Research Korner: History Essays

Development of the Hotel Industry in Taiwan

Chapter 2 Review of Related Literature 2.1 Development of the Hotel Industry in Taiwan             The service industry has greatly contributed to the economic growth of Taiwan. Basically, Clark, H. (2001) stated that the hospitality and tourism industry is expected to continue growing within the succeeding years. Actually, the success of the industry is partly attributed to the external factors providing an environment suitable for business such as the political and economic stability of the market and tourism efforts of the government to encourage and draw visitors from other countries and partly from the management and business practices developed and maintained by the individual businesses conducive to customer satisfaction and customer loyalty.             The vibrant hospitality industry developed after passing through an industry cycle due to both external and internal factors affecting the number of tourists whose needs the industry meets. The hotel industry in Taiwan is delineated into international and domestic hotels based on business ownership and domestic hotels are also subdivided into domestic company owned hotels and family owned hotels depending on the scale of operation and ownership of the hotel (Dennis et. al, 2003). These hotels differ in a variety of ways according to the manner that they utilize their available and created resources and business strategies to actualize their business goals.             Despite the differences in the scale of operation, organizational structure and business strategies of international and domestic hotels, the common objective is to utilize and maximize their resources to achieve a high brand equity founded upon efficient and excellent quality of service that results to customer satisfaction and eventually to customer loyalty.  According to Nguyen and Leblanc, (2001), international and domestic hotels build a strong industry through their ability to cater to the diverse needs of customers in terms of price, customer relationship, accommodation arrangements, and other diverse hospitality needs of customers. Although there is competition among international hotels, international and domestic hotels, and among domestic hotels it cannot be denied that these hotels provide distinct hospitality services giving customers options for their service preferences.             As discussed, the Taiwan hospitality industry developed after experiencing a business cycle with its initial high during the implementation of the Six-Year National Development Plan applicable for the years 1991 to 1996, but becomes low with the outbreak of severe acute respiratory syndrome in 2003, and a rise again in the performance of the hospitality industry at present (Global Hospitality News Archive, 2003).             During the initial high of the hospitality industry in the mid 90s, the Tourism Bureau of Taiwan reported that building the hospitality industry requires leadership on the part of the government and the leading hotels within the industry to provide both administration and guidance to direct the industry towards growth; comprehensive and holistic facilities planning for the industry; and sufficient goal-oriented training for the employees of the hospitality industry (Chen, 1996).  The result of the Six-Year National Development Plan is the increase in the gross domestic product of the country by 1.1 percent for the period 1990 to 1994 (Bailey, 1996) and .7 percent in 1997 (Hsieh, 1998). The economic growth spurred the development of the hospitality and tourism industry in Taiwan. The 1997 Annual Report on Tourism showed that the composition of the visitors to Taiwan were mostly from other Asian countries who were also experiencing growth. Close to 76 percent of the tourists in Taiwan were Asians with the remaining percentage from North America, Europe and other regions. Apart from international tourism, the economic growth that Taiwan experienced also proved helpful to the hospitality industry by encouraging domestic tourism (Wise, 1993). In 1996, the average number of trips within Taiwan was 2.99 increasing to 3.2 in 1997 as a result of economic growth and the policy of declaring public holidays (Hsieh, 1998). Economic growth translates to income for households and the empowerment to spend not only on their needs but also for leisure activities such as travel. The five-day workweek implemented in 1998 limited the time available for international travels resulting to the consumption of domestic hospitality and tourism industry services. The Tourism Bureau is strengthening international tourism through innovative leisure resorts and tourism packages. The visitor expenditure of foreign tourists amounted to 3.4 billion in 1997 with a US $193.56 average daily spending for every visitor. The cost of hotel accommodations amounted to around 50 percent of the daily spending. (Lu, 1999) The bureau also sought to create an environment conducive to the hospitality business by releasing a promotional brochure in different languages, using the internet as a marketing strategy, and participating in organizations for international tourism cooperation such as the East Asia Travel Association, American Society of Travel Agents and the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation. The industry expects to gain external support through government efforts to help the industry grow. In 2003, the industry experienced a rapid decrease in the occupancy rates because of the outbreak of the severe acute respiratory syndrome or SARS in the region.  In the May 2003 new report of the China Post, around 84 percent of hotels in Taiwan had a lower than 30 percent occupancy rate and 96 percent of the hotels in Taiwan incurred losses. In the survey made by Pan Asia Human Resource Corporation, 79 percent of the 2,452 hotels questioned viewed the effect of the SARS outbreak as very severe. The quarantine measure implemented in the Ho Ping Hospital resulted to the deterioration of 79.01 percent of hotels represented by 50 to 60 percent drop in occupancy rates resulting to losses. In an effort to prevent further losses, many of the hotels requested some of their employees to take unpaid leaves or take their annual leave, implemented salary cuts, and suspended the payment of salaries until business performance improves. The owners of firms have asked the government for a bailout plan. (Global Hospitality News Archive, 2003)             In just a few months, the industry development that the government and business owners sought to achieve was brought down by the SARS epidemic. Between April and May, all hotels tried to alleviate their losses by offering large discounts up to 70 percent of the original price in an effort to maintain the operations of the industry. Inter-industry collaborations were also in place such as the offer of a package that includes hotel accommodations as well as air fare for a discounted price. (Dennis et. al, 2003)             The government held an emergency meeting to develop a plan to help the hospitality and tourism industry. A plan to rescue the ailing airline transportation sector was implemented through the reduction of the fees for local airlines at the expense of government revenue. Tax cuts and exemptions were also planned for the other sub-sectors of the tourism industry. The legislature also approved the proposal preventing the local banks from not approving loans needed by the businesses within the tourism industry for short-term financing. (Dennis et. al, 2003)             In 2004, the SARS outbreak has been controlled leaving behind bankruptcies for the hotels and other businesses unable to cope up with the economic cost of the epidemic. By the end of 2004, the hospitality industry in Taiwan is still in the verge of development but fairing well because of the growth in economy with the vibrancy in the different industries after the arrest of the SARS epidemic.             At the end of 2005, the November 12 issues of Asia Times reported that the tourism industry in mainland China, Taiwan and Hong Kong continue to grow as observed through the rampancy of hotel construction in the different business and tourism centers of the country. The rate of arrival of international visitors increased by 16 percent as a result of the increase in occupancy in the hotel industry. The growing hotel industry in Vietnam is expected to grow with China hosting several international events such as the 2005 Miss World and the upcoming 2008 Olympics. With a favorable business environment, the competition is expected to heat up requiring the management of the different hotels to develop and establish management and operations strategies to draw customers and achieve customer satisfaction and loyalty.               2.2 Building Brand Image             International and domestic hotels will be able to keep up with the demands of a growing market for the industry by making the industry service-based instead of price-based. International and domestic hotels set their respective prices based on service and not on price alone. The key component to brand management is the implementation of an integrated approach where companies are able to say what they can offer relative to their competition, do what they offer and promise to customers and confirm it through consistent practice. The value of saying, doing and confirming should be internalized in the company culture. (Cai and Hobson, 2004)             Building brand image to achieve competitive advantage in the hotel industry requires management to treat the service as experience goods (Nguyen and Leblanc, 2001).  In treating hospitality service as experience goods, establishments focus on providing a pleasant experience for customers to create the image that the hotel wants to portray to the market. However, the image is only established once the hotel is able to consistently do what it says to the satisfaction of the different needs of customers. Management will then direct all efforts of the company towards the creation of a company culture that provides a satisfactory service that meets the experience requirements of customers and eventually to achieve customer loyalty. It is after the achievement of a good brand image that the hotel can justify its price. The brand image justifies price and not the other way around.             Brand image is one of the factors that hotels should consider if they plan to achieve consumer-based brand equity. Brand image affects the development of a customer base of the hotel and the consequent improvement in financial performance (Kim, Kim & An, 2003). The development of a brand image should be based on the customer’s viewpoint. This means that a hotel should initially have updated information on the current trends in market demand before the company can formulate a plan to develop its brand image through customer satisfaction. The practice of providing total customer satisfaction was developed within the industry from knowing that customers require a hotel service that integrates accessibility and delivery of material needs with service.             Brand image is dependent upon the feelings that consumers and other establishments have about the organization in relation to the evaluation of other competing brands. Marketing activities, such as advertising and promotions, falls under the general image of the organization. Once the organization has built its brand image, it should maintain this image because a negative change in the way that the brand name is regarded reflects on a decrease in customers and consequently of revenue. It takes twice as hard to rebuild a good brand image rather than initially building it. There are different management areas that the business should focus on in developing a good brand image. The people tasked to build brand image should think of two things in planning a strategy. These things are first is to sell the service of the organization as a short-term goal and second is to build image in the long run. During the process of promoting the brand name, the company should apply integrated marketing communications to ensure the efficient introduction of the quality of service that the organization stands for. Image is related to the strengths and weaknesses of the organization. The company should integrate all available resources and recognize opportunities such as combining a strong image with an external opportunity to create a strategic advantage. A comprehensive analysis of the image of the organization and its strengths and weaknesses should be integrated to solidify the connection with customers. The brand image should consider the different consumer behavior to be able to introduce a consistent message with the target market. To be able to effectively communicate the brand image to the public, it is important that within the organization the message and the brand image are clearly defined. The image should identify the values or principles of the organization and the extent that the organization has established its position. The purpose of communicating brand image is to instill a consistent and stable impression among customers. The general impression that hotels should develop is quality of service in terms of amenities, personnel and meeting the particular needs of customers for the market to develop an impression of the organization. The significant perception is that of the consumers rather than the view of the managers about the organization. Brand image is consumer-based because their perception about the organization determines their propensity to make decisions in choosing a particular hotel and in enlisting again the services of the hotel in the future. Brand image in the hotel industry has different components, which are tangible and intangible. The tangible components include the services offered by the organization; the different hotel branches in terms of location and accessibility; the marketing communications strategy of the organization; the name and logo of the organization representing the brand image; and the employees of the organization who are the forerunners of brand image. The intangible components include the operational and human resource policies of the organization; the organizational culture determining the beliefs and practices of company personnel; the external environment and location of the company such as the accepted personal and business practices of the particular country where the organization operates; and the publicity that the organization gets especially from the media. Brand image plays an important role in the perspective of the consumer. The brand image gives an assurance to the customer that the decision to obtain the services of the chosen organization in unfamiliar settings is worth it. Brand image also assures the customer of quality service when the latter has no previous experience of the organization. The image perceived of the organization also lessens the time spent looking for accommodations when the image meets the experience needs of the customer. The brand image also determines the nature and extent of connection that the customer develops with the organization based on the perceived openness of the organization.                          Brand image also plays an important role from the point of view of the organization. A good brand image ushers the acceptability of change and developments within the organization such as the introduction of new services and the putting up of new branches in different locations. The brand image determines the ability of the organization to determine the price of its services. A consistent brand image and consistently meeting the needs of customers results to the return of customers and positive endorsements through word-of-mouth. The brand image not only attracts customers but also qualified employees willing to work to maintain the brand image. A good brand image attracts favorable reviews from industry experts. 2.3 Delivering Quality Service             Competitive advantage is achieved by many organizations through their offer of superior service quality (Schmenner, 1995), which is a harder thing to do than offering product quality because there are a lot of service factors that are intangible and cannot be completely controlled such as the decisions and actions of employees and the result of the interaction between employees and different customers. Moreover, the customer judgment on the quality of service is based on the perceptions of the service recipient’s perceptions and expectations causing a difficulty in identifying and correcting service failures. (Hays and Hill, 2000).             Achieving service quality requires the organization to focus on building and transmitting the importance of service quality to the members of the organization. The efforts and contributions of management and personnel should be directed towards a clear vision of delivery of superior service quality. Employees should be motivated to provide quality service in all aspects of the operations of a service organization such as hotels. Outstanding service organizations have strong vision, initially market their offered service internally, evaluate service and publish results. (Albrecht and Zemke, 1985) There are two factors that affect perceived service quality, which are employee motivation and vision and organizational learning (Hays and Hill, 2000).             Quality is a significant predictor not only of profitability but also of the respective market share of organizations in the market (Buzzell and Gale, 1987).  The primary actors involved in ensuring quality are the personnel of the organization. The attributes of the personnel of the organization directed towards the achievement of quality plays an important role in consequently achieving customer satisfaction. The attributes emphasized in the field of service are commitment (Farber and Wycoff, 1991), organizational culture (Collier, 1994), and service delivery environment (Schneider, 1980). Employee attributes in the achievement of quality service is significant because service quality starts with people (Hostage, 1975).             The qualities of empathy, courtesy and responsiveness of employees in service delivery when combined in the interaction of personnel and customer influence the perceptions of customers on quality. Service personnel plays a significant role in service delivery that they are perceived to be an integral part of the service. Service employees not only create service but they also form part of service delivery (Czepiel et. al, 1985). This highlights the importance of motivating employees to become conscious of improving their performance and maintaining a standard quality of service based on organizational goals.           Developing a standard quality of service of the organization requires the determination of the goals of the company and the process of learning and improvement until such that the organization is able to establish a service quality that substantiates its brand image. Learning can be done in two ways, which are learning from employees and learning from customers. The organization should implement both an internal and external approach to learning (Marquardt and Reynolds, 1994). The rate that organizations learn constitutes a competitive advantage for the organization (Senge, 1990).              The organization should consider feedback from the employees in evaluating the effectiveness of a service because it is the personnel who directly observe the reaction and hear the complaints and praises of customers. Organization should also consider the views of customers by integrating a feedback system in service delivery. On the part of employees, the regular meetings and evaluations may be considered as the venue for collating employee experiences and comments on the service delivered and the system of delivery. On the part of customers, quality control is a system of getting the feedback of customers (Argyris and Schon, 1978). The hotel can establish a customer service booth or provide a form or a telephone number where their complaints can be voiced and addressed. The organization should use the records of complaints to assess and investigate the validity of claims, determine areas requiring change and device the most effective manner of making the change within a reasonable span of time.             In the delivery of quality service requires both internal and external consideration.  Internal consideration involves the creation of an organizational vision, the motivation of employees towards the realization of the visions and the establishment of a system for evaluating performance to facilitate learning. External consideration refers to information on the service expectations of customers, the integration of these expectations in the goals of the organization, and the establishment of a feedback system to solicit the participation of customers in evaluating the quality of service of the organization and enhancing organizational learning. Offering quality service to substantiate the brand image of the organization is primarily used to achieve customer satisfaction and eventually customer loyalty. 2.4 Achieving Customer Satisfaction             Customer satisfaction is what sustains the operations of the organization because an unsatisfied customer will not do business with the organization again and dissatisfaction may also dampen potential referrals to the friends and business associates of the unsatisfied customer. Even if the organization implement the newest technology in building the hotel and designing individual  rooms, offer the most expensive items for the use of customers, and train their personnel but if these do not meet the particular needs of customers, then satisfaction is not attained. The measurement of customer satisfaction is through the perception of customers and their propensity to engage the service again.             There is a direct connection between service, satisfaction, sales and profit (Gerson, 1993). However, these cannot be achieved without the imposition of measurements for performance. Measuring the customer satisfaction is important because everything that the organization measures are completed, improved and mastered. Having a measure of customer satisfaction also provides a detailed learning of the factors considered by customers as crucial to their satisfaction that will form the basis for identifying areas for improvement and the efficient change management. Every aspect of customer satisfaction should be centered on the customer.             The definition of customer satisfaction is based on the service that the customer expects to receive to become satisfied. A customer is satisfied whenever an expectation, whether real or perceived, is met or superseded (Gerson, 1993).  It is important for the organization to know the expectations of the customer and to know this the organization should ask the customer. This is the reason why in all service organizations, the personnel always ask for the preference of the customer. Starting from the reservation of hotel accommodations, the customer is asked about his or her preferences from the type of rooms, the amenities that comes with the room and other special arrangements. During the receiving and stay of the customer, there may be particular requests that the service personnel have to meet. An organization is able to provide satisfactory service by knowing the preferences of customer and anticipating the possible requests that customers may make.             For the organization to measure the value of customer satisfaction, the company must first measure the cost of delivering a poor service. There are several measures for determining the cost to the organization of poor service. First is lost customer revenue, which refers to the money that the organization will loose because of the loss of customer to a competitor because of poor service. Second is lost opportunity revenue that is the loss of money because of the decrease in the revenue that could have been achieved when the customer engages the services of the organization again and when the satisfied customer refers the service organization to friends and business associates. Third is customer replacement cost, which refers to the expenses that the organization will incur in looking for new customers. If the organization full comprehends the implications of these losses, then the company will start to recognize the role of customer satisfaction and profit.  (Gerson, 1993)             In the hospitality industry, customer satisfaction is based on the expected ultimate hotel experience of the customer (Sigala and Leslie, 2005). People no longer engage the services of hotels for board and lodging but customers seek a hotel experience that includes the amenities of the hotel, the services offered, the attitude of personnel, the completeness of service, and the manner that the organization values its customers. Although price still remains to be the consideration of customers, there are customers who are willing to pay a higher price for hotels with an excellent brand image but they also expect top service in return.              A hotel experience becomes measurable in terms of revenue when it is deemed a memorable. The organization increases the value of its services by including memorable experiences to service delivery. This is because the decisions of customers to consume and choosing a particular hotel are determined by hedonistic and psychological aspects (Gretzel and Fesenmaier, 2003). The ultimate hotel experience is that which satisfies the hedonistic expectations of customers. The experience creates a connection between the organization and its brand image and the lifestyle of the customer in the context of the intentions of both parties. There are physical and psychological considerations in achieving the ultimate hotel experience, which are the physical components of the service such as amenities and comforts and the psychological components such as the ambiance of the hotel, attitude of personnel and the drive to fulfill the emotions that people want to feel in a hotel. 2.5 Achieving Customer Loyalty             A loyal customer is a client that engages the hospitality services of a hotel every time an opportunity arises. Customer loyalty refers to the fidelity that a customer has for a particular organization as a result of a consistent experience of satisfaction from the services of the particular hotel. (Bowen and Shoemaker, 1998). Mutual trust develops based on the expectation on the part of the customer that the hotel will consistently meet the needs of the customer and on the part of the organization that the customer will patronize its services.              Achieving customer loyalty and retention involves the implementation of plans that prevent customers from changing their hotel preference. There are three considerations in preventing customers from changing their preference. First is the context of the engagement of the services of the organization. The needs and requirements of customers change depending upon the change in their circumstances and it is important that a hotel can accommodate the expectations of customers despite the changes in the context of the service engagement. The quality of service should still be consistent despite the fact that the customer previously visited the hotel on business and returns for leisure. Second is the control that the organization has on the marketing mix to efficiently maximize resources to provide a pleasurable experience to the satisfaction of customers. Price, location, promotions and services are the different aspects of hotel operations that the organization can control. Management should ensure that the operation of the hotel is synchronized in the direction of achieving customer loyalty.  Third is the consideration of the customer in terms of the background and the demographics of the customer. The background of the customer determines the service expectations of the customer, the fulfillment of which determines the propensity of the customer to return to the hotel in the future. Hotels should customize their services to accommodate cultural differences. There are cultures that require separate accommodations for men and women or the particular preparation of food. These aspects should be known and considered by the organization in providing service to international customers. (Morgan and Dev, 1994)                Service considerations include the physical and psychological aspects. The physical aspects include the accessible lay out of the rooms, elevators and stairs, bathrooms, foyers, restaurants and bars, and other significant aspects that contribute to the achievement of loyalty. The technical aspects of functionality also includes cleanliness and orderly placement of furniture in the room, the size and comfort of the bed, wall paper and decorations, quality of bathroom, facilities of the room. The functional aspects of the service include the style of service delivery, the presence of a customer service area, cleaning service and food delivery service. The psychological aspects of service delivery are the friendliness of the service personnel, speed of service, the attitude of employees towards customers, the ambiance of the hotel and the overall service reputation of the establishment. (Lewis and Pizam, 1981)             Price is a factor that contributes to customer loyalty. Pricing a hotel service is difficult because of the intangibility of the thing being valued (Dearden, 1978) Price that the organizations impose for their services primarily depends upon their official rating. A five star hotel has a higher price than a two star hotel. Generally price setting is cost-based. However, there are instances where price can be used as a competitive advantage for some sectors of the market. Whether the pricing system is cost or competition based or both, the organization should consider their target customers and decide based on the pricing that would effectively draw customers and maintain their loyalty. Price is also based on a good brand image that contributes to the motivation for customer loyalty.                          The location of the hotel is another factor that contributes to customer loyalty. Hotel location is a significant consideration depending on whether the customer is traveling for business or leisure purposes. A customer engaging the services of a hotel because of a business engagement in the area looks for a hotel that provides all his or her services especially the proximity to the venue of the business engagement. Businessmen travel with considerations for time and they would not ordinarily engage then services of a hotel that is far from the business areas. Leisure customers on the other hand consider the proximity of the hotel to the tourist locations and leisure activities that they want to experience. Location also matters to customers who are passing by the place and merely looking for transient accommodations. The smaller, more homely hotels located near major routes are usually the choice of accommodation for travelers and the small budget groups. (Hall, 1999)              Promotion is the other factor that contributes to customer satisfaction. Promotions in the hotel industry are classified into loyalty strategies, branding and relationship marketing. The common loyalty strategy is the issuance of loyalty cards that represents perks for frequent customers. This may work for some and not for others but if it works then the company expects to gain profit. Retaining 5 percent of customers will increase profit by 100 percent (Reichheld and Sasser, 1990). This is an excellent incentive for organizations to find a promotional program that efficiently retains at least 5 percent of customers for it to gain profit.

Development of the Hotel Industry in Taiwan

Chapter 2 Review of Related Literature 2.1 Development of the Hotel Industry in Taiwan The service ind...

Hollywood's America: History of 20th century USA through Film

History of the 20th-Century USA through Film: a History Research Plan     Film Title: Good Morning, Vietnam by  (Touchstone, 1987)   Description of the Film: Situated during the Vietnam War in 1965, Good Morning, Vietnam is a story of a nonconformist military disc jockey from Crete – Adrian Cronauer. It is a comedy/drama focusing on the life of Cronauer, played by Robin Williams who works for the interest of military deployed in Saigon using his “unusual humor” and aired in the Armed Forces Radio Saigon (AFRS). The happy-go-lucky DJ goes on air with his witty delivery of daily news flash and information, pseudo-interviews (using his own voice in impersonating people), peculiar choice of music, and other goofy means of doing things that was loved by the listeners – the masses and Pfc. Eddie Garlick (Forest Whitaker) yet hated by military officers like Lt. Steven Hauk (Bruno Kirby) and later Sergeant Major Philip Dickerson (J.T. Walsh). Lt. Hauk wanted Cronauer to stick to military guidelines, even in terms of humor while Dickerson considers him as annoyance.             With his signature “Good Morning, Vietnam” greetings spoken in overstated or elongated manner, Cronauer was referred as someone who is “not G.I. enough” and possesses mocking inclination. During his free time, he strolls outside the radio station and teaches English to Vietnamese students where he met Trihn (Chintary Sukupatana) with a brother named Tuan (Tom Tran) also known as Phan Duc To, a terrorist who was hinted by the army.               After all the revelations, Cronauer prepared to leave the military and hands Garlick a tape reel to play when he is gone. He started an instant softball game with his students and bid goodbye to Trinh where she thanked Cronauer on warning his brother’s impending danger. Cronauer was replaced by Garlick and played the tape where Cronauer yelled “Goodbye, Vietnam!”   Summary of Preliminary Research Findings: The film reflected so much about history, culture, national identity and the nationalistic nature of Americans and Vietnamese. It also brings to light the concept of freedom – country, people, media, and self (to be discussed in the Research Paper). Good Morning, Vietnam is not just about war on its literal meaning but also to its symbolic and figurative perspective and relevance.   Thesis Statement: American history, like any other national history is full of struggles in order to discover its real distinctiveness and establish its desired position. The importance of freedom in American society rooted on the aspiration to promote one’s individuality among others. War is not just the presence of guns and ammunitions but the struggle of someone on forces that affect the concept of being free.

Hollywood's America: History of 20th century USA through Film

History of the 20th-Century USA through Film: a History Research Plan Film Title: Good Morning, Vietnam by ( Touchstone, ...

Infant Visual Perception

Introduction Infant growth moves from the general to the specific. This is an important facet of human development It rests upon the principle of generalized movement by the infant directed toward more specific actions and precision as time passes. This can be seen readily in the infant whose movements are random at first when attempting an act, then becoming more exact and deliberate, from flailing arms to more specific hand control and finally finger coordination as the infant tries to "pick up" from a flat surface; this represents neuro-muscular maturation, reaching first with an entire limb in an awkward manner and then concluding with natural, self devised restrictions imposed on the arms facilitating more finite hand/finger aptitude. Time and genes allow for this kind of growth; external interferences can do little under this organic sequence. This paper will explain the different aspects of the perceptual growth of infants. What do Babies know about the Physical World? Perception is composed of both experiencing and interpreting the world that an infant live in this is according to some philosophers, psychologists, physiologists and physicists. The infant’s daily experiences increase his or her fascinating perceptual questions. Infants are responsive to binocular and kinetic information by 3 to 5 months of age except they may not be sensitive to static information until about 7 months of age. It is significant to point out, though, that infants younger than 3 months of age probably perceive depth. A child’s everyday experiences raise the following questions: How do our perceptions come to achieve stability amidst constant fluctuations in the environment? How do perceptions come to be invested with meaning? How are the individual features of things we perceive synthesized into organized wholes? How does the perceptual quality of “bitter” differ from that of “red”? How do we see a three-dimensional world when visual processing begins with a two-dimensional image in the eye? Perceptual development has served as a kind of battleground between nativists and empiricists, and to illustrate this some studies examine one exemplary skirmish in detail. It concerns the ways infants might come to perceive depth in space. They selected this example for several reasons. First, depth perception is crucial to determining the spatial layout of the environment, recognizing objects, and guiding motor action. Second, the study of depth perception addresses an interesting psychophysical question, namely how infants perceive the three dimensionality of the environment when the retina of the eye first codes information along only two dimensions. Third, debate on this question exemplifies the typical historical course: It began with hotly contested philosophical disputes that spanned the seventeenth to nineteenth centuries before prompting experimentation in the twentieth century. Throughout this time, philosophers and scientists consistently looked to infancy to help decide how depth perception develops. Experimental studies began to displace philosophical speculation; in fact, experimental psychology, which started only in the twentieth century, was at first specifically organized to address just such issues. Three lines of research exemplify how questions about the origins of depth perception have been addressed experimentally. All three are valuable because no one alone provides definitive information, but the three together converge to sketch how depth perception develops. The starting point for the first line of research was the following observation: Infants at the creeping and toddling stage are notoriously prone to falls from more or less high places . They must be kept from going over the brink by side panels on their cribs, gates on their stairways, and vigilance of adults. As their muscular coordination matures, they begin to avoid such accidents on their own. Common sense might suggest that the child learns to recognize falling-off places by experience—that is, by falling and hurting himself. But is experience really the teacher? Or is the ability to perceive and avoid a brink part of the child's original endowment? From these results, they concluded that depth perception must be present in infants as young as 6 months of age. By 6 months, however, children may already have had plenty of experience perceiving depth, the pre-crawling babies by monitoring heart rate when the babies were exposed to shallow and deep sides of the visual cliff. They found that babies as young as 2 months of age showed a decrease in heart rate when exposed to the deep side, indicating increased attention or interest. Thus, babies may perceive depth long before they locomote but show little fear of the drop at that age. The wariness of drops shown by older infants may result from the anxiety parents’ show when infants approach a drop, rather than from actual experience with falls. Infants “socially reference” their parents and use their parents' emotional cues to interpret ambiguous events .Visual cliff experiments represent one way investigators have sought to explore the infant’s  capacity to perceive depth. In actuality, three types of stimulus information specify depth, and thus organize this discussion of early depth perception around binocular, static, and kinetic cues. As Descartes and Kant argued, there are at least two bases for perceiving depth because infants are binocular (have two eyes). Because their two eyes receive slightly different images of the visual world, the convergence angle of the two and the disparity between the two images they yield provide some information about depth perception. Binocular convergence provides information only about close-up distances, but it may provide functional information about depth as early as 2 months of age. Depth perception experiments have demonstrated that infants are sensitive to binocular and kinetic information by 3 to 5 months of age but may not be sensitive to static information until about 7 months of age. It is important to point out, however, that infants younger than 3 months of age probably perceive depth. There may never be a final triumph for nativism or for empiricism. It can be argued that, no matter how early in life depth perception can be demonstrated, the ability still rests on some experience, and that no matter how late depth perception emerges, it can never be proved that only experience has mattered. Nevertheless, the nativism-empiricism debate remains pervasive in the developmental study of depth perception, as well as color, speech, and many other content topics in infant perceptual development. Physical objects or events arouse the infant’s sense-organs. As a causal result of this, they obtain instantaneous knowledge of their existence and their properties. By immediate knowledge is meant knowledge which is not inferred from, or suggested by, any further knowledge, or any ground or basis for knowledge. This knowledge is not necessarily verbalized knowledge, but it is always knowledge which it is logically possible to put verbally. It is propositional in form. And although such knowledge is immediate, in the sense just defined, it is not incorrigible knowledge. Conclusion As a result of  the stimulation of  the eye, infants  acquire immediate knowledge of  the size, shape, color and spatial relations of  the objects  around them; as a result of  the stimulation of  the skin, they obtain immediate knowledge of  the shape, size, temperature, spatial relations, and other properties of  the objects in our environment; as a result of the stimulation of  the nose, they acquire immediate knowledge of  the presence of smells; and so on. After they gain some knowledge of the physical world, this knowledge is accompanied by knowledge of the means by which this immediate knowledge was got (by the eyes, skin, nose, etc.). It is also regularly accompanied by characteristic sensations in the organs being used to acquire the immediate knowledge. The acquiring of immediate knowledge in this fashion is perception. It may be distinguished from more sophisticated forms of perception by being called immediate perception. But it must be emphasized that immediate perception is not immediate knowledge. It is the acquiring of immediate knowledge, and is therefore an event in the sense that an acquiring is an event. It is part of the concept of immediate perception that the knowledge acquired is knowledge of the state of affairs in the physical world contemporary with the acquiring of the knowledge. This logical necessity is built on the empirical fact that we never acquire any immediate knowledge of past states of affairs by means of the senses. The objects and properties of objects that are immediately perceived have an existence logically independent of their being perceived. They may be perceived or not perceived. There are objects and properties of objects that are never perceived, although it would always be logically possible for such unperceived things to be perceived. It is therefore REALISTIC. Studies prove that the quality of child care have a great impact to the growth and perceptual development of the child. Infants have diverse personalities and temperaments, they develop at different rates. Their self-esteem is an important aspect of their development, that is why parents and caregivers should give them constant praise and encouragement. The following points should be considered in order to help boost the development of a child: <ul type="disc" style="MARGIN-TOP: 0in; MARGIN-BOTTOM: 0in"><li class="MsoNormal" style="LINE-HEIGHT: 200%; TEXT-ALIGN: justify">Communicate to your offspring what needs to be done at that moment. </li> <li class="MsoNormal" style="LINE-HEIGHT: 200%; TEXT-ALIGN: justify">Redirect his or her attention or activity by using neutral or positive language. </li> <li class="MsoNormal" style="LINE-HEIGHT: 200%; TEXT-ALIGN: justify">Say no while maintaining love. </li> <li class="MsoNormal" style="LINE-HEIGHT: 200%; TEXT-ALIGN: justify">Explain the reason for your rule. </li> <li class="MsoNormal" style="LINE-HEIGHT: 200%; TEXT-ALIGN: justify">Give limited tasks and be specific in your request. </li> <li class="MsoNormal" style="LINE-HEIGHT: 200%; TEXT-ALIGN: justify">Acknowledge children's feelings, but set limits. </li> <li class="MsoNormal" style="LINE-HEIGHT: 200%; TEXT-ALIGN: justify">Help them understand how their actions affect others. </li> <li class="MsoNormal" style="LINE-HEIGHT: 200%; TEXT-ALIGN: justify">Help kids use words to communicate their frustrations. </li> <li class="MsoNormal" style="LINE-HEIGHT: 200%; TEXT-ALIGN: justify">Acknowledge positive behavior. </li></ul>

Infant Visual Perception

Introduction Infant growth moves from the general to the specific. This is an important facet of human development It re...

US Immigrant and Ethnic History

Land Allotment Strategy used with the Choctaw Indians and the Treaty Strategy applied to Cherokee Indians.               Prior to the discovery of Christopher Columbus of the Americas, there are already native settlers living in parts of the United States. The Native Americans more popularly known as American Indians are the Indigenous people that live in North America. Prior to the colonisation of Europeans in the lands of North America Native Americans are living peacefully in their own lands and homes. However during the 19th century, according to (2007) when the European settlers is expanding rapidly in the South of the United States, the Native Americans that is composed of what they called the five nations which are the Cherokee, Creek, Choctaw, Chicasaw and Seminole were regarded as impediments. In the notion of the European settlers these Indian nations, according to PBS, were hindrance to the progress. Due to the fact that these white Americans wanted the land of these Native Americans in order to plant and raise crops and animals, they forced the then government to create treaties so that they could obtain the land.             This paper examines the land-allotment strategy utilised by the white settlers with the Choctaw Indians and the Treaty strategy applied to the Cherokee Indians. Moreover, a comparison of these two treaties will also be given. In addition, the differences and similarities of the two strategies to the Indian lands. Finally, a discussion on the outcomes of each approach will also be given in this paper.             According to (2004) based on history the Choctaw Indians composed one of the largest, most prosperous, and well-organized Native American Groups in the South East of the United States. Moreover, discussed that the Choctaw Indians were farmers who added to their diet through fishing, gathering, and hunting, moreover, survival activities included the total community and created the base in which the social organisation relied.             Clearly, the Choctaw Indians were the most progressive tribes in the Southern part of the United States. According to (1997) at the turn of the nineteenth century the Choctaw Indians were still occupying their lands in the region of Mississippi, which is a favourable area for planting and producing cotton, and between the years 1801 and 1820 the Choctaw have given up almost half of their land to the white Americans and most of it is due to the determined efforts of then secretary John C. Calhoun. According to (2006) in the year 1820 the treaty of Doaks Stand was signed between the chieftains and the white Americans wherein the Choctaws exchange their prime cotton-producing lands which were approximately 4,150,000 acres for an uncertain land west of Mississippi. And in the year 1930, according to Chasteen the fate of the Indian Choctaws were sealed when Andrew Jackson made the Choctaws sign the Treaty of Dancing Rabbit Creek wherein under this treaty the lands that were under the control of the nation of Choctaw which is around 10,421,139 acres would be exchanged for the same amount of land in their territory in which the Choctaws already owned under the Treaty of Doaks Stand.             According to  (2002) Cherokee Indians are a group of Native Americans that live moistly in North Carolina and Oklahoma, and call themselves as ANI-Yun’wiya which means principal people, they also make up the second largest American Indian nation living in the United States. After the Choctaws were successfully removed from their lands in the Mississippi Valley, the then President Andrew Jackson started to take the lands of other Indian nations like the Creeks, Cherokees, and the Chicasaw.              According to , in order to avoid harassment from the white settlers the Cherokee Indians used legal means in order to safeguard their rights in their aboriginal land, and in 1827, the Cherokee have adopted a constitution which stated that they are a sovereign nation so that their lands could be protected from the white settlers who wanted them to cede their lands. However, the state of Georgia did not acknowledge the status of sovereignty of the Cherokee nation. But after just a year the Cherokee Indians appealed in the Supreme Court and this time the court favoured the Cherokees, and again the state of Georgia refused to adhere by the ruling of the court added to the fact that President Jackson have refused to enforce the ruling.             In addition, according to PBS after Jackson was sworn in the office as president he pushed the legislation called the Indian Removal Act in which it gave the power to negotiate the treaties with the tribes. According to (2007) in December 28, 1835 the Treaty of New Echota was signed, the terms under the agreement the United States will pay the Cherokee Indians $4.5 million, cover the costs of relocation and will give then a new land in exchange for their land in Georgia and Alabama, however the treaty was never signed by the Cherokee nation, therefore the Cherokee Indians did not recognize the validity of the agreement. John Ross, a chieftain of the Cherokee Nation drew a petition asking the Senate to void the Treaty of New Echota, but the petition was ignored and the Cherokees that did not comply with the treaty was forced to move to the west.             The Land-Allotment Strategy used with the Choctaw Indians has similarities with the Treaty Strategy and these are the lands that the Indians own will be exchanged by questionable lands in the west. Another similarity is that the government of the United States have created agreements wherein it discusses the exchange of lands. In addition, the Native Americans were removed from their aboriginal lands under the regime of President .             There are also differences between the Land-Allotment Strategy and Treaty Strategy and these are in the Land-Allotment Strategy the Choctaws exchanged their land for also the same amount of land, on the other hand, under the treaty strategy, Cherokee Indians will exchange their land with a new land in the west, relocation costs and $4.5 million. Another difference is that the Choctaws chieftains have signed the agreement, while the Cherokees did not.             The outcomes of the approach of the white settlers with the land of the Native American Indians are not good, with the Choctaws losing the sovereignty in their own lands and a number of lives were lost during the relocation of the Choctaw Nation such events include Choctaws that suffered under one of the worst blizzards during that time, contracting diseases such as cholera, and meeting up with a storm upon crossing the Lake Providence in Louisiana. In the case of the Cherokees about 16,000 of tem were forced to move and began their march known as the Trail of Tears wherein approximately 4000 Cherokee Indians died due to hunger, cold and diseases.           Relationships of the European Immigrants, Native Americans, African Slaves, Post-Bellum African Americans and Mexicans to the land throughout the nineteenth century             Immigration in the United States has been continuously happening ever since Christopher Columbus discovered it. After the discovery of the land in 1493, numerous white settlers from the European Continent have migrated to the United States. According to (1911) there are two general causes for immigration during the periods of 1820 to around 1875 and these are people that repelled the mother country and people that were attracted to the United States.             This paper examines the different relationships to the land experienced by the European Immigrants, Native Americans, African slaves, Post-Bellum African Americans and Mexicans which have contributed to the success of these various ethic groups during the 19th century in the United States of America.   Relationship of European Immigrants to the Land             According to  (2006) during the 1750s up to 1830s the move of the British Government towards large scale scientific-farming have increased the output of the farmers however a number of them have became redundant which become one of the reasons why most of them immigrated to the United States, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa and Canada. In addition, after the 1830s the number of people migrating from Britain has increased drastically, especially people that had been hit by the agricultural depression in the counties of Britain. In the case of the Irish people they immigrated due to the Irish Famine wherein approximately 350,000 people died due to the outbreak of diseases and famine. German people, according to Spartacus immigrated to the United States due to the failed revolution in the year 1848. Just like the Germans most French that immigrated to the United States were political refugees from the failed revolution in 1848. The Europeans have various relationships with the land, in the case of British people, upon immigrating in the United States they stayed in the field of agriculture and settled in mill towns in Massachusetts. In the case of the Irish, due to the fact that most of people that immigrated were poor they settled close to the port wherein they get off from the ship. German’s on the other hand lived in the cities and owned schools, churches and bookstores by the year 1860, just like the Germans French people settled in cities such as Chicago, New Orleans and New York. The Europeans treated the land of the United States as their second home, and have lived and worked in areas wherein they are familiar. Therefore, European immigrants have successfully integrated in the American society at the same time contributing to the culture of the US. Relationship of Native Americans to Land               The relationship of the Native Americans to the land is different from that of European, African, and Mexican settlers. According to  (1997) many Native Americans have planted and used the land for many years, however compare to their European counterparts, the Native Americans will only utilise the land wherein they have asked permission to farm, have offered prayers to the gods, and performed ritual of thanks. Cousins discussed that the Native Americans view their lands as a living network rather than portions in which they could sell and purchase. In addition, Cousins discussed that one of the most extensive ideas of the Native Americans is the belief that the land is alive in which every form of land is the place of various spirits and these spirits are the ones that sanctifies the land. Due to the products that the land shares to the people, Native Americans believe that the people must give and offer thanks such as singing songs of gratitude, leaving offering, and praying. The Native Americans consider that the land has sacrificed a lot by giving humans what they need, and in order to show gratitude the humans must also sacrifice by leaving something that they regard as important. Another way in which the people can show gratitude is through respecting the land by not polluting, wasting the resources or drastically modifying the land. They believe that when human interferes with the landscape of the land it will have negative consequences especially in the ecosystem. Clearly, the Native Americans relationship with land is different from other people living in the United States, and for this reason the relationship has contributed to the success and preservation of the Native American Culture in the United States. Relationship of African Slaves to the Land             In the United States slavery played a significant role in the economic development of the nation. The African Slaves were made to work in the lands of plantation owners wherein they plant and harvest the crops. Aside from working in the land the African Slaves also worked in construction and domestic jobs. In the early 1800s the importation of slaves to the United States was banned, and slavery in the Northern part of the United States was abolished, however on the Southern part of the US, slavery was still rampant. Due to the fact that slaves are bought and worked on manual labours, slaves cannot own a land. In severe instances some of the slaves were worked to death by the owners and because of that uprising occurred which resulted in murder, destruction of property and many more. The relationship of African Slaves to the land is different they viewed land not as a source of productivity but a source of slavery and maltreatment. Relationship of Post-bellum African Americans to the Land             After the African Slaves were freed they were able to acquire rights such as owning a land. According to  (1997) because of the involvement and experience of the black slaves with the task system in the agricultural production they were able to obtain property earlier and had more opportunities in the economy, they were also more efficient in developing their labour arrangements after the end of slavery. Therefore, a number of African-Americans became more effective in handling their own land after their emancipation from slavery. Relationship of Mexicans to the Land             Mexicans account for one of the largest immigrants in the United States today. Mexicans are among the oldest immigrants in the United States, therefore a number of them have their own lands in the United States, as well as, Mexico. According to  (2007) the land that is owned by a Mexican in the United States is viewed as a commodity because an average Mexican moves every four years, and owning a ranch in Mexico is a dream of most Mexicans in the United States rather than having a condominium or a town house in an urban area.  It only shows that even though Mexicans immigrated and rise in the United States they are still deeply rooted with their traditions and culture. Therefore, their relationship with the land in the United States is different from their land in Mexico.               Factors that contribute to the Success of European Immigrants in Acquiring Wealth in the United States             United States of America is often referred as the nation of immigrants. Almost every individual currently residing in the United States is a descendant of an immigrant from another country. The turn of the 19th century have United States felt the surge of numerous immigrants from Europe and Africa. According to (2007) during the 19th century, the United States became the world’s first industrialised nation, which have attracted a number of immigrants from various parts of the world. Moreover, MSN Encarta discussed that most of the industrial workers during the 19th century were foreigners, and from the years 1865 to 1885, most of the immigrants that arrived to the United States came from European countries such as England, Germany, Ireland, and Scandinavia. These European immigrants arrived to the United States poverty-stricken and no money to start a good life in the US. However, they become successful in acquiring wealth in the United States. This paper examines the factors that contributed to the success of the European Immigrants and their descendents in obtaining wealth and a higher social status than the indigenous people of the Unites States and immigrants outside Europe. In addition, it also discusses the exceptions of other European Immigrants and the reasons why they were not able to acquire the same status as others.   According to various historians, there is no specific reason why people emigrate from one country to another and different studies have tried to explain this phenomenon. During the 19th century, according to  (2001) the early rise of immigration was due to the potato famine which affected the majority of Ireland and the North West Europe. In addition, according to  (2007) most of the English people that immigrated to the United States were farmers that were affected by the agricultural depression, while the German and French immigrants left their home country because of the failed revolution of the people. After the immigrants disembarked in the United States assimilating with the culture and surviving have been very difficult for most of them since, a number of European immigrants cannot speak and even understand English; moreover they do not have the money to live a comfortable life. But despite of these obstacles they managed to become wealthy. Apart from using African slaves to work in the fields, there are also other factors that contributed to their success. According to  (2007) European immigrants’ responses were also contributory factors in their success in the United States, and these are: Acculturation- not only the European immigrants, but all immigrants in the United States, as well believe that education and success in the financials and economic means of an individual was the key in becoming an America. They believe that being hard-working and having loyalty to the new country will win over the white Americans and will treat the immigrants equal. However, not all of the immigrants wanted to stay and live in the United States for long and the reason for going to the US was to earn money and then return to their home country, just like in the case of Italian migrants wherein the return rate was 60 per cent. Institution-Building- For most of the immigrants may it be European, Hispanic or Asian their capability to acquire wealth in the United States was based on their capability to create composite organisations and strong communities such as union, churches and businesses. In creating their institutions the immigrants were able to assimilate in the American culture, at the same time, preserving their heritage and traditions. A big example is the Irish people, wherein they both use the assimilation and resistance to new cultures, the Irish immigrants was involved in institutions like unions, the politics, and the church. According to the University of Michigan the convergence of ethnic views and the American ambitions was very obvious in the urban politics of the United States wherein Irish leaders, as well as, other ethnicities utilised a mixture of ethnic beliefs and the longing to participate in the American politics. In addition, the key to the successful penetration of the European immigrants in the political strategies was due to their concentration within the ethnic ghettoes; moreover, unlike other immigrants the Europeans were eligible for naturalisation.   Ethic Niche Markets- the core in the strategy of European immigrants for having a successful life in the United States is the development of situations in which the Ethnic traditions would suit the American Economy. This strategy became the basis for European immigrants to save money, for their descendents which can be used to enter the business, politics, and life in America. The European immigrants and their descendants were able to assimilate and obtain greater status and wealth in the United States because they are gifted with the following characteristics, according to the University Michigan: <ul style="margin-top: 0in; margin-bottom: 0in" type="disc"> <li class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%"> European heritage</li> <li class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%"> White Skin</li> <li class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%"> The capability and desire to assimilate with the American culture</li> <li class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%"> Good Fortune and the capability of taking advantage of the opportunities of the industrialisation.</li> <li class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%"> The decrease of new immigrants from the home country. </li> </ul> In the case of acquiring the wealth and status of European Immigrants, there is no particular group of immigrants that can be identified as having lesser status than the other, because it all depends on the person and the situation. Like in the case of the Irish people, upon disembarking from Europe most of them lived near the ports since they do not have enough money to purchase lands and relocate to rural areas in the United States, however there are also Irish people that became wealthy and acquired businesses in the United States. Just like the Irish, some of the English, German, and French people also obtained wealth and status, while some did not. In the case of the Italians, as mentioned earlier they did not assimilate and care much of the status because 60% of the immigrants went back to Italy, as soon as, they earned the money and the country became stable again. It is impossible to generalize a race and tell that they were not able to obtain high standards of living than the others, it all depends on the situation and the location an immigrant was in.

US Immigrant and Ethnic History

Land Allotment Strategy used with the Choctaw Indians and the Treaty Strategy applied to Cherokee Indians. Prior to the ...

THEOLOGY

INTRODUCTION   According to ‘Transforming Mission’ which was written by David Bosch basically has the involvement regarding Matthew’s use of the Old Testament (OT) that could be deeply pastoral and missionary, as Bosch begins by considering  the idea of mission and how the missionary claims from the OT has evolved and been enacted in the world from a Jewish perspective and looking into the mission paradigm of post modernity, highlighting the difference between what the church perceives to be its missionary authorization and the work of God. (Bosch, 1991) It can be said that David Bosch’s engagement within the missiology of Matthew seems very interesting, as moving into discipleship in lieu to Matthew’s Gospel as it affirms an immense deal of the Old Testament experience. (Bosch, 1991) Thus, Matthew has been a journeyer attempting to live out the teachings of Christ. Bosch’s analysis of Matthew’s use of OT relates to ‘’Great Commission’’ that was enlightening to begin the journey towards intended ministry with the theme relating to the cost of discipleship. (Kinnamon, 1991) Moreover, Bosch’s claims relate to certain exploration of the Christian consent to love that, ‘’Christians should relinquish all desires to judge others; their behavior should be exemplary against the civil order’’, as it can be said that a Christian lifestyle should also be winsome and it should attract outsiders and invite them to join the community. (Kinnamon, 1991)   MAIN BODY   Bosch’s have explored the multifaceted missionary motivations relating to Matthew’s use of the Old Testament as deeply pastoral and missionary that is much greater than the traditional paradigm which was the underlying motive of the church that being ‘conversion of the heaten.’ (Cunningham et al., 1987) As Bosch made use of the ‘paradigm shift’ rather than a break in mission thinking and practice in both pastoral and missiological terms on the cusp of a paradigm shift. There was a reframing of mission whilst being positive for the continued existence of the Church through worldwide missionary work and societal maturity. (Cunningham et al., 1987) In recent years, the terms ‘mission’ and ‘missional’ have increased in use, but ‘mission’ referred to:   Ø      the sending of missionaries to a designated territory Ø      the activities undertaken by such missionaries Ø      the geographical are where the missionaries were active Ø      expansion of the reign of God Thus, David Bosch describes the post-modern paradigm for mission without doubting its value and usefulness for teaching missiology in important respects. Bosch's claim that his missiology is host-modern. The weakness of Bosch's "emerging ecumenical consensus" on mission was apparent in its very year of publication (1991) when the seventh assembly of the World Council of Churches (WCC) famously failed to find a consensus. (Cunningham et al., 1987) The tact that Bosch's paradigm can be described as a truly post-modern one, even by his criteria; it reveals both Bosch's lack of a creation theology and suggests also the limited nature of pneumatology. (Cunningham et al., 1987) Furthermore, Bosch is keen to emphasize the missionary nature of the Spirit but he stops short of discussing the mission of the Spirit in which the Spirit is an "afterthought used to explain God's activity in the church in connection with Jesus, ignoring the mystery of the Spirit as an equal modality or persona of the divine nature". (Bosch, 1991 p. 14) Moreover, the mission of the spirit is bound thoroughly to the missionary activity of the church, when Bosch seeks to broaden mission to take account of the "comprehensive" nature of salvation, he can do so only by increasing the scope of the church's missionary activity (Bosch, 1991 pp. 393-400). Henceforth, mission appears as a work to be achieved by organization and strategy and Bosch paradigm is very much in the mould of the enlightenment project and the possibilities raised by missio Dei for deriving mission from the very nature of God are not fully realized. (Ibid. p.22) There was a consequence of Bosch's involvement of the Spirit with the Church is the uncontextual nature of missiology brought to the attention of the church by theologies on the validity of a global theology but Bosch follows the traditional ecumenical approach of thinking globally and applying as his hope is in the institutional church in its Western form despite its legacy of "missionary war", holocaust and apartheid. (Ibid., pp. 384-9). Bosch acknowledges the role of the Spirit in other faiths in preparatio evangelica (Bosch, 1991 p. 484) but he hesitates to give any value to the faiths themselves. Bosch's approach of "bold humility" which recognizes an "unresolved tension" cannot point to any other way of salvation than Jesus Christ; at the same time cannot set limits to the saving power of God" (Bosch, 1991 p. 483). Matthew’s use of OT as deeply pastoral and missionary was concerned with the situation and the consciousness of God’s teachings as Matthew begins the use of OT by taking the descendants of Jesus because he wanted to show that Jesus was the son of David per se. Matthew's use of the OT is amicably written for a Jewish Christian audience living within the proximity of their homeland. (Gundry, 1967) The community for which Matthew was written for a Jewish Christian community that has encountered some original tensions in the period of renewal as it would appear that they've been there a longer time and shows the realization of an older legacy of Jesus' traditions. In Matthew, in the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus says, "think not that I've come to destroy the law and the prophets: I've come not to destroy them but to fulfill them." (Gundry, 1967 p.23) Furthermore, one of the indications of the situation of Matthew's community comes up when Matthew's use of the OT that gives regulations for how to discipline members within the society. It says if one of the members of the parishioners’ commit sins then go and tell them about it and if they refuse to listen to you, take a friend and tell them about it and if they refuse to listen to them, take them to the church and if they refuse, kick them out. (Gundry, 1967). The way Matthew told the story of Jesus draws on a lot of symbols from Jewish tradition that conveys a clear picture of Jesus. Jesus goes up on to a mountain to teach and there talks about the law as this indicates pastoral as well as missionary claims from the OT as Jesus delivers different sermons just like the five books of Torah. Matthew is to portray a Jesus whose Jewish identity is beyond doubt. Matthew takes no chances as he Jesus' lineage way back to Abraham in short, Jesus is a Jew. (Gundry, 1982) Thus, Matthew uses his resources in order to create a different narrative in which Jesus frequent teaches the people. Matthew's concern about the church is reflected as he tells the story of Jesus stilling the storm. (Gundry, 1982) According to one interpretation, this story is really a metaphor: the disciples represent the Christian community, the boat is the church. In the face of upheaval and uncertainty that challenges faith and threatens to undo the church, Jesus gives assurance to the faithful: "Behold, I am with you until the end of days." (Gundry, 1982 p. 25).  In Matthew 4:12, Matthew begins his account of the ministry of Jesus, introducing the preparatory preaching of John the Baptist (Matthew 3:1-12), the baptism of Jesus that culminates in God's proclaiming him his "beloved Son" (Matthew 3:13-17) and the temptation in which he proves his true sonship by his victory over the devil's attempt to deflect him from the way of obedience to the Father (Matthew 4:1-11). Moreover, the central message of Jesus' preaching is the coming of the kingdom of heaven and the need for a complete change of heart and conduct, on the part of those who are to receive the gift of God (Matthew 4:17). There are great discourses of Jesus, with the formula "When Jesus finished these words" (Matthew 7:28; 11:1; 13:53; 19:1; 26:1) which is an important structure of the gospel. The discourses are the "Sermon on the Mount" (Matthew 5:3-7:27), the missionary discourse (Matthew 10:5-42), the parable discourse (Matthew 13:3-52), the church order discourse (Matthew 18:3-35) and the eschatological discourse (Matthew 24:4-25:46). In Matthew 4:23 a statement of Jesus' activity speaks not only of his teaching and proclaiming the gospel but of his "curing every disease and illness among the people"; this is repeated almost verbatim in Matthew 9:35. The nature of the community that Jesus will establish is shown; it will always be under the protection of him whose power can deal with dangers (Matthew 8:23-27), but it is only for those who are prepared to follow him at whatever cost (Matthew 8:16-22) not only believing Israelites but Gentiles who have come to faith in him (Matthew 8:10-12). The disciples begin to have some insights into the mystery of Jesus' person. They wonder about him whom "the winds and the sea obey" (Matthew 8:27) and they witness his bold declaration of the forgiveness of the paralytic's sins (Matthew 9:2). The forgiveness of sins is now not the prerogative of Jesus alone but of "human beings," of the disciples who constitute the community of Jesus, the church. (Matthew 10:5-42). Jesus is moved to pity at the sight of the crowds who are like sheep without a shepherd (Matthew 9:36), and he sends out the twelve disciples to make the proclamation with which his own ministry began, "The kingdom of heaven is at hand" (Matthew 10:7; Matthew 4:17) and to drive out demons and cure the sick as he has done (Matthew 10:1) their mission is limited to Israel (Matthew 10:5-6) as Jesus' own was (Matthew 15:24) yet the perspective broadens to speak of the mission that the disciples will have after the resurrection that will attend it (Matthew 10:18). The reason given for Jesus' speaking to the crowds in parables is that they have hardened themselves against his clear teaching, unlike the disciples to whom knowledge of "the mysteries of the kingdom has been granted" (Matthew 13:10-16). In Matthew 13:36 He dismisses the crowds and continues the discourse to his disciples alone, who claim to have understood all that God has said (Matthew 13:51). Jesus is shown preparing for the establishment of his church with its teaching authority that will supplant the blind guidance of the Pharisees (Matthew 15:13-14), whose teaching is repudiated by Jesus as the norm for his disciples (Matthew 16:6, 11-12). The church of Jesus will be built on Peter (Matthew 16:18), who will be given authority to bind and loose on earth, an authority whose exercise was confirmed in heaven (Matthew 16:19). Once again, the perspective of the evangelist includes the time of Jesus' ministry but that of the preaching of the gospel after the resurrection. The narrative culminates in Jesus' denunciation of the scribes and Pharisees, reflecting that of Matthew's church (Matthew 23:1-36). In addition, Matthew's portrayal of Jesus in his passion combines both themajestic serenity of the obedient Son who goes his destined way in fulfillment of the scriptures (Matthew 26:52-54) positive of his vindication by God and the depths of fear and abandonment in face of death (Matthew 26:38-39; 27:46). Matthew offers a model for taking religious heritage seriously. Matthew's approach is one of being thoroughgoing and positive. Henceforth, faith communities need to keep people connected to their roots, finding proofs from prophecies which meant something else. Matthew's strong emphasis on the integrity of behavior and attitude and pretence are important correctives of the Christian faith which give major emphasis to religious experiences and appeal to Christian status. (Gundry, 1982) Matthew's emphasis on authority was a legacy which has not always blessed the church and his emphasis on Jesus has spawned versions of the Christian message against which one needs good news. (Towner, 1995) It is easy to hear Matthew's gospel as declaring that we should act in certain ways and have certain attitudes, because Matthew is interpreting the rightful demands of the Scripture in order to win people to the notion that God is compassionate. Matthew appears to have believed that threat of judgement from the judge to come and the promise of life on the basis of right interpretation of demand produce change in people and achieve the goals of pastoral and missionary works. (Howard, 1986) It is important to bring Matthew's gospel into dialogue about the enabling and liberating power of grace which sets people free to bear fruit. The authority structure runs through much of Matthew's theology and produces Jesus who is the supreme scribe, the authoritative interpreter of scripture. (Howard, 1986) Here the focus is on the power of the mission to which one can appeal while Matthew affirms Jesus' influence, he is at pains to demonstrate Jesus' consistency with the law and to show Jesus dependent on it as the Son of God that will emphasize Jesus' authority based on the right to power of the substance of what is said consistent with Matthew's approach to the OT scripture. (Howard, 1986) Generally, preaching from Matthew must always be more than translating Matthew into the modern terms. (Howard, 1986) Matthew does not stand alone, interpreting Matthew for preaching means listening to Matthew in its stipulations but within a critical reflection and appropriation which has hierarchy of values because the people of the society have been able to acclaim, 'this is the word of the Lord' and the acclamation is naive without the living proclamation which engages in important indication and personal encounter with thy word. It is important to realize that most of Matthew's use of the OT is so straightforward that it is not liable to the charge of OT’s misinterpretation. (Longenecker, 1975)  The use of the Old Testament since, Matthew as God’s biographer was not accountable of interpreting the scripture in ways alien to how Old Testament authors interpreted the Old Testament. (Longenecker, 1975) Thus, many of Matthew's documents are rueful in nature, as he uses and mentions the OT to show how Christ fulfilled His missionary journey within the scripture deriving from the OT meanings as a result of realization of His words to the people. Matthew was held to be using pesher approaches to the OT and that God's intent when He inspired the OT author was more intense than the OT author himself. (Longenecker, 1975) Thus, Matthew quotes texts that predicts but uses the passages that have thematic significance that exceeds the need for pastoral deeds as well as missionary works as viewed from the significance of the OT and its meaning to the people and that few concerns over Matthew's use of the OT may be tempered by a better sense of what Matthew intended when he said ‘’Christ fulfilled a scripture’’. Similarly, views noted differences of opinion be surprising giving worth and value of the nature and importance of Christian mission that implies the range of ways in which the Christian community relates to the Jewish Scriptures.   David Bosch’s treatment of mission in the Old Testament in was limited in ways and Bosch’s view that ‘’ there is, in the Old Testament, no indication of the believers of the old covenant being sent by God to cross geographical, religious and social frontiers in order to win others to faith in Yahweh’’ has been seen as unduly narrow. Then, Bosch certainly believed the Old Testament highlighted themes of importance to Christian mission and among commentators on biblical theology of mission there is attention is commonly drawn to the universal concerns of Matthew’s use of the OT as deeply pastoral and missionary along the importance of the prophets promises with Israel’s neighbors and the vision of Isaiah’s role as a ‘’light to the nations’’ in the experiences of the Church seem unduly philosophical, relevant to Christians with the temptations and responsibilities of an experience of the knowledge of God as creator mankind. (Schreiter, 1991) God-given purpose of the Church can be considered in terms of its worship, and its responsibilities towards its environment. It is a distortion of the nature of the Church to collapse the dimensions of life into its external mission. (Towner, 1995) Nevertheless, if the value of its worship and community life is not in doubt, it is useful to use the word ‘’mission’’ to refer to the responsibility of the people of God towards outside the community of faith which constitute that mission and its changes over time. (Schreiter, 1991) CONCLUSION Therefore, God as the creator and sustainer of mission, there is a need to focus on churches as reconciling and healing communities of engagement in mission raises with the ability of the Old Testament to address those does not necessarily answer the question of the missionary nature of the Old Testament, but reinforce its relevance for some issues arising out of mission such as the attitudes towards religions and cultures, attitudes towards other cultures, the role of God in realizing promises and the realities of leadership in a political world that inform the study of the Bible and the Old Testament in relation to mission. Matthew’s use of the Old Testament does not correspond in showing points of resonance with the development of the redemptive themes of pastoral and missionary claims in the OT as Matthew may show how to interpret the OT by indicating that the early scriptures have projective functions as they reiterate the theology of an earlier motif and anticipate total realization in future acts of God. Nonetheless, the use of interpretive methods in scripture significantly strengthens the confidence of contemporary missionaries who are committed of careful exegesis that honors the intent of God. Lastly, the Matthew’s use of the OT has been precisely celebrated and essential as Bosch himself points out; no paradigm is the last word in missiology (Bosch, 1991 p. 511). It may be that in retrospect Bosch's claim will be seen not as setting out a new paradigm but as seeing the old in a different perspective that relates to the reality of mission as of today’s epoch. As the modern paradigm will take into account the mission of the Spirit which is a mission that takes place in the context of supplementary spirits. Hence, in any truly missionary encounter, there needs to have a recognition of the application of the claim as the nature of the mission has discerned by the Spirit of Christ himself.

THEOLOGY

INTRODUCTION According to ‘Transforming Mission’ which was written by David Bosch basically has the involvement regarding Matthew’s ...