Structure and Characteristics Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Structure and Characteristics - Research Paper Example The Chinese population during 1980s was around 1 billion. The slow growth rate o the population can be attributed to ‘one child policy’. In the next few decades, the population of china is expected to increase. Reasons for this expected increase are a decline in infant mortality rate and also a sudden decrease in death rate due to the improvement in national health. Though the population is expected to rise even more, however, around 2030s, it is anticipated to reach its peak level and then decline gradually. Another such country that I have taken up is Germany. Germany along with few other European countries have a substantially low growth rate of population. The German population has crossed 82 million long before. Since 1990s, population of Germany has increased considerably. The main reason behind this increase was immigration, i.e. entry of individuals in the country. Infact, it is also assumed that if Germany did not witness immigration, its population would have b een shrinking much like that of Czech Republic. However, in the near future, the total expected population of Germany is expected to decline. According to destatis.de, in the coming decades, the population will decline due to decline in birth rates and increase in birth rates. Life expectancy will increase and birth rate will continue to fall in future.

Writer's option Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3250 words

Writer's option - Research Paper Example Smith clarified the way competition enhances the productivity and social wellbeing by promising ideal distribution of resources and labour in the overall economy. Yet, as a pragmatist, Smith had also identified that capitalism will corrupt the competitive markets. He had also realised that in capitalist economy, certain individuals would turn out to be much wealthier and rich in comparison with others. On the assumption that there will be economic growth, the wealthy would become wealthier, however, the poor would also be more affluent. Adam Smith put substantial level of effort for establishing the theory of capitalism and how it would determine competitive markets. Even after his death, the ideas provided by Adam Smith remained significant in the fields of economy (Yardeni & Moss, 1990). Focusing on this aspect, the study examines Adam Smith’s explanation of competitive market. The study also delineates the way in which Adam Smith has viewed the present competitive markets and the manner in which these markets work. In relation to this, the study defines how the rule of exchange works in a competitive market for determining the prices. Capitalism is an economic structure which protects private property and allows free trade in the competitive markets. In capitalism system, individuals are allowed to follow self-interests as long as these interests are controlled by competition and society obtains advantages from lower expenses and increased choices. However, the problem related to capitalism is that self-interest has a natural tendency for collusion and corruption. In other words, capitalists tend to pursue power and to exploit it in order to rigout the market in their favour at the cost of economic disadvantage (Yardeni & Moss, 1990). Adam Smith often cited capitalism as a supporter of free market which signifies deregulation. A deregulated market where government has low

Halal Meat Preparation and Quality Standards

Halal Meat Preparation and Quality Standards Harmonisation of Halal standard is an urge in the current market and there are several main aspects that we need to focus on for harmonisation. In the following session, we will discuss about aspects in Halal standard that should be harmonise between ASEAN countries. Malaysia Halal certification is based on the Malaysian standard of MS 1500:2009 which is the General Guidelines covered the Halal Food Production, Preparation, Handling and Storage. Brunei Darussalam standard is PBD 24:2007 on Halal Food which prepared by its national Religious Council. Thailand National Halal Standard of THS 24000:2552 regarding General Guidelines on Halal Products is prepared by the Central Islamic Committee of Thailand. Indonesia Halal standard is known as General Guidelines of Halal Assurance System LPPOM MUI and being published on year 2008. Finally, Singapores MUIS Halal Certification Standard is regarding the General Guidelines for the Handling and Processing of Halal Food. All this standards will be compare and contrast in the following session to observe the similarity and differences. Each of the standards will be call for short in the text by national standard. Animal Welfare Animal welfare is being regard as an important aspect in Halal slaughtering. Slaughtering act which result in poor cut, bad bleeding and slow loss of consciousness and pain are considered as violating the animal welfare in Islamic Law (Chambers and Grandin, 2001). In Thailand National Halal Standard, it state that animal welfare should be protected according to Islamic law and performed exactly to decrease animal maltreatment. Hence, animals are required to be feed with enough water and taken a rest properly before slaughter and the animal shall be instantly slaughter by sharp knife and their skin should not be cut before it is completely dead. MUIS Halal Certification Standard of Singapore regarding general guidelines for the handling and processing of Halal food also stated that animal should be rested and fed. In addition, it had stated that area to hold the animals before slaughtering should not be near to the slaughtering place by making a significant distance to ensure that the animals in holding area will not see or sense the slaughtering action. Indonesias Guidelines on Chicken Slaughtering and Chicken Meat Handling in Small Scale Chicken Slaughterhouses also had mentioned that animal welfare should be applied based on several basic principles which are freedom from hunger, thirst, discomfort, pain, injury, disease, fear and distress, while freedom to express normal behaviour. However, others countries Halal standard such as standard from Malaysia and Brunei do not clearly stated about actions to protect animal welfare. Hence, these actions should be harmonised among countries to ensure that all the animals are treated well and accordingly prior slaughtering to reduce the possibility of maltreatment. Slaughtering In different countries, there may have different methods for slaughtering the animals, hence a standard should be set among ASEAN countries. By having a harmonised Halal standard, the slaughtering processes can be harmonized and trades of meats between ASEAN countries or importation of meats from other countries can be facilitated. Lawful animals to be slaughters are refer to poultry and ruminant. Examples of poultry are chicken, duck, turkey, ostrich and quail of any age or sex; while ruminant permitted to slaughtered, processed and stored are cattle, buffalo, goat, sheep, deer, camel and others ruminants (JAKIM, 2008). Fishes and other marine animals are excluded and any form of merciful killing methods also can be used (MUIS, 2005). Most of the Halal slaughtering guidelines in ASEAN countries are similar, and only certain points are dissimilar and those points should be harmonised to achieve better similarity and acceptance of Halal meat product among these countries. Although a ASEAN general guidelines on the preparation and handling of Halal food is available, however the slaughtering rules stated are too general, so a more specific rules should be published to ensure the practice of slaughtering will be same among ASEAN nations. On the other hand, the proper pronunciation of the phrase to recite prior the slaughtering acts on animal also slightly different among countries. Although the ASEAN general guidelines had stated as Bismillah à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦, but most countries do not follow this wording. Although all the phrase are refers to similar meaning which is In the name of Allah Most Gracious, Most Merciful or In the name of Allah, Allah is the Greatest, Malaysia stated the phrase to be invoked immediately before slaughtering in Arabic , while Brunei version is , Thailand version is Bismillah Allahu Akhbar, Indonesia version is Bismillahi Allahu Akbar, and Singapore version only stated to recite Basmalah but did not stated the exact phrase wording. The Muslim slaughterman should recite the same phrase prior slaughtering, so harmonization can be should be done to achieve it. In ASEAN general guidelines, it only stated that it should severe the trachea, oesophagus, main arteries and veins of the neck region, while Malaysia, Brunei and Thailands Halal Standard are more specific and specified that slaughtering act shall begin with an incision on the neck at some point just below the glottis and after the glottis for long necked animals, then the part to severe are trachea, oesophagus, and both the carotid arteries and jugular veins to hasten the bleeding and death of the animal. It also required that bleeding be spontaneous and complete. Malaysia and Bruneis standard also displayed the slaughtering part for chicken and cattle clearly with figure. On the other hand, different term also had been use to describe the part of the animal, where trachea is known as windpipe and oesophagus is known as gullet in Singapore Standard. Singapores Standard only stated to cut the windpipe, gullet and jugular vein but didnt mentioned on the arteries that should be severed; while Indonesias Halal standard only mentioned on cutting the trachea, esophagus and two neck arteries but didnt mentioned on its veins. The Indonesias Halal standard also required that the position of the to-be-slaughtered chicken to facing the Kiblat which said to be recommended by Islamic Law, but this requirement did not found in any standard in the other ASEAN countries. Hence, parts of animals, term to define and method for slaughtering act should be defined clearly and better with figures, so the slaughterman could slaughter the animal accordingly and standardized among ASEAN countries. Stunning Stunning is a step to make the animal unconscious before the slaughtering to eliminate possible pain, discomfort and stress from slaughtering process (Chambers and Grandin, 2001). Although process of stunning is not encourage in most of the Halal Guideline, but it is permitted if it carried out within the specified condition. The ASEAN general guidelines which established on the year 1997 had stated that only electrical and mechanical stunning can be use and this stunning should not kill or injured the animal. Poultry are generally agreed to be stunned with electrical water bath stunning method among the ASEAN countries. Only Indonesia Guidelines on slaughtering had mentioned additional one type of stunning method which is manual stunner where it operated by touching the chicken head with a metal electrified with certain voltage and ampere. This type of method had not been stated in the guidelines of others countries and may not be permitted in some of these countries. The ASEAN general guidelines stated that only mechanical stunner should be use in cattle and buffaloes and stunner which do not penetrate or break the skull should be use to avoid causing any injuries to the animal and it stated that non-penetrative type (mushroom head) percussion stunner should be allowed. However, according to the decision of Malaysia Fatwa, non-penetrative captive bolt (mushroom head gun) is unlawful, but it allow electrical stunning method which of the type of head only stunner other than mechanical stunner. Pneumatic percussive stunning for cows is allowed if the skull of the animal stunned did not crack or does not causing the death of the animal. Thailands Halal Standard had state that only electrically stunning of head-only stunner which attached to both electrodes on animals head are approved. It also allowed the non-penetrative stunner (mushroom head type) for stunning of animals. However, Brunei, Indonesia and Singapore standard just stated that stunning p rocess is allowed if it does not cause animal death before slaughtered but didnt list out the specification for stunning. All the stunning method should be specified and harmonised, so cases of non-compliances to the importing countries standard will not occur during importation or exportation of the Halal meat product and the exporting product will not be banned and causes any economic loss. Mechanical Slaughtering In ASEAN general guidelines, it had stated that mechanical slaughter of chicken is permitted if certain condition can be fulfilled. However, according to Brunei Halal standard, it had totally prohibited the mechanical slaughtering of Halal animals, which means that the slaughtering act should only be done by the human slaughterer. On the other hand, Malaysia and Thailand have specified standard and condition stated in the guidelines of mechanical slaughtering of poultry, while Indonesia and Singapore do not specified terms and condition related to mechanical slaughtering in their Halal standard. According Fatwa Indonesia, they had decide that mechanical slaughtering which due to technological advancement are permitted and animal slaughtered with this method is Halal, but detail requirement are not stated. Requirements for mechanical slaughtering in Malaysia and Thailand are mostly similar to the ASEAN general guidelines requirement which required the slaughterer to clearly invoke the prayer of Bismilah before switching on the mechanical knife and the knife must be single steel blade type which is sharp, clean without contaminant and used for Halal slaughtering only. Whenever a slaughterer wants to leaves the slaughter place or replace by another slaughterer, he must stop the mechanical knife operation first and another slaughterer should again invoke the prayer before switching the knife again. The slaughtering act by mechanical knife should severe the trachea, oesophagus and both the carotid arteries and jugular veins of the poultry and any poultry which missed by the mechanical knife will be slaughter manually by hand. The other two countries which do not have specified terms and condition about mechanical slaughtering should state their requirement in the standard either they permitted or prohibited the act, so it could reduce the confusion to the slaughtering house and ease the trade between countries. Since Brunei insist to prohibited on mechanical slaughtering, it might become the trade barrier of Halal food between ASEAN nations, so this issue must be treated well with harmonisation of standard and consensus among these nations. Thoracic Stick According to Wan-Hassan (2007), he stated that delisting of Australian and New Zealand Halal meat producer by JAKIM Malaysia because of thoracic sticking had causes loss of export of these countries amounted to $53 million. However, later on a conference between Malaysia Fatwa Committee had discuss on this issue and decided that thoracic sticking method, which is the additional procedure after slaughtering of animal is permitted and the meats following this action are still considered as Halal. The decision of Fatwa Committee regarding this issue had stated several conditions to be fulfilled which are the slaughtering act must be complete before thoracic sticking where the trachea, oesophagus and two jugular veins must be severed. The animal must be died because of slaughtering, while thoracic sticking only functions to speed up the death which only can be performed 30 seconds after the slaughtering act. There are no information could be found about thoracic sticking in others ASEAN countries Halal standard, so a detailed requirements and permission on thoracic sticking should be properly stated in each countrys regulation and being harmonised among them. This action could increase the Halal status of the product, while on the same time it could reduces the economic loss of exporting countries and prevent their product banned by ASEAN countries. Labeling Standards and Requirement The ASEAN general guidelines on Halal Food did not stated any labeling requirement about Halal food product. However, by referring to the labeling standards in each countrys Halal guidelines, we had found that Malaysia, Brunei, Singapore and Thailand had stated standard and requirement about labeling, while Indonesia Halal standard did not mentioned the requirement for labeling. Malaysia and Brunei standard are similar, while Thailand Halal standard is slightly different because it is more detail with more specification. Generally, Malaysia and Brunei Halal standard required that the labeling material used should be non-hazardous and Halal. Then, each container should be label with name of the product, nett weight, name and address of the manufacturer, importer and distributor, list of ingredients, code number identifying date and or batch number of manufacture and expiry date with country of origin. Meat products are required to label with date of slaughter and date of processing. S ingapore Halal label guidelines is obtained from its certification terms and condition where it stated the Halal label specification such as length, width, colour, serial number, durability and material. Thailand requirement for labeling are different from the countries discussed, which required the producer to specifiy legibly the product ingredients, especially for product which contained makroh ingredient or consist of animals and fish. It also required the products which contained genetically modified foods, or fats, meat bits or derivatives of fats such as gelatin and rennin to be clearly specified on the label. The standard also required the Halal product to be labeled with nutrition fact. On the other hand, meat products are additional required to have information about animal health certificate on its labeling. Mark such as official stamp are required to proof the Halal slaughtering act and the branding ink should be stable and non-hazardous. It also stated that Halal logo should specify the organization in charge and required the certification number to be printed on product. Halal logo which is a label issued after the Halal food product had been proven of its Halal status by Halal certification authorities. By having the proper label of Halal logo, it also helps to prevent the product from being mixed or contaminated with materials which are non-Halal. Hence, by attaching a Halal logo on the label, it had proven that the product is safe and suitable to be consumed by Muslim consumer. The Halal logo on food product is more meaningful and important for Muslim consumers than ISO or other similar certification because it could indicate the wholesomeness of the food and it proven the food is ritually clean (Shafie and Othman, 2006). However, all the ASEAN countries or countries worldwide are having own national Halal logo, but national logo is not usable on another countries, so food products which schedule to be export must be special amend on their labeling to comply with the importing countries requirements. If the Halal logo with its Halal certification process could be harmonized worldwide or at least among ASEAN countries, it definitely can ease the trade of Halal food between countries and reduces the additional work load for exportation of Halal food. Although ASEAN general guidelines on Halal food handling had suggest that food products which produced according to the standard could be label with a ASEAN label and National Halal logo to proved it Halal status, but we have found out that most of the product still did not label the Halal food with this way. It may due to that certain country do not recognize and approve the Halal standard of another country. NATIONAL HALAL LOGO Laboratory Testing Laboratory testing can be use to verify that the Halal food product are free from sources which is haram and free from contamination of haram ingredient. According to the subsection of verification methods in Thailand Halal standard, the verification testing may include profile testing; physical, chemical and microbiology analysis; blood and blood products test; genetically modified products, preservatives, and additives analysis; and through inspecting of packaging and packaging materials. Halal primary concern is of the contaminant from ethyl alcohol and pork origin, so most of the laboratory testing is to verify that the food products are free from contamination by these materials. However, only Thailand Halal standard had generally stated about the guidelines for verification by laboratory testing without specify the detail methodology, while others ASEAN countries totally did not stated any requirement or guidelines about laboratory testing for verification the Halal status of the product. Currently, JAKIM in Malaysia also do not have full range of research and development unit and it need the assistance from third party to run the laboratory testing and analysis to certify the Halal status of the product (Shafie and Othman, 2006). The laboratory testing and analysis methodology may differ between different laboratory testing centres, so standardization should be conduct to obtained similar level of Halal verification nationally. Basically, Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay (ELISA) and Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) will be used in laboratory for detection of forbidden substances, such as PCR is used to detect pork DNA, while ELISA is used to detect the pres ence of antibody or antigen in the product (Zareena, 2010). News had revealed that JAKIM (Malaysia) will build a government-owned Halal analysis laboratory by 2012 in Bandar Enstek, Nilai to analysed Halal product. This will be the first country in the global to have governmental based Halal analysis laboratory. Datuk Seri Jamil Khir Baharom, Minister in the Prime Ministers Department in Malaysia also said that after the Halal Act being legislated, JAKIM will be the only body to issue Halal certificates and private sector will not be allowed to do so anymore (Bernama, 2011). These laboratory will conduct research on food and others product to verify the Halal status, and it will be used by local and foreign food producers. If this Halal analysis laboratory by JAKIM could increase their capability, it may become the centre for Halal analysis laboratory to execute test for products from ASEAN countries for Halal product status. Hence, it may become a factor for harmonisation of the laboratory testing method among ASEAN countries. This action ma y generate a standardized requirement on laboratory testing and methodology, so laboratory testing of product for Halal certification among ASEAN countries could be equally recognised. Approaches for Harmonization Harmonization of the ASEAN Halal standard is the need for ASEAN countries; so many respective authorities had been putting effort on finding the suitable approaches to harmonize the standard and to get consensus agreement on the implementation according to the harmonized Halal standard. Reference Standard Currently, there is no single reference point for Halal standard that is accepted worldwide as the industry standard, so all the countries are now having their own national Halal standard for the certification scheme (MITI, 2006). To produce an ASEAN Halal standard that is able to be use with ease in ASEAN countries, usually it needs to base on several reference standards. The reference standard could be national Halal standard, Codex guidelines, regional Halal standard or others. Currently, a Codex guidelines which named by General Guidelines for Use of the Term Halal is available to be refers by all countries worldwide, but it barely cover and recommend on the use of Halal claims and Halal food labeling with defining of the term Halal but do not encompass all areas related to Halal food production. Generally, Codex is being known as a standard which is effective for dispute settlement, so the Codex General Standard should be develop and leverage to include more aspects of Halal foo d preparation, handling and production. On the other hand, MABIMS which is the Association of Religious Ministers of Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia and Singapore had also formed a Technical Committee and develop a MABIMS Guidelines for Preparation of Food and Drink for Muslims. Both Codex and MABIMS guidelines also had been act as reference to develop the ASEAN General Guideline (Ad-Hoc Working Group, 1997). ASEAN ad-hoc working group is a committee which comprise of representative from Senior Officials Meeting of the ASEAN Ministers of Agriculture and Forestry (SOM-AMAF) and religious authorities of each ASEAN member country. One of the functions of this committee is to coordinate the multinational policy and develop the ASEAN General Guidelines on the Preparation and Handling of Halal Food. This ASEAN general guideline had been published on year 1997. However, this general guidelines is too brief and do not covered every aspect, so it cannot be totally followed or enforces by the ASEAN countries during the accreditation of Halal certificate, while each of the ASEAN countries only follow to their own national guidelines. This guideline is developed almost 14 years ago and many aspects may be changed or obsolete, so it require to review or update on a regular basis such as once a year to keep improving the available guideline to a more broadening aspects covering Halal. Among ten countries in ASEAN, there are 5 countries (Malaysia, Brunei, Thailand, Indonesia and Singapore) which have their own national Halal standard. Malaysian Standards of MS 1500: 2009 which is a ISO compliance standard had also being use as references to create the Codex General Guidelines for Use of the Term Halal. It means that an international or regional guidelines can be produced by refers to others countries national standard. As discussed in the previous section, there are several aspects that have been found to be conflict among different national standard. This is due to different country have different interpretation on major issue, while some countries have stricter requirement than the other countries or had lower tolerance toward advancement of technology for production. However, all these national standards and regional standard should be integrated by compare and contrast on the requirements between each national standard. Then, middle ground or highest tolerance limits which are able to be achieved and agreed by each nation will be set. Hence, barrier to trade due to differ of national Halal standard can be resolved and food trade among ASEAN countries could be facilitated. This solution seems effective but actually rather difficult to implement because normally each country will have their own stand point regarding the Halal food handling and production. These actions of finding and integrating the guidelines available in ASEAN region and international are effective to be use in setting a general guideline to be used in ASEAN countries. The collection of references standard should be continue done by the ASEAN ad-hoc working group and they may also refers to the activities or effort that had been done by International Halal Integrity (IHI) Alliance or Organization of Islamic Conference (OIC) nation. IHI Alliance could be a vehicle to develop, implement, maintain and harmonize the Halal standard because it is a non-profit, non-governmental and non-national body which provides a platform for its members to share information and work together for integrity of the Halal industry (Wan-Hassan, 2007). This body is further strengthen by collaboration between IHI Alliance and the Islamic Chamber of Commerce and Industry (ICCI). This ICCI-IHI collaboration had launched four modules regarding Logistics, Food Services, Slaughtering and Processin g, and Animal Welfare, while plan to launched another four new modules of Laboratory and Testing, Animal Feed, Food Processing, and Cosmetics and Toiletries to assist OIC member countries in setting up a structured domestic Halal assurance body with proper certification scheme (The Star, 2010). Their effort on this issue is due to only less than 10 out of 57 OIC member countries are having a structured Halal standard, so they are assisting by harmonize the global standard and become a reference for others countries. The ICCI-IHI collaboration had developed the standard by refers to the The International Organization for Standardization/ The International Electrotechnical Commision (ISO/IEC), Guidelines for International Standards Development, while adhering to World Trade Organisations Technical Barriers to Trade Agreement, Code of Good Practice for Standards Development (IHI, 2010). ASEAN countries can adopt or use the modules developed by ICCI-IHI collaboration as the references s tandard to product a harmonize standard to be use among the region. Setting Benchmark Standard Instead on only setting the guidelines, benchmark standard is also an important area to be set up in harmonizing the standard between ASEAN countries. A guideline without proper benchmark level will be useless. Certifying bodies uses the benchmark standard for accreditation of the Halal certificate. According Darhim (2008), benchmark standard of certification bodies can be generated according to ISO/IEC Guide 65 which related to General Requirements for Bodies Operating Product Certification Systems. It is also important to obtain the Syariah parameters that established from reputable religious authorities and work within these parameters to set the benchmark. Research and development in scientific analytical method of non-Halal component is able to assist in setting benchmarks for a particular component. The benchmark standard must be within the level which satisfied and accepted by Muslims, while achievable by the industry. Strict Halal standard which able to satisfied the Muslim p opulation, but not achievable will not bring benefits to any parties. Hence, middle ground which is the generally acceptable benchmark needs to be set to satisfy both Muslim population and industry. By having a harmonized Halal standards and certification system, Muslim consumer could be confident on the right quality of product they obtained and facilitate the regional trade. IHI Alliance is putting effort on setting a benchmark standard which is an important element in harmonization of the Halal standard among global countries. For example, the benchmark standards that need to be set are such as amount of current to stun different animals, amount of alcohol which not derived from liquor production that permitted in foods and others. These benchmark need to be set to settle any possible dispute that arise during trade of Halal product between ASEAN countries. It is not necessarily that ASEAN countries need to depend on the IHI Alliance to set the benchmark, the ASEAN ad-hoc working group which comprised of members from all ASEAN country could also putting effort in this aspect. The setting of benchmark standard should be easier to achieve within ASEAN countries compared to IHI Alliance because IHI Alliance aim to harmonize the Halal standard worldwide but ASEAN ad-hoc working group only harmonize and setting benchmark for 10 members of ASEAN countries. Ho wever, there are also people stated that a certification scheme for all is difficult to achieved because it cannot meet the needs of all certification body, if only one is required, it need to take very long time to harmonise. So, Dr Jochen Zoller, who is the President of Food Services Division at Intertek UK had suggested to set up a Halal benchmark with independent third party certification body, like British Retail Consortium which introduce Food Technical Standard to have tight control over the manufacturing process of manufacturer who get the BRC certificate. Minimum Core Standard In the research paper by Wan-Hassan (2007), he stated that Dr. Habib MNasri, Director of Quality Control at McDonalds International had suggested the establishment of Minimum Core Standard during the conference of World Halal Forum on year 2007. Minimum Core Standard can act as an approach to harmonize the Halal standard between countries, as the minimum core carry the zero tolerance for a few basic issues with addendums applied to each individual country. An addendum is a section of extra information which added to something and in this case it is added on explain the minimum core. This action may be able to set a benchmark standard among countries. In this model, the addendum will list out each country with their clearly defined requirements to approve an action as Halal, while the core will be the minimum limit and common ground where each country can follow and achieved. For example, the Minimum Core Standard will set zero tolerance for some basic issues such as pork and alcohol with addendum applied to each individual country. On the other hand, Minimum Core Standard might be used for certain controversial issue such as mechanical slaughtering for poultry, where Malaysia and Thailand permitted the mechanical slaughtering, but Brunei prohibited it. So, minimum core or common ground should be found between these countries to facilitate the trade of Halal products and the Minimum Core Standard may be used to achieve this. However, certain countries like Vietnam and Myanmar do not even have a national Halal standard, so it causes difficulty to implement the Minimum Core Standard, as in the addendum could not apply appropriately with countries without proper Halal Standard. In my opinion, those countries without proper Halal standard may follow the minimum core which is the consensus between countries with Halal standard. Industry and Government Effort To come out with a regional Halal standard for Halal product, it required the major combined effort between the industry and government authorities. By cooperation of various parties and expert on issue regarding Halal, it can enhance or catalyst the process of harmonization of the ASEAN Halal Standard (Khaleej Times Online, 2008). Before the Halal standard could be harmonize between countries, harmonize certification system should be applied in the particular nation first. An integrated development of the Halal industry is able to ensure the conformity of the industries to the stated certification standard. For example, Malaysia is planning to conduct the systemic development of the entire value chain by establishing of Halal parks. By having Halal park which dedicated to the downstream production of Halal product, the product produced would be free from non-Halal contaminant and having requisite infrastructure, adequate shared facilities with service provider located in these park. On the other hand, coordination among ministries and agencies are also required to promote and develop the Halal industry (MITI, 2006). Government and industry need to gain consensus regarding the requirement for Halal product to catalyst the harmonization and implementation of the Halal standard. Government will put effort in creating the benchmark standard for the industries to follow, while government agency especially authorities for Halal certification will enforce the standard and given Halal certificate for product which comply with the requirement in the standard. On the other hand, inter-governmental bodies such as Islamic authorities from each ASEAN country should put effort on harmonization of Halal Standard among ASEAN countries, by together facing the challenge of

State of Research on the Snowball Earth Hypothesis Essay -- essays res

State of Research on the "Snowball Earth Hypothesis" The "Snowball Earth Hypothesis" also known as the "Varangia glaciation" is a hypothesis presented in 2001 by Geologist Paul Hoffman. (Wikipedia, 2002) The hypothesis purposes that 540 million years ago during the Neoproterozic, a meter thick of ice covered the oceans and glaciers the continents for 100 million years. Albedo; when ice and snow reflect solar radiation into space, in absents of greenhouse gases, which don't exist within the atmosphere, heat therefore escapes the planet. A condition of temperature disequilibrium occurs, when freezing cold reaches a state, the climate never warms to normal, and cold freezes the hemisphere and buries it under massive glaciation. The glaciers begin when a green house gas, carbon dioxide, is depleted from erosion of silicates. Once the atmosphere is depleted of carbon dioxide, it can not absorb solar radiation. The global tempertures drops to cold and glaciation occurs, glaciation continues, temperature gradients drop further to colder, below freezing, cold is irreversible, glaciers reflect solar radiation into space. The lack of atmospheric carbon dioxide prevented greenhouse from occurring, earth is frozen until the hemisphere is totally glaciated. (Hoffman, 1998) Deglaciation can occur when volcanic eruptions saturate the atmosphere with carbon dioxide gas and resume the greenhouse effect on climate. Solar radiation is absorbed by greenhouse gases, rewarming the climate. A dramatic expansion of the biosphere occurred. ("Cold") History of "Snowball Earth Hypothesis" A tree toppled during a hurricane. A 700 million year old rock bed was discovered in Appalachia. The rock, diamictite consisted of basalt -size cobbles mixed with a slurry of fine silt and sand. The region consisting of Appalachian Blue Ridge range, Sharp Top mountain had once bordered a seaway cutting through Rhodina, a giant continent that included most of the worlds land. Sharp Top contained signs of tides, indicating the glacier had streached down to the sea. During this time, Virginia was 15' to 30' of the equator. Scientist wanted to know why ice was on the equator during the Neoproterozoic era. (Monastersky,1998) The team of scientists consisted of a biogeologist, geochemist, and tectonic geologist with the common goal of understanding the coevolution of life and environ... ...excursions a record of gas hydrate destabilization following Earths coldest intervals? Geology 286-287 Hoffman, Paul F.; Schrag, Daniel P. "Snowball Earth" Scientific America 21 Jan 2000 Scientific American Online. Online 31 Mar 2003 Kennedy, Martin J.; Christie - Blick, Nicholas; Prave, Anthony R. (2001) Carbon isotopic composition of Neoproterozoic glacial carbonates as a test of paleoceanographic models for Snowball Earth phenomena. Geology 1135-1138 Kennedy, Martin J.; Runneger, Bruce; Prave, Anthony R.; Hoffmann, K -H. ; Arthur, Michael A. (1998) Two or four Neoproterozoic glaciations? Geology 1059-1063 Knoll, Andy "The Planet ary Context of Biological Evolution" Lead Teams Online. NASA Astrobiology Institute 2Apr 2003 Monastersky, Richard, "Popsicle Planet, The king of all ice ages may have spurred animal evolution" 22Aug 1998 Science News Online Online. Science Service 2 Apr 2003 Simpson, Sarah "Triggering a Snowball, Did Methane addiction Set Off Earth's Greastest Ice Ages? Scientific America 16 Sept 2001 Scientific American Online. Online 1 Apr 2003 Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. Snowball Earth 29 Sept. 2002. Online. Wikipedia Internet 31 Mar 2002

Phi Delta Kappa

Phi Delta Kappa is an international organization for professional educators. The organization's mission is to promote quality education, with particular emphasis on publicly supported education, as essential to the development and maintenance of a democratic way of life. Each year Phi Delta Kappa conducts a Gallop Poll to see the publics view toward Public Schools. The poll tackles many different issues that are important in their own way, but the ones that interest me the, favoring or opposing a voucher system, zero tolerance polices, and school standards. One of the most controversial issues in the gallup poll is the usage of vouchers as a means of improving the quality of the public schools. It is suggested that doing so will promote competition between public and private schools and that competition will bring about improvement in the public schools. Opponents of the voucher plan believe that being able to use vouchers for religious schools will violate the separation of church and state established by the First Amendment to the U. S. Constitution. In addition, parents might be forced to send their children to a school of a different religion because no other schools are available. The result of the poll show that 47% favor vouchers, 48% oppose them and 5% don†t know. I am surprised that so many people support vouchers when there is no proof that private schools improve students academic achievement. Competition between public and private schools could affect the salaries of presevice teachers and whether or not a teacher can be hired in private schools because of their religion. The best public policy is to provide parents with even more choices within the public schools, which serve over 90% of children. Legislators should concentrate on making all public schools stronger, safer, more challenging, and accountable. Public tax dollars should be spent only to improve public schools – not to assist the limited numbers of parents who choose to enroll their children in private secular or religious schools. Concern over school crime and violence has also become a huge issue. It has prompted many public schools to take various measures to reduce and prevent drugs and violence and to ensure safety in schools. Such measures include adopting zero tolerance policies. The zero tolerance policies enact mandatory expulsion for violent or drug-related student misconduct. This forces preservice teachers to change the disciplinary structure of the classroom. The poll shows that 90% of the people favor zero tolerance and 10% oppose it. I feel that zero tolerance, as explained in the reading, is a fantastic thing. But when hearing about students suspended for having aspirin or even cough drops, leaves me to wonder whether zero tolerance policies are achieving their designated purpose. The response to zero tolerance by school districts is getting out of hand. Schools need to make sure that their focus is not on blind enforcement of a rule but on actively working to detect warning signs, counsel students and punish those involved with real drugs or weapons. A third critical issue is school standards. Achievement standards in the classroom is a very important thing. 57% of people think that the standards are about right and 33% think they are too low. Another issue about standards is social promotion. Social promotion means moving children from grade to grade in order to keep them with others in their age group. 2 % favored stricter standards for social promotion and 26% opposed. I agree with the majority in both these cases. School standard are about right but it is important for preservice teachers to know and keep up with the standards. It is also important for teachers to have stricter standards for social promotion even if more students are held back. It isn†t fair to send a slacking students to the next grade to another teacher that has to re-teach the curriculum of the previous grade just for a student to two. My view on vouchers is pretty clear. People who support them believe that it will improve public school because of competition. Competition is based on an even playing field; there is no fair competition when â€Å"competitors† play by different rules. Public schools have to accept all applicants; private schools don†t. Private schools are not required to provide transportation, special education, bilingual education, free and reduced lunches, and many other programs that public schools provide. I agree with zero tolerance but they are taking it too far. I can also understand the schools' rationale for zero tolerance. They are concerned about student safety and want to project the image that they are being tough on drugs and violence, but use some common sense. When it comes to the standards of student achievement I agree with the majority of the people polled, but many of the issues of the Phi Delta Kappa Gallup Poll I disagreed with because I feel that the people being polled are uneducated in the subject and don†t know how their opinion can affect schools.

Evaluate the Organization’s Involvement and Responsibility

Motivation and Empowerment Evelyn Hamilton, Aaron Pobleh and Regina Taylor CJA/474: Managing Criminal Justice Personnel November 26, 2012 Instructor: Pam McIver The term motivation and empowerment is a universal concept that is hoped to work towards the good of any organization. Motivation and empowerment does not come from rewards to employees but instead, recognition, responsibility and advancement. Leaders who are effective in motivating and empowering their staff have acquired a great achievement, which can increase efficiency, and self development of skills and abilities.When employers are concerned about the welfare and needs of their staff, this provides trust among staff. The purpose of this paper is to compare motivation and empowerment, define the components of empowerment, analyze the implications of empowerment and delegation in a criminal justice organization and analyze the role of trust in personnel issues. Compare motivation and empowerment Motivation and empowerment are two words that are very popular in every workplace. Generally when one mention motivation, everyone would think it is what employer gives their employees, unfortunately, motivation in the workplace goes way far beyond that.Motivating your employees gives them authority to do more work for you and do it better. According to businessdictionary. com, motivation is both internal and external factors which desire and energize people to become committed to a job, role, or subject, or to strive to reach a goal. While empowerment is management practices which allow the sharing of information, power, and rewards with employees so that they can take initiative, and make decision to solve problems, and improve themselves as well as enhance their performance (www. usinessdictionary. com). Everyone need to feel empowered regarding their work ethic on the job or being assertive in life challenges and changes, but without the key elements of self-motivation, assertiveness and the ability to ma ke good decision how would they be able to motivate others. Mangers of an organization should show through their behavior and actions how provide the necessary skills to be productive and efficient. This in turn will produce happier employees. Define the components of empowermentIn order to be an effective leader a person would need to be empowering by those below them and therefore allow them to take initiative on their own. A leader that has poor management skill fails to empower anyone underneath him. For example, an office manager as well as a beginner officer within the work place or in the field must feel good about performing on their own and not feeling they will be overly scrutinized regarding their errors. They must not fear the aftermaths or punishments for taking individual decision making.When this happens, employees began to shun management for fear always doing something wrong. Employers should provide positive communication to their staff (National Empowerment Center ). There was a research designed to examine the concept word of empowerment in this programs sponsored by multiple examiner of the criminal justice it was first anticipated to create a working definition. After research the â€Å"elements of empowerment were identified, including access to information, ability to make choices, assertiveness, and self-esteem. Empowerment has both an individual and a group dimension (Tom Roger, 2011).This research studied participants in self-help programs for people with no self-motivation and the need for encouragement. At the beginning of the study,† it was stated numerous of the individuals involved empower in their research. It’s obviously the important theory concerning the essential to defining meaning of empowerment as part of the development. Although it â€Å"recognized that empowerment had elements in common with such concepts as self-esteem and self-efficacy, these concepts did not fully capture what was considered a distinc tiveness about empowerment† (Tom Roger, 2011).In an earlier â€Å"debates empowerment was† considered â€Å"complex, multidimensional concept, and that it described a process rather than an event†. It was never â€Å"believe that an individual had to display every quality on the list in order to be considered† empowered (Tom Roger, 2011). Analyze the implications of empowerment and delegation in a criminal justice organization Today the style and practices of police leadership is changing rapidly. The term shared leadership is one being used by many police chiefs all across the country.They believe that this approach to management by sharing power and influence to individuals within the organization, who are otherwise hierarchical unequal, will view their leadership as a leadership which looks at the broader aspect of giving authority to employees which will allow them to make decisions, solve problems, and be held accountable for their actions (Mussellwhi te, 2007). Whenever officers are empowered they become dedicated to their jobs. Because they are given the skills, resources, authority, opportunity to be motivated and committed to their jobs, roles, or duties.Something which is refers to as being dedicated. Employees empowerment in a police department which delegate assignments, allow officers to take responsibility of their jobs results. It also allows them to make decisions about it. When officers are delegated with responsibilities, it makes them think in decision making, take control, behave, and take actions responsively, because they know that they will be held accountable for their actions. Police departments that apply employee empowerment create an environment in which their officers are empowered, productive and are happy in their jobs.Such police departments do not limit their employees to information (Heathfield, 2012). Analyze the role of trust in personnel issues. The role of trust in personnel issues involves how em ployees relate and respond to their employer. For example, if an employer is more concerned about getting the job done employees will pick up on that and will respond to their employer in a negative way. But when employers’ show that they truly care about their employee’s well being they will respond in a positive way. It would be in the organizations best interest for employers to take time to get to know their employees.Employers should empower their staff by allowing them to make important decisions in reference to their day to day duties. This will cause employees to respect their employers which will also lead to trust. When employees trust and respect the organization they will do the best possible work they are capable of doing. This in turn will lead to accountability on the part of the employee (Mussellwhite, 2007). When an employer gains the trust of their staff, they will know how to motivate each individual person for the best outcome of the organization.Em ployees understand that no organization is a perfect organization. When employees know and feel important to the organization, respect and trust will deepen. Respect and trust will take an organization to higher creativity and increased efficiency (Forbes. com, 2009). Positive communication is the cornerstone to empowerment and trust within an organization. When employers take the time to consider their staff opinions and feedback on daily operations, this can cause higher productivity and increase efficiently. Employers should share information about the organization with their staff.This provides for a clear picture of how the organization is progressing or not progressing. This also produces trust among employees because employers trust their staff (Mussellwhite, 2007). Conclusion In conclusion, this paper compared motivation and empowerment, defined the components of empowerment, analyzed the implications of empowerment and delegation in a criminal justice organization and analy zed the role of trust in personnel issues. Motivation and empowerment is about providing production and management guidelines to employees and then allows them to operate in an independent manner.Empowerment and delegation within the criminal justice system involves sharing power and influence to individuals within the organization, who are otherwise hierarchical unequal. This leadership looks at the broader aspect of giving authority to employees which will allow them to make decisions, solve problems, and be held accountable for their actions. The components of empowerment are about communication, feedback and productivity. Employees should be trained properly so that trust is gained through empowerment.A motivated and empowered employee will respect and trust the organization which will lead to accountability and responsibility. Leaders can gain great achievement when they effectively motivate and empower their staff into self development of skills and abilities. References Chris Musselwhite, 2007. Inc. Motivation=Empowerment; retrieved on November 22, 2012 from www. inc. com/resources/leadership/articles/20070801 Employees Empowerment: How to Empower employees. Retrieved on November 22, 2012 from www. humanresources. about. com/od/employeeempowerment Empowerment in the Workplace ttp://ezinearticles. com/? Empowerment-in-the-Workplace&id=6541445 Make sure your employees trust you or else. Forbes. com 2009. Retrieved from http://www. forbes. com/2009/03/23/trust-respect-employees-leadership-managing-blanchard. html. National Empowerment Center Article www. power2u. org/articles/empowerment/workingdef. html Susan Heathfield. 2012. What is Empowerment; Retrieved on November 22, 2012 from www. businessdictionary. com/definition/empowerment. html What is Motivation; Retrieved on November 22, 2012 from www. Businessdictionary. com/definition/motivation. html

Suicide In College Essays

Suicide In College Essays Suicide In College Essay Suicide In College Essay College is a fun exciting time in a person’s life.   It is a new adventure filled with opportunities.   Unfortunately, when people get there they sometimes discover it was not all they had anticipated it to be.   Although college can be a great learning experience, it is also something very different than what most people are used to.   It is the first time living away from parents and can lead to frustration, loneliness, depression, overindulgence, and some mental illnesses become apparent in college years.   In most cases the students either get over the problem, or drop out of school, in some cases; however these problems lead to suicide.   â€Å"Suicide is the third leading cause of death in 15 – 24 year† (AFSP).   â€Å"It is the second leading cause of death in college students† (Naval Academy).   Ã¢â‚¬Å"The person who feels extreme emotional pain is the type of person who may consider suicide† (Kolehmainen, 14).Frustration and loneliness are two of the most common problems experienced when a person is attempting to adjust to college.   For most students this is the first move away from home.   They discover they have to do their own laundry, get themselves up on time, and clean up after themselves.   This can lead to confusion and frustration.   The loneliness sets in when they realize they are miles away from friends and family.   Both of these problems are minor psychological issues and are usually relieved within the first few weeks as the person makes new friends and adjusts to college life.   If they are unable to adjust, the problems can become much worse and usually lead to depression.Depression has two causes one of which is a problem in the brain; the other is caused by bad situations in a person’s life.   Either cause can lead to suicide.   Clinical depression (chemical problems inside the brain) can be treated effectively with medication, once it has been diagnosed.   T he situational depression is one of the leading factors in suicide. This is the kind that loneliness can lead to it happens when something happens in a persons life to make them very sad for an extended period of time.   It can be caused by a beak-up, loss of a loved one, or loneliness or many other reasons. It is quite common in college students, when they realize they aren’t as popular as they were in high school, they can not keep their grades up, or they miss the people they left behind. Some signs of depression include crying, nightmares, withdrawal from friends and family, feelings of hopelessness, not eating, weight changes, anger, lack of concentration, or decreased energy (Horn, 109).   When someone shows any of these symptoms they need to get help.As college is often when people move away from their parents, this freedom often leads to parties, drinking, and sometimes trying illicit drugs.   Some of these things if taken in excess can alter thoughts.   Somet imes they alter the thoughts to make them consider suicide.   These thoughts would often not be acted on if the person was not under the influence of the drugs.   Alcohol is a depressant and thus would increase any depressed thoughts and could be an influence on a student already thinking about suicide. â€Å"Drugs and alcohol reduce inhibitions and increase risk taking behavior, thus reinforcing whatever tendencies towards self destruction people poses† (Rivera).Some college students have mental disorders which cause thoughts of suicide and eventually lead them to act on it.   Schizophrenia is one mental illness that first appears in late teenage years and college. This illness causes people to hear voices at times and have delusions that someone is trying to cause them harm. These thoughts can sometimes manifest as thoughts of suicide.   There are a number of other illnesses such as bi-polar disorder that if properly treated can be managed, but these illnesses are s ometimes not discovered, until the person has acted on the thoughts of suicide.Suicide is considered a permanent solution to a temporary problem. â€Å"Nearly 1,100 suicides are projected to occur on college campuses this year† (Naval Academy).   This indicates there is a problem on college campuses.   Many people, who are inclined to commit suicide, give indications before they actually act on these problems.   Friends and family need to be aware of the signs, which are similar to those of depression.   When people turn eighteen they are not automatically ready to go out into the world alone.   Many are ready, but obviously many are not.   Students getting ready to go to college need to be educated on the options and support available to them.   High school guidance counselors need to prepare young people for what they need to expect in college.   They need to understand it is a big change from high school and the changes are not always good.   Parents need to prepare students for the laundry and cleaning up after themselves as well as for the adjustment to being responsible for oneself.   The more prepared students are, when they enter college, the better they will be able to handle the challenges college presents.   There is no way to prevent suicide altogether, but preparation and watching for signs will hopefully save a number of them.American Foundation for Suicide Prevention, (2007), Retrieved June 4, 2007 from,AFSP: Facts and Figures: National StatisticsHorn, Wade F. and Keough, C. New Teen Book, (1999) Des Moines, Iowa:Better Homes and Gardens BooksKolehmainen, Janet, and Handerk, S. Teen Suicide,(1986) Minneapolis:Lerner PublicationsRivera, Roberto, â€Å"Moods and Worldviews: Suicide on Campus†, Boundless Webzine,Retrieved June 11, 2007 from boundless.org/2000/features/a0000271.htmlUnited States Naval Academy, College and Suicide- Just the facts, RetrievedJune 11, 2007 from, MDC Suicide College Facts