The Fight Against Gender Inequality - 1135 Words

Over the past decades, despite people have advances on gender inequality, but the sexism still prevalent in all aspects of life and in most countries around the world. I am a woman. I was born and raised in Vietnam, where gender biased ideology is extremely prevalent throughout society. It is an ideology in which men are considered more important than women. In the spiritual life of Vietnamese, people must have a son to keep their family lineages continuously growing. This pressure is on people from generation to generations. The gender disparity gradually seeps into the minds of Vietnamese people. When I grow up, I learn and admire for the gender equality in most advanced countries in the world, especially the United States. However, after I have been living in the United States for over 5 years; I have realized that although a great deal of progress has been made in the fight against gender disparity, discrimination still occurs, not only between races, but also between men and wo men. According to the article Valley Boys by James Surowiecki, gender discrimination in hiring a staff, giving job position and working environment has occurred in high-tech companies in Silicon Valley, such as Google, Apple, Facebook, Twitter. First, these companies have a gender inequality when they hire a new employee. When I heard the name Silicon Valley, I think immediately about the high-tech. That is a place where the door is opened to anyone who is more talents and more intelligencesShow MoreRelatedWomen played a major role in the fight against inequality and discrimination against female gender1000 Words   |  4 PagesWomen played a major role in the fight against inequality and discrimination against female gender for generations. Throughout the 20th century and up to WWI, most women saw their primary roles as being housewives and mothers, and less than 30 percent of women worked outside the home. That was the context for Demi Hansen’s life but during WWII she became a Rosie the Riveter. Women had no self-representation other than from their husbands and fathers, until WWII when opportunity’s were previouslyRead MoreGender Inequality : A Social Problem1728 Words   |  7 Pagesand where its future lies. The best explanation on why gender inequality is, always has been, and will continue to be a social problem is from the functionalist perspective. Functionalist focus on how a society creates the social problem and then analyzes how and why the social issue has been maintained over the years. The objective reality is that gender inequality has and always will be a major issue in society. The scope of gender inequality has changed drastically over the years, but there is stillRead MoreWomen s Autonomy And Respect Of Women1329 Words   |  6 Pagesthe U.S. and most developed countries, women have gone far in fighting for their equal rights. Gender revolution in the U.S. spreads and has influenced women around the world to call upon equal rights for female. However, understanding that inequalities still remain in present days, female activists and scholars have examined how women and the society in which they live and work can do to eliminate gender bias. Sheryl Sandberg, one o f the few female senior web executives of Facebook, realizes thatRead MoreEssay Gender Inequality in the Filming Industry668 Words   |  3 Pages Gender diversity in the filming industry has been a long standing problem. It is common knowledge that in the movie industry, the male reigns supreme, whether it be leading character roles or the director. Take Star Trek: Into Darkness, for example. The director, J.J. Abrams, is male. Out of the ten leading speaking roles, only three are female, while the rest of the minor speaking roles are also predominantly male. Let’s take another movie, Pacific Rim, into consideration. The director, GuillermoRead MoreWomen Workers In Society Have Been And Still Are Deemed1636 Words   |  7 Pagesthe practices of gender inequality, most importantly thorough the existence of the gender wage gap. The gender wage gap is defined as â€Å"the gap between the median wages for men and women. The gap between men s and women’s wages exists in nearly every occupation, in all industries, in every state, across countries, at all education levels, and in the private, government, and nonprofit sectors† (Wagner, B, 2015). I believe as long as the gender wage gap exists, it allows inequalities between the sexesRead MoreThe Inequality Between Men And Women Based Solely On Gender1025 Words   |  5 Pagesthe inequality between men and women based solely on gender. This dilemma is one that occurs across every continent and has been the subject of many riots, protests, and discussions since the early centuries. Gender inequality can happen in any setting, time, and place. However, gender inequality is highly likely inside the workplace. Many employers discriminate against woman and sometimes then do not even know that what they are saying or doing is considered discrimination. Gender inequality in theRead MoreGender Inequality1640 Words   |  7 Pages Society today often only addresses one side of the gender inequality is sue: the grievances of women. Feminists have fought against the ingrained tradition of women as housewives with no rights and being looked down upon as the lesser sex. The women’s rights movement in the United States has worked tirelessly since 1848 to fight for rights and break down gender barriers. Misogyny and gender constructs, such as the ideal of beauty, hold women back in various aspects of their lives as discussed inRead MoreGender Differences And Gender Equality1171 Words   |  5 Pages Throughout history, gender differences and gender equality have been issues that have faced many social, and unjustifiable conflicts. Women most importantly pay the consequences for wanting equality and justice. Since the beginning of time, women were perceived to be the submissive role in a household, and in the workplace. Fighting for their equal rights women and men are unified to get the same results, to be treated the way they deserve, and to be able to think freely abou t what they standRead MoreEssay on Fighting for Equality and Freedom1229 Words   |  5 Pagescommunism and disparity. All throughout history and some may even argue that still today inequality and racism are prevalent and carry an enormous impact. During the course of WWII, there were many strides to end inequality at home and overseas. While some were fighting to keep our home soil free from foreign threats, others were serving to gain rights and fix all the domestic threats to their freedom. The inequality and racism overseas was a setback, either not allowing certain people to participateRead MoreDubliners By James Joyce s Dubliners1419 Words   |  6 Pagescharacters in Dublin and forbids them from accomplishing their desires and goals; rather than relentlessly trying to conquer the obstacles that stand in their way, they give up on achieving their goals in all. During this time period, many gender inequalities are occurring, and women are often brushed-aside by society and more often than not, are not given nearly any of the same opportunities as the men are given. The women in this society know that despite the degree of any effort put forward to

Life Without Gravity Free Essays

The minute I woke up this morning I knew something felt strange. It was as if I was seventy pounds lighter! I felt as though there was nothing holding me down. When I opened my eyes and started to move, I realized I was not even lying on my bed. We will write a custom essay sample on Life Without Gravity or any similar topic only for you Order Now It seemed like I was floating. Immediately, I thought about being in space, and if this wasn’t just a dream how fun it would be! I thought too soon and it actually turned out to be a really bad day. Getting up was a struggle. There was nothing holding me down to the floor so I tried to swim. It didn’t work. The worst part is, with such a small amounts of gravity in the world, nothing stayed where it was. The furniture started to float and moving was nearly impossible. I struggled to get to the bathroom by kicking myself from wall to wall. When I grabbed my toothbrush out of the air, I turned the faucet and the water didn’t go out straight! It just started coming out slowly and floated up. I had to catch it in my mouth in order for it to work. I spit the water out and then realized what a terrible idea that was. There was dirty water floating through the air and I didn’t know what to do. Despite my teeth brushing complications, I was still optimistic and excited to see how the day went. I was convinced that it would be just like one of the cartoons where it was loads of fun to live with less gravity. I managed to get myself dressed, out the door and into my car. The thing is, my car was levitating above the ground! It was very inconvenient. After the long difficult two mile moon leap to school, I went straight to Mr. Sutton’s Physics class to ask him if he had any idea what was going on. When I walked in however, I found my entire class there wondering the same thing. The only problem was, Mr. Sutton was nowhere to be found. We used the black phone connected to the wall to call down the office and see if they knew where our teacher was. I was on the phone for what seemed like 200 rings when finally somebody picked up. The man had a deep voice and he knew my name. He said, â€Å"Jody, I want you to listen to me very carefully. I have Mr. Sutton and there is no way that any of you can defeat me. However, if you want him back, you must go to the ISS room immediately. † I hung up the phone and quickly explained o my classmates what the man with the deep voice said. We knew we had to do something and we knew we had to do it fast. We floated down the stairs and made it to the ISS room to find Mr. Sutton tied to a pole and a man standing there firmly on the ground holding a remote control. A brave student named Bob said, â€Å"Who are you and what have you done?! Have you caused this strange gravitational mishap? † The man looked at us and laughed. He said in a mocking tone, â€Å"I am the evil Dr. Evil. I made a device to reduce gravity because as a young boy I never won anything. I wanted to win a race and I realized that if I reduced gravity for everybody other than myself, then I could win. I plan to join the Olympics and while all the other runners struggle to moon leap their way to the finish, I will have the full force of gravity helping me stay on the ground. I will win and nobody can do anything about it. † While the evil Dr. Evil was explaining all of this to us, I managed to float my way over to Mr. Sutton and he told me to use a rope to get the man. I took a rope off of the ground and pushed myself against a wall. I used sign language to my friend across the room and slipped her the other end of the rope. We both pushed off the wall at the same time and knocked Dr. Evil to the floor by tripping him. Everyone in our class managed to grab onto him and we took the remote control away. We clicked the big red button that said OFF and gravity returned to us. Everyone cheered and we called the police. Mr. Sutton was free and we had gravity. Our period 4 honors physics class was given the Nobel Peace Prize and Obama himself declared us the Heroes of the Millennium. We were awesome. How to cite Life Without Gravity, Essays

Agile MIS Infrastructure - Characteristics of Agile MIS Infrastructure

Question: Discuss the characteristics of Agile MIS infrastructure? Answer: Introduction Agile MIS Infrastructure is the process of sharing the data and resources among the users within an organization. A firm is fully dependent on this infrastructure to deliver the goods and services to the customers. It optimizes the operations of the business process so that it raises the productivity and also increases the profitability of the firm. Agile MIS infrastructure supports the change in the business process. Characteristics of Agile MIS infrastructure 1. Accessibility: At the time of operating a system, it defines the accessing ability of the user and also their performing ability. The application is being accessed by the user. Sometimes the application is being accessed only by the administrator, thus there is some restriction of accessing it by any other user except the administrator department. 2. Availability: If the system is being operative all the times then the availability of the products will be high, but when it is not operating then it will be unavailable to the user and the transaction process cannot takes place. 3. Maintainability: The system is being maintained properly. System maintenance means the system can be quickly accessed by the user so that the user can easily do the transaction process. The system is to be maintained as per the business change which means the change in the customers needs and their requirements. 4. Portability: The system will be portable when the software is to be operated on different types of devices (computers, laptops, mobiles etc). 5. Reliability: It ensures if a system is being operated correctly or not. If it is operating correctly then it gives accurate information to the user. The accurate information means that the task will have no error and will be accessed easily. 6. Scalability: It increases the growth rate to meet the needs of the user. It means the ability of the system is to raise the size of the product such that the customers are satisfied with the service. 7. Usability: It means to understand the users needs. The system is to be designed in such a way so that it can be efficiently used and the user can easily learn the process of using it. (Zhang; Carroll; Baltzan) Amazaon.com is the online process of selling goods and services to the buyer. It sells DVDs, CDs, video games, furniture, jewellery etc to the buyer to obtain some profit from the buyer. Agile MIS infrastructures characteristics are applicable to Amazon.com as business. The following points show how the characteristics are applicable to it: 1. Accessibility: Amazon.com has access the personal information of the customer only for receiving the order, delivering the order and also for the transaction process. They are not disclosing the customers information in any third party website and are keeping this information secure. Amazon.com enables the privacy and security of their business as per their business policy. The whole business process is to be handled by the administrative. 2. Availability: When the buyer places an order, it shows the delivery date of the product. When the product is available, they have to pay the price of the specific product. After entering the details of the bank, the transaction is being processed. But if the product is out of stock then it shows that the product is not available, and requests to place the order. They promise to deliver the product when it is available, so it occurs after a certain period of time. They inform the buyer by e-mail if the product is available or not. 3. Maintainability: At first, Amazon.com maintains their application properly. They update new products and their respective prices. There are many competitors of Amazon.com, so to compete with their competitors they reduce the price of the products to increase the productivity. They satisfy their customer by giving best services like delivering the products in time, fulfilling the customers expectations and needs, giving good quality products. They have to update their products day-by-day according to the buyers needs. 4. Portability: The user uses the computer, PC to place any order through online. They are also using the mobile phones for buying and transaction process by downloading the apps in the mobile. 5. Reliability: At the time of buying and consuming the goods, the customer should focus if the site is giving the accurate information about the product, because inaccurate information should place the wrong order. 6. Scalability: Amazon.com focuses on the customers feedback. It increases their productivity by improving the size of the products, quality of the goods. Thus, it raises the growth rate. 7. Usability: com implements an easy technique to use their business process so that it should be easy handled by the customers for buying (Baltzan). Conclusion Agile MIS Infrastructure provides the information which should be used to obtain the organizational goals. The characteristics of Agile MIS Infrastructure are applicable to Amazon.com. They are updating the changes on time and also providing the accurate information to the user. It also increases the growth rate and profit. References Baltzan,. Business Driven Information Systems. 1st ed. The McGraw-Hill Companies, 2015. Web. 16 June 2015. Carroll, John David. 'INFO 210 Ch. 5'. Quizlet.com. N.p., 2015. Web. 16 June 2015. Zhang, Jie. '141.Lesson5.Chapter 5 - MIS Infrastructures'. prezi.com. N.p., 2015. Web. 16 June 2015.

Shays Rebellion Essays - Rebellions In The United States

Shay's Rebellion Critical Analysis Shays Rebellion 1) Shays' Rebellion, the post-Revolutionary clash between New England farmers and merchants that tested the precarious institutions of the new republic, threatened to plunge the disunited states into a civil war. The rebellion arose in Massachusetts in 1786, spread to other states, and culminated in an abortive attack on a federal arsenal. It wound down in 1787 with the election of a more popular governor, an economic upswing, and the creation of the Constitution of the United States in Philadelphia. Shay's Rebellion was the first armed uprising of the new nation. It was caused by the absence of debt relief legislation in Massachusetts. When the Revolution ended, merchants and creditors lobbied for high taxes and against paper money. They were successful. These procreditor polices underminded farmers' finances. The legislation, including foreclosure laws, were extremely taxing to farmers and caused many to go into great debt. Many farmers were dragged to court where they faced high legal fees and threats of imprisonment because of their debt. In 1786, farmers in Massachusetts attended extralegal meetings where they protested against high taxes and aggressive eastern creditors. Bands of angry farmers joined together to close law courts with force and freed debtors and fellow protesters from jail. Resistance to the legislation climbed to a full-scale revolt. John Adams, president at the time, answered with the Riot Act, which outlawed illegal assemblies. The rebellion was suppresse d by military force. The rebellion prompted leaders with national perspective to redouble their efforts and create a stronger central government. 2) Economic crisis: high taxes, mounting debt A series of tax revolts by Massachusetts farmers against the Massachusetts legislature in 1786-1787. After the Revolutionary War, the Massachusetts legislature imposed high taxes to pay war debts. Rural farmers could not pay their taxes and faced forfeiture of their farms. Resentment of the taxes increased to the point that the farmers began to break up court sessions to prevent judges from ruling that specific farms should be sold to pay tax bills. These minor acts of rebellion turned violent in January 1787 when Daniel Shays, a farmer and Revolutionary War veteran, led 1200 people into Springfield to seize weapons from a national government arsenal. Massachusetts State military troops quickly put down the rebellion, but the event shocked the nation at the time. Shays' Rebellion hinted that law and order were seriously breaking down across the new United States to the extent that the national government, under the Articles of Confederation, could not even protect its own arsenal. Shays' Rebellion kindled the people's desire to form stronger national government which could enforce law, keep order, and solve the problems facing the developing United States. 3)Yes, I feel that the arguments presented in this essay were very strong and well supported. There was a lot of information and facts, however, in my opinion that created a problem. The article was almost too informative and gave way to a boring paper. I disliked the presentation of information because of the lack of interest that was displayed. The whole thing seemed to drag-on. Although, I did like the way the text was structured because on the introduction that provided me with clarity of what was to come as well as the easy reading level. Both of those aspects did make the assignment easier to accomplish. 4) This essay relates to what we have been learning about in school lately because it links together several events that occurred after the Revolution. It demonstrates the post-war effects and without a central government. It provided insight into how the Revolution did not provide the outcome that most Americans were expecting and in many ways they were facing the same issues as before except without the king. Debt was forming and people were once again rebelling because of taxes. The article also talked about important people and leaders such as Daniel Shay, George Washington, Samuel Adams, Thomas Jefferson, John Hancock, and James Bowdoin. All of this information we have previously discussed in class and taken notes on. 5) This piece of writing is important for us as high school students to learn about because it is extremely informative. Alden T. Vaughan provides incredible insight and knowledge about this specific period in

Socio

Socio Introduction This assignment is a discussion on the topic of giftedness and talent development. The discussion explores the topic by defining giftedness and how it’s related to talent. It archives this through looking at the socio- affective characteristics and personalogical development of the gifted child, and how they interact to assist or hinder the development of talents by the gifted children.Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on Socio- Affective Characteristics and Personalogical Development of the Gifted Child specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More In the assignment therefore, the argument is that both socio- affective characteristics and personalogical development of the gifted child may have positive or negative effects on the gifted child, depending on how the parents, teachers and guardians respond to his or her needs. Those children, whose giftedness is properly nurtured, are able to develop the relevant ski lls and vice versa. The discussion is based on Francoys Gange’s model of giftedness as well as on various other readings. Discussion.  The Gifted Child Many scholars have for some time been grappling with the question of who really is a gifted child. Giftedness has usually been confused with talent, with some scholars like Joseph S. Renzulli, and Robert Sternberg using both giftedness and talent as synonyms (Rensuli, Smith, White, Callahan, Hartman, 1976). Some of the pioneers of the field of giftedness in education include Terman and Hollingworth. These two are believed to have been the first to notice the remarkable differences between the gifted individuals and the general population (Hollingworth, 1926). After the pioneer work by the above scholars in mid 1920s, other scholars like Tannenbaum Witty, Benbow and Stanely took the discussion on the topic a notch higher by establishing the differences between the gifted individuals and the general population in terms of apt itudes, temperament, family backgrounds and ability levels (Witty, 1930) and (Benbow Stanley, 1983). In recent years after the works of these scholars, psychologists developed some scales to measure and rate these characteristics in an attempt to quantify the most prominent behavioural indicators of giftedness.Advertising Looking for essay on psychology? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More As recent as 2000, Francoys Gange developed what was referred to as Differentiated Model of Giftedness and Talent (DMGT) which is also referred to as the developmental theory. In the theory, Francoys Gange argues that giftedness is a pre-requisite of talent development and therefore a person may not become talented without being gifted in the first place. However, according to him, a person may just retain his or her giftedness without developing a talent but the reverse is not true (Gange, n.d). In DMGT, giftedness is simply defined a s a natural ability which is not necessarily innate, but has some genetic linkages. However, scholars are yet to unravel the mystery of the linkage of giftedness to genetics. Giftedness may also refer to an above average intellectual ability among the peers as well as a high cognitive ability than that of the peers. Talent on the other hand is defined as skills, competencies and expertise acquired through the process of learning. Talent may or may not emanate from giftedness; with talent emanating from giftedness being more versatile than the one emanating from normal learning. Talent may also refer to various forms of excellence like in technology, sports or arts. In the words of Francoys Gange giftedness and talent may be differentiated as follows; ‘GIFTEDNESS designates the possession and use of outstanding natural abilities, called aptitudes, in at least one ability domain, to a degree that places an individual at least among the top 10% of age peers’ (Gange, 2005. pp. 98-119). ‘TALENT designates the outstanding mastery of systematically developed abilities, called competencies(knowledge and skills), in at least one field of human activity to a degree that places an individual at least among the top 10% of age peers who are or have been active in that field’ (Gange, 2005. pp. 98-119).Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on Socio- Affective Characteristics and Personalogical Development of the Gifted Child specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Francoys Gange goes ahead to conclude that as, I quote, ‘talent development corresponds to the progressive transformation of gifts into talents. According to the DMGT theory, talent development constitutes of five components namely gift, talent, talent development, intrapersonal and the environment catalysts designated as G, T, D,I and E respectively. The interaction of these five components may either assist or hinder the transfor mation of giftedness into talent(s). In the following section, I will discuss in brief these five components of talent development (Gange, 1998. pp.87–95). Components of Talent Development The gift (G) component This component constitutes of other six sub components namely the creative (GC), intellectual (GI), social (GS), perceptual (GP), motor control reflexes (GR) and muscular (GM) abilities. According to Francoys Gange, these natural abilities may be observed in children as they perform various tasks like understanding mathematical concepts, reading and learning a foreign language, speaking, composing a song or a poem, writing a story, social abilities in interactions as well as physical and perceptual abilities like dancing, doing crafts and sculpture work (Gange, 2003.pp.60-74). Francoys Gange argues that these gifts manifest themselves in young children mainly because at that age, systematic learning is usually absent. It therefore follows that the more the children ar e exposed to systematic learning, the more these gifts are transformed into various talents during adulthood (Van Tassel- Baska, 1983. pp.139-144). The Talents (T) Component The World-of-Work classification of occupations classifies talents into nine sub-components, six of which are based on John Hollands well-known Realistic, Investigative, Artistic, Social, Enterprising, and Conventional (RIASEC) classification of personality, with the other three namely games, academic (K-12) subjects, and sports serving as complements of the other six in RIASEC. In DMGT, most of these talents are easily measured using various scales like exams, standardized achievements as well as various assessments in various occupations and fields of excellence. In the DMGT model, there is no room for elitism, which attributes talent development on learning, education and qualifications, but rather, a presence of giftedness and talents in many individuals in the general population (Sternberg, 2004. pp.79-95). Advertising Looking for essay on psychology? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More The Talent Development Process (D) Component This process is believed to begin as soon as an individual, either a child, an adult or an adolescent enters a systematic talent oriented development program mostly through the process of identification. This component is composed of other the sub- components namely progress (DP), activities (DA), and investment (DI). The main components of talent development activities include the curriculum offered in a specific format (DAF) and specific content (DAC). The learning environment or format may either be structured, for example in school or unstructured, also known as autodidactic learning. In the DMGT model, the development of a talent takes place in a gradual and progressive manner, moving from novice, advanced, proficient and expert (Colangelo Davis, 2003). During this process, which is mostly a longitudinal one, the teacher or coach is able to note the peak of the talentee during various activities or occasions like death of a loved on e, manifestation of love and excellent performance in various fields by the talentee which becomes outstanding and unique. Talentees may also be unique in the manner in which they spend their money, time and psychological energies, with most of them recording outstanding and unique approaches to these issues (Gange, 1999.pp.109-136). Intrapersonal (I) component This component is also referred to as the intrapersonal catalyst and constitutes of two other sub-components namely the physical and mental traits and the goal oriented process. The physical traits include things like race, ethnicity and chronic illness while the mental traits include things like personality and temperament. These traits, both physical and mental may positively or negatively impact on the individual’s ability to develop talents from natural giftedness (Heller Kurt, 2000.pp.67-79). The goal oriented process constitutes of three other sub-components namely motivation (IM), awareness (IW), and volition ( IV). Awareness of their personal strengths and weaknesses enables the talentees to adequately plan the development of goal identification activities. The talentees are also motivated by the achievement of some goals, which makes them specialize on such areas thus developing specific talents. Failure in some areas leads to less interest and lowered motivation in those fields, thus a low probability in developing talents in those areas (Gross, 2004). The Environmental (E) component This component is also referred to as environmental catalyst and constitutes of three other sub-components namely the individuals (EI), milieu (EM), and provisions (EP). EI sub-component constitutes the talentees’ social environment, and more so, the influence of the significant others like siblings, parents, teachers, public figures, mentors, and trainers as well as peers on the taletees. The actions of these significant others may influence the talent development by the gifted individuals either po sitively or negatively (Gange, 2003.pp.60-74). The EM constitutes of physical, social and economic environments in which the gifted individual find himself or herself in. Physical environment may include things like climate and the nature of the neighbourhood which may be either a rural or an urban setting. The social environment may involve things like the social and cultural environment of the general population in the place where the gifted child grows in while the economic aspect may include things like the financial status of the parents and family of the gifted child (Gange, 2003.pp.60-74). EP sub-component constitutes the talent development programs and services and is sub-divided into two sub-categories namely administration and enrichment , with enrichment referring to some specific talent development curriculum while administrative provision referring to the part time or full time grouping, grade skipping, early enrolment in schools as well as the advanced placement progra ms (Gange, 2003.pp.60-74). Chance Apart from these five components of the development process, psychologists have identified another component referred to as chance and the role it plays in the development process. According to Francoys Gange, chance ‘represents the degree of control that talentees have over environmental influences’. According to John William Atkinson, chance becomes relevant in the DMGT model in that we are not able to control the backgrounds in which we are born as well as our genetic make-up, yet, these two greatly influence the G and I components in the DMGT model. Chance therefore plays an important role in talent development because giftedness is influenced by genetic makeup, as well as the social, cultural, physical and economic backgrounds in which we find ourselves in (Gange, 2003.pp.60-74). After discussing the talent development process, I will now turn to the socio- affective characteristics and personalogical development of the gifted chil dren and how they influence their talent development. I would like to mention at the outset that giftedness is a natural ability, which may positively or negatively affect the gifted individual depending on the environment in which he or she grows in (Gange, 2003.pp.60-74). Many scholars in gifted education have argued that gifted children have special needs, which must be addressed so as to enable their natural abilities to be transformed into useful talents, as well as mitigate any negative effects of their giftedness. Many countries, led by the United States seem to have recognized the needs of the gifted children, and have thus established specialized schools and training for the gifted children with a view of nurturing their natural abilities so as to transform them into very useful talents. These countries also believe that there are many gifted children and if well nurtured, their natural abilities may be transformed into excellent talents which may put them well ahead of oth er countries in various fields like technology, commerce, sports and the fight against crime (Mills Jackson, 1990. pp. 410-422). Before discussing the characteristics, I would like to point out some of the issues which must be born in mind when discussing these characteristics. One of them is that it is not all gifted children who will portray these characteristics, meaning that some will exhibit specific characteristics but not others. It is also important to bear in mind that these characteristics are developmental, meaning that some children may show them as early as during childhood while others may show them during later stages of development. Also important to note is that some of these characteristics only appear when the gifted children are engaged in an aptitude or some areas of interest (McMillen, Eckert Little, n.d). The Characteristics of Gifted Children and How They Assist or Hinder Talent Development Preference of independent work Many gifted children prefer working alone in many activities, even those which require partnership with other children. This may be attributed to their ability to manage their issues properly without any assistance. It shows their exceptional ability to come up with appropriate solutions to problems or challenges as well as their ability to think abstractly, so as to come up with solutions to many challenges which may need group efforts to solve (Neither,Reis,Robinson Moon, 2002). This characteristic may affect the child in a positive manner in that if the child is assisted and guided by a mentor or instructor, he or she becomes motivated to come up with solutions to his or her personal problems, thus becoming an independent minded person. Such nurturance may also lead to enhanced creativity, which is a pre-requisite of innovation. When they are left to work in groups, this may inhibit their ability to think independently and come up with new and independent ideas. It may also inhibit their reasoning by the fear of a ppearing too exceptional among their peers (Silverman, 1993). If gifted children are not properly nurtured, they may develop antisocial behaviour, which may lead to their isolation by their peers. This is because their ability to develop and carry on with the unique behaviour of working alone may lower their self-esteem through perceiving themselves as abnormal instead of exceptional to others. There is therefore the need for care givers to motivate the gifted children to be more independent by informing them that they are not being deviant, but rather, are doing very constructive and important work for themselves and the society at large (Cox, Daniel Boston, 1985). Multiple interests Gifted children are unique in that they are able to have multiple interests at the same time unlike the other children who usually have their interests in a prioritized manner. This is attributed to their high cognitive abilities, which enables them to have the energy to pursue and concentrate in seve ral areas of interest at the same time. In situations where the gifted children are given the opportunity to explore various aspects of life, they are able to develop and master multiple talents. On the other hand, the lack of enabling environment for exploration may lead to frustration of the children, which may in turn lead to slowed development in their various aspects of life. Emotional intensity Usually, children are not supposed to have emotions like love, grieve or embarrassment. In contrast, gifted children portray emotional intensity at very early ages in life. They are able to have emotional feelings triggered by death or the absence of something which they adore. Their emotional sensitivity makes them suitable for theatre activities which is itself a talent. However, if other children realize that they are overly sensitive to various emotions, this may become a problem because the other children, out of ignorance would often disturb the gifted children by evoking such emo tions in them, which may hinder the development of the respective talents in them due to lack of the enabling environment to do so. Perfectionism Many gifted children are overly concerned about being perfect in everything instead of being excellent. They like to be perfect in academics, social life as well as in their decision making. They feel very angry when they make a mistake no matter how slight it might be. This tendency may be a resource especially because it makes the child work hard so as to be perfect. This may result in his or her excellence in various fields which in turn develops into various skills and talents. However, perfectionism may lead to anxiety and fear of failing to accomplish what they want in the way they want it. This may in turn lead to developmental challenges among the gifted children in that it leads to a feeling of guilt, which interferes with their maximum development. The gifted children therefore need to be nurtured and made to understand that whil e it is a virtue to work hard, it is good to understand that it is unrealistic for them to be perfect in everything they do, and therefore, the goal of being perfect should be replaced with the goal of achieving excellence. This can go to great lengths in transforming their hard work into useful talents in their areas of interests. Altruism and idealism Gifted children have strong passion in helping and working for others at early ages in life. They are very interested in helping their parents and friends as well as peers. They also like doing volunteer work in hospitals or in various humanitarian organizations or initiatives. This rather puzzling passion forms a basis for a career in various humanitarian fields like advocacy, charity work, philanthropy and diplomacy. However, if the goals of the parents and significant others are not compatible with those of the gifted child; they may not be collaborative and supportive to the child. Similarly, in social cultural environments which do not embrace altruism and idealism, the child may inhibit such a talent and may as well develop the opposite, thus becoming rebellious, cruel and in extreme cases, a sadist. Good sense of humour Many gifted children are able to play around with their social environment, using words, gestures or actions which transform a painful or tense situation to a friendly and humorous one, thus defusing any tension either within themselves or in others. This ability comes from their natural ability to understand various situations and their opposites, thus able to construct jokes, talks and actions which echo the painful or harmful situation, but in an opposite or less painful or harmful version. This ability, if well nurtured, especially in environment which encourages theatre and comic satires may help the gifted children excel in theatre work. However, if the socio cultural environment does not embrace humour, the child may not develop this particular talent. The other negative side of a good sense of humour is that it can sometimes lead to more developmental problems, especially if the child uses it to cover up his or her developmental challenges or weird personality traits. This is because the weird personality traits or developmental challenges are camouflaged, and continues to build up without being discovered as early as possible, so that the necessary steps are taken to deal with it. Strong attachments and commitments Many gifted children usually form more intense friendships and attachments to people who are order than them than with their peers. This may be attributed mainly to their natural ability to emulate others and excel in various fields or areas of interest. They are also overly committed to their work, more so during adulthood. This characteristic is useful for them, especially if they grow in environments which value mentorship of young children by their older counter parts. If assisted to attach themselves to people who are respectable and who hav e excelled in career or in some talents, the gifted children may develop good talents at their adulthood. However, in environments where there are few or no good role models to emulate, gifted children may end up emulating or attaching themselves to people with poor and undesirable characteristics, thus acquiring and perfecting bad behaviours, morals and values. The power of concentration Many gifted children display an exceptional ability to concentrate and an ability to deal with a specific problem for a long time than their peers. If they are given an ample time to concentrate without inference, they are able to excel in that specific field(s), be it science, mathematics or technology, which may form a strong foundation for their future career in those areas of interest. However, if disrupted or denied the time to learn how to concentrate at early age, this may hinder their later excellence in these areas of interests. Ability to generate original ideas The gifted child is able t o come up with original ideas, which are free from any external influence either alone or in partnership with others. The ideas may be in one field, like in technology or in multiple areas, like in technology, mathematics or social studies. This ability is useful in that it may lead to the specialization of the child in a single or multiple fields. However, there is the need for the parents, teachers and siblings to support the child psychologically so as to reinforce the ability to generate these ideas. If the gifted child grows in an environment where nobody seems to recognize his or her ability, this may compromise his or her abilities to excel in these areas of interests in future life. Conclusion In conclusion, this discussion has explored the topic of giftedness and talent. It has emerged that giftedness leads to the development of various talents. The talent development process has also been discussed whereby it has emerged that it is composed of five main components namely g iftedness, talent, talent development process, intrapersonal and environmental catalysts. Various characteristics of giftedness have also been discussed and how they interact with the socio cultural environment to either assist or hinder the development of talents by gifted children. What has emerged in all the characteristics is that giftedness is not a guarantee of talent development, but rather, it can lead to the acquisition of good or bad talents depending on the manner in which the gifted child is brought up and whether giftedness is nurtured so as to develop into the respective talent(s). If gifted children are left alone without guidance and nurturance, their natural abilities may be reduced to burdens to themselves or to the society, but if they are properly nurtured, such natural abilities may be tapped and transformed into useful skills and talents, which can help many countries in their development. It is for these reasons that many countries have established specialized schools and trainings for gifted children, so as to identify various natural abilities at the very early ages, and nurture them into useful talents through giving the gifted children the necessary motivation and setting the necessary learning environment for them to fully develop such talents. However, research is still going on in order to identify relationship between genetics and giftedness so as to adequately understand the needs of the gifted children in order to reap the maximum talents from them (Terman,1925). References Benbow , C.P Stanley J.(1983). Academic precocity. Baltimore, MD: John Hopkins University Press. Colangelo,N Davis, G.A.(2003).Handbook of gifted education (3rd Ed.). Baltimore, MD: Allyn and Bacon. Cox, J., Daniel, N., Boston, B.O. (1985).Education Able Leaners. Programs and learning practices. Austin: University of Texas Press. Gange, F. (1998). A proposal for subcategories within the gifted or talented populations. Gifted Child Quarterly, 42, pp.87â€⠀œ95. Gange, F. (1999). My Convictions about the Nature of Abilities, Gifts, and Talents. Journal for the Education of the Gifted, Vol. 22, No. 2, 1999, pp. 109-136. Gange, F. (2003). Transforming gifts into talents: The DMGT as a developmental theory. In N. Colangelo G. A. Davis(Eds.), Handbook of gifted education (3rd Ed.), pp. 60-74. Boston: Allyn and Bacon. Gange, F. (2005). From gifts to talents: The DMGT as a developmental model. In R. J. Sternberg and J. E. Davidson (Eds.), Conceptions of giftedness (2nd Ed.), pp. 98-119. New York: Cambridge University Press. Gange, F. (n.d). The differentiated model of giftedness and talent (DMGT). In J. S. Renzulli, E. J. Gubbins, K. Gross,M.U.M.(2004). Exceptionally gifted children (2nd Ed.) New York, NY: Routledge. Heller Kurt. (2000). (ed.): International Handbook of Giftedness and Talent (2nd Ed). Oxford: Elsevier Science Ltd, pp. 67-79. Hollingworth, l. (1926).Gifted Children. New York: World Press. McMillen, R. D., Eckert, Little. C. A. (n.d). (Eds.). Systems and models for developing programs for the gifted and talented (2nd Ed.). Mansfield Centre, CT: Creative Learning Press. Mills ,J.R Jackson, N.E.(1990).Predictive Significance of Early Giftedness. The Case of Precocious Reading.Journal of educational psychology, 83(2), pp.410-422. Neither,M.,Reis,S.M.,Robinson,N.M Moon,S.M.(2002).The social and emotional development of gifted children ;What do we know ?Waco, Washington D.C.: American Psychological Association. Rensuli, J.S., Smith, L.H., White, A.J., Callahan, C.M Hartman, R.K.(1976).Scales For The Rating of Behavioural Characteristics of superior students. Mansfield centre CT: Creative learning press. Silverman,L.K.(1993). Counselling the gifted and talented.Denver: Love publishing Sternberg, R. J.(2004) (ed.): Definitions and Conceptions of Giftedness. Thousand Oaks:Corwin Press,pp. 79-95. Terman L. (1925).Genetics Studies of Genius (Vol. 1).Stanford CA: Stanford University Press. Van Tassel- Baska, J. (1983). The 1982 Midwest talent search finalists. Gifted child quarterly 27(3) 139-144. Witty, P. (1930). A study of one hundred gifted children. Lawrence, KS: Bureau of school service and research.

German Influence in Mexican Music

German Influence in Mexican Music Could an instrumental German polka band piece, or what seems to be one, may in fact not be a German song at all but a Mexican one? Wait for the words...Yes it could! The music you hear is a Mexican polka style of music known as norteà ±o. Mexican Music Style Influenced by Germans Music from the northern part of Mexico, norteà ±o, meaning  northern, or  mà ºsica norteà ±a, northern music, was influenced by German settlers in Texas around 1830. It is no coincidence that some types of Mexican music have the German polka oom-pah-pah influence. Migration Phenomenon There was a large migration of Germans to southern Texas from the 1830s to the 1840s. According to the Texas State Historical Association, the largest ethnic group in Texas born in Europe or whose parents came from Europe hailed from Germany. By 1850, Germans made up more than 5 percent of the entire population of Texas. This part of Texas  became known as the German Belt. At that time, as it is now, the Rà ­o Grande marked a political and geographical divide more than a cultural one. The musical style and even the instruments of the German immigrants were adopted and became popular among those of Mexican heritage. One of the most influential musical instruments of the Germans musical style, the accordion, became especially popular and was frequently used in dance music such as waltzes and polkas. Modernization of Norteà ±o The popularity of norteà ±o  among Mexican-Americans spread in the 1950s and overlapped with popular American styles of rock and roll and swing. This overlapping of musical styles became known as tejano, literally the Spanish word for Texan, or more appropriately, Tex-Mex, a blending of the two cultures. A conjunto norteà ±o, or norteà ±o  ensemble, features the accordion along with the bajo sexto, which is a Mexican instrument similar to a 12-string guitar. Over time, norteà ±o  mixed with other music styles to form unique Mexican music styles, including  quebradita, which is a style that is heavy on the horns, banda, a  style  similar to the polka, and  ranchera, a traditional Mexican music genre. Influence on Mariachi  and Mainstream Music The norteà ±o  musical style influenced music from other regions of Mexico, such as what is probably the most widely-recognizable form of Mexican music, the mariachi music from the Guadalajara region. Norteà ±o or  tejano-style music is nearly always performed in Spanish, even by Mexican-Americans who speak primarily English. For example, native Texan and Spanish-English crossover artist Selena sang in Spanish before she could properly speak Spanish. For Selena, later known as the Queen of Tejano Music, the competition was less fierce in the Mexican music market compared to the American music market. She rode  the Mexican music market to fame and ranks as one of the most influential Latin musicians of all time. The norteà ±o or  tejano-style genre in the United States is often erroneously viewed as synonymous with Hispanic music, but it is just a type of Spanish-language music and represents only one genre of Mexican music. Mexican music is incredibly diverse and Spanish-language music is even more diverse, spanning many continents and representing different nationalities around the world.

Economy of Hong Kong Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2750 words

Economy of Hong Kong - Research Paper Example Hong Kong has played a crucial role not only in Asia’s economic system but also linked to the western. British successfully prospered Hong Kong’s economy and several impacts has brought into through this development which could be said as a path to Hong Kong’s Modernization. The role of Opium War in Hong Kong’s economic development During the start of the 19th century, Hong Kong did not show any indication that it would later become a world trade center in Asia. The country was way beyond in terms of economic development. Unlike today, China was not interested into foreign trade so Hong Kong dwelled mostly on farming and fishing. This did not last until British ocean-going ships discovered Hong Kong as useful for â€Å"unloading and loading cargo to be barged up the Pearl River to Canton† (Liu). During that time, there was a trade imbalance between the western countries and china because china had more to offer than it needed in return. Because of the on-going trade imbalance, the British had to think of ways to prevent it. One of the solutions that they thought of is to illegally import opium to China. Opium was used for medicinal purposes in China toward the end of the 15th century (Tho’Mas). It was used to cure dysentery, cholera, and other diseases. However, it was in 1729 when the Chinese imperial government had found out of the detrimental effects of opium smoking. The opium sale had been banned since 1729 and its importation had been illegal until 1820 (Liu). The British saw this as an opportunity to offset the trade imbalance. According to Liu, the illegal opium trade thrived in Canton where they imported 40,000 chests of opium to China annually. The British and the US have made a good fortune in this illegal trade. "This illicit massive transfer of wealth from China, one of the world's richest and largest economies at the time, played a key role in financing the economic development of Europe and North America in the 1800s." (Liu) As the British continue the opium trade, the Qing dynasty ordered to stop the Opium trade by assigning troops in Canton and demanded that the British troops turn over their opium contraband. More than 20,000 chests of opium were surrendered by the British after six weeks (Liu). This happening encouraged British traders to occupy since

Forcasting Stratigy for Power Tool Industry Essay

Forcasting Stratigy for Power Tool Industry - Essay Example The strategies of the company to drive themselves in to future success are; Innovation, Structural Cost Improvements, Cash Generation and Stewardship of Capital. The 'Innovation to end-users' was the critical strategy for this company. The company's 'new-product machine' was the innovative solution of the company which enabled them to achieve extremely loyal end-users as well as benefited their distribution partners to serve a broad range of channels. The company's product vitality index remains above 35 percent. While reducing costs of manufacturing and selling and general administration costs filled the cost improvement and cash generation strategies, the acquiring of Vector products Inc manufacturing consumer power portable products and the buyback of the shares represented their strategy of stewardship of capital. (Black & Decker 2006 Annual Report) This company places its strength on the industry leadership in battery and charger technology with its LXT Lithium-Ion battery and charger system. The first cordless drill was introduced by the company nearly 30 years ago. Manufacturing innovative cordless tools with designs to allow the users all the convenience cordless offers without sacrificing the power or efficiency of a corded tool is the key strategy for this company. The advancement achieved in motor technology is also another key strength. (Makita web site) 2.3 Bosch: With over 1000 different products this company offers a broad product range catering to the building trade, industry and do-it-yourselfers. Wide product range is the key strength of this company. The company has also made its presence felt in the cordless power tools with its products like cordless screw drivers, piercing saws and hammer drills. The long-term strategy of Bosch is to generate approximately half of their sales in the Americas and Asia and the other half in the European market. Diversification is the central theme of the strategic objective of Bosch to make the company less vulnerable to fluctuations in individual industries. (Bosch Home Page) 2.4 Porter Cable The key strength of Porter cable is their range of products which meets different range of customers. They manufacture tools for every customer; new home construction to building maintenance and from farms to major wood-working. Similarly they supply to all classes of customers from professionals to casual weekenders. Power, agility, responsiveness and perfect performance is at the root of the porter cable's product strength. With a view to take the strategic advantage of marketing, Pentair Inc the owner of Porter Cable tools had agreed to sell all its tools brands to Black & Decker. (Porter Cable Home page) 3.0 Developing a Strategic Forecasting for Able Corporation: There can be no strategic planning without forecasting. The ultimate objective of strategic planning is to determine what the company should be in the future; what markets to compete in, with what products, to be successful and grow. To answer these

Racial disparity Essay Example for Free

Racial disparity Essay Prevalence of racial disparity in the criminal justice system is most troubling and critical problem for criminal justice executives as it directly affects the people. The safety and liberty of American people depend on integrity of American justice system but racial discrimination in the criminal justice system impairs this integrity, which in turn harms American people directly. So this is the most critical dilemma facing the criminal justice system managers at present. The causes of this racial discrimination are both subtle and intricate and are not easy to locate. However it is obvious that fault does not lie with American criminal laws but these are implemented in a manner that is substantially and pervasively biased. Certain factors external to American criminal laws like personal discretion, natural proclivity and mental approach of the people that responsible to implement these laws, also collaborate rendering distortion of these laws. This institutional materialization of racial discrimination in the justice system is the most critical people predicament facing mangers of American criminal justice system. Although certain legal reform has been suggested by various sector but past history manifests that criminal justice manager cannot simply legislate to put an end to this problem. Some concrete measure should be undertaken by criminal justice manager to solve this problem rather than redefining criminal justice system.

Lord Of The Flies: Can Someone Be Innately Evil Or Innately Good? :: essays research papers

The difference in the way humans perceive things is part of the complexity of mankind. What is thought of as evil to one person can be seen as good to another, and vice versa. The issue of good and evil is brought up in William Golding’s Lord of the Flies, when innocent boys are set on an island to bear the weight of society on their backs. What happens to them? How do past influences effect them? Are their actions good or evil? The actions of the boys were not a matter of being good or evil, but were actions for survival. A man’s environment does not influence him towards good or evil, nor is he born with it inside. Man has instincts and inner drives that are not matters of good and evil, but of survival.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Humans are always, by natural instinct, going to do what is best for them and their survival. Animals, much like men, kill when in need. For instance, when they feel they are backed into a corner, they will attack, and when they need food, they will kill to eat. In Lord of the Flies, Ralph was being hunted by Jack’s tribe, and in a desperate attempt in his defense, he thrust his spear through a crack at the inspecting savages. Ralph attacked someone of his own kind for his own survival. It can be believed that man is the derivative of others animals, and as such, they have certain instincts that were instilled from birth. The boys on the island later began to resemble the behavior of animals. â€Å"At once the crowd surged after it, poured down the rock, leapt on to the beast, screamed, struck, bit, tore. There were no words, and no movements but the tearing of teeth and claws† (153). William Golding’s description of this scene leads a reader to believe that these boys took on animal like qualities. What kind of human tears with teeth and claws? The boys mistake Simon for their beast and result in ruthlessly killing him. In their state of mind of savagery and hunting, they saw themselves in danger of this â€Å"beast† and their first instinct was to kill anything in sight that had the possibility of being it. Humans and animals have a natural instinct to protect themselves in the face of danger, like attacking when backed into a corner. Lord Of The Flies: Can Someone Be Innately Evil Or Innately Good? :: essays research papers The difference in the way humans perceive things is part of the complexity of mankind. What is thought of as evil to one person can be seen as good to another, and vice versa. The issue of good and evil is brought up in William Golding’s Lord of the Flies, when innocent boys are set on an island to bear the weight of society on their backs. What happens to them? How do past influences effect them? Are their actions good or evil? The actions of the boys were not a matter of being good or evil, but were actions for survival. A man’s environment does not influence him towards good or evil, nor is he born with it inside. Man has instincts and inner drives that are not matters of good and evil, but of survival.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Humans are always, by natural instinct, going to do what is best for them and their survival. Animals, much like men, kill when in need. For instance, when they feel they are backed into a corner, they will attack, and when they need food, they will kill to eat. In Lord of the Flies, Ralph was being hunted by Jack’s tribe, and in a desperate attempt in his defense, he thrust his spear through a crack at the inspecting savages. Ralph attacked someone of his own kind for his own survival. It can be believed that man is the derivative of others animals, and as such, they have certain instincts that were instilled from birth. The boys on the island later began to resemble the behavior of animals. â€Å"At once the crowd surged after it, poured down the rock, leapt on to the beast, screamed, struck, bit, tore. There were no words, and no movements but the tearing of teeth and claws† (153). William Golding’s description of this scene leads a reader to believe that these boys took on animal like qualities. What kind of human tears with teeth and claws? The boys mistake Simon for their beast and result in ruthlessly killing him. In their state of mind of savagery and hunting, they saw themselves in danger of this â€Å"beast† and their first instinct was to kill anything in sight that had the possibility of being it. Humans and animals have a natural instinct to protect themselves in the face of danger, like attacking when backed into a corner.

Othello Act 5, Scene 2 Lines #338-356 Essay

Within Act 5, Scene 2 of the Shakespearian play Othello, Lodovico tells Othello he is to lose command and Cassio will become the governor of Cyrpus instead. Subsequently, Othello is to be held prison and will await trial. It is from this point in the play that Othello protests his great service to Venice. From lines 338 to 356, Othello states his final speech before ultimately taking his own life. Here, Othello expresses his grief over what he has done feeling a strong sense of sin in his actions. His ego is still intact however as he mentions that he has done a great deed to the state despite the overshadowing for his act. Othello reaffirms his position as a figure who is simultaneously included and excluded from Venetian Society. Apparent in his final statement, he uses contradictions to explain his mental state before and after the manipulation of Iago. Another aspect revealed is the extent to which his sins have affected him and how he longs for the battles that helped him woo Desdemona’s love through his heroic stories. Despite having done his services to the state, he reveals his foolishness as someone who existed within and outside Venetian society giving rise to a series of contradictions. In line 342, he asks others to speak of him as he truly is being, â€Å"nothing extenuate, Nor set down aught in malice. † The first contradictory sentence reveals that he does not wish for his guilt to be lessened as suggested by the diction â€Å"extenuate. † Nor does he want be considered evil which he would feel ashamed for as Iago is the real villain in the play. Othello reveals in the next line that he has â€Å"loved not wisely, but too well† indicating that he was unable to convey the same amount of affection back to Desdemona as she had done to him. Othello’s love for Desdemona reveals a sensitive part of Othello despite his military background. It was Othello’s love for Desdemona, however, that acted as a catalyst to which Iago manipulated and used to his advantage. In the next contradictory statement, Othello states that he was â€Å"not easily jealous, but, being wrought. † Othello is referring to his previous assessment of Desdemona’s relation with Cassio where he told Iago that he had nothing to fear and thus would not become jealous. However, the audience knows that this is no longer the situation as the â€Å"honest† Iago made Othello into a pawn of a greater game. Othello comments on his how he won the affection of Desdemona enchanting her through his heroic tales. Othello mentions the â€Å"Arabian trees Their medicinal gum† and â€Å"Aleppo† which were elements in his heroic tale. He cherishes his memories of when he spoke of such places to Desdemona further emphasizing his love for her. It is evident that no medicine in the world can cure him of his agony and torture referring to the medicinal properties of the â€Å"Arabian Trees. † However, the burden of his sins become overwhelming referring to a â€Å"base Judean, threw a pearl away. † This quotation suggests that he has angered the heavens and makes a religious reference to the betrayal of sacrifice of Jesus. Similar to the betrayel of Jesus, he has betrayed Desdemona’s pure qualities and love. There is irony involved because he killed Desdemona who had the qualities of a Saint who was always willing to forgive Othello for his actions. This trait was emphasized previously in the play where Desdemona wished for the heavens to forgive Othello and send him to Purgatory rather than hell so that he may repent for his sins. Despite Othello’s pains and cries, he briefly manages to calm himself thus regaining his dignity that gave rise to his higher state of power in Venice. This indicates that his ego is still intact and has not been completely shattered as he works the persistence reveal his innermost feelings of being an outsider. He mentions â€Å"Aleppo† which is translated as a significant staging post for trade between Europe and the East where it was said that the punishment there should a Christian strike a Turk was immediate death. Othello make this reference because he feels that he has been an outcast of Venetian society despite his title. He feel that he has been struck to death in comparison to Christian who struck a Turk. Considering the severity of the punishment, it is evident that this is not small matter, but rather a serious one with racial discrimination. While in the act of killing himself, he alludes to the metaphor of the killing of a Turk. He acknowledges that he will forever be an outsider. In summation, Othello’s final remark has allowed him to personally reflect his actions and to reveal to the audience his remorseful feelings. While establishing the difference between one who was included and exclude in Venetian society, he makes his final act of martyrdom. The only opponent left for him to conquer becomes himself.

Miss Carolines First Day Essay

I walked into the classroom to see all my new pupils, I was nervous at first but then Miss Maudie introduced me to the class and everything was fine. I wrote my name on the board and told them what it said and where I am from. The class just murmured back to me. I started the day by reading the children a story about cats, I think they liked it but then again some of them did seem immune to imaginative literature. After reading I went to the blackboard and printed the alphabet in large capitals. I wasn’t surprised that everyone knew what they were seeing as most of the first grade had failed last year and where now back again for me to teach them. I choose Jean Louise Finch to read out the first line, when I discovered she could read. I then made her read My First Reader and the stock-market quotations from The Mobile Register aloud. I was shocked that Jean was literate but I told her not to tell her father not to teach her anymore as it would interfere with her reading. Jean then replied to me trying to tell me that her father hadn’t taught her anything, I just smiled and shook my head somebody had obviously taught her, she wasn’t born reading The Mobile Register. Jean then told me Jem had taught her and he read a book to her where she was Bullfinch instead of Finch. Jem said she got swapped when she was born. She was about to carry on but I just interrupted her, she was quite clearly lying to me so I told her again to tell her father not to teach her anymore because it is better to begin reading with a fresh mind and that I will try and undo the damage. Her father does not know how to teach properly. At least at the end of it she mumbled sorry to me but then again it was her fathers fault for teaching her in the first place. I am introducing a new way of teaching that I learned about in college I hope it is going to work well. The Dewey Decimal System is the new way of teaching it consists of me holding up cards to the children with words on them. I then caught Jean writing a letter so I told her to tell her father not to teach her to write either and that she doesn’t start writing until the third grade. It really surprised me that she was able to do this but also angered me because it is just going to make it harder to teach her the proper way to read and write. At lunchtime I told everyone who goes home for lunch to hold up there hands and then everyone who brought a pack lunch I told them to put it on there desk. I had a walk around to see what the children had and if I approved. I then stopped at Walter Cunningham’s desk, he didn’t have any lunch, at first I thought he had just forgot it so I asked him and he just looked straight ahead a muscle jumped in his skinny jaw then I asked him again. He finally replied with ‘Yeb’m,’, so I went to my desk and opened my purse and lifted out a quarter for him to go town and buy something then he could pay me back the next day. He shook his head and drawled softly ‘Nome thank you ma’am,’ I was getting impatience and told him to come get it, he shook his head again, and the third time he shook it I heard someone whispering to Jean saying ‘go on tell her, Scout’. I didn’t understand but then Jean told me Walter is one of the Cunningham’s and from the country. It was then clear to me that Walter didn’t forget his lunch; it was just that he didn’t have any today nor would have any tomorrow or the next day. I didn’t like the way Jean had to tell me all of this so I hauled her up to my desk; I had just had enough of her. She had started on the wrong foot in everyway. I just could not take anymore of her so without a thought I made her hold out her hands and I picked up my ruler and gave her half a dozen of quick little pats and made her stand in the corner. Now I think about it I do feel guilty but I think she did deserve it and hopefully will teach her a lesson. Everyone had now realised what I had done and broke out in a storm of laughter. I threatened the rest of the class with a similar fate and they exploded again, it only went quiet when the shadow of Miss Blount fell over them. Miss Blount is a native Maycombian as yet uninitiated  in the mysteries of the Decimal System, appeared at the door hands on hips and announced that if she hears another sound from the room she’ll up everyone in it.’ She also told me the sixth grade couldn’t concentrate on the pyramids because of the so called racket coming from my room. I did not appreciate her coming into my classroom and telling my pupils to be quiet. The bell then went for lunch everyone filed out I just sunk in my chair and put my head in my arms. A lot had happened in just half a day and there was still the afternoon to come. Everyone came back from lunch, I was standing in the middle of the room and I’m sure the children could see sheer horror flooding into my face when I saw the cootie crawling out of Burris Ewell’s hair I screamed ‘it’s alive’. Little Chuck told me not to be afraid of a cootie and brought me back up to my desk and got me a drink of water. I really do not like cooties and insects so that’s why I reacted in such a way. I took out a thick volume, leafed through its pages and read for a moment and told him a good home remedy for Burris. I told him I wanted him to go home and wash his hair with lye soap and when he’s done that treat his scalp with kerosene. He looked and me and said ‘What fer, missus?’ I replied quickly to him to get rid of the cooties because the other children might catch them and we wouldn’t want that. The boy then stood up he was filthy, his neck was dark grey and his hands were rusty also his finger-nails were black deep into the quick. Before he left I also asked hi to bathe him self before he comes back tomorrow. I was very surprised when he just laughed at me rudely and told me that I wasn’t sending him home and that he was already on the verge of leaving also that he had done his time for this year. I was quite puzzled about this so I asked him what he meant. The boy didn’t answer though .An older pupil from the class then told me he was one of the Ewell’s, and that this school is full of the apparently they only come in the first day and then leave. He had the first day of the first grade for three years now. Burris stood up and I told him to sit back down please that was a serious mistake. The boy’s condescension flashed into anger and told me to try and make him. I just did not know what to do. Luckily Little Chuck stood up and just said let him go and that he was a mean one, a hard-down mean one and  Little Chuck was right. Burris walked towards Little Chuck but then his hand went up and just said ‘Go home’. Burris seemed afraid of Little Chuck, I still didn’t know what to do so I took advantage of this of his indecision and told Burris to go home and if he doesn’t that I would call the principal. When he was walking out he shouted to me ‘Report and be damned to ye! Ain’t no snot-nosed slut of a schoolteacher ever born c’n make me do nothin’! You ain’t makin’ me go nowhere, missus. You just remember that, you ain’t makin’ me go no-where!’ I just couldn’t hold it in and I started crying, don’t know what came over me it was just what he had said, I was only trying to help him. Everyone came around my desk they all made me feel a lot better. I was happy when they asked me to read the story about the cats again, so I opened up a book and started reading for them again. I liked my first day but I hope tomorrow goes better and I get no more cheek from the children or Jean telling me lies. Other than that I think I will have a lovely time at this school.

An Avian Flus Emergency Scenario in the State of Illinois

An Avian Flus Emergency Scenario in the State of Illinois Pandemics are a source of concern to any society in the contemporary world. They can either be man-made or natural. Regardless of their type, disasters pose a risk to human life and property. Avian flu is one such form of natural disaster that can wreck havoc in the society.Advertising We will write a custom term paper sample on An Avian Flu’s Emergency Scenario in the State of Illinois specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Also known as the avian influenza, the condition is brought about by naturally occurring viruses. The micro-organisms (Type A virus), are usually found in wild aquatic birds, domestic poultry, and other animal and bird species (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention [CDC], 2014). In this paper, the author reviews two emergency scenarios involving avian flu outbreaks. In the first case, an occurrence of the pandemic in Chicago is analyzed. The parties in command of the response to the outbreak, as well as the coordination of activities of the various state and local agencies are some of the issues addressed in this scenario. In the second case, an outbreak in the larger state of Illinois is outlined. The author of this paper recommends several epidemic control steps to deal with the issue. The legal authorities involved in the response plan, as well as various factors that determine the success of the proposed plan, are some of the other areas analyzed in this section. An Emergency Scenario in Chicago, Illinois The Pandemic Under normal circumstances, avian flu does not affect humans. However, the virus can cause a serious pandemic if it finds its way into the human population. Such a case was reported in the 1918 ‘Spanish flu’ epidemic. Healthcare providers in Chicago have noted a growing number of individuals seeking health services as a result of symptoms associated with avian flu. After a careful follow-up, the authorities have determined that an influenza pandemic is de veloping. Taking Charge of the Incident The Illinois Department of Public Health would command the avian flu response initiative. The agency is tasked with the responsibility of addressing health issues in the state.Advertising Looking for term paper on health medicine? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) would be responsible for the coordination and the overall federal response to the avian flu (Homeland Security Council [HSC], 2007). The commanding status of DHS is strengthened through the appointment of pre-designated Principal Federal Officials (PFO), as well as regional PFOs, responsible for the coordination of influenza responses. Coordinating Resources and Working Together The management of the federal, state, and local resources determines the effectiveness of the response mechanism. The U.S. Government provides state and local authorities with guidance on the best pharm aceutical and non-pharmaceutical interventions to mitigate the impacts of the pandemic. The federal and state authorities are expected come up with the best interventional measures to deal with the emergency. On their part, the local authorities play the role of implementing these proposals at the community level. The major role of the federal authorities is to fund the program (HSC, 2007). The state and local agencies ensure that the hospitals and the emergency departments have the capacity to handle the large number of patients affected by the condition. There are other issues that the two authorities need to deal with. For example, they need to provide healthcare workers with the necessary protective gear. They should also provide them with the information needed to handle the situation, together with the necessary materials and infrastructure (HSC, 2007). Given this scenario, the state and local authorities would be liable if anything happens to the personnel implementing the re lief programs. Laws, Rules, and Regulations Important for the Response The Emergency Federal Law Enforcement Assistance would be essential in handling the pandemic. The regulation falls under the Justice Assistance Act of 1984 (HSC, 2007). It calls for maximum assistance from the U.S. Government. Other rules and regulations would be specific to the non-pharmaceutical measures of dealing with the pandemic. Addressing a Localized Cluster of Phase 5 Pandemic Recommended Epidemic Control Steps There are several control measures that can be put in place to deal with an outbreak that is restricted to a Chicago cluster. The primary control strategies for addressing the avian flu pandemic include prophylaxis among the individuals exposed to the virus. The strategy can be achieved through the use of antiviral medications, vaccinations, and the adoption of infection control and social distancing measures (Tyshenko, 2007).Advertising We will write a custom term paper sample on An Avian Flu’s Emergency Scenario in the State of Illinois specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More It is not possible to develop a matching vaccine within a short duration to respond to the scenario. As such, social distancing and infection control measures are more appropriate. Voluntary home quarantines, dismissal of students from schools, isolated treatment for the infected, and other non-pharmaceutical interventions are recommended (Department of Health and Human Services Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2007). Invoking Legal Authorities to Respond to the Emergency Such legal authorities as the Public Health Service Act (42 U.S. Code 264), which falls under section 361, may be evoked to help in dealing with the situation. Applying the laws would facilitate isolation and quarantine efforts by the federal government (CDC, 2014). The act supports the enforcement of measures necessary for prevention of entry and spread of communicable di seases in the country. The federal government, through the various federal agencies, prepares and encourages communities, organizations, and businesses to deal with such outbreaks. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention might be forced to exercise its authority under section 42 Code of Federal Regulations (CDC, 2014). The code authorizes the agency to detain, medically examine, and release individuals arriving in the U.S. The persons who are taken through these procedures are those suspected of carrying infections. In most cases, travelers from regions hit by the avian influenza are more likely to carry the virus and infect people in other regions (CDC, 2014). Factors Affecting the Success of the Proposed Plan The success of the avian flu response plan would depend on various factors. One of them is the effective coordination of resources between the federal, state, and local authorities. In addition, enhancing the accountability of the various authorities in carrying out th eir mandate would facilitate effectiveness in the response initiative. Failure to synchronizing the activities of the assisting personnel would jeopardize the entire process. Organization is very important, regardless of the level of expertise among the personnel or the complexity of the equipment used.Advertising Looking for term paper on health medicine? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More The federal government would be expected to provide the necessary support to the individuals and agencies involved in responding to the emergency. For example, the state’s Department of Public Health should effectively manage, supervise, and control the activities of all the stakeholders involved in the initiative. The major responsibility of local authorities would be to enhance cooperation from members of the public. Possibilities of Effectively Controlling the Outbreak Effectual coordination and definition of duties, as indicated above, would help to control the epidemic. Currently, the avian flu pandemic is at phase 5. Under such conditions, the proposed plan is likely to contain the epidemic, making sure that it does not deteriorate to phase 6. The Adequacy of the Government’s Plan The national government’s strategy to deal with the outbreak of, together with the efforts made by the Illinois’ Emergency Management Agency, appears adequate enough to de al with the problem. The authorities acknowledge the need for non-pharmaceutical and social distancing measures as immediate responses. For this reason, the efforts seem sufficient enough. References Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2014). Seasonal influenza (flu): Information on avian influenza. Web. Department of Health and Human Services, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2007). Interim pre-pandemic planning guidance: Community strategy for pandemic influenza mitigation in the United States- Early, targeted, layered use of non-pharmaceutical interventions. Web. Homeland Security Council. (2007). National strategy for pandemic influenza: Implementation plan one year summary. Web. Tyshenko, M. (2007). Management of natural and bioterrorism induced pandemics. Bioethics, 21(7), 364-369.

Capitalization Rules for Names of Historical Periods and Movements

Capitalization Rules for Names of Historical Periods and Movements Capitalization Rules for Names of Historical Periods and Movements Capitalization Rules for Names of Historical Periods and Movements By Mark Nichol When are designations for historically significant phenomena treated with initial capital letters, and when are the names rendered with lowercase letters? Exceptions, as always, are available to confound us, but the rules are fairly straightforward. Names of political and cultural periods or events are often capitalized in their original connotations, but when such nomenclature is used by extension in a generic sense, the designations are (usually) lowercased. For example, one should write, for example, â€Å"The arts and sciences flourished during the Renaissance,† but â€Å"The downtown district is experiencing a renaissance.† (However, to describe someone as well rounded in skills or talents, write â€Å"He’s a Renaissance man† even when he is not a contemporary of Michelangelo.) The same distinction applies for such terms as â€Å"golden age† (â€Å"The Golden Age was the first of Hesiod’s Ages of Man,† but â€Å"Jazz music has experienced several golden ages†) and â€Å"belle à ©poque† (â€Å"The period of peace and optimism in France in the nearly half century before World War I came to be known retrospectively as the Belle Époque,† but â€Å"They look back on that prosperous period as a belle à ©poque†). Similarly, one would write â€Å"China’s infamous Cultural Revolution was a decade-long time of great turmoil,† but â€Å"American society has undergone a cultural revolution of late,† and while references to the mid-twentieth-century tension between Western nations and the Communist Bloc capitalize â€Å"Cold War,† any such conflict without open hostilities is a cold war. The Enlightenment was a specific cultural movement in Europe and Britain’s American colonies during the 1600s and 1700s, or a similar era in any one of several countries. Generic usage is as follows: â€Å"In the Western world, the concept of enlightenment in a religious context acquired a romantic meaning.† However, in specific usage, enlightenment is capitalized: â€Å"The Russian Enlightenment is a period in the eighteenth century in which the government in Russia began to actively encourage the proliferation of arts and sciences.† Adjectives preceding names of political entities are often erroneously capitalized. No civilization has ever gone by the official name of Ancient Greece or Imperial Rome, for example; the first word in such designations is generally a mere descriptor and is therefore lowercased: â€Å"The course is a general overview of the history of ancient Greece†; â€Å"This essay will discuss the economic structure of imperial Rome.† Want to improve your English in five minutes a day? Get a subscription and start receiving our writing tips and exercises daily! Keep learning! Browse the Style category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:How to Punctuate References to Dates and TimesFor Sale vs. On SaleCharles's Pen and Jesus' Name

Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words - 48

Essay Example The risks and benefits, the rights and wrongs, or the pros and cons of genetically modified food and science are global concerns in both public and private arenas (Adolphs, Hamilton and Nerlich, 58). In today’s technological world however, GM crops and products play an important role in driving modernization and as such they are here to stay; as long as focus is not placed on future technological advancement instead of today’s risks and disadvantages, and if research, assessment, controls and policies are adequately and stringently evidenced then the benefits, will eventually negate the risks. Martin Teitel, in his article entitled ‘Unsafe at any Seed?’ argues against GM food claiming the argument that GM foods are better for the environment, farmers and consumers â€Å"should be taken with a grain of salt† (1). He further purports that this new technology has grown too quickly with insufficient testing, has entered supermarket shelves too soon, and necessitates further research and an objective commission to verify and validate the safety of such foods prior to entering the market. This paper will argue in agreement of Teitel’s paper in some respects but will not concur with others. Although Teitel has put forward some pertinent points that are significant if biotechnology is to continue and develop, his argument falls short in that he fails to consider the debate from two perspectives – that of the opponent and that of the advocate of GM foods – and has remained steadfast on the side of opponents at the risk of sounding dogmatic and ill informed. The situation is not as black and white as Teitel paints it; within the developed world scientists are at odds in their convictions on measurement of risk, both for health and the environment. Many are convinced that assessments are not necessary or are too harsh, while

Aacounting Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Aacounting - Assignment Example From the analysis of the working capital, one can make a conclusion that the company is doing well because the working capital position of the company has improved from the 2005 to 2006. The current ratio is a measure that is used to show the ability of a company to clear its short term debts by the use of current assets. The preferred current ratio is usually 2:1 or 1.5: 1 depending on the industry that the company is found. The company is improving in performance and that shows that the company will be able to cater for its short term obligations. However, in comparison with the industry’s average, the company is performing the average. That means that the company has potential that it can exploit so as to be in the same level as the industry players and that would contribute to the success of the company because more investors would be attracted. The acid test ratio is used to show the ability of a company to clear its short term debts with the use of current assets but excluding inventory. Inventory may at times not be liquid and that means that it cannot be f much help in a short duration of necessity. The ratios also signify the ability of the company to cater for its short term obligation using current assts. The acid test ratio for the company is also not within the industry’s average. However, the company has made significant progress and that implies that if the trend continues, the company will be able to match the industry’s average. The return on equity is the rate at which the company is able to utilize the shareholders funds. The rate should be favorable so as to ensure that the company shareholders get a reason to always do business with the company. It shows the amount of net income that is usually returned as a percentage of the equity contributed by shareholders. The ratio is useful in the measurements of the profitability of a company because it

Asda-the company's capital structure starting from 2008 Essay

Asda-the company's capital structure starting from 2008 - Essay Example The cost of debt to a company is therefore relatively less than equity financing. Besides this, debt is considered cheaper by the providers of finance and it attracts tax relief on interest payments. The greater the level of debt, the more will be the financial risk to the shareholder of the company. Hence the return required would be higher. This also helps in establishing the gearing mix of a company. The higher a company is geared, the higher would be the risk involved. There are many factors that contribute towards the availability of different sources of funds {(Goyal et al (2005); Darren (2006)}. Equity financing is raised by issuing equity shares or rights issue, preference shares issued are not considered as equity issue as they carry a fixed percentage that is to be paid to the preference shareholders and hence in substance preference shares have a debt nature attached to them so they are categorized under debt issue. Equity finance is considered a comparatively more risky approach of raising finance than debt financing, it is also considered more costly to raise equity finance than to raise debt finance (Burton et al, 2003). Asda is a UK based supermarket chain which deals in clothing, grocery, children toys and other general products used during normal routine. It is a subsidiary of the American Wal-Mart. Asda initiated its business involving Dairy products and later went on to diversify its business. It has been always renowned for its great marketing strategies. It was taken over by Wal-Mart as a subsidiary in 1999. Asda is considered as the second largest retail chain business after TESCO in the United Kingdom. Later in 2009, Wal-Mart made a deal to sell Asda to Corinth Services Limited for an amount of  £6.9 million. Since that deal Asda is a subsidiary of Corinth Services Limited (Telegraph.co.uk, 2010). Gearing is one major issue which has a critical effect onto the capital structure of a

Production And Consumption Inseparability

Production And Consumption Inseparability Inseparability of production and consumption refers to the concepts of interaction and service encounter. The process of simultaneous production and consumption involves the presence of customers, the customers role as a co-producer, customer-employee and customer-customer interactions that makes it unique from a product (Shostack 1977). Researchers often refer to the customers as partial employees in a service setting. During co-production, customer involves himself in self-service (self check-in), using technology and machines offered by the service provider (airlines). 2.1 Service encounters During simultaneous production and consumption, it is the service encounters, that are the critical moments of truth in which customer often develops a perception/ attitude about the business (Bitner et al. 2000) and creates a differentiation from other competitors. In the airline industry, these service encounters are on which the organisation, either thrives or dies based on customers evaluation of their service. And the successful organisations take it a step further to enhance their core or essential features with extended or enhanced features. Service encounters can take place across a range from the traditional face-to-face (check-in, cabin crew), telephone (telephonic check in, booking tickets), and lastly through the internet (web check-in, booking tickets) and at every point the airline industry thrives to make it easier and comfortable (less time consuming) for the customer. A successful organisation is which that exceeds the customers expectations (enhancing features) and not just meeting their expectations (core features). But Harris et al. (2003) suggests that if the core features are not met by the airline industry, it is that leads to customer dissatisfaction. He also suggests that only 5% of the unhappy customers complain to the service providers, thus making it difficult for the service providers to address the issue. What intrigues even more is that the 95% of the customers, who do not complain, talk negatively about the service to their acquaintances. . However, when dissatisfied customers do complain and the problem is resolved to their satisfaction, they are very likely to return. The reasons for dissatisfaction may vary across long queues at check-in or booking counter, incompetent personnel, unsafe website and so on and so forth. Bitner et al. (2000) suggests that in the airline industry core factors vary from friendliness of the staff, knowledge about the service, efficiency, and quality service, sanitary and safe environment. But to create differentiation from their competitors these organisations, provide added or enhancing factors and those include concierge service, reservations, seating by host, lounge/ hotel facilities for delayed flights and so on and so forth. Today in the airline industry, companies do offer most of these features but it is noted that the cost increases for a more pleasurable experience. For example, an Air India flight provides cheaper flights just barely meeting the core features, but Emirates for the same route provides expensive flights with a varied extended factors. What companies like Air India could do to provide a better experience would be to remove/ reduce the unsatisfactory experience (upgrading a customer, complimentary meal in case of delayed flights, trained personnel to deal with unhappy customers). 2.2 Shostacks Models Based on Shostacks Continuum, the package tours (Flights+ Hotels) offered by most airlines, form the intangible end, even though there are tangible ends to be considered. Shostack (1977) suggested that there is no element known as a pure service and that there is always a continuum between the tangible dominant goods and intangible dominant services. The airline industry, the tangible elements include the interiors of the flight, food, seat and also the overall graphic continuity from buying tickets to the attendants uniforms (Shostack 1977). Even though the airline industry is intangible dominant, different market segments require different elements to make it an experience for them. Say for example in the case of Virgin airlines they have three tailored traveling experience for three different markets. In the case of students/ backpackers or during bad economic conditions, it is elements such that reaching from one destination to the other or a no frills flight would be of emphasis on the nuclear core (cheap flights+hostels, bed and breakfast) In the case of business travelers, it would be schedule frequency along with comfort would be most important (a comfortable travel+ hotel with internet, office facilities). Lastly for tourists (with families), it would be unison of in-flight and post-flight services (hotels) that would be of paramount importance (Comfortable flight-but not too expensive+hotel near a tourist destination) But in the case of tangible elements the various markets demand differently. For example, for flights like Air Asia, which offers low cost air travel, the travelers are not provided certain tangible elements such as food and drink in-flight. But these airlines just cater to travelers who wish to travel on a limited budget. So the challenge for other firms is to create an experience for each market, so that it would form an experience for each of them as each of their needs differ from another. The challenge is to understand how consumers perceive a certain service and what as a firm they should do to manage and meet the expectations (Lovelock and Gummesson, 2004). Shostack (1977) defined a model that was termed as total market entity where she argues that a change in one element may change the entity on a whole or partial basis. Say for example in an air travel there, it is a unison of both tangible as well as intangible factors. And some tangible factors just act as service elements/evidence. 1. Peripheral evidence: this refers to a tangible factor, which no or little value if it exists on its own. It is part of the service or is required to experience a service. For example a flight ticket, does not mean anything on its own, but is essential for completion of a service. 2. Essential evidence: Consumers do not own these and can exist on its own as its highly dominant in its impact on a service purchase. An example of an essential element provided by Shostack is the DC-10 aircraft, which was involved in a few crashes in the 1970s. But even though all the issues were resolved, US refused to fly in a DC-10 aircraft that eventually led to scrapping them off completely. This model however does not show how a service functions and this is explained using another model by Shostack-Service Blueprinting. It has been developed to deal with processed, acts and flows and in (fig 4), a blueprint for airline travel has been presented under how airlines try to reduce variability 2.3 Service experience Every time a customer is interacting or having a service encounter, a service experience is taking place and because simultaneous production and consumption takes place, the customer mostly experiences the service in the firms physical surroundings (Groove and Risk, 2001). In some cases the level of involvements between the customer and the employees of the organisation is high and in some cases very low and some with no involvement at all. And the nature of physical environment depends on the nature of service as well as service experience. What the firms aim to do is make profit while creating a satisfactory or unique service experience. What determines an experience is also the nature of the physical space. For a high involvement case, (for example, self check-in, lounge services, website) customer satisfaction can be enhanced, by creative use of physical design (Bitner 1992). In the second case, where the employees play a major role, and where customers have less or no contact (cock-pit, cargo personnel) with the service personnel, the physical environment should be to motivate, satisfy the employees, as no or few customers will experience that. In the last case, where there both customers and employees interact in the same environment at the same level (counter check-in), the servicescape is the most complex as it needs to appeal to the customers but at the same time be efficiently motivating the employees (for example, at a check-in the counter needs to look clean and efficient to the customers, but also comfortable for the employee-nice seats, environment). Thus the environment should be neutral to appeal to bot h customers and employees. Other than the physical environment, it is the customer to whom the service is delivered is what is important. Like mentioned earlier, different customer have different needs and it varies based on their gender, age, social status and so on and so forth. For example, a customers needs travelling on business class will vary from that from one travelling in economy class and the service provider needs to meet each of their needs. What normally happens in the airline industry is that the customer travelling on business class is more looked after than the economy class traveller. This would mean that it creates a negative service experience for the traveller. 2.4 Service Quality Service experience is defined by the quality of service provided by the airlines. Based on this service quality, a conceptual model by (Parasuraman et.al 1988), defines the gap between what the customers expect and what is provided. From this model, it can suggested that to create a better service encounter for the customers: Gap1 This represents the void between the perceptions and expectations between the marketer and the consumer. The key is to understand what the customer expects rather than forming a perception of what they might want. Parasuraman et al. (1988) suggests that this void can be filled if sufficient market research is done prior to offering the service. For example, if an airline firm is to find out what a particular target market is looking for, before offering enhanced factors. Gap 2 This refers to the void between what the company perceives and the service quality specifications. For example, low-budget flights like Air Asia advertise that they provide in-flight entertainment, but the quality is limited (all passengers view the same programme on a single television set) Gap 3 This is the void between quality specification and service delivery. For example in the case of few Asian airline companies, the quality of service provided would be accepted by the home nation. But outside the home nation, the quality specification may not be on par with what the customers expect. For example, in India, Kingfisher airlines claims to provide world class travel experience to its customers. Even though the service provided is perceived to be on par with top airlines in India, the quality of service offered is nowhere close to airlines such as Singapore Airlines, Thai Airways etc. Gap 4 This relates to the void between the standard of quality promised and the service delivered. Thai airways has positioned itself has an airline that brings together quality as well as hospitability (Travel with the Thai touch, Smooth as Silk). But what raised issues and led to negative publicity was when their personnel were found to be rude to passengers. This led to a completely contradicting image of what they claim to be to what is delivered. 2.5 Differentiation To create a differentiation from their competitors, airline firms use the Porters Generic Strategy Model (1980): Cost Differentiation Cost Leadership (No Frills) Rynair, EasyJet, AirAsia Differentiation (Premium price for superior quality) Singapore Airlines, Emirates Cost Focus (Differentiation only for a particular target group) Kingfisher Red-low cost Business travel Differentiation Focus (Premium price for superior quality for a small target group) Concorde flights used by BA, Air France A380 flights-Singapore airlines, Qantas, Air France Scope Narrow Broad Fig 1: Porters Generic Model for the airline industry Airlines Pursuing cost leadership strategy Airlines pursuing an integrated strategy (some stuck in between) Airlines unable to achieve either a cost leadership or differentiation strategy Airlines pursuing a differentiation strategy High Fares Low Fares Low Service Level High Service Level Fig 2: Airlines Realized Business strategies (adapted from Dostaler, Flouris 2004) Using Fig 1 and fig 2, Porters Generic strategy can be explained as: Cost Leadership Cost leadership refers to gaining competitive advantage and giving your company an edge over the others. This can be attained in two ways: Firstly increasing profits by reducing costs. Secondly increasing market share by charging low prices. Airlines such as Air Asian, Rynair have chose to cut costs to a minimum, thus enabling to charge the customers low prices. This tactic helped them gain market share, and also have all their flights fully booked, which leads to further reduction in cost. But where they did compromise in on the in-flight and other services. For example, these airlines do not even provide water in the flight; one is expected to buy them, free seating etc helps them price their tickets low. Smaller airlines even provide just few routes at cheaper prices than their international rivals. But the risk if when competitors follow suit and hence firms should look for means to continuously reduce costs. Differentiation Strategy This involves making ones service different and more unique. This could be achieved by airlines in terms of their airplane types, costs, brand image etc. Singapore Airlines, Emirates have portrayed this image of making travel an experience with their superior quality. But as Porter (1980) argues that for a company using differentiation strategy, they would incur additional costs for research, development, innovation as well as advertising, which are normally recovered from the customers. Focus Strategy Airlines using focus strategy focus on a niche market and this could be a unique low cost airline for a target group or high-end price for another target group. For example, the A380 airplanes used by Singapore Airlines and Emirates charge a premium price of  £3600 for Business Class travel on Emirates from Heathrow to Dubai. So this is for the target group who like to travel with a lap of luxury with pool tables, spas, Internet, lounge area etc during their flight of less than 7 hours. There is very less competition in markets where focus strategies are used. But the risk is when the niche will disappear and when the business and customer preferences change over time. 2.6 VARIABILITY OF SERVICES One other feature of services marketing is its heterogynous nature and organisations strive to reduce the variability that would lead to building a strong brand. The aim is to communicate a persistent image and message to its customers at different places and different times. Service Variability can take place in different ways. Variations in external Conditions -weather, crowding and differences in service locations Variations in service delivery- customer interactions with employees Variations in customer perception-customers perception of a service may differ from place to place and with time too The figure below shows the causes and consequences of service variability in any organisation. High Level of perceived risk for buyers Difficulty in presenting an image of consistent quality Difficulty in developing strong brands Services are produced live Often leads to no chance to correct mistakes before consumption Often reliant on imperfect human inputs May be difficult to blueprint the service Variability of Service Fig 3 : Cause and Consequences of Service Variability The issue of variability leads to difficulty in attaining a uniform output especially in services that require a lot of human interaction. Say for example, we still have not developed technology to eliminate the need of humans completely. Airlines do not use robots to replace the human cabin crews as one human interaction is essential and secondly some technologies are too expensive to adopt suggest that behavior varies not only amongst different employees but also amongst the same employee on different days and with different customers (Lovelock 1983). And even though scripting and blueprinting is used to reduce variability, it still has its demerits. To provide a good service as well create an experience for the customer and to ensure reduced service variability, the airlines use the following techniques: 1. Employee Training As employees are part of any service provided, most airline firms have a rigorous selection and training process. For example, Singapore Airlines hires staff who fit in with the Singapore Girl image and portray the same values as the firm does. Firms who invest a lot in selection and training process mostly offer higher quality service than others. Air India does not provide constant training to its staff and hence issues arise when the staffs do not communicate a coherent message. Staff hired should be able to empathise with the customers as well as trained to deal with different types of unsatisfied customers. Also it is taken care to see that the staff matches the cultural differences of the country they are based in. 2. Scripting Most airlines have pre-determined scripts for each type of service encounter, which consists of either verbal responses or series of actions. The usage of verbal scripts is common while booking a ticket or enquiring about a service. Like for example, when a customer calls a call centre for a query, they normally have a script, which goes by: Good morning, Thank you for calling Malaysian Airlines. My name is Ben and how may I help you? Similarly a scripted message is used after a call or as an apology. In the case of scripted actions, it would how all cabin crews, follow the same actions once passengers are in the flight. All messages and actions are scripted so as to ensure a coherent image, message as well to ensure that the information is communicated at all times. But this has its limitations in terms of how at times personnel feel restricted from offering superior service based on their judgement. 3. Blueprinting Shostack (1982) suggested that blueprinting allows quantitative description of critical service elements, such as logical sequences of actions and processes, time that happen at a place of service delivery. It also defines actions for the place of interaction (front-line) as well for events taking place beyond the line of visibility. (Zeithaml, Bitner et al. 2006) define service blueprinting as a tool for simultaneously depicting the service process, the points of customer contact, and the evidence of the service from the customers point of view. With this description, the authors emphasise the different systemic layers overlapping in a service, from the layer of customer interaction and physical evidence to the layer of internal interaction within the service production process. The figure 4 below shows a service blueprinting for an air travel. Fig 4: Blueprinting for Air Travel Airport exterior Parking Baggage claim Seats Gift shops. Toilets Terminal Food/beverage Magazines Airplane Seats Gift shops. Toilets Terminal X-ray machine Metal detector Conveyor belt Computer/ credit card Desk Ticket Terminal Airport exterior Parking Online/ website Mechanic Check plane Metal detector Conveyor belt Conveyor belt Remove bags Pilot Serve customer Greet customer Send off customer Load bags on plane Check Passenger Greet take bags Registration Leave airport Pick up luggage Immigration Exit plane Fly Board plane Check in Wait at gate Security check Arrive at airport Reservation Support Process Contact Person Backstage Onstage Customer Physical Evidence 4. Quality Audits This is done to monitor the consistent quality provided by the airlines. Ground service analysis covers ticketing, check-in, security, lounges, boarding, departures, transfer, arrivals, and corporate branding. Onboard service analysis is a detailed and complex Qualitative evaluation of all product and service delivery elements core product standards, service efficiency and critical factors of staff service delivery. IATA carries out frequent safety audits. 5. Quality Awards Airlines often advertise the awards they have received for their superior quality. These awards are recognized worldwide and ensure that these airlines provide world-class travel experience for their travelers. For example, in 2009, Singapore Airlines was awarded the Airline of the Year award for its superior quality and safety. These information may not be too relevant for the customers, it just adds enough publicity to make consumers realize how one offers superior service than another thus prompting them to try these airlines on their next travel. 6. Service Recovery However thorough an airline is on its quality and service provided, there would still be occasional glitches. And a feature of any service is its heterogeneous nature, where each service encounter is different from another one. Berry (1995) argues that companies do not empower front line employees to solve problems immediately. A service failure does not automatically lead to a lost customer. But once an issue is identified, if it is dealt with promptly and the right actions are taken to ensure that the customer is satisfied, then it mostly would not lead to a lost customer. But in case of a major issue, the customer might seek financial compensation. 7. Customer Retention Parasuraman et al. (1985) suggests that even though there is a positive relationship between service quality and customer loyalty, above a certain level, additional improvements in quality do not have further impact on customer retention as there is no point in increasing quality costs if it cannot be passed down to the customers. The variability of services poses a high threat when it comes to brand building, but since humans are an integral part and cannot be eliminated completely, steps are taken to provide better training, motivate and encourage employees as they all form part of the service encounter. As Lovelock and Gummesson (2004) suggests that performance is less variable when machine-intensive technologies are used. So as to reduce the consequences of service variability, airline industries have adopted the use of technology so as to reduce if not eliminate the factor of human error. These include: Use of computerised system instead of telephone operators. Use of self-check in Kiosks at airports, mobile check-in (SSTs-Self Service Terminals) Using website to book or amend tickets. The other dimension of variability is the extent to which a service can be altered to meet the demand of individual customers. Services that are manufactured for a large number of customers are difficult to be customised like in the case of air travel, but can be customised in particular areas. For Example scheduled airline service is highly standardized in design but offers modules for customizing specific elements, such as alternative schedules; service to or from different airports in the same metropolitan area; different classes and prices; seat location; and a selection of drinks, food, and other amenities. But with the evolution of technology, industries especially the airlines are adopting technology as far as possible as with rising competition there is no room for error. But not using humans at all is impossible. 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