Reality Shows Should Be Banned Essay Example for Free

Reality Shows Should Be Banned Essay The main essence of reality shows is to put ordinary people in a social confined setting with extraordinary environment and activities with the aim of entertaining audiences with the illusion that what is going on is not scripted nor rehearsed. Most reality shows attempt to convince the audience that the participants of the show are being pushed to their physical, emotional or physiological limits in order to complete a specific task or attain a certain goal of which audience cheer on their favorite participant. With the change in times and technology most reality shows have gone over board and have forgotten the basic concept of reality shows and are now focusing more on entertainment than reality that has lead to increase in sexual exposure, humiliation and immorality. Reality shows have lost their way from original series like survivor to the new mediocre series of two celebrities living in a farm yard for a week. Reality TV has joined the ranks of day time entertainment and has lost the spark of spontaneous originality from other forms of scripted entertainment. Additionally, the most famous reality shows worldwide are big brother and Idols; these two are examples of scripted and well rehearsed reality shows. In the just concluded episode of idols a judge was dared to sing out of the blue and it so happened just by â€Å"coincidence† that the band started playing a song which the judge joined in emphatically without hesitation. The crowed cheered and applauded for the â€Å"unexpected† performance by the judge. Such reality T.V. shows give viewers and more so children false hope of a â€Å"happily ever after† reality were heroes and heroines live thus insulting the intelligence of the viewers. In the case of big brother viewers are subjected to sex as a form of entertainment. Relationships formed in the big brother house give the participant a better chance of winning the competition and increase his/her ratings thus the audience spends time and money voting for the participant so they can enjoy seeing the participants relationship grow. And due to the full disclosure nature of the show all activities are broadcasted and shown live on our T.V. sets exposing and encouraging our youths, young adults and children to sex, immorality and promiscuous behaviors. Furthermore, the common comic saying â€Å"its funny until someone gets hurt, then its hilarious† comes to life in most reality shows. Producers of reality shows capitalize  on the demise and misfortunes of participants. When a contestant falls down or gets hurt in anyway it is taken as a form of entertainment or comedy not knowing the humiliation and psychological trauma they instill in the participant. Examples of such shows are â€Å"show me the funny† â€Å"Real T.V.† and â€Å"Fear factor†. Show me the funny capitalizes on bloopers of home made videos which show family member having accidents such as hitting each other being bitten by a snake or having a ball hit them on their faces. Turning such perilous or even fatal accidents to o form of humor encourages children to view violence and accidents as vivacious events and not the precarious activities they are. Producers also capitalize on the eviction or the inability of a participant to complete a certain assignment. The humiliation and reaction of a participant being evicted or accepting defeat is a high point of most reality T.V. which is morally and ethically wrong. The failure of a fellow human being should be frowned upon and not celebrated. 2) Here are plenty of reality shows which are being shown on television channels world wide, in which one can see lots of aspirants taking to the stunts and heroic acts as they want to win the coveted title and they did some shots which amaze the audiances and keep them on their tender nooks, its also done to increase the rating of the channel in the tele shows. There are plenty of reality shows which are being shown on television channels world wide, in which one can see lots of aspirants taking to the stunts and heroic acts as they want to win the coveted title and they did some shots which amaze the audiences and keep them on their tender nooks, its also done to increase the rating of the channel in the tele shows. I am not sure if they are there in your part of the world, channels like Sony and Zee TV they show lot of enthusiasm in such things. The weird things they shown on the small screen are hair raising and put a lot of questions in viewers minds as to such things can be accomplished in real life or not. But the stunt mania grips the minds of innocent public and kids alike. They all want feats and also want to show off to their genre of friends and foes. In the process they might hurt themselves badly. Although there are several reports of teen-aged children being hurt in the process of macho man image building but to no avail as the generation is fast and furious, they just want their way and life to be left to them. I am not sure about consequences and impact  they could have but it is for sure, every one wants his part of fame and attention in public, for we are mortal beings and success is our ambition in life. Effect on teenagers Social cognitive theory suggests that meaningful sources of identity can be discovered by people in their teens who feel connected to what they’re viewing. Thus, when attempting to understand media’s role in the development of teenagers, it is crucial to be aware of the time they devote to their shows like reality television due to this strong influence[48] America’s Next Top Model is often criticized for it’s portrayal of women and poor body image. When faced with the image of a thin, beautiful, successful models, young girls may feel inferior, leading to low self-esteem and eating disorders. Likewise, Jersey Shore is denounced for it’s representation of being a single, young adult. Young people idolize the show’s cast, making them susceptible to imitate their actions, such as promiscuity, violence, and binge drinking.[citation needed]

African Slaves Essay Example for Free

African Slaves Essay Rationale My project will be to examine the lives of Indian Indentured labourers between 1845 and 1917. The reason I am examining their lives is to prove that Indian Indentureship was just another form of slavery with a different name. The project will also assist me in learning about the Indian Indentureship period for my CSEC examination. Introduction Indentured labour was something like the last resort for planters after slavery. After the abolition of slavery the planters were left with a labour shortage. In their search for other sources of labour the planters tried Chinese, Madeirans, even free African slaves but each of these options all had their disadvantages. After a trial and error period with many different labourers, it was found that the Indians were the ideal labourers. The Indentureship period was supposed to be a fair, humane and just system unlike the African slave trade and slavery on the whole but this was not the case. In many aspects of the Indentureship period, it was almost identical to slavery. In the following paragraphs it will be shown from the evidence given, that Indians were treated almost as badly as African slaves, proving that the Indentureship period was simply another form of slavery. Indentureship and slavery are basically the same thing but the major thing that differentiated them was the fact that the Indian labourers were legally owned while the African slaves were forced to work for the planters. The Indians were cheated into signing contracts which they didn’t understand with false promises of a better life and good working conditions. The Indians were gullible and were easily tricked into signing the contracts  which ran from 3-5 years. The African slaves on the other were kidnapped in most cases and forced to work for the rest of their usually short lives. Their only chance of freedom would be allowed only if they purchased it, which was very unlikely. The journey for both the Africans and the Indians began with a long journey on a boat in deplorable living conditions. For the Indians the journey lasted from 93 to 113 days which was longer than the journey of the Africans which lasted from 6 to 10 weeks. Although both journeys were bad the Middle passage was a little worse than the journey the Indians endured. They were both kept in confined spaces which was unhealthy, especially if kept for long periods of time. Because of their confinement diseases were easily s pread and the mortality rate was very high. Life on the plantation was not much different because their living quarter were also confined.

Malaysian Pest Analysis: Government Report

Malaysian Pest Analysis: Government Report The objectives in this section will reveal on what does the purposes of this research project served. Firstly, this project will briefly discuss about PESTE (Political, Economic, Sociocultural, Technology, and Ecological) analysis on Malaysia. The discussion will go on into the literature part whereby it will firstly discuss various type of definitions of tourism. Then it will discuss about the tourism planning five approaches which will be Boosterism, Economic, Physical/Spatial, Community and Sustainable that has been utilized by Malaysia government. 1.2.1 Politic Malaya, which is now known as the peninsular Malaysia, became independent on August 31, 1957. In year 1963, Malaya merged with Singapore, Sabah and Sarawak to formed Malaysia. But after two years, Singapore has become an independent country on 9 August 1965. Now, Malaysia consists of 13 states whereby 11 of its are on Malay Peninsula and the other two, Sabah and Sarawak are on the island of Borneo. It has three federal territories which is Kuala Lumpur, Labuan island, and Putrajaya federal administrative territory. Each state has an assembly and government which are headed by a chief minister. Among 13 of these states, 9 of the states have hereditary rulers which are usually titled as sultans while the rest of the four states have appointed governors in counterpart positions. Although Malaysia is known for its strict rules but tourist who are visiting Malaysia not more than one month does not require visa from the Malaysian Immigration Department. It is also important that foreigners follow the conditions and laws of Malaysia. 1.2.2 Economy After 1957 where Malaysia became independent, the economy of the country was mainly based on rubber and tin. Since then, economy was growing and become a more industrialized market. In the 1997-1998 East Asian crises, Malaysia was one of the countries that involved in the Asian crisis but did not involve the International Monetary Fund (Sundaram, 2006). But it recovered from the recession very fast and since then, the economic was very stable with a GDP rate of RM679,687 million in year 2009 (Department of Statistics Malaysia, 2010). The government has spend an amount of RM 40.1 billion in subsidizing petrol, natural gas, food and road tolls in year 2007. Malaysia also does have a lower percentage in unemployment rate which is 3.3% recorded in July 2010 and 3.1% in August 2010 (Department of Statistics Malaysia, 2010). 1.2.3 Socio-cultural According to the Official Website of Department of Statistics Malaysia which was updated on 02 July 2010, it is stated that Malaysia currently has 28.25 millions people. It is well known that Malaysia is a multicultural country which consists of a mixture different ethnic which are Chinese, Indian, Malay, and also indigenous and others. Malays makes up almost half of the Malaysia and then follows by Chinese and Indian. Most of the Malays are Islam while others may belong to Buddhism, Christianity, Hinduism or other/none. Malaysia was recorded an annual rate of growth of 2.0%. The official language used in Malaysia was Bahasa Melayu, then followed by other language such as Chinese which comes with various dialects, English, Tamil and others. This makes Malaysia a perfect country for tourist to visit because there will be no language barriers for them as long as they can speak either one of them. 1.2.4 Technology Malaysia has a very good national and international telephone lines. It is because Peninsular Malaysia are using microwave radio relay and it provide a good connectivity between cities. It also have two international earth stations and also two Intelsat which are located at Indian Ocean and Pacific Ocean. Thus, tourists who are travelling to Malaysia will have no connectivity problem. By now, Malaysia has a total of nine Internet Service Provider (ISP). Some of them are P1 WIMAX, Maxis Broadband, Streamyx, Jaring, Celcom Broadband and so on. On the other hand, Malaysia also have a good range of radio and television stations. It has 19 radio stations that are owned by private sector while 34 stations are owned by government. Furthermore, Malaysia has 58 airports. 36 of them are on East Malaysia while the rest, 22 are on Peninsular Malaysia. Hence, these technologies that available in this country will definitely make life easier for tourists. 1.2.5 Ecological Malaysia is full of biodiverse range of flora and fauna which can be found around the country. It is because the tropical rainforests comprises to almost 70% of Malaysia total land area. Malaysia has been recorded that it has the worlds fifth largest of mangrove forest whereby the world largest mangrove forest area is in Sundarban, Bangladesh. Ever since Malaysia has been filled with a lot of natural resources and environment, the government has also take part in preserving the environment to prevent further damage being caused to it. The government has put a lot of effort in preserving this environment by firstly introducing the Air Pollutant Index (API). The API is an indicator of air quality and was developed based on scientific assessment to indicate in an easily understood manner (Department of Environment, 2007). Besides, the Department of Environment (DOE) also conducted the National Ambient Noise Monitoring Programme to determine the Malaysian ambience status in year 2006 (Department of Environment, 2007). For the river water quality control, the DOE has started to monitoring the river since 1978 (Department of Environment, 2007). 2. Literature Review 2.1.1 Definitions of tourism There is no single definition of tourism to which everyone adheres. Many definitions have been used over the years, some of which are universal and can be applied to any situation, while others fulfill a specific purpose (Weaver and Lawton, 2010). But a more recent definition from WTO (1991 cited in Mason, 2003, p. 5) defined tourism as the activities of a person traveling outside his or her usual environment for less than a specified period of time whose main purpose of travel is other than for exercise of an activity remunerated from the place visited. However, none of these two definitions makes any connection to the impacts of tourism whereby impacts are the key to any discussion of the planning and management of tourism (Mason 2003, p. 5). But Jafari (1981, p. 3 cited in Mason, 2003, p.5) stated that tourism is a study of man (sic) away from his usual habitat, of the industry which responds to his needs and the impacts that both he and the industry have for the socio-cultural, economic and physical environments. 2.2 Tourism Planning Approaches 2.2.1 Boosterism Boosterism has long existed ever since tourism started. Boosterism can also be defined as the act of boosting a travel destination or a city which are done usually by the people in the area affected. Hall (2000) comment that boosterism has long been the dominant tradition towards tourism since mass tourism began. Hence, sorts of effective method are being exploited in order to boost a place. A place which is full of resources such as cultural and natural can be taken as an example. Malaysia is a good set of example for cultural and nature tourism with its existing rich resources. Although boosterism has been active for a long period but it was only discovered by people when big event such as Commonwealth games and Formula 1à ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¾Ã‚ ¢ racing event are being held in different countries (Hall, 2000). The changes in tourist arrival and room supply by hotel can be noticed easily when these huge event are being held. It can be seen that Malaysia has been trying hard to promote the country by using different type of promotion to attract different type of tourist. For example, there is one event called Malaysia Year End Sale (YES) that is ongoing from 20 November 2010 to 2 January 2011 (Tourism Malaysia, 2010). The event purpose is to attract shopping tourist to Malaysia because at that time, all shop around Malaysia will be having alot of discount which can never be seen during other period. Another side of boosterism by Malaysia is advertising. The Minister of Tourism Malaysia has launched an advertising campaign called ZOOM! Malaysia for SMRT trains, busses, and taxis in Singapore (Tourism Malaysia, 2008). This advertising campaign specifically targets the public transport because it was popular among the locals and foreign tourists (Tourism Malaysia, 2008). From another side we can also see that Malaysia has successfully in promoting Malaysia in September 2006 whereby Tourism Malaysia has signed a  £2 million deal with Manchester United to promote Visit Malaysia Year 2007. This has also directly make Tourism Malaysia as one of the official sponsors of Manchester United Football Club (MANUTD, 2010). 2.2.2 Economic When tourism emerged as a part of economic sector in the decades following World War II, most researchers and government administrators assumed its growth to be a positive and desirable process (Lawton, 2010). Ever since then, many countries have used this as an opportunity to promote their country to other world as a tourist attraction. Countries with natural resources such as cultural and heritage area, historical place that are left behind after the impact of war will be a great benefit to the particular country in promoting tourism. Actually what can tourism contributes to a countrys economic status? The contribution can usually be measured at either a national level or at the local or regional scale. The impacts of tourism to economy are as follow: foreign exchange earnings; government revenues; generation of employment; regional development. One of the main characteristics of the economic approach is the use of marketing and promotion to attract the type of visitor who will provide the greatest economic benefit to the destination given the destinations specific tourist resources (Hall, 2000). For example, the Malaysia Year End Sale promotion that will be launching soon. Although the promotion will be all around Malaysia but it will be more focus on Kuala Lumpur, the capital city of Malaysia because tourist will normally more focus in capital city. With the plenty of resources available in capital city such as high-end shopping malls, the promotion can be executed flawlessly with its aim achieved. 2.2.3 Physical/Spatial In the last decade of the twentieth century, it was noted that tourism depends ultimately upon the environment, as it is a major tourism attraction itself, or is the context in which tourism activity takes place (Holden, 2000). However, Lawton and Weaver (2010) argued that problems can occur if a destination becomes too dependent on tourism, or if the sector is controlled (or is perceived to be controlled) by outside interests. It is indeed a fact that tourism can cause both invisible and visible impacts to the environment. Therefore in order to minimise the impact that tourism can caused to the environment, Hall (2000) suggests that visitor managers should seek to manipulate travel patterns by concentrating or dispersing tourists in sensitive areas. For example, many national park limits a certain number of visitors per day to ensure minimal impact that can be caused to the area. Malaysia is indeed a most fortunate country that are blessed with a wide range of natural and cultural assets. Since it is blessed with so many assets, people who lived in the country each has their own responsibilities to take care of the environment. Therefore, the Malaysia government has come up with a campaign called 1MALAYSIA GREEN TOURISM, 1MALAYSIA CLEAN. The reason for launching this event was to built up the passion of people in keeping clean the environment, especially tourist attraction destinations. This campaign was also based on the tagline Think Tourism. Act Tourism by Minister of Tourism, YB Dato Sri Dr, Ng Yen Yen (1Malaysia Green Clean). 2.2.4 Community 2.2.5 Sustainable 2.3 The Butlers theory Time Number of tourists Exploration Involvement Development Consolidation Stagnation (Rejuvenation) (Continued stagnation) (Decline) Critical carrying capacity threshold Source: Adapted from Butler 1980. 2.3.1 Exploration An explanation from oxford dictionary described exploration as the action of searching an area for natural resources. This can also be explained as a tourist tried to explore a destination (tourist destination) for leisure or relaxation. According to Butler, the exploration stage is characterised by very small numbers of visitors who are dispersed throughout the destnation and remain for an extended period of time ( Lawton and Weaver, 2010). In brief, exploration can also be described as the pre-tourism or the starting of a tourist attraction destination where not many people are there yet and most of the people does not know about it. Visitors that went to the place will experienced the most rural kind of services whereby improvement have not been done yet. Most of the exploration usually started from urban area. Malaysia first exploration started in the 13th century when Malacca was founded by a Sumatran prince. The place later became the most influential port city in the Southeast Asia during that time. That is the place where traders from all part of the world gathered and that was the time Malaysia was exposed to other countries visitors. But after Malaysia being exposed, a lot of countries tried to conquer Malaysia due to its rich resources. After 138 years, Malaysia finally gained its independence in 1957and since then Malaysia has undergone a tremendous growth and prosperity since 1957. 2.3.2 Involvement The involvement in here means that the involvement parties which may include visitors, government, or entrepreneurs. Local entrepreneurs will begin to provide a limited amount of specialised services and facilities in response to the appearance of tourists, thereby inaugurating an incipient tourism industry (Lawton and Weaver, 2010). Specialised services such as small eating places, inn, and maybe small transportation services might also be available. With these services, visitors might also be increasing but in a slow phase because things are still undeveloped. The role of advertising will also started in this phase as it will induces a definable pattern of seasonal variation. The place will started to get mentioned in articles and brochures but the affected part are still considered a small area. Word-of-mouth start to spread in a slow manner. 2.3.3 Development 2.3.4 Consolidation 2.3.5 Stagnation 2.3.6 Rejuvenation or Decline Rejuvenation Decline 3. Methodology The method that was used in completing this assignment includes web browsing. Several web search engine are being used frequently are Google, Yahoo and Wikipedia. These web search engine are only being used as a bridge to the information that we needed. Besides, government website are also being used frequently to acquire important facts and figures about the country. Website such as Malaysia Tourism Board, Department of Statistics Malaysia, and Malaysia Government Portal are where some of the facts and figures being collected. Other than websites, the information was also collected from books that are available daily in our institute. Several books have been lent in order to complete this assignment. Books such as Tourism Management, Tourism Planning: Policies, Processes and Relationships, and Tourism Impacts: Planning and Management are noticeable throughout the assignment as citations are mostly quoted from these books. E-journal has also contributed quite some figure in this assignment whereby most of them are acquire through the institute research databases which are the MDIS EBSCOhost research databases. 4. Analysis and Discussions

The Italian Essay -- essays research papers

In Ann Radcliffe's "The Italian", the very first thing that we see described is a veiled woman: "It was in the church of San Lorenzo at Naples, in the year 1758, that Vincentio di Vivaldi first saw Ellena di Rosalba. The sweetness and fine expression of her voice attracted his attention to her figure, which had a distinguished air of delicacy and grace; but her face was concealed in her veil. So much was he fascinated by the voice, that a most painful curiosity was excited as to her countenance, which he fancied must express all the sensibility of character that the modulation of her tones indicated" (5).Even without knowing anything about Gothic elements, this indicates very clearly what the quality and tone of the book are going to be like. Vivaldi's pursuit of the veiled woman is a signal that his is the pursuit of the mysterious, with the certainty that it will be beautiful. This certainly does seem to be a great fascination in the novel; it is a component and often a catalyst for that anxiety which runs throughout.It is this anxiety which causes the heightening of our emotions; our emotions are heightened as we watch the characters' pursuit of the mysterious; and our curiosity is excited more and more until we are nearly begging for its gratification. But Radcliffe heightens our emotions without satisfying our curiosity, or at least not enough. For example, the very first chapter establishes a sense of mystery about the assassin in the Church. The Englishman inquires as much for himself as for us about the assassin. His concern and state of shock invoke our own inquiry into this odd circumstance and then his Italian friend tells him a mystery without actually telling him anything:"'He [the assassin] sought sanctuary here', replied the friar; 'within these walls he may not be hurt'"(2).He makes it clear that there is a story here but that it is long and suspenseful, maybe shocking:"'It is much too long to be related now; that would occupy a week; I have it in writing, and will send you the volume'" (3).What it is exactly, or what the tale is going to be is only hinted at in a very curiosity invoking way: as if it is a secret.Instead of the Englishman and his Italian friend going down to the street cafà © and relating the story, the Italian friend says that he will send him something written the following day and t... ...ld be suspect and it was. Her susceptible nature often led her into the suspicion out of which the novel's Gothic tone is constructed; just like Vivaldi's and Paolo's susceptible natures lead them to jump to most horrifying conclusions earlier in the novel.When talking about perceptions, it is impossible to omit the distinction between the real and unreal in "The Italian". The strand of reality, interwoven with fantasy, seems to be a driving force in the plot. In the episode involving Ellena, her suspicions are confirmed; her fantasy becomes confirmed as reality as her fears about Spalatro's intentions are confirmed (although not until the end). Of notice is also Vivaldi's constant desire to solidify his fantasy (getting married) with Ellena; as if the real thing will finally restrict the fearful possibilities into a single reality. Yet it is this reality from which Vivaldi derives his fearful fantasies. It is this drama between what is real and unreal that gives the novel its impetus. For example, when Marchesa is speaking to Schedoni, they are both thinking of murder, but both refuse to 'say' it, as if doing so would make it more 'real' than merely thinking about it.

Wedding Speech Written for Two Best Men -- Wedding Toasts Roasts Speec

Wedding Speech Written for Two Best Men Brandon - Ladies and Gents before I continue I would like to point out to those of you who may be feeling the effects of the alcohol that there are actually 2 of us standing up here and no you are not seeing double. Firstly, I would like to say how pleasing it is to see so many of John and Rhonda’s close relatives and friends who have joined them on their wedding day. It never fails to amaze me the distance some people will travel for some free food. OK, Ladies and Gents it is an absolute privilege for Kain and me to be standing here as John’s best men. Since John asked us to perform this honor we have been seeking advice on the duties we have to perform. One of the main duties is obviously to ensure John arrives on time and looking as sharp as possible for his big day! So in order to fulfil this duty, and not that we don’t trust John, we felt it necessary to stay here last night and after a few drinks in the bar and sharing a room with John I can confirm to you all that he slept like a baby†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ he wet the bed twice†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦..and woke up several times crying for his mother! Kain -Another duty of course is to thank John on behalf of the bridesmaids, for his kind words, and I have to say they look absolutely wonderful and have done an excellent job today. Wouldn’t you agree Brandon? Brandon - Absolutely, and it is no wonder as the girls have had their hair done by Ni... ...e Fantasy Channel Brandon – To John, Is marriage really for you. You made a big impression on us, we hope we didn’t leave any on you. From all the girls at Legs&Co. Real telegrams – Kain 1, Brandon 1 etc Kain - Ladies and gentleman, it gives me the great pleasure to invite you all to stand and raise your glasses in a toast to the 2 people who without them today would not have been so special†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦LADIES & GENTLEMEN†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦..THE BAR STAFF Brandon – Seriously though, John and Rhonda we hope that your love for one another is modern enough to survive the times, yet old fashioned enough to last forever†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ You really are a perfect match. Ladies and Gentlemen we give you the Bride and Groom!

Essay --

Credit Rating Check: Improve Your Credit Score Your credit score is one of your most important financial attributes. Fortunately for those who are unsatisfied with their credit rating, there are plenty of options available. Improving your score is an attainable goal that everyone should aim for, even those who are content with their credit rating. Checking Your Score The first step to improving your credit score is simple, yet essential; request a copy of your credit report. Improvements can only be made when you are aware of your starting point. Luckily, this process is free, easy, and can be done from the comfort of your own home. You can visit www.annualcreditreport.com to complete the necessary forms online, or find information on how to complete the process via phone or mail. Aside from informing you of your score, it is also important to request a credit report to ensure that there are no errors. Clerical mistakes can occur, and you want to make certain that your credit score reflects completely accurate information. It is best to request a credit report as soon as possible, since disputing any issues can be a lengthy process. Paying Bills on Time This may seem like a no-brainer, but one of the most important steps to improving your credit score is to pay all of your bills on time. Even making payments a few days late can have an impact on your score, so try to always pay on (or, even better, before) the due-date. If you find yourself with a missed payment or two, it is very important to get caught up as soon as possible. Although older information will remain on your credit report, it holds less value than current financial activity. The longer you can go without missing a due-date, the less relevance y... ...ge. On top of that, a sudden increase in credit portrays you as a much higher risk than someone who has steadily built up accounts and credit as needed. Improving your credit score can be a difficult and frustrating process that takes plenty of patience. It is important to build strong financial habits that will increase your score over time. When you find yourself dealing with credit from the past, this process becomes even more complicated, but this is when it is most essential to take charge and begin to work on these steps. First and foremost, you must get a credit rating check if you want to improve your score. With that information, you can decide what steps need to be taken; they will be slightly different for everyone. It may be tough to motivate yourself to take charge of your credit score, but you will definitely thank yourself for doing so.

Community Immersion Essay

It is the city base for Jeff Davis Parish which combined has 6 cities in the parish (U. S. Census Bureau, 2010). Jennings is considered a rural area with a population of 10,909 people residing in the city. According to the census bureau the city of Jennings is populated with Caucasians at 7,736, African Americans 3, 076, Asian 32 and Hispanics 101 (U. S. Census Bureau, 2010). Jennings has two sub communities the south side of town where most of the blacks are under the poverty line and some middle class residents. Downtown is where the whites and a few blacks live, these two sides a separated by a railroad track. The founding of Jennings was a manifestation of the dynamic spirit in Americans which led them to continually seek new frontiers and new areas of economic exploitation. The story of its growth parallels that of many other Louisiana towns, but in two respects it has a claim to distinctiveness: its middle western origin and its connection with Louisiana’s oldest oil field. Jennings McComb, for whom the town was named, was a contractor of the Southern Pacific Railroad. He built the Jennings depot on a divide peculiar to southwest Louisiana (Riser, 1948). It is known that he was president of the Louisiana Western Railroad Company and had been associated with Charles Morgan in certain railroad transactions. McComb accumulated a great fortune, not from the railroad transactions. McComb accumulated a great fortune, not from the railroad but from the acquisition of the patent for the arrow tie buckle used in the baling of cotton. In 1901 an Jennings businessmen brought in oil operators to develop the Jennings Oil Field. This marked the first production of oil in the state of Louisiana. Oil became an important element in the economy of Jennings, but rice, the basis of the town’s economy, was still cultivated. After 1906 oil production declined and the importance of the industry to Jennings decreased. Rice remained, as it always had been, the leading economic activity of the area (Riser, 1948). The one thing about this community is the buildings; they still resemble the old design from in the beginning. This community on one side of the tracks maybe crumbling, but Jennings is a growing city. Jennings can give the illusion of nothing is going on and deep down inside of the town is array of discrimination of race, social class, an economic status. II. Community Structure: Community Function Jennings has few clubs for socializing and due to the divide in the population by race. Socialization between the white and blacks are limited if they do not work together. There are normally around event times in the community two different parades one downtown for the white the other Southside for the blacks. The city is ran by the mayor elected, making all the decisions in the city. During events for the city the decision in regards to can it happen is left to the chief of police. The city has two law enforcement agency the city police which handles everything inside the city and the sheriff’s department which is for surrounding parish cities. Each area or parts of Jennings have police jurors that are elected for the area. Residents are to contact their police jurors with complaints; they are then brought before a town meeting that is held each month at city hall. The meetings are open to all residents in the parish; however they are not openly advertised. There are many community leaders, or shall I say power families. These are the people who basically can have anything they want in Jennings. These families have been living here from the beginning and own most of all the businesses in Jennings. Jennings with these power families there is a lot of corruption within the city. According to an interview conducted with a resident of Jennings, it is a visible corruption. They stated that it’s in the police department and in the court houses. The court house is located in central Jennings and shares a uilding with the parish sheriff’s department. The courthouse has two courtrooms and on judge. One Monday’s, Tuesday’s and Wednesday’s are court days in Jennings. Because this is the parish base surrounding cities in the parish have to attend court in Jennings. The mayor’s office is located across from the courthouse, basically if he is in office the office residents have the opportunity to speak with h im. Election for public office are held every two years, however the judge and chief of police have held the same positions for the last 4 years. They were reelected with majority of the vote. Observing and interviewing residents across the tracks with a low economic status on the government of Jennings. Residents of this community fear the police and the government of Jennings. Most of the residents don’t vote because they believe it does not work. On resident showed me the curfew signs located for two blocks in front of the only club in Jennings. Residents reported having to leave the city to socialize (Jennings Daily News, 2005). III. Community Characteristics Jennings is a booming city new school, shopping centers, restaurants, car lots and new additions to the hospital. This is all downtown Jennings, continue to drive to Southside Jennings and the economy changes. The economy in Jennings is low compared to other cities in Louisiana. Local business owner, own most of the shopping places. The other centers are chain stores and restaurants which provide employment in city. To obtain a good job some resident must leave the city and drive at least 30 miles to the nearest city for work. There are 3 public schools and 2 catholic schools in Jennings there is a technical school which provides training in different fields. Just recently I was informed that Southside had the only elementary school residents. According to the Jennings daily news the school was moved uptown Jennings. There are no schools located in the Southside community of Jennings (Jennings Daily News, 2005). Looking for resources in Jennings is like looking for a needle in a hay stack. There are limited resources in the area for residents living in poverty. There is no office of community services which provides applications and face to face case managers for additional household help; the nearest office is 45 minutes away. There is a health unit that provides parenting classes other services to needed residents. Caring Hands is the only resource of helping people pay bills if needed. They help with light bills, gas bills, and water bills if qualified. There is no transportation system in the city, residents with no cars must walk to the stores. The community even with the lack of services seems not to harm most of the community. It’s for the most part beginning to overcome the racism that has been a factor over the years. However it still a big issue here in Jennings. Jennings have develop over the years an array of issues that need to be addressed like the lack of community services, the sub community of Southside Jennings, lack of activities for children, and jobs. With all this going on the murders of eight young ladies since 2005 has divided and turned the downtown residents against the city police that the city police no longer operate alone in the city the Louisiana state police has taken over (Jennings Daily News, 2005). Its apparent when driving through and speaking with residents, the blacks in the community experience oppression from the local government as well as themselves. There is a large amount of discrimination not only with the government but the local police. Residents state even if they are not doing anything the good suffers for the bad. Police patrol Southside and allow no room for socialization. The park on the Southside is always empty most children rather stay in the house. The local police abuse their power an residents live in fear every day. Jennings, Louisiana do not have a homeless population, most residents that lose their homes move in with relatives. Make some home occupied with multiply families. In this community, it’s a plus along with all the other problems they do not need a homeless problem. IV. Summary and Conclusion Jennings, Louisiana a booming city, with hidden racial problems. Jennings with the majority of the population being white runs the local government, making all the decisions for the city. The lack of resources makes it impossible for some residents to access them. It’s a city that can be two different cities in one. Although education is accessible most of the black don’t attend. Jobs are limited less and there is no public transportation out of city to find jobs. Most residents live under the poverty line for the ones who do not are enjoying this community as long as the blacks stay on their side of the tracks. Reading Netting and observing this community there is a lot going on like Social Darwinism due to the blacks believing that income between not only rich and poor, but white and black is natural (Kettner, McMurty, & Netting, 1998). The manifest destiny in which is going on in Jennings today.