Unemployment Among University Graduates in Malaysia. Essay Example for Free

Unemployment Among University Graduates in Malaysia. Essay Today, we can see the unemployed graduates become increase until the certain parties have to address this situation. The finding of the Ministry’s Graduate Tracer Study 2006, 30. 7% of graduates remained unemployed six months after convocation, while 5. 7% were still waiting job placement . According to the Minister of Human Resources, the number of unemployment female graduates is also much higher on comparison male graduates. In view of this, there is a pressing need for the education authorities and employers to look into the cause of unemployment among new university graduates and find solution to address this problem. Firstly, the cause of unemployed graduates nowadays is the incompatibility in the focus of higher education institutions and the needs of labor market. The reason for that is lack in compatibility as compared to the situation twenty years ago. In addition, there is an increase of competitiveness and volatility in the labor market. The work environment nowadays require graduates to have some work experiences in order to the requirement of qualified employee. Besides that, incompatibility in the knowledge acquired in higher education institution is one of the factor. The second reason is lack of experiences and skills among the university graduates. Most of organizations today prefer to have graduates with experience to ensure the employers sustain their economic competitiveness. The number of unemployed female graduates is much higher in comparison male graduates. Moreover, those graduates with essential skills are more preferable compared to them who does not have any skills. They also should have proficiency in English. Other than that, university graduates have to possess their interpersonal skills in order to decrease the number of unemployment among them. One of the most appropriate way on how to overcome this problem is the responsible authorities should introduce programmes for fresh graduates. The Ministry of Human Resources’ Unemployed Graduates Training Scheme is an example of training programme that is used to equip graduates with certain skills and experience . Furthermore, it is maintains that we should have the Ministry of Domestic Trade and Consumer Affairs’ recruitment programme to provide employment opportunities to graduates. Besides that, this programme is to expose graduates to opportunities in the private sectors. The last solution for unemployment among university graduates is the Ministry should review the tertiary education system. This includes the development of soft skills through extra curricular activities. This kind of activities not only to build character but to enhance interpersonal skills. In addition, it also develops a critical and creative thinking among those graduates. It is important for a student to begin accumulating as much work related experience as early as they can. Moreover, the Ministry must continually stimulates students’ minds through discussions and evaluate case studies in order to help higher institutions produce high quality graduates. In conclusion, there are certain factors that leads to unemployment among university graduates in Malaysia such as mismatch in the focus of higher education and the needs of labor market, and those graduates have low experience and skill. There are many ways to address this situation for example provide specific and extra training to graduates to fulfill industry’s needs, and enhance the management education system. Hopefully, this problem can be defeat slowly in order to expand the economy of our country.

Du Bois vs. Cox Essay -- essays research papers

Du Bois vs. Cox Everyone has a different technique of evaluating the concept of race. The question that I wanted to ask is how these writers are using their experiences to development their own opinion. How did this concept of race develop into the immense issue we are facing now? According to Oliver C. Cox, the origin of race relations starts with ideas of ethnocentrism, intolerance, and racism. W. E. B. Du Bois said that if what want to find the truth out about race we need to look at the history of the world past the last centuries. The origin of race in my judgment as resulted from both history and the concepts mentioned in Cox’s opinion. He was an African American sociologist. He has born on August 24, 1901. From Port of Spain, Trinidad, Cox was one of eight children and was raised by his uncle Reginald who was a teacher. He came to the United States and earned a degree in history and economics in 1927 at Tuskegee Institute. The environment in Alabama frustrated him and he then joined the faculty of Lincoln University in Jefferson City, Missouri in 1949. He stayed there until 1970, when he joined the faculty of Wayne State University in Michigan. Cox is best known for his attack on the â€Å"caste school of race relations,† in later years he argued his Marxist views of capitalism and race in three books: Foundations of Capitalism (1959), Capitalism and American Leadership (1962), and Capitalism as a System (1964). His final work was Jewish Self-Interest and Black Pluralism (1974). Oliver Cromwell Cox died September 4, 1974. Compared to Cox one can tell how W.E.B. Du Bois’ life influenced the way he thinks and acts. William Edward Burghardt (W.E.B.) Dubois was born on February 23, 1868 in Great Barrington, Massachusetts. He was one of the most influential black leaders of the first half of the 20th Century. Dubois shared in the founding of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, or NAACP, in 1909. He served as its director of research and editor of its magazine, "Crisis," until 1934. Dubois was the first African American to receive a Ph.D. from Harvard University in 1896. Between 1897 and 1914 Dubois conducted numerous studies of black society in America, publishing 16 research papers. He began his investigations believing that soc... .... To define racism we have to look at history and see where the idea of difference all started. In Theories of Race and Racism edited by Les Back and John Solomos, essays by Oliver Cox and W.E.B. Du Bois address the question about race. Cox in his essay stated that ethnocentrism, intolerance, and racism are the guideline to follow to see the origin of races. However, W. E. B. Du Bois said that history presents the facts about the origin of races. I thoughts combine Cox and Du Bois’ ideas if these two concepts were examined together I bet that we could find a little more about racism and races. Work Cited Back, Les, and Solomos, John, Theories of Race and Racism: A Reader, (New York: Routledge, 2000). Lewis, David L., W.E.B. Dubois: Biography of a Race, 1868-1919, (New York: Owl Books, 1994). Lewis, David L., W.E.B. Du Bois: The Fight for Equality and the American Century 1919-1963, (New York: Henry Holt and company, LLC, 2000). Reed, Adolph Jr., New Introduction: â€Å"The Life and Career of Oliver C. Cox,† (USA: 2000). ISBN: 1-58367-006-8

Participant Observation

Participant Observation Sports are important social mediums in our country, but basketball is the only sport where you can go to almost any park and play with complete strangers. While other sports involve diverse equipment and numerous amounts of players, basketball is a quick and easy game that only takes a court and a ball. While using the participant observation method, one can easily see how pickup basketball becomes a common stage for social interaction.While my original perspective of the sport was that of a friendly natured game among neighbors with a competitive aspect, my notes and observations revealed how diverse individuals who meet on the court can sometimes become aggressive to the point of hostility. As a gym member of 24 Hour Fitness, I regularly play basketball in their indoor gym. I chose the location in Hermosa Beach because of the diversity of players that attend there. Using the participant observation method, I was both observing and participating while taking notes (obviously not while playing, for that would be an incredible feat).In a time span of two hours, I ended up playing three games while observing six other games. The location I visited was crowded, while ten players were on the court (five against five), about twenty people were waiting on the sidelines throughout the night; however, this number changed as people grew either tired or impatient. On the sidelines was a list of names for people who wanted to play next. This called for a more organized system of who had next compared to parks where people keep track of who verbally called next.I found that about half of the players at the gym were African-American, while the rest of the players were mixed evenly between Caucasian, Asian, and Hispanic. Certain players, based on body shape and skill level, were given different roles throughout the game. The ages of the players seemed to be mostly late twenties to early thirties, and at no point throughout my two hours being there did a woman enter the gym. Just as the demographics of the players were diverse, so was the gameplay.Some games were dominated by one key player, who scores most of the points, while other teams had strong team chemistry and relied on passing to the open player. I also noticed that when a team is dominated by one player that team usually ends up losing. The team that I played on was very pass oriented, while the team we played against was dominated by only two players. The other team assumed that since their other players were short and small, that they weren’t athletic enough to receive the ball, and because of this our team was able to double team the players who didn’t pass as much.Players match up to other players based on skill and body size, which is why I was guarded by someone very similar to me. I noticed that the biggest factor was height, meaning our tallest player guarded their tallest player while our shortest player guarded their shortest player. However, du ring almost every game players make switches according to skill level in order to have a more sufficient defense. Another important aspect of the game of pickup basketball is respect. When players call foul, even if they disagree with the call, the allow them to get the ball back.During game two, a person called foul but the player on the other team disagreed. As they began to argue about whether it was a foul or not, a teammate yelled out â€Å"respect the call†. After that he stopped arguing and gave him the ball. After I played, during the sixth game, a similar situation occurred in a more dramatic way. One player jumped and caught the ball, but flipped over another player, and landed straight on his back. After everyone saw he got up and was ok, the player through the ball â€Å"up top†, so they could check the ball out and play again.A player on the opposite team began to argue saying that he shouldn’t get the ball because his own player fouled him. After m uch hostile and loud arguing, I heard the injured player say, â€Å"if you really are that thirsty for the ball you can have it, if you really are that desperate for a win†. Everybody on the court agreed that the players allegation was a little too strict for a simple game of pickup basketball, and extreme competitiveness is frowned upon. Throughout the rest of the game the team did not pass it to him once, and before the game ended he quit.He became the focus of discussion for the rest of the night, as people began to criticize him behind his back. From my own personal experience, heated arguments over calls are not that uncommon in the sport of basketball, but usually from those with strong outgoing personalities. For the most part, the game is a civilized game where both teams compete for the win, and focus on teamwork and strategy. At the end of the day I found my perspective on this game had changed. The competitive nature of the game brought up the question: How importa nt is it to win? I observed that to some people the ules of basketball should be enforced strictly, so that the game is fair. However, the general consensus was that respecting other players safety and calls were more important. Nevertheless, I noticed that almost every game had some sort of argument that entailed. I concluded that there is a certain culture on the court that calls for a fair game and places winning as a priority. The sharp contrast to the other players who were only there for the fun and love of the game brings up questions on whether social or even economic backgrounds are what causes people to become so passionate about a seemingly frivolous game.

Erikson’s Psychosocial Development

Erik Erikson outlines eight stages in the psychosocial development of a healthy human being, in which the stages are characterized by conflicts. The ego is at the center of all these developments (Wagner, 2005). Infancy This stage is from birth up to 18 months. During this time, the child's ego develops trust and the central figure in his universe is his mother. How he trusts or mistrusts those around him will depend on his maternal relationship. The child's experience at this stage could help mold how he will interact with people in his adult life.In the movie â€Å"Psycho (1960),† Norman only had his mother since birth. They were very close that he considers her his only friend. Norman was not weaned from his dependence that he carried it all throughout his adulthood. When his parent found a new lover, it made Norman so jealous that he killed her. He resolved his guilt by keeping his mother's corpse in the house. Muscular-Anal The second stage in the psychosocial development is from 18 months to three years. At this point of a child's development, Erikson explains that there is a growing sense of independence that is being experienced by the child.It's important for parents to understand the child's need for support because it would tell him that you are there to help develop his capabilities. There would be constant conflict if the parent won't learn to give in to the child. The child experiences conflicting feelings of initiative and doubt at this point. Psychosocial Development 2 The movie â€Å"Baby Geniuses,† shows a bunch of toddlers who are being kept in a lab so that researchers would understand a universal secret. However, the toddler Sly is showing off his independence by wanting to escape from the lab, and to which he actually succeeds.His escape is just the start of a series of antics that toddlers have to do in order to stop the designs of an evil scientist. Play Age The child at this point, from three to six years old, is already l earning basic skills and how to master the things around him. The child displays initiative and the courage to complete tasks. He also shows the capacity to make decisions for himself. At the same time, he may also feel guilty if he is unable to complete something that he wants to do. When the result of his initiative is negative, this may make the child uneasy and resort to displaying aggressiveness or inhibition.The parents must balance the initiative and guilt by giving the child tasks that are appropriate for his age. In the movie â€Å"300,† Spartans shun deformities and anything that is not perfect in their eyes. As a young boy, Leonides was already trained to prepare himself to become king. Play for them involves fighting and brawling. Early on, he already knew that he must achieve certain tasks to prove his worth. He needed to survive being out in the wilds with only himself to depend on. Leonides was able to overcome the tests and he returned to Sparta as a man. Scho ol AgeIn the school age, from seven to 10 years old, a child has to find balance between doing too much and doing too little. If a child does too many complex tasks, he forgets to have fun like Psychosocial Development 3 other children. But when he gets to do very little, the chance for success is slim. This could result to inferiority. Adults around the child must strike a balance between industry and inferiority in order to mold the child into a competent individual. Without the proper balance, the child will grow up feeling inferior to his peers in terms of social skills.John Nash, the genius from the movie â€Å"A Beautiful Mind,† suffers from inferiority complex as a result of his being aloof during the school age. He preferred academic tasks rather than being with other kids his age. He was always alone. As a result, Nash didn't know how to be close to other people. Nash was not able to resolve the conflict on his own. He talked about his fears and frustrations concerni ng the opposite sex to his roommate. Adolescence Between 10 and 17 years of age, an adolescent is conscious of how others look at him.It is important that at this stage the adolescent is reassured of his worth as a person. An adolescent who receives good familial support will often behave better among his peers. This is the point when the adolescent will be aware of his sexual identity. The adolescent either develops his own identity or be confused about it. The movie â€Å"Boys Don't Cry,† is the story of Brandon Teena who was born a female but chose to become male in high school. This identity change was the result of a sexual assault that Brandon experienced at the hand of a male relative.No one, except his mother, knew that Brandon was female. He dated several girls in high school. Psychosocial Development 4 Young Adulthood The young adult stage, according to Erikson, is between 18 to 40 years old. This is the point where the adult chooses between intimacy or isolation. A t the early part of this stage, the person is interested in friendships and blending his identity with those of his friends. Later on, the young adult becomes ready for an intimate and close relationship with another individual.At the same time, the young adult must understand and not fear isolation because this would come handy in later years. Rejection, break-ups and being alone are things that a young adult must be able to handle. Andy Stitzer, a typical nerd in the movie â€Å"A Forty Year Old Virgin,† is a man who understands being alone. He has never been in an intimate relationship with another person. He was finally convinced to become intimate with a girl by his friends. This leads to Andy welcoming more people in his life and gaining new friends and acquaintances. Middle AdulthoodThe middle adulthood stage comes when a person reaches 40 years old and ends at 65 years old. At this point, the person is either driven by the need to become a guide to the younger generat ion or be complacent and let the years keep him in stagnation. Tony Starks, or the â€Å"Iron Man,† is a 40 something arms manufacturer who had a change of heart after his captivity. He became engaged in correcting the mistakes he made in the past to preserve the world for the future generations. Instead of making arms to increase his wealth, he turned into a superhero to save those in need.Psychosocial Development 5 Late Adulthood From 65 years onwards, the person enters the late adulthood phase. During these years, the person looks back on the past years and evaluates the kind of life he lived. From this, the person will either feel that he has live a life of integrity, or he will be in despair (Clifton & Davis, 1995) . If there is gladness for the good times, acceptance for what could not be, and forgiveness for mistakes, then the person will be at peace and become prepared for whatever the years are yet to bring.But for the person who does not learn to accept and forgive, he has a tendency to suffer depression. Edward Cole, a billionaire in the movie â€Å"Bucketlist,† had lived a life of eccentricity and isolation. But after he was diagnosed with cancer in his later years, Cole became friends with another cancer patient Carter Chambers. The two embarked on a life-changing journey, which turned Cole into a better person. By accepting his mistakes and doing something about them, Cole was able to enjoy the last of his days, free from guilt and other burdens. ReferencesChild Development Institute, LLC. Stages of Social-Emotional Development In Children and Teenagers. Retrieved August 24, 2008, from http://www. childdevelopmentinfo. com/development/erickson. shtml Clifton, A. , & Davis, D. (1995). Psychosocial Theory: Erikson. Haverford Home Page. Retrieved August 24, 2008, from http://www. haverford. edu/psych/ddavis/p109g/erikson. stages. html Wagner, K. V. (2005). Erikson's Stages of Psychosocial Development. About. com: Psychology. Retrieved August 24, 2008, from http://psychology. about. com/od/theoriesofpersonality/a/psychosocial_3. htm

Group Communications Essay Essay Example

Group Communications Essay Essay Example Group Communications Essay Essay Group Communications Essay Essay Three pictures of different group and squad interaction will be reviewed for this paper. After they have been viewed they will be discussed on affairs of the relationship between group members. member diverseness and communicating manner. The first instance survey to be reviewed is: Helping Annie. In this picture a school nurse has called a meeting with a head-shrinker and a societal worker to discourse the instance of a High school pupil. Annie. who perchance suffers from depression and an eating upset. Right off the chiropteran the school nurse is interrupted by the head-shrinker before she can complete giving the background information on Annie. He wants facts instantly non â€Å"impressions. † He makes a speedy determination as to her job and her intervention within proceedingss of their meeting and seems to believe that they are done. no more demands to be said. : The Social worker does non hold with his determination and offers a counter solution but is once more interrupted by the head-shrinker. The head-shrinker wants to utilize medicine and the Social workers wants to first talk to Annie and see if they can understand what the adolescent is traveling through. The head-shrinker sees this as a entire waste of clip. There does non look to be any existent facilitator of these meeting. and no one points out the psychiatrist’s changeless breaks of the societal worker but the societal worker herself. The school nurse is wholly intimidated into silence by both of their behaviours. The psychologist seems to hold the communicating traits of what the trial calls minds. and the Social worker has the traits of a antenna. Harmonizing to the text. Thinks are task-oriented. They take pride in their ability to believe objectively and logically. regardless of if those ideas are right. ( Reeve. 2007. Ch. 3. pg. 69. parity. 2 ) Antennas are people-oriented. The psychologist is really direct and analytical. He seems to desire to take any feelings or humanity from Annie’s instance while the societal worker is taking a more subjective. humane attack to Annie’s jobs and is evidently more concerned with the girl’s wellbeing than a speedy hole. The diverseness that exists in this group is both gender and category. The group consist of two adult females and one older adult male. the older adult male. the head-shrinker. seems to believe that the societal worker and school nurse are non in the same category as he. his age. experience and profession doing him superior to them on all degrees. hence. their sentiments are non deserving sing. This diverseness is a hinderance in their communicating because the psychologist is non listening to the two adult females and continues to disrupt them because â€Å"he doesn’t have much clip here. † If utilizing a high context perspective the spectator could pull the decision that the psychologist does non hold with the societal worker by watching his gestural behaviour such as his gestures and facial looks. In a high-context civilization small significance is expressed through words. Meaning can be conveyed through position such as age. gender. instruction or rubric. ( Reeve. 2007 ) One method that could hold been used to better communications would hold been to hold a facilitator nowadays to guarantee that each party had the same sum of clip to show his or her sentiments. Another betterment would hold been a alteration of puting from the informal scene to a more professional seating agreement that may hold helped foster communicating between all parties present. such as a unit of ammunition tabular array or face to confront seating. The 2nd picture reviewed is: Planing the Playground. The group consists of three males and two females ; three Caucasians and two minorities. The picture instance opens with two new members. one a younger male. Ray and one older adult female. Betty. run intoing the squad for the first clip. There seems to be two somewhat awkward minutes when Ray foremost merely offers to agitate the custodies of the work forces at the tabular array and when he has problem articulating the name of the minority female Iesha. The minute was defused rapidly when Iesha decided to do a little gag about her name to ease the tenseness and held out her ain manus in salutation. Betty seemed unsure about speech production and said she merely joined the squad to do friends. Communicationss between the squad started out stiff and decelerate but by utilizing â€Å"team talk. † ( the nature of the linguistic communication that group members use as they work together. Not merely does squad speak enable group members to portion information and express sentiments. but analysis of squad talk besides â€Å"reveals where the squad is coming from and where the squad is headed. ) ( Reeve. 2007. Ch. 5 pg. 124. Para. 2 ) . squad leader David kept the treatment fluxing and moved it to the ground they were at that place. The function the diverseness of the group played in their communicating was the different experiences each had to convey to the treatment. Iesha evidently liked research and set Numberss and offered non merely a sound dollar sum to endeavor for but concluding behind it. Ray countered that he thinks the sum should be higher but offered no existent ground as did Phil who wanted the sum lower. After make up ones minding to compromise they moved to fund-raising. The immediate response to Betty’s suggestion of holding a Bake sale was obvious. They did non take her input earnestly at all but once more the squad leader chimed in before thei r dismissive attitude could be considered ill-mannered and contemptuous. Diversity was besides non a strong hinderance to the group even though the potency was at that place. Conflict direction techniques were used by the group by showing involvement in work outing the job and maintaining their tone and linguistic communication non-threatening. utilizing phrases like â€Å"well. yes but let’s expression at it from a different angle† or â€Å"that’s a good thought but may non be precisely what we need now. †The usage of squad speak was a really effectual communicating tool that kept the squad focused and on path. Another of import tool that was used was gestural. The seating agreement at the tabular array permitted members to hold their personal infinite but still be able to hold direct oculus contact. Harmonizing to Reeve. each person’s pick of siting place in groups has a direct consequence on interaction and influence. A figure of surveies have demonstrated that group members prefercorner-to-corner or side-by-side seating for concerted activities. Such an agreement allows them to be near adequate to portion stuffs. ( R eeve. 2007. CH. 5 pg. 138. Para 1 ) The squad in this instance survey did demo good communicating accomplishments on the whole but the one betterment would hold been to guarantee that before the meeting took topographic point. that each member understood what the ground for the meeting was. The last picture reviewed is Virtual Communication. This picture is a presentation of three people run intoing as a squad via conference call. The 3rd unobserved member is non listening to what is being said by the director or his coworker. This is obvious because when they ask him a inquiry he pauses or stammers. so repeats something that neither of the other participants really said. Listening is of import in any group so that you can be certain to acquire all the available information every bit good as know precisely what is expected of you. This is even more so in the practical concern work when squad members are non really sitting face to face. Charlie is neither listening to what is being said or to the messages that were contained in Ellen’s electronic mail or voice mails to him. Harmonizing to the text. Effective hearing in practical groups requires accommodating to a different medium of look Your lone version is doing certain that your mike is on or off at appropriate times. In an email treatment. nevertheless. you can neither see nor hear participants. but you still must â€Å"listen† to their messages. ( Reeve. 2007. Ch. 6. Pg. . 168 ) The disadvantage of group meetings utilizing a practical medium is that you can forge hearing by replying â€Å"I agree† or a non-committal sound. You can besides feign you didn’t hear something that you don’t want to turn to as Ellen does in this picture when Charlie tries to put the incrimination on her. Charlie did non efficaciously use any of his listening accomplishments while on this call. It was evident by his distrait â€Å"non-answers† that he was non listening. The full mistake is non needfully Charlie’s ; it is non known if he of all time to the full understood what was expected of him from the first meeting. If he had at any clip used one listening accomplishment such as rephrasing he might hold had adequate elucidation to acquire his assignment done in clip. Paraphrasing is a signifier of feedback that one lets the talker know you are listening and gives them the chance to clear up their statement. Paraphrasing can be used for multiple intents such as: To guarantee comprehension before rating ; to reassure others that you want to understand them ; to unclutter up confusion and ask for elucidation ; and to assist other’s make their ain decisions. ( Reeve. 2007 ) Mentions Engleberg. I. Wynn. D. 2007. Working in Groups: Communication Principles and Strategies ( 4th ed. ) Allyn A ; Bacon Publishers. The Collaboration Tool Box. 2002-2003. MIT. Online resource. Retreived on-line January 12. 2009 from hypertext transfer protocol: //web. Massachusetts Institute of Technology. e

Understanding the Ballot Initiative Process

Understanding the Ballot Initiative Process The ballot initiative, a form of direct democracy, is the process through which citizens exercise the power to place measures otherwise considered by state legislatures or local governments on statewide and local ballots for a public vote. Successful ballot initiatives can create, change or repeal state and local laws, or amend state constitutions and local charters. Ballot initiatives can also be used simply to force state or local legislative bodies to consider the subject of the initiative. As of 2016, the ballot initiative process was used at the state level in 24 states and the District of Columbia and is commonly used in county and city government. The first documented approval for the use of the ballot initiative process by a state legislature appeared in the first constitution of Georgia, ratified in 1777.   The State of Oregon recorded the first use of the modern ballot initiative process in 1902. A major feature of the American Progressive Era from the 1890s to 1920s, the use of ballot initiatives quickly spread to several other states. The first attempt to gain the approval of the ballot initiative at the federal government level took place in 1907 when House Joint Resolution 44 was introduced by Rep. Elmer Fulton of Oklahoma. The resolution never came to a vote in the full House of Representatives, having failed to gain committee approval. Two similar resolutions introduced in 1977 were also unsuccessful.According to the Initiative Referendum Institutes Ballotwatch, a total of 2,314 ballot initiatives appeared on state ballots between 1904 and 2009, of which 942 (41%) were approved. The ballot initiative process is also commonly used at the county and city levels of government. There is no ballot initiative process at the national level. Adoption of a nationwide federal ballot initiative process would require an amendment to the U.S. Constitution. Direct and Indirect Ballot Initiatives Ballot initiatives may be either direct or indirect. In a direct ballot initiative, the proposed measure is placed directly on the ballot after being submitted by a certified petition. Under the less common indirect initiative, the proposed measure is placed on a ballot for a  popular vote only if it has first been rejected by the state legislature. Laws specifying the number and qualifications of names required to place an initiative on a ballot vary from state-to-state. Difference Between Ballot Initiatives and Referendums The term ballot initiative should not be confused with referendum, which is a measure referred to voters by a state legislature proposing that specific legislation may be approved or rejected by the legislature. Referendums may be either binding or non-binding referendums. In a binding referendum, the state legislature is forced by law to abide by the vote of the people. In a non-binding referendum, it is not. The terms referendum, proposition and ballot initiative are often used interchangeably. Examples of Ballot Initiatives Some notable examples of ballot initiatives voted on in  the November 2010 midterm elections included: Washington State Initiative 1098 would impose a first-ever state income tax, initially on individuals with incomes above $200,000 but later possibly extend to other groups at the legislatures discretion. This action would remove Washington from the list of nine states without a state income tax.Californias Proposition 23 would suspend enforcement of the sweeping California Global Warming Act and all laws related to it until the states unemployment rate eases and becomes stable.A ballot initiative in Massachusetts would  slash the states sales tax from 6.25 percent to 3 percent, and repeal in most cases the state sales tax on alcoholic beverages.Californias Proposition 19 would legalize the possession, cultivation, and transportation of marijuana for the personal use of persons 21 years of age or older.As a sign of opposition to the new federal health care reform law, voters in Arizona, Colorado, and Oklahoma considered ballot initiatives affirming individuals choices on purchasing insurance or participating in government plans.

Futures and Innovation - Media and Innovation Essay

Futures and Innovation - Media and Innovation - Essay Example Innovation could help bring in more revenues for industries, for the government, and for the overall economy. It is a never-ending process and a way in which industries learn to adapt to the changing needs and wants of the general public (Schaffer & Paul-Chowdhury, 2002). In this postmodern society, some of the best innovations are through media. The dawn of computers and information technology (IT) has also been the go signal for media innovations. The wonders of the internet has already brought us online social networks, not to mention blogs, forums, and chat rooms where people of all walks of life can put across their personal sentiments, conduct their private businesses or simply socialize while glued to their seats. This virtual enterprise has especially made a difference on the business interests of the tourism industry. Governments from various countries as well as private companies specializing in travel and tours are now seeing the cost-efficient way of promoting native destinations to the rest of the world via the internet (Steinbock, 2003, pp.109-121). There is no need to send travel brochures or pamphlets by manual mail. Today, the tourism industry can simply build websites with state-of-the-art â€Å"Virtual Tour† features and att ract tourists from around the world. Virtual tourism has had a mixed reception, which is why this essay will scrutinize its benefits and disadvantages in modern-day tourism. Following a discussion on the pros and cons of this ground-breaking media innovation, this essay will also present a country case study dealing with the impact of virtual tours and virtualization in Portugal. Virtual tours are mock models of sceneries, shops, or places that help to promote the real ones. Also a kind of virtual reality accessible through several tourism websites, virtual tours are a set of continuous pictures, videos, and other multimedia that enables viewers to move from place to place with just a