Historiographical Paper on Latin America Specificly on Educational Essay

Historiographical Paper on Latin America Specificly on Educational Policies under Populist leaders in Brazil, Mexico and Argentina - Essay Example Following the Great Depression many Latin American countries were seeking new ideas and policies to ward off economic losses. Notably, populist leaders made effective use of the media to gain the attention and patronage of a large voting pool within the community. Importantly, populist leaders considered the large indigenous populations that were part of their nations heritage, initiating discourse of inter-culturality and multi-cultural education. This incorporated concepts of democracy, equality and a civil society. Further, populism looked to debate and respect the cultural and linguistic plurality of indigenous peoples, and to rectify their day-to-day struggles with oppressive and unequal social relations (Aikman, 2004). This paper will review the populist education policies of the presidents; Lazaro Crdenas (Mexico); Juan Pern (Argentina); and Getlio Vargas (Brazil). President Crdenas's term was noteworthy for its extension of education resources and opportunities to the rural areas of Mexico, along with changes to land distribution and the formation of labor unions (Encyclopedia of the Nations, 2006). The dramatic reformation programs initiated by Crdenas promoted domestic industrialization by introducing import barriers the strong economic growth of Mexico in the following years provided the foundation for his inclusive education policies. The market forces of capitalism had until Crdenas's time maintained the status quo of the oppression of the indigenous people of Mexico. His administration brought in agrarian reform however, Crdenas was not fully focused on social transformation, although his term did manage to stabilize the existing capitalist economy (Dawson, 2004). Overall, Crdenas set out to decrease social inequality while at the same time increasing confience in the Mexican social system. Previous to the Crdenas government, a series o f scientific and educational institutions had tried to understand and up-date the social position of indigenous people, and to integrate them into the wider Mexican community. Indigenism or indigenismo was maintained throughout Crdenas's term, contributing to the revolutionary formation and ethnohistory of Mexico.The assimilationist ideas of Mexico's bureaucrats and scholars between 1917-1934 sought to integrate the indigenous people by having them cast aside their culture (Dawson, 2004). With Crdenas, a more pluralist period of indigenism arose, extending on the belief that indigenous people were 'educatable'. Indian boarding schools were established to educate and modernize the students, however, by to teach in language and to have bureaucrats work within the indigenous communities. The Department of Indigenous Affairs was soon formed, that was oriented toward the education of indigenous people and the maintenance and respect of their culture and religious practices. As part of his goal to encourage the uplifting of Mexico's indigenous peoples, Crdenas put together a series of conferences (i.e., the 'Cardenista indigenous congresses') that included community leaders who would be able to communicate their expectations of the revolutionary state (Dawson, 2004). However, Crdenas did steer away from an extreme pluralist ideal of indigenism, and so maintained the older model of Indian assimilation into Mexican society. Also, the indigenous population did not always choose cultural autonomy, although there were

Why Is Soil Conservation Important Environmental Sciences Essay

Why Is Soil Conservation Important Environmental Sciences Essay Quantitative determination of the extent and impact of soil erosion by water in the tropics have been sketchy. However all available evidence indicates that accelerated erosion is a problem of serious magnitude and with a multitude of negative effects in many tropical countries. The awareness to conserve soil began approximately nine thousand years ago when human civilization shifted from nomadic hunting and gathering experience to a more permanent, settled and intensive soil-dependent plant and animal farming systems (Miller, Rasmussen and Meyer, 1985). Soil provides the medium from which most of the sustenance for humankind is derived. This thin, complex, crustal carpet uniquely integrates many attributes of the lithosphere, atomosphere, hydrosphere and biosphere (Miller, Rasmussen and Meyer 1985). Soil is regarded as a nonrenewable source since its formation from the parent rock material to an agriculturally productive growth medium is a very slow process (Lal 1990). The top soil is where most of the living activities of both flora and fauna take place. According to Brady and Weil 1999, the top soil is the upper most part of the soil ordinarily moved in tillage or its equivalent in uncultivated soils which range in depth from 7 to 25 cm (the plow layer). Removal of this plant nutrient enriched topsoil due to soil erosion would result in lowering of soil fertility through losses of both organic matter and nutrients which would result in decline of crop yields (Lal 1986; Rose and Dalal 1988). This loss in soil productivity due to erosion is serious in caribbean countries where fertilizer substitute for the lost plant nutrients is not affordable. This would lead to poorer soil profile characteristics such as low organic matter levels (Rose 1989;Rose 1998). Soil Erosion is perhaps the most serious form of land degradation throughout the world. For the tropics specifically, while it is acknowledged that erosion is more serious than else where, no analytical or systematic studies have been undertaken to document the problem, it consequences or potential solutions. Soil erosion results in lost water and plant nutrients at rates even greater than those occurring naturally through leaching ( Brady and Weil 1999). If there are no conservation practices present, soil erosion will occur and land degradation, reduced productivity due to loos of top soil, increased runoff and off site sedimentation problems (such as siltation of bodies of water and damage to crops and roads) will occur. The consequent socio-economic costs of sometimes more obvious off site damage are commonly easier to identify and quantify (Chrisholm 1987; Rose 1993). 1.2 Soil Conservation Strategies The caribbean is characterized by steep slopes. The degrees of steepness and the proportion of the land area classified as steep may vary. In Trinidad and Tobago, a larger propotion of steep slopes is still covered with natural vegetation which reduces the soil washed off the surface. Trinidad is marked with a long dry season in the early part of the year and then followed by an intense wet season. Most erosion occurs when the land is cleared of vegetation for farming. This usually occurs just before the rainy season. It is important to note however that most food crop production in Trinidad as well as the rest of the Caribbean, is carried out by small farmers on sloping land with no attention to soil conservation practices. This is the main reason for severe soil erosion in Trinidad and Tobago and by extension the Caribbean. Soil conservation is understood as not only involving the control of loss of soil material due to erosion but also the decline in fertility (chemical, physical and biological breakdown of the soil). (Young 1984). The adverse effect of soil erosion is not confined only to decrease in soil depth but ultimately to the loss loss of organic matter and plant nutrients and consequently to degradation of soil physical properties and crop yield decline ( Young 1984). It is important to note however that treating the benefits of soil conservation in isolation from other agricultural improvements does not assure adoption of the soil conservation practice (Young 1984). Integration of soil conservation is important ( Douglas 1988; Shaxson 1988). Sheng and Meiman (1988) stated reasons for the difficulty of farmers in adopting soil conservation practice. The reasons are as follows: i) long time for the result of soil conservation to be realized, ii) identification of benefits from soil conservation and iii) the need for big investments by farmers. It is important to note however that Williams and Walter (1988), in a terracing project in Venezuela, found that improvement in the living incomes and opportunites for employment, increases the difficulty of motivating the farmers to adopt soil conservation practices. Apparently when low income and underemployment prevail, farmers easily participate in soil conservation programmes (Williams and Walter 1988; Liao et al 1988). The adverse effect of soil erosion is not confined only to loss of soil particles but also the loss of organic matter and plant nutrients. As a result of this crop yield decline will occur (Young 1984). Conservation farming should serve as the basis for counteracting the problem of soil erosion. To carry out this approach in developing countries, novel approaches in extension and research are needed. The majority of the soil conservation techniques were developed in the United States of America under condtions different from the other parts of the world experiencing erosion (Sheng, 1982; Hudson 1988; Sheng 1988). The techniques that worked well in the United States were extrapolated to the tropics in the 1930s and 1940s. It took fifty years to realize that these methods were unsuitable for the tropics ( Hudson,1987; Hudson 1988). The dominant traditional farming system in the tropics are the shifting cultivation and related bush fallow systems (Okigbo and Greenland, 1976). The non-ac ceptance of the many recommendations on soil conservation methods is attributed to their in appropriateness and incompatibility with the farmers operating environment (Douglas, 1988). The following agricultural conditions in the United States of America paved the way for the development of soil conservation activities (Hudson,1982;Hudson 1987): Combined good topography and favourable climate Low population pressure for intensive land use Strong and sustained government support well educated and informed agriculture sector Readily available credit and financial support Reliable prices and market outlets for agricultural produce Highly developed and highly mechanized agricultural industry. According to Hudson (1987), the absence of these conditions in most developing countries made the North American approach to soil conseration in appropriate. The absence of political will, or the limitations in or lack of resources often hindered soil conservation programmes in developing countries. The main aim of soil conservation should be preventation rather than cure. Soil conservation activity should be focused mainly on preserving good land rather than reclaiming damaged land. Without waiting for visible soil erosion damage, farmers should be encouraged to understand that there is a need for soil conservation due to continuing reduction in agricultural yield (Hudson, 1987). Loss of agricultural productivity should be emphasized in any soil conservation programme. For sometime, soil erosion research activities had almost been exclusively directed towards uantfying soil loss, hence data on the effect of soil erosion on agriculture productivity is seriously lacking (Crosson and Stout, 1983; ASAE,1985; Follet and Stewart, 1985; Stocking, 1985). Removal of topsoil resulted in decline of yield of a variety of agricultural crops (El-Swaify, Dangler and Amstrong 1982). Factors like type of soil, depth of soil, fertility status, topography, and type of crop affected the size of the decline in agricultural yield (Frye et al, 1982; Langdale and Schrader, 1982; Schertz 1983). There is limited data for soil and crops in the tropics (Lal, 1977). The effects of soil erosion on soil productivity in the tropics are move severe than for temperate countries (Moberg, 1972). This is because of highly weathered soils, fragile fertility status and most crop nutrents are found in the topmost layer of the soil. There is also significant deterioration of physical qualities of the soil as a growing medium after soil erosion (Lo, 1990). Higher erosion rates, the more severe changes in chemical qualities resulting from erosion and the inability of the farmer to provide the necessary inputs for restoring those qualities to a sufficient level were the primary reasons given for these conclusions (El-Swaify, 1990). The benefits of soil conservation are not immediately realized in every case and may initially result in crop yield reductions (John 1988). Improvement in agricultural production, rather than mitigating soil erosion, is of more significance and desirable for the farmer, while prevention of soil loss is an unreal concept for them (Hudson, 1987). The new approach of soil conservation will be a mixture of both agronomy measures as well as mechanical works ( Tracy, 1988). Mechanical systems are frequently expensive, consume space and time, need regular maintenance and do not assure improved crop production (Roose, 1988). Too much emphasis put into mechanical works discourages effective soil conservation policies (Rose, 1989). Conservation farming systems include improved farming, with mechanical protection works being a component of last resort. This approach is consistent with the principle that improved agricultural production should lead to better soil erosion control (Hudson 1988). Biological measures provide immediately recognizable short term benefits to farmers. Any mechanical work involved in soil conservation must m aximize the use of locally available experts, minimize, the use of structures and required labour. Community involvement must be involved (Hudson, 1987). To gain acceptance by farmers, any proposed soil conservation strategy should offer short-term, apparent, rapid or immediately recognizable, directly effective benefits and positive results, particularly for subsistence farmers who work in a short-time scale and who comprise a large percentage of farmers in less developed countries (Harper and El-Swaify 1988; Hudson,1988; Lovejoy and Naiper, 1988; Sanders, 1988; Thomas 1988; Tracy, 1988; Wenner, 1988; Williams and Walter, 1988). Soil conservation techniques recommended for farmers should be simple, easily understood and demonstrated, low cost, productive, sustainable and acceptable (Douglas, 1988;Vonk 1988). Conservation measures should involve principles that can be applied to more than one situation. However, methods and techniques are often site specific and caution should be exercised in extrapolating them to other sites (Saunders 1988). Adoption of soil conservation technology is assured if the farmers have full understanding, support and participation in all the stages of the project, from planning, implementation to maintenance (Harper and El-Swaify, 1988; Sanders, 1988; Vonk 1988; Tracy 1988). Farmers full participation is ensured if they are convinced that their relevant and important needs can be adequately met (Sanders 1988). Thus the farmer needs to be recognized as part of the solution rather than a part of the problem (Hudson,1987; Hudson,1988). The three (3) main objectives of this study are: To investigate the effect of slope angle and rainfall intensities on soil erosion under controlled conditions using four distinct soil types To compare this data with that for a cropped plot. To highlight an approach at estimating erosion risk and nutrient loss for Trinidad and Tobago.

Hamlet - Intelligent , NOT Insane Essay -- William Shakespeare Hamlet

Throughout the Shakespearian play, Hamlet, the main character is given the overwhelming responsibility of avenging his father’s "foul and most unnatural murder" (I.iv.36). Such a burden can slowly drive a man off the deep end psychologically. Because of this, Hamlet’s disposition is extremely inconsistent and erratic throughout the play. At times he shows signs of uncontrollable insanity. Whenever he interacts with the characters he is wild, crazy, and plays a fool. At other times, he exemplifies intelligence and method in his madness. In instances when he is alone or with Horatio, he is civilized and sane. Hamlet goes through different stages of insanity throughout the story, but his neurotic and skeptical personality amplifies his persona of seeming insane to the other characters. Hamlet comes up with the idea to fake madness in the beginning of the play in order to confuse his enemies. However, for Hamlet to fulfill his duty of getting revenge, he must be totally sane. Hamlet’s intellectual brilliance make it seem too impossible for him to actually be mad, for to be insane means that one is irrational and without any sense. When one is irrational, one is not governed by or according to reason. So, Hamlet is only acting mad in order to plan his revenge on Claudius. In order for Hamlet to carry out his goal of revenge, he had to be totally sane. In Act I, he is warned by the ghost not to go mad and not to harm his mother. If Hamlet were truly mad, he would have done many unorthodox acts, which would only wreck his plan of getting revenge. There can be no such thing as restrained insanity. Hamlet’s sanity is displayed when he does not harm his mother. Gertrude has hurt Hamlet. She betrayed his father by having an affair with Claudius and eventually marrying him. Since Hamlet does not kill her, it shows he is in full control of his mental state and that he is not controlled by his feelings like most mad people. Another reason why Hamlet is not mad is in the way he escaped his awaited execution in England. Hamlet knew that he was to be sent to England to be killed on the orders of Claudius. But once he saw a chance of escape on the pirate ship, he took this opportunity to board the ship, which made him escape death, thus prolonging his life a little longer. If Hamlet were actually mad, it would be doubtful that he would know of Claudius’ plans,... ...nd not making any sense whatsoever. In comparison, Hamlet speaks in regular sentences, and is able to converse normally with those around him. With much thought, and careful planning, Hamlet searches for evidence to determine the truth about his father's murder. And with this in hand, he departs on a path to avenge his father that is both reasonable and rational. While Hamlet might not carry the best of luck with him throughout the play, he certainly holds onto his mental integrity and ability to reason through challenges. Hamlet feigns madness so that he will be able to successfully get revenge on Claudius. In order for his plan not to be discovered, he has to fake madness in order to throw off his enemies. For his revenge plan to be a success, Hamlet will have to be perfectly sane so that he won’t sabotage his plan in anyway, and to keep himself alive long enough to carry it out. Hamlet’s plan on proving Claudius’ guilt and whether or not the ghost is his dead father shows that Hamlet is too intelligent to be mad. If Hamlet were indeed mad, he would be too dim-witted to come up with such a clever plan. Bibliography: Shakespear, William. Hamlet. Don Mills HBJ, 1987

English poetry Essay

The second decade of the twentieth century, a change-over period in the history of English poetry, was not a very inspirational one for poets. The existing group of poets, the Neo-Romantics attempted in vain to keep the Romantic spirit alive by writing about nature and harmony but with the arrival of industrialization and the beginnings of the modern world, it became painfully clear that the lilting, peaceful Romantic style was in no way a reflection of the present state of affairs. The mechanized world of machines, factories and similarly regimented human societies, long ignored by the Neo-Romantics was finally examined and put into verse by T. S. Eliot. Of the numerous works that capture the nascent modern world, one that stands out in particular is ‘The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock’. Eliot dives into the heart of urban decay in the first stanza itself, when he compares the evening to an etherized patient lying comatose on the operating table. The metaphor that symbolizes the numb, unquestioning society that inhabits the deserted streets, cheap hotels and sawdust restaurants captures a theme that is constantly revisited in this poem. The women who talk about Michelangelo do so as a ritual of fashion, without understanding anything about the art itself. Eliot goes on to compare the fog that spreads across the city to a cat that skulks on the rooftops before going to sleep. The fog that slips insidiously into every home represents the clouded judgment of the people that inherit the modern world. The protagonist in the poem echoes Marvell and the preacher in Ecclesiastes with the phrase, ‘there will be time, turning Marvell’s call to seize the moment and the preacher’s teaching- to everything there is a season- upside down to suit his indecisiveness. 2 The comparisons to Hamlet in the poem once again parallel the lack of resolve that characterizes the protagonist. He longs to be the rogue element in a society that picks up on the trivial things like one’s thinning hair, or depleted weight but fails to pay heed to life’s more important aspects. The protagonists envisions himself breaking the cycle and speaking life’s messages to the gossiping crowd only to falter at the moment of action. He finds himself pinned like an insect and unable to begin speaking his mind. He wonders if it is worth the trouble and anticipates that even if he were to speak, his message would be dismissed by as not being pertinent to the gossip that the society indulges in. His inability to make a change breeds some amount of self-loathing that surfaces in parches across the poem. Death- the eternal Footman- snickers at him for being afraid. He admits that he is neither a prophet nor Prince Hamlet; that he is merely an attendant lord whose capacity to act stops at staring a scene or two. The poem ends with the ageing protagonist taking a walk on the beach and slipping into another world where the mermaids are riding the waves and singing to each other. But even here, he believes that they will not sing to him. He lingers there for as long as he can, before he is awoken by the lifeless hand of human interaction and condemned for his lack of action, to drown in its throes. The themes that Eliot discusses through this poem and others like ‘The Burial of the Dead’ and ‘A Game of Chess’ explore and hit out against the soulless modern existence which moves along in a regimented stupor and parallels the oncoming wave of industrialization.

Cultural context of the play Essay

How does Miller use the character of Alfieri to involve the audience and illustrate the cultural context of the play? Alfieri is used in a multitude of ways by Miller to help the play at various stages. He is a character in the play, which other characters interact with, however, he is displaced somewhat because he comments on the goings on of the play, expands on what has happened to make it clearer to the audience, links scenes together and to a certain extent takes the role of a narrator. The character of Alfieri as a lawyer is wisely chosen. Lawyers at that time were seen as a sign of bad luck as with priests, because they were symbols of the law and â€Å"law has not been a friendly idea since the Greeks were beaten†. This shows that Alfieri does not always bring good news and often brings about the things that people do not want to hear, like when Eddie goes to him and asks what he can do to get rid of Marco and Alfieri tells him that there is nothing he can do. The majority of characters in this play are immigrants who have tried to make a living by living in America so at one point or another they would have wanted to avoid the law. Alfieri being a lawyer also shows us how he is above the other immigrants as they are still uneducated, living lives of hard labour using colloquiums such as â€Å"yiz† which indicates a lack of control or status. However, Alfieri is educated and now has status. The language he uses is so much more formal than that of Beatrice or Eddie. Although Alfieri have status he may not have real respect, just the grudging respect for his status. Others do not see him as one of them , â€Å"see how uneasily they nod to me†. Realistically, Alfieri is the only one of them who has achieved the American Dream, worked his way form poverty to having a good life. Arthur Miller himself was the son of an immigrant and he supported himself through college by working on the docks, so he knew where to come from when writing about the hardships and unreliability of living a life like Eddies. In the area and time that the play is set, the rules of community, the code of honour, is more important than the state laws. Disobeying these unwritten laws and betraying the community could result in ostracization. As with Romeo and Juliet this play features people breaking the family laws, then being suitably punished for it. The issues in this play are ones that have been studied before and will be used again due to the fact that they are still relevant. You will always have people that want to do something that is not against the law but going against traditions in their communities and will often cause them a worse fate then if they were breaking a state law. People can relate to disobeying these community rules. Alfieri’s prologue introduces the play. He sets the scene and tells us a bit about the history and culture of where the play is set, where men where â€Å"justly shot by unjust men†. He also says in his epilogue that people now â€Å"settle for half†¦ we are quite civilized, quite American†. With statements like that you can tell that uncivilized things are going to happen. The opposite of how people are now will come out, the real them. Alfieri also tells us that what we are about to see is not just an ordinary one of his cases, and not simply the â€Å"petty troubles of the poor†. Not only in Alfieri’s prologue does he give us hints to what will happen in the play. Ina act one when Eddie goes to Alfieri and asks what he can do to get Rodolpho out, Alfieri says that Eddie must let go of Catherine and let her live her own life â€Å"because after all -what other way can it end? † he is almost predicting that if Eddies protective behaviour continues then it shall end in a bad way. The epilogue, also delivered by Alfieri helps us to understand things better as well. After all the commotion and high emotions of Eddies death, Alfieri is there, calm and collected as ever and gives us enough of an explanation to get us thinking, but also one that lets us make our own minds up. It offers a sense of rounding off. Alfieri reminds us f why we first liked Eddie, and talks of what a good character he was and how we will all like him far more than Alfieri’s â€Å"sensible clients†. Eddie died because he did what he wanted to and Alfieri can see the strength in this action, however, believes it is â€Å"better to settle for half† in order to survive and for there to be peace. Once again, as in the prologue Alfieri is at ease with us the audience. He is relaxed and allowing himself to be honest, to say what he really thinks. Alfieri comments are almost like what you would do to yourself in your head when analyzing or thinking something over. He is going through his thoughts in an almost soliloquy type way. When I went to see the play A View form a Bridge in the Questors theatre in Ealing the role of Alfieri was show to just as much the boob that he was in the svincter . if your happy and you know it clap your hands (clap clap) alice the camel had 95 humps†¦. ride alice ride du du dum cheesh. Im but a little bit bit bit bit show but a little bit bit bit shame but a little bit bit bit , bit bit bit. Peters pepper picked another pickle bearing pussy pepper raaah!!! Vivadixiesubmarine transmitionplot I think that Alfieri is a very good character to have in the play as he manages to fill in all the gaps where extra explanation is needed, such as after scenes. He also acts as an unofficial scene changer, and marks when time has passed or the setting is different. As well as all of this he also points people in the direction of doing things. If it was not for him telling Eddie that the only way he could get rid of Rodolpho was to phone immigration then he would not of thought of it.

Dhl Stakeholders in Conjuction with Marks and Spencer Essay Example

Dhl Stakeholders in Conjuction with Marks and Spencer Essay Example Dhl Stakeholders in Conjuction with Marks and Spencer Essay Dhl Stakeholders in Conjuction with Marks and Spencer Essay From three employees in 969 to 300,000 in 2008, the approach dedication has remained the same, our success has always been based around delivering excellent service for our customers. Never complacent, DEL has become a brand acknowledged for personal commitment proactive solutions local strength. At the heart of its success are its employees who focus on the customers needs provide Individually customized solutions. Corporate citizenship is an integral part of our companys ethos our approach to It strongly supports the DEL vision, mission values. It Is also aligned with the sustainability strategy of our company, Deutsche Post World Net. Our DEL mission Is that DEL enhances the business of our customers by offering the highest quality express logistics solutions based on strong local expertise combined with the most extensive global network presence. DEL attracts develops retains exceptional people by creating a truly global working environment placing value on our multicultural heritage. DEL delivers above-average returns by providing superior quality solutions at all levels of the business processes. DEL is responsible corporate citizens in all countries in which we operate taking into account the social environmental needs of our employees, local communities and the public. Our vision at DEL Is that Customers trust DEL as the preferred global express logistics partner, leading the Industry in terms of quality, profitability market share Also from our current work, there are signals that our customers particularly theses that are global brands have Increasingly rigorous expectations of their suppliers In terms of their ethical, social environmental performance. DEL also deliver seven corporate values, with corporate citizenship being an integral part of todays business oral. Nowadays a companys success is considered not just in commercial terms. It is also Judged on the impact it has on the people it touches, the places where it operates on its ethics. Because of the nature of corporate citizenship its reach into the breath depth of an organization. Our work also supports the other Group Corporate Values, which are; To deliver excellent quality To make our customers successful To foster openness To act according to clear priorities To act In an entrepreneurial way. To act with integrity externally 10 accept social responsibilities Our core values let us know reputation is everything that is takes years to build must be protected enhanced, It is part of fulfilling our customers expectations of us. It shows our largest customers demand proof that our commitment to corporate citizenship is equal to theirs. It shows that the management is switched on prepared for the future, in front of any task. They are a challenge a guide for us; they accompany our process of development develop along with us. The code of conduct arises from these values is oriented on such international conventions deadlines as those of the universal declaration of human rights. Stakeholders are groups of people who have an interest in a business organization and at DEL we have a wide range of stakeholders both internal external. As part of our approach to corporate citizenship, we believe that it is vital that we identify our stakeholders either consult them or establish a dialogue with them to understand their key concerns this will help us shape our future activities to be sensitive to the impact that they have. Engaging our stakeholders allows us to gather input ideas, improve decision aging, gain an understanding of the different viewpoints, anticipate manage conflict, strengthen relationships enhance corporate reputation. In DEL our stakeholders are: Our customers, an external stakeholder who has a use the services provided by DEL, has an interest of them to deliver quality. Our shareholders, an internal stakeholder who holds shares within DEL, they have an interest in the profit, performance of DEL. Our business partners, an external stakeholder our business partners are our big customers which involve the likes of Amazon, EBay, Avon. Local communities, an external stakeholder whos interest revolves around Job opportunities and environmental issues. Suppliers, an in internal stakeholder, the relationships we forge with our supplier partners are key to our teams agility, integrity and competitiveness, and our ability to meet our customers needs. Financial institutions, an external stakeholder, our aim is to meet the current and future needs of our financial customers through careful customization of our global distribution and e- Commerce capabilities. Media, an external stakeholder, the media is one of Dells ways of communication about the company. Whether it is advertising, press conferences or company information. Nation local governments, an external stakeholder who have an interest in the company about taxation, VAT and legislation. We use our stakeholders to be guided by their views concerns by engaging with our stakeholders we make better decisions find better solutions. Stakeholders at DEL have different views on why their stakeholders, at this company for example shareholders would have more of an interest to maximize profit of the company also the value of shares. While employees have an interest to improve heir salaries the security of their Job. At DEL our stakeholders main objectives is to see customer excellence delivered to the best of our ability to enable our stakeholders to grow and grow. Because at DEL we Just dont listen to our stakeholders, we are guided by their views concerns. By engaging with stakeholders we make netter echelons Tina netter solutions, wanly makes our stakeholders objectives clear, for DEL to grow and succeed. With our warehouse working in conjunction with Marks Spencer we work in two different departments. We have boxed warehouse operatives hanging warehouse operatives. Boxed operatives are responsible for receiving, put away picking of all home wear items in Marks Spencer. While hanging operatives are responsible or the receiving, put away picking of clothing items supplied by Marks Spencer. Above the boxed hanging warehouse operatives are the boxed hanging team leaders. They are responsible for the overseeing of the boxed hanging operatives to insure all objectives handed out by managers our carried out that all operatives are allocated over the warehouse. After the boxed hanging team leaders we have the boxed hanging section managers. If any warehouse operatives have any queries they report to section manager who also ensure health safety is at its standard in their department. They are also a stand in manager for shift manager. Next in the organization chart is the shift manager who is in charge of their shift when dealing with staff who need shift changes, holidays, also ensuring targets set by Marks Spencer are met that all work hours spread sheets are checked confirmed. Each shift has its own warehouse. The warehouse manager is to manage the day to day operations of the warehouse, also manage the team leaders, and ensure the distraction achievement of the companys obligation to its customers, contractual and other. They are to ensure a successful operation, probability, productivity, quality people management. The warehouse Manager then reports to the operations manager who also works along side the finance manager as planning manager. The operations manager ensures confirms that all operations are on going, executing against customer requirements, operational performance. He reports to the general manager who works alongside DEL Marks Spencer about the functioning of the warehouse to maximize the weekly, monthly and annual reference of the site. Our warehouse also works with an HER department which starts off with our HER manager, who would be in charge of the HER department also deal with disciplinary hearings. HER then breaks down into a training department also stays with HER into an HER officer. The HER officer deals with holidays from operatives, also problems with peoples pay packages are responsible for the recruitment selection. The training officer is in charge for setting up the training programs, whether it is new health safety or new operations that come into place. Training assistants are brought in from the shop lord to pass on their experience to new employees to employees who need further training. An HER administrator is responsible to the HER officer is responsible for all administrative duties within the HER department. HER assistants are also brought in off the floor to help with employees who have enquires with holidays or unlooses enquiry AT work mourn. As any large company does we also have a financial manager who is in charge of all the financial matters of the warehouse such as new equipment and uniforms must ensure and work within a set budget. The planning manager is in charge of planning he warehouse layout of any improvements needed. Our warehouse also has an inventory manager assistants who are in charge of office materials also do quality control checks on staff who receive stock into the warehouse, to make sure it hasnt been under or over received, to understand Dells stock loss contractual liability and ensure any potential risk is effectively mitigated. They also do stock counts on stock to make sure all is correct on the system. The finance manager also works along fiance © administrator finance assistants they provide paper work set up of charts for the general manager. For organization chart see Appendix 0. 1) In my organization our management starts off with the General Manager whose role in the warehouse is to maximize the weekly, monthly annual performance of the warehouse by providing leadership and also focusing on customer requirements who in our case is Marks Spencer. The manager is also responsible for having the warehouse running in an effective operational performance that ensures targets are met. They should also ensure their work force is motivated with the will to drive on success, they must also ensure succession planning making DEL a great place to org. They should also be aware of the contribution of the company to the commercial environment, taking responsibility for attracting new additional business. (For General Manager Job role see Appendix 0. ) Next in line to General Manger is Operations Manager, whose purpose is to maximize the performance of the operation by directing the daily, weekly monthly activities also provide leadership within the workplace motivation to other workers. The Operations Manager also organisms the workforce but mainly executing against customer requirements Marks Spencer operational performance making DEL a read place to work. They our also responsible for all operations in boxed hanging departments m aking sure all targets are being met. (For Operations Manager Job role see Appendix 0. ) Next in the operational role comes team leader which is a supervisory role. Their role is to assign work schedules to ensure that team members are trained in warehouse processes. They must also monitor their progress by carrying out productivity accuracy checks allocation of warehouse operatives. They also have to carry out warehouse operative duties if the warehouse has more work than planned. It is also their duty to report any breaches of health safety regulations incidents / accidents to Management / health safety officer. Team leaders are also assigned additional duties by management. For Team Leader Job role see Appendix 0. 4) (For Management structure see Appendix u In my organization middle managers play a key role within their shift. They are measured against their general responsibilities. General responsibilities of our section managers are to deliver our basic team management w hich is ensuring staff know what is required of them. They must plan, manage adjust staffing levels to et operational requirements- this is making sure staff are allocated to right places in the warehouse by working long side team leader. They are to ensure a safe, secure, clean fair work environment for team members. This involves working along with the health safety officer, ensuring that the department is complying with health safety standards. They are also to deliver team member performance reviews, this is informing staff about their work rate what level it is sitting at They must also facilitate effective communication ensuring that all staff are given clear instructions on what is required of them. At times they are to manage all disciplinary grievance issues in line with H. R policy. This will involve briefing staff on their disciplinary hearings letting them know what action is being taken. Other middle management responsibilities include: Ensuring compliance to standard operating procedures, this is ensuring all operations are being run at an above average standard and that reasonable quality is being produced. Ensuring company policies are communicated, applied enforced, this is making sure all staff are clear on the warehouse rules guidelines that they are followed in the right manner. They must work in collaboration with other DEL sites to maximize efficiencies best practice, this will involve communicating other DEL warehouses on ideas that might improve the work force They must also organism lead the focus on improved productivity levels. When an effective plan has been completed, such as easier work layout allocation to enable it to staff maintain it. For section managers to have successful objectives they are to have key relationships with: Team members General Manager Operations Manager Supervisors Team leader Customer representatives Vendors While carrying out their work duties they must have a strong focus. Squired to focus on: Direction of work Development execution of the shift / daily / weekly plans Workload planning, staffing, volume Resource deployment They are service performance Customer / vendor visits Management Style (For Middle Manager Job role see Appendix 0. 6) In my organization our managers would be categorized as an autocratic leader. T his is because in my company all orders are given by the customer Marks Spencer must be set out to provide results for objectives that have been set. Mangers fall under this category for giving out all policies, making decisions insuring all objectives are completed. It also means that staff are being used in their preferred job roles that they are known for. In my organization there is a wide range of communication used, but depending on what role you have in the warehouse, communication can be limited. For the likes of General Manager, H. R Manager, Operations Manager, Warehouse Manager, Shift Managers Section Managers their main source of communication would be email with DEL Marks Spencer also with each other, which comes in useful when communicating using data such as charts spreadsheets. The warehouse has an internal telephone system, which has a number of telephones points which staff can use to contact management team leaders. Before the start of a shift the main method of communication used of staff would be by having a Daily Team Brief (For Team Brief see Appendix 0. 7) this is when management displays all information on page it is explained out by team leader. The team brief gives such information as how many items are to be picked out for stores, also how the overall productivity is standing. It gives information on the days events e. . Number of lorries arriving into the warehouse for off loading. Health safety information is also given for staff to be reminded of. An Any other business section is also given which sets reminders for staff about any wrong doings that can lead to disciplinary action, also of new Job opportunities, having no mobile phones inside warehouse. Other ways of communication around the warehouse would be the use of notice boards such as union news. The board would display when the next meeting would be how past meetings went. The H. R notice board tells people of sickness news available weeks to book off for holidays. Recently our warehouse has started its own newsletter. The newsletter gives staff information on how Marks Spencer stores are doing, how figures our standing in the warehouse, movements that are happening in the warehouse, also Job opportunities that are available. When it comes to my organization communicating with colleagues outside the warehouse such as Marks Spencer DEL, most of this is done by email telephone. Around every three months Marks Spencer DEL representatives from Ireland headquarters visit the warehouse to see how performance is going, it gives management an opportunity to communicate face to face for a better understanding. Out of these types of communication our best form of communication would be out team brief. This would be our form of communication that works well with us Decease all star our present. I newer Is vernal communication wanly means star can understand clearly what they need to know. Staff are also able to ask questions themselves get any points they would like across with mostly instant replies. It also means that all staff is getting the same message given to each other so that theres no confusion between them When Marks Spences visit a number of questions are answered on the spot, questions such as Job security, upcoming events new Jobs. Our news letter gives employees management opportunity to communicate with staff on all shifts which works out well for the likes of night shift workers who are in on non- operational hours of work. Notice boards can sometimes give staff useful information such as available holiday hours, but these boards are at times not kept up to date which means staff dont get the right information needed. At times in my organization all staff arent given the information in full which can cause confusion among workers, this would be workers that work on core day hours arent involved in a team brief. Also Information is also given that is irrelevant to staff for their duties egg information from other departments. Other barriers with my organization would be when Marks Spencer demand stock each day while DEL prefer to send out full lorries as it is more efficient. With my our organization having such a large complex it can sometimes be difficult getting in touch with a member of staff. Ways we can overcome my organization not giving out staff information is give them a quick brief when they start despite their start time, When giving staff information they are given the information they need require for there working ay. With Marks Spencer becoming a fuel efficient company with DEL they have made a number of the small stores reduce their orders from day to day to two times a week, which means DEL can send out lorries with more loads saving on CO emissions due to less traveling involved. Our complex was a Tanana audio system installed over the speaker system meaning a member of of staff can be called out to meet in a certain destination to communicate face to face. Interpersonal relationships in my organization involve communication with a number of people we employ from Eastern Europe who arent fluent on English.

Family History and Meaning of the Surname Richardson

Family History and Meaning of the Surname Richardson Richardson is a patronymic name meaning son of Richard. The given name Richard is Germanic in origin and means powerful and brave, composed of the elements ric,  meaning power and hard, meaning hardy or brave. Example: Richard the Lion Hearted Richardson is the 76th most popular surname in the United States. Richardson is also popular in England, coming in as the 55th most common surname. Alternate Surname Spellings:  Richards, Richardsen, Richerdson Famous People With the Surname Richardson Natasha Richardson - British actress.Henry Hobson Richardson - American architect.Calvin Richardson - American RB music artist. Where Is the Richardson  Surname Most Common? The Richardson  surname is most prevalent in the United States, according to surname distribution information from  Forebears, where it ranks as the 76th most common surname in the country. Within the U.S., Richardson is found most frequently in South Carolina, North Carolina, Maryland, Virginia, Indiana, Vermont and Alabama. Richardson is also a very common surname in England (64th) and Australia (76th). Surname distribution maps from  WorldNames PublicProfiler  show that Richardson is especially common in the northern part of England, particularly in the counties of Northumberland and Durham, as well as in York. Richardson is also especially common in Australia (particularly Tasmania and Northern Territory) and New Zealand (Clutha, Gore, and Grey districts). Concerning the Richardson Family Crest... Contrary to what you may hear, there is no such thing as a Richardson traditional family crest or coat of arms for the Richardson surname.  Coats of arms are granted to individuals, not families, and may rightfully be used only by the uninterrupted male-line descendants of the person to whom the coat of arms was originally granted. Connecting With the World of Richardson Individuals with the Richardson surname, and variants such as Richards, Richarson, Richerson, Riches, Richeson, Richison, Ritchardson, Ritcharson, Ritcheson, are invited to join  this project to  work together to find their common heritage through DNA testing and sharing of information. There is a free message board is focused on descendants of Richardson ancestors around the world available through Genology.com. This allows you to search the Richardson forum for posts about your Richardson ancestors, or join the forum and post your own queries.   Similar to Geonology.com, FamilySearch.com allows you to explore over 12  million  results from digitized  historical records and lineage-linked family trees related to the Richardson surname on their free website hosted by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. One can also join a free mailing list designed for researchers of the Richardson surname and its variations. This mailing list includes subscription details and searchable archives of past messages. GeneaNet.org has compiled archival records, family trees, and other resources for individuals with the Richardson surname, with a concentration on records and families from France and other European countries. For genealogy records and links to genealogical and historical records for individuals with the Richardson surname you can visit the comprehesive website Richardson page at Genealogy Today. Perhaps the most well-known genealogy page is Ancestory.com, where you can explore over 11 million digitized records and database entries, including census records, passenger lists, military records, land deeds, probates, wills and other records for the Richardson surname on the subscription-based website, Ancestry.com. References: Surname Meanings Origins Cottle, Basil.  Penguin Dictionary of Surnames. Baltimore, MD: Penguin Books, 1967. Dorward, David.  Scottish Surnames. Collins Celtic (Pocket edition), 1998. Fucilla, Joseph.  Our Italian Surnames. Genealogical Publishing Company, 2003. Hanks, Patrick and Flavia Hodges.  A Dictionary of Surnames. Oxford University Press, 1989. Hanks, Patrick.  Dictionary of American Family Names. Oxford University Press, 2003. Reaney, P.H.  A Dictionary of English Surnames. Oxford University Press, 1997. Smith, Elsdon C.  American Surnames. Genealogical Publishing Company, 1997.

3 Answers to Questions About Capitalization

3 Answers to Questions About Capitalization 3 Answers to Questions About Capitalization 3 Answers to Questions About Capitalization By Mark Nichol Here are my responses to readers about questions regarding whether to use uppercase or lowercase letters in certain contexts. 1. Would you write, â€Å"I study algebra,† or â€Å"I study Algebra†? â€Å"I’m enrolled in algebra II,† or â€Å"I’m enrolled in Algebra II†? Is the following sentence correct? â€Å"The school offers algebra, French, physics, Spanish, Geometry, and english.† When you refer to an academic subject, write, for example, â€Å"I study algebra.† (Capitalize only names of languages and other proper nouns.) However, when the reference is to a course in which an academic subject is taught, write, for example, â€Å"I’m enrolled in Algebra II.† The terms in this revision of your final sample sentence are styled correctly: â€Å"The school offers algebra, French, physics, Spanish, geometry, and English.† See also the first item in this post. 2. One of our counties considers itself â€Å"the birthplace of prohibition.† My question is whether prohibition should be capitalized. I’ve seen it done that way before but can’t remember if it may have been only in the context of references to the era or the Eighteenth Amendment.† When referring to the principle rather than the era or the legislation, I’d lowercase the word: â€Å"The nonpartisan organization focused on the single issue of prohibition.† But in reference to the specific US government policy during the 1930s (or any other similar official policy in another country), capitalize the term. And if the county actually markets itself with the slogan â€Å"The Birthplace of Prohibition,† acknowledge that epithet by writing, â€Å"The county considers itself the ‘Birthplace of Prohibition’†). 3. What are the rules for saying something starts with a capital letter? Which one is correct: â€Å"The word God has a capital G,† or â€Å"The word God has a capital g†? No resource I know of refers to this specific point about naming a letter as a letter, so in this case I must defer to usage. â€Å"The word God has a capital G† may seem redundant, but that’s the prevailing style. Otherwise, when the reference is not specifically to an uppercase letter, the lowercase form should be used. 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:15 Terms for Those Who Tell the FutureBroadcast vs Broadcasted as Past FormPreposition Mistakes #3: Two Idioms

Renzo Piano Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Renzo Piano - Essay Example Various music functions are usually held at the complex. It occupies a spacious area in the 1960 Olympia area. The building designs such as the three bug-like halls take the form of musical instruments. The unique features of the building attract visitors from different part of the world. It is strategically located near big hotels that can accommodate visitors in the city. It is also close to other attractive places such as the Villa Glori Park. The place is also accessible because it is located near a high way called the Autostrada A1. In addition, it is near a railways station called the Roma Termini. The railways station is only 6 kilometer away from the music complex. Visitors from different parts of the world can easily access it through the Fiuicino airport that is only 33 kilometer to the architecture. The auditorium was built in an area that used to be a parking area. The area is near Parioli and Flaminio districts. Its strategic location and many support services make it an ideal place to hold many types of events (Bennet & William 199). The Music complex is in an open-air amphitheatre with halls that look like music boxes. It spaces are occupied by various concert halls. Each hall has different designs in terms of dimensions and functions. However, the spaces are very flexible and versatile and can be regulated depending of the type of music performance. For instance, its floor and ceiling can be adjusted in order to change the property of the halls. The three concert halls are accommodated in a huge dome-shaped structure within the music complex. One of the halls called the petrassi has enough space to accommodate about 750 seats while Sinopoli hall can accommodate about 1200 seats. The third hall named Santa Cecilia is the biggest among the three since it can accommodate about 2800 seats. The space of the music complex also has other rooms such as the practice rooms where people can practice before

Why don't we prove results in social research Essay

Why don't we prove results in social research - Essay Example However, it is different from scientific research. In order to prove the results of research there are certain elements that must exist. In science, the basic research elements are observation, description, prediction, control, falsification, and causal explanation. Descriptions should be reliable and repeatable. In social research, however, if the same study were conducted by another researcher in another place, the descriptions would not be the same. This is also true of falsification. Falsification is the ability to rule out all other possibilities, rather than merely accepting the results. Since humans are unique in nature, the chances of disproving the results of many social research cases by conducting another study using different subjects would be strong. Instead of looking to rule out possibilities, a social researcher looks to find all the possibilities that explain a certain behavior. In addition, as societies grow and change, the results of social research will also continue to change. The social sciences are not concrete like the natural sciences. They are evolving. They rely on interpretations and ideas, rather than hard facts. For these reasons, social research is not something that can be proved. It is very important that social research methods take measures to maintain a level of trust between the research

A Report on the Investigation on the Allegations against a Plant Essay

A Report on the Investigation on the Allegations against a Plant Employee of an Acquired Corporation, Lakes Inc - Essay Example The investigation landed on a big clue, which made it clear that the offence was done in the preparation of invoice for purchase of items. From this case it was found that actually, the invoice was supposed to be prepared for purchasing high definition flat screen television but the prepared invoice was in the name of a computer server. The investigation is carried out from August to November 2009. In the mean time, it was also found that the employee has submitted the invoice through the purchase department for a refund amount of $8,795.60. Due to this issue, the director of purchasing department, Mr Bob Smith, and the administrative assistant, Ms Mary Bad, had to be terminated from the company. The company maintains a database for all the items they purchase and a particular code is fixed for the items, which relates to the work done by the administrative assistant. As part of the investigation, a visit was made to all the stores from where the goods were purchased. The manager of one store said that in the past six months, Bob Smith had done two more purchases and these items were delivered either to him or his assistant. He showed the invoices of these items that had been purchased. When comparing these with the plant invoices, the file had only copies. Everything in the invoice except the name of the items was similar. The director of the purchasing department and the administrative assistant are the culprit in this case. They cheated the company and this had been continuing for several years. The invoices, the proof and the statement of the store manager have been apt evidences for this particular investigation. Bob Smith and Mary Bad were cheating the company by making false invoices and purchasing costly items with the company’s earnings. They might even resell these items at a higher price and make more profits out of it. The case is found to be misappropriation on purchasing the asset. There are various schemes for asset misappropriation such a s â€Å"skimming, cash larceny, fraudulent disbursements, and non-cash larceny and misuse† (Albrecht n.d pg 2). Misappropriation of the Asset Fraudulent Disbursement Scheme From these schemes, the one, which is similar to the case under study here, is the fraudulent disbursements scheme. Asset misappropriation schemes consist of â€Å"those frauds in which a perpetrator employs trickery or deceit to steal or misuse an organization’s resources† (Albrecht n.d pg 1). In this case, both the director and his assistant have taken assets of the organization to benefit themselves. Here, misappropriation of assets occurred during the purchase of goods and services. The organization pays extra for purchased goods and services, as all of them were not used in the plant. It includes a billing scheme, which involves employers making payments based on false invoices for personal purchases as done by Mr Bob Smith and Ms Mary. Such type of asset misappropriation frauds are seri ous enough, which result in material misstatement of the financial statements of the organization, without the knowledge of the management. Finally, the company incurs a huge loss and a lot of damages. Final Results of the Investigation Asset misappropri

ANTH 419 Anthropology of Religion Final Take-home Exam Questions (20%) Essay

ANTH 419 Anthropology of Religion Final Take-home Exam Questions (20%) - Essay Example The inattention to sexuality and gender contradicts with the liveliness of gender studies in the recent decades. Sex comes out as a multifaceted social construct, a phenomenon that is complex and is viewed differently by the society (Reilly & Scriver, 2013). Without any doubt, various religious rituals, beliefs and practices shape the gender and sexuality of people in the society. In most religions, if not all, certain practices are designated by the male part of the societies (Reilly & Scriver, 2013). The females are also required to act in a unique way as per the demands of those practices. Within any organized religion, there exist beliefs that seek to address the true nature of sexuality and gender and also the appropriateness of various sexual behaviors. People confined within such religions have diverging levels of agreement(s) with the doctrines of such religions. Gender and sexuality are crucial in religions (Reilly & Scriver, 2013). There are religions that lack the official ground on the purpose of sexuality or gender. These two are regarded by most religious beliefs to represent temptation, a gift, an emotional enforcement and a means of procreation. In many religions, sexuality and gender are deemed as spiritual (Reilly & Scriver, 2013). Others primarily treat the issues to be physical. Some believe that sexuality and gender are only spiritual within the limits of certain kinds of relationship when employed for given purpose. Other religions do not see the difference between the spirituality and physicality of gender. Such religions teach the existence of spiritual-physical mind and that sex and religion seek to fill the gap. Using the religious practices of the Jewish and Hijras of India, there is concrete evidence that religions portray the differences in gender and sexuality. Thus, the approach is to show various similarities and differences of the Jewish and

Statistics project what factors affects the happiness of a country - 1

What factors affects the happiness of a country - Statistics Project Example influenced by the economic, social, political, psychological and geographical factors such as Life Expectancy, Well-being, Happy Life Years, Footprint, Happy Planet Index, Population, GDP and governance ranking (Michael 21) and (Neil 32). The aim and objective of this study is to investigate the relationship between the factors listed and the level of happiness of a country (Helliwell et al, 54). It therefore applies the quantitative analysis methods to show how the different factors are related to the level of happiness of the counties (Joop & Hessel 28). This study applies three statistical methods in the analysis of the relationship between countries’ happiness and the factors that cause happiness. The two methods are linear correlation analysis, statistical descriptive summary and graphical comparison (James 43). The data used for this study was collected as secondary data from www.happyplanetindex.org/data/). The dataset already has data in quantifiable metrics such that they can be used for quantitative data analysis. The data analysis methods applied in this study will be quantitative and descriptive. All the independent variables are in numerical forms except the country and the regions (McMahon 54). The relationship between each country’s happiness and the rest of the variables is tested through the correlation analysis (Gregg 32). The correlation coefficients demonstrate the link between happiness ranking for all the countries and each of the individual independent variables. The result for the linear correlation analysis is shown in table 1 below The third measurement taken in the analysis is the weight of influence of each of the variables on the level of happiness foe all the countries. The countries were divided into two categories, high happiness and low happiness countries. The ratios are taken as the average values of each dependent variable for the high happiness countries divided by the average equivalent for the low happiness countries

Paper Assignment Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Paper Assignment - Essay Example (e) Presidential vote closely reflects voters’ party loyalties and is not influenced by whether an incumbent is running in a district or how much money the local candidates spend. (+) Districts that voted at least 10 percentage points more Democratic than the nation were classified as safe Democratic; districts that voted at least 10 percentage points more Republican than the nation were classified as safe Republican; districts that were within 5 percentage points of the nation were classified as competitive. (a) House district have become less competitive, but not because of redistricting. Most of the change has occurred between redistricting cycles. For the same reasons that states and counties have become less competitive- Americans are increasingly voting for candidates who reflect those values. (e) on the county level-number of counties dominated by one party and the proportion of voters living in such counties have increased dramatically over the several past decades. Also, growing ideological polarization at the elite level has made it easier for voters to choose a party identification on the basis of their ideological preferences. (+) Polarization=sorting, as voters bring their policy and partisan preferences into alignment (a)Growing financial advantage enjoyed by incumbents also contributes to the low level of competition in recent congressional elections. (e) It now costs over a million dollars to wage a competitive campaign for a U.S. House seat. (+) Most incumbents can raise that kind of money easily, but very few challengers can (they lack the financial resources needed to wage competitive campaigns). The most vulnerable- those in districts that were more supportive of the opposing party’s presidential candidate than the nation. Claims that redistricting does have an effect on the number of competitive congressional districts and, as a case study of redistricting institutions in Arizona illustrates, the choice of redistricting

Statistics project what factors affects the happiness of a country - 1

What factors affects the happiness of a country - Statistics Project Example influenced by the economic, social, political, psychological and geographical factors such as Life Expectancy, Well-being, Happy Life Years, Footprint, Happy Planet Index, Population, GDP and governance ranking (Michael 21) and (Neil 32). The aim and objective of this study is to investigate the relationship between the factors listed and the level of happiness of a country (Helliwell et al, 54). It therefore applies the quantitative analysis methods to show how the different factors are related to the level of happiness of the counties (Joop & Hessel 28). This study applies three statistical methods in the analysis of the relationship between countries’ happiness and the factors that cause happiness. The two methods are linear correlation analysis, statistical descriptive summary and graphical comparison (James 43). The data used for this study was collected as secondary data from www.happyplanetindex.org/data/). The dataset already has data in quantifiable metrics such that they can be used for quantitative data analysis. The data analysis methods applied in this study will be quantitative and descriptive. All the independent variables are in numerical forms except the country and the regions (McMahon 54). The relationship between each country’s happiness and the rest of the variables is tested through the correlation analysis (Gregg 32). The correlation coefficients demonstrate the link between happiness ranking for all the countries and each of the individual independent variables. The result for the linear correlation analysis is shown in table 1 below The third measurement taken in the analysis is the weight of influence of each of the variables on the level of happiness foe all the countries. The countries were divided into two categories, high happiness and low happiness countries. The ratios are taken as the average values of each dependent variable for the high happiness countries divided by the average equivalent for the low happiness countries

Government and Police State Term Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2750 words

Government and Police State - Term Paper Example This paper focuses on BIAs in Seattle, in the US. The paper will discuss on BIAs in Seattle including BIA best practices; creating a BIA including the legal requirements and operating a BIA. The growth of American cities began around downtown and neighborhood main streets with majority of the people occupying them being independent businesses and local property owners. The rapid development of the infrastructure particularly the highway expansion provided an incentive for growth of Automobiles during the World War II. The availability of relatively inexpensive mortgages led to the rise in housing development.1 Outlaying shopping malls became the dominant feature especially in downtowns and other older relatively older commercial districts. These shopping malls became highly successful and part of the reasons for the same was: the ability to use a consistent design theme; ability to run different businesses within the same premises; and having and having an efficient decentralized management.2 The concept of business district management funded through mandatory assessments emerged in the 1970s, and grew to wide popularity during the 1990s. Under one name or another, well over 1,000 such districts exist today throughout the United States, with many more in Canada and throughout the world. BIAs is involved in provision of different programs key among them being marketing; professional management; and beautification just to mention a few. The extent of the programs provided by BIAs is, however, subject to the availability of funds as dictated by the yearly annual budget. In the year 2011, for example, BIAs estimated budget was about $17 million whereas the median budget was set at $342,000. For efficient management, a budget of $200,000 or less is usually allocated to the management staff of up to 2 people and a modest budget for other services such as promotions and marketing.3 America has seen the number of BIAs

Secure Payment Device using NFC

Secure Payment Device using NFC CAREER EPISODE 3 3.1 INTRODUCTION In my last semester, i.e. 8th semester, I made a project called Secure Payment Device using NFC. My last career episode is about this project. I completed this project in six months duration from Jan 2013 to May 2013. I completed my Bachelors Degree in Electronics and Communication in June 2013. I pursued this program from Guru Nanak Dev University, Gurdaspur, India. The project secure payment device using NFC was completed in a group and I was assigned the group leader. Also, it was performed under the supervision of Prof. Rana. 3.2 BACKGROUND NFC Near Field Communication, it is a wireless communication technology. NFC and mobile payments are the two fields which are gaining attention in the society lately. Mostly all mobile phone has this NFC technology, and more to come in near future. Using NFC, if the payments are made possible, it will attract more masses. The project concentrates on how this technology can be used for mobile payments. It stores the credit card or debit card number on the phone i.e. the digital money and uses NFC reader to detect the card number and send it to the server for authentication. For this purpose, I had prepared a dummy database bank system and uploaded it on the server side. 3.3 OBJECTIVES The objective behind implementing this project was to overcome the problems related to payment. People tend to forget their wallet and debit/credit card, or there occurs a problem of security if the card is lost. So, to overcome this issue I designed a NFC based payment method, which replaces the regular money cards. The users mobile system become the mode of payment transaction. This solves the issue of security also and the person always has a mode of payment in his phone. Also, NFC is the new and useful technology, which got me interested in its various forms of application. 3.4 In this device, NFC for requesting on client end and sending card number, POS (Point of Sales) Terminal for client end for receiving data and processing the transaction, Website for registration, account details etc., Web service which is used for authentication and Database for loading and saving users details are required. Various new technology and software are used in designing of this device. The POS terminal is NFC reader interfaced with Arduino, from Arduino the program code is sent to APDU commands on phone to verify the AID of the application. Eclipse software is used to write application for NFC Enabled Phone to send card number and password that is stored in the phone. Computer languages like C#, ASP.NET are used to write the code for website and webserver. And SQL is used for database technology. 3.5 The idea behind this project is that the user just touches his phone to NFC reader when the payment is need to be made, and the phone will act as the credit card or debit card that the user previously used to use. A mobile payment enabled phone is associated with the bank or the credit card company, in a similar way the phone is associated to phone service provider.ÂÂ   For my project a dummy system and bank with some random database is made to use which assigns a card number and authenticates the user the permission required at the time of payment. 3.6 The project was performed in a group, and being a group leader I had many responsibilities and duties that I had to perform perfectly and had to maintain professional rules of conduct. The duties are listed below: To start with, I had to understand the problem statement assigned to me and survey and research relevant and related topics for possible solutions. After having the solution, I mapped a work plan. Based on the work plan, I divided the whole project into small task and assigned each team member the task based on team members ability. Also, I gave a strict deadline. I involved myself in the design procedure of the block diagram for this device based on my research work. I studied and compared all the components and came up with a final set of components. Using my planned circuit diagram and the component list, I started to plot the hardware model. I learned new software for the implementation of the programming codes in my device. Testing and troubleshooting was performed. Regular reports on updates of my project was given to the project guide. 3.7 PERSONAL ENGINEERING ACTIVITY Based on my literature survey, I made a block diagram for my device. For my project, I have used Roboduino with ATmega328, which is Arduino compatible board. I chose this microcontroller due to its simplicity in programming. To display a message at the POS terminal, I used LCD and interfaced it with Arduino. The NFC reader is interfaced with Arduino in SPI mode. I have made use of PN532 NFC IC which prepares NFC reader by matching 13.56MHz frequency with the antenna. The data that is scanned by NFC reader is passed to the computer and further sent to web server for authentication. The web servers code that is written in visual studio will verify the data that is sent to the web service URL. The URL is already hosted. It will then send a notification stating the success or failure of the data and that will be displayed on the LCD. 3.8 To use this system, it involves three parties buyer, bank, and the merchant. The process involves tapping the buyers phone on the reader at the point of sales (POS). Once the AID is selected from the android side, it will return the card number and PIN to the reader. As per the ISO 7816-4 standard, these values received are transferred in HEX code. On the PC terminal, this HEX code is converted into string by serial client. The bank receives the card no and PIN for verification purpose. On receiving the reply, the LCD will display true or false and it will notify the buyer about his or her transaction. 3.9 For the function of the system, I used the following components to suit my requirement. PN532 it is a highly-integrated transmission module which is used for contactless communication at 13.56MHz and it also supports microcontroller functionality based on 80C51 core. Arduino Duemilanove, LCD 162, Resistors, Capacitors, LED, MOSFET, Inductor and Crystal With the help of these components I prepared a circuit diagram using a software called Eclipse. The readers circuit diagram differs than others because it moves from one host interface to other and the SPI interface uses MOSI. PN532 supports three modes. The interfacing is done for the LCD and NFC shield with the Roboduino. The NFC shield operates as SPI modes while interfacing, so 4 pins MOSI, MISO, SS and SCK are interfaced to the Arduino pins. 3.10 Once my hardware part was completed and the components were soldered to the PCB, I progressed my work with the development of the software part for my device. The software part was divided into two parts, one for the hardware functioning and the other part was designed to function the web application. To start with the implementation, I had to learn certain programming software, as they were new for me. The four software that are used in my device are Arduino IDE used for programming Arduino Uno board with C++ language, Microsoft Visual Studio used for developing a serial client software, web application and web service with the use of C#, Eagle is used for PCB designing and schematic layout and Eclipse to develop android applications using Java code. 3.11 For receiving data on COM port and for the verification purpose of the user, a software i.e. serial client is developed with the help of C#.Net. A random website is developed for the registration and processing the NFC payment purpose, editing details of the user, adding money etc. A tap pay app based on android is prepared for NFC shield to communicate and transfer the required card details to serial port. The serial client performs all further procedure. After the completion of the software designing, the project was run on the trial basis to check its working and for any faulty situation. Various troubleshooting and test kits were used to solve any issue in the device. All the connections were checked at the final stage to avoid short circuit situation of the PCB. 3.12 Working in teams is also a challenging situation. And as I was the group leader, I had to present the complete working model of my project on time. I coordinated with each group member. I took a fair, unbiased, and appropriate decision in the state of conflict. I took help from my seniors and project supervisor in the crises of any error or problem. There were two major issues during my project, first was working on software as coming from electronics and communication background, it was difficult and challenge to write such big codes. I took the challenge and learned all possible solutions and techniques to write the code. The second issue was I had to reconnect some of the components as while performing a trial run, the microcontroller got burnt. I took precaution while correcting the issue so that I dont make the same mistake again. 3.13 SUMMARY Therefore, after performing and developing such endless device, I have proposed a trusted and secure option for payment method which is based on NFC. It processes payment without the need of physical card, the mobile does all the work by just tapping it at the reader. Once the users details are verified, the payment is processed and executed successfully. I have kept the window open for expanding my project in future. The details can be encrypted before transferring it from the phone to the POS, thus keeping it more safe and secure. It can be used anywhere, from shopping at small shops to malls, as well as an access system for the door or for buying tickets at railway or bus stations. 3.14 The project was a big step in my bachelors degree. It involved serious knowledge and full dedication. I learned and developed new technologies and software that are related to my electronics and communication field. I used my engineering knowledge at various point during the execution and implementation of the project. I was grateful to my project guide for constantly helping me and training me to develop such device. I made a presentation and report describing the details of my project. I referenced various work of great researchers and scientist wherever needed.

Roundup Essay -- Monsanto’s Soya Bean

"If you read Wall Street’s reports, they don’t talk of soya bean as originating in China. They don’t talk of soya bean as soya bean. They talk of Monsanto soya. Monsanto soya is protected by a patent. It has a patent number. It is therefore treated as a creation of Monsanto, a product of Monsanto’s intelligence and innovation." – Vandana Shiva (Barsamian, 1997) Introduction Monsanto is a Saint Louis Chemical manufacturer that is a major player in the weed killing business. Monsanto has quite a portentous past. They developed and produced the notorious defoliant "Agent Orange" used in the Vietnam War, they invented the controversial recombinant Bovine Growth Hormone (rBGH), and they were the inventors and world’s main producer of polychlorinated biphenols (PCB’s) which are now banned but still linger in our soil and water (Arax, 1997). Presently, Monsanto is commonly known for its potent herbicide named Roundup. As the biggest-selling weed killer in the world, Roundup accounts for 17 percent of Monsanto’s total annual sales of $9 billion (Arax, 1997). The main ingredient of Roundup is glyphosate. Glyphosate is the eighth most commonly used herbicide in U.S. agriculture and the second most commonly used herbicide in nonagricultural settings (Cox, 1995). It’s estimated annual use according to the U.S. EPA is between 15 and 20 million pounds in agriculture and between 4 and 6 million pounds elsewhere (Arax, 1997). Monsanto claims that Roundup breaks down quickly in the soil, so that little or no toxic byproduct accumulates in plant or animal tissue - a viewpoint often disputed. Monsanto’s patent on Roundup will expire in two years, and when this happens, countless chemical companies will undoubtedly jump into the mark... ...Susan Benson, and Rachel Burstein. "A Growing Concern." Mother Jones January / February 1997: 37-43. Barsamian, David. "We Can’t Afford To Have a Sacred Car Rather Than a Sacred Cow." The Progressive September 1997: 36-39. Bruno, Kenny. "Say It Ain’t Soy, Monsanto." Multinational Monitor January / February 1997: 27-30. Cox, C. "Glyphosate, Part 1: Toxicology." Journal of Pesticide Reform Fall 1995 Vol. 15, No 3. Cox, C. "Glyphosate, Part 2: Human Exposure and Ecological Effects." Journal of Pesticide Reform Winter 1995 Vol. 15, No 4. "Perils Amid Promises of Genetically Engineered Foods" by Dr. Mea Ho. Biology Department, Open University, U.K. November 1996. WWW.GREENPEACE.ORG/~GENENG/INDEX.HTML "Why Consumers and Farmers Should Avoid Monsanto’s Genetically Engineered Soybeans" – A Greenpeace Report. WWW.GREENPEACE.ORG/~GENENG/INDEX.HTML

A Man with a Vision :: essays research papers

My search began with personal interest about a man by the name of Howard Coffin. I knew him as the founder of Pirates of the Spanish Main, a local organization that he established in 1931. His purpose in founding the club was to welcome dignitaries, promote the Golden Isles, and aid the community. As a member of the club today, I thought it might be interesting to trace the roots back to the founder. Little did I know, Mr. Coffin was much more than just the founder of a club. He was also a man with a vision, who made huge strides in developing much of the Golden Isles.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Mr. Coffin was born in 1873 and grew up on an Ohio farm, and in Ann Harbor, Michigan. He first discovered one of his visions while attending the University of Michigan. His vision was somehow to produce a low cost car, which would sell for less than a thousand dollars and that would attract a mass market. In 1902, Howard Coffin went to work for the Old Motor Works of Detroit, where he began his phenomenal career as an automobile builder. After the Olds Company decided to stay with their expensive car, he worked at other companies until he was finally able to achieve his dream. With the financial support of the Hudson Department Stores of Detroit, he invented the Hudson Car. The car was the first model of a four-cylinder roadster that sold for about $900.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The first visit that Mr. Coffin made to the coast of Georgia was in 1910 to attend the Savannah Road Race. Early automobile manufacturers liked to watch their cars perform, but also they made it a vacation trip. While attending the races and enjoying their vacation, Mr. and Mrs. Coffin fell in love with the beauty and history of the Golden Isles of the Georgia coast. Since Mr. Coffin was well able to afford just about anything he wanted, he and his wife decided to purchase the 20,000 acres that made up Sapelo Island. They would have a place to vacation, a wonderful place to entertain, and a reason to return to the Georgia coast.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Howard Coffin’s real importance to Golden Isles history was in the vision that he had for development with the ongoing process of automobile roads. After the end of World War I, the sales of automobiles far surpassed the condition of roads for their travel.

Are Curfews Fair to Juveniles Essay

Cities across the United States have imposed curfews on juveniles for many years. Teen curfew laws restrict the hours that juveniles may be on the streets or in public places at night (Sutphen and Ford). Some people consider curfews infringing on people’s constitutional rights. Curfews are hard to implement by law enforcement, and, in fact, take law enforcement away from more serious crimes. More crimes occur during daytime hours and more children are victimized in their homes than on the streets. Although curfews are made to protect our juveniles and to deter crime by juveniles, does imposing these curfews violate the juvenile’s civil rights and target the true underlying problems involved in enforcing these issues? People have a right to personal freedoms, including juveniles, but curfews take away some personal freedoms of juveniles. A 16-year-old en route to a fast-food restaurant is stopped and questioned five times, by five different police officers (Davidson). Even though this teen had no intension of any mischief, he or she was stopped five times. When a juvenile transitions from a child to an adult they are required to take on more responsibilities, curfews limit them as they make the transition into adulthood. This hinders the juvenile from making adult decisions. Youth curfews use the idea of childhood based on innocence/ignorance, passivity and dependence, in order to prevent young people from crossing the boundary into adulthood before society deems them ready (O’Neil). Most parents want the freedom to choose how to raise their children and what values they want to instill in their children. If the state leaves guidance in the hands of the parents, they can monitor their child’s development and gradually increase her liberty and responsibility by allowing her to experience new situations and to make choices as she develops into an adult (Assessing the Scope if Minors’ Fundamental Rights: Juvenile Curfews and the Constitution). Curfews stifle the personal freedoms of juveniles. The enforcement of curfews presents even more reasons to abolish curfews. It is hard for law enforcement to enforce curfews and curfew violations are not taken seriously. Juvenile curfews will not stop young people who are intent on committing crime, in part, because the penalties for a curfew violation are not that serious (O’Neil). There are also limited police officers to help with the enforcement of curfews. Because of the curfews, it takes the police away from more serious crime that are happening in cities across the United States. The enforcement of juvenile curfews is hard to put into effect, and there are limited police officers to enforce these curfews, which are often not even taken seriously. Crimes by juveniles occur more often during the day than at night. When either both parents work, or there is a single parent household, juveniles must come home from school alone. Since juveniles are left unsupervised, they sometimes commit crimes and these crimes usually occur during the day. Those opposed to curfews replied that most juvenile crimes occurred in daylight hours, that most children were not criminals, and that many legitimate nocturnal activities were being suppressed (Juvenile Curfews and the Major Confusion Over Minor Rights). Since most juvenile crimes occur during the day, why should a curfew be imposed on juveniles? One of the main reasons juvenile curfews were imposed, was to protect the juveniles from the dangers that could occur during the late hours of the night. Although many feel curfews protect juveniles from these dangers, many times that is not the case. Many juveniles are victimized in their own homes. Critics argue that because many juvenile crimes occur during the day and most juvenile victimization occurs at home, nighttime curfews fail to target the worst problems (Juvenile Curfews and the Major Confusion Over Minor Rights). Although juvenile curfews were put in place to protect children, the streets are not always the places where children are victimized. Most large cities in the United States impose juvenile curfews. Juveniles have rights to the personal freedoms their parents allow and the government needs to let the parents raise their children without interference. Because most juvenile crimes are committed during the day, and since curfews restrict night time activities, we should abolish these curfews. Curfews also take law enforcement officers away from more serious crimes. Curfews were made to protect juveniles and to deter juvenile crime, but since most juveniles are victimized at home and most juvenile crimes are committed during the day, curfews are ineffective and should be abolished.

How Do Certain Food and Beverage

Despite all the conventional methods of analyzing the customers with all the physical and social and other factors, the actual statistics seem to differ tremendously from the estimated outcomes. This is because we as humans seem to bank heavily on emotions. Once the customer has some sort of emotional attachment with the outlet for whatsoever reasons, he is not going to opt for other places. The customer might now be considered loyal to the outlet. The customer wouldn’t prefer going to any of the competitors because he feels he has some sort of bond with the outlet. This emotional umbilical cord is very powerful as it is one of the easiest and the most effective ways to maintain customer loyalties. As they say, it is easier to retain the existing customers than it is to create new ones. The existing customers would always walk in with that feeling of homeliness and once this feeling of theirs is respected and catered, all the outlet has do is cash in. Existing customers don’t mind paying a little extra also because they’ve already grown used to the ambience and the way the outlet is run. Therefore, it should be profoundly important for the hotels and restaurants, to see to it that they lock in the customers as their regular guests. The hotels have to work hard to make sure that the customers don’t take away the business elsewhere. The loss of a regular customer is colossal. The hotel is just not losing that one customer but a lot more than that. All those people whom he had recommended the hotel in course of years would also develop negative thoughts and opinions about the outlet. This might be a very serious issue and often devastating for the hotel chains. Loyalty as such is the key factor in most businesses, but its impact is more clearly visible in the business of hospitality and hotel management. When compared to several other businesses, the one fact that stands out here is that the hospitality industry has a lot to do with how the customer actually feels about being at the place. This might include the food, the ambience, the customer satisfaction and several other factors. Hospitality has more to do with experience as against those of other industries who just sell products. There can be many ways in which this can be done, some hotels prefer giving free gifts, some give special privileges to their regular customers, some others give huge discounts. All these methods are simply aimed at encouraging customer loyalty. The hotels and restaurants should never miss a chance on maintaining and pleasing loyal customers given the fact that this emotional attachment is so very delicate yet powerful enough change the very course of several businesses. Research Problem: It is because of these above stated reasons that it becomes immensely important for the managers to study the science of loyalty management and learn how to implement it thoroughly. Discussion: Important concepts and theories, the background of the study: In simple terms, it can be said that in spite of all what the company the customer has an inherent tendency to keep looking for better alternatives, the analogy here is given by Leahy where the characteristic customer behavior is compared to that of a cat. A dog considered being man’s best friend because come what may it does not swerve its loyalties. However the customer behaves more like the cat and is always on the lookout for softer and more comfortable lap. The need of the hour is that the hotels should see to it that they provide this soft lap to the customers and always keep increasing the standard of their services. Leahy here compares the restaurants to the airlines; the airlines have been far more successful in maintaining loyal customers than the hospitality industry. Airlines have several clubs where the members are classified as gold, silver or other such members. The members of such clubs are offered free up gradation from economy to business class if the seats are free. However no such practice is noticed among the hotel managements. The article takes evidence from US consultancy Colloquy, noting that restaurants are lagging far behind other businesses in developing loyalty schemes. The article notes that in the United States, only 27. 2 million customers are part of restaurant loyalty schemes, while airlines have over 254. 4 million members for their loyalty schemes. Leahy further emphasizes that loyalty issues are to be taken very seriously in the restaurant business and it is very important to retain regular customers. The General Approach: There are many ways to retain regular customers, one such prominent way is the loyalty card, a technique which has now caught on even in big showrooms and jewel stores. The simple technique here is that every time the customer buys something, he is given certain points and once these points reach a certain value, the points can be exchanged for discounts or special offers. This not only keeps the customer coming back to your store but also helps in maintaining good relations. Once again this idea was an innovation of the aviation industry and it still needs to be implemented to a greater extent in the hospitality industry. According to CEFF (2007), loyalty cards schemes are a key factor in determining choice of hotel, airlines and restaurant chains by leisure travelers. Surveys have revealed that even though there are some customers who don’t quite bother about these loyalty cards, a good percentage about seventy percent of them admit that the loyalty cards played prominent roles in them determining their hotel or airlines. Literary Reviews and Opinions: Gomez, Arranz and Cillan (2006) argue that these loyalty programs yield two important results of interest, which may be applied to the hotel and restaurant hospitality sectors. Such a program creates to genres of customers. The first class of customers includes those who display more behavior loyalty than the others simply because they are emotionally aware that the hotel considers them more important than their counterparts which are not enrolled in any of the loyalty schemes. As in all businesses, emotion plays a very prominent role even in the hotel and management industry. Yet another thing that needs to be borne in mind is that the customer will not simply walk in to your outlet just because you have all these cards and offers. For example, however captivating and encouraging might be the scheme; the customer will come to your restaurant only when he feels like eating. You can never force the customer to increase the number of his visits, directly or indirectly. Research that compares consumer behavior before and after the introduction of a loyalty program show that there is no real difference in the number of visitors, or the amount of purchasing done (Gomez, Arranz, & Cillan, 2006). Here it is once again argued that loyalty program don’t quite generate new loyal customers but just help in retaining the existing loyal customers. As in any other business, the sole objective and the motive behind your business should be very clear, for example, if the customer doesn’t like your product, then all the management tactics in the world will not help him come to you. The bottom line is that what you offer the customer must stand up to his expectations. Trust and satisfaction are won by genuine effort and determination, there are no shortcuts, and the customer is smart enough to figure out what the actual standard of your restaurant is. According to Gomez, Arranz and Cillan (2006), effective loyalty can only come from customer attitudes such as satisfaction, trust and commitment. Loyalty based on simple repeated behavior is not very effective. Ethical Considerations: Unwanted effects of biased management: Some researchers argue that even though loyalty is a very important issue, it is very difficult to impress the customer through these roundabout techniques; the management needs to focus more on other basic issues like the maintenance and the quality of service. All these schemes and offers can only assist the growth, they can never be the sole reason for the growth and a sensible manager should never depend upon any of these. Lacey and Sneath (2006) argue that customer loyalty programs are not always fair to all consumers. The argument is assisted by the fact that such loyalty schemes only focus on a certain class of customers and not all customers. This creates negative hype and ill feeling among. The firm spends all the resources on pleasing the existing customers whom they assume to be loyal where as the new customers who might prove to be loyal customers in the future are just left to themselves. If this methodology is practiced in the long run, the organization might stand to lose many customers, the organization was so very considered about pleasing the existing customers that they forgot that they even have to generate new customers. â€Å"One of the basic principles of the company is remembering what it is that guests prefer when they are in your hotel,† explained (Ritz Carlton) spokeswoman Vivian Deuschl. Such an approach can even be dreadful at times. It is argued that the same quality service should be given to all the customers. Never should the restaurant make the mistake of pleasing one class of customers at the expense of others. Such a treatment might be very pleasing to the regular customer but even he will hesitate to recommend the restaurant to others because he knows that new customers are not treated well over there. Apart from all the above-mentioned ill effects, this practice is strongly condemned even on ethical grounds. The safest and the best alternative are to provide uniform treatment throughout to all the customers. This generates a positive attitude and helps a lot in business. There is no substitute to genuine hard work, determination and honest implementation of policies. As Jack Welch in his book Winning quotes â€Å"sorry, there are no shortcuts†. Hypothesis and Questions: The prime objectives: Rather than concentrating on these hypothetical concerns, the restaurant should be bothered more about improving service delivery, bakery products, and cooking. Lacey and Sneath further argue that customers who are not a part of such loyalty schemes are often discriminated against and this is very unpleasant for the customer as well as a loss in revenue for the management. Langenderfer & Cook (2004), Petty (2000) throw light on a very important aspect here. The customer databases are rich with information and are excellent resources and if by chance this data ends up in wrong hands, t can be very taxing for the customers. If such a thing happens, then it would be a clear exploitation of customer rights and a breach of moral and ethical values. The customer would then obviously hesitate to become a member of any such loyalty schemes in future. Wendlandt & Schrader (2007) come up with yet another intriguing question, they argue that all these schemes at times might even backfire and in fact cause more loss to the organization. As an able manager, the first that needs to be firmly affixed in mind is that we as humans are more effected by emotional happenings than anything else. Once the person is emotionally troubled or if he even perceives that he is being manipulated, even the most loyal of the customers will give up. The customer might get frustrated by all these and begin to think that all these tricks only serve as gimmicks and in fact react exactly in a way opposite to what is expected of him. Smartly designed loyalty schemes however can actually avoid reactance of this type. For example, a loyalty scheme that offers long-term financial rewards that have to be gathered over repeat visits will probably avoid reactance (Wendlandt & Schrader, 2007). However, long-term loyalty schemes can also be less effective at retaining regular customers. Kirby (2007) has yet another way of seeing the same scenario, the argument here is that it is more beneficial to serve customers as people rather than targeting on their customer profiles. The argument here is that rather than treating loyalty as just another part of the charm game, the hotels should earn repeat business by offering excellent services based on remembered and recorded client preferences (Kirby, 2007). If hotels invest in tracking guest preferences and provide a superior service through the use of Customer Relationship Management (CRM), the customer will automatically be retained. Weinstein (2004) further argues that the ambience and the feel of the place are also very important. Always remember that the customer might forget what he came for, why he came, when he came etc but he is never going to forget how it felt to be there with you. In the book the â€Å"Ice Cream Maker†, a book on the concept of six sigma, the author argues that in a departmental store or a shopping mall, it takes an average of seven to eight seconds for the customer to pass by your restaurant, it is in this minute fragment of time that we have to impress the customer that our outlet is actually worth a visit. To make the customer ‘feel’ something is an enormous challenge in its own right. Therefore, it is well worth going the extra mile to provide extra amenities to impress guests into engaging in repeat business (Weinstein, 2004). Some of the 5 star chains in Dubai follow this strategy, hoping to get repeat business by pampering even walk-in customers. Research Questions: To summarize we can say that all the literature on loyalty is divided into two categories both conflicting each other. The first category, is those who advocate the loyalty schemes to lock in customers and make sure that they patronize and prefer certain restaurants in place of the other. Some researchers even argue that such a type of management might even be unethical. The second category of advisors are those who emphasize on the importance of personalized service, remembering customer preferences, and offering amenities to keep customers coming back. They note that rather than discriminating customers, their stand is that hotels, restaurants and other businesses should keep service standards high across the board. As a manager we are faced with the question that when and to what extent which of these methodologies or logics are to implemented? What is to be given more importance and how are customers, both old and new to be dealt with? Should the approach to both these parties be same or different? What is it that needs to be done so that all the parties are happy and content? How are we going to satisfy the emotional requirements of our customers? Jang and Mattila (2005) throw light on yet another trend. Their basic argument is that the manager must learn to understand the customer needs and requirements and react accordingly, for example, if the customer is expecting monetary benefits, then he must simply be given so, instead if the hotel argues that the customer be given only the free spa session or a free buffet lunch against his will, then it is only obvious that none of the parties is happy. The customer is displeased because he is given something free of cost something he actually has no desire for. The hotel has used up its employees and other resources for the same purpose, which was not at all fruitful. Thus, such a decision has a negative impact on all parties. Jang and Matilla further note that at times immediate cash discounts are also not the solutions to the problem. Also, while customers may want immediate rewards, it usually suits managers to delay gratification in order to ensure repeat business. Also, there is less guilt associated with luxury rewards if they’ve worked up to them over a period of time. It is also noted that there is a very strong potential for developing such programs in the hospitality industry. The transactions involved and the formalities taken up during the process of loyalty offers should be made very convenient and comfortable. The customers should not be penalized to show their loyalty cards every time; the hotels should remember the customers and work towards serving them better. Data Management and Analysis and Budget considerations and timelines: Statistics will provide all sorts of data from all sorts of places. This data might vary over decades of research or even more, the right management comes from the fact that the manager should be able to pick up the right data and study it accordingly, wrongly directed research or haywire policy implementation is sure to spell doom for the company. Therefore, it is of profound importance that the right data be chosen from all perspectives, the implementation schemes should not be so costly that the management suffers because of these, after all management is all about producing the best possible results in the minimum possible expenditure. Also, the time limits should also be adhered to very strictly. What might be a huge success in summer might be a complete failure in winter. If the set goals are not achieved within the given time limits, then the entire purpose of research is flawed. Conclusion: There is no dearth of literature as far as the loyalty issue is concerned. Managers realize very well that there is more to management than just analyzing theories, real problems need real and innovative approaches, and not everything can be solved from the books. Able managers know for a certainty that all what is in research papers is just conjectures and even if a particular scheme or technique worked very well in a particular hotel or restaurant, there is no guarantee that it will produce the same or similar results elsewhere or even the same hotel the next year. Trends change, people change, their needs and expectations change, every year researchers come up with new theories. The key to being a successful manager is to have the right instincts and realize where to draw the line. It might be noted that the manager should not go to extremes, as an example he might be so puffed up with confidence that he turns a deaf year to the researchers or for that matter is so engrossed in the research that he forgets that he has to deal with real life situations. Coming to the issue of hotel management and the hospitality industry, the first and the foremost thing that should be firmly affirmed in the mind is that unless and until the product and services are up to the mark and stand valid in front of the customers’ expectations, no amount of management hoopla can help the cause. The hotel management should be more concerned about the quality of service and other basic but very important factors. Only when these issues are properly and sensibly addressed to and resolved can the management think of anything else. The loyalty considerations are also to be dealt with great care and delicacy. It is but natural that the older customer will expect better services and the new customers would want their privileges to be on par with those of everyone else. This is where the elegance of the manager comes handy. The manager should be able to glide between such scenarios always keeping in mind the benefit of the employees and should also be successful enough to generate the maximum possible revenue.