Manage Quality Customer Service Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3500 words

Manage Quality Customer Service - Essay Example The customer service program focuses on enhancing quality of the snack products offered to the customers. Snack products are not produced by Morning Star Bakery. These products are sourced in large quantities from the supplier and stocked in inventories for later use. This fact causes a rise in customer dissatisfaction for provision of stale snacks. Hence, inventories related to snacks need to be ordered from the suppliers depending on customer requirements and must not have a shelf life of more than 2 weeks. It would, thus, contribute in reducing inventory cost as well as enabling customers to avail the fresh snack products. Morning Star operates as a bakery store based in Strathfield, New South Wales. It tends to operate as a long-term traditional hot bread bakery store that services the customers through on-site production and retailing. Operating as a bakery store for 35 years, Morning Star aims to serve its customer base with different kinds of product offerings related to beverage products such as, coffee and tea varieties, soft drinks, snacks, sausage roll, meat pies and also croissants. Along with regional customers, Morning Star also serves the student communities hailing from different Asian countries like, Korea, China, Indonesia and Malaysia. The business model of Morning Star tends to integrate both manufacturing and supply chain operations such that sausage rolls, meat pies and snack products are sourced from an experienced supplier company, Penrith. The mission of Morning Star concentrates upon generation of quality services and food products to the customers at affordable prices in order to help deliver adequate customer satisfaction. The company aims to produce the food products and deliver services in an ethical fashion such that the same enhances the parameter of reliability and trust of the different stakeholders like, employees, customers and other social

Project Guideline Essay Example for Free

Project Guideline Essay If you not able to submit/resubmit your synopsis as per the timeline given above than you can submit in the next session ( Ist week of July to 15th September, 2013 without any fine) Student can submit their project report with a copy of approved synopsis, Guide Resume, Acknowledgement Letter from Project Guide at (IMT-CDL Ghaziabad, Hyderabad, Kolkata Mumbai) PROJECT SYNOPSIS GUIDELINE Project synopsis provides an outline of the project work to be undertaken by the candidate. Once you have selected a suitable topic, defined the problems and outlined the manner in which the project study is to be conducted, the next step is to prepare the project synopsis. This synopsis has to be submit online at our website www.imtcdl.ac.in for approval before you begin working on project work. The synopsis will be scrutinized by the faculty in IMT-CDL, Ghaziabad to ensure that it follows the guidelines. In case you propose to collect the data through a questionnaire then the questionnaire should also accompany the synopsis. The Project Synopsis should cover the following: Title of the Project : You can select any topic related to your Major Specialization. For more information please visit website www.imtcdl.ac.in and download the â€Å"Project Guideline† Company Profile: You have to choose an organisation for your project work. This should preferably be your own or any other organisation in the vicinity. In any case, it would be one where you have access to information and opportunity to discuss your ideas and views with the executives working there. The project outline and its formulation must be freely discussed with those who are responsible for similar activities in the organisation you have selected for your project work. Statement about the problem Having taken your first step it is important that you define the problem correctly. Problem definition has to be clear in terms of nature, size and scope of the project. These have to be stated in terms which are quite tangible and specific. Objectives and scope of the study Reasons for selecting the topic have to be explained along with the applicability or usefulness of the project idea. What contribution the project can make in the selected organization or in similar situations should be identified and stated. Methodology – It is necessary to explain the criteria for selection of sample size if survey is to be undertaken. Statistical methods that would be used for the same should be mentioned. Questionnaire that would be used to undertake the project work should be prepared and sent along with the synopsis. Methods that would be used for classification and interpretation of the data should be identified and mentioned. Questionnaire :- In case you propose to collect the data through a questionnaire then the questionnaire should also accompany the synopsis. Questionnaire should be scale of four/five level. Chapterization Scheme – A brief outline of the chapters to be included in the project report should be formulated and stated sequentially. Project Guide – Project Guide selected by the student should be an expert preferably a post graduate in the relevant discipline with a minimum of five years of work experience. It is necessary to send a brief resume of the project guide signed by the guide. If the resume of project guide is not attached, your synopsis can be rejected summarily.

Links between Biodiversity and Poverty Alleviation

Links between Biodiversity and Poverty Alleviation Name: Jane Sheehan. Title of Assignment: Nature is the foundation of business. Ecology sets the rules for economy. Thus, damaging nature is damaging business. Like cutting the branch we sit on. Part I: Evaluate the links between Biodiversity and poverty alleviation in underdeveloped countries. Part II: Discuss whether economic development activities aimed at income generation in emerging nations are likely to have a negative impact on biodiversity. Part I: Evaluate the links between Biodiversity and poverty alleviation in underdevloping countries. The issue of poverty and biodiversity in developing countries are intrinsically linked, almost in a paradoxical way. The ideology of biodiversity is one which is constantly under debate, however, a concise definition is that it encompasses all variety of life, from genes, to species, ecosystems and habitats. Undeveloped countries depend on biodiversity as a means of survival. In their case, biodiversity refers to local resources (such as livestock for food and transport, crop for shelter and produce, fuel). These are known as ecosystem goods (Irish Aid Factsheet). Biodiversity is also measured as a type of service, such as the level of climate regulation, and water resources. Biodiversity is a means of wealth in these countries, or insurance. Countries which are impoverished are then therefore the first to be affected when there is a loss in biodiversity. Poverty reduction is referred is an ideal that it is moving a population behind a so-called defined poverty line. In most cases, poverty is usually not reduced, but alleviated or prevented in some areas. The poor in majority of alleviation studies refer to rural communities which live close to biodiverse areas, or small populations which inhabit inaccessible areas. These rural populations depend on local biodiversity for their basic human needs. This can be historically traced, where populations live off of low impact intrusion of biodiversity. It is often the low value, typically inferior goods which are highly significant to the poor, providing them with basic human needs. Richer areas access more significant resources through a series of markets, such as the global economy and international trading. Moving onto the topic of poverty alleviation and biodiversity, it is hypothesised that there are links between the two. Biodiversity, in relation to poorer nations, is often measured as an abundance of natural resources such as the following: fish, mangroves, forests, wild animals and plants. These are often found in tropical environments. An interest in biodiversity and conservation may lead to a decrease in poverty levels in an area. Certain services or employment opportunities may be deep rooted in conservation processes, such as nature based tourism, protected area jobs, non-timber forest products (NTFP). These can target both problems, often providing poverty reduction methods, or preventing people from falling deeper into poverty. When conditions are optimum, these services lead to an increase in income and a level of poverty alleviation. Tourism = well known means of alleviating poverty. Instead of degrading a resource, seek to improve the knowledge surrounding it. Not only conserving, but gaining money. Part 2: Discuss whether economic development activities aimed at income generation in emerging nations are likely to have a negative impact on biodiversity. The economic development activities which nations undertake as a means of generating income in turn affects biodiversity. Loss in biodiversity can be linked to economy growth. As income per capita rises, so does the depletion of natural resources, and the degradation of natural habitats. Increase in industrialisation in countries leads to a correlation of pollution levels, however these processes may be key to employment opportunities and income. Though the area may be moving away from poverty, it is also moving towards a greater loss of biodiversity. There is also the issue of biodiversity loss in an underdeveloped area due to demand of product from developing countries. There is a high level of exportations from impoverished states to other countries of greater economic wealth, for example goods such as coffee, bananas, and sugar. There is also the problem of endangered animal trading.ÂÂ   Therefore loss is not only primarily linked to processes happening within a country, but as a result of processes happening in considerably better off areas. Therefore these areas are being exploited. As biodiversity loss increases in an area, as does public concern. An overall increase in income per capita means that the government of these areas have more expenditure for the protection of species and habitats. It can also be considered that, households which have a higher income rate, have more money to use as a part of conservation effort. One could even say, as the primary need of local resources for survival declines, conservation becomes a national issue. Biodiversity becomes economically important. Resources can be manufactured on an agricultural and pharmaceutical basis. People also begin to look towards the aesthetic properties of biodiversity, such as tourism, recreation space, and genetic diversity. As the economy develops, therefore so does environmental policy. Conservation effort can be measured by the state protection of the land, and the halt on the trade of endangered species. In developing areas, plants can be economically important due to their emerging importance in modern day medicine. Therefore certain valuable species are cultivated on a large scale for production measures in monoculture plantations. This method of increasing income leads to a volume of resources and an increase in the species biomass, but does not directly increase diversity, but abundance. Therefore a significant stabilisation in biodiversity loss can be witnessed in these developed areas. Though biodiversity loss comes to a slight standstill, the original effects are not seen to be reversed, nor will biodiversity be increased. Its hard to say whether these methods will improve biodiversity, or degrade it.

Accommodating Students with Disabilities :: College Admissions Essays

Accommodating Students with Disabilities In order to earn a high school diploma in New York State, each student must acquire one physical education credit. "Paul" [a pseudonym] is in a wheelchair. He is a tenth-grade student with cerebral palsy at my high school. He needed to earn this credit, but would be unable to meet the challenges of physical education. Paul would have to get his physical education credit another way. The dean of students and varsity basketball coach were made aware of the problem and came up with a solution. Knowing that Paul is a basketball fan, he inquired whether he could record the stats. A modification to the program All-Star Stats 400 by Microsoft would enable Paul to maintain the stats and remove the task from the coach's shoulders. This idea was then discussed with the Learning Workshop teacher, a computer whiz. He reasoned that if Paul could break down, statistically, videotaped basketball games, he could input the stats into the computer. Paul discussed the idea with his teacher and really liked the idea-it allowed him to participate in high school basketball and earn the required credit. Once his teacher completed the modifications of All-Star Stats 400, Paul was given a valuable chance to get his physical education credit. The faculty's willingness to help a student shines through the mechanics of this process. The reason Paul succeeded in receiving his credit is because he was willing to try to make the idea become reality. The faculty worked together to form the raw materials, and Paul finished the product. This personal victory was barely noticed by the student body, although perhaps more students should take heed of the occurrence. The ideals expressed in this story include acceptance, creativity and cooperation among faculty and students. As his teacher said, "Getting Paul's credit shows the helpfulness and dedication of the faculty and the willingness and desire of Paul.

Do Footballers get paid too much for what they do?

Hello, today I am going to be giving you a speech on the topic ‘Do footballers get paid to much for what they do?' Premiership footballers, 17-18 year olds earn the average of à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½24,000 a week and for 27 – 28 year olds it is up to 899,500 a week! David Beckham has just signed a new deal with Manchester United which will make him the highest paid footballer in the world. He'll earn around à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½11m a year. But are footballers' wages ridiculously high? Are they damaging to the game? Or do you think they're worth it because their careers are so short and they really need the cash? It's madness. They just get to do their hobby and they get paid the best, it's just crazy! They don't cure anyone, teach anyone or help anyone by kicking a ball around a pitch do they? So the money should be going to the doctors and teachers who do a lot for the world. By contrast, the average doctor is paid 75,000 per year. Yet doctors are relied on by the public, you and me to save people's lives and generally help our welfare of us and footballers merely have a natural talent to run around a field and kicking a football around. What would you rather have? Doctors who save your family and save your life or have the entertainment of footballers running around the pitch and rolling around on the floor? Others argue that the game is being ruined due to the high salary of footballers. Even the people on the bench sitting down doing nothing getting paid vast amounts of money for doing absolutely nothing! Getting paid more then teachers by sitting around the edge of the pitch AND get a free ticket to the game. Also during these difficult times due to the credit crunch, think what uses we could use that money on! Our NHS service could be improved enormously. But you can admire some footballers who give up most there salary to a charity. Perhaps the footballers are making playing football look too easy After all, how hard can kicking a football around the pitch be? Not many brain cells required. Some people talk of footballers as role models for many young fans. But what are we meant to think when a player gets drunk at a party on a Friday night and goes and attacks a member of the public? And when a footballer goes out and trashes a brand new 500 thousand pound Lamborghini and doesn't care just buys a new one with out looking back. That is my view on ‘Do footballers get paid too much for what they do.'

Apush Notes: Conquering a Continent 1861-1877 Essay

* Essential Question: What factors helped advance the integration of the national economy after the Civil War? Section 1: The Republican Vision: * Integrating the National Economy: * Reshaping the former Confederacy after the Civil War supplemented a Republican drive to strengthen the national economy to overcome limitations of market variations that took place under previous Democratic commands. * Failure to fund internal improvements left different regions of the country disconnected, producing the Civil War, Republicans argued. * During the Civil War and after, the Republican-dominated Congress made strong use of federal power, passing protective tariffs that gave U.S. manufacturers a competitive advantage against foreign firms. * Republican administrations would strengthen the economy through a massive public-private partnership that modern historians argue represents a turn away from a laissez-faire or â€Å"hands off† approach of previous administrations towards the economy. * Railroad developments in the United States began well before the Civil War but peaked after the Civil War. By 1900, virtually no corner of the country lacked rail service. * Railroads transformed American capitalism by adopting a legal form of organization, the corporation, enabling them to raise private capital in large amounts. * Along with the transformative power of railroads, Republicans’ protective tariffs also helped build thriving U.S. industries. A Civil War debt of $2.8 billion was erased during the 1880s by a $2.1-billion-dollar income from tariffs. * Fierce tariff debates marked American politics in the 1880s and 1890s. Democrats argued that the tariff had not slowed poverty in the United States. * Protective tariffs had also helped to foster the growth of trusts, giant corporations that dominated whole sectors of the economy and wielded monopoly power. * The rise of railroads and trusts prompted a pushback by companies against new state and federal regulatory laws. In Munn v. Illinois (1877), the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that states possessed the right to regulate businesses, but not at the expense of fragmenting the national marketplace. * In the Southwest, federal courts promoted economic development at the expense of racial justice. Although the United States had taken control of New Mexico and Arizona after the U.S. Mexican War of 1848, much of the land still remained in Mexican American hands by the 1870s. * As the post–Civil War years brought railroads and Anglo-American settlers, Mexican Americans lost 64 percent of their lands through special courts that ruled on land titles. * The Santa Fe Ring was a notorious group of politicians and lawyers who conspired to defraud Mexican Americans of their lands. * After the Civil War, U.S. and European policymakers attempted to transform their economies to the gold standard. But basing money supplies on gold was a divisive issue that framed U.S. politics for a generation. * In 1873, Congress directed the U.S. Treasury, over a six-year period, to retire the greenback paper dollars issued during the Civil War and replace them with notes from an expanded system of national banks. After 1879, the Treasury exchanged notes for gold upon request. * Silver adherents received a modest victory when Congress passed the Bland-Allison Act of 1878, requiring the United States to coin a modest amount of silver. * Republican nationalist policies fostered rapid economic growth in the form of an expansion of telecommunications, corporations, and capital, making the United States a mighty industrial power by 1900. * The New Union and the World: * Following the Civil War, the United States achieved greater leverage with foreign nations like Britain. American expansionists expected to add more territories to the nation. The use of the Hawaiian Islands and the invention of steam transportation facilitated expansion off the continent to places like Japan in the 1850s. * Union victory also increased trade with Latin America. Mexico freed itself from French rule in 1867, but risked economic manipulation by its larger northern neighbor, the United States. * International trade became a new model for asserting power in Latin America and Asia. Under the leadership of Secretary of State William Steward (1861–1869), the United States embraced China and Japan, forcing the Japanese to remain open to trade. * Seward also advocated the purchase of strategic locations for naval bases and refueling stations, such as land in Nicaragua for a canal, Hawaii, and the Philippines. * In 1868, Seward achieved a significant victory with congressional approval of the Burlingame Treaty with China, regulating immigration. The same year, Seward also purchased Alaska from Russia, further establishing the United States as a global power. Summary: * Essential Question: What factors drew homesteaders to the Great Plains, and what role did they play in the Republicans’ vision for the post-Civil War nation? Section 2: Incorporating the West: * Cattlemen and Miners: * Conquest and development of the American West became the domestic foundation for national supremacy in the late 1800s. Farm development was as vital as factory development to Republican policymakers. * Republicans sought to bring families to the West by offering 160 acres of land through the Homestead Act. * Innovative federal policies, such as the U.S. Geological Survey, helped in 1879 to open up western lands managed under a new Department of the Interior. * Federal policies helped to incorporate the trans-Mississippi West. As railroads crossed the country, thousands of homesteaders filed land claims. * To make room for cattle, professional buffalo hunters eliminated the buffalo. * Texas ranchers inaugurated the famous Long Drive, hiring cowboys to herd cattle hundreds of miles north to the railroads that pushed west across Kansas. * As soon as railroads reached the Texas range country during the 1870s, ranchers abandoned the Long Drive. Stockyards appeared beside railroad tracks in large Midwestern cities like Chicago. These places became the center of a new industry, meatpacking. * Sheep raising also became a major enterprise in the high country of the Rockies and the Sierras. * In the late 1850s as California gold panned out, other mineral discoveries helped to develop the Far West in places like Nevada, the Colorado Rockies, South Dakota’s Black Hills, and Idaho. The Comstock Lode in Nevada was a major silver discovery. * At some sites, miners found copper, lead, and zinc that eastern industries demanded. The insatiable material demands of mining triggered economic growth at many far-flung sites, such as Pueblo, Colorado, which smelted ore. * Remote areas turned into a mob scene of prospectors, traders, gamblers, prostitutes, and saloonkeepers; prospectors made their own mining codes and often used them to exclude or discriminate against Mexicans, Chinese, and blacks. * California created a market for Oregon’s produce and timber. * Homesteaders: * Upon first encountering the Great Plains, Euro-Americans thought the land barren, and referred to it as the Great American Desert. * Railroads, land speculators, steamship lines, and the western states and territories did all they could to encourage settlement of the Great Plains. * New technology—steel plows, barbed wire, and strains of hard-kernel wheat—helped settlers to overcome obstacles. * Between 1878 and 1886, settlers experienced exceptionally wet weather, but then the dry weather typical of the Great Plains returned, and settlers fled recently settled land. * â€Å"American fever† took hold in northern Europe as Norwegians and Swedes came to the United States. * For some southern blacks known as Exodusters, Kansas was the Promised Land; by 1880, 40,000 blacks lived in Kansas—the largest concentration of blacks in the West aside from Texas. * By the turn of the century, the Great Plains had fully submitted to agricultural development. In this process, there was little of the â€Å"pioneering† that Americans associated with the westward movement; farming required capital investment and the willingness to risk boom and bust cycles just like any other business. * Although miners, lumber workers, and cowboys were overwhelmingly men, many women accompanied families as homesteaders. * The Republican ideal of national economic development through farm building supported the cultural value of domesticity. Spread widely before and after the Civil War, domesticity held that it was a man’s devotion to his wife and childr en that caused him to work hard and be thrifty and responsible. * Domesticity produced a political clash with the Mormon Church, whose adherents practiced polygamy. Along with voting rights, this issue framed gender political controversies during Reconstruction. * Women’s rights expanded when Wyoming granted women the right to vote in 1869. Towns in Kansas in the 1880s elected women as mayors and as city professionals. Women were increasingly leaving the home to work. * Yet the majority of rural women lived under harsh frontier conditions. Rolvaag’s contemporary work, Giants in the Earth portrayed the fear and isolation of Norwegian immigrant women on the Dakota vast prairie. * Debt and Aridity: * Farm prices dropped in the late 1800s as technological innovation and global expansion glutted markets for wheat, cotton, and corn. * Farmers also faced the problem of being small producers in a marketplace that rewarded economies of scale, giving large corporations the advantage of undercutting farmers. In the 1880s, farmers would launch one of the most powerful protest movements in the history of American politics. * A hostile environment existed on the Great Plains in the form of grasshoppers, prairie fires, hailstorms, droughts, tornadoes, blizzards, the lack of water, and minimal wood supplies. Many families built homes made of sod. * By the late 1880s, over 50,000 homesteaders had fled the Dakotas and many others gave up their settled lands. Dry farming techniques helped to alleviate some of the challenges of Great Plains farming. But it favored the growth of large corporations. Family farms required over 300 acres to survive low prices and harsh weather conditions. * By 1900, about half of the nation’s cattle and sheep, one-third of its cereal crops, and nearly three-fifths of its wheat came from the Great Plains. But environmental costs multiplied as wasteful anti-biodiversity agricultural practices continued. * Encouragement from experts like John Wesley Powell, a geologist who explored the West, to infuse federal funding into western development ignited a debate over corporate versus small family farms. * Rampant overdevelopment led to a preservation movement by Congress. In 1864, Congress gave 10 square miles of the Yosemite Valley to California for public use. In 1872, Congress set aside 2 million acres of Wyoming’s Yellowstone Valley as a public park for tourism, a new western industry on the rise. * Indian eviction accompanied land preservation. In 1877, the Nez Perce under Chief Joseph and the Bannock tribe of Indians utilized Yellowstone for survival as they fled forced reservation life by the federal military. * The military decided that killing buffalo would help reduce resistance of the Great Plains tribes. They had signed treaties in 1867 and 1868 to ceded vast tracts of land and remain on reservations. Whites now wanted Indians to cede more lands. Summary: * Essential Question: How did the federal government’s relationship with Native Americans change in the decades following the Civil War? How did they stay the same? Section 3: A Harvest of Blood: Native Peoples Dispossessed: * The Civil War and Indians on the Plains: * Before the Civil War, Congress gave the Great Plains to Native Americans because they thought it could not be farmed. But railroads, steel plows, and the desire for land reversed that decision. * The Sioux and other tribes fought against federal government attempts to place them on reservations. In 1862 in Minnesota, the Sioux responded by massacring white settlers. President Lincoln hanged the leaders and exiled the remainder from the state. * The Dakota Sioux uprising escalated tensions elsewhere between whites and Indians. In 1864, Col. Chivington led his troops to commit the Sand Creek Massacre of Cheyenne in eastern Colorado. * The Sioux and Arapaho responded with more attacks. In December of 1866, the Sioux wiped out eighty men under Captain Fetterman and successfully closed the Bozeman Trail. * By 1869, public opinion had turned against warfare as an effective means to subdue Indian tribes. Congressional leaders searched for other options to deal with the â€Å"Indian probl em.† * Grant’s Peace Policy: * Christian reformers heavily influenced the Grant administration’s peace policy. Reformers argued that Indians could be transformed into whites through education and religious indoctrination, particularly of Indian youth in boarding schools. The first boarding school opened at Carlisle in 1879. * Corruption, racism, and denominational in-fighting reduced the effectiveness of the boarding school campaign. To Indian leaders, reformers became just another interest group. * Indian tribes were forced by political circumstances to accommodate. In 1871, Congress abolished further treaty-making with Indian tribes. * The Supreme Court further eroded tribal power in Lone Wolf v. Hitchcock (1903), stating that Congress could make any policies it chose and could ignore existing treaties. * In Ex Parte Crow Dog, the Court ruled that Indians were not citizens unless approved by Congress. Indians would remain wards of the government until the 1930s. * Another assimilation measure attempted to free Indians from their tribal past, this time through land taking. The Dawes Severalty Act of 1887 held that all Indians would receive allotments of reservation land and the remainder would be sold to non-Indians. * The Bureau of Indian Affairs’ carelessness, corruption, and greed doomed the act. Fifteen million surplus acres alone were taken from tribes in Indian Territory by 1894, facilitating the birth of the state of Oklahoma. * Before Dawes, Indians had held over 155 million acres of land; by 1900, this had dropped to 77 million. By 1934, native peoples had lost 66 percent of their allotted lands. * The End of Armed Resistance: * By 1873, only Sitting Bull, the great Lakota Sioux leader, openly refused to go to a reservation. * A crisis came on the northern plains in 1876 when the Sioux refused to sell the Black Hills as demanded by the federal government. * On June 25, 1876, George A. Custer pursued a reckless strategy and suffered annihilation by Chief Crazy Horse’s Sioux and Cheyenne warriors at the Little Big Horn. This was the last victory of the Plains Indians against the U.S. Army. * The Apache hated their reservation, so they made life miserable for white settlers in the Southwest until their chief Geronimo was finally captured in 1886. The United States had completed its military conquest of the West. * Strategies of Survival: * Despite living on reservations and halting armed resistance, most native people continued to practice traditional languages, ceremonies, and arts. * Most native people also selectively adopted white ways such as use of the English language and skills such as agriculture. Most native people blended old and new ways. * One of the most famous native people who assimilated during this era was Dr. Charles Eastman, a Dakota Sioux boy trained in white schools to become a medical doctor. * The Ghost Dance movement symbolized the syncretism, or blending together, of white and Indian ways. The dance drew on Christian and native elements, spreading from reservation to reservation across the West and alarmed many local whites. On December 29, 1890, at Wounded Knee Creek in South Dakota, U.S. Army soldiers massacred 150 Lakota Sioux people. The soldiers feared that the Ghost Dance would provoke war uniting Indian communities. * By 1890, the United States included forty states, an industrial economy that rivaled Britain and Germany, steady immigration, and inklings of becoming a major player in foreign places. A new American empire was forming abroad.

Free Essays on 1956

Sociology Essay How useful is the concept of ‘elite’ for understanding the distribution of power in either Britain or the United States? Introduction In America perhaps only race is a more sensitive subject than the way we sort ourselves out in the struggle for success. The eminent sociologist Robert Merton calls it the ‘structure of opportunity’. In the understanding of the usefulness of the term ‘elite’, there are some common historical variables, which must be looked at in order to appreciate the power organisms at work even in American society, and how from the days of Thomas Jefferson to the era of Newt Gingrich, the assumption of superiority is an undercurrent in American life and society. In this essay I will attempt to show that elitist power in America is controlled by a few at the top of the political, corporate, social and religious pyramid. Moreover, the concept of natural aristocracy, or meritocracy, has a powerful resonance e ven in the United States of America. Historical Antecedents In understanding the usefulness of the term elite in American society, late 19th and 20th century history provides the pretext for what was called a â€Å" fluid society â€Å". This was a highly mechanized, industrial age in which people’s roles were being determined by their merit, talents, character and ‘grit’. By 1910, Harvard Professor Frederick Jackson Turner was influential in transforming this ministerial training school into an Ivy League institution, dominated by the children of a distinct upper class†¦ most Northeastern and mostly business. This class came to be known as the Episcopacy, after its predominant religion – Episcopalianism. The genesis of the Episcopacy at the end of the 19th century represented the merger of what appeared to be an irreconcilable conflict between two rival elite groups: the old pre-industrial New England – based on upper-class norms, with its h igh-minded, non-urban mores, and the b... Free Essays on 1956 Free Essays on 1956 Sociology Essay How useful is the concept of ‘elite’ for understanding the distribution of power in either Britain or the United States? Introduction In America perhaps only race is a more sensitive subject than the way we sort ourselves out in the struggle for success. The eminent sociologist Robert Merton calls it the ‘structure of opportunity’. In the understanding of the usefulness of the term ‘elite’, there are some common historical variables, which must be looked at in order to appreciate the power organisms at work even in American society, and how from the days of Thomas Jefferson to the era of Newt Gingrich, the assumption of superiority is an undercurrent in American life and society. In this essay I will attempt to show that elitist power in America is controlled by a few at the top of the political, corporate, social and religious pyramid. Moreover, the concept of natural aristocracy, or meritocracy, has a powerful resonance e ven in the United States of America. Historical Antecedents In understanding the usefulness of the term elite in American society, late 19th and 20th century history provides the pretext for what was called a â€Å" fluid society â€Å". This was a highly mechanized, industrial age in which people’s roles were being determined by their merit, talents, character and ‘grit’. By 1910, Harvard Professor Frederick Jackson Turner was influential in transforming this ministerial training school into an Ivy League institution, dominated by the children of a distinct upper class†¦ most Northeastern and mostly business. This class came to be known as the Episcopacy, after its predominant religion – Episcopalianism. The genesis of the Episcopacy at the end of the 19th century represented the merger of what appeared to be an irreconcilable conflict between two rival elite groups: the old pre-industrial New England – based on upper-class norms, with its h igh-minded, non-urban mores, and the b...

Anatomical Directional Terms and Body Planes

Anatomical Directional Terms and Body Planes Anatomical directional terms are like the directions on a compass rose of a map. Like the directions, North, South, East and West, they can be used to describe the locations of structures in relation to other structures or locations in the body. This is particularly useful when studying anatomy as it provides a common method of communication that helps to avoid confusion when identifying structures. Also as with a compass rose, each directional term often has a counterpart with converse or opposite meaning. These terms are very useful when describing the locations of structures to be studied in dissections. Anatomical directional terms can also be applied to the planes of the body. Body planes are used to describe specific sections or regions of the body. Below are examples of some commonly used anatomical directional terms and planes of the body. Anatomical Directional Terms Anterior: In front of, frontPosterior: After, behind, following, toward the rearDistal: Away from, farther from the originProximal: Near, closer to the originDorsal: Near the upper surface, toward the backVentral: Toward the bottom, toward the bellySuperior: Above, overInferior: Below, underLateral: Toward the side, away from the mid-lineMedial: Toward the mid-line, middle, away from the sideRostral: Toward the frontCaudal: Toward the back, toward the tailBilateral: Involving both sides of the bodyUnilateral: Involving one side of the bodyIpsilateral: On the same side of the bodyContralateral: On opposite sides of the bodyParietal: Relating to a body cavity wallVisceral: Relating to organs within body cavitiesAxial: Around a central axisIntermediate: Between two structures Anatomical Body Planes Imagine a person standing in an upright position. Now imagine dissecting this person with imaginary vertical and horizontal planes. This is the best way to describe anatomical planes. Anatomical planes can be used to describe any body part or an entire body. (View a detailed body plane image.) Lateral Plane or Sagittal Plane: Imagine a vertical plane that runs through your body from front to back or back to front. This plane divides the body into right and left regions. Median or Midsagittal Plane: Sagittal plane that divides the body into equal right and left regions.Parasagittal Plane: Sagittal plane that divides the body into unequal right and left regions. Frontal Plane or Coronal Plane: Imagine a vertical plane that runs through the center of your body from side to side. This plane divides the body into front (anterior) and back (posterior) regions. Transverse Plane: Imagine a horizontal plane that runs through the midsection of your body. This plane divides the body into upper (superior) and lower (inferior) regions. Anatomical Terms: Examples Some anatomical structures contain anatomical terms in their names that help identify their position in relation to other body structures or divisions within the same structure. Some examples include the anterior and posterior pituitary, superior and inferior venae cavae, the median cerebral artery, and the axial skeleton. Affixes (word parts that are attached to base words) are also useful in describing the position of anatomical structures. These prefixes and suffixes give us hints about the locations of body structures. For example, the prefix (para-) means near or within. The parathyroid glands are located on the posterior side of the thyroid. The prefix epi- means upper or outermost. The epidermis is the outermost skin layer. The prefix (ad-) means near, next to, or toward. The adrenal glands are located atop the kidneys. Anatomical Terms: Resources Understanding anatomical directional terms and body planes will make it easier to study anatomy. It will help you to be able to visualize positional and spatial locations of structures and navigate directionally from one area to another. Another strategy that can be employed to help you visualize anatomical structures and their positions is to use study aids such as anatomy coloring books and flashcards. It may seem a bit juvenile, but coloring books and review cards actually help you to visually comprehend the information.

African American Culture Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 1

African American Culture - Essay Example This discussion stresses that  to date no African American can claim certain aspects what he or she does descend from own respective ancestors in W. Africa. Since, present values that we normally hold onto and boast of are just mere retaliation habits of the impending settings. For instance, hip-hop claimed by Hamlet to have spread worldwide but now seems overshadowed by Crunk, a more club-oriented genre.This report highlights that church currently acts as a â€Å"Rich Reservoir† meant to relay varied African American expressions or terms, she fails to notice the extent of societal fusion evident in America. The then Mega churches dominant congregation used to be of certain races but now that is changing whereby the said word-warriors are of diverse backgrounds including descendants of former slave masters. This depicts a creation of unified and borderless society whose description would emerge with entirely different values such that former distinct racial values are inexis tent. Since, interaction especially through social settings currently escalates the extent of intermarriages, which in their actualization by respective partners sometimes tend to disregards certain aspects of the respective participants to embrace common grounds. For instance, overemphasis of certain cultural aspects that has no significance to in unifying the formed interracial union like dominant patriarchal privileges.   Ã‚  

Sex, Violence and Transgression Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Sex, Violence and Transgression - Essay Example On August 12, 2005, Jack Thompson, an American activist, filed a case in the Alabama court against Sony. Thompson claimed video games are promoting violence and it was due to such a video game which Moore had played endlessly which has compelled him to shoot the policemen. Devin Moore pleaded guilty saying that it the game ‘Grand Theft Auto (GTA)’ that caused him to kill those police officers and he was under the influence of that game. Grand Theft Auto is a video game wherein the player acts as a street mugger who steals cars. He attempts to overrun any pedestrian who comes in his way, liberates a criminal from the police station and runs off by shooting the policemen. The families of the victims argued that Moore replayed all that he had experienced as a player in the violent video game. Devin Moore was only 16 years old. At the time of his arrest, Moore is reported to have said: â€Å"Everybody has got to die.† This statement was later changed in 2004 in a court session to â€Å"Life is a video game. You’ve got to die sometimes.† What leads him to utter these words? More importantly, what made him change his statement? One of the reasons could be that he wanted everyone to believe that it was indeed the video game which was to be blamed and not him. Or maybe he was so mentally disturbed that he could fathom the consequences of changing his statement. As per Moore’s father, Moore had been a disturbed child right from childhood and had a record of taking drugs and being involved in crime. While Devin Moore said that he was under the trance of the game that he had completely lost the ability to differentiate between reality and the game. Also, his lawyer claimed that he was suffering from a dissociative order (Chalk, The Escapist, 2007). Moore appealed not guilty as he had developed a psychological defect by playing the game  for long hours and this deprived him of the sense to evaluate his own actions.

HRM- Individual Report 1 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

HRM- Individual Report 1 - Essay Example However, the practice of the effective leadership process also involves the intervention of the learning method by the leader along with the evaluation of the organisational development (Collins, 2002). Likewise, Leadership and Management Development (LMD) have been witnessed as widely practiced by contemporary organisations to stimulate operational efficiency through enhanced use of the human resources. Hereby, the report tends to develop a critical understanding about the fundamental concept of LMD along with the objectives and purposes within an organisation. Moreover, the report also details the strategic process of LMD and explores its relationship with organisational performance from a critical perspective. The concept of LMD can be simply elaborated as a planned and integrated approach, which enables managers and leaders of a particular organisation to increase their operational controlling and management efficiencies. In relation to the rapidly developing business environment, the definition of LMD can be termed as an effective learning approach for the leaders and/or managers to develop their competency level in response to the changing opportunities and trends in the respective business industry (CIPD, 2010). The primary objective of LMD may consist of numerous practices that not only improves controlling and managing capabilities of the organisation, but also helps managers and leaders to strengthen their decision-making processes. The objectives of LMD can be observed to characterise few major aspects that can enable leaders and managers to improve their performances within an organisation (CIPD, 2010). Cropping or fertilising knowledge and managerial capabilities of the leaders is further ascertained as one of the major objectives of LMD. Moreover, enabling leaders to gain adequate managing capability of the organisational inheritance can

Extra Credit Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 4

Extra Credit - Essay Example The most important concept that I learned from the episode is the unity and cooperation among Rockefeller, Vanderbilt, Carnegie, Ford, and Morgan. They often seemed to combine their efforts and in the process make more discoveries. For example, discovery of electricity made it easier for other industries such as finance, and transport to flourish. However, I tend to think that this episode fails to show the ethical issues that characterized the making of America. For example, the episode does not show how thousands of people were oppressed in the process of industrialization. I actually wonder if some of the research standards used by the men who build America would stand the test of time in the modern society. Nevertheless, we can say that the end justifies the means since America is what it is today because of such hardworking and dedicated men who put all their energy and commitment to developing America from nothing to something. â€Å"History†. The Men Who Built America - New Episodes. Web 18 October 2012.

Sainsburys Supermarkets Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Sainsburys Supermarkets - Essay Example Using a combination of common management tools in a wide range of areas, from stocking its shelves full with items customers want to buy to executing on a complete revamp of its information technology and supply chain management systems, a new senior management team is revitalising the whole organisation from top to bottom. This brief history helps us analyse the period 2003 to 2006, during which Sainsbury's hit the dust with their first-ever revenues slump in history (in the year ended March 2005) and then as nimbly picked itself up and began staging a comeback. We can learn how they are doing by studying the company's annual reports which are the "official" snapshots of the whole corporation each year. Just like any other company at the mercy of its stakeholders (Freeman, 1984), Sainsbury's is expected to behave to satisfy everyone. Identify significant areas of the accounts for 2006 where judgment has been used in determining the appropriate accounting policy for the company (for example depreciation of fixed assets). Critically discuss how such judgments have materially affected the accounts in terms of valuation and profitability. There are several portions in Sainsbury's 2006 report indicating where judgment has been used to determine the appropriate accounting policies. ... From the long list of accounting policies, we note the following that in our opinion materially affected the accounts in terms of valuation and profitability: The 2006 reports are the Group's and Company's first financial statements prepared under IFRS and therefore, IFRS 1 'First-time Adoption of International Financial Reporting Standards' was applied. The last statements under UK Generally Accepted Accounting Principles ("UK GAAP") were for the 52 weeks to 26 March 2005. An explanation of the transition to IFRS is provided in Note 42. A comparison of the GAAP-based 2005 and IFRS-based 2005 reports showed that whilst non-current assets declined by almost 3 billion, total equity declined by only 33 million thanks to adjustments in net current liabilities of over 2.9 billion. This shows how numbers can surprisingly appear and vanish like magic. Early adoption of the standard Amendment to IAS 19 'Employee Benefits' is effective for annual periods beginning 1 January 2006, i.e. beginning 26 March 2006. However, Sainsbury's elected to early adopt this amendment and has applied the requirements of the amendment to the financial statements for the 52 weeks to 25 March 2006. This led to gross actuarial gains of 128 million (Note 42, p. 95), cutting the pension deficit from 672 million to only 375 million due to a deferred income tax asset. This allowed Sainsbury's to conveniently finance the pension fund and contribute towards improving employee motivation. The treatment of Subsidiaries and Goodwill allowed Sainsbury's to manufacture current year profits growth from its sale of Shaw's in 2004 by recycling 123 million of the goodwill write down from its 2005 results (p. 96), adding net 86 million to profits (See note on p. 95). Goodwill is now not allowed under

The Management of Corporate Security (To what extent is it important Essay

The Management of Corporate Security (To what extent is it important that security managers have a good understanding of the lat - Essay Example In order for a corporate protection to be effective, there has to be an excellent perceptive of the matters that are taking place in the civilization. The company has to be responsive of the surroundings and what is taking place in the general public (McCrie 2006). This paper is going to analyze the extend of understanding that security managers have to go in the latest politics, economy, society, technology, ecology and legal (P.E.S.T.E.L) trends and developments that shall be seen as important for the corporate security. Cybercrimes Many reports have come out in the recent news that computer has now been a target in committing crimes. These are the kinds of crime that put in use a computer and a network where there are several computers interlinked with one another (Santanam, Sethumadhavan and    Virendra 2011). These offences are committed against individuals and in most cases against groups like the corporations. It is always the responsibility of any corporation to make sure t hat the security and close functioning of all the company’s affairs are well overseen. This is in terms of the continuity, safety and the most importantly the security (Santanam, Sethumadhavan and    Virendra 2011). These crimes threaten the security of these companies and also their finances. The issues that are found in this mode of crime are like cracking, copyright infringement et cetera. For the corporations, governments and other non-state bodies that engage in these illegal actions, they always engage in espionage, financial theft and some other cross-border crimes (Santanam, Sethumadhavan and    Virendra 2011). According to Santanam, Sethumadhavan and Virendra (2011), in today’s world, things are much connected than before. For a corporation to be able to engage in its deals and make much profit it needs to have a reliable communication channel with the outside world. This raises the risks of falling into theft, fraud and other abuses that are committed in the cyber world where almost all communications are handled (Santanam, Sethumadhavan and    Virendra 2011). Therefore, there is crucial importance in understanding the different areas in society like politics and economy at a broader view because as the management of this corporation is becoming more and more reliant on the latest technologies, there is also becoming extremely vulnerable to the cyber attacks. Corporate security breaches These occur when the hackers exploit the employees through means of some social engineering and other scams (Cubbage and  Brooks 2012). Since late eighties, computer crimes that have been politically motivated have been growing rapidly. These kinds of threats arise from the states and individuals or certain groups that are tired in some political agendas. These is clearly depicted or demonstrated as in 2007 cyber attacks against Estonia (Cubbage and  Brooks 2012). There were enormous disruptions to the public services like banking services and some communicating services. The United Kingdom is one of the developed nations that depend on its own information infrastructure, as one mode of delivering world power both in the financial realm and political arena. The threat was realized in the year 2008, and it did not only center on the secrets of the state but also to the commercial and economic interests (Cubbage and  Brooks 2012). Owing to these, companies like those that deal with finance,

Extra Credit Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 4

Extra Credit - Essay Example The most important concept that I learned from the episode is the unity and cooperation among Rockefeller, Vanderbilt, Carnegie, Ford, and Morgan. They often seemed to combine their efforts and in the process make more discoveries. For example, discovery of electricity made it easier for other industries such as finance, and transport to flourish. However, I tend to think that this episode fails to show the ethical issues that characterized the making of America. For example, the episode does not show how thousands of people were oppressed in the process of industrialization. I actually wonder if some of the research standards used by the men who build America would stand the test of time in the modern society. Nevertheless, we can say that the end justifies the means since America is what it is today because of such hardworking and dedicated men who put all their energy and commitment to developing America from nothing to something. â€Å"History†. The Men Who Built America - New Episodes. Web 18 October 2012.

The Management of Corporate Security (To what extent is it important Essay

The Management of Corporate Security (To what extent is it important that security managers have a good understanding of the lat - Essay Example In order for a corporate protection to be effective, there has to be an excellent perceptive of the matters that are taking place in the civilization. The company has to be responsive of the surroundings and what is taking place in the general public (McCrie 2006). This paper is going to analyze the extend of understanding that security managers have to go in the latest politics, economy, society, technology, ecology and legal (P.E.S.T.E.L) trends and developments that shall be seen as important for the corporate security. Cybercrimes Many reports have come out in the recent news that computer has now been a target in committing crimes. These are the kinds of crime that put in use a computer and a network where there are several computers interlinked with one another (Santanam, Sethumadhavan and    Virendra 2011). These offences are committed against individuals and in most cases against groups like the corporations. It is always the responsibility of any corporation to make sure t hat the security and close functioning of all the company’s affairs are well overseen. This is in terms of the continuity, safety and the most importantly the security (Santanam, Sethumadhavan and    Virendra 2011). These crimes threaten the security of these companies and also their finances. The issues that are found in this mode of crime are like cracking, copyright infringement et cetera. For the corporations, governments and other non-state bodies that engage in these illegal actions, they always engage in espionage, financial theft and some other cross-border crimes (Santanam, Sethumadhavan and    Virendra 2011). According to Santanam, Sethumadhavan and Virendra (2011), in today’s world, things are much connected than before. For a corporation to be able to engage in its deals and make much profit it needs to have a reliable communication channel with the outside world. This raises the risks of falling into theft, fraud and other abuses that are committed in the cyber world where almost all communications are handled (Santanam, Sethumadhavan and    Virendra 2011). Therefore, there is crucial importance in understanding the different areas in society like politics and economy at a broader view because as the management of this corporation is becoming more and more reliant on the latest technologies, there is also becoming extremely vulnerable to the cyber attacks. Corporate security breaches These occur when the hackers exploit the employees through means of some social engineering and other scams (Cubbage and  Brooks 2012). Since late eighties, computer crimes that have been politically motivated have been growing rapidly. These kinds of threats arise from the states and individuals or certain groups that are tired in some political agendas. These is clearly depicted or demonstrated as in 2007 cyber attacks against Estonia (Cubbage and  Brooks 2012). There were enormous disruptions to the public services like banking services and some communicating services. The United Kingdom is one of the developed nations that depend on its own information infrastructure, as one mode of delivering world power both in the financial realm and political arena. The threat was realized in the year 2008, and it did not only center on the secrets of the state but also to the commercial and economic interests (Cubbage and  Brooks 2012). Owing to these, companies like those that deal with finance,

The Value of Christian Higher Education Essay Example for Free

The Value of Christian Higher Education Essay Introduction   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The choice of getting an education in order to prepare a future career or vocation is daunting for some especially those who believe the effects of training that anyone will receive from a particular institution. In these days of violence not only in streets but also within the campuses, people generally start to think hard about the education young people get within the academic halls. It is no wonder also that the family think hard where they spend the children to school. The essence of this paper then is whether Christian Higher Education distinctly can mould and contribute much to the development of citizens in their responsibilities toward the community where they revolve. This paper attempts to describe the value of Christian higher education and seeks to convince the reader about the contributions that belonging and training in academic institutions that incorporate the Biblical principles (White 1911). It starts with family values   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Every home has its set of beliefs or tradition that they hold in high esteem. This is referred to as family values. Anything that the family believes is important comprises a family values system. Among the values an individual possesses, the most important is that a person must regard most his/her values about family as the most significant.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Many people don’t usually pause and contemplate what their values are. They may not know whether these values they already have are still practical or useful in a modern day world. Moreover, they do not think how their values fit in with their kind of milieu that they evolve in.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   There are families that take time out though to impart to their children what had been passed on to them when they too were yet very young. The values may not be as strong as when were yet children because the person may have adapted to his world and adjusted his values that others may be accommodated. Through the years, a family value system may be a combination of what had been passed on to an individual and the values system of one’s friends or colleagues at work. Why are family values important? The primary reason is that what people hold as important affects how they use time, money and energy. If a family believes the importance of education then parents try to save for the schooling of their children which includes books among others. Family values influence how individuals spend their resources and make decisions. Parents then need to communicate what their own family values are, why these are important and the specifics of what are most essential that the children must also adopt or follow. Children also need to respect others who have dissimilar value system as compared to their own. Most likely values will evolve but when parents lead the children and model these beliefs, their children will be able to learn and pass these on to the next generation (â€Å"Values: what are they?†2007). Discussion   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Christianity presents as an ideology, persuasion and religion that is relevant as well as able to offer lasting solutions to the ills of individuals and societies. Because of this premise, churches ever since the pioneering days were and are instrumental in the training and upbringing of children. Historical Background   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The history of American Christian education in general point to the primary influence of the church in the establishment of education both with what is now secular and the faith – based types. The American Christian Schools approximately blossomed around the 1700s (House p2 2007; Kazanjian on Walsh p.1 2006). The schools around these decades were actually classified as more sectarian, that is, more Christian in practice and persuasion than their secular counterparts and not only that outnumber the latter in terms of demographics. Protestant schools then, according to House’s research, had been very rigid in terms of bulk and types of academic matters. Back then, their educational instruction consisted of classical languages, literature and none other than Biblical instructions. What made it more complicated was that the Biblical studies were also based on both the Hebrew and the Greek languages. Aside from these they also had to do the Iliad in the Greek version alongside Latin versions of Tacitus’ historical accounts. Even in the elementary levels a typical child in some schools during the 1700s were able accomplished such feats as finishing the elementary grades with the aforementioned subjects. The thrust for college students during these early American Christian Schools on the other hand were to establish their abilities to â€Å"reason, analysis and perspective† which can be derived from a lengthy time spent on languages both the modern and the ancient at the same time weighty amount of time and efforts on mathematics. During these times however, the colleges and schools effectively instilled among their students a love for the institution and the especially patriotic loyalty to the country (White 1911). Results of a Christian training   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The rationale for such rigidity and â€Å"highly verbal and personalized† form of instructions was primarily a better comprehension and understanding of the Scriptures. The Bible then is central to the instructive process and where the activities revolved around the applications of the Scriptural truths. This was what was called as the â€Å"colonial beginnings† and continued on to the 1900s where the impetus was to instill the values drawn from inspiration of the Christian faith. The results that this kind of education bore on the society had been very influential and significantly important. Aside from instilling a high sense of individual ethics not only in the academic performance, what was more important was that there was a prevailing worldview which was Christian. The results as well do not spill over only in their generation but benefit more those in the next generation (Dawson 1989).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The premise for training students whether in the elementary to the collegiate or university level was to introduce the person to the mind of Christ and inculcate that kind of mind to the individual as he translates this worldview or persuasion into his/her everyday activities. â€Å"Classical Christian education is word-oriented† which implies that whatever compromises made today to enhance classroom instructions which maybe basically Christian, cannot equate with what was then introduced during the Colonial days (Dawson 1989). Modern Christian Education and its advantage   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   In schools such as the Seattle Pacific University which claims to have Christian philosophical perspective in their stance and training, the school argues that their advantage over others such as public secular schools in particular, has to with specifics like more focused thought and smaller number of students per class. This is to ensure that the students receive better awareness and consideration from their instructors which usually boosts the morale of the student/s. The extensive help and advantages that students will gain from a Christian education encompass the morals and ethics consistently taught inside the four walls of the classroom (Veith 1994). Disadvantage of Present Secular or Public School Higher Education   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Students today are exposed to a kind of education which at the surface attempts to integrate what is called a holistic viewpoint where values, democracy, intellectualism and humanistic understandings are introduced alongside art, English or languages, mathematics and others. To look from a distance these may probably develop a student to be more â€Å"resilient’ or flexible, more tolerant of differing views which is called for in this era of diversity. However, the main and essential drawback comes in the form of a lack of clear focus or direction and no apparent or unambiguous line of worldview to follow. The result is a person or individual whose sympathies and understanding of his/her world may change from time to time and consequently his/her attitudes, actions and behavior in many respects of their lives (Rushdoony 1963). Conclusion   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The value that Christian education has introduced me personally is tremendous. Many aspects in my life especially many decisions that are made are anchored on the many opportunities that the Christian faith had influenced me through the school where I am being taught.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   What are the specific benefits I gained? The ethical and moral bearings that had helped me make decisions that impact my life and the lives of people around me. This is important since whatever choice I make in some areas of my life, sooner or later this tend to affect those who love me and are supportive of me. The training is definitely different because it looks into how we treat others in the very basic human relations level. A Christian in the true sense of the word embodies one who deeply respects others even if they do not have the same religious persuasion as theirs. This is what I have observed distinctly from the general ambience of what secular schools have produced in their studentry and in their graduates. Lastly, the school personnel and staff as well as many in the teaching crew are convinced as well of the Christian faith that they are representing. Although not all may be embracing the same belief or measure of spirituality, nonetheless, there is an unwritten as well as commitment to the policies that are reflective of Scriptural truths.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Tracing the historical roots of this country’s school system back to colonial America, it is with great envy that what we have in our schools today or the Christian Schools are being hailed as â€Å"Christian† are actually far from the quality which characterized their colleges or academic institutions. Though difficult, they were able to harness the best for a better nation. Reference: â€Å"Values: what are they?†2007. Family Works : University of   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Illinois extension. Accessed December 1, 2007.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   http://www.urbanext.uiuc.edu/familyworks/values- 01.html Dawson, Christopher. The Crisis of Western Education, Steubenville, Ohio: Franciscan University Press, 1989   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   pp. 8-9. House, Ben.†Classical Christian Education: A Look at Some History† 2007 Accessed December 2, 2007 http://www.reformed.org/master/index.html?mainframe=/ch   ristian_education/classic_educ.html Kazanjian, Victor Jr. and Peter Laurence (Eds). Education as   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Transformation: Religious Pluralism, Spirituality, and   Ã‚  Ã‚   a New Vision for Higher Education in America. Peter   Ã‚   Lang Publishing, New York. 2006. Rushdoony,Rousas J, The Messianic Character of American   Ã‚   Education, Philipsburg: Presbyterian and Reformed Publishing Co., 1963. Veith, Gene Edward Jr., Postmodern Times: A Christian Guide   Ã‚  Ã‚   to Contemporary Thought and Culture, (Wheaton: Crossway Books, 1994. White, Henry Alexander. Southern Presbyterian Leaders, New   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   York: Neale Publishing Company, 1911. pp. 59-60.

Online Travel Industry And Online Travel Agency Tourism Essay

Online Travel Industry And Online Travel Agency Tourism Essay In Europe, consumers typically have at least 4 weeks of vacation time annually compared to just 1 or 2 weeks for the average American; that spells multiple trips booked every year. It should come as no surprise then that online travel growth rates remain far higher overseas And then theres Asia. Fifteen years ago, few consumers in India and China could afford to travel outside their home nations. But thanks to a rising middle-class consumer, Asians are increasingly traveling both domestically and abroad. In fact, according to the China Daily newspaper, international travel has grown more than 50-fold in the past two decades. Rapid growth in the online travel business has helped fuel impressive sales gains for a handful of online travel companies. But thats only half the story online travel websites are also far more profitable than traditional offline travel agency operations. The reason is simple: scalability. Specifically, when a traditional travel agency wishes to expand, it has to hire more agents. Meanwhile, expanding abroad requires setting up a local office with agents speaking the local language, and that type of infrastructure can get expensive. But in the online world, once a website is designed and set up, it can handle a tremendous number of users. Growth in sales does not necessarily require commensurate growth in the labor force a handful of website designers and technicians can maintain the site regardless of the number of customers served. This scalability is behind the fat profit margins enjoyed by online travel firms. Travel and tourism are among the biggest industries worldwide, and more than 80 percent of the travel sold in the United States is now purchased online. With more consumers using the Internet to plan their vacation getaways, online travel agencies have been growing in popularity, helping to increase business in the travel industry overall. Aside from booking travel packages, many travelers go online in search of travel reviews before making a final decision about their choices. Reports show that more travelers who have traditionally booked trips offline are checking out vacation destinations, as well as travel and hotel rates, online. India Context The Indian Scenario The online travel market in India has witnessed tremendous growth and is attracting large number of national and international players. Private equity players have made huge investments in the online travel agency (OTA) segment in the past few years. Some facts : Total tickets available for sale (Only Domestic) per day are : 275,680 Total Ticket Sold by all OTAs per day =   51,690 Market size for Indian OTA Industry in Domestic Flights:   9000 crores   approximately Nearly 40% of the tickets sold are through OTA. On an average, every aircraft in India does 5.6 flights per day If airlines could further manage route optimization and do 1 more flight per day, at 6.6 flights per day, OTA Industry Sales will be up by 15% The first online portal for India was Indiatimes.com launched in the year 2002. Subsequently the following companies joined the bandwagon. Indiatimes 2002 Make my Trip.com 2005 Yatra.com 2006 Travel Guru 2006 In the pages that follow we will research on one of the most successful company in India in this Industry which is Make my trip.com. About the company and the respective concepts, impact, future Nurtured from the seed of a single great idea to empower the traveller MakeMyTrip went on to pioneer the entire online travel industry in India. MakeMyTrip has revolutionised the travel industry over the years. This is the story of MakeMyTrip, Indias Online Travel Leader. MakeMyTrip.com, Indias leading online travel company was founded in the year 2000 by Deep Kalra. Created to empower the Indian traveller with instant booking and comprehensive choices, the company began its journey in the US-India travel market. It aimed to offer a range of best-value products and services along with cutting-edge technology and dedicated round-the-clock customer support. After consolidating its position in the market as a brand recognised for its reliability and transparency, MakeMyTrip followed its success in the US by launching its India operations in 2005. With the foresight to seize the opportunities in the domestic travel market, brought on by a slew of new airlines, MakeMyTrip offered travellers the convenience of online travel bookings at rock-bottom prices. Rapidly, MakeMyTrip became the preferred choice of millions of travellers who were delighted to be empowered by a few mouse clicks! MakeMyTrips rise has been lead by the vision and the spirit of each one of its employees, for whom no idea was too big and no problem too difficult. With untiring innovation and determination, MakeMyTrip proactively began to diversify its product offering, adding a variety of online and offline products and services. MakeMyTrip also stayed ahead of the curve by continually evolving its technology to meet the ever changing demands of the rapidly developing global travel market. Steadily establishing itself across India and the world, MakeMyTrip simultaneously nurtured the growth of its offline businesses like its franchises and affiliates simultaneously, augmenting the brands already strong retail presence further. Today, MakeMyTrip is much more than just a travel portal or a famous pioneering brand it is a one-stop-travel-shop that offers the broadest selection of travel products and services in India. MakeMyTrip is the undisputed online leader, with its share of the travel market extending to more than 50% of all online sales, a fact evinced by the trust placed in it by millions of happy customers. Remaining reliable, efficient and at the forefront of technology, MakeMyTrips commitment and customer-centricity allows it to better understand and provide for its customers diverse needs and wants, and deliver consistently. With dedicated 247 customer support and offices in 20 cities across India and 2 international offices in New York and San Francisco (in addition to several franchise locations), MakeMyTrip is there for you, whenever and wherever. MakeMyTrip Limited, the parent company of MakeMyTrip (India) Private Limited and MakeMyTrip.com Inc., Indias largest online travel company1, today announced that it has priced its initial public offering of 5,000,000 ordinary shares at a price of USD14per share. The companys ordinary shares will begin trading on the NASDAQ Global Market on 12 Aug 2010 under the symbol MMYT. The companys services and products include air tickets, customized holiday packages, hotel booking, railway tickets, bus tickets, car hire and facilitating access to travel insurance. Through its primary website, www.makemytrip.com, and other technology-enhanced platforms, the company provides access to all major domestic full-service and low-cost airlines operating in India, all major airlines operating to and from India, over 4,000 hotels in India and a wide selection of hotels outside India, Indian Railways and several major Indian bus operator Makemytrip.coms three-month global Alexa traffic rank is 1,823. Visitors to the site spend roughly 51 seconds on each pageview and a total of three minutes on the site during each visit. It is located in India. Approximately 43% of visits to the site are bounces (one pageview only). Makemytrip.com has been online for more than ten years. MakeMyTrips Products: International and Domestic Air Tickets, Holiday Packages and Hotels Domestic Bus and Rail Tickets Private Car and Taxi Rentals MICE (Meetings, Incentives, Conferences Exhibitions) B2B and Affiliate Services Management: A young company that has quickly become the leading travel service provider in India and the most trusted name in the industry, MakeMyTrips spectacular success is in no small part due to the unblinking vision of its senior management team and the dedication of its employees. MakeMyTrip employs over 700 Trippers from the travel, tourism, hospitality and technology industries. Deep KalraFounder Chief Executive Officer Mohit GuptaChief Marketing Officer Rajnish KapurChief Innovation Officer Mukesh SinghSenior Vice President Technology Development Anand KandadaiSenior Vice President Outbound Tours Keyur JoshiCo-Founder Chief Operating Officer Rajesh MagowCo-Founder Chief Financial Officer Amit SomaniChief Products Officer Amit SaberwalSenior Vice President Retail and Business Development Rohit HasteerVice President Human Resources Summary Name Age Since Current Position Kalra, Deep 41 Chairman of the Board, Chief Executive Officer Magow, Rajesh 41 Group Chief Financial Officer Singh, Mukesh 34 2009 Senior Vice President Technology Department Joshi, Keyur 37 Group Chief Operating Officer Gupta, Mohit 36 Group Chief Marketing Officer Somani, Amit 38 2010 Group Chief Products Officer Adusumalli, Ravi 34 2005 Director Aggarwal, Sanjeev 50 2006 Director Guleri, Aditya 45 2007 Director Wolf, Philip 54 2005 Director Gowrea, Gyaneshwarnath 44 2009 Director Janally, Mohammad 27 2009 Director Gour, Vivek 47 2010 Independent Director Lalonde, Frederic 37 2006 Independent Director MakeMyTrip Values We, at MakeMyTrip, abide by our companys core values in our every endeavour. It is these values that have taken us where we have been and will take us where we are going! Excellence: We must strive for excellence in whatever we do. Focus on continuous improvement in interactions with people, efficiency of processes, and the wellbeing of the organization. Customer Centricity: We must maintain focus on our customers, both internal external, by giving them priority. Strive to exceed their expectations in terms of the value and quality delivered. Integrity: We must ensure consistency between our words and actions, always delivering what we commit. We can thereby maintain transparency, trust and accountability. Accountability: We must feel responsible and accountable for the commitments we make and the quality of the results we deliver to all our stakeholders. Innovation: We must continually apply intelligence, reason and technology to our work and environment. This will allow us to take informed risks and champion new ideas to improve our business as well as the community. Teamwork:  We must foster an environment wherein we can efficiently utilise the abilities of all team members to achieve goals. We should work on the premise that the whole is greater than the sum of the parts. [emailprotected]: We must create and maintain an atmosphere of fun while at work, making work a happy place we can all look forward to. Empowerment:  We must give fellow colleagues the opportunity and freedom to think and act in ways that will allow them to get the job done, and yet be consistent with the processes laid down. Passion for Winning: We must have a can do attitude, not take no for an answer and believe that nothing is impossible. This will allow us to work relentlessly toward achieving our goals and honouring our commitments. Respect for People: We must give everyone, with whom we interact, respect and consideration. Awards Recognition Not without reason, MakeMyTrip has garnered the trust of over two million satisfied customers as well as the respect and acclaim of the entire travel industry and business world. Travel Business : Great Places To Work 2010 2nd Best Company to Work for #1 in Professional Services Superbrand India 2009-10 Great Places To Work 2009 #2 in Professional Services Best Travel Website CNBC Awaaz 2008-09 Most Visited Travel Website comScore 2005-09 Most Preferred Online Travel Agency Travel Biz Monitor Survey 2008 Number One Online Travel Agency JuxtConsult 2008 Gold and Silver Abby Award 2007-08 Among the Top Ten Websites visited by Indians comScore 2007 Nominated World Travel Awards WTA 2007 Among 100 IT Innovators NASSCOM 2007 Best Online Travel Company Galileo Express Travel World 2007 Emerging India Award ICICI Bank CNBC TV18 2006 Asias Hottest Technology Startup Red Herring 2006 Airline : Air Canada Outstanding Performance 2008 Singapore Airlines Top Passenger Agent 2007-08 British Airways Outstanding Revenue Contribution 2007-08 Air Mauritius All India Top Ten Agent//Top North India Sales Award 2006-07//2007-08 Cathay Pacific Outstanding Performance 2007 Malaysia Airlines Top Agent Award 2007 Lufthansa Outstanding Performance 2006-07 Kingfisher Airlines Outstanding Performance 2006-07 Indian Airlines Achieving Highest Domestic Passenger Sales 2006-07 Air India Outstanding Contribution to Passenger Sales 2005-06 Jet Airways Award of Excellence 2005-06 Gulf Air Continuous Support Impact There was a time when Indian families would plan their annual trip six months in advance, after spending long, sweaty hours queuing up in front of ticket booths. It sure wasnt easy. But in 2005, Deep Kalra, CEO and founder of MakeMyTrip.com, changed all that. He brought the concept of Online Travel Agents (OTA) to India and revolutionized the way the Indian middle class travels and plans their vacation. Today, the rise of Internet credibility coupled with falling rates of air travel has helped OTAs catapult to glorious success. And with a turnover of Rs 2,200 crore, MakeMyTrip.com has been a pioneer in the OTA success story. With over 50 percent market share, its the single most recognized and trusted player in the OTA industry. Future FUTURE : Focus on Advertising Strategy: Aim of MMT is to establish the brand. The focus is not just to provide cheap tickets. Advertising helps in getting your message across to the target audience more effectively. And with more and more players entering the segment, it is necessary to advertise to ensure you have captured sufficient mind-share. Again, the product basket that MMT offer is growing and our customers have to be updated accordingly. Expansion of Capacity : MMT is trying to expand capacity with caution, especially because the sector is capex hungry for the suppliers. We, at MakeMyTrip, have learnt that our suppliers are very important. Unless we make sure our suppliers business is profitable, we wont be profitable. Revenue breakup between MMT businesses: Between hotel and air, air captures a much higher percentage two-thirds of MMT business. But other product lines are growing fast, especially hotels and buses. The effort is to reduce reliance on a single line of business. While MMT lead the sector in terms of air tickets, MMT are continuously focusing on non-air products to increase their share of revenue as well. competing players Travelguru: A revolutionary online travel solutions destination, Travel Guru India has set the benchmark in the industry. With our affordable plane tickets and air tickets reservations, our travel gurus offer the most economical solution for every travel need. The travel guru mantra is based on the concept of making air tickets reservations an easy and quick process for every traveller. With the help of travel gurus, travellers can access the best fares for Travel Guru India and Travel Guru international holidays, business trips and corporate travel. The Travel Guru signature services guarantee a trip of a lifetime to any destination in India or across the globe! A trendsetter in the travel industry travel guru com offers the benefits of safe, comfortable and convenient travel at affordable fares. At travel guru com travellers can book affordable plane tickets and make domestic and international air tickets reservations. The travel gurus can also assist you with selecting a luxurious hotel to complement the travel guru air booking service. Just log on to travel guru com to book affordable plane tickets and hotel rooms for worldwide destinations. Get all the benefits of the travel guru services with just the click of a mouse! With Travel Guru India and Travel Guru international have a range of unmatched services at your fingertips. The Travel Guru services include: Air ticket Booking: Travellers can search for, compare prices and book affordable plane tickets for their chosen sectors of travel at the website. You have a comprehensive choice of airlines for low-cost, affordable plane tickets as well as for full-service airlines. Once youve made your selection just click for any air tickets reservations. Leave the rest to the travel gurus and get set to take off into the skies. Hotel Reservations: While on holiday come home to a luxurious hotel, at affordable rates. Travel Guru offers include domestic and international hotels at discounted rates with no compromise on quality, services and comfort. Take your pick from the wide selection of premium hotels that include Travel Guru India and Travel Guru International options and get your Travel Guru booking in an instant! Yatra:- Yatra Holiday Lounge is a premium, one-stop-shop for all your travel needs. Located at a convenient point within your city, the Yatra Lounge is where customers can walk in and plan their travel in privacy and comfort. When you visit a Lounge, a trained Yatra Travel Experts assists you with all aspects of your travel: booking flight tickets, hotels, cars, buses or holidays. We can even assist you with travel insurance and visa processing. The Yatra Travel Experts can also help you create customized holiday packages. The Holiday Lounges are open from 10:00 am to 7:00 pm, Monday to Saturday. Cleartrip:- MyTripYatra is dedicated to help customers to build their clear trip and cruise along with their Yatra to nirvana. As our name suggests Yatra we extend our services to provide facility for convenience of our clients to choose gamut of services like cheap air tickets on air Deccan, jet airways, Indian airlines, spice jet airlines, and air India. My Trip Yatra is a unique concept of taking offers from various online travel agents like makemytrip.com, cleartrip.com, yatra.com, travelguru.com to their customers. There are online discounts with cheap flights and hotels across the globe. Here you are free to see cheap fares, discount on airlines, offers on hotel bookings, holidays, at affordable prices for your yatra. For Cheap Air travel trip or planning Goa holidays, or looking a hotel in Goa, our way of make my trip endows you the chance to make your own cleartrip. We will add cheap hotels across the country and keep on adding different destinations like cheap flights from Delhi to Mumb ai, cheap flights from Mumbai to Delhi starting from 500 Indian Rupees.Coimbtaore FlightsAizawl FlightsColombo flights In order to spread wings of My Trip Yatra, we have affiliated ourselves with Yatra.com, one of the leading travel agents of India. Yatra.com provides cheap flights of Air Deccan, Indigo airlines, Spicejet airlines, Jet airways, Kingfisher airlines, paramount airways, go air, jetlite airline (formerly known as air Sahara airlines). Yatra.com provides unique features of At Yatra, we pay for your flights delay offers, thank you coupon code worth RS 250 if you book again with Yatra.com, various cash back offers with ICICI bank, Master Card, etc. Yatra.com also provides Yatra miles a proprietary product to redeem those miles against discount on cheap flights, cheap hotels, holidays and other packages such as Honeymoon packages, adventure packages. Yatra.com has been funded by Network 18 group that operates online websites like Moneycontrol.com, storeguru.com, buzz18.com, josh18.com, ibnlive.com, indiwo.com etc. It has also been funded by Reliance Anil Dhirubhai Ambani group. We are proud to be an affiliate of Yatra online Pvt. Ltd. Yatra online has given us platform to promote their products online. Yatra online makes seamless transaction of products like flights, hotels, holidays, Buses, and cars. Yatra online thru its website Yatra.com makes a perfect partner to any online travel agent. Cleartrip is premier travel company of India that offers exclusive facility to travelers in planning of your trip. You can plan your holiday or business trips with Cleartrip and you will get many advantages over other travel planners. Cleartrip provides many benefits to travelers such as expediency, various options for booking, great competitive prices and in-depth details of many travel options, destinations and support. You can book flights, hotels, train tickets, complete holiday packages, travel insurance and much more from Cleartrip. Cleartrip provides booking facility for over 5,500 domestic hotels and around 109,000 international hotels. Clear Trip was launched on 4 July, 2006 and within a span of 4 years it has established itself as a premier travel planner company. Cleartrip start providing SMS based ticketing service that allows you to book tickets using mobile phones. From 2008, clear trip also started providing rail tickets in India with cooperation with IRCTC (Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation). Clear Trip has won many awards for its great services. It was given best travel website award in 2006 and 2007 consecutively. Clear trip is known as Google of Travel Websites as it provides tons of useful information about travel sector. In 2007 it also won the prize of most user friendly website of travel sector. Since its inception in 2006, Cleartrip has become a market leader in travel sector for providing simplest and most diverse travel planning options and best deals. You can get higher discounts on flight tickets if you choose Clear trip as your travel planner. Getting travel and tourism information had never been so easy before Cleartrip. You can find every specific detail about all cities in India along with travel options available, hotel available in that city, flight services, car rental services and main tourist attractions in that city. Online flight ticket booking is very easy with Clear trip services. You can just feed the departure and arrival destinations and timings and its internal search engine will provide you a detailed list of all flights available for your journey. You can easily compare flights of different service providers such as Jet Airways, GoAir, kingfisher, Air India and many more. If you are booking your tickets well in advance then you can also get many Cleartrip offers that will help you to save huge money on your travel. Cleartrip started its operation with a goal of making journey planning easier and hassle free and with its state of the art services it has surely achieved its goal and continue to growing with a fast pace. use the company balance sheet 3 years for the references and figures figures could be sales volume, business volume, market penetration, product mix, pricing of the product over the years v/s competition Customer Profile end users who are they- customer opinion In a cut-throat industry like OTA, how do you maintain competitive advantage? Deep Kalra, Founder CEO: Creating an experience for the customer is very important. Every OTA player today is focusing on providing more value for the customers time and money. The focus this year for MakeMyTrip is to move beyond customer satisfaction and towards creating customer delight. Also, we take pride in our customer relations; we have customer testimonials that speak very highly of our customer care executives. Being ahead on the technology curve is what gives us an edge. Its very important to keep on upgrading and reinventing new processes to enhance customer experience. Whats behind your advertising strategy? Deep Kalra, Founder CEO: Its very important to establish the brand. For us, the focus is not just to provide cheap tickets. Advertising helps in getting your message across to the target audience more effectively. And with more and more players entering the segment, it is necessary to advertise to ensure you have captured sufficient mind-share. Again, the product basket that we offer is growing and our customers have to be updated accordingly. Whats the revenue breakup between your businesses? Deep Kalra, Founder CEO: Between hotel and air, air captures a much higher percentage two-thirds of our business. But other product lines are growing fast, especially hotels and buses. The effort is to reduce reliance on a single line of business. While we lead the sector in terms of air tickets, we are continuously focusing on non-air products to increase their share of revenue as well. Criticism Some customers complain about Makemytrip not giving the complete terms of ticket (baggage allowed, flexibility to change date of travel or cancel the ticket) before booking the ticket. Some complain about false promises before booking the ticket. They warn potential customers to get the terms of the ticket in writing or email before going ahead with the phone booking. Refunds to credit cards are sometimes delayed. It is believed that calls to customer care in case of booked tickets is low priority in call queues compared to calls to buy tickets. There is undue delay in getting service in case of getting help on already booked ticket. The escalation process in case of complaints is not published on their website. Estimated waiting period or the position in the call queue is not announced. Other customers have warned that the websites Believe It Or Not promotion is indeed too good to be true. While MakeMyTrip promises you free domestic air travel once youve arrived in Inda, all such ai r travel must be booked 21 days in advance of the trip. And even if you attempt to arrange it that far in advance,  Make My Trip  makes this process very difficult, if not impossible. You will be booked on overnight flights, trips that should take three hours will wind up taking two days, and in some cases you will wind up paying taxes and fees that exceed the actual cost of the ticket, had you booked it yourself.   Customer Opinion As per various feeback posted on the website following is the broad feeback given : The call centre agents are well trained and they know their job Phone / Voice Menu is customer friendly Quick Customer responses where required on email

Debate Over the Legal Drinking Age Essay -- Alcohol Essays Research Pa

The Debate Over the Legal Drinking Age College life is filled with changes. It is filled with many new experiences. As college students, we are on our own, adults. As adults we are responsible for keeping up to date on information that affects us. One issue that affects college students nation wide is drinking. The current legal drinking age in the United States is twenty-one years of age. The Federal government raised the legal drinking age from 18 to 21 in 1984. Even with the current drinking age at twenty-one, many people under that age choose to drink anyway. In fact, a government survey from 1996 showed that 56% of high school seniors reported drinking in the last 30 days (Hanson). With so many underage drinkers, many people believe that the drinking age should be lowered, stating that people are going to drink, regardless of the legal age. Still others see the high number of underage drinkers as a sign that the legal age needs to stay where it is and stricter laws need to be implemented. With the extremely high numb er of underage drinking, we can assume that the current drinking age is relatively ineffective, and therefore we must ask ourselves: should the drinking age be lowered, or should we revise policies to make the current age more effective? It is important to view all sides of the issue before deciding which side to be on. We must look responsibly at the issue instead of saying that the drinking age should be lowered, simply because we are under 21. The current drinking age has many debatable sides, or approaches which need to be examined. Those approaches include lowering the drinking age because the current policies don?t work, lowering the drinking age because it would lead to more responsible drinking, kee... ...drinking age should be lowered: An opinion based upon research. 1998. Oct 13 2002. <www.indiana.edu/engs/articles/cqoped.html>. Hanson, D. J. .. Youth Alcohol Policy. 1997. Oct 13, 2002. <http://www.2potsdam.edu/alcohol-info/InMyOpinion/YouthPolicy.html>. Kirby, Robert. "Study Confirms Parents' Suspicions: Teens Have as Much Sense as a Rock." The Salt Lake Tribune 1 August 2002: E1. McArdle, Paul J.. "A Lower Drinking Age Wouldn't Lead to Responsible Alcohol Use" Letter. Pittsburgh Post-Gazette 893 words, 9 June 2002: A6. Pickerington, Matthew G.. "A Lower Drinking age Would Quiet the Riots" Letter. The Columbus Dispatch 296 words, 14 May 2002: 10A. Stoner, Noah. "Dangers Abound with a Lower Drinking Age." Intelligencer Journal 19 January 2002: A-4 . Wilson, Greg . "Pol Says Drop Age, Educate Kids." Daily News (New York) 15 July 2002: 1.

Catholic scandal :: essays research papers

Bishops Acknowledge Role in Crisis DALLAS (AP) - America's Roman Catholic bishops opened their historic meeting on clerical sex abuse Thursday by bluntly acknowledging that their mistakes helped cause the crisis, then yielding the floor to victims who described how pain permeated their lives. Photos AP Photo Slideshows AP Photo Catholic Church Abuse Controversy Audio/Video Victims Demand Zero Tolerance, More Accountability for Church Leaders (WFAA, Dallas) Bishops Open Priest Sex Abuse Talks (AP) The bishops followed the morning session by going behind closed doors to take up proposals aimed at reforming the way the church handles abuse claims. Whether to adopt a zero tolerance policy — ousting any priest found guilty of a single case of abuse — was among the decisions facing them. The closed-door talks could continue into the evening. Public debate and action was scheduled Friday. Outside the hotel where the meeting was being held, about 50 people protested the church's handling of abuse cases. There were no arrests. Bishop Wilton Gregory, president of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, opened the meeting with a remarkably direct address, calling the crisis "perhaps the gravest we have faced." Abuse victim Michael Bland, of Chicago, told the bishops how he joined the priesthood but then left after trying to convince church leaders to take action against his molester. He urged the prelates to get rid of all those who abuse children. "The priesthood lost me but kept the perpetrator," Bland said. "The church has taken care of him." Gregory pledged to take action to restore parishioners' badly shaken faith in the church hierarchy. "The crisis, in truth, is about a profound loss of confidence by the faithful in our leadership," he said. That's "because of our failures in addressing the crime of the sexual abuse of children and young people by priests and church personnel." He admitted "we did not go far enough to ensure that every child and minor was safe from sexual abuse. Rightfully, the faithful are questioning why we failed to take the necessary steps." The bishops rarely allow lay Catholics to speak at their meetings, but three Catholic thinkers who have been following the abuse crisis were given the chance to address the church leaders after Gregory. They were followed by the abuse victims. Bland said he came forward with his molestation claim while he was still a priest. Suddenly, he felt he "was no longer one of the good guys but one of the victims to be dealt with.