Define the marketing information system Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Define the marketing information system - Essay Example The environment is getting tougher and more competitive, a business that needs to be successful not only has to be competitive but also be equipped with latest technology and a perfect combination of human minds. The concept of making profit has now shifted itself into a new form called ‘customer satisfaction’. Every organization looks to satisfy their customers and this could be done when the firm delivers the exact thing the customer requires. This can be achieved through a number of ways, firstly by good communication, secondly by observing the different customer behaviors and their preferences. The two ways mentioned above need a track record of the customer so as to deduce results of the consumer preferences and choices. Here comes the factor technology as it provides a simple information system that has the ability to store data about the customer, which eventually helps the manager in analyzing different customer and then making sure they are satisfied. The basic function of a database is to help the managers in making important and vital not only strategic decisions but also operational decisions. A very common example is an organization that uses an information system to keep records of the customers and its name is Proctor & Gamble. The P & G has been conducting its business successfully all over the globe and they have a simple marketing information system that keeps a track of the customer purchases as they have all the records of the customer purchases that have been made of their products. This helps them analyze the product’s weaknesses and strengths, and then they can improve it according to their customers. The method they use is entering the purchases of every individual customer separately on a database. This database later is used by research experts to explore different innovations in the product if its not working or else how to keep a famous product selling for a longer period of time. The information gathered is simpl e for example

Factors that motivate employees to work hard Essay

Factors that motivate employees to work hard - Essay Example This research will begin with the statement that employee motivation is a subject that is of great concern to employers. Many employers want to find that staffs that are self-motivated to work and value the quality of their output. With such employees on the payroll, management needs to introduce motivational factors and the employees will produce exemplary work. Workers shall be motivated if they can foresee the reward system as long term, and if they feel that as much as the employer is benefitting, the reward scheme is fairly rewarding their input. Many studies have looked at the aspect of motivation for a long period. The studies have held that the motivation is that aspect of giving incentives to another person, to influence the level of activity and productivity of that person. Motivation psychology has dwelt on that aspect of finding out what drives individuals to act the way they do and what makes people to generate continuously positive and productive thoughts while other pe ople are laid back and wait to be directed to what to do. In ancient times, researchers studied motivation using traditional approaches but nowadays, the study has taken a more scientific approach. Earlier studies held that the motivation arose from human instincts to perform certain tasks in a certain way and was mostly psychological. The studies dwelt mostly on the major instincts like meeting deadlines, hunger, fear, as controlling individual behavior.

Times When Two Cultures Come Together

Times When Two Cultures Come Together Culture is defined as the historically transmitted and interrelated web of values, assumptions, norms, belief systems and behavioral patterns that differentiate one human group from another. Culture is manifested in music, painting, literature, theater, sculpture and films, shortly in all aspects of life. It influences the way we perceive the world, the way we attribute meaning to our environment. Therefore diversities and conflicts are commonly seen when people from different cultural backgrounds encounter each other. In this paper I would like to examine this cultural contact based on a movie called My Big Fat Greek Wedding. The 2002 romantic comedy My Big Fat Greek Wedding is a great example for depicting cultural differences between the US and the Greek culture. It shows how differences in cultures may affect the lives of people through the main character of a 30 year old Greek girl Toula. Being brought up in the US by a traditional Greek family, Toula has to have a single purpose in life: to marry a Greek man and have as many Greek children as she can. Compared to her sister who has been married for a while and has 3 children, she is perceived to be seen unfortunate due to her reaching 30 and still being single. Her father continuously reminds her to marry soon because she started to look old. Toula is stuck with all of the Greek values in her life. She is working in the family-owned restaurant and has no free space for herself. From the time she was a child, decisions regarding which school she would attend or where she would work are all determined by her family. However; being raised in an American culture that is totally different from Greek culture resulted her to be unsatisfied with her life. The emphasis on individuality, being able to be autonomous affected her views as well. The realization of this uncontentment climaxed after meeting Ian while working at the restaurant. When Ian enters her life, she began to realize that she wanted to live her own life and she starts to make her own choices. With her mothers help, she gets the permission for taking computer classes at college which she may later use for business. The approval of the father comes late because he thinks that city is a dangerous place to go. Even when her mother insists on this permission, he responds: if a girl is enough intelligent, why bother going to school. This dilemma of acculturation process which Toula experienced is examined scientifically in Cigdem Kagitcibasis book of Family, Self, and Human Development across Cultures as well. In her book, Kagitcibasi explains that the aspirations of adolescents have are influenced by the dominant society when there is a cultural contact between the culture of relatedness of ethnic minorities originating from collectivistic societies and the culture of separateness of the individualistic dominant society. In the culture of separateness, autonomy is highly valued because it is functional and adaptive in everyday situations. When these minority adolescents engage in a social comparison process, they see that their peers who belong to the culture of separateness enjoy more authority than they do. On the other hand, being related with their parents satisfies their need for warmth and security and it does not create a conflict. However; in some cases where parents lack enough education, parents see a utonomy as a sign of disrespect or separation. Therefore they may not give autonomy to the child. Here we can talk about a culture lag in which the traditional point of view in the family of interdependence still continues despite the fact that it is not functional in the urban, technological society. This culture lag creates a conflict where the autonomous-related self and the family model of psychological/emotional interdependence that adolescents favor collides with the heteronomous-related self and the family model of interdependence that parents value. Because the first one is more adaptive in an immigration context, it is likely that it will be the case (Kagitcibasi, p.324). However this transition would be tough just as it is observed in Toulas struggle. As it is examined above, autonomus related self is more adaptive in an urban lifesetting as it is the case with Toula in the movie. Autonomous related self is a concept that is established by Kagitcibasi that satisfies two basic needs which are autonomy and relatedness. Although the mainstream psychology has always thought autonomy as being separate, Kagitcibasi notes that these two are distinct concepts which are independent from each other. Autonomy refers to willful agency, being governed from outside; whereas being separate or close is about the relationship with others. This type of self is more compatible with an immigration context where there is urban lifestyle involving education and work. Because urban lifestyle requires individual decision making, in other words autonomy is needed for taking initiatives. However close self other and kinship relations continue to exist, too. Therefore it is more adaptive to have autonomous related self. But the process for migrant families with traditional lifestyle to accept the shift towards this type of self takes time. After getting the approval of her parents, Toulas differentiation process towards the autonomous related self begins. She gets herself a new hairdo, abandons her glasses and starts to wear make-up. Moreover she manages to find new contacts and becomes more outgoing and social. She quits working in the family owned restaurant. Instead, she starts to work at the tourism agency bureau of her aunt. In her new job, she feels much better, especially after getting the attraction from the guy, Ian, whom she met at the restaurant. After a while, Ian and Toula starts to date secretly but as Toula finds out that the guy she was dreaming of is non-Greek, things began to be challenging for both of them. As Toula is struggling with how to make her family accept Ian who is a foreigner, Ian finds himself confronted with the family of his love where things are totally different from his own. As opposed to Ian who has only two cousins, Toula has twenty seven. When Ian asks her what she does in her fre e times, she responds that there is no free time for her own because the extended family is together all the time. In addition to that, Toulas family is very proud of their Greek heritage. Her father constantly states that all of the words have roots from the Greek language and he overemphasizes that there are two types of people, firstly the ones who are Greek and secondly the ones who want to be Greek. Moreover, her family tries to preserve their Greek identity in all aspects. Their house is designed in Greek style and there were Greek statues and miniatures all over the place. They engage in every traditional practice that a Greek family might have. They celebrate festive days in Greek way; they dance and eat with Greek relatives. They send their kids to Greek schools so that they acquire the Greek culture. The family also has a patriarchal structure where the father is the head of the family and where the mother helps with the care and support of the household. Toulas family fits into the model of interdependence as it is described in Kagitcibasis book. The model is associated with close family relations and is often characterized by patrilineal family structures (Kagitcibasi, p. 136). Toulas family also has strong familial relations, they celebrate everything together with the extended family, cousins altogether work at a family owned restaurant in order to contribute household jointly. As it is expected from Toula, this type of family structure demands fertility as well. Moreover, the childs dependence is ensured by obedience-oriented socialization and authoritarian parenting as it is the case with Toula. Even reaching her 30s is not enough to make decisions regarding herself alone. Still she needs the approval of her father, is strictly controlled when she comes home late. This type of socialization promotes loyalty and interdependence as it is seen in the movie. As opposed to Toulas family which values interdependence, Ians family is characterized in the model of independence which is the typical model of the western individualistic, nuclear family that is found in the industrialized societies (Kagitcibasi, p. 139). This family model values interpersonal independence. The family exists in nuclear structure and low level of fertility is common. Socialization practices enhance the independent self where there is less control in childrearing. Thats why Ians family does allow the marriage at first sight and does not interfere with the process. Moreover, Ian lives alone and has no sibling or twenty seven cousins like Toula which is seen in family of interdependence. The differences regarding the values and beliefs are mostly seen through reaching the end of the film where the two families start to meet and interact. When Ians family comes for a dinner which was supposed to be a quiet dinner for meeting each side, they are shocked when they see the crowd which is waiting for them. Every single member of the extended family was invited for the dinner and the dinner turned out to be a party where everyone eat, dance and sing Greek songs which is common in Greek culture. As opposed to Toulas crowded family, Ians family comes to dinner with only the nuclear members of the family composed of mother, father and Ian. As the wedding preparations accelerate, Toulas relatives continue to intervene in every single detail. For example; Toulas mother has already prepared the wedding invitations by herself and didnt ask Toulas opinion about whom to invite. Her wedding dress is already planned by her cousin and the place of the wedding is arranged by Toulas family, despite of the fact that Ians family thought a club would be okay. As it can be predicted, marriage from the perspective of Toulas Greek family is just not about uniting two people, but it is the joining of two clans. As opposed to this, marriage can just be a consumer decision with utilitarian value shared with associates at a club (Denny Wayman Hal Conklin, 2002). On the day of the wedding, Toulas family intervened in all the details as well. When Toula has noticed that she has a pimple on her face, all her female relatives help her to cover it with a foundation. Lastly I would like to emphasize some of the similarities between Greek culture and Turkish culture that I have observed throughout the film. In the film Toulas family reminds me of the traditional Turkish family with extended family ties in rural context. The development of the related self is assured with obedience socialization and control. Though not being in a rural context, Toulas family is committed to their values and traditions so strictly that they do not let their daughter be free like the people in the American culture. Toula finds herself in a complete dilemma where she wants to change things in life but out of respect she can not exercise it easily. Another similarity that I have observed is the Greek traditions which are also common in Turkey. For instance; hospitality is highly valued in Turkish culture, too. When a guest comes to visit a Turkish family house, the host family offers delicious meals to enjoy their time. When Ian first visits Toulas family, although he responds that he is not hungry, Toulas mother says: Ok I make you something to eat. The concept of the wedding is also similar in the way that all the relatives even the ones who live far are invited to the wedding ceremony. After the ceremony, they celebrate the day with dancing, eating and wishing a happy life just as in the Turkish culture. They dance sirtaki which is a popular dance of Greek origin just like the Turks who dance halay. They also have the traditional desert baklava like the Turks and use the same word portakal for orange. Lastly, Turks also give presents to the newly wed couples just as it is seen in the movie where Toulas father has bought a house near to them. Buying a house near the parents also shows that loyalty and being close are highly valued in Greek culture where there is a culture of relatedness. In conclusion I would like to stress that My Big Fat Greek Wedding is a great movie which conveys the message that no matter how different two cultures may be, there is a universal aspect of humanity in all over the world. Though history is filled with great atrocities, wars and pain resulting from differences among cultures, the hope for our future may rest in us being able to love and accept one another because of these differences. The scene right before the film ends also summarizes this view perfectly. Before the visitors all are dancing and singing, Toulas father states in his speech: You know, the root of the word Miller (the surname of Ian) is a Greek word. Miller comes from the Greek word milo, which means apple, so there you go. As many of you know, our name, Portokalos, is come from the Greek word portokali, which means orange. So, okay? Here tonight, we have, ah, apple and orange. We are all different, but in the end, we are all fruit.

Hinduism Essay -- Religion Spirituality Carvaka Yoga Essays

Hinduism In India there are six orthodox schools of philosophy which recognize the authority of the Vedas as divine revelation, and they generally function as pairs - Nyaya and Vaishesika, Mimamsa and Vedanta, and Samkhya and Yoga. Those who did not recognize this authority were the Jains, Buddhists, and materialists. Even in India where spiritual ideas dominate the culture there were some who were skeptical of those ideals and held to a materialist view of the world; they were called Carvaka, and their doctrine that this world is all that exists is called Lokayata. The materialists did not believe in an afterlife and found sense perception to be the only source of knowledge, denying the validity of inference or general concepts. They focused on the senses and the four traditional elements of earth, water, fire, and air. Consciousness for the Carvaka is only a modification of these elements in the body. The soul is also identified with the body, and pleasure and pain are the central experiences of life, nature being indifferent to good and evil with virtue and vice being merely social conventions. This worldly philosophy naturally ignored the goal of liberation (moksha) or simply believed that death as the end of life and consciousness was a liberation. However, they also tended to neglect the value of virtue or justice (dharma), placing all of their attention on the worldly aims of pleasure (kama) and wealth or power (artha). Although Carvaka ideas are mentioned in some ancient writings, their own ancient writings were lost, and much of what we know of the early materialists is based on criticisms of other schools. However, a famous, ancient drama called The Rise of the Moon of Intellect (Prabodha-candrodaya) reveals some of the beliefs of this worldly movement. In this play Passion is personified and speaks to a materialist and one of his pupils. Passion laughs at ignorant fools, who imagine that spirit is different from the body and reaps a reward in a future existence. This is like expecting trees to grow in air and produce fruit. Has anyone seen the soul separate from the body? Does not life come from the configuration of the body? Those who believe otherwise deceive themselves and others. Their ancient teacher Brihaspati affirmed the importance of the senses, maintaining that sustenance and love are the objects of human life. For the materiali... ...ch developed into the Vaishnavite faith in medieval Hinduism. The poem begins with Dhritarashtra asking Sanjaya what is happening not only on the field of Kuru but also on the field of dharma (virtue, duty). Sanjaya describes how both armies are arrayed against each other blowing their conch horns to show their readiness to fight. Then Arjuna asked Krishna to position his chariot between the two armies, and there he saw many of his relatives on the other side, causing him to feel faint and consider not fighting. Even though the others are killing, Arjuna does not think it would be worth it to do so, even for sovereignty of the three worlds, let alone an earthly kingdom. Evil would come to him, he says, if he should kill his relatives. How could this bring happiness? This family destruction is wrong and would destroy ancient family duties and bring on lawlessness, which would lead to corruption of the women and caste mixing. Why should he kill for greed of royal pleasures? It would be greater happiness for him to be killed unresisting and unarmed. Thus Arjuna's mind was overcome by sorrow. Krishna, who is called the Lord, responds by upbraiding Arjuna for timidity and cowardice

Behavior of People in Power

People who have the highest positions in corporate America are considered as individuals that hold the seat of power. They are refereed to as such because of the amount of resources that they possess as well as their capability to control it. In relation to this, they also have the authority to command other people as they act as superiors to many employees that obtain their source of living from working in their companies. Being the case, there behaviors are often the topic of public scrutiny.People in power behave differently in corporate America. There are cases wherein some of these people tend to abuse the power that they have. The main issue about the behavior of those powerful people in corporate America is in the way they deal with their workers. Corporate managers have been tougher towards there employees in the recent decades. Such kind of action could be attributed to the fact that foreign competition has dramatically increased, which makes business operations even harder to deal with.As such, millions of American workers, regardless of the type of job that they have may it be white-collar or blue-collar and despite of their sex and age are experiencing wage stagnation as well as worsening case of health and pension benefits. Furthermore, workers are pressured by the management to work harder and faster (Greenhouse, 2008). This kind of condition is observable in large and leading American corporations. A good example of this is Wal-Mart. For some time now, Wal-Mart has been facing numerous allegations and lawsuits with regards to their illegal treatment of their employees.The topic of establishing a labor union for Wal-Mart employees has also been the topic of numerous debates. An example of such maltreatment is when some of its workers complain about the indignity and danger of being locked inside their stores at night. There is one incident wherein a supervisor and his worker that is suffering from food poising were locked inside the store, which m ade it impossible for him to take his worker to the hospital (Greenhouse, 2008). Being layed off is one of the hardest thing that an employee can go through especially if he or she is the breadwinner of the family.However, some corporate managers tend to this insensitively like what RadioShack did to 400 of its workers in its headquarters as Forth Worth, Texas. The management fired its workers through e-mail by stating: â€Å"The workforce reduction notification is currently in progress. Unfortunately your position is one that has been eliminated† (Greenhouse, 2008). Based upon the poll conducted by Business Week (2000), almost three-quarters of the American public believes that business, which includes huge corporations is already gaining a whole deal of power in the various aspects of people’s lives.Some Americans also look at corporations as the villain in terms of the demands of various managements towards their workers that made them overworked and stressed out. I n line with this, many Americans also feel that they are not getting and enjoying the fair share of riches that these corporations are earning. This is due to the fact that average wages and benefits have only exceeded inflation by a meager amount of 7. 6%, while productivity has increase by 17. 9%. Moreover, many citizens that belong to the middle-class are pointing out the widening gap between the rich and the poor (Business Week, 2000).The discussions above show that the tremendous amounts of power that corporate America has as well as its great influence over the lives of other people. However, this power has also affected the behavior of some of those who possess authority in these corporations. They have utilized it for their own advantage at the expense of other people’s welfare. Those people who deserve utmost importance like the corporations’ employees are instead place in a very disadvantageous position. References Business Week. (2000). Too Much Corporate Po wer?Retrieved September 23, 2008, from http://www. businessweek. com/2000/00_37/b3698001. htm. Greenhouse, S. (2008). Has Corporate America Turned Callous Toward its Workers? Retrieved September 23, 2008, from http://tpmcafe. talkingpointsmemo. com/2008/06/30/ has_corporate_america_turned_c/. http://tpmcafe. talkingpointsmemo. com/2008/06/30/has_corporate_america_turned_c/ http://knowledge. wpcarey. asu. edu/article. cfm? articleid=1008 http://www. businessweek. com/2000/00_37/b3698001. htm http://jimgentil. blogspot. com/2007

Recruitment and training at Starbucks

Induction training is a process where a business teaches its new employees how the business works. One benefit of this is that it is a good way to provide the new staff with the general information of the business, such as health & safety, security, personnel and the departmental systems. This improves the employees' understanding of the business, which can increase motivation in the business. Another benefit is that the new employees can contribute to the business more quickly, as they would already know how the business works, and what their role is in the business. The level of experience required for a store manager would be greater than it would be for the barista position. The barista position could be a first job for people, so it would be better for them to fill in an application form, as they would have no previous jobs on their application form. It also means that Starbucks gets only the information that they wanted, as they are put on the application form. If the applicant has no major qualifications that would be put on a CV, then they would be able to go on the educational program that Starbucks provides if they get the job. For example, underqualified baristas could go on the ‘learning to lead' program, so that they can potentially reach manager level at Starbucks if they do internal recruitment. The reason that people applying for a barista would have to go to the Starbucks store to get an application form is that each store has its own manager or team that would deal with recruiting new staff. Recruiting a new manager is different because the Head Office would deal with that, as they might assign the applicant to a store, which is why they can apply online. When Starbucks decides to recruit a manager, the job description would have more information than one for a barista. Shortlisting would also be a bigger task when choosing a manager, because if the same number of people applied for baristas as they did for managers, there would most likely be fewer positions for managers. This means that the number of applicants has to be cut down more during shortlisting and the best way to do that would be to make the job specification as detailed as possible. The Internet is better for advertising jobs, as it can be updated faster. When the job description and person specification are completed, they might have to be sent to a newspaper, and they might have to wait until the next day before the advertisement would be put in. There would also been a fee that they would have to pay when they want to put a poster up or if they want to put an advert in a newspaper. The cheapest way to do post vacancies would be to post it on their own website. It would also make it possible for people to apply for the position online. Starbucks could have a questionnaire that can be filled in online which could replace some of the assessments that would be done in person. This could be cheaper, as it would mean less time would have to be spent at an assessment centre. A route that might get more views would be to post the vacancies on an employment website. If many people go to this website, they will see the vacancy along with other companies' vacancies. Alt hough this will cost money, it may only involve paying a small fee every time someone clicks on the link for the job description. For a barista, the training needed for them would be more basic than it would be for the manager position. A new manager would be expected to have some previous experience, if not from Starbucks, then from somewhere else. If this is the first time they have been a manager, then they would have to learn skills that will suit the job. This means that they would use the Management Practice training course in the ‘learning to lead' program, or the ‘business and communication' program run by the Starbucks Support Centre. Both of these would be off-the-job training. New baristas would have more on-the-job training, which would mean that they learn the skills from people that already work at the selected Starbucks. It also gives them a first hand experience of how the business works. Unfortunately, if the trainer has any bad habits in the business or takes any shortcuts, they could be passed onto the new staff he is training. If a barista does not have many qualifications, or does not have many business skills, then they can also go on some of the courses offered by the SSC, such as the computer skills course or the conflict resolution course if they hope to become a manager at some point in the future. If there are people who work in Starbucks who have a major interest in coffee, they might go on the ‘coffee education' course, so that they can find out more about coffee. This would be useful for managers, as it means that they will understand their project better. In addition, if a customer wanted to know more about the coffee they are using, they would be able to ask the staff and get some information from them.

Free Essays on Hobbes And Rousseau

Hobbes And Rousseau Role of the Citizen For one to be a good citizen, there are certain expectations a person must follow to achieve this goal. While many people have their own ideas of what makes a good citizen, there is little consensus to exactly what this would be. Thomas Hobbes and Jean-Jacques Rousseau, in their books The Leviathan and The Social Contract, create a system of political governing where the citizen plays a certain role and has certain expectations to carry out this role for the governmental system to work properly. In this paper, I will discuss what each of the men believed to be the role of the average citizen to support the state. Both men have quite different opinions in regards to the roles of citizens. While both are good theories, and create a strong case for government, neither is applicable in the real world because what is demanded of the citizen in these systems of government is based on certain assumptions. The assumptions made by these men, both good and bad, are not evident in the every day person. Thomas Hobbes believes, that all men are egocentric, by nature. This is to say that men spend their whole lives looking for what makes the happiest as an individual. Even when men socialize, it is not for the benefit of building strong ties between each other, but simply for personal benefit. Hobbes argues that man is self- centered in nature because he desires power. This arises from the fact that man, unlike animals, may seek things that are not tangible. Hobbes argues, not only are men egocentric, but also equal. Hobbes believes that even though every person may have different levels of strength, intelligence or character that all men are equal. â€Å"For such is the nature of men that, howsoever they may acknowledge many others to be more witty or more eloquent or more learned, yet they will hardly believe there be so many so wise as themselves, for they see their won wit at hand and.. . Free Essays on Hobbes And Rousseau Free Essays on Hobbes And Rousseau Hobbes And Rousseau Role of the Citizen For one to be a good citizen, there are certain expectations a person must follow to achieve this goal. While many people have their own ideas of what makes a good citizen, there is little consensus to exactly what this would be. Thomas Hobbes and Jean-Jacques Rousseau, in their books The Leviathan and The Social Contract, create a system of political governing where the citizen plays a certain role and has certain expectations to carry out this role for the governmental system to work properly. In this paper, I will discuss what each of the men believed to be the role of the average citizen to support the state. Both men have quite different opinions in regards to the roles of citizens. While both are good theories, and create a strong case for government, neither is applicable in the real world because what is demanded of the citizen in these systems of government is based on certain assumptions. The assumptions made by these men, both good and bad, are not evident in the every day person. Thomas Hobbes believes, that all men are egocentric, by nature. This is to say that men spend their whole lives looking for what makes the happiest as an individual. Even when men socialize, it is not for the benefit of building strong ties between each other, but simply for personal benefit. Hobbes argues that man is self- centered in nature because he desires power. This arises from the fact that man, unlike animals, may seek things that are not tangible. Hobbes argues, not only are men egocentric, but also equal. Hobbes believes that even though every person may have different levels of strength, intelligence or character that all men are equal. â€Å"For such is the nature of men that, howsoever they may acknowledge many others to be more witty or more eloquent or more learned, yet they will hardly believe there be so many so wise as themselves, for they see their won wit at hand and.. .

Free Essays on The Panama Canal

The Panama Canal Regardless of previous failed attempts by other organizations, the United States was able toovercome the numerous dangers present at the isthmus between North and South America, and build what remains today one of the greatest engineering marvels of the modern world. The successful completion of the Panama Canal in 1914 proved to be a vital link for the entire world. Many unsuccessful attempts were made at building such a canal. Columbus had searched tirelessly for a passage to the treasure-filled Indies, and repeated sailors since that time have tried the same. Emperor Napoleon III of France once suggested the idea of building a canal in France's land across the sea, but this idea never progressed into firm plans. No major progress, with the exception of ideas and suggestions, was made until the 19th century, when a French individual, Ferdinand de Lesseps, felt it was time for a French-owned canal at Panama. Lesseps was the most important foreigner involved with Egypt's Suez Canal, and his great success at Suez made him over-confident that a canal at Panama would be just the same. As he proceeded to convince his countrymen of his plans, the stock for his new company, the Compagnie Universelle du Canal Interoceanique, was sold with unsettling results. The company had only managed to raise 8% of the original funding that Lesseps had hoped for: 30 million francs of his requested 400 million francs. Work began in 1882 along the route of the 1855 Panama Railroad, and Lesseps was in his seventies. From that point on, the company and the canal were plagued by troubles, most being financial. Several times, Lesseps was forced to go back to his countrymen to gather funds, often as loans and one time as a lottery. There were also serious, unexpected setbacks in the actual excavation of the canal zone. Diseases such as yellow fever and malaria put many of the workers in the hospitals ... Free Essays on The Panama Canal Free Essays on The Panama Canal The Panama Canal Regardless of previous failed attempts by other organizations, the United States was able toovercome the numerous dangers present at the isthmus between North and South America, and build what remains today one of the greatest engineering marvels of the modern world. The successful completion of the Panama Canal in 1914 proved to be a vital link for the entire world. Many unsuccessful attempts were made at building such a canal. Columbus had searched tirelessly for a passage to the treasure-filled Indies, and repeated sailors since that time have tried the same. Emperor Napoleon III of France once suggested the idea of building a canal in France's land across the sea, but this idea never progressed into firm plans. No major progress, with the exception of ideas and suggestions, was made until the 19th century, when a French individual, Ferdinand de Lesseps, felt it was time for a French-owned canal at Panama. Lesseps was the most important foreigner involved with Egypt's Suez Canal, and his great success at Suez made him over-confident that a canal at Panama would be just the same. As he proceeded to convince his countrymen of his plans, the stock for his new company, the Compagnie Universelle du Canal Interoceanique, was sold with unsettling results. The company had only managed to raise 8% of the original funding that Lesseps had hoped for: 30 million francs of his requested 400 million francs. Work began in 1882 along the route of the 1855 Panama Railroad, and Lesseps was in his seventies. From that point on, the company and the canal were plagued by troubles, most being financial. Several times, Lesseps was forced to go back to his countrymen to gather funds, often as loans and one time as a lottery. There were also serious, unexpected setbacks in the actual excavation of the canal zone. Diseases such as yellow fever and malaria put many of the workers in the hospitals ...

Animals In Our Society

You may want to understand animals deeper than pop culture but to understand them based on their experience, words, emotions and explain them in a social, historical, cultural context It is impossible to understand animals to understand that we hold a mirror for ourselves when we look at animals (Corbett, 176). In most cases, they do not sell you a mousse, but what does Moose mean to you - the nature and quality of the relationship between you and most people. Recent advances in animal rights movement have brought greater visibility, compassion and behavioral opportunities to animals of every location, our society and the future. Reinterpreting the obsolete definition of control from dominant animals to responsible stewards stewarders - to protect, respect and respect lucky animals that we share on the earth - We give all our valuable careers .. fight. I have heard about the cruel act against Cecil 's lion, now infamous, Minnesota, and meaningless murder. This is a beautiful and affe ctionate temptation away from his family, slaughtered by people already known and trusted by him. His corpses remained rotten as if he were just a prize. I really do not want to. We live in a society that seems to be very worried about animal welfare. However, the actual handling of animals in our society is in sharp contrast to that statement about our concerns about their moral status. As one scholar said, He is incompatible with a kind of care and moral society, in which empathy is a good qualification. Higher standards for improving the lives of animals. One of the biggest obstacles to the protection of animals in the legal system is that they have historically been regarded as personal property under law. Animals are deemed to be the goods we own and are not worth the value we value them as property owners. This means, inter alia, that the law does not recognize animals as victims of crime, so that suffering and injuries of animals are not considered compensable. The legal defi nition of atrocities against animals reflects our social ethics in animal rights. In particular, these definitions reveal general attitudes towards animal suffering. The abbreviation of the law permits the atrocities of animals without legal sanctions and indicates that society accepts such abuse by default. Although our society recognizes the need for animal protection, animal welfare is often not the real focus of these statistics. The basic motivation of such a law is people's interest in protecting property and preventing malicious behavior. Specific statutory exemption that leads to the lack of statutory standards on activities such as anti-cruel legislation, courtly interpretation of these laws, and animal laboratory experiments shows inevitable conclusions: animals are I prefer protection of species, but I do not have legal rights. Animals In Our Society You may want to understand animals deeper than pop culture but to understand them based on their experience, words, emotions and explain them in a social, historical, cultural context It is impossible to understand animals to understand that we hold a mirror for ourselves when we look at animals (Corbett, 176). In most cases, they do not sell you a mousse, but what does Moose mean to you - the nature and quality of the relationship between you and most people. Recent advances in animal rights movement have brought greater visibility, compassion and behavioral opportunities to animals of every location, our society and the future. Reinterpreting the obsolete definition of control from dominant animals to responsible stewards stewarders - to protect, respect and respect lucky animals that we share on the earth - We give all our valuable careers .. fight. I have heard about the cruel act against Cecil 's lion, now infamous, Minnesota, and meaningless murder. This is a beautiful and affe ctionate temptation away from his family, slaughtered by people already known and trusted by him. His corpses remained rotten as if he were just a prize. I really do not want to. We live in a society that seems to be very worried about animal welfare. However, the actual handling of animals in our society is in sharp contrast to that statement about our concerns about their moral status. As one scholar said, He is incompatible with a kind of care and moral society, in which empathy is a good qualification. Higher standards for improving the lives of animals. One of the biggest obstacles to the protection of animals in the legal system is that they have historically been regarded as personal property under law. Animals are deemed to be the goods we own and are not worth the value we value them as property owners. This means, inter alia, that the law does not recognize animals as victims of crime, so that suffering and injuries of animals are not considered compensable. The legal defi nition of atrocities against animals reflects our social ethics in animal rights. In particular, these definitions reveal general attitudes towards animal suffering. The abbreviation of the law permits the atrocities of animals without legal sanctions and indicates that society accepts such abuse by default. Although our society recognizes the need for animal protection, animal welfare is often not the real focus of these statistics. The basic motivation of such a law is people's interest in protecting property and preventing malicious behavior. Specific statutory exemption that leads to the lack of statutory standards on activities such as anti-cruel legislation, courtly interpretation of these laws, and animal laboratory experiments shows inevitable conclusions: animals are I prefer protection of species, but I do not have legal rights. Animals In Our Society You may want to understand animals deeper than pop culture but to understand them based on their experience, words, emotions and explain them in a social, historical, cultural context It is impossible to understand animals to understand that we hold a mirror for ourselves when we look at animals (Corbett, 176). In most cases, they do not sell you a mousse, but what does Moose mean to you - the nature and quality of the relationship between you and most people. Recent advances in animal rights movement have brought greater visibility, compassion and behavioral opportunities to animals of every location, our society and the future. Reinterpreting the obsolete definition of control from dominant animals to responsible stewards stewarders - to protect, respect and respect lucky animals that we share on the earth - We give all our valuable careers .. fight. I have heard about the cruel act against Cecil 's lion, now infamous, Minnesota, and meaningless murder. This is a beautiful and affe ctionate temptation away from his family, slaughtered by people already known and trusted by him. His corpses remained rotten as if he were just a prize. I really do not want to. We live in a society that seems to be very worried about animal welfare. However, the actual handling of animals in our society is in sharp contrast to that statement about our concerns about their moral status. As one scholar said, He is incompatible with a kind of care and moral society, in which empathy is a good qualification. Higher standards for improving the lives of animals. One of the biggest obstacles to the protection of animals in the legal system is that they have historically been regarded as personal property under law. Animals are deemed to be the goods we own and are not worth the value we value them as property owners. This means, inter alia, that the law does not recognize animals as victims of crime, so that suffering and injuries of animals are not considered compensable. The legal defi nition of atrocities against animals reflects our social ethics in animal rights. In particular, these definitions reveal general attitudes towards animal suffering. The abbreviation of the law permits the atrocities of animals without legal sanctions and indicates that society accepts such abuse by default. Although our society recognizes the need for animal protection, animal welfare is often not the real focus of these statistics. The basic motivation of such a law is people's interest in protecting property and preventing malicious behavior. Specific statutory exemption that leads to the lack of statutory standards on activities such as anti-cruel legislation, courtly interpretation of these laws, and animal laboratory experiments shows inevitable conclusions: animals are I prefer protection of species, but I do not have legal rights. Animals In Our Society You may want to understand animals deeper than pop culture but to understand them based on their experience, words, emotions and explain them in a social, historical, cultural context It is impossible to understand animals to understand that we hold a mirror for ourselves when we look at animals (Corbett, 176). In most cases, they do not sell you a mousse, but what does Moose mean to you - the nature and quality of the relationship between you and most people. Recent advances in animal rights movement have brought greater visibility, compassion and behavioral opportunities to animals of every location, our society and the future. Reinterpreting the obsolete definition of control from dominant animals to responsible stewards stewarders - to protect, respect and respect lucky animals that we share on the earth - We give all our valuable careers .. fight. I have heard about the cruel act against Cecil 's lion, now infamous, Minnesota, and meaningless murder. This is a beautiful and affe ctionate temptation away from his family, slaughtered by people already known and trusted by him. His corpses remained rotten as if he were just a prize. I really do not want to. We live in a society that seems to be very worried about animal welfare. However, the actual handling of animals in our society is in sharp contrast to that statement about our concerns about their moral status. As one scholar said, He is incompatible with a kind of care and moral society, in which empathy is a good qualification. Higher standards for improving the lives of animals. One of the biggest obstacles to the protection of animals in the legal system is that they have historically been regarded as personal property under law. Animals are deemed to be the goods we own and are not worth the value we value them as property owners. This means, inter alia, that the law does not recognize animals as victims of crime, so that suffering and injuries of animals are not considered compensable. The legal defi nition of atrocities against animals reflects our social ethics in animal rights. In particular, these definitions reveal general attitudes towards animal suffering. The abbreviation of the law permits the atrocities of animals without legal sanctions and indicates that society accepts such abuse by default. Although our society recognizes the need for animal protection, animal welfare is often not the real focus of these statistics. The basic motivation of such a law is people's interest in protecting property and preventing malicious behavior. Specific statutory exemption that leads to the lack of statutory standards on activities such as anti-cruel legislation, courtly interpretation of these laws, and animal laboratory experiments shows inevitable conclusions: animals are I prefer protection of species, but I do not have legal rights.

Illegal Immigration in Los Angeles in the 1980's Essay

Illegal Immigration in Los Angeles in the 1980's - Essay Example These new immigrants arrived in a new country possessing little more than what they could carry on their back. They were challenged in many ways including their legal status, yet were able to make significant social, cultural, and economic contributions. This paper will discuss the lives of these undocumented workers during the 1980's and present the dynamic changes that resulted from their arrival. It will present the view that the cultural and demographic landscape of Los Angeles was shaped by these illegals, and has had a continuing effect on California as well as the United States. The life of an illegal immigrant began as soon they approached the United States and prepared to cross the border. Often they would be met by angry mobs, riots, gunfire and chaos (Custred). Once across the border they would continue to confront racism, exploitation, and a hostile political environment. Though they would be outcast socially from mainstream society, there was an emerging labor market eager for cheap and reliable workers. It was no coincidence that the rise in illegal immigration during the 1980s coincided with a rise in the demand for cheap labor during the same period (Morales and Ong). Because the undocumented workers were here primarily for employment, their lives centered around and were greatly influenced by the work they performed. These jobs were almost universally at the bottom of the pay scale in unskilled occupations such as household help or farm worker. With no legal status, limited English skills, and no formal education, these illegals were destined to t he life of poverty and hardship that they were trying to escape. The immigrants would most often settle together or would be herded into a group by social necessity. Farm workers would band together to share expertise and form groups that would follow the crop that currently needed planting or harvested. They would work the lettuce fields, the vineyards, and fruit groves as the season demanded. This constant travel was especially rough on the children. Forced to move from school to school they were able to obtain at best a sub-standard education. Often they were needed in the fields when not attending class and the simple pleasures of childhood were not available to the child of an illegal migrant worker. Sometimes the missed pleasure would be as simple as being able to sleep late on the weekends. For the immigrants that worked in the domestic business, the canneries, and the processing plants, life was more stable. Yet with this stability came a new set of problems. Unable to escape the poverty of low wages, they would endure cramped quarters, high rent, and substandard conditions. Acuna tells of the mounting stress of living as he tells of a child's experience living in these conditions. "Ten year old Yuri de Paz wakes up each morning in a cramped Pico-Union apartment she shares with eight other family members, and walks to school through a Los Angeles neighborhood that is so dangerous that police have barricaded it to keep drug dealers out..." (291). The difficulty of raising a family under impoverished conditions while struggling to earn a living was only one of the challenges that faced the undocumented workers. The inability to speak and write English presented another obstacle to

Compare and contrast the representation of physical suffering and Essay

Compare and contrast the representation of physical suffering and death in Frankenstein and Moby-Dick. How does the treatment of the suffering or dying body connect to these novels' other themes or ideas - Essay Example Victor Frankenstein creates a human like creature that is disgusting and hateful because of his appearance. This creature brings downfall to Victor and his family because of his ambition to revenge Victor for creating him in such a loathsome shape. He kills Victor’s brother William, his friend Henry and his beloved Elizabeth. Victor also dies in his chase for the creature. Likewise, in Moby Dick, Captain Ahab is in pursuit of Moby Dick, the white whale, which has deprived Ahab of his left leg. Ahab wants to take revenge from Moby Dick. In his pursuit, all his crew members get killed expect Ishmael because of his being on another boat. In the end, Captain Ahab also gets killed because of the Moby Dick. Therefore, it is quite clear that the themes of death and physical suffering of both the novels are interconnected as they deal with pursuit of the protagonists in which, they become a reason for the causation of death of the people related to them. The tragic ends of the novels are because of the pursuits of the

Accounting and capital markets Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Accounting and capital markets - Essay Example In the above assessment, the expected value of dividend for 2013 has been measured by taking into account a dividend growth rate that has been proposed by board of each company which is atleast few percentage above the prevailing inflation rate. The expected value has been calculated using Gordon’s formula: D1=D0 (1+g); where g is the dividend growth rate. The dividend growth rates have been sourced from annual report of each company for 2012 (Pennon Group Plc, 2012; Severn Trent, 2012; United Utilities, 2012; National Grid, 2012). The risk free return value has been obtained by taking into account yield on 10 year UK government bonds. It was considered risk free because only government bond investments are considered absolutely safe. The data has been sourced from Open Knowledge (2015) and annual value has been taken into account. The beta represents systematic risk of an organisation. In this paper, the beta value of each company against all FTSE shares has been considered (Caldwell, 2013). The price earnings (P/E) ratio reflects healthy prospects of a company in the stock market. It is calculated as: Market price of share/ Earning per Share. As per instruction of the paper, the market price of share of each company has been calculated on 01 October 2012. However, the EPS value was measured from the respective annual reports. The expected market return has been calculated as reverse of the price earnings ratio. The cost of equity herein has been calculated as: Ke = Rf + ÃŽ ² * (Rm – Rf) and Stock valuation can be largely categorised as absolute valuation model and relative valuation model. For absolute valuation, the paper has considered dividend discount model. One of the important dividend models is Gordon’s dividend growth model. This model is essentially utilised for valuation of equity stocks and is based on the notion that

Moka Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Moka - Essay Example This is because pigs are everything to the tribe and the bigger the moka is, the more respect and status is earned. According to Ongka, pigs are everything as it keeps the tribe alive; moka can also be used to pay for troubles, debts and get a wife. The lack of pigs according to Ongka is sad as the individual who lacks pigs is referred to as being nobody and rubbish altogether in the tribe. The last significance of moka is that it is the only possible way to get a life, marry and get children, without moka then a man has nothing. Finally, moka is also used to impress other people and also as a way to do business. For example, Ongka wanted to give a hundred pigs as a system of investment and the investment would pay itself in several years time. Body decoration or adornment is prominent in the Kawelka tribe as it is their way of living and respecting their origins. Secondly they use body decoration during great achievements so as to celebrate special occasions. In the film, they celebrate moka by going to the tribe dressed in their traditional attire and decoration and call out Ongka so that they can hand to him the moka in form of a pig as a returned favor for his previous gifts. In addition to that, body decoration was worn to pay the last tribute to a fallen leader. In the film, when one of the elders passed on, they wore big green leaves and sang a sad song as part of their

The Role of Older Australians in Family Life Assignment

The Role of Older Australians in Family Life - Assignment Example Contrary to other countries which are giving little importance or no importance at all to older people, Australia recognizes the essential role that older people assume in the society. They specifically believe that older Australians play an active and significant role in family life. This recognition serves as a proof that Australians are indeed family-oriented. As such, for the purpose of this essay, the older Australian’s family life, living arrangements and inter-generational role shall be discussed. Also, the change of their roles and activities beyond eighty years of age shall be analyzed. Generally, when one reaches the old age, he or she is somehow considered as irrelevant to the economic growth of a community. One may base this argument on the fact that old people often retire from work and are eventually left at home. This consequence is viewed by some as disadvantageous to one’s family as well as to the government. The reason of which primarily revolves around the idea of â€Å"financial cost.† On the part of the family concerned, the presence of old people at home means â€Å"additional dependents.† With regard to the government’s side, an increase of the aging population which is higher than the rate of those newly born means lesser workforce and more funding for services like healthcare and medicine. In connection, Australia is observed to have been experiencing a problem with â€Å"aging population† (De Vaus, Gray & Stanton, 2003). For older Australians (aging sixty-five years and older), family life consists of two important matters, living arrangement, and inter-generational role.  

Accounting and capital markets Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Accounting and capital markets - Essay Example In the above assessment, the expected value of dividend for 2013 has been measured by taking into account a dividend growth rate that has been proposed by board of each company which is atleast few percentage above the prevailing inflation rate. The expected value has been calculated using Gordon’s formula: D1=D0 (1+g); where g is the dividend growth rate. The dividend growth rates have been sourced from annual report of each company for 2012 (Pennon Group Plc, 2012; Severn Trent, 2012; United Utilities, 2012; National Grid, 2012). The risk free return value has been obtained by taking into account yield on 10 year UK government bonds. It was considered risk free because only government bond investments are considered absolutely safe. The data has been sourced from Open Knowledge (2015) and annual value has been taken into account. The beta represents systematic risk of an organisation. In this paper, the beta value of each company against all FTSE shares has been considered (Caldwell, 2013). The price earnings (P/E) ratio reflects healthy prospects of a company in the stock market. It is calculated as: Market price of share/ Earning per Share. As per instruction of the paper, the market price of share of each company has been calculated on 01 October 2012. However, the EPS value was measured from the respective annual reports. The expected market return has been calculated as reverse of the price earnings ratio. The cost of equity herein has been calculated as: Ke = Rf + ÃŽ ² * (Rm – Rf) and Stock valuation can be largely categorised as absolute valuation model and relative valuation model. For absolute valuation, the paper has considered dividend discount model. One of the important dividend models is Gordon’s dividend growth model. This model is essentially utilised for valuation of equity stocks and is based on the notion that

The Role of Older Australians in Family Life Assignment

The Role of Older Australians in Family Life - Assignment Example Contrary to other countries which are giving little importance or no importance at all to older people, Australia recognizes the essential role that older people assume in the society. They specifically believe that older Australians play an active and significant role in family life. This recognition serves as a proof that Australians are indeed family-oriented. As such, for the purpose of this essay, the older Australian’s family life, living arrangements and inter-generational role shall be discussed. Also, the change of their roles and activities beyond eighty years of age shall be analyzed. Generally, when one reaches the old age, he or she is somehow considered as irrelevant to the economic growth of a community. One may base this argument on the fact that old people often retire from work and are eventually left at home. This consequence is viewed by some as disadvantageous to one’s family as well as to the government. The reason of which primarily revolves around the idea of â€Å"financial cost.† On the part of the family concerned, the presence of old people at home means â€Å"additional dependents.† With regard to the government’s side, an increase of the aging population which is higher than the rate of those newly born means lesser workforce and more funding for services like healthcare and medicine. In connection, Australia is observed to have been experiencing a problem with â€Å"aging population† (De Vaus, Gray & Stanton, 2003). For older Australians (aging sixty-five years and older), family life consists of two important matters, living arrangement, and inter-generational role.  

Portrayal of Australian Mining Towns Essay Example for Free

Portrayal of Australian Mining Towns Essay Arthur Boyd and Oodgeroo, formally known as Kath Walker, both effectively depict their own view of Australia through the painting â€Å"The Mining Town† and the poem â€Å"The Time Is Running Out. † They each present slightly differing interpretations of the country based upon their altered perspectives and context. Arthur Boyd presents a vivid and vibrant life of an Australian mining town of 1920 through his painting while Kath Walker aggressively portrays an outraged view of what Australia has become violently outlining the damages caused by European settlement. In Kath Walkers poem â€Å"time is running out† she uses a passionate and forceful tone allowing it to illustrate an Aboriginal perspective of the mining town, which effectively portrays her view of Australia. â€Å"The miner rapes the heart of the earth† the use of the word â€Å"rape,† describes a traumatic and violent action. Kath Walker uses this aggressive quote to start her poem essentially stating the miners are ruining the natural part of Australia. She then proceeds to say â€Å" With this violent spade† meaning the spade the miners are using is killing the earth. â€Å" Stealing, bolting her black blood. † The use of a metaphor in this quote depicts the miner taking the black coal from the earth. She then personifies the earth to exemplify that the Europeans are destroying the natural beauty of Australia â€Å"for the sake of the greedy trade. † Kath Walker demonstrates her disappointment throughout the poem in the European culture of Australia and is horrified by what the country has become. She effectively conveys her view of Australia. In the second part of Kath Walkers poem she proceeds to use a patriotic and again a violent tone to portray her view of Australia. She challenges upon all Aborigines to take a stand against the violent nature on the earth caused by the foreigners. The repetition of â€Å"violence† â€Å"he knows violence† â€Å"will be violently written† â€Å"make the violent miner feel† exaggerates her perspective of Australia by portraying Australia as a terrible violent country. Throughout her poem she over exaggerates the terrible wok of the miners and at the end of her poem she hypocritically gives a violent message of retaliation against the miners â€Å"to defend their timeless land. † â€Å"Come gentle black man† she creatively changes the audience’s state of mind by showing that the aborigines are the victims and are innocent. Kath allows the audience to feel her frustration with the use of her aggressive tone and adjectives essentially providing the audience with not only Kath’s view of Australia but also the whole Aboriginal community. It is because of Kaths poetic devices and techniques which allows her to present her perspective of Australia from an Aboriginal point of view. Her aggressive and serious tone, shows her passion and love for the nature of the country. She also spreads a message of violence of retaliation and revenge on the European miners who are destroying nature in Australia all for â€Å"the filthy dollar. † Therefore I think that the poem most effectively conveys a view of Australia rather than the photo.

The Leisure Travel And Tourism In Singapore Tourism Essay

The Leisure Travel And Tourism In Singapore Tourism Essay International tourism has grown substantially over the years due to rising standard of living, technological advancement and globalization. Tourism is also one of the key industries with a significant impact on the global economy (Tham, 2006). In the case of Singapore, it received 10.3 million visitors and a total expenditure of $14.1 billion in year 2007 compared to 9.8 million visitors and a total expenditure of $12.4 billion in year 2006 (Singapore Tourism Board, 2007) during good economy. The increased in the arrival of visitors had also contributed a substantial growth in other tourism related industries such as the hotel industry which had seen increased in room revenue of 23.5% at $1, 857.6 million versus $1, 503.9 million in year 2006; food and beverages industry shown growth by 33.7% at $1,406.5 million in year 2007 versus $1,052 million in 2006; and Singapore Airlines(SIA) had declared an operating profit of $982 million for the first half of FY 2007-2008, an increase of 84 .1% at $449 million compared to last year 2006-20071(SIA, Annual Report 2007). Singapore is fairly a small red dot on the globe with limited natural sceneries and leisure places for its people to enjoy. Hence, many of the Singapore residents prefer to travel out of Singapore. According to the data from Immigration and Checkpoint Authority (ICA), the total outbound departures of Singapore residents for year 2008 had rose by 804,234 to 6,828,362 as compared to 2007 at 6,024,128. There is a growing number of Singaporeans from all age groups, between 18 to 65 years old, travelling overseas frequently to Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand, Vietnam, Australia and Hong Kong SAR as it seemed that travelling has became part of their lifestyle. With the gradual increase in income level of employed workers as well as a good starting pay for the new comers who had just graduated from universities and began their working lives, the younger and better educated Singaporeans are now able to enjoy affordable recreational and leisure activities which could not have been possible previously. The peak travel seasons were spotted high in early June, November and December every year given its school holidays nationwide. Many parents choose to travel with children during these periods so they can enjoy the family togetherness. Otherwise, they would not have the flexibility to travel on any other month in view of the endless workload of working parent as well as stipulated school seme sters that children had to abide by. The second most travelled season during the year would be those public holidays falling just before or after a weekend and many working Singapore residents would tend to take off days 3 from work, travelling to nearer destinations for leisure purpose. Travel agencies anticipated an increase in businesses during these periods and plan to promote short trip packages to regional destinations for those who want to travel over the long weekends (Channel NewsAsia4, 2009). These destinations include Malaysia, Thailand, Indonesia and Hong Kong (DSS, 2008). Thus from the data, it sparked our interests to find out the travel trends of Singapore residents such as the number of trips and cost of travel made in a year, preference to travel by package or free and easy, preferred destination and travel agency etc., in Singapore during good and bad times. Objectives and Research questions The main purposes developed for this project is to investigate the recent trends involved in leisure travelling and tourism in Singapore using data obtained in an empirical study. The following are the objectives of this study include: Objectives To find out the extent to which the different trends involved on travel for Singaporeans. To investigate if there is any correlation between the income level and place of travel with the citizens of Singapore. To find that these recent trends are supported by marketing tools. 1.1.2Research Questions Based on the objectives the study aims on the leisure travel and tourism in Singapore. In order to serve the above purpose we will address the following three research questions. RQ 1: What are the trends involved on travel for Singaporeans? RQ 2: How does the correlation exists between the income level and place for travel? RQ3: How do the existing trends can be supported by recent trends in marketing? Significance of the Study The present research focuses to examine the trend of travel from a Singaporeans perspective given the intensified frequency on outbound travel by per Singaporean in the recent years. This research highlights the market-based management as well as strategies for growing customer value. It also includes empirical analysis that involves gathering of travel profiles from selected subjects; secondary data is collected via literature reviews and statistical research by reliable and established sources. Literature review 1.3.1 Introduction In Singapore, a number of research works had placed their focus on visitors travelling trend (inbound) to Singapore, analyzing travellers choice of travel agency (Tak and Wan, 2005; Heung and Chu, 2000) and travellers usage on travel agency (Goldsmith and Litvin, 1999). However, there is no research on outbound travel particularly in areas like examining the trend of travellers profile in Singapore that affect or influence them in travelling especially during bad times where the world is facing economic downturns as well as the current swine flu influenza which appeared abruptly in April 2009 killing 231 people in Mexico, Canada and USA (World Health Organisation, 2009). According to the Singapore Department of Statistics for year 2008, Singapore had a population of 4.84 million and out of which, 3.64 million were Singapore citizens (including permanent residents). Singapores socio-demographic had changed rapidly over the years especially the growing aging population as highlighted in the report on aging population (2006) that the number of residents aged 65 years or older will multiply threefold from current 300,000 to 900,000 in year 2030; dual income families (the average monthly household income from work6 had grew by 12.5% at $7,750 in year 2008 vs. $6,890 of last year); the growing trend of many young couples who prefer not to have children so as to enjoy two-person lifestyle (total fertility rate 2007 stood at 1.29 per female out of 42.6 female of general marriage rate); and rising of single adults (15% males and 12.6% females of age between 40 to 44) in year 2007. The studies by Chon and Singh (1995); Loverseeds (1997); Morrison et al, (1996) ; and Ross (1999) also revealed that the changes in socio- demographic had led to substantial changes in travel trends and leisure demand in the travel industry. 1.3.2 Travelling in time of Crisis and Risk Tourism today is vulnerable to natural disasters and crisis. The effect of terrorists attacked in World Trade Center, New York and Pentagon had tremendously brought the tourism industry to a halt for a long period of time with an estimated loss of US10 billion (Floyd et al., 2004) and it took several months for travellers to regain their confidence in travelling. The impact on the flow of information from the news media could changed the travellers attitude, perception and behaviour on the impression of risks that travellers would face when travelling (Valencia and Crouch, 2008). Incidents of natural disasters, political unrest, wars, epidemics, and terrorism lead to perceived travel risks (Mansfeld, 2006), whereas tourists ignorance of the probability of such events engage them in real risks (Wilks Page, 2006). This remark had tallied with Laws Prideaux (2005) and Glaesser (2003)s findings that risk derives as the probability of an undesirable incident that leads to the possible ne gative consequences of a consumers behaviour. Whereas, Beirman (2003) said that the perception of safety and security is a major determinant in travellers decisions to visit a place. 1.3.3 Travel Expenditures Travel expenditure patterns are vital to travel organizers and destination marketers (Jang et al., 2004). The growth in international tourism spending had reached 5.6% (adjusted for exchange rate fluctuations and inflation) in 2007, in particular strong in Asia and Pacific with an increase of 11% (WTO, 2008). The total travel expenditure in Southeast Asia for year 2007 has increased by 24% at USD54 billion compared to last year of USD 43.6 billion (WTO, 2008). The expenditure incurred on travel fall mainly in these categories, which were also important pillars of the economies in that country returned airfares, lodging, food and beverages, transportation and recreation activities. WTO also reported that nearly 80 countries earned more than USD1 million from international tourism in 2007. In examining the travel expenditure pattern of Japanese to United States, Jang et al. (2004) concluded that Japanese travellers (non package tour) spent an average of $3265 in United States. The hig her income Japanese (with an annual household income above $100,000) spent an average of $4367 while, the lower income Japanese (annual household income below $100,000) spent an average of $2831. The high income travellers spend significantly more. The study also revealed that Japanese travellers with companions tend to spend more than those travel alone. In Zhang et al. (2004)s study, the authors concluded that respondents with higher income (US$30,000 or above) perceived travel cost less important than those lower income groups (US$14,999 or below). Hong et al. (2005) revealed that financial factors indicate that there is a significant positive relationship between income and assets and leisure travel spending, that is employed families spent significantly more than unemployed families during leisure travel, whilst, retired families spend the same amount as unemployed families but more on accommodation. 1.3.4 Income and Travel Distance Hoe (2007) reported that in the 2007 Country Brand Index, a global survey made by over 2,600 international travellers, Singapore was ranked as the first Asian country that most people want to live in among Asian cities, and came in fourth position in the global category. In year 2008, there were 39% of employed households earned a median monthly household income of S$4950, and the residents expenditure abroad had gradually increased from $11.54 million in year 2003 to $14.31 million in 2007(DSS, 2008). It was assumed that the household income has correlation with the number of overseas trips made by the individual or per household in a year. Research in consumer behaviour has found that people of higher income would tend to search more for products/services information (Andereck and Caldwell, 1994; Runyon and Stewart, 1987; Robertson, Zielinski and Ward, 1984; Newman, 1977). Sparks and Pan (2009) also revealed that a higher percentage (51%) of the Chinese in China who earned more than 8000 yuan (67.1% of surveyed respondents earned more than 8000 yuan per month) were likely to travel outside China within the next 12 months. Similarly, Zhang et al. (1999)s finding also revealed that people with higher income tend to travel further, but the relationship is not linear and the higher the respondents self-perceived incomes the longer will be the travelled distance. According to Nicolau and Mas (2005), the effect of distance and prices are moderated by tourist motivations at the moment of choosing a destination. The findings conducted in Spain concluded that individual is not incline towards long trips and prefer shorter distance. However, they do not mind longer journeys if they are visiting family or friend or exploring new places. Contradictory, this group of people is unwilling to pay more for expensive places where family or friend resides but are willing to pay to explore new places. Nicolau and Mas (2005) also highlighted that people who are looking for culture are generally more willing to pay higher prices, whereas those looking for climate are less willing. In Singapore, with the rapid changes in socio-demographic over the years, there had been an increasing number of young adults age ranging from 15 to 34 years old that travel overseas at least once a year to neighboring countries like Malaysia, Indonesia and Thailand (DSS, 2005). Some of the possible reasons of short distance travelling could be financial constraints or not able to take longer leave from work. Heung and Chu (2000) found that travellers with lower income are more concern with pricing than travellers with higher income. 1.3.5 Intentions to Travel Travel is considered a leisure activity (Turco, Stumbo, Garncarz, 1998). Neal, Uysal and Sirgy (2007) also confirmed that travel is an important aspect of leisure life. Given the high standard cost of living in Singapore and heavy pressure from work, many Singaporeans chose to maintain a balance lifestyle between work and relaxation by travelling out of Singapore. Hence majority choose to escape from work to enjoy recreation activities with family or friends. Zabriskie McCormick (2001) concluded that Families are still considered to be the fundamental units of society and are perhaps the oldest and most important of all human institutions. Examination of family leisure had consistently demonstrated a positive relationship between family recreation and aspects of family functioning such as satisfaction and bonding. In another research work by Modell and Imwold (1998) suggested that there are several benefits of active involvement in recreational activities by the family, parents in particular, such as learning about diversity and socially appropriate behaviour, increased communication and self-esteem, and the development of friendships and social skills. Methodology The data used in this study was collected using the online survey method involving respondents of Singapore residents. This method was chosen as it is an ease and cheap way of targeting the respondents and collecting data. A structured questionnaire looking at different trends of travel and tourism of the Singapore was the main instrument used to collect the data. A five point likert scale ranging from 1=strongly disagree, 2=disagree, 3=neutral, 4=agree and 5=strongly agree was used on the trends influencing travel and tourism in Singapore. The questionnaire was first pre-tested on few students basically known as pilot study was made to ensure that the wording used was clear and understandable as w.ell as to estimate the time involved in filling the questionnaire Statistical package for social science (SPSS) was used to analyze the data. Descriptive statistics, T-test were the statistical tools used in the analysis. 1.5 Outline of the Project This thesis is organized into five sections. Chapter 1 introduces the analysis of tourism outlook of Singapore for both inbound and outbound travel. It also outlines the objective, aim to achieve, and research questions. Chapter 2 examines the past works and analysis conducted by various researchers performed in areas like travelling during crisis and risk, travel distance, travel expenditures, intentions to travel, travel behaviour, influences on attributes and purchases preference. Chapter 3 presents the methodology used in this thesis and the research findings obtained through this methodology. Data collection strategies and analysis used would be presented in details. This chapter also consist the limitation of study, ethical considerations as well as sampling and population. Chapter 4 examines the results collected from the survey .This chapter also includes a discussion of the findings to explain the reason behind the factors influencing the abroad education. Chapter 5 concludes the study by summarizing the findings in this study and presenting the implications that could arise as well as the possible future directions. 1.6 Summary Firstly In this chapter the background of the project explains briefly about the leisure travel and tourism in Singapore where the background also revealed the justification for the purpose of the study, which is followed by research questions and objectives of the project .Finally, this chapter provided the overview about the 5 chapters in this project independently.

Skin Cancer :: essays research papers

Skin cancer is the most common type of cancer in the United States. There are two different types of skin cancers: Melanomas and non-melanomas. To understand both of these terms a little better you need to be aware that your skin is divided up into 3 layers: the epidermis, dermis, and subcutis. The top layer, the epidermis, is very thin and serves to protect the deeper layers of the skin. The epidermis is also composed of basal cells, which in turn divide to form squamous cells and melanocytes. Melanoma skin cancer develops from the melanocytes and non-melanomas skin cancer develops from the basal and squamous cells. There are 2 types of non-melanomas cancer that result from these cells. The first is basal cell carcinoma; basal cell carcinoma begins in the lowest layer of the epidermis, the basal cell layer. This type of skin cancer tends to be slow growing and is usually is found in areas that are highly exposed to sunlight, such as the head or neck. The second type is called squamous cell carcinoma. Squamous cell carcinoma accounts for 20% of all skin cancers, and penetrates the skin more than basal cell would, therefore, is considered to be more harmful. Surprisingly, even with these astonishing numbers people still continue to put themselves at risk everyday. The solution to all this is very simple, we all need to wear sunscreen when planning to expose ourselves to the sun. There are also other everyday preventive measures that we can take to decrease our chances of harmful exposure to the sun. It is always helpful to wear a shirt and a hat with a broad brim. Wear sunglasses that absorb 99%-100% of UV rays to help your block your eyes and the skin around your eyes from these harmful rays. The two most important things for most people who like to tan are to seek shade frequently and to never use tanning beds. You can put your body at even more of a higher risk of contracting skin cancer when staying in the constant heat. One of the most effective ways is to wear sunscreen when out in the sun. Sunscreens are designed to protect against sunburn (UVB rays) and generally provide little protection against UVA rays. There are two types of sunscreens, chemical and physical. Chemical sunscreens contain chemicals such as benzophenone or oxybenzone as the active ingredient.

Frosts mending Wall Vs. Floyds the Wall :: essays research papers fc

From Robert Frost's Mending Wall to Pink Floyd's Another Brick in the Wall, humankind erects and maintains real and symbolic barriers to protect and defend opposing stances, beliefs and territories. Although each "wall" is different they serve the same purpose and both Frost and Floyd oppose them. Robert Frost's Mending Wall is a very popular poem. This poem consists of two characters: the narrator and his neighbor. In this poem the two neighbors are mending a stone wall that separates their property. The wall mending has been a pastime of the neighbors for many years and occurs every spring. Over the winter the wall has fallen victim to both hunters and the frozen ground and, therefore, contains gaps that must be filled.In the poem the narrator questions the sense of even mending the wall . He concludes that neither of the farms contain animals, only trees, which would be enough of a boundary. There is no physical need for the wall, so why go through the trouble of fixing it every year for no apparent reason. Although the narrator is right the ignorant neighbor insists that they mend the wall by saying "Good fences make good neighbors."(Frost) The neighbor repeats this saying although he doesn't know why the wall is necessary nor does he know why it will make them better neighbors . Frost is criticizing the ignorance of the neighbor here. Mending Wall, although it doesn't appear it on the surface, almost parallels to a popular Pink Floyd song, Another Brick in the Wall. The speakers of the song are students and the poem is directed towards teachers. In this song, as in Mending Wall, a barrier is discussed, but this time it is a phsycological barrier instead of a physical one. This barrier has been put up by society and is being built up by the teachers. The students are calling out against this building up of the wall. As it is stated in the song: "All in all you're(teachers) just another brick in the wall."(Floyd) This barrier being put up is restraining the students' freedom of thought, a process that has gone on and become reinforced over a long period of time. Floyd has realized this barrier and is calling out against it as he says:"We don't need no thought control."(Floyd)The barrier put up by education is just as unnecessary to Floyd as the stone wall is to Frost.

Gender in The Storm, by Kate Chopin Essay

Kate Chopin’s â€Å"The Storm,† is a story about adultery, focused on a housewife by the name of Calixta, who is expected to undertake household chores as the principal goal of her everyday life. The woman had had a flirtation with Alcee years before the story took place. Chopin informs the reader about the current situation between Calixta and Alcee: â€Å"She had not seen him very often since her marriage, and never alone† – certainly for the reason that the woman was not expected to see a man who was not her husband very often, and by herself. The woman has suppressed emotions and passions for Alcee, who too is married to another. The fact that she has suppressed emotions is revealed by her unspoken permission granted to Alcee to have a sexual encounter with her. She does not resist the encounter. However, being a man, Alcee is the one who begins to touch the woman as a way to start the sexual encounter. The woman responds with â€Å"generous abundance of her passion (Chopin). † At the same time, Calixta’s husband is at the general store where he probably went to fetch viands for the household and has been stopped by the storm. Thus, the story uses gender to inform the reader about perceived gender roles during the time it was written. As mandated by her gender role, it is perfectly normal for Calixta, a housewife, to be engrossed in housework while her husband is out. She is sewing a cotton sheet and involved in other household tasks when the storm arrives. She is airing out her husband, Bobinot’s Sunday clothing on the porch. Her husband is visiting the general store with their son, Bibi, because he is expected to purchase goods for the household, being the man of the family and the breadwinner who must keep account of the household purchases and buy only that which his family truly needs. If Calixta had gone to the general store instead, perhaps she would have spent indiscriminately and unwisely. Thus, men and women have different roles to play in â€Å"The Storm. † When Alcee arrives at Calixta’s doorstep to seek shelter from the storm, it appears as though the woman had been sleeping through her housework. Chopin writes: â€Å"His voice and her own startled her as if from a trance†¦. † What is more, the woman has been so focused on her housework that she begins talking excitedly about her work at first. She also talks about preparing her house for the storm. It is her responsibility, after all, to stay in charge of the entire household while the man of the house is away. Hence, she has to gather up the cotton sheet she had been sewing before the arrival of Alcee. With no housework left between the man and the woman, they are prepared to play their gender roles in a sexual encounter. When Alcee grabs the woman close to himself, Chopin describes Calixta’s first reaction thus: â€Å"Bonte! She cried, releasing herself from his arms encircling arms and retreating to the window†¦ If I only knew were Bibi was! † After remembering for a brief moment her marital role that demands her to stay faithful to her husband in her sex life, through which she gave birth to Bibi, Calixta easily submits to Alcee’s sexual move. As a man, Alcee was required to make the first sexual move. As a woman, Calixta had to submit because she desired the man. Furthermore, as a woman she was required by the perception of her gender to try modesty at first by resisting the sexual move. Once she has stopped resisting a sexual encounter with Alcee, Calixta gives in to the experience by thoroughly enjoying her sexual role just as Alcee takes great pleasure in his. After the sexual encounter and the storm, Alcee leaves Calixta’s house, and both appear happy as they smile through their respective gender roles, which apparently have been played rather well and would continue to do so. When Calixta’s husband returns home, she pretends as though nothing extraordinary has happened. Things get back to normal. Calixta never thinks about relating the experience to her husband. As a woman, she cannot dream of discussing the experience with her husband. Alcee, on the other hand, returns to his own house to write a letter to his wife stating that he is enjoying himself very much, and she too must enjoy her vacation. As a husband, Alcee is required to keep in touch with his wife, informing her about his state so as to touch base. Like Calixta, Alcee also does not mention to his spouse that he had had a sexual encounter with another. Rather, both the man and the woman are required to stay faithful to their spouses. Gender roles are fixed, and so both Calixta and Alcee are expected to continue playing their gender roles in their marriages as well as in society after their adulterous encounter. Neither is expected to share with society any information about the adulterous encounter, because society does not tolerate the breaking of marital norms. Moreover, Calixta is expected to continue being engrossed in her household chores, and sleeping through them when she must. Bobinot and Alcee, on the other hand, are expected to continuing fending for their families, and going to general stores to purchase household goods. When Bibi grows up, he too is expected to behave like Bobinot and Alcee – the breadwinners of their families. Thus, gender roles would not depart from society during the time of â€Å"The Storm. † Works Cited Chopin, Kate. â€Å"The Storm. † 1898. 20 Oct. 2007. .

An Ode Poem

An Ode Poem Adam Smith ENG 125 Prof. McFarland January 17, 2012 For my assignment this week I chose to write about is A Morning Song by Eleanor Farjeon. This poem is in the form of an ode which is also another form for a Lyric poetry. â€Å"Odes are imaginative, expressed with a meditative, intellectual tone, but do not have a prescribed pattern† (Clugston, 2010). I chose this poem because it was not only written well. It is sort of like the poetry I write. I want to describe this poem in my own words, because it is beautiful and heartwarming. One of the elements of this poem that I liked was the content of the poem. This particular poem had a lot of content in it but the main one was morning. It was a poem about the beginning of the day everything that deals with the morning. Like the dew on the grass, or the smell of the fresh air. It told of how a very sunny bright morning would like through the eyes of the lord and how the bird spoke and everything. Another element of the poem I like is the form in which it is written. Rhyming in poetry is pretty common in most poems. A† rhyme is a similarity in the sound of stressed syllables in words at the end of lines of poetry† (Clugston, 2010). The rhyming form is this poem is that of an ABAB style form. In other words the words at the ends of lines 1 and 3 are the same and the ones at the ends of 2 and 4 are the same. Another element I loved was the theme of the poem. After reading several times it was clear that the theme was morning time and everything that has to with it being morning. To me the theme was set in the first line of the poem. â€Å"Morning has broken, like the first morning† ( Farjeon,1957). That right there is what I think set the theme and or tone for this well written poem. These three elements here help me understand the poem and what it was really about. It took me several times to read this poem. Once I read a several time I got what it meant and how the poet wanted me as the reader to comprehend it. It was a very beautiful poem in its own way. These elements didn’t affect my opinion or my reaction to this poem. I think that they helped me more to understand it better. The elements that I wrote about were more for me as the reader to not only understanding the poem, but made it easier to read. They really didn’t cause me to focus one just one thing. Like I said earlier I had to read it several times so I eventually looked over everything in the poem. The wording and the way the poem was written was exceptionally brilliant in its own way. In conclusion this is probably one of the most beautiful poems I have ever read. I have read a lot of poems in my life and written them as well. This poem is what we at poets call and Ode which means it’s sort of lyrical in a sense. I hope I did this paper well and it was an honor to write about the poem. References: Clugston, R. W. (2010). Journey into literature. San Diego, California: Bridgepoint Education, Farjeon, E. (1957). A morning song. In Children's bells. Oxford, UK: Oxford Uni–versity Press.

Investment policy statement Essay

Return Requirements: * Tax minimization – a continuing collateral goal * Inflation adjustment enhancement of investments- real growth of capital with possible extra return if possible. Risk Tolerance: * Investment risk – very low risk 1. The Muellers have been managing their own investments and are familiar with risk but may not understand volotiliity completely due to their high portion of volatile stocks within the portfolio 2. Want to provide for their daughter’s college education 3. Very high tax bracket (30% on income and 20% on net realized gains) Constraints: Time Horizon: The Muellers are relatively young and have still a lot of time to work and likely saving for retirement is in their agenda. The main goal is to provide for their daughter’s education and expenses associated with it. This goal would be considered long-term but is relatively short in comparison to possible saving for retirement. Liquidity Requirement: There is an ongoing stream of income available. Their may still be some liquidity needs in order to provide for the expenses of the college education along with life expenses associated with both The Muller’s and their daughter. Taxes: The family is in the highest of brackets. Future investments should take that into account on an indefinite basis. Tax-sheltered investments should be considered and will likely benefit the family more than high yields that are taxable. Legal and Regulatory: The Muellers would like to monitor their own investments, so their investments are generally only governed by state law. Unique Circumstances: Past unsuccessful investments of $100,000 can be used to offset tax distributions on net realized gains. Most important aspect and is unique to the saturation, Incoming expenses of $90,000 for the first year of college and then consistent four more years of $40,000 of college expenses.

Engagement Strategy Presentation and Outline Research Paper

Engagement Strategy Presentation and Outline - Research Paper Example Employees are highly affected by the changes that take place within an organization including all kinds of mergers, acquisitions or takeover, management changes etc. the negative effects of these make the employees less engaged as well as de motivated and as a result, the employees become less dedicated and less satisfied and this is reflected in their work and performance. Therefore, it is extremely important for organizations to keep their staff motivated because a de motivated staff will affect the employees` performance as well as the performance of the entire organization. In order to increase staff morale and make them for satisfied, the human resource department should adopt strategies to boost staff morale and as a result, improve their performance. Employee engagement is usually low when a firm merges with another firm and there is some kind of a change in the management positions or styles. Similarly, the merge of the consulting firm with a software development agency results in low morale, low performance as well as high unrest. Employees should be given clear instructions and should be informed about the company`s mission for the future. As senior human resource leaders, it is our responsibility to introduce measures through which staff morale and performance could be restored. It is also extremely important to introduce equal policies and practices for both the new as well as old employees to deter future conflicts. Therefore, we propose the following engagement plans and strategies to help build the morale of old as well as new employees. The incentive theory of motivation includes that incentives should be given to the employees including both monetary and non-monetary rewards. These compensation strategies are in compliance with the expectancy theory which states that for a specific task given to the employees, they will exercise a certain amount of effort with the perceived level of compensation they will receive. If employees expect a greater