s average ACT score stacks up against other state averages. For this article, we compiled the average ACT scores by state, as well as the average in each subject area, using the latest data from ACT, Inc. Read on to learn how your state's SAT data- and your ACT score- compares with the averages in the rest of the country. What's the National Average ACT Score? Nearly two million students nationwide took the ACT in 2017/18- 1.91 million, to be precise. Out of all of those tests, the national average scores came out as follows: ACT Section Average Score English 20.2 Math 20.5 Reading 21.3 Science 20.7 Composite 20.8 Source: ACT National Profile Report 2018 Remember that each ACT section, and the overall composite score, are scored between 1 and 36. This means that if you get a composite score of 21 or higher, you will beat half the other high school students in the country.If you get significantly higher than 21, you will have beaten out a majority of test takers. Likewise, if you get lower than 21, a majority of test takers will have beaten out you. But what about the ACT averages in your state specifically? Read on to learn how well you have to do on the exam to be considered above average in your home state. All Average ACT Scores by State (2017) The following table containsall ACT state averages for the class of2017(the most recent data available). We've also included state participation rates to give you an idea of the reach of the ACT in each state and the size of the population being tested. State Participation English Math Reading Science Composite Alabama 100% 18.9 18.4 19.7 19.4 19.2 Alaska 65% 18.7 19.8 20.4 19.9 19.8 Arizona 62% 18.6 19.8 20.1 19.8 19.7 Arkansas 100% 18.9 19.0 19.7 19.5 19.4 California 31% 22.5 22.7 23.1 22.2 22.8 Colorado 100% 20.1 20.3 21.2 20.9 20.8 Connecticut 31% 25.5 24.6 25.6 24.6 25.2 Delaware 18% 24.1 23.4 24.8 23.6 24.1 District of Columbia 32% 24.4 23.5 24.9 23.5 24.2 Florida 73% 19.0 19.4 21.0 19.4 19.8 Georgia 55% 21.0 20.9 22.0 21.3 21.4 Hawaii 90% 17.8 19.2 19.2 19.3 19.0 Idaho 38% 21.9 21.8 23.0 22.1 22.3 Illinois 93% 21.0 21.2 21.6 21.3 21.4 Indiana 35% 22.0 22.4 23.2 22.3 22.6 Iowa 67% 21.2 21.3 22.6 22.1 21.9 Kansas 73% 21.1 21.3 22.3 21.7 21.7 Kentucky 100% 19.6 19.4 20.5 20.1 20.0 Louisiana 100% 19.4 18.8 19.8 19.6 19.5 Maine 8% 24.2 24.0 24.8 23.7 24.3 Maryland 28% 23.3 23.1 24.2 23.2 23.6 Massachusetts 29% 25.4 25.3 25.9 24.7 25.4 Michigan 29% 24.1 23.7 24.5 23.8 24.1 Minnesota 100% 20.4 21.5 21.8 21.6 21.5 Mississippi 100% 18.2 18.1 18.8 18.8 18.6 Missouri 100% 19.8 19.9 20.8 20.5 20.4 Montana 100% 19.0 20.2 21.0 20.5 20.3 Nebraska 84% 20.9 20.9 21.9 21.5 21.4 Nevada 100% 16.3 18.0 18.1 18.2 17.8 New Hampshire 18% 25.4 25.1 26.0 24.9 25.5 New Jersey 34% 23.8 23.8 24.1 23.2 23.9 New Mexico 66% 18.6 19.4 20.4 20.0 19.7 New York 31% 23.8 24.0 24.6 23.9 24.2 North Carolina 100% 17.8 19.3 19.6 19.3 19.1 North Dakota 98% 19.0 20.4 20.5 20.6 20.3 Ohio 75% 21.2 21.6 22.5 22.0 22.0 Oklahoma 100% 18.5 18.8 20.1 19.6 19.4 Oregon 40% 21.2 21.5 22.4 21.7 21.8 Pennsylvania 23% 23.4 23.4 24.2 23.3 23.7 Rhode Island 21% 24.0 23.3 24.7 23.4 24.0 South Carolina 100% 17.5 18.6 19.1 18.9 18.7 South Dakota 80% 20.7 21.5 22.3 22.0 21.8 Tennessee 100% 19.5 19.2 20.1 19.9 19.8 Texas 45% 19.5 20.7 21.1 20.9 20.7 Utah 100% 19.5 19.9 20.8 20.6 20.3 Vermont 29% 23.3 23.1 24.4 23.2 23.6 Virginia 29% 23.5 23.3 24.6 23.5 23.8 Washington 29% 20.9 21.9 22.1 22.0 21.9 West Virginia 69% 20.0 19.4 21.2 20.5 20.4 Wisconsin 100% 19.7 20.4 20.6 20.9 20.5 Wyoming 100% 19.4 19.8 20.8 20.6 20.2 National 60% 20.3 20.7 21.4 21.0 21.0 Source:ACT College Career Readiness 2017 ACT Averages by State: Hall of Fame Now that you've had a chance to skim the list of state ACT averages, we thought it would be fun to highlight the highs and lows of the United States' ACT performance. See if your state made the cut below! Highest ACT State Score: New Hampshire New Hampshire narrowly achieved the highest score in the country, with an average composite of 25.5, just above Massachusetts (25.4) and Connecticut (25.2). †¦ and your high ACT score! However, it should be noted thatthese three states have relatively low ACT participation: 18% for New Hampshire, 29% for Massachusetts, and 31% for Connecticut. This is because the SAT is more popular in these states. So what does this data mean? Ultimately, it suggests that those taking the ACT in these states are ambitious, college-bound students looking to improve their applications, which would make for a higher average ACT score. Team Players: 100% ACT Participation There are 17 states with 100% ACT participation- that's 34% of the country! These states have made the ACT a mandatory part of their statewide testing regimens, helping high school students be better prepared for their college applications. Alabama Arkansas Colorado Kentucky Louisiana Minnesota Mississippi Missouri Montana Nevada North Carolina Oklahoma South Carolina Tennessee Utah Wisconsin Wyoming Highest ACT State Score With 100% Participation: Minnesota As you know, 17 states currently have 100% ACT participation. The state with the highest average score out of this group has a lot to be proud of because that average represents the entire high school population of that state. So who wins? Minnesota, with a 21.5 average composite score. The runner-up is Colorado with a 20.8 average composite, and Wisconsin is inthird with a 20.5 composite average. Lowest Participation: Maine Maine wins this one by a landslide, with just 8% of its students taking the ACT. This is likely because the SAT is still the test of choice in that northeastern state. However, the SAT, which was once required in Maine, is now optional as well. ACT-free, it would appear. Lowest ACT State Score: Nevada Nevada earns the dubious honor of getting the lowest average ACT score, with an average composite of 17.8. This low average is likely due to the fact that Nevada only recently began to mandate statewide ACT testing starting in 2016. In general, big jumps in test takers often result in lower averages. As such, this new average is noticeably lower thanNevada's 2015 average of 21, back when just some students took the ACT. As the ACT becomes a staple of Nevada's state testing regimen, averages will likely increase. Key Takeaways: Average ACT Scores by State As you can see, the average ACT score can change pretty dramatically depending on which state you're looking at. Nationally, the average composite ACT score is21- but many states' averages are higher or lower than this. In general, states with 100% participation rates (i.e., states that require the ACT) tend to havelower averages,whereas states with low participation rates tend to havehigher averages. In terms of notable states, here's a quick wrap-up of the ACT "awards" we gave above: Highest ACT State Score: New Hampshire (25.5 average) Team Players: 100% ACT Participation Alabama Arkansas Colorado Kentucky Louisiana Minnesota Mississippi Missouri Montana Nevada North Carolina Oklahoma South Carolina Tennessee Utah Wisconsin Wyoming Highest ACT State Score With 100% Participation: Minnesota (21.5 average) Lowest ACT State Score: Nevada (17.8 average) If you're ever curious what ACT score you need to aim for to be considered above average for your state, simply come back to this page, check the chart, and see whether your state made our Hall of Fame! What’s Next? Want more context for your ACT score? Learn more about the national ACT average score and ACT score percentiles. What ACT scores are considered good by various colleges?Check out our guide to developing a target ACT score based on the schools you want to apply to. Wondering about what your composite ACT score represents in terms of right and wrong answers?Learn the ins and outs of ACT scoringand get tips to help you use this info to your advantage. Trying to maximize your ACT score? Avoid this common ACT mistake to improve your composite. Also,check out our top strategies to raise your ACT essay score. Want to improve your ACT score by 4+ points? Download our free guide to the top 5 strategies you need in your prep to improve your ACT score dramatically.

Gulf Cooperation Council Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Gulf Cooperation Council - Essay Example They signed the agreement to the establishment of the GCC on 25 May 1981 in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia after conclusive discussions that started on 4 February 1981 in Riyadh. They later signed the unified economic agreement on 11 November 1981 in Abu Dhabi. Initially, the Gulf Cooperation Council covered about 630-million-acre (2,500,000 km2) area where Yemen is now under consideration for membership (Low and Salazar, 2010, p.3). The special economic relations of these Arab countries, Islamic beliefs, similar political systems, geographic proximity, and common objectives were the drivers to the formation of the GCC (GlobalSecurity.org 2012, p.1). Indeed, the common objectives to the formation of the GCC include the establishment of scientific research centers, joint ventures, and a common market currency by 2010. Moreover, GCC has an objective of strengthening relations between the member states, creating unified military force among the member states, and advocating for private sector coo peration on economic and social matters. GCC equally seeks to formulate similar regulations in the sectors of economy, trade, legislation, tourism, finance, and administration sectors. In addition, GCC seeks to foster technical and scientific growth in agriculture, mining, and industry resources. Most importantly, GCC advocates for perfect coordination, integration, and interrelations among the Six Arab countries for developing the unity of purpose (The Cooperation Council for the Arab states of the Gulf, 2012, p.1). Subject to its objectives, the Gulf Cooperation Council carries out many activities with an aim of remaining relevant to its goals. For a fact, the GCC members are actually autocratic monarchies that have no political interest whatsoever (BBC News, 2012, p.1). Hence, political turnarounds rarely affect their activities. Indeed, the member states of GCC are the most dominant force in the world’s oil industry. Hence, they control the world economy via oil trade. Ac tually, GCC aims at reducing its dependence on the US security though the measures to achieve this are still a mystery to the council with members divided on how to tackle Iraq, Iran and Yemen security threats. Nevertheless, in 1984, the GCC created the Saudi-based Peninsula Shield that is a joint defense force serving all the GCC members and their interests (GlobalSecurity.org 2012, p.1). However, there is need to expand the force to serve the members effectively as proposed by Oman in 1991though this quest faces a lot of opposition. More so, in 2004, GCC member states signed the intelligence-sharing pact to countering terrorism in their territories. This pact has been very beneficial to the members. Similarly, GCC is very conscious on matters relating to the environment and hence it uses significant resources in promoting knowledge on the importance of the environment in the Gulf region. In this line, GCC appreciates and accords prizes to individuals and organizations for Best Env ironmental Activities (Terra Viva Grants Directory, 2011, p.1). Economically, GCC established a common market in 2008 for its products although the members are yet to realize full benefits to this initiative. At the same breath, the customs union declared in 2003 by the GCC is yet to reach maximum returns. Consequently, the knowledge on the status of the GCC is very fundamental in tackling this paper. Ideally, the six member states signed the charter to the formation of the GCC on 25 May 1981 at Abu Dhabi City, United Arab Emirates.