A Visit to a Fair Essay

A fair means a periodical gathering in some open place. I had got the rare opportunity of visiting the Baliyatra Fair in Cuttack. The fair was held on the full moon day in the month of Kartika. The fair is conducted every year on the bank of the Mahanadi. Thereby we commemorate our sea-trade with other countries in past. I had been to the fair with four of my friends. On our way to Cuttack, we discussed many things about our racial past. The Sadhavas of the then Kalinga were known for their richness and caliber in trade. They set sails for Java, Sumatra, China, Ceylon (Srilanka), Borneo, Indonesia, Rangoon for trade. They exchanged their goods for jewels and gold. The sea-trade does not exist now. So we float toy-boats down the stream to remember our past-glory. We reached the fair-in the evening. The place of fair was overcrowded with children, men and women. Men of different occupations had assembled there. Goods of various kinds had been brought to the Baliyatra for show and sale. People amused themselves in a great variety of ways. Some people had come to dispose of their articles. Some had come to buy and some for sightseeing. Mostly the people were from the neighboring villages. The fair continued for about a week. The place was full of stalls made of straw and bamboo. The place was spacious and there was proper sanitary arrangement. The stalls were full of fancy goods. They were giving a gorgeous look. Many people were coming to those stalls. They were in festive dress too. The dealers in shops dealt in various goods. It was a rare occasion for me to see those beautiful stalls. It relieved of my monotony. The vendors sold toys and ballons for children. There were horse-wheels and merry-go-rounds for children too. The volunteers and scouts from the high schools of the town took prominent part in controlling the crowd. There was enough enthusiasm amongst the villagers in holding the fair. We had some snacks and tea in the fair. In the fair there was display of skill in craftsmanship. We had an opportunity to visit a circus there that evening. We also purchased a few filigree works and horn works of Cuttack. Of course the prices of those articles were high. Still the people were purchasing those-things because they loved their rich tradition. A note worthy feature of the fair was that children were arguing with their guarding ns to purchase balloons and dolls in the fair. They pulled the sarees of their mothers and emended the balloons and sweets. It was an opportunity for the businessmen to reap profits. However, in book-stalls, books were being sold on rebate. I purchased a few books on Oriya literature. The police were alert in the fair to provide security to the visitors. There was fear of pick-pockets, theft and loss of goods, money and ornaments. Loudspeakers had been arranged at different places in the fair to warn the people of antisocial elements and black-marketers who sold stale sweets. The Baliyatra is a grand fair in Orissa. The visit to this fair is still afresh in my mind.

Includes recommendations for banking in China Essay

The bank is progressively upgrading its services and is attempting to match the best practices in the banking industry. This is evident from its Factoring programme for businesses. This enables business people to assign receivables to Bank of China and in turn they are provided with all facilities for collection, finance of trade, risk control and ledger sales management. In addition there is easy finance on production of delivery of goods, provision of capital at low cost, protection of credit to the seller despite any financial difficulty of the buyer, thus in some cases it will be the buyer also who will be benefiting along with the seller in case Factoring is undertaken. The Factoring services include export and import factoring as well export and domestic invoice discounting and domestic full factoring. Being the first and the largest factoring services provider in China’s banking sector, it has build extensive experience in this field and therefore will provide assured services. (Factoring, 2006). BOC has developed partnerships with large state held Chinese corporations such as the oil and petroleum company China National Petroleum Corporation. This will add value to its global business and create partnerships for growth. Security and risk management in Bank of China is dependent on its corporate governance policy. This is determined and controlled by the board of directors which oversees the overall operation and administration. As per standard norms of banks, committees are appointed to supervise various banking functions which include those for strategic planning, audit, risk management, personnel and remuneration and transaction controls. (Governance, 2006). The various stake holders in the bank include apart from the state government, the share holders, a board of directors, in which the posts of Chairman and President are said to be separate, a board o f supervisors and senior management. (Governance, 2006). The large quantum of non performing assets and a state control however does not immediately contribute to confidence in this area. The Bank is prone to provide for areas which are determined by the Central government and to that extent its policies are not ruled by the needs of ensuring profitability and efficiency. The picture in China is however continuously changing and greater progress in this sphere is anticipated in the future. HSBC exploits it legacy of banking in China to effect as it has been present in the Middle Kingdom since 1865. (HSBC China, 2006). The Bank provides the customers the advantage of being a single banker for domestic as well as foreign banking services thereby providing it convenience, speed, security and assurance. (HSBC China, 2006). HSBC is seen to operate at an entirely different level. The products, services and processes for the customers have been well established by the bank. It is now marketing these facilities to provide growth both in the personal and business banking sectors. Modern banking as practiced by HSBC is not only creating facilities such as automated teller and cash machines but actually recognizing the benefits of customers using these. This leads banks as HSBC to sponsor various gift schemes for users who use cash machines or pay their bills online. This indicates that services are not mere conveniences but offers which enable the bank to actually increase its efficiency. Then there are services such as money managers for the business, high interest deposit bonds, money market account and clients deposit account which enables pooling of money in a single account. HSBC also manages pensions of employers for a business as well for individuals. For business there are other factilities that are being provided such as business internet banking as well as HSBCnet which provides larger companies with a complete range of services on the internet, invoice finance, Against the internal growth outlook of Bank of China, HSBC is seeking more challenges externally as the Worlds local bank and is investing in many developing countries such as Vietnam, Saudi Arabia and even Iraq. (Schuman, 2006). The low penetration of modern banking systems services for example credit cards in China which for a 1. 3 billion population has only 10 million card holders has promised greater possibility and scope for banks such as HSBC. While HSBC sees itself as the Worlds local bank, the BOC wants to seek primacy in Chinese banking by providing assistance in doing business globally. Thus there is a difference in the focus of both the banks. This also underlines an essential difference in the states of the Chinese banking industry vis a vis global banking conglomerates as HSBC. The Chinese banking industry is still in its nascence and thus sees itself as a provider of financial services to its domestic clientele be it personal or corporate to operate internationally. On the other hand HSBC sees itself as a bank for global banking regardless of the nationality of its clients. The Bank of China will have to face these challenges in the future in a very cohesive manner. Bank of China is well established domestically as well as globally. It can conduct sustained operations as it has adequate experience and exposure to varied political, economic and financial regimes. The global orientation of the bank is particularly favorable for its sustained growth and expansion in the future. It can thus provide the lead to other banks in China.

Ant and Grasshopper

Subject: Ant And Grasshoper (Must Read) The Ant works hard in the withering heat all summer  building its house and laying up supplies for the winter. The Grasshopper thinks the Ant is a fool and laughs   dances plays the summer away. Come winter, the Ant is warm and well fed. The Grasshopper  has no food or shelter so he dies out in the cold. *Indian Version:**  The Ant works hard in the withering heat all summer  building its house and laying up supplies for the winter. The Grasshopper thinks the Ants a fool and laughs   dances plays the summer away. Come winter, the shivering Grasshopper calls a press  conference and demands to know why the Ant should be allowed to be warm  and well fed while others are cold and starving. NDTV, BBC, CNN show up to provide pictures of the shivering  Grasshopper next to a video of the Ant in his comfortable home with a table  filled with food. The World is stunned by the sharp contrast. How can this be  that this poor Grasshopper is allowed to suffer so? Arundhati Roy stages a demonstration in front of the Ants house. * Medha Patkar goes on a fast along with other Grasshoppersdemanding that Grasshoppers be relocated to warmer climates during winter. Mayawati states this as `injustice done on Minorities. Amnesty International and Koffi Annan criticize the IndianGovernment for not upholding the fundamental rights of the Grasshopper. The Internet is flooded with online petitions seeking support to theGrasshopper (many promising Heaven and Everlasting Peace  for prompt support as against the wrath of God for non-compliance) . Opposition MPs stage a walkout. Left parties call for  Bengal Bandh in West Bengal and Kerala demanding a Judicial Enquiry. CPM in Kerala immediately passes a law preventing Ants from  working hard in the heat so as to bring about equality of poverty among Ants and  Grasshoppers. Lalu Prasad allocates one free coach to Grasshoppers on all Indian Railway  Trains, aptly named as the Grasshopper Rath. Finally, the Judicial Committee drafts the Prevention of Terrorism Against  Grasshoppers Act [POTAGA], with effect from the beginning of the winter. Arjun Singh makes Special Reservation for Grasshoppers in Educational  Institutions in Government Services. The Ant is fined for failing to comply with POTAGA and having nothing leftto pay his retroactive taxes, its home is confiscated by the Government and handed over to the Grasshopper in a ceremony covered by NDTV. Arundhati Roy calls it A Triumph of Justice. Lalu calls it Socialistic Justice . CPM calls it the Revolutionary Resurgence of the Downtrodden Koffi Annan invites the Grasshopper to address the UN General Assembly. **   Many years later. **  The Ant has since migrated to the US and set up a multi-billion dollar company in Silicon Valley, 100s of Grasshoppers still die of starvation despite reservation somewhere in India, AND As a result of loosing lot of hard working Ants and feeding  the grasshoppers,  India is still a developing country. |

Impact of e-Business initiatives on firm value Annotated Bibliography

Impact of e-Business initiatives on firm value - Annotated Bibliography Example The study reveals that the cumulative abnormal return for such initiatives ranges from 3.5% to 4.74% in the first five days. Another significant finding is that the abnormal returns are higher in the e-business initiatives of business-to-consumer firms than that of business-to-business firms. The explanation for this claim is found in the ‘firm size effect’. It is found that higher abnormal returns are created in small-sized firms. As business-to-business firms are generally bigger than business-to-customer firms, it is claimed that the latter will gain more abnormal returns in the e-business initiatives. Thus, putting an end to the long ambiguity regarding the profitability of e-business initiatives, the study came up with the finding that it is highly beneficial to the firms because it offers future benefits to the firms in the form of increased market values. The reason, according to the scholars, is that such aggressive steps are often considered as futuristic by stakeholders and other public. Thus, such firms escape the usual bandwagon effect. Admittedly, there were previous studies which proved that e-business initiatives positively affect the value of firms. However, the present study stands apart for showing the various effects of e-business initiatives based on the nature of the initiative and the nature of the business. The strength of the study lies in the fact that it investigates the issue in two different capital markets; namely KSE and KOSDAQ. However, there are some findings which contradict the findings in American market. For example, while the e-business expansion of an established e-business company makes more positive effect than the e-business initiative of a non-internet firm in the U.S, the opposite is true in Korea. Similarly, though the study hypothesized that the abnormal returns are linked to the layer to which the

Do you agree that feminism remains a highly relevant ideology in its Essay

Do you agree that feminism remains a highly relevant ideology in its challenge to patriarchy and gendered inequality - Essay Example Through the efforts of earlier feminists, there have been major historical changes to favour women in enhancing their rights mostly in the west. Feminism has gone through development in three waves with each of the aiming at achieving particulars goals within a particular period. The first wave that came into place in the early twentieth century to the late 1950s mostly referred to as women’s suffrage that ensured that women had the right to vote in different parts of the world. After that came in the second wave that began in the 1960s that majored in ensuring that women had equal social and legal rights in the society. Later on, the 1960s came the third wave that is aimed to achieve most of the second wave goals that were not achieved within that period. The third wave has extended since then to date with various feminist identifying and fighting for the rights of women that are being infringed in different parts of the world. In today’s world feminism remains to be a highly related philosophy in its challenge to gender inequality and patriarchy (Fraser 2009). The idea of gender offers acknowledgement to the fact that each recognized society differentiates between men and women. Thus, the concept/term of gender is a logical method of understanding women and men socially and the modelling of affiliations amongst them. The idea of patriarchy assists the study of male domination in the social order. Gender inequality denotes to the unequal perception or treatment of individuals according to their gender. It ascends from dissimilarities in socially built gender roles in addition to biologically through hormonal differences, brain structure, and chromosomes. Feminists are individuals either men or women who require equivalent opportunities for both genders. Feminist writings on gender became common in the early 1970s when the feminist saw the

American Revolution Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words - 1

American Revolution - Essay Example The colonies thought that the government wanted to impose total control over them and make the pay expensively for things that they highly required yet could not afford them. Through the introduction of these Acts, the colonies also believed that the government would later come up with other taxation Acts, which would require them to pay more tax. B. What role did African Americans play during the American Revolution? The African American assisted the American in their revolution battle whereby they participated willingly in the military forces, even though they did this in exchange of their freedom from slavery. At first, the American avoided involving the black in the fight, but it is until when the blacks intervened that the Americans became victorious. Study shows that more than 5000 blacks participated in the battle and that the number of the Americans involved was much lower . C. Describe how the patriot achieved the unity needed to wage the War for Independence?. The patriot decided to make a declaration for independence which enables them bring people together, and gained the corporation they required to engage in the battle for independence . This was successful since, the patriots had power over all regions and population, and because the colonial states had abandoned their former government and chased the British senates away. Therefore, it became necessary to implement a new constitution in every nation .

Hamas - Terrorist Organization, Popular Amongst Its Populace Case Study

Hamas - Terrorist Organization, Popular Amongst Its Populace - Case Study Example This case study will make an attempt to delineate the fundamental nature, reality, existence and objectives of an approach, popularly termed as â€Å"terrorism†, that is radically opposite to the Gandhian philosophy. In order to achieve the goal of this study, a terrorist group called â€Å"HAMAS† has been selected to be studied as the case. At the outset, it may be pertinent to understand the term â€Å"terrorism†. As per Federal Bureau of Investigation, Terrorism has been defined as the unlawful use of force and violence against persons or property to intimidate or coerce a government, the civilian population, or any segment thereof, in furtherance of political or social objectives. Usually, terrorists - the proponents and practitioners of terrorism, aim unlawful use of force to terrorise the group that, in normal conditions, does not endorse their ideologies. In recent times, organizational terrorism, one of the variants of terrorism has arisen in almost all parts of the globe and have remained in the spotlight from quite sometime. Majorly, terrorism is centred around the effort to draw the attention of the governments to the cause of these organizations. Universally it is believed that such terrorist groups or organizations lack political support or social backing. As per one of the Hadiths (utterances and practices/decisions of Prophet Mohammed, Hadiths were collected after his death and they help with respect to the interpretation and understanding of the Quran – the Holy Book): â€Å"The Day of Judgment will not come about until Moslems fight Jews, when Jew will hide behind stones and trees. The stones and trees will say, O Moslems, O Abdullah there is a Jew behind me, come and kill him. Only Gharkad tree, would not do that because it is one of the trees of the Jews† (Hamas Covenant 1988). Article Seven of 1988 covenant as per which the radical Islam group called Islamic Resistance Movement or Harakat al-Muqawama al-Islamiyya – Hamas in abbreviated form, was formed.  

Violence in Education Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Violence in Education - Research Paper Example This essay highlights that  education is a very critical sector in the economy of any nation as it contributes too much in terms of expertise and professional knowledge which can be utilized in various fields for achievement of success and progress. It is also through education that many problems faced by the contemporary society are eradicated for instance poverty and ignorance. Despite its importance, education is faced with numerous challenges that hinder its success in one way or the other for example lack of adequate resources and facilities, poor management and violence among others.  According to the report findings  education is a very instrumental aspect to every individual, the society, a nation and the world at large. Every person should be entitled to education to the highest possible level with favorable conditions that allows for excellence. This is so because education is a significant building block in regard to the growth and development of human beings   as it acts as a driving force towards improved living standards and also development through aspects like reduction of poverty, promotion of peace and stability,   improvement of health, promotion of gender equality among other aspects. All this is made possible because people get enlightened when they go through various education systems which instill a lot of knowledge in a wide range of life issues hence helping them in general decision making and problem solving. Education sector is faced with a lot of challenges violence being one of them.

Financial Management Master Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Financial Management Master - Research Paper Example It also has a secondary listing on the Irish Stock Exchange with the name TESCO PLC. Its market capitalization (as on 11/5/2008) is 33.09 billion pound, revenue is 47.3 billion pound (2008), operating income is 2.97 billion pound(2008) and net income 2.13 billion pound (2008). All figures below are for the Tesco's financial years, which run for 52 or 53 week periods to late February. The figures in the table below include 52 weeks/12 months of turnover for both sides of the business as this provides the best comparative. Total Shareholder Return (TSR) shows the return on investment a shareholder receives over a specified time frame and takes into consideration the share price appreciation/depreciation and dividends received. The TSR is calculated by adding the dividend per share to the capital gain/loss and dividing this by the share price and is expressed as a percentage change over time. I have extracted the data for 4 years for Tesco and Sainsbury and have taken the dividend comprising of the interim and final dividend paid by Tesco along with the stock prices appearing as on the close of every financial year as well as in the beginning of the year for the financial years from 2004-05 till 2007-08. TSR ANALYSIS FOR TESCO : As it is quite clear from the calculat... racted the data for 4 years for Tesco and Sainsbury and have taken the dividend comprising of the interim and final dividend paid by Tesco along with the stock prices appearing as on the close of every financial year as well as in the beginning of the year for the financial years from 2004-05 till 2007-08. PARTCULARS OF DIVIDEND PAID BY TESCO DIVIDEND IN PENCE/SHARE PARTCULARS OF SHARE PRICES AS ON PARTICULAR DATE - TESCO SHARE PRICE TSR FOR TESCO Interim - 10/10/07 3.20 As on 23/02/2008 - End 400 Final - 23/04/08 7.70 As on 24/02/2007 - Beginning 446 Total 10.90 Difference in prices - 46 [(-46+10.9)/ 446]*100 = 7.87% Interim - 11/10/06 2.81 As on 24/02/2007 - End 446 Final - 25/04/07 6.83 As on 25/02/2006 - Beginning 335 Total 9.64 Difference in prices 111 [(111+9.64)/ 335]*100 = 36.01% Interim - 28/09/05 2.53 As on 25/02/2006 - End 335 Final - 03/05/06 6.10 As on 26/02/2005 - Beginning 308 Total 8.63 Difference in prices 27 [(27+8.63)/ 308]*100 = 11.57% Interim - 29/09/04 2.29 As on 26/02/2005 - End 308 Final - 20/04/05 5.27 As on 27/02/2004 - Beginning 258 Total 7.56 Difference in prices 50 [(50+7.56)/ 258]*100 = 22.31% TSR ANALYSIS FOR TESCO : As it is quite clear from the calculations that the Total Shareholder Return for the Company has been quite volatile in nature and has been variable for the four years period and the same was negative for the current financial year 2007-08. This is on account of the fluctuating share price although the dividend per share has been on a constant rising scale. Moreover the performance of the stock has been quite volatile for TESCO and for the current financial year 07-08, it showed a downward trend. (ii) Market Value Added(MVA) A calculation that shows the difference between the

Mid 2 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Mid 2 - Essay Example Firstly, the Articles had no separation of powers (Brinkley, 201). Another problem with the Articles is that there was no strong form of central government (with a President) as seen today, as much of the power rested with the States themselves (Brinkley, 208). Bearing this in mind, it was very difficult to change the Articles because any amendment to them had to have universal approval from the 13 states and any law passed had to be approved by at least 9 (Brinkley, 211). The original Constitution did not have a bill of rights, so the first major amendment was to add this in 1789, with many states ratifying the Constitution before this date on the premise that this would be added to protect citizens (Brinkley, 220). The Federalists also acknowledged that to make the more centralized system work would require that the central government would need to take on existing debt, which would create a very large national debt (Brinkley, 220). Washington and Hamilton played large roles in mak ing the new federal government work. Hamilton founded the federal bank to ensure that there was a developed banking system in the United States (Brinkley, 225), which was needed to tackle the aforementioned problems of national debt. Hamilton was also the founder of the first U.S. political party (the Federalists) which made him an important player in developing the U.S. political system as we know it today. Washington played a role in securing national identity and developing the constitution, as seen by his role in the Whiskey Rebellion (Brinkley, 243). Despite this initial strong start for the Federalists, there was a split between this group and so-called Anti-Federalists (or Republicans), partly because of some of the dangers that were posed by a one-party state. The Republicans opposed the Federalist structure because they felt it resembled British structure (Brinkley, 243), which was evidently not popular and believed to be corrupt. Additionally, Republicans like Jefferson we re believed in the need for independent farmer citizens (Brinkley, 235). After Washington retired, the next President was John Adams. There was increasing tension during his rule between the U.S. and France, partly because France wanted Jefferson to be president (Brinkley, 235) and the Washington and Adams both wanted to stay out of European conflicts (Brinkley, 240). The Quasi-War with France had led to the passing of the Alien and Sedition Acts (Brinkley, 240), which led to more fighting between Federalist and Republican parties. The 1800 election was important because it was one way of figuring out the divide and coming to some sort of resolution between the two political parties (Brinkley, 249). The votes for Jefferson and Burr were tied so Congress had to choose a winner (Brinkley, 250). Evidently, Jefferson won the 1800 election which began an important time for Democratic-Republicans in the United States and allowed some of the more important founding features of the era to c ome to the fore in politics. Part TWO: From Jefferson to Jackson: Tell me how Jefferson’s vision of America contrasted with the Federalist one. How did Louisiana, Marbury vs Madison, the North African war and strained relations with Britain modify Jeffersonianism in practice? How did the War of 1812 become a Second War of Independence? What was the war’

The Definition of Agriculture Essay Example for Free

The Definition of Agriculture Essay Agriculture is the production of food and goods through farming and forestry . Agriculture was the key development that led to the rise of human civilization, with the husbandry of domesticated animals and plants creating food surpluses that enabled the development of more densely populated and stratified societies. The study of agriculture is known as agricultural science. Agriculture encompasses a wide variety of specialties and techniques, including ways to expand the lands suitable for plant raising, by digging water-channels and other forms of irrigation. Cultivation of crops on arable land and the pastoral herding of livestock on range land remain at the foundation of agriculture. In the past century there has been increasing concern to identify and quantify various forms of agriculture. In the developed world the range usually extends between sustainable agriculture (e. g. permaculture or organic agriculture) and intensive farming (e. g. industrial agriculture). Modern agronomy, plant breeding, pesticides and fertilizers, and technological improvements have sharply increased yields from cultivation, and at the same time have caused widespread ecological damage and negative human health effects. Selective breeding and modern practices in animal husbandry such as intensive pig farming (and similar practices applied to the chicken)have similarly increased the output of meat, but have raised concerns about animal cruelty and the health effects of the antibiotics, growth hormones, and other chemicals commonly used in industrial meat production. The major agricultural products can be broadly grouped into foods, fibers, fuels, and raw materials. In the 2000s, plants have been used to grow biofuels, biopharmaceuticals, bioplastics, and pharmaceuticals. Specific foods include cereals, vegetables, fruits, and meat. Fibers include cotton, wool, hemp, silk and flax. Raw materials include lumber and bamboo. Other useful materials are produced by plants, such as resins. Biofuels include methane from biomass, ethanol, and biodiesel. Cut flowers, nursery plants, tropical fish and birds for the pet trade are some of the ornamental products. In 2007, about one third of the worlds workers were employed in agriculture. The services sector has overtaken agriculture as the economic sector employing the most people worldwide. Despite the size of its workforce, agricultural production accounts for less than five percent of the gross world product (an aggregate of all gross domestic products).

Eragon The Movie vs. Eragon The Novel Essay Example for Free

Eragon The Movie vs. Eragon The Novel Essay People have different views in life. Some would opt to wallow with the beauty of words and the power of the imagination, while others would opt for movies and witness the wonders of visual effects. Some of the stories made turn out to be inspirations for many, while others become a driving force for people to go on and continue with life. One of the most interesting stories in Literature is Eragon. Due to the story and the lessons that both children and adults would learn, the novel was adapted as a movie into the big screen. However, I believe that the novel version of Eragon is still better than the movie version. THE STORY The story revolves around a young boy, named Eragon, who grew up in a small farm in Carvahall together with his uncle and cousin. During one of his hunting trips in the mountains, he found a big blue stone. The stone attracted him greatly, and Eragon thought that if sold in the city, the stone would be enough to suffice for their winter needs. Unknown to Eragon, the blue stone was actually a dragon egg, ready to hatch. Since care for dragons was prohibited by the king, Eragon had no choice but to secretly raise the poor animal, naming her Saphira. Eventually, they were haunted down by the king’s men and had no choice but to flee the village. Eragon’s uncle, Garrow, died due to his injuries, making him furious and hungry for revenge. Eragon’s journey towards survival with Saphira led to more secrets. In the course of their adventures, Brom proposed that he would do whatever it takes to help Eragon. The symbol in Eragon’s hand shows that he is indeed one of the dragon riders, like how Brom used to be. Towards the course of the journey, he was transformed from an ordinary teenager to a sword-fighting rider knowledgeable in magic and the ways of Dragon Riders. Eragon meets more people and encounters more life-threatening situations towards the course of the journey, which allows him to learn more about himself. His quest for revenge allowed him to learn more about himself, and how his search for answers would lead him to protect a whole Empire. SIMILARITIES AND DIFFERENCES Books always have their own identity as compared to the film adaptations. This may be attributed to the fact that readers are given the opportunity to view the novel in their own way, and see things according to what their imagination has to offer. The book and film version of Eragon had the same dilemma. Both media had the opportunity to share with people the wonders that Eragon’s life had to offer, and at the same time bring them to a world unknown to many. However, the 2 media used also had their own differences. The film version was intricately made in such a way that the viewers would become curious of what the story has to offer. The special effects used in the film version would definitely come as an impressive work of art. The descriptions set in the book, such as Saphira’s appearance were perfectly executed in the film. One who has read the book with agree with me, especially in the details set for the other locations in the film. The language used in both versions were also similar with each other. The book on the other hand, made us of too many words. Some of the dialogues and scenes were cut in the film version, somehow giving the viewers a different impression of how the story would go. Take for example Eragon’s journey. Some of the places were deleted, and even Eragon’s reactions towards Katrina were deleted in the film version. In this manner, the plot of the story was somewhat changed deviating from the original context of the novel. PERSONAL ANALYSIS The film version of Eragon was something to be considered. Those who have read the novel would have different impressions about the adaptation, especially when some of the important scenes and dialogues have been deleted. Although the aim of the producers was to fit the whole book in one film, this should have been done using a different approach. In the same manner, I also admire how the visual effects were executed. Saphira was one of the wonders of the whole story, and this was very well presented in the film adaptation. Arya herself was a wonder to marvel at. As the book would have it, she was a beautiful elf, and was supposed to look mysterious at some point in the story. This was done perfectly, and I believe the actress who played her should also be given credit. Unfortunately, the film and the book had so many differences. The film version would look as if it was another story formed from the original novel, and not an adaptation. Although both had considered to keep the plot as the center of the film, the choice of words made the story difficult to absorb. Both readers and viewers would have difficulty in trying to keep in tune with the story because of the many names and places it included. For someone who has seen both media, disappointment would not come as a surprise. However, for those who have not read the book, the film adaptation is impressive, especially with how Saphira was manipulated. Works Cited Eragon. Dir. Stefan Fanmeier. Perf. Jeremy Irons, John Malkovich, Sienna Guillory, Edward Speleers, and Rachel Weisz. 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment, 20 March 2007. Paolini, Christopher. Eragon. Alfred A. Knopf Books for Young Readers, 2003. â€Å"Eragon. † 2006. Eragon the Movie. 22 January 2009 http://www. eragonmovie. com/main. html? cid=us. â€Å"Eragon. † The Internet Movie Database. 22 January 2009 http://www. imdb. com/title/tt0449010/. â€Å"Eragon. † Book Browse. 22 Janury 2009 http://www. bookbrowse. com/reviews/index. cfm? book_number=1284. â€Å"Eragon (Inheritance, Book I). † 2003. Kids Turn Central. 22 January 2009 http://www. kidsturncentral. com/topics/books/eragon. htm. â€Å"Eragon DVD Review. † 22 January 2009 http://www. shurtugal. com/news/comments. php? id=558anum=50.

SouthWest Airlines Case Study

SouthWest Airlines Case Study SouthWest Airlines Case Study Executive Summary Thousands of people travel by air; Southwest Airlines provides low-fare air transportation service among 58 cities in the United States. Although the industry suffered a major blow from the terrorist attack of September 11th, the company is still holding strong; while other airline companies are in debt. The information was majority gathered and analyzed from the internet; sources such as News Week, and Wall Street Journal. According to the acquired knowledge of Southwest, the company maintains steady sales. The major success to their continued success is due to their low-cost model and competitors are aware that they cannot match Southwest Airlines low prices therefore, by dropping the price even lower; Southwest Airlines can force a company to go bankrupt. Introduction In 1971, Rollin King and Herb Kelleher started an airline service with one simple notion: If you get your passengers to their destinations when they want to get there, on time, at the lowest possible fares, and make darn sure they have a good time doing it, people will fly your airline. They were right about that. Southwest Airline is now a major airline, in fact, the fourth largest airliner in the United States that is trading under the Symbol LUV on NYSE. The mission of Southwest Airlines is dedication to the highest quality of customer service delivered with a sense of warmth, friendliness, individual pride, and company spirit. It primarily provides short haul, high-frequency, point-to-point, low-fare air transportation service among 58 cities (59 airports) in the United States. Here are some numbers that will give a brief idea how the company is operating: Net income: $241 million Total passengers carried: 63 million Total RPMs: 45.4 billion Passenger load factor: 65.9 percent Total operating revenue: $5.5 billion The airline industry has been hit hard by the terrorist attack of September 11th. There is a 13% insurance raise for the airlines and the government is enforcing fees regarding security problems. The operation cost increases dramatically and there are less people traveling by air. Most of the airliners are losing money expect a few. Southwest is one of those airlines which have remained profitable. Organization of Southwest Airlines is described as an upside-down pyramid. The upper management is at the bottom and supports the front line employees (~35000), who are the experts. This is Herb Kellehers unorthodox leadership style, in which management decisions are made by everyone in the organization, not just the head executives. The company is described to not have much emphasis on structure; instead employees are encouraged to think freely without constraints such as titles. Kelleher, for example, is said to know the names of virtually all his employees. Southwest Airlines is characterized as a C-corporation with duration distinguished as a normal perpetual existence. The shareholders are not normally liable for debts of the corporation and they preserve an operation that is normally more structured, requiring more meetings and (in some states) more reporting requirements. Management is very centralized through the board of directors (elected by the shareholders) and the officers (elected by the directors). The corporation is taxable entity, although the income which would normally be taxed at the corporate level can normally be paid out in salaries (and in other deductible ways) so that there is in fact no tax at the corporate level. As far as transferability of interest, it is normally fully transferable and raising capital is in the choice of public companies. Southwest Airlines values employees, initiating the first profit-sharing plan in the U.S. airline industry in 1974 and offered it ever since. In 2000, Southwest offered its employees a record-setting $138M in profit sharing. This tax-deferred compensation represented an additional 14.1 percent of each employees annual salary. Methodology In order to explore Southwest Airlines corporate structure, the method in which we obtain our information is a critical component in our mission. Therefore, this analysis describes a methodology that utilizes Southwest Airlines official website to attain background history, company particulars and financial statistics. In addition, the librarys electronic journals, business research databases (Wall Street Journal, Business Week) and accredited search engines on the Internet such as Yahoo! are also major resources for our investigation in conducting a fundamental SWOT analysis and acquiring information regarding the companys main competitors and customers. Our research will not be limited to just Southwest Airline, our research involves Boeing 737 as well as a few of the opposing companies. Research on these additional topics will be specific, material that pertains or assists in elaborating our recommendations for the company of Southwest. Results According to the attached figure covering the past four years of Southwest Airlines financial progress, they have maintained steady net sales. In 1999, they had total net sales of $4,735 million which had risen to $5,585 million. Their slight drop in 2002 to $5,521 million was due to the September 11th incident. However, this is nothing compared to other major airline industries where they have lost so much more. Many have even gone bankrupt and been forced to close down. In fact, Southwest Airlines was the only major US air carrier to remain profitable since then; albeit Southwest Airlines were affected by the poor economic conditions. Few of their main competitors are Continental Airlines and American Airlines. Substitute products include the train (Amtrak) and bus (Greyhound) which cover long distances. While these alternates cannot offer the speed of travel, most of Southwest Airlines customers are attracted to the low price. Suppliers include those who provide service/products necessary for Southwest Airlines to their business function. For Southwest Airlines, suppliers include mechanics(and other maintenance people), providers of fuel, food(the snacks that are offered). The suppliers do not have much bargaining power. Customers include both residential and commercial sectors. There is no bargaining power for customers, as there is no threat of backward integration; it is unlikely that customers of Southwest Airlines are going to build their own airplanes and fly themselves. Rivalry among competitors sets the price-Southwest Airlines is a discount airliner. Rivalry is increasing, as the market decreases, and competitors downsize, the competitors become more or less equal in size and capacity. This means that as economic conditions worsen, competitors downsize and then compete for the same remaining market. The threat of new entrants is low, the demand is not high. On top of that, there are hurdles, not necessarily the greatest; the FAA. Government regulations and restrictions imposed on those involved in this industry. Such would be government sanctions consequent of international issues. At a glance, the companys source of competitive advantage is its low price tickets. Most of its customers are people who are willing to forego in-flight meals, direct routes and fancy seats if that would mean for a cheaper ticket. Not to imply that Southwest doesnt provide direct flights, but that is offered at a higher price. Southwest Airlines was in better shape than its competitors after recent attacks on September 11 for a simple reason: their low-cost model. Terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center had a devastating effect on the airline industry, particularly because the instrument of destruction of these attacks was hijacked airplanes. The public lost faith in the airline industry immediately following September 11th, and for many airline companies this meant going into severe debt or even declaring bankruptcy. Even after some time, the majority of the airline industry experienced lower profits and massive downsizing. However, for smaller companies like Southwest, they were able to turn a profit and were in a more enviable position than the larger counterparts. The reason for Southwest Airlines success is due to their low-cost model. The Southwest Airlines consists solely of Boeing 737s and offers only coach seats (there is no business or first class). Southwest Airlines also do not offer in-flight meals, only peanuts and other snacks. Southwest is simple and direct at the goal of their service; a primarily short-haul airline that flies directly from city to city, with just one type of planethe Boeing 737 and the lowest costs. With a simple goal, Southwest has excised many of the luxuries that competitors have offered, such as luxury seats; this is made evident by their decision to enforce a rule for passengers who could not fit into the seats to purchase an additional seat. This rather unpopular move (whereas other airlines would have suggested a more luxury class seat) is simple in its purpose-get passengers from point A to point B. Services, such as in-flight meals and luxury seats, which have become standard to competitors, have been s een as unnecessary for an airline that provides a short-haul trip from city to city at the lowest cost. To have opted for a first class, business class, or any form of luxury class seat would have been excess baggage; most people would prefer to do without it if it meant for cheaper ticket price. While Southwest Airlines offers no frills, Southwest Airlines do meet customer expectations when it comes to service. They base their model on the motto, which states that if theyre happy, satisfied, dedicated, and energetic, theyll take real good care of the customers. When the customers are happy, they come back. And that makes the shareholders happy, Southwest has very good relations with all their employees. Employees are either of independent unions or have flexible contracts which allow employees to work longer hours. Southwest Airlines, however, is not without weaknesses. No matter how successful, Southwest Airlines serves only 29 states and cannot compete against the bigger companies that serve nationally or even internationally. Furthermore, Southwest Airlines does not utilize a hub system that allows for bigger competitors to reach further out. Such competitors are aware that they cannot match Southwest Airlines prices; their market is larger and is not feasible to offer cheaper tickets at the cost of no in-flight meals. Instead, competitors narrow the price difference between Southwest Airlines and themselves and stress on the quality of these frills (such as roomier seats). Others, through use of flight hubs, are the only ones who can economically serve remote customers. Another weakness of Southwest Airlines is their preference of Boeing 737s. Being limited to one type of airplane leaves them with little flexibility when the model receives a bad reputation or a critical flaw is discovered. Such would be a costly venture for this company, whove used only one type of airplane and in the face of a dire situation would face a costly venture of finding replacements or counteracting bad publicity. Southwest Airlines success is primarily because they have focused sharply on their goals. This is evident by their no-frills, low-cost model: their goal is to provide the cheapest form of short air travel between two cities; providing the bare necessities. Driven by the idea that customers can be satisfied without having expensive options available for them, Southwest Airlines have stepped on the toes of many of its bigger competitors. Southwest Airlines was able to differentiate themselves from their competitors by offering the lowest prices. This appealed to many people who were not impressed with the additional services such as in-flight meals or wanted to avoid busy airports. Coupled with the utilization of the internet, Southwest Airlines almost became a trend, a sort of an underground hit, bypassing travel agents and their fees. Southwest Airlines provided a medium in which city-to-city transportation was possible with the lowest costs. Part of their success is due to their focused group; Southwest Airlines serves only 29 states a substantially smaller portion of geography, when compared to those who serve customers coast-to-coast. While the company was able to enjoy their success in the earlier years, recent events and poor economic conditions have made competition fierce. Now, the bigger companies are trying to emulate Southwest Airlines style. By narrowing the price gap, the luxurious services previously deemed too expensive has become more affordable. A possible drawback is that because Southwest Airlines strategy has proven so effective, it will be duplicated and emulated by its competitors to a point where it would lose the originality. This could result in competitors offering low rates to the areas covered by Southwest and beyond, making Southwest Airlines range and limitations more obvious. It would be very possible in the near future where a big company, with its hubs(something Southwest does NOT have), basically introducing Southwest Airlines low-cost model to a wider market, encroaching and outdoing Southwest Airlines. When a comparatively small, new company is able to take on major players in an extremely competitive industry, gain market share, please customers and employees alike, it is time for others to take notice. We will initially evaluate Southwest Airlines competitive business strategy of their maintenance of a low cost and exceedingly reliable service approach (forgoing perks such as meal service, first-class preference and assigned seating), as a major transportation corporation. We will ultimately make supplementary recommendations and improvements based on the stratagem of their already flourishing company. As a company that still faces continuous growing challenges before them, it is essential for Southwest Airlines to expand on their existing achievements. Our analysis and promising suggestions will be developed with intent to better serve customers by improving their routing system, offering enhanced accessibility and minimizing delays. As business consultants, we anticipate to pav e the way of one of the leading travel industries into becoming the best of the best. Recommendations: Southwest Airlines were able to operate their business relatively undisturbed. It was only in the poor economic conditions that suddenly Southwest Airlines method of operation became the ideal model for its competitors. While the publicity is beneficial in raising employee morale, and raising stock prices; Southwest Airlines is now target of competitors focus. A tactic that Southwest Airlines can do to inflict damage to competitors is to slash prices. This type of tactic is typical of a big company that has a monopolistic rule in an industry squeezing other competitors. This tactic is advisable when competitors are near bankruptcy or are in dire situations. Because competitors cannot match Southwest Airlines prices, the most they can do is narrow the gap of the price difference. Southwest Airlines, which has consistently made a positive profit, can increase the price gap by lowering their prices. Southwest Airlines will incur losses from this move, but the goal of this move is to drag the competitors further into debt. Because this move affects both companies, this move is very risky and should not be done unless Southwest Airlines is sure that their competitor is near bankruptcy. Possible reasons for this move would be to eliminate the weakest competitor in the industry, which would free up the market held by that company. The reason for the creation of Southwest Airlines started when its founders saw an opportunity. Frequent trips between cities were exploited by providing a quicker form of transportation. Southwest Airlines has weathered through several crisis and has proven itself to have potential for to be a leader of its industry. The poor economic conditions has placed many airline companies in debt, while Southwest Airlines was able to make a profit. With its competitors weakened, Southwest can take the initiative and expand-not foolishly, but with the same drive and precise execution the company was founded under. The genius behind Southwest Airlines success is location; and if researched properly, this can be applied to other areas. The appeal of Southwest Airline is the cheap tickets, as they offer none of the luxuries(such as in-flight meals). Southwest Airlines no frills approach may not be pleasing to all, it would be good for Southwest to make a few changes in which the aesthetics would be more accommodating. Upgrading seats may be a costly venture, but it would open Southwest Airlines to a larger market. The medium of choice for customer referral is the internet. Internet referrals have been the main source of customers (it further cut costs by charging a lesser fee to book seats through the internet than through a travel sales agent). With the saturation of discount websites, however, Southwest Airlines is losing the grip it held advertising on the internet. More websites offer competitive rates and special discounts-which if Southwest Airlines does not take immediate action can end up losing customers. Since advertising through the internet is risky, as people hate pop-ups or spam e-mails, it is our general consensus that Southwest should find ways to be listed on these price comparison websites. Before, there werent many sites that offered price comparison and finding deals was difficult. With these sites, information is available at the fingertips of the web surfers who can make better informed choices. Southwest Airlines should ensure that their voice is heard through this mediu m, as it is sure to attract people in search of deals. Conclusion First and foremost, Southwest Airline has developed a great low cost model for the past thirty year that fits todays economy the best. It has expanded from a tiny company with merely three aircrafts to one of todays major airliners that flies between 58 cities carrying over 60 million customers each year. As everyone can see, Southwest Airline has been a big success. Now, it is given an opportunity to grow even bigger at this extremely hard and critical time for the airline industry. After the incident of September 11, Southwest Airline is one of the few airliners that remained profitable; other airline companies are losing millions of dollars due to the insurance raise, the security cost and lack of customers. We recommend Southwest airline to take this opportunity to expand to greater regions. It is the time for Southwest airline to use its low price tickets to drive its competitors out of business and take over their market. We believe, giving up some of the profit to cut the ticket price even lower and upgrade hardware can open Southwest Airline to a much larger market that will bring more profit in future. Implementations of cost saving technology such as internet is needed to lower the operation cost to give customers better deals.

Appealing Americas Commitment to the War through Triumph of the Will a

Appealing America's Commitment to the War through Triumph of the Will and Why We Fight These films were arts of propaganda, which is the attempt to control the beliefs and behaviors of people in times of crisis. This was the goal of each film, to try to persuade the world by the use of powerful film propaganda of different points of view. The film Triumph of the Will expressed how Hitler and his people wanted the world to see them. The main goal here was to encourage membership in the nazi party by emphasizing mass accommodation, mass gatherings, and above all collectiveness. The film Why we Fight: Prelude to war on the other hand wanted to make America aware of why they had to become involved in WWII. The film describes the events that led up to WWII. The escalation of Japanese militarism and the rise of fascism in Germany and Italy are also explored. This series of films was created by the US War Department to appeal to Americans' commitment to the War. The most effective element of each film to me was the use of visuals/images in the scenes and the use of sound (music etc.) The reason is that in both films in order to really get the point across the use of the images were very specific, to make their audience really believe what they wanted to portray. In Triumph of the Will for example the use of the images of Hitler's plane emerging like he is God from the sky. Also the use of the shots of Hitler from the windows and him acknowledging the crowd, and mainly th...

The Necessity of Violence in Native Son by Richard Wright Essay

In Native Son, Richard Wright uses characterization and symbolism to underscore his theme of how American institutionalized oppression of blacks creates human tragedy for those oppressed. Yet, the novel is not an attempt to merit our sympathy or empathy for the condition of repressed blacks, it is to illustrate how the nihilistic attitude of blacks like Bigger Thomas is the direct result of white repression of differences in non-white cultures. In other words, Bigger's only option is death because the society which has created him has given him nothing else to care about, nothing he can call his own, no chance to explore any of his potential. Thus, he turns to violence as an expression of identity which is what his reaction to reading the newspaper expresses. When he reads the article in the paper, he exclaims to his mother, "No! Jan didn't help me! He didn't have a damned thing to do with it! I - I did it!" (Wright 283). His act of violence is his only affirmation of sel f in a society that represses any other form of self-affirmation and he desperately clings to it. Even the alarm clock that rings in the beginning of the novel is a symbol. It is a symbol Wright uses as a "wake up" call to a society that remains locked in illusions regarding its creation of race relations that makes Bigger always someone who is "following a strange path in a strange land" (Wright 127). This is why Bigger's communist lawyer tells the court that Bigger is incapable of killing because he is already dead as he is forced to exist in a society that refuses him any affirmation of life. Bigger is a displaced person because the society into which he is born allows him no place. He is Ellison's "invisible man" who is destined to fall be... ... of modern American society's institutionalized oppression. WORKS CITED "Richard Wright." Chapman, R. (ed.) Black Voices. New York, Penguin Books, 1968: 113-114. "Richard Wright Biography." http://www.math.buffalo.edu/~sww/wright/wright_bio.html March 20, 1999: 1-5. "Richard Wright; Homegrown: Bigger Thomas as a Product of His Environment." http://www.loras.edu/~ENG/faculty/fretz/Page12.html March 20, 1999: 1-2. "'Without the Consolation of Tears': Richard Wright, France, and the Ambivalence of Community." Gilroy, P. (ed.) The Black Atlantic: Modernity and Double Consciousness. Mass., Harvard Univ. Press, 1993: 146-186. Wright, R. "How Bigger Was Born." Chapman, R. (ed.) Black Voices. New York, Penguin Books, 1968: 538-563. Wright, R. Native Son. New York, HarperCollins, 1993.

General Prologue :: essays papers

General Prologue When the seasons are filled with fresh, milk-white snow to pack happy snowmen together, and lively decorations to usher the New Year in and keep the evil spirits away; when also the frenzied salary-men are able to relax from jobs and pursue pet hobbies, it is joyous winter. In the spirit of celebration, pilgrims from the world over who are part owners in Chang Securities have come to the San Francisco company headquarters for the anniversary of incorporation. And so by chance, a company of five unique pilgrims met each other at the Chicago Airport. Each different pilgrim was headed for the celebration on the same, delayed flight. They were a pleasant lot, and soon after the first half hour had passed I got to know each one quite well. But before I continue my tale, and while it is fresh in my memory, let me tell you about the social station of each, what they wore, what their jobs were, and who they were. First there was a woman senator who had a bright, but smooth smile and a neat appearance. Her campaign shout was, â€Å"Make the world a happier one.† She was often quick to praise lavishly, but whether or not it was deserving had secondary importance to her. She could speak a dozen phrases in a dozen different languages so her value in international matters would increase. Besides her language skill, she took classes in the sciences, literature, and music at night school, but she never stayed on for more than a few weeks at a time. She dressed conservatively, as a candidate for office would: stately, and filled with dignity and confidence. Coworkers sometimes pointed out her elegance in taste and lifestyle: she was often seen with dozens of politicians at orchestra concerts, and she loved to play golf with the richest businessmen. If I remember correctly, she said she loses at golf on purpose so her business opponents will feel accomplished. At Christmas she would give the c hildren of her wealthy supporters lavish gifts and fine food; no expense would be spared to make them happy. With her was a merry, wealthy landowner. His motto was to live for pleasure, and he had adequate funds to indulge himself with. He was a fat man; he always had to choose first class because he could not get himself to fit inside the coach airplane seat.

Airport Security: How the Use of Full-Body Scanners and Other Security Measures at Airports Are Problematic

Introduction Security is the freedom from danger and risk, which provides one with complete satisfaction and safety. Full-body scanners have been in use for various health reasons, but have recently started to be utilized at airports for security measures in 2007. Full-body scanners used for safety purposes are a recently invented technology device that claims to ensure entire safety to travelers at airports by generating a computerized stripped image of passengers boarding flights. Additional security procedures along with full-body scanners are also taken place. This assures that no passengers are carrying any harmful material to prevent the act of terrorism. Although full-body scanners allow airport security to avoid physical frisking, which may arise as a problem to many travelers, personally and religiously, there are many disadvantages as well. According to surveys, even though it is for the sake of security, passengers feel uncomfortable about the fact that they are technologically being viewed bare naked. Also, the personal who specifically view your full body scan can amplify security which creates a reasonable issue of racism and prejudice. Additionally, it has been proven that this â€Å"new and improved† full-body scanner and other security measures in action have not been functioning to satisfy complete safety and security to travelers. Private and religious invasion, discrimination, and inefficiency are three major concerns that regard the use of full-body scanners and other security measures, which are becoming increasingly problematic at airports internationally. It is coherent that these apprehensions must be taken into serious consideration regarding the decision whether or not the use of full-body scanners and other security enforcements should be continued. Private and Religious Invasion It is evident, through religious laws and several personal opinions, that the use of full-body scanners may invade an individual’s religious and personal privacy. Generally speaking, one would undoubtedly feel personally invaded if another has the access to observe their uncovered body unwillingly. This is why a certain population feels strongly against the fact that they are forced to be viewed undressed, through the use of a full-body scanner. Rabbi Bulka states that â€Å"†¦a full body check – you have to be able to have access o every single part of the body, including those we would consider off limits† (MacLeod, 2010). This displays that the private body parts of individuals who pass through full-body scanners are being â€Å"viewed by a screener in a separate room, who doesn’t know the identity of the person†(Gulli, 2010). It is apparent that the passenger being observed by the anonymous viewer will undoubt edly feel that their privacy is being strongly invaded through the use of full-body scanners. Among the lines of privacy invasion, there are other methods to attack a passenger’s boundary to make them feel uncomfortable. On that note, the use of full-body scanners has also broken the religious laws of the population amongst certain beliefs. The author mentions that, â€Å"Passengers who do not wish to pass through the metal detector for religious or cultural reasons can request a pat-down as an alternative. Head coverings, whether religious or not, are also permitted, though they may be subject to a pat-down search or removal in a private area† (Higgins, 2010). This demonstrates that full-body scanners may be a threat to an individual’s religious beliefs by forcing them to remove any religious attire such as a hijab for Muslim women or a turban for Sikh men/women. Additionally, this population would be very sensitive to physical pat-downs in private areas as they have already avoided the use of full-body scanners due to religious terms. Not only does this raid religious belief, but may also invade an individual’s personal space as well. With this information, it is prominent that religious and personal privacy may be invaded with the utilization of full-body scanners. Discrimination Along with religious and personal invasion, the utilization of full-body scanners and other security measures have proven to raise problems of discrimination and prejudice. This causes travelers to wonder whether they are being scrutinized at airports for the safety of others, or for the indignity of their identity and background. It is clear that the background and race of an individual largely alters the way airport security personal treat passengers in relation to full-body scanners. The author, Micheline Maynard, expresses that â€Å"Citizens of 14 nations, including Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and Nigeria, who are flying to the United States will be subjected indefinitely to intense screening at airports worldwide†¦Ã¢â‚¬ (Lipton, 2010). However, she also states that â€Å"†¦American citizens, and most others who are not flying through those 14 nations on their way to the United States, will no longer automatically face the full-range of intensified security†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (Lipton, 2010). This shows that the targeted countries such as Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and Nigeria along with others are clearly being classified under terrorism-related countries. A massive issue is created for the majority of the population from those countries, who are innocent, yet are forced to undergo intense full-body screening for no political reason. Therefore, airport security is proven to produce discrimination in association with full-body scanners against those targeted nations. Furthermore, prejudice along with discrimination is evidently exists in the process of airport security measures other than full-body scanners. As Rafi Sela, the president of AR Challenges, a global transportation security consultancy, speaks about the body and hand-luggage check, he states that â€Å"†¦they’re not looking for liquids, they're not looking at your shoes. They're not looking for everything they look for in North America. They just look at you† (Kelly, 2009). This quotation is an ideal example of prejudice present at airport security. As prejudice refers to an unfavorable opinion, Rafi Sela explains that the traveler at the body and hand-luggage check will be judged based on his/her appearance as opposed to making sure that the passenger is not carrying any harmful substances for the flight. Finally, it is apparent that discrimination and prejudices have been established as a method of the security system at airports, which is wrongful in a countless number of ways. Inefficiency Another problem that arises from the use of full-body scanners is that they do not provide complete efficiency to bring forth entire safety. Also, trained dogs are a more enhanced component of the security system that tends to function superior to full-body scanners. Moreover, full-body scanners may not perform as effectively to deter deadly weapons that a terrorist may have possession of. Cathy Gulli says, â€Å"†¦body scanners probably won’t pick up explosives concealed in body cavities or consumed, which still leaves bombers with the ability to get explosives onto the plane† (Gulli, 2010). This clearly displays that using these full-body scanners can o be claim to be highly effective, are proven wrong. As using these machines is putting a risk and danger to lives of travelers internationally, there is a major flaw in the system and may become very problematic. As Rafi Sela says, â€Å"†¦if you have a gap in security, you have no security† (Gulli, 2010). On the other hand, having a canine is a more effective security method as it provides a supplementary and a serviceable protection to travelers worldwide. â€Å"Cliff Samson, president of the Canadian Police Canine Association, believes dogs are ‘every bit as effective’ as machines at detecting explosives, and they can seek them out in a way that huge, stationary equipment can’t† (Gulli, 2010). This evidence supports the fact that using trained canines for security purposes as opposed to ineffective and risky full-body scanners, there is also a financial advantage as well. Mr. Samson also mentions that â€Å"†¦a dog can cost a police department $12,000†¦Ã¢â‚¬  whereas a security expert states that â€Å"†¦body scanners, each worth $250 000, at Canadian airports†¦ † (Gulli, 2010). Not only does this give airports an opportunity to increase security for a positive cause, but also allows airports to capitalize financially. Conclusively, inadequacy in the functioning of full-body scanners has proved to be problematic security factor without bringing complete security that even dogs can outsmart. Conclusion Various apprehensions that are becoming increasingly problematic as time passes regarding the doubtful airport security systems include invasion of privacy and religious laws, discrimination and prejudices, as well as ineffectiveness of full-body scanners. It is extremely important for the public citizens across the world to act towards bringing a much safer security system that is capable of accommodating the various respected religions internationally without the process of determining whose security should or should not be intensified based on their ethnic background and race. It is also important for everyone to acknowledge that it is just as important to defend ones rights and beliefs as it is to protect an airline flight without physically or religiously violating an individual’s space. This is why it is an excellent idea to create a universal security system that is convenient in use, unbiased and respected of physical and religious liberty. It is the responsibility of every person to contribute towards the creation of a precious and needed system that potentially holds the lives of many as it will largely donate towards the prevention of terrorism. With the rapid developing technology witnessed in the past decade, there is absolutely no excuse to live without a safety scheme most needed around the world. Not only should this worldwide security system be used for the isolated purpose of airport safety, but should also be utilized at public locations such as theme parks, subway and bus terminals and sea ports as well. This way every country, city, and community across the world will be satisfied and secure of any danger and risk. Since our current security structure clearly cannot handle the situations faced today, a more effective method of security will serve its purpose to protect every valuable individual globally. References Gulli, C. (2010). The scary truth about airport security. Maclean’s (2), 18. Retrieved February 02, 2010, from ProQuest database. Higgins, M. (2010). Security ahead? pack patience:[travel desk]. New York Times, p. TR. 3. Retrieved March 14, 2010, from ProQuest database. Kelly, C. 2009, December 30). The ‘Israelification’ of airports: high security, little bother. The Star. Retrieved March 15, 2010, from http://www. thestar. com/ Lipton, E. (2010). Strict airport screening to remain for citizens of 14 nations; [foreign desk]. New York Times, p. A. 3. Retrieved February 16, 2010, from ProQuest database. MacLeod, J. (2010). Full-body scans ok to save lives, rabbis say. Canadian Jewish News, p. 3,15. Retrieved March 14, 2010, from ProQuest database.

Life is full of mystery Essay

Life is full of mystery that will lead us to one experience to another. There are hurtful experiences that we may want to forget but there are happy moments that will surely linger on our thoughts for many years. Allow me to narrate some of the many valuable experiences in my life. The succeeding pages will tell you how blessed and lucky I am as a person in this world. Through the years of my life, I came to know about various people who provided a great impact on my personality and beliefs. It narrates of my experiences about school, family, friendship, acquaintances and discoveries in life. The journey towards one’s success can be measured about the priceless moments that will always remain in mind, heart and soul. I can say that my personal and professional experience made me a better person who is willing to accept more memorable experience to come. Gaze upon the following pages of this booklet and be enchanted about my rollercoaster kind of life. It made me the person that I am now and an individual that will face the future with full optimist. At the end of the day, I always contemplate on things that have happened and ask myself what I have done so far. The contentment that I feel each time I remember gives me enough courage to move on and seek for more adventure in the future. One will never find his/her way forward if he/she never knows how to look back. Yesterday will always be a part of our personality and I can say that life will be meaningless if I was not given the chance to experience the following stories. Memories with Mother Life is best shared with people whom you trust most. As I look back and recall my childhood days, I cannot help but compare the love and care that I receive from my beloved mother. She is one of the most precious gift that God has given me. From the day I was born until I learn how to walk and talk, she is always by my side and never gets tired of giving me the attention and patience that I need most. There was a point in my life that I always get bruised and injured from playing outside. I end up running home with tears on my eyes. But as the door opens for me, Mother is always there giving me the best hug and warm kisses that will cast all my pains away. She reminds me that I should never be depressed from getting those bruises since it will make me a stronger and better person when I grew up. At first I though that I should take that word literally since wound are healed as days goes by and I cannot feel any pain from it. As I grow up and experience having problems about life, school and many more, I came to realize that there is a deeper meaning behind those bruises and it effect on my personality. I clearly remember how I gain problems more serious that getting injured. I get depressed and frustrated by getting low grades but I eventually learn from my mistakes and studies harder than before. Mother’s words of wisdom are priceless because it speaks of courage and confidence about my personality. My perception about bruises and being stronger are changed because as I mature, I realize that life is full of problems that may cause wounds to people but once they recover they will be more stronger and confident than before. As days goes by I will always remember the bountiful encouragements that mother always told me.

Individual Study Guide Using Perceptual Maps in Marketing Simulation Summary Essay

Complete the simulation, Using Perceptual Maps in Marketing, located on the student website. Write a 1,050- to 1,450-word summary in which you address the following for each of the three major phases in the simulation: The situation Your recommended solutions, including why Your results Summarize the different marketing components addressed in this simulation by answering the following questions: What is the relationship between differentiation and positioning of products or services? Is the repositioning of the product in the simulation as you had expected it to be? Explain why or why not. What is the effect of the product life cycle on marketing? What effect did the product life cycle have on the product in the simulation? Format your paper consistent with APA guidelines.Complete the simulation, Using Perceptual Maps in Marketing, located on the student website. Write a 1,050- to 1,450-word summary in which you address the following for each of the three major phases in the simulation: The situation Your recommended solutions, including why Your results Summarize the different marketing components addressed in this simulation by  answering the following questions: What is the relationship between differentiation and positioning of products or services? Is the repositioning of the product in the simulation as you had expected it to be? Explain why or why not. What is the effect of the product life cycle on marketing? What effect did the product life cycle have on the product in the simulation? Format your paper consistent with APA guidelines.

Cognitive Development Essay

Social cognition is dealing with thoughts and beliefs about the social world. Social cognition allows the focus about oneself and people. Some aspect examples are thoughts, desires, and emotions. Social-cognitive development understanding can be a positive achievement for a child in child development. Social cognitive development allows a child to explore and figure out how things work. Jean Piaget had thoughts about how development is a â€Å"general process† and it allows children to have way of thinking that is useful bout the development of social cognition. Piaget suggested that during infancy, reality begins primarily at the start of the child and his or her actions actions and the outside environment. From this starting point, development proceeds both inward, allowing children to gain a better understanding of themselves, and outward, allowing them to gain a better understanding of the broader world. (Siegler, 2005) Social cognitive development is view in a way that children do not learn from influences of the environment but can often learn and use behavior due to their own personal thoughts, motivation, feelings and actions. While observing children, something to think about are consequences and examples of setting performance goals. This can be a great way to set up boundaries for children. Also these are just a few example of how social cognitive theory function. This theory can also be split up into three different but equally valid components: observational learning, self-efficacy and self- regulation. (Wood, 1989) â€Å"Observational learning is the process of learning through observing, imitating and reflecting from the behavior of others. In most cases, observational learning occurs when someone examines the actions of another and reflects upon the other and their consequences† (Ngai, 2007). Depending on the type of consequence in the action that was performed, the child that is observing can imitate that behavior. The child observing can perform the behavior in a positive or negative way. Observational learning can be seen as reinforcement but it is self-reinforcement that the child can perform. An example is a group of 4 and 5 year olds are experimenting in the dramatic play area and another child comes along to interact with the group that had been watching their interactions from afar. That child is most likely to follow their ways and choices because he has observed it. In second component of social cognitive theory is self-efficacy. Self-efficacy is the belief that a child is capable to perform task successfully and complete the task as well. Self-efficacy in a child’s view can take place and their actions can be affected by past experiences or from prior knowledge they have gained. Self-efficacy is not a strong trait component but is affected by experiences and past successes while performing the specific task. â€Å"Self- efficacy is also influenced by perceiving others performing the task, verbal persuasion, encouragement and one’s physical and/or mental state† (Wood, 1989) . An example is a child that sets a goal for them to achieve and they reach that goal. They then have that self- fulfillment. There can be a down side and the low self- esteem can come in if a child does not reach the goal intended. The last component of the social cognitive theory is self-regulation. Self- Regulation is to apply the learning principles and adjusting to the behavior that was learned. Self- regulation involves two things. Observation and then actions should be compared. When a child meets the behavior intended or if the behavior is exceeded then they can feel this self-reward fulfillment. It is a way to manage one’s own behavior with little external influences. An example of self- regulation is the dos and don’ts for a child. For a child, the ‘dos’ include doing things or finishing things they really do not want to do. ‘Don’ts’ include stopping themself from doing something they want to do. Children deal with ‘dos’ and ‘don’ts’ in very different ways. (Wood, 1989) Piaget stated that young children and their way of thinking are characterized by egocentrism. He also stated that children can have difficulty in separating their own perspective from that of what they observe from others. Preschool children can often conclude that the way that other children or people think or feel or wish exactly what they do, which is common in their social-cognitive understanding. â€Å"Subsequent research has demonstrated that Piaget somewhat underestimated young children’s perspective-taking abilities. His work did identify a central challenge in any social-cognitive activity which is separating one’s own viewpoint from that of others† (Ngai, 2007). When it comes to young children, there are two important tasks they are capable of facing. One is learning how to communicate. Children can have a hard time expressing how they feel or what they want. Sometimes children express how they feel only through their emotions instead of using their words. The next hard thing children are capable of facing is learning how to think about themselves and the social world around them. Children can be one sided and only want what they want and not think about any consequence that can occur in the environment around them. The more that they communicate in language the better their social cognition can develop and grow. This also allows for more peer and social interactions. A goal for early child development that continues to grow and that is important is that children are continuing to develop and are able to role play with other children and subconsciously they are actively constructing their own knowledge. In social learning theory, behavior can be explained in a three-ways. The first theory is called dynamic theory. This is when influences in the environment, personal factors and behavior that is performed will continue to interact. Something basic in the social learning theory is that children learn from their experiences and they also learn from their observations and actions of the other children or people around them. â€Å"Like Piaget, in the 1970s, Albert Bandura published a comprehensive framework for understanding human behavior, based on a cognitive formulation which he named the social cognitive theory† (Valkenburg, 2004). Children that have special needs or cognitive impairment should be able to have the same privileges as children that do not have any special needs. They can be successful in school and live normal fulfilling lives. They may just need a bit of individual help in learning new things. Children with special needs or cognitive impairment may need extra time, things repeated to them and the right kind of modeling behavior to help them learn the skills they need to know to live a normal fulfilling life. Practice can help them master these skills that may seem simple but are difficult to those children. Skills that may seem simple and easy to people without disabilities can be done with people with cognitive impairment. Skills such as learning appropriate hygiene, how to be safe and how to use manners are made possible. Encouragement should be promoted to these children that have a social impairment because independence can be learned, they can have progress in their development and they are learning new skills. Keep in mind that patience is required and any extra time needed. The same things can apply to the children that have special needs but their scenarios will be a little different because we will not know specific kind of need needs to be addressed. Children that have special needs can gain the same credibility. It is best if educators and parents collaborate to help children with cognitive impairment. Children with learning disabilities may experience difficulties encoding and interpreting social cues. They may be less competent than non-disabled students in understanding and interpreting social cues. Children with learning disabilities may also experience difficulty with development process of social cognition, wherein the variety of solutions proposed by these children is less than that of their normative comparison peers. â€Å"For instance, in studies involving roleplaying measures of social problem-solving skills, children and adolescents with learning disabilities may experience more difficulty with generating alternative solutions to hypothetical social situations than their peers without learning disabilities (Tur-Kaspa, 2002). Toro, Weissberg, Guare, and Liebenstein (1990) obtained a similar finding when they compared the social problem solving skills of children with learning disabilities to non-learning disabled peers† (Ngai, 2007). When simple tasks are broken down into steps that may seem more simple, this will children that have a social impairment learn easier. An example is something as simple as getting dressed. If steps are explained to the child like first put your shirt on, button it, put you pants on and then put on your belt. When the belt is on, then it is time for socks and shoes. These repeating steps can be demonstrated verbally and physically to help the child with the social impairment learn the skill. It is encouraged to give positive praise and support for the child as well. Always give positive praise from any attempt. â€Å"This process, referred to as task analysis, can be used to teach proper hygiene techniques, household chores, or any other skills† (Ngai, 2007). Parents can also be a part of the support process. Parents can stay involved in their child’s academic learning. Parents should be knowledgeable about stuff that goes on I the classroom and try to find activities or different ways to reinforce learning at home. If a child is learning new shapes or colors, parents can take their child on a walk and point out different shapes to ask the child if they know what it is. The same activity can apply with colors. Working together with the child ad being on the same page as the educator can benefit the child greatly. (Ngai, 2007) â€Å"Social activities in the community can serve as a valuable learning tool as well. Children with cognitive impairment can model the behavior of their peers, improve social skills, experience new and different settings and most importantly, have fun. To support the child’s success, family members and the professionals providing services to the child should work together to understand the child’s strengths, weaknesses, and interests† (Ngai, 2007). This is called collaboration, which any school should be responsible for doing with all families and communities. The down fall for my chosen theory can be how much society are changing and the ups and downs to it. In today’s world many negative issues are arising and no matter how much we shield our children they still can learn from their environment. Some children are exposed to too much violence, drugs and negativity that they may carry that with them to a school setting. When they do, this is brought on other children that may not know about these things and now they are finding out about it because of that one child that has been exposed to it. Things that used to be innocent such as cartoons, Disney movies, toys, dolls, and music are all being contaminated by selfish people in the society today. Things are also so fast paced where everything seems to be rushed. Parents do not have the time for their children that should be dedicated to them. An example is during homework help. If a parent is in a rush to get something else done and are trying to help their child out with homework, that parent is more likely to give their child the answers the allowing their child to use and develop their social cognition. Another issue I feel that may arise is the lack of support from educators. Along with an increase in teachers comes growing classrooms. Children are already lacking that one on one support from their educators. People are having more and more children which means our nation is growing in population. Children will suffer more because they will have a lack of material and less teacher interaction time. Where I currently work, the director accepts more and more children because she is so interested in gaining more money. In this change, the children are hurting socially emotionally because they are transitioning into older classrooms at a younger age and are forced to mature much more quickly. Like Piaget’s theory and model he broke down different stages as to how children change and the way they think during that stage. In some of the stages there are large age gaps where children should have the time to develop appropriately. If the population continues to rise and children are forced to mature much faster than they should, than the question is are they going to be socially ready t advance to their next level in school and will their social cognition be where it should be considering there are no disabilities of any kind?

Human Resources Management Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Human Resources Management - Assignment Example This approach of managing the employees with the formation of definite strategies is known as strategic HRM. In other words, the strategic management of human resources implies the supervision and administration of employees according to the present and future objectives of the organization. It’s concerned with long term issues of the employees and it deals with the various macro elements of the organization that includes values, culture, structure, future needs, quality management, knowledge management and human resource development. It has a narrow objective of providing direction to the functions of the management in a chaotic environment, so that it can meet the individual needs and the collective needs of the staff through the application of suitable HR policies. The meaning of strategic human resource management implies: Use of planning A rational approach to the management and design of personnel management which is based on policies and strategies prepared in accordanc e with the philosophy of the organization. ... Figure 3.2 represents the Harvard approach while Figure 3.3 represents the Michigan approach. The Harvard approach is broader in comparison to the Michigan approach. Harvard approach deals with a situational perspective and takes into consideration the interest of the stakeholders in internal and external environment. This model doesn’t only emphasize on the performance but also pays attention towards individual and social well being. On the other hand, the Michigan approach is narrower and defines a much focused model which demonstrates a strong fit between the structure, HRM policies and strategy of the organization. This model puts more importance to the functional level of the human resource management which illustrates that the performance of an individual is dependent on selection, development, rewards and appraisal. The Harvard approach deals with a mixture of process and content theories, while Michigan approach is entirely content oriented.2 Source: Human Resource Man agement: A critical approach Importance of HRM An effective HRM framework helps the organization in3- Recruiting people through proper screening and interview techniques Developing their skills by providing them with proper training programs Motivating them with reasonable remuneration and addressing their grievances Retaining them with the introduction of various appraisal and incentive schemes Explain and analyze the HRM framework The human resource management framework is demonstrated in the following diagram The HRM framework describes all the essential function of the human resource management which has an ultimate objective of placing right kind of people in the right kind of job at the

United States of America cycling Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

United States of America cycling - Essay Example The American cyclist team has been in existence for almost a hundred years. Set up in 1920, the initial group was to represent the country in the then Olympics.The group has grown to become a national cycling organization mandated with the talent identification and nurturing.Currently the group has a national outlook often soliciting for talented cyclists all over the country and providing them with the best apparatus thereby creating an enabling environment within which they develop their talents in cycling. To succeed in doing this, the group has scouts strewn all over the country searching for the talents and recruiting them into the group. The group capitalizes on the positive attributes of cycling as a sport to generate revenue with which it seeks to develop further and achieve some of its long-term goals. Just like any other, the organization therefore creates social events characterized by cycling competitions as a means of entertaining the society. Such events attract million s of visitors thereby earning the country foreign exchange. Cycling is a sport and a hobby to many within the American society; some people also use the sport a form of exercise. The country therefore has many untapped talents most of which exist idly especially among those who take the sports either as a hobby or an exercise tool. The organization therefore identifies such people and recruit them into the organization from where they do not only become a social group but a league within which they compete for titles and awards. Such competitions bring people together thereby resulting in a more cohesive society. The organization reserves a number of benefits to their recruits in an attempt to making them appreciate the sports and therefore nature their talents. Among the benefits are medical cover, given the understanding that the sport is precarious enough, the organization in partnership with some medical institution arranges for the participants to access subsidized medical pack ages for their insurance policies. This gives the athletes the peace of mind thereby coercing their intense participation in the sport. Additionally, the organization organizes numerous cycling events most of which it does in collaboration with other international groups. Such social events are effective platforms for exposing their talents thereby creating more opportunities for such people. The organization is actively involved in community oriented and therefore purchases and develops property thereby contributing to the national developments of not only the United States of America but also other international countries where its athletes take part in competition (Heijmans and Bill 23). The international cycling union is a profit generating organization and relies on the creativity of its activities to generate the funds for its operations and management. This implies that the organization must carry out effective SWOT analysis in order to make informed management decisions thro ugh which it earns revenues. SWOT analysis is a management tool that researches on the internal structures of the organization and the ability of such structures to earn the organization adequate profits. Additionally, the tool analyses the manner in which the external factors affect the operations of the business. The first two factors of the SWOT analysis are Strengths and weaknesses. The factors are internal implying that the organization can easily manipulate the factors to realize the desired results. The last two factors, which are opportunities and the threats to the business all, originate from the market. The organization cannot easily influence such but its reaction to the factors influences its profitability. Situational analysis-Strengths: The union has numerous strengths, which if managed effectively can secure increased funding for the union. One such strength is its national outlook. Began by the first group that represented the country in the Olympics, the union has a history of presenting a national outlook of the country. This implies that

Television and Children Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words - 1

Television and Children - Essay Example This was agreed on by a number of agencies including the US Surgeon General, the National Institute of Mental Health, the National Academy of Sciences, the American Medical Association, the American Psychology Association, the American Academy of Pediatrics and many other scientific and public health agencies and organizations. Kunkel reports on three major conclusions of a National Television Violence Study which was carried out. The first was that the incidence of violence is indeed very high. According to the study 60% of approximately 10,000 programs sampled in the study contained violent material. The researchers identified an average of 6,000 violent interactions in a single week on 23 channels. The study also pointed out that the way in which violence is presented on television increases the harmful risk to children. The reasons suggested for this were that the harm caused by the violence on television is not portrayed realistically. The way violence is presented understates how much harm these acts in reality cause the victim. It also shows violence performed by role model who show no remorse and suffer no repercussions for their aggressive behavior. The third conclusion of the study was also worrisome. The portrayal of violence has remained consistent over the past years. This stability indicates that efforts are not effective to change the portrayal of violence on television. The potential for violence on television to lead to aggressive behavior in children is not the only negative effect of television viewing in young children. Children can develop a fear of the world around them when they are exposed to violent and scary happenings on television. These images can be seen by children on regular television shows or even on the news. When children cannot distinguish between reality and fantasy they can become affected