Psychology Prediction Essay

According to one of my favorite philosophers, Yogi Berra, Its hard to predict, especially the future†. He’s right but it doesn’t stop many people from trying. In fact predicting the future is essential to many aspects of our lives – in business, and beyond. Many professionals have the need to accurately predict outcomes of the future to be successful in their jobs. And many have occupations where predicting the future actually is their job, one way or another. As an analyst at Gartner, I am of course a good example of this. Some of this is common sense. Some is controversial. Some goes completely against what most think and against what people are taught even at organizations who train people to do predictive type jobs. But it works for me. Here are my ten guiding principles for accurate prediction: 1.Care about being right. This sounds obvious but circumstances and other requirements often get in the way. Professionals whose job involves making predictions face pressures to have an opinion, no matter what, and to generate visibility. This can lead to quickly formed opinions and overstating and over hyping things. While these things may in fact need to be part of a strategy, they do not have to be the primary goal. Tempering such behavior by placing the goal of being right at a higher priority is one of the real keys to accurate prediction. You can’t be afraid to be wrong, but you can’t place being right at lower priority and expect to be good at predicting. 2.Be an â€Å"innumerate†. Be extremely skeptical of any numbers. Many believe that numbers don’t lie. They don’t of course, but people do. And they state the numbers that they want to state to make their case. And they get things confused. Numbers are more useful in looking back at history than in predicting (looking back at history is helpful and numbers can help). Be especially wary of survey data. Often the questions are poorly formed and the respondents not necessarily knowledgeable. There is no substitute for talking directly to people to make sure that you understand context and that they understand the question. And follow-up is possible. 3.Ask yourself â€Å"Why are they telling me this?† Understand the motivations of sources of information. Everyone you meet has some type of agenda. Sometimes it is truly to educate you, usually not. It is critical to understand what the source of information wants you to think to put the information into context. 4.Ask yourself â€Å"What would I do†? Put yourself in the shoes of the CEO or key decision maker of the entity if possible. This is a key tool to predicting how companies and organizations will behave. If the prediction is about that company, this is the major key. If it is more general, putting yourself in the shoes of multiples and playing out scenarios is helpful. 5.Recognize that most of the time, you will know less than your sources. The world is full of specialists. Depending on circumstance, you may know as much as your sources but there is almost always someone who is more of an expert than you. So you need to develop strategies for assessing the credibility and honesty of a source. A useful tactic is to lead a discussion towards an area in which you do know a lot and test the source’s honesty and credibility. This can help determine what weight to give the source 6.Don’t jump to conclusions. Whenever possible take your time. When pushed for an opinion, it is best to say â€Å"if I had to have an opinion I would lean towards x†, but not highlight these types of things as â€Å"predictions†. 7.Find â€Å"bubbles†, conventional thinking and poke at assumptions. Try to understand why most people have a certain belief and figure out what assumptions they have. Look for misunderstandings, confusion, motivations and social trends. 8.Get information you’re not supposed to have. Basic networking is essential to knowing your subject and to getting information you’re not supposed to have (Obviously those subject to â€Å"insider trading† types of issues need to tread carefully here). Listen for slip ups. Put the pieces together. Fill in the holes. Speculate. 9.â€Å"You’re only paranoid if you’re wrong†. Explore conspiracy theories. While they usually won’t be the prediction, the exercise of examining possible conspiracy theories often is fruitful. Remember At the very least there is bound to be some aspect of the theory that has some truth to it and may point the way towards a good prediction. However, it is far more likely that stupidity or laziness, rather than conspiracy, is the cause. 10.Constantly test, validate and refine. Every chance you get to talk to a person whose opinion you respect, test new theories. Every chance you talk to a source of information, test your theories and gauge their reactions. Be open to tweaks.

Marketing Strategy †Adidas

ProductThe group has maintained a culture of providing high quality products aimed at providing the best value to the costumer. The products portfolio is continuously enhanced through creations and innovations throughout the companies various categories.This is pursued in order to cater to the various needs and wants of consumers worldwide. Well-known brands for sports apparels, equipment and accessories, the Adidas group has a diverse brand portfolio consists of: Adidas: footwear, apparel and accessories; Reebok: footwear, apparel and accessories; TaylorMade Adidas Golf: Golf Equipment, footwear, apparel and accessories; Rockport: Dress, casual and outdoor footwear, apparel and accessories; CCMHockey: Hockey equipment and apparel. Adidas had implement latest technologies in their products which able to enhance performances of players and they focus on sports such as football, tennis, basketball and even training shoes which are used by anyone with the ability to run. Their new techn ologies have lead to the production of Climacool, a shoe with a ventilation system and a shoe with an energy management system that guides and drives an athlete’s foot through each stride. PriceAdidas adapt a premium pricing strategy which it is a strategy where companies charge a premium price for their products. Adidas is trying to penetrating markets by using market skimming tactics – use premium strategy and offer high quality and customer satisfaction for high prices. This had clearly positions itself as a top-notch brand in the market.PlaceThe company has adopted an ambitious global plan to distribute its products to the consumer with a strong focus on controlled space, including: Own-retail business, e-commerce, Shop-in-Shop, Joint ventures with retail partners, mono-branded franchise stores, co-branded stores with sports organizations and other brands. Hence, a high level of brand control is provided. In addition, an â€Å"integrated distribution roadmap† has been set up to ensure further growth and to increase brand presence in under-penetrated, affluent cities, without cannibalizing their own brands and distribution mix.PromotionThe Adidas group sells products in virtually every country of the world. Thus, different promotional tools are used in order to reduce the number of lost customers and to increase sales. The group has set up an unparalleled portfolio of promotion partnerships with international recognized sports associations (e.g. UEFA, FIFA, NBA, NFL, and NHL). Henceforth, commercials, ads, apps for smart phones, product placement, sponsorships for athletes and sport events (e.g. Berlin Marathon 2011) are implemented. Adidas has provided the Official Match Ball containing Logo of the Adidas for FIFA World Cup 2010 (South Africa).Adidas is tier one partner and sponsor for the coming London 2012 Olympics – one of the important Sporting Event of the World. The officials and staff of 2012 Olympics wearing Adidas Sport swear during Inaugural and Closing ceremonies will always leave Adidas in the brains of the Millions of the people watching these ceremonies. Adidas has hailed its biggest ever UK marketing campaign ‘Take the Stage’ for lifting sales of London 2012-related merchandise to around  £100m.Q2. Why Adidas Sponsor In London Olympics But Not New York Or Malaysia? A worldwide sporting event like The Olympics or world Cup provides a huge marketing opportunity for sports apparel companies, which have long enjoyed a spike in sales during such events. Historically, the Olympic Games have been an ideal forum for brands looking to strengthen their global presence. â€Å"Faster, Higher, Stronger†: it is the motto of the Olympic Games. But it is also a pretty good fit for the global market for athletic footwear, apparel and equipment.Retail sales totaled an estimated USD 340 billion in 2011. That represented growth of 7%, well ahead of global GDP growth of 2.5%. Companies have paid hefty sums for the privilege of being associated with the Games, convinced that no other event in the world offers the unique combination of mass worldwide exposure and fostering of positive values. London Olympics will put sport into the living rooms of billions of consumers around the globe, which should help to keep revenues in the segment on an upward trajectory. London is a key focus for the sportswear market, for both performance sportswear and sports fashion.This market sets more trends than anywhere else in the country. London 2012 gave Adidas a  platform to target this audience but with a global reach. As a result of the marketing strategy in London 2012, Adidas said that the Olympics, alongside its sponsorship activity around the European Championships and the Champions League, helped push sales up 15 per cent to â‚ ¬3.5bn ( £2.8bn) year-on-year in its second quarter. Net income jumped 18% to â‚ ¬165m ( £129m). Other non Olympic host – such as Malay sia, did not gain sponsorship from Adidas although Malaysia had hosted some major sport events such as F1.However, car racing is not there main product line of Adidas. Adidas main pipelines lies in running, training, football, basketball etc, which these sport is also a major attention worldwide. F1 for example, did not have vast amount of audience compare to football and basketball. Return of investment for sponsoring are not significant as market penetration is not huge as per Olympics.

Inter-vendor Storage Management Application Tools Essay

Inter-vendor storage application management tools are huge enterprise software applications that are used for robust, reliable, available and effective data management. The applications are both hardware and software dependent. The choice of their implementation depends on the organizational needs and objectives. Various vendors develop and support these tools both for support of business and mission critical applications. Some of the leading Inter-vendor applications tools that have dominated the industry as well as organizational automations in the last two years include VERITAS, Oracle and NetApp (ESM, 2009). VERITAS Its application tools provides for automated storage management software for enterprise business applications which have increased dependence on data from corporate storage infrastructure. VERITAS application tools are vital for boosting administrator productivity and reduce errors in automated storage administration. Among the tools it provides is the Storage Resource Management (SRM) software tools that help to automate the erroneous, tedious and routine tasks in storage administration. The tools are able to predict when the problem is likely to happen and as a result the IT managers are able to head off these problems. The automated storage provisions help the administrators have a continuous, uninterrupted access to the enterprise storage resources. The storage administration by the automated SRM software can accomplish several tasks in use, management and applications of the storage allocations. The automation tools are able to gather data around the storage infrastructure and also give feedback on the successful storage policies and also provide input and reports on the storage environment. The accurate and timely data help managers make informed and intelligent decisions on the future use of the storage. Further administrators are able to report and monitor on resource utilization and performance. When applications crash, the pagers beep and systems panic, it is the administrator that is on the receiving end of a pager to get the problem notification. Such situations prove to be very critical especially for business users due to degraded performance, equipment failure, resource shortages, and corruption of data or storage problem risks. This interruption of application access may in turn lead to incalculable financial losses to the business or organization. Therefore the automated software provisioning has a framework that manages the growing inventory in the components of enterprise storage. When the SRM software tools are deployed into the automated storage provisioning framework, the administrator has an easier access to the event based interventions and rule based policies which adequately resolve and intercept potential problems before they reach their critical levels (Hussain, 2008). The storage management application tool for a web based directory assistance runs on a web server as a data entry component with a more sophisticated management application that runs on a separate application server. When data is entered for the directory assistance, it is updated on the web server and staged on the repository application server and it is then automatically transferred to a relational database in another server by the directory management application. For fault tolerance as provided by the database server, database tables are duplicated using the snapshots from the primary database. The services however are vulnerable to storage failures especially when space allocation to the web server, database and repository is threatened to be exhausted and as a result bring down the system. Organizations of all sizes and in all industries are dependent on enterprise technological infrastructure which means that there is immense need for automated storage management process to avert any failures in the enterprise storage infrastructure. Therefore the SRM software tools and the automated storage provisioning should be implemented to solve the storage management problems. The rule based storage automations streamlines the administrator’s routine which improves productivity, reduces potential errors and system’s availability which impacts business activities and application availability. Oracle and NetApp The Automatic Storage Management (ASM) application tool provides a way to manage storage with an underlying database on a volume manager for the files on the database and an integrated file system. Its gives an alternative to the volume management solutions and file systems for the storage management tasks in the database (Manning & Bridge, 2009). On the other hand NetApp filers simplify management and deployment of the enterprise data. The ASM and NetApp storage lower ownership costs and save on costs through the configuration of combined technology. There are combined benefits for using the NetApp for database layered applications and Oracle database which includes practices for deployment of ASM with the storage solutions networked by NetApp. Oracle ASM on NetApp iSAN and SAN storage like Oracle on NAS storage by NetApp has alternative capability for volume management for customers on an Oracle server that can alter, drop and create SQL statements which simplifies the storage provisioning on the database. The NetApp and ASM storage application tools has features that complement one another in performance to avoid errors by balancing of workload and help utilize the disk drive resources available. They also provide for support of online removal and addition of storage capacity that help maximize data availability and at the same time making configuration changes in the storage. The applications tools provide data security and availability since enterprises require high levels of data availability and protection whether there are component failures or faults storage subsystems. These tools include NetApp mirroring solutions that offer protection for disaster recovery requirements and business continuance while ASM provides protection against storage failures. In shared storage, Oracle’s Real Application Clusters (RAC) provides scalability and availability for the Oracle database which requires all servers to have direct read and full access to the database files. The ASM implementation provides a simplified cluster file system with optimized functionality of the volume manager in the shared storage. The NetApp networked storage gives shared access as required by RAC while in SAN environments, ASM provides volume management by Oracle RAC and a capable clustered file system. Both application tools have a rich assortment of storage data management that can be used separately or when combined depending on the customer enterprise requirements or the data infrastructure (Animi et al, 2009). The Automatic Storage Management application tool simplifies the management and configuration of storage management for the Oracle data files in its database. It also complements iSCSI SAN products for storage and NetApp Fibre Channel and while combined, they give full value to both technologies. With several combinations for data storage management and protection exists in the market, the Oracle and NetApp partnership offer powerful combinations that offer best practices to meet business performance and high availability requirements. Storage Management Networking Industry Association (SNIA) SNIA has created Storage Management Initiative Specification (SMI-S) application tool in order to standardize and develop storage management technologies for networking and storage. The SMI-S is for a standardized interface like SAN based storage management which are a challenge for interrogators and end-users to manage especially for multivendor SANs. The applications developed in most cases are unable to work together or are uncoordinated to perform tasks and deliver functionality, security and reliability for increased business efficiency. SMI-S therefore specifies protocols to manage communications with incorporated mechanisms for standard based management. It unifies the storage networks and also the management tools. The set of interfaces will allow the control of heterogeneous storage by storage management software packages. This way storage administrator will create and delete volumes and zones and also monitor array controllers, switches and host bus adapters. The enterprises too can manage with a single management framework their storage capacity independent of manufacturers. The application features have a common and extensive management transport, which has unified and complete which provides control of Zones and LUNs in a SAN context. It also has an automated discovery system with a newer approach in application of the CIM/WBEM technology. This specification helps to secure a reliable interface that can allow for the storage management interface classify, identify, control and monitor logical and physical resources in a SAN. The Technical Specification defines the management of a heterogeneous SAN and describes information from a SMI-S compliant CIM server available to a WBEM client. This information is object oriented, message based, XML based interface that is designed to support requirements of the managing devices through and in SANs. Using the CIM-XML on HTTP standard which is an independent management protocol, vendors increase the functions and features of their products without having to redesign the management storage therefore reducing cost and extending functionality. The SMI-S functional capabilities include the version requirements as provided and stated in the interface. Among them is that it will be able to receive the asynchronous notifications incase the SAN configuration changes. It will also be able to identify the health of vital resources in a SAN and also receive the asynchronous notification incase the SAN resource’s health has changed. It will also identify interconnects available performance in a SAN and receive the asynchronous notification incase a SAN’s interconnect performance changes. It will also identify zones that SAN enforces and help enable or disable, delete or create zones in a SAN. It will also identify the access rights and connectivity to SAN Storage Volumes and also enable or disable, delete or create access rights and connectivity to SAN Storage Volumes. These standards and specifications can only be used by a WBEM compliant and authenticated client. The language chosen for managing information and other related operations is the XML language which will help traverse the organizational firewalls and installed at low costs (Cover, 2010). In midrange computing environments and enterprise class, the SANs are highly emerging due to various functions and applications such as sharing of huge storage resources between multiple systems and having a LAN free backup. Other applications include disaster tolerant and remote online mirroring of critical data and clustering fault tolerant applications and systems with one data copy. While emergence of SANs accelerate, the informational industry requires a management interface for different classes of software and hardware products for multiple vendors to allow interoperation and reliability in order to monitor and control resources. For this reason SMI-S was created to define this interface and provide a standard for heterogeneous, functionally secure and reliable control and monitoring of resources in the complex distributed Inter-vendor SAN topologies. The SMI-S standard can simplify the huge storage management and reduced costs in storage administration but has not solved all storage problems. Since storage is an integral part in IT infrastructure to be managed with a combination of servers, applications and networks, management solutions offered by SMI-S work for servers, storages and networks. In the storage infrastructure, it provides the end-users with a consistency for device discovery, configuration and status information. SMI-S defines the behavior and structure of devices and their management and configuration in the storage infrastructure and provides management of multiple storage devices from multivendor. However, it does not solve the problem of incompatibility of hardware devices from the different vendors while its domain in storage management does not cover remote replication and backup. Conclusion There is countless demand by customers for open software from the computer industry vendors which is the reason multiple vendors such as Oracle and NetApp have had to work more closely to develop common standards, protocols and languages for storage and network management. The multipurpose standards could help storage administrators take control of the distributed applications with a resulting inter-vendor, manageable and open information systems. Using standard based storage management application tools can help increase value of IT investments. Before the multivendor standards were developed by SNIA, the individual users would need to manage the storage devices with vendor specific tools while disparate information was integrated manually. Today’s management standards and specifications are increasingly interoperable while still maintaining competitive advantage among vendors through differentiation.

Analysis Taj Hotel

The Indian Hotels Company Limited Analyst Meet Results for the Half Year ended September 30, 2012 November 6, 2012 1 Disclaimer These presentations contain forward-looking statements within the meaning of applicable securities laws. Similarly, statements that describe our business strategy, outlook, objectives, plans, intentions or goals also are forward-looking statements Forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance and involve risks and uncertainties and other factors that may cause actual results to differ materially from those anticipated at the time the forward-looking statements are made.Future results, performance and achievements may be affected by general economic conditions, regulatory environment, business and financing conditions, foreign exchange fluctuations, cyclicality and operating risks associated with the hospitality industry and other circumstances and uncertainties. Although we believe the expectations reflected in such forward looking stat ements are based upon reasonable assumptions, we can give no assurance that our expectations will be attained or that results will not materially differ.We undertake no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statement, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise Please visit our communications corporate website www. tajhotels. com for previous investor 2 Presenter Panel Raymond Bickson – Managing Director & CEO Anil P Goel – Executive Director – Finance Abhijit Mukerji – Executive Director – Hotel Operations Deepa Harris – Senior Vice President – Sales & Marketing 3 Outline of Presentation Industry Trends New Inventory Sales & Marketing Initiatives Financial Results Industry Trends 5 International Tourist Arrivals 2012 International tourist arrivals worldwide grew by 5% in the first 6 months of 2012 to 467 million international travelers, consolidating the growth trend that started in 2010. International Tourist Arrivals were up in all regions of the world, with advances and emerging economy destinations growing at about the same pace. First 6 months of the year typically account for 45% of the tourist arrivals since most of the Northern Hemisphere performs much better in the second half which is its peak season.Source : UN WTO 6 Global Hotel Performance January – September 2012 Americas and Middle East showed a moderate growth in Key Performance Indicators over last year Asia Pacific market saw an overall moderate growth in occupancy and ADR for most of the first 9 months of 2012 In the Indian subcontinent, both rates and occupancies lagged behind last year, owing mostly to increased supply and resulting in an overall RevPAR 13% below last year Source : STR Global 7 Foreign Tourist Arrivals in India 2012 vs 2011 Foreign Tourist Arrivals in India (In Lakhs) 8 7 6 5 4 3Jan Feb Mar Apr May 2011 June July 2102 August Sept Oct Nov Dec April-Sep :+3. 4% Jan- Sep :+5. 9% growth over last year Growth in Tourist Arrivals in India has slowed down and increased to 2. 6 mn travelers in April – Sep 2012 which was a 3. 4% growth over 2011 vs 9. 3% growth in April – Sep 2011 over 2010. Growth for Jan-Sep 2012 was 5. 9% over 2011 against vs 9. 9% in Jan-Sep 2011 over 2010. The traditional source markets of US , UK and Western Europe continue to be the majority contributors to arrivals in India Source : Ministry of Tourism, Government of India 8India Hotel Performance – Key cities April to September 2012 April – September 12, % change in Market Scenario 70. 0% 61% 60. 0% 50. 0% 40. 0% 30. 0% 20. 0% 10. 0% 0. 0% India Goa Mumbai Delhi Jaipur Bangalore Chennai Hyderabad Supply % change Demand % change 23% 20% 9% 4% 6% 32% 25% 32% 31% 26% 20% 49% 40% 33% 4% There has been overall a 23% increase in Supply in H1 compared to last year. Demand growth has been moderate at 20% in summers and expected to pick up in H2 and winters Source : STR Global 9 India Hotel Performance – Key cities April to September 2012 April – September 12, % change in performance 0% 5% 0% -5% -10% -15% -20% India Goa Mumbai Delhi Jaipur Bangalore Chennai Hyderabad Occ % change ADR (INR) % change -3% -5% -2% -4% -1% -5% -9% -11% -7% -8% -11% -3% -5% -5% 5% 1% The Demand – Supply mismatch has put a pressure on occupancies and Average rates compared to last year across all key metros Overall this has led to a 7% decrease in RevPAR in the Indian Hospitality Industry in the first half of the Financial year Source : STR Global 10 Occupancies – Year on Year Trend 56 54 59 58 58 55 56 61 52 58 62 54 51 46 46 65 Delhi India Bangalore Hyderabad Mumbai Chennai Jaipur H1 2011/12Source: STR Global Reports H1 2012/13 Lower occupancies across all cities except Goa 11 Goa ARRs –Year on Year Trend 7910 7606 7224 6559 5929 5648 6717 6198 5945 5765 5344 4778 4092 3645 4949 4980 Delhi Bangalore Hyderabad Mumbai H1 2011/12 S ource: STR Global Reports H1 2012/13 Rates lower across all cities barring Goa Chennai Jaipur India Goa 12 Rev PARs – Year on Year Trend 4700 4408 4185 3595 3323 3077 3771 3219 3653 3369 2882 2446 1898 1679 3059 3219 India Mumbai Chennai Jaipur Delhi Bangalore H1 2011/12 Source: STR Global Reports H1 2012/13 RevPAR lower across all cities barring GoaHyderabad Goa 13 New Inventory 14 Supply Pipeline As of September 2012 Asia Pacific the Growth Centre for Investments in the Industry No of Rooms in Pipeline September 2012 As Pac, 377397, 38% Americas, 363568, 36% MEA/Africa, 122942, 12% Europe, 141554, 14% The demand in Asia Pacific is supported by the growing supply coming into these countries from international brands and the largest pipeline worldwide The highest growth in As Pac region is in the Upscale segment The Americas continue to see a high active pipeline, here too mainly in the Upscale segment Source : STR Global 15Taj Group Inventory 112 99 103 107 115 62 66 76 82 8 8 16 Hotels Opened 2012/13 Hotel Taj Taj Palace Marrakech, Morocco (Soft Open) Vivanta by Taj Vivanta by Taj, Madikeri, Coorg Ginger Hotels Ginger Hotel Faridabad Ginger Hotel Vadapalani (Chennai) Ginger Hotel Andheri (Mumbai) Roots Corporation Ltd Roots Corporation Ltd Roots Corporation Ltd 91 79 116 Management Contract 62 Management Contract 161 Company Rooms Hotels Opened Till Date 2012/13 5 Hotels 509 Rooms 17 Taj Palace Marrakech, Morocco 18 Vivanta by Taj, Coorg 19 19 Upcoming Development – Balance of 2012/13Hotel Vivanta by Taj Vivanta by Taj, Gurgaon Gateway Gateway, Kolkata Gateway, Hubli Gateway OMR, Chennai Ginger Hotels Ginger Hotel Jaipur Ginger Hotel Kormangla (Bangalore) Ginger Hotel Noida (NCR) Ginger Hotel Amritsar Management Contract Management Contract Management Contract Roots Corporation Ltd 103 67 80 60 200 92 193 Management Contract 200 Company Rooms New Development in Pipeline 2012/13 New Hotels Opened Till Date 2012/13 8 Hotels 5 Hotels 995 Rooms 509 Rooms 1,504 Rooms 20 20 TOTAL DEVELOPEMNT FY 2012/13 13 Hotels Vivanta by Taj, Gurgaon 21The Gateway Hotel, Kolkata 22 The Gateway Hotel, Hubli 23 Upcoming Development– 2013/14 Hotel Taj Taj Airport Hotel, Terminal 1C, Mumbai Imperial Club by Taj, Tardeo, Mumbai Vivanta by Taj Vivanta by Taj, Dwarka Gateway Gateway, Hinjewadi, Pune Gateway, Raipur Gateway, Gondia Gateway, Faridabad Ginger Hotels (Six in Number) Management Contract Management Contract Benares Hotels Ltd Management Contract Roots Corporation Ltd 150 119 34 150 534 IHCL 250 Taj GVK Management Contract 275 9 Company Rooms New Development in Pipeline 2013/14 13 Hotels 1,521 Rooms 24Imperial Club by Taj, Tardeo, Mumbai 25 25 Vivanta by Taj, Dwarka 26 26 Sales and Marketing Initiatives 27 Strategy to Drive Incremental Revenues Surprises Campaign (Apr – Oct 2012) Tactical promotions campaign that is now launched every summer to address the seasonal drop in demand. Relaunched on 26th March 2012 for Summer 2012 Provides unique value proposition to customers with the following objectives – Drive SpendPAR – Drive Loyalty – Increase Capacity Utilization in lean months Campaign Programs – Flexi Credits – Suite Celebrations – Stay a Bit Longer 28Leisure focus – Domestic Dominance Taj Holidays – Summer, Monsoon, Winter Adopted a Destination led approach that we supported through an integrated marketing campaign. (Goa, Kerala, Indian Ocean, Small Palaces, Grand Palaces, Taj Safaris) Objective – tap the growing domestic holiday market in our lean season Advertising campaign was spread across pre-opening, summer and monsoon planks Interactive Roadshows in major feeder cities for travel trade and potential end users from the city 9 Leisure Focus – The High end Traveler Taj Hotels Resorts and Palaces Customer Outreach by Taj at Travel + Leisure Global Bazaar, New York , September 2012 Annual travel trade and consumer show organized by Travel + Leisure attended by over 5000 media, travel trade and consumers over 3 days in New York The innovative customer experience installation to communicate the Taj luxury positioning and service experience at the suites of the Taj Grand Palaces.Supported by promotional activity and editorial coverage Channel Outreach through Taj Travel Awards at Taj Mahal Delhi , July 2012 Instituted two years ago it is the only award ceremony initiated by a hotel group to acknowledge and felicitate the inbound DMCs in India for their support and contribution. This year’s event drew 200+ prominent DMCs and travel trade press from across the country for a splendid evening of Awards ceremony, sit-down silver service dinner and entertainment. 0 Driving Revenues Taj Hotels Resorts and Palaces Visibility Increased visibility through advertising campaign Enhanced focus on India Advertising in leading newspapers, general interest magazines, business magazines, lifestyle magazines and travel related magazines Driving Incremental Revenues from Corporates Winning back lost customer campaign Long stayer program for targeted accounts Channel based campaigns for Hit accounts 31Building the newest Brand Vivanta by Taj – Hotels & Resorts Launch of the signature Fuse 2. 0 Cocktails in an exclusive partnership with Diageo and Canali, August 2012 A Vivanta innovation launched in 3 key cities via a roadshow 6 signature cocktails each being a tribute to a Vivanta city Generated tremendous PR coverage and social media noise Brand Personification and Experiences Season 2 of both Divas of Rock and Urban Folk premiered at Vivanta Whitefield and Vivanta Begumpet Hyderabad.The Vivanta Motifs campaign went live across select media print, digital and social Awards & Accolades Vivanta by Taj is currently in the top 10 rank amongst 147 of the global pages on SocialBakers Analytics Vivanta Yeshwantpur Bangalore was ranked amongst the best 100 business hotels of 2012 by Wall paper UK Vi vanta Whitefield won the Emirates Leaf Design awards for the best commercial design world wide 2012 Vivanta Bekal voted the 8th best new spa destinations by Conde Nast India 32Enhancing the Brand Experiences The Gateway Hotels & Resorts The Gateway Hotel Residency Road Bangalore Relaunch, September 2012 Relaunched via a successful Customer and Media event Great PR Thrust, focus being revamped product post extensive renovations, the new lobby and spectacular F&B offerings Integrated marketing campaign Active Foods Campaign Extensive campaign marketing Gateway’s Active Food Conducted at all Coffee Shops with new menus, posters and tent cards across all hotels Supported by a media campaign (print, OOH, online and social) Contests in social media in the run up to the Olympics 3 Awards & Accolades Recognition in the Travel + Leisure Global Vision Awards for Leadership in Corporate Social Responsibility activities. The Awards recognize the outstanding efforts of individuals and org anizations that are working to preserve the world's natural and man-made treasures and contributing to building and sustaining livelihoods. Best Business Hotel Chain in India at the Business Traveler UK Awards 2012. Featured in Travel + Leisure World's Best Awards 2012 list of Top 100 hotels in the world and Top Resorts in Asia.Featured in the Travel + Leisure World's Best Awards 2012 list of Top City Hotels in Asia Amongst the Top 10 hotels in the world by Expedia. com's Insiders' Select based on consistent delivery of values, competitive pricing and impeccable customer service. Honoured as ‘Most Inspirational Eco Lodge of the Year’ at the 2012 Tour Operators for Tigers (TOFT) Wildlife Tourism Awards Ranked #1 Overseas Leisure Hotels in Asia and the Indian Subcontinent, Conde Nast Traveller UK Readers' Travel Awards 2012 34 Standalone Financial Performance Six Months ended September 30, 2012 35 Profit and Loss Account H1 2012/13 /Crores Net Sales/Income from Operations Other Operating Income Total Income a. Consumption of Raw Materials b. Employee Benefits Expense c. License Fees d. Fuel, Power and Light e. Depreciation and Amortisation Expense f. Other Expenditure Total Expenditure Profit/ (Loss) from operations before Other Income, Finance Costs and Exceptional Items Other Income Profit/ (Loss) before Finance Costs and Exceptional Items Finance Costs Profit/ (Loss) after Finance Costs but before Exceptional Items Exceptional items Profit/ (Loss) before tax Provision for Taxes Profit/ (Loss) After Tax 2012/13 775. 8 775. 48 73. 05 240. 22 51. 97 79. 41 63. 08 244. 62 752. 35 23. 13 33. 23 56. 36 53. 23 3. 13 (6. 70) (3. 57) (1. 24) (2. 33) 2011/12 727. 10 727. 10 64. 69 226. 91 44. 01 65. 43 55. 50 219. 77 676. 31 50. 79 35. 47 86. 26 50. 08 36. 18 9. 81 45. 99 16. 33 29. 66 % Change 7 7 (13) (6) (18) (21) (14) (11) (11) (54) (6) (35) (6) (91) – 36 Turnover H1 2012/13 ` crores Room sales F&B sales Other Income Management Fees 2012/13 354. 76 317. 80 52. 88 50. 04 2011/12 343. 89 287. 65 49. 55 46. 01 % Change 3 10 7 9Total Income Non – Operating Income Total Income including Other Income 775. 48 33. 23 808. 71 727. 10 35. 47 762. 57 7 (6) 6 Room revenue growth driven by 3% increase in average daily rooms sold including capacity increase Higher F&B sales due to increase in restaurant sales and banqueting business Management fee linked to higher turnover and profitability of non IHCL hotels 37 Expenditure Raw Materials Cost – ` 73. 05 crores Increase in line with 10% higher F&B revenue and commodity input cost increase Staff Cost – ` 240. 2 Crores Increase due to launch of new hotel in Bangalore, wage settlements, annual increments etc. License Fees – ` 51. 97 crores Increase on account of higher turnover of licensed properties Fuel, Power & Light – ` 79. 41 crores Higher on account of increase in rates and new capacity 38 Expenditure Depreciation & Amortisation – ` 63. 08 cro res Higher due to opening of new hotel in Bangalore and renovations in select hotels Other Expenditure – ` 244. 62 crores Increase in variable costs linked to business, full period cost of new hotel in Bangalore & higher A&P spendsFinance Costs – ` 53. 23 crores Increase due to ECBs taken to retire debt in Company’s offshore subsidiary 39 Exceptional Items Expense of ` (6. 7) crores in the current year against an income of ` 9. 8 crores in the previous year `/ Crores Particulars Income/(Expense) on surrender of a project (Net off accumulated capital expenditure) Exchange gain/(loss) Total 2012/13 (6. 7) (6. 7) 2011/12 10. 6 (0. 8) 9. 8 40 Statement of Assets & Liabilities September 30, 2012 ` / CroresShareholders’ Funds Non- Current Liabilities Long-term borrowings Long Term Provisions Other Long Term Liabilities/ Deferred Tax Liabilities Current Liabilities Short Term borrowings Other Current Liabilities Trade Payables/Short-term provisions Equity and Li abilities Non-current Assets Fixed Assets Non-current investments Long Term loans and advances Other non-current assets Current Assets Current Investments Short term loans and advances Other currents assets/ cash & bank/ inventories/ trade receivables Assets 71. 28 112. 50 229. 51 7614. 34 71. 87 227. 05 7363. 8 2066. 91 3622. 19 1495. 19 16. 76 2068. 36 3622. 19 1346. 93 27. 58 247. 52 406. 77 168. 88 7614. 34 122. 57 789. 58 280. 08 7363. 98 2287. 24 78. 20 757. 17 2039. 94 95. 93 668. 07 September 30, 2012 3668. 56 March 31, 2012 3367. 81 41 Consolidated Financial Performance Six Months ended September 30, 2012 42 Major Taj Group companies Subsidiaries Indian Piem Hotels Ltd Taj SATS Air Catering Ltd Tifco Holdings Ltd [Investment Company] Benares Hotels Ltd Inditravel Pvt Ltd United Hotels Ltd Roots Corporation Ltd Overseas International Hotel Management Services, Inc.St James Court Hotel Ltd IHMS (Australia) Pty Ltd Taj International Hotels (HK) Ltd [Investment Company] Samsara Properties Ltd [Investment Company] Others 43 Associates Oriental Hotels Ltd Lanka Island Resorts Ltd TAL Lanka Hotel PLC Others Joint Ventures Taj GVK Hotels & Resorts Ltd Taj Madras Flight Kitchen Pvt Ltd Taj Kerala Hotels & Resorts Ltd Taj Karnataka Hotels & Resorts Ltd Taj Safaris Ltd TAL Hotels & Resorts Ltd [Investment Company] Others Consolidated Financial Results H1 2012/13 Consolidated results show a loss of ` (91) crores against a loss of ` (70) crores.Key factors influencing the consolidated results are listed below: Domestic Portfolio – Lower profit from operations, lower dividend income & foreign exchange translation loss on borrowings – Previous period had an exceptional gain on account of interest income on surrender of a project International Portfolio – Samsara Properties Limited debt fully retired through equity funding from IHCL – Despite growth in turnover, US hotels continue to face challenges 44 Consolidated Financials H1 2012/13 `/ Crores Net Sales/Income from Operations Other Operating Income Total Income a. Consumption of Raw Materials b.Employee Benefits Expense c. License Fees d. Fuel, Power and Light e. Depreciation and Amortisation Expense f. Other Expenditure Total Expenditure Profit/ (Loss) from operations before Other Income, Finance Costs and Exceptional Items Other Income Profit/ (Loss) before Finance Costs and Exceptional Items Finance Costs Profit/ (Loss) after Finance Costs but before Exceptional Items Exceptional item Profit/ (Loss) before tax Less: Provision for Taxes Less: Minority Interest in Subsidiaries Add:Share of Profit(Loss) in Associates Profit( Loss) after Tax 2012/13 1666. 37 1666. 37 177. 56 629. 05 84. 04 143. 30 145. 2 492. 55 1671. 62 (5. 25) 35. 03 29. 78 81. 76 (51. 98) 1. 28 (50. 70) 8. 71 (24. 67) (6. 77) (90. 85) 2011/12 1455. 50 1455. 50 160. 72 540. 84 66. 73 117. 27 129. 29 417. 68 1432. 53 22. 97 39. 81 62. 78 110. 45 (47. 67) 4. 26 (43. 41) 27. 05 (10. 56) 10. 69 (70. 33) % Change 14 14 (10) (16) (26) (22) (12) (18) (17) (123) (12) (53) 26 (9) (70) (17) 68 (134) (163) (29) 45 Consolidation Snapshot `/Crores Revenue 2012/13 IHCL Standalone Subsidiaries Joint Ventures Associates Total Less/(Add): Inter Company Eliminations Consolidated Performance 1716. 7 50. 3 1666. 4 1498. 5 43. 0 1455. 5 775. 5 862. 1 79. 1Profit after tax & Minority Interest 2012/13 (2. 3) (43. 7) (8. 6) (6. 8) (61. 4) 29. 5 (90. 9) 2011/12 727. 1 701. 1 70. 3 2011/12 29. 7 (80. 0) (4. 2) 10. 7 (43. 8) 26. 5 (70. 3) 46 Treasury Liquidity raised/ committed Received ` 373 crores in June, 2012 on conversion of warrants by Tata Sons Ltd Raised ` 200 crores by issuing low coupon unsecured NCDs Funds Utilized Repayment of ECB in April, 2012 – $ 30 million Repayment of Fixed Deposits between April to October, 2012 – ` 285 crores 47 International Hotels Occupancy (%) Hotel Name H1 2012/13 H1 2011/12 ARR ($) H1 2012/13 H1 2011/12 RevPAR ($) H1 2012/13 H1 2011/12The Pierre, New York 63 67 620 571 391 382 Taj Boston 74 71 296 287 218 202 Campton Place, San Francisco 79 75 290 287 229 216 St. James Court, London 88 85 318 299 278 253 Blue, Sydney 75 76 221 230 165 176 48 Overview of Taj Group – H1 Particulars Number of hotels 2012/13 115 2011/12 110 2010/11 107 2009/10 103 Rooms Inventory 13,887 13,237 12,795 12,243 Total Revenue – ` / crores 2,288 2,069 1,822 1,603 Total Revenue denote arithmetic aggregate of turnover of all hotels/units irrespective of ownership, including Management Contracts 49 Thank you 50

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

Hylomorphism - Essay Example Form on the other hand is a factor that is derived from the way that we perceive an object. It is what is seen and judged to be the nature of a being. In relation to change, form is subject to change once matter undergoes the process; matter changes form when subject to the elements of change. Understanding how the two principles exist makes it relatively easy to determine the effect that a certain change factor could have on a being (The Editors of Encyclopà ¦dia Britannica). Substance dualism is a philosophical concept classified under the general dualism class (argues that there are essentially two substances that exist; the mental and the physical). Substance dualism postulates that the physical and the mental elements are separate and they exist independent of each other. Taking this view is inherently different from that taken by Hylomorphism, given the nature that change can take place in either of them. Under substance dualism, physical change can take place without affecting the mental and vice versa. On the other hand, Hylomorphism holds that change in matter must affect form and the alternative holds

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How the Boeing 707 Jet, the Bell X-1 and the NASA Mercury Capsule Friendship Seven Changed Aviation - Essay Example This paper aims to explain the contributions of some innovations in the aviation industry that became cornerstones of overcoming the physical limitations of man during the early 19th century. This paper also aims to discuss the positive and negative effects of aviation in America for the past seventy years, specifically starting from 1942 to the present time. According to Lombardi (8), the Boeing 707 took its first flight in Renton, Washington on the afternoon of December 20, 1957. It tool Boeing five years to be able reach the point of being able to showcase their first jet powered aircraft, that was later referred by historians as the start of the Jet Age. At exactly 12:30 pm that afternoon that day, Boeing decided to continue their first test flight of the Boeing 707. However, the weather conditions suddenly changed against the flight and officials had to abort the initial test that lasted only for 7 long minutes in the air. It was not enough, though, to claim that their design wa s truly a success since they needed a test flight that would last a full 30 minutes airborne. As the weather cleared, Boeing had decided to continue the test flight and that marked a historic day in aviation history with Boeing 707 being able lift-off, remain airborne for 71 minutes, and land back safely to the tarmac. The US government gave its full support on the achievement of Boeing and this led to a massive advertising campaign directed to the public that provided them information about the comfort and safety of travelling on jet liners. Boeing 707 and its other models that are technically similar to the design and concepts applied in the pioneer prototype aircraft, the 707-80 or commonly known as the Dash 80 jet transport prototype, have been mainly utilized for two operations – commercial flights for passenger transport and military services (9). In 1958, where Boeing 707 started its early days of operation, people who could afford to travel by air flew in slow, piston -powered transportations or Propliners. This mode of transportation was limited at that to a few dozen of passengers and shorter range flights, which was very costly at that time that not all Americans had the luxury to travel to other countries and even among other states via air travel. Mostly travelled by train for interstate travel, and transatlantic travels were carried out by large shipping vessels. However, in just a short span of two years, Boeing was able to dominate passenger air transport over travel by land and sea, this occurred during the 60s and have remained the same throughout the 70s (9). The compelling factor of the success of Boeing 707 is that the design of the aircraft can carry more passengers as compared to other aircrafts during the 60s and it allowed longer range flights, this led to reduced cost for travelling by air. It also allowed transcontinental and inter-continental travels safer, faster, and easier. Within the service lifetime of Boeing 707 from 195 8 to 1979, 1,010 aircrafts were built with a large percentage of it used for the military. Boeing also provided the Air Force with stronger air supremacy by developing aircrafts specifically modified to carry out a certain function for the needs of the air force. It was also used as Air Force One that transports the President of America to any point in the world (9). With the success of the Boeing 707 in changing the way of how commercial

Thelma & Louise and Do The Right Thing Movie Review

Thelma & Louise and Do The Right Thing - Movie Review Example Women never had to worry about the absence of home and Thelma & Louise makes this concrete in the concept that their journey is not about finding a home at the end, but escaping the suffocation of patriarchal domination. This domination that begins at home commences from the opening frames of the film. Thelma is quite literally under the thumb of a domineering husband. Louise's situation is revealed to be that of submission to the prevailing order that places men in control and women as servants; she works as a waitress. The film quickly locates home not as a place to which most women would long to return, like Dorothy in The Wizard of Oz, but as burden to escape. There is nothing specifically peculiar to the early 1990s in this regard; the film could be made today or could it have been made in the 1930s as a Warner Brothers gangster film. As the sign in the original Scarface promises Tony Camonte: The World is Yours. Thelma & Louise, then, fits more closely into the gangster movie genre than the buddy picture as they too come to believe and pursue that ultimately empty promise. In the buddy movie, the men have it all from the beginning. Even if they have nothing, it is still a man's world so they still have the upper hand. The gangster genre presents a man's world as well, but the dominant theme in that genre that is missing from many buddy movies is the establishment of authority. Thelma & Louise do not embark upon a journey to locate home; the climax proves there is no home in America that is not a return to the status quo. Their overwhelming desire is to, just for a brief period, assign domination to the matriarchy. The drive over the cliff is a validation of their acknowledgement that such domination can only be fleeting in America and it is also an acknowledgement of their refusal to return home to the burden of submission to that male domination. Thelma & Louise is such a disturbing portrait of the realities of American society because the two characters are drawn with such complexity. It might be easier to accept their tragic fate if there mere ster eotypes of women commonly referred to as doormats; if they were women who'd been victims of domestic abuse. The fact that Thelma and Louise are intelligent, engaging, beautiful women only serves to underline the fact that patriarchal dominance is systemic in America. Do the Right Thing is the most incendiary, honest, and unflinching portrait of race relations in American film history. Most importantly, the film avoids the trap of suggesting that racial tensions exist entirely within a vacuum constructed on the concept of prejudice as some kind of genetic predisposition. It may be all too easy for viewers of Do the Right Thing to overlook the fact that from what can be gathered, this multiracial community in New York City for the most part seems to have gotten along quite well for decades. The violence escalates not as a result of mindless racial hatred; the encroaching racism is ignited by the disparity in economic power between the haves and have-nots. The opening credits set the stage for a showdown with the subversive lyrics to the rap song "Fight the Power." The power will wind up being Sal, the businessman, and the police who are charged with the protecting the interest of business rather than the people's

Historical cost accounting and fair value acounting Essay - 1

Historical cost accounting and fair value acounting - Essay Example One of the most distinguished differences between these two lies in their definitions. While historic cost is the amount at which the asset or liability was originally obtained, fairvalue is the amount at which the asset could be exchanged or a liability settled between knowledgeable, willing parties in an arms length transaction. Another difference between them is that under historic cost accounting entries are made only when an actual transaction arises while under fairvalue accounting measurements are updated periodically even in the absence of explicit transactions. In historic cost accounting reported amounts can be calculated based on internally available information about prices in past transactions, without reference to outside data whereas fairvalue method requires current market prices to determine reported amounts, which may require estimation and can lead to reliability problems. In accordance with risk management, the fairvalue method easily reflects the most risk managed strategies while the historic cost method requires complex rules to attempt to reflect the most effect of most risk managed strategies. There has been a shift in the economic situation around the world and henceforth, we see a shift taking place in the accounting principles too. While historical cost method might have numerous advantages, the fairvalue has much more importance in today’s volatile markets. Fairvalue allows users of financial statements to obtain a more truer and fairer view of the company’s real financial situation as only fairvalue reflects the prevailing economic conditions and the changes in them. By contrast, historical cost based accounting shows the conditions that existed when

Buddhism in India Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Buddhism in India - Essay Example The history of Buddhism spans from the 6th century BCE to the present, starting with the birth of the Buddha Siddharta Gautama (History of Buddhism). India is considered to be the birthplace of Buddhism where Buddha found enlightenment at the age of 35. He then became to be known as Gautama Buddha, or simply "The Buddha", which means "the awakened one" (History of Buddhism). Buddha took much of his inspiration from the Indus Valley religions and traditions. Buddhism flourished in India during the dynasty of the Guptas (4th-6th century). Indian Buddhism weakened in the 7th century following White Hun and Islamic invasions. However, it enjoyed a strong revival under the Pala Empire, in which Mahayana Buddhism flourished between the 8th and the 12th century (History of Buddhism). Some non-Buddhist religion adopted many great things from Buddhism doctrine but spoke ill of Buddhism as well to discredit Buddhism. Some other religious fanatics also have persecuted the Buddhists, a process, which other foreign invaders of India followed until Buddhism was practically driven out of India (Buddhism in India). So by the dawn of the 20th century, Buddhism is limited only in some isolated places in India. Today, India is again appearing on the Buddhist map of the world due to the Angarika Dhammapala of Sri Lanka and great son of India Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar (Dr. B. R. Ambedkar) the architect of modern Indian constitution. He after studying all existing religions of the world embarrassed Buddhism along with his five lakhs followers on 14th October 1956. Indians are awakening to their Buddhist past. Since then the Indians began to be surprised at the discovery of the Buddhist legacy. To talk of a "revival of Buddhism in modern India" is right in this sense of the discovery of the Buddhist heritage by Indians (Buddhism in India). Jainism, traditionally known as Jain Dharma, is a dharmic religion with its origins in the prehistory of India. There are 9 million people around the world who are Jains today. Jainism was established by Mahavira in about 500 B. C. Mahavira was called 'Jina' meaning the big winner and from this name was derived the name of the religion. (Information on India). Mahavira's full name is Vardhamaan Mahavir, he was born in about 600BC. in the home of Siddharta the King of Kundgraam of Bihar province in India on the thirteenth day under the rising moon of Chaitra. He is considered to be the twenty-fourth or the last Teerthankar of Jainism (Mahavir Swami Nirvana). He became detached from the world on the death of his parents and left his home for the forest at the age of thirty. There he practiced very hard simple life until he attained enlightenment (Mahavir Swami Nirvana).

Philosophy of Education Bachelor Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Philosophy of Education Bachelor - Essay Example In order to pursue this education, there is no single way. In this contemporary world, immense emphasis is paid on imparting and trailing education through the formula ways or the education systems that have been developed explicitly for people to get education. It has a set curriculum that defines set rules through which it is determined that what kind, how much and the way the education is to be imparted. Education systems are sometimes institutions that promote a certain idea to its students, for example, the convent system or, different education systems for different countries. When there is no uniform way of imparting education, social engineering occurs which can definitely lead to abuse of the system as a particular thought is taught in those institutions. However, there is another way of getting the right kind of education without limiting your education intake capabilities. There is another kind of education different from the traditional ways of education called alternative education or educational alternative. Generally speaking, they believe in introducing philosophical ideas to the students by following a wide number of teaching methodologies rather than sticking to just one alternative. There are independent education systems or private systems which follow more flexibility in staff selection and the kind of educational approach they are using to impart education. The best thing about using alternative education systems are that they equip the students with the various kinds of doctrines, thoughts and ideas that are present across the entire scenario and it is upon the students to understand and evaluate the best possible thought that they want to believe in or go with. You just don't have to follow one single thematic idea jus t because everybody or the majority thinks it's right. This way you have the right to choose and that helps one to develop you own thinking rather than the one derived by the masses. Self education is another concept that is gaining wide-spread recognition these days. However neglected and opposed, one can learn without the help of an instructor. One great aspect of self education is that one doesn't have to be dependent on the knowledge of another individual. It has been seen that self education has been able to produce miraculous successes beyond the wildest dreams. There have been various important personalities that have completely revolutionized the way people used to live and have been a product of self education using their own educational tools. Abraham Lincoln, Henry Ford, Chuck Yeager, Alexander Graham Bell and many other have been the ones who have been educated at their homes and have built such a knowledge base that has changed the way the world functions today. Before the advent of these education systems, this form of education was considered the most useful and acceptable form of education. In my opinion, this is a better way of education because one gets to think for them, and understand depending upon their own capability rather than listening to the thoughts of a teacher. When one gets educated by a person, he or she adopts the values and thinking of the teacher; and doesn't get a chance to understand the world and develop opinions on their own. Therefore, in order to get the complete picture, one should also emphasize on getting at least some kind of education by them, by reading books or by adopting other educational

Becoming Influential , Nursing Paper Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Becoming Influential , Nursing Paper - Essay Example Because of this insensitive attitude, the atrocities against nurses in work places are increasing day by day. As a responsible citizen of the state, I feel this issue is to be brought under public scrutiny on a wider extend. Usually we get alerted only when some inhuman incident strikes the headlines. Rather than waiting for casualties let us take vigilant steps to prevent them. Implementing stringent laws, enhancing more efficient surveillance techniques, conducting awareness programs for nurses and policy makers etc has to be given serious thought to avoid such incidents in future. It is my humble request that these heinous acts need to be highlighted in your newspaper. Collaborative effort of the media and public can bring about positive changes I believe. Looking forward to hearing from you, Yours sincerely, (Name) Introduction Nursing is not just taking care of patients but a big social responsibility which most of us fail to realize. Working beyond the hospital conditions, like a poverty stricken area or a war field, a factory etc demonstrates the social commitment shouldered by a nurse which often goes unnoticed. Likewise a nurse has his/her say in every socially relevant issue. In this context, it is relevant to invite public attention to a very serious threat a nurse experience on a day to day basis. It is ‘physical workplace violence’. Why this Topic? In the present scenario, this is a topic that is worth mentioning as there are increasing number of reports of nurses being physically assaulted in and around Canada in the recent times. Because of such dreadful news coming up from every corner of the country the glory of the profession has come down of late. This can be attributed as one reason for the international shortage of nurses. As reported by Duncan, Estabrooks & Reimer (2000), verbal and physical abuse happen on a routine basis and the most unhappy fact is that 70 percent of the cases go unreported. So what we see or hear is just t he tip of the iceberg. Despite zero tolerance policies, violence at work place is not being reported and this leads to the increasing number of such incidents. Most of the time the administration takes up the role of a silent spectator and sometimes they discourage such incidents to be reported. This inadequate and irresponsible attitude of the administration worsens the issue. Nurses should realize the fact that getting assaulted is not a part of their job. They should unite and rise against not only the atrocities against them but also the deaf attitude many hospital managements take on such issues. So it is high time to raise our voice against such an injustice. How I determined the content for the message The alarming rise of atrocities against nurses in work places, both verbal and physical has become a major social menace which has been ignored by authorities. Addressing this problem was the need of the hour. According to the fifth annual report of National Advisory Council on Nurse Education and practice (NACNEP) nurses are the most assaulted workers among America’s workforce. They are exposed to violence not only from patients but from the patient’s family members and visitors. Violence can be in the form of intimidation, bullying, sexual harassment, shooting, stabbing or stalking. The report says that the psychological consequences of such assaults are shocking.

The American Revolution Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

The American Revolution - Research Paper Example The colonies of America rejected the power of the parliament of Britain to govern them abroad without any form of representation and then barred all royal officials. By 1774 each colony in America had created a provincial congress to govern or rule itself but still constrained within the empire. The Great Britain instead of engaging in diplomacy, it responded sending its troops to re-establish and re-impose direct rule. As a reaction to the British response, the American colonies through second continental congress joined together to defend their self governance and manage against the armed conflict with the British rule. In addition, the States vowed that the British Empire via acts of anarchy had no power to claim their allegiance. Additionally, the American Revolution was as a consequence of series of intellectual, political and social transformations in ancient American society and government. The Americans were against the oligarchies that characterized European societies at tha t time instead calling for development of republicanism based on enlightenment comprehension of liberalism. The American Revolution was facilitated by a number of notions and events that merged and led to social and political separation of colonial possessions from home nation and combining those of former individual colonies to create an independent nation (Bilven 66-8). The American Revolution started in 1763 after the British military recorded a series of victories during the French and Indian war that led to an end of the French military might that was initially a threat to the British North American colonies. The colonial separation for England was the primary cause of the American Revolution evolved and rapidly grew as a smoldering flame of anger beginning with taxes imposed by Britain on thirteen colonies devoid of representation. This was necessitated by the Stamp Act of 1765. Britain enacted some policies that aimed to collect taxes from the American colonies. For instance, the Britons adopted the policy that directed all colonies under British rule to pay larger amount of costs linked with keeping them in the empire. Britain unfair practice of imposing direct taxes on American colonies in order to pay or defray its past European wars led in eventual separation form mother country. This was also followed by other policies that aimed to manifest British might, all which proved meaningless, unworthy and unpopular in America. The main reason why these ideas and policies were unpopular in America was that the colonies laced elected representatives in the ruling Britain parliament, thus leading many colonists consider the policies as a violation of human rights and illegitimate. In 1772, some colonists started to create communities which would be used for their own provincial congresses governance. Two years later, the provincial congresses in most colonies rejected the British parliament and hence effectively replaced the British ruling machines in former colonies. When the Britons reacted by sending troops to impose direct rule, the local representatives in these colonies started to mobilize and coordinate militias. The revolutionaries set up the second continental congress

Ezra Pound and his influence on Literature of the Twentieth Century Research Paper

Ezra Pound and his influence on Literature of the Twentieth Century - Research Paper Example Pound’s contributions to the imagist movement were a counterpoint to the Georgian poets who approached poetry in more conventional terms and treated more or less traditional themes. His friendship with Richard Aldington and H.D. played a great part in his being involved in this movement even though the primary motive was a strong conviction regarding the nature of poetry and the role of images in improving the existing condition of poetry. Pound’s influence on the imagist movement and the works of other writers who came after it as a result of it was immense. The dedication of T.S. Eliot’s masterpiece, The Wasteland, is to Pound who had edited the piece and suggested changes to the original draft of it. The involvement of Pound in the literary activities of his times can be seen through this. Other writers have also talked of their debt to Pound as he was one of the most towering figures in literature during his time. Even today, we find his influences on poetry and also other genres like the lyrics of popular songs where different images are yoked together to invoke feelings in the reader or the listener. Different associations are called to the mind of the audience which then has a personal interpretation to make of the poem or the song. Pound’s poetry and his theories regarding poetry also encouraged people to make such personal interpretations which did not need to stick to a particular set of definitions regarding a genre as was set by earlier thinkers. This was a part of the innovations in literature that happened during the initial decades of the twentieth century, of which Pound was a very important part. These innovations were in a great way responsible for the increase in the interest that people felt in poetry. With the rise of the novel as the dominant literary genre during the nineteenth century, poetry was largely on the decline. It is largely due to the influences of Pound and Eliot that poetry as a genre experienced a revival that made people look at the genre in a different way. Poetry was created anew as a genre that could reflect the troubled times of the First World War. An abandonment of the set notions of form and structure was used to unsettle the reader and shock him into understanding the complexity of the changes that the human psyche was undergoing during this epoch in history. This led to charges of obscurity in the poetry of Pound but it was mostly the novelty f his treatment of the genre that led to these. The use of images was taken up by other modernists as well such as Robert Frost, in whose poetry we can see the juxtaposition of images that would conjure complex emotions. The source of these emotions is not always known and the development of psychoanalysis was crucial in the development of the Imagists’ poetry. These ideas were taken up by other writers as well and the development and growth of psychoanalysis in the twentieth century was paralleled by the growth and the wide acceptance of the views that were propounded and endorsed by Pound. Pound’s writings and his ideas have had an immense influence on the works of post-modernist writers as well. The non-linear syntax that he employed in his writings was an important influence on

Comparison of ASUS and HP Coursework Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Comparison of ASUS and HP - Coursework Example Recently Hp has launched its Slate 500 Tablet PC which is the product which would evolve the electronic world forever; the perfect substitute for the large desktops and a more stylish and trendy substitute for a laptop. Its multi touch display can browse spread sheets , applications , documents and so much more and now comes with a pen to write on your screen which makes it all the more easier to write and edges it closer to perfection . It includes 2 cameras, the first a VGA camera for web conferencing and the other a three megapixel camera to take still shots and it comes with accessories such as a keyboard, mouse and a printer. So technically we fit a whole desktop into a tiny 8.9 inch screen (Crocker, 2010). Meanwhile ASUSTeK Computer Incorporated is a multinational computer product manufacturer; traditionally Chinese in origin and ASUS also produces components for other companies which also include HP. ASUS has been included in "InfoTech 100" and "Asia’s Top 10 IT Companies" and has a total brand value of US$1.324 billion The Slate 500 Tablet PC now sees a competitor in the face on ASUS's Eee Pad Transformer TF101. The Eee Pad comes with a more powerful 2.1 GHz processor and but has an in built memory of 1 Gb in contrast to the 2 Gb provided by the 500 Tablet PC and a. The Eee Pad also has better quality cameras with a 5 mega pixel and a 1.3 mp video conferencing camera and has a superior battery life. There are also various differences in the specification of both the products but perhaps the most startling one is that of the price, The Eee Pad Transformer TF101 supposed to be cheaper than the HP Slate 500 Tablet PC by at least a hundred and fifty dollars (Gadgetian, web). The HP slate comes at 799$ which includes all accessories which targets a more upper-class audience so the focus is more on brand loyalty and product image than that to see elasticity of demand . The demand for the product should be inelastic but considering the fact that Transformer TF101 can be bought for a starting price of $ 3 99, the only advantage HP has in the international computers market is that of a superior brand image. Product The  ASUS Eee Pad Transformer is at the end of the Introduction stage but has quickly moved on to the growth stage. This can be largely attributed to the market penetration pricing that the    used which resulted in more than five hundred thousand pieces being sold in a couple of months and due to the product being in the growth stage the demand is still increasing to quite a large extent .    While the HP Slate 500 Tablet PC was launched at around proximity of six months, it may not have accomplished the point in the growth stage that the ASUS Eee Pad Transformer has. The product has recently been introduced and due to its low prices the product has been an instant hit and has seen increasing sales ever since. The other more notable difference is that the Transformer is using more widespread extension strategies to increase the extent of the growth stage and they see m to be working as the predicted sales are increasing by the day. The only reason why the Tablet PC is still in the growth stage is due to its superior brand image, but it can only do so for so long. HP faces the risk of its product reaching the saturation / maturity stage more quickly than desired as undesirable reviews and cheaper substitutes have seen the products credibility decrease. This problem lies only with Hewlett-Packet and ASUS have been smart enough to understand the problem and the product is at the most desirable and profitable stage of the Product life

Contract Law Problem Question - Breach of Contract Essay

Contract Law Problem Question - Breach of Contract - Essay Example A breach of contract occurs when a party to it acts inconsistently with his obligations either by implications or express words without lawful excuse. The onus is on Peter to prove that there was, in fact, a breach committed by David. Generally, the act that is allegedly in breach must have â€Å"such an effect, that the party in question has put it out of his power to perform his obligations† (Alfred C Toepfer International GmbH vs Itex Hagrani Export SA (1993) 1 Lloyd’s Rep 360, 362). Moreover, Peter is not required to wait for David to perform, and the effect of the breach is immediate (Hochester v. De La Tour (1853). In order for the breach to be classified as a repudiatory breach, that is one allowing Peter to set aside the performance of the contract, the breach must be one of condition or a serious innominate term and not warranty. The current scenario entails a breach of time, which is generally of the essence. It is arguable that this breach is one of condition, and the immediate consequence of that for Peter is his right to elect one of two alternatives; terminate the performance of or affirm the contract, communication either of them in a reasonable amount of time (Stocznia Gdanska SA v. Latvian Shipping Company (2002)). Since Peter has opted to stay at the house and continue running it as a guest house, he has decided to opt for the affirmation of the contract, which will be affected just by merely continuing with his obligations of running the business while maintaining a healthy profit (Davenport v. R (1877)). Thus, Peter is advised to affirm the contract and apply for an order of specific performance by exercising his right of election and issue a claim in damages.

Counseling Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Counseling - Essay Example The main types are ‘anorexia nervosa and binge-eating and usually develop during adolescence or early adulthood’ (Natl. Inst. Of Mental Health). This disorder usually ‘co-occurs with psychiatric disorders like substance abuse, anxiety disorder and depression’ (American Psychiatric Association 2000). People with anorexia consider themselves as overweight although they are already the opposite. They tend to avoid food and meals, become picky and eat only in small quantities. They constantly check their body weight and engage in weight control techniques like too much exercise or ‘purging by means of vomiting and abuse of laxatives, enemas, and diuretics’ (American Psychiatric Association 2000). On the other hand, binge-eaters eat until over full, eat large amounts even though not hungry and don’t practice purging so they become overweight for their age and height. Some of the physiological myths about hunger and satiety include a common bel ief that our blood glucose levels affect our hunger and satiety. But research shows that this is untrue because ‘glucose levels remain fairly stable and do not fluctuate often’ (Stier 2009). Also, they say that our energy levels drop along with our blood glucose and this trigger hunger so we should eat again to restore our levels back to the standard energy level.

LitReview Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

LitReview - Essay Example Consideration of a threat doles out as a restriction or limitation that creates hindrances to perform required tasks as it dissuades to take action considering losses and costs. The whole process can be seen as a military action in which, concerned parties are restricted to take any military action that would affect the foreign policy objectives of the two involved states. Any sort of initiation of combating action is deterred. Rational choice theory is another theory that is influential in terms of cyber security. This theory allows contemplation and differentiation of varied accessible tactics. Cornish & Clarke (1986) inform that this theory emerged considering a notion related to cost benefit analysis. For example, a criminal conducts a crime when it appears advantageous to him. The theory also puts light on challenger’s haziness towards defender’s selected option. Nevertheless, the theory fails to resolve the strategized relationship between concerned parties, which are thoroughly reviewed in game theory (Understanding Society, 2008). The challengers select their intended defenders diligently and also work on their combating strategies considering previously employed strategies by the defenders. According to Cavusoglu, Raghunathan & Yue (2008), Decision theory is weak in handling the challengers’ worked out strategies and revisiting of defender’s actions because as per the theory, defender regards challenger’s devised performances as ‘exogenous’. According to the game theory, defender’s choices and challenger’s actions are endogenous. According to the decision theory, the scenarios according to which, the involved parties have to take action are predefined due to which, the actions performed by actors are regarded exogenous. Von Newmann and Morgenstern (1944) inform that each contestant is eligible to evaluate ‘variables’ of his actions only. There are rational rules involved in cons idering of variables and comprehension of variables of other’s actions, which cannot be determined statistically. Therefore, it has been required to explore a more viable theory that can be applied to cyber security. Researchers have moved towards game theory to comprehend the relationship between actors in cyber security issues. In addition, Nisan and Ronen (1999), Nisan (2007) inform about mechanism design that has assisted towards development of protection and privacy mechanisms. These mechanisms are designed with the support of systematic results. Because of usage of game theory, there are certain security decisions. These security decisions are supportive in terms of distribution of restricted resources, stability of professed problems and consideration of core inducement mechanisms. In game theoretical model, more than one person are involved in the decision making process and examining the decisions made where players are either directly or indirectly involved to share the resources provided in the game. Games relevant to the strategic security can be simple or complex. The game can be helpful in solving the simple as well as complex formulated security issues. The security issues can be related to the wireless or computer controlled communication programs. The strategy can provide a solution of the user privacy issues, etc. Utilizing this theoretical model, a defender keeps maintaining the security of the network and the system, while an attacker always tries to access the secure

Formal Analysis Essay for Art History Class Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Formal Analysis for Art History Class - Essay Example (55.4 x 37.78 cm) (Plate) 25 3/4 x 18 5/8 inches. (65.41 x 47.31 cm) (sheet, irregular) (Artnet Worldwide Corporation, 2013). As a result, the painting is clear and visible to the naked eye where the audience enjoys its artistic perfection. Most notable is the color engraving, soft-ground etching, and scorper that define the texture, boundary, and coloration of the painting. Andre Racz who was an artist and professor of painting and sculpture made the painting in North America, United States in 1945 (Artnet Worldwide Corporation, 2013) (20th Century) with an adoption of the North America culture although he was born in Romania. Notably, there is a pencil inscription depicting the sign and date of signing on the painting, Perseus Beheading Medusa (ARCADJA, 2013). The painting received credit from the Credit?Gift of funds from the Print and Drawing Council with an accession Number?P.99.12.1. The painting, Perseus Beheading Medusa depicts the image of Perseus cutting the head off the Me dusa. Medusa also refers to the guardian protectress (Wallace, 2003). More so, the media terms Medusa as a Gorgon or a monster who was conversely a very beautiful maiden (Wallace, 2003). Nevertheless, Medusa desecrated the goddess Athena's temple by sleeping there with Poseidon prompting Poseidon to turn her into a monster with live snakes covering her head (Wallace, 2003). As such, the media refers to the Medusa as a monster with a face of a hideous human female with living venomous snakes on her head. Although, Medusa had three beautiful sisters, Medusa was the only moral one and her beauty mesmerized Poseidon. On the contrary, Medusa did not care about Poseidon and hence he turned her and her sisters into monsters (Wallace, 2003). Because of the aspect of being a monster, any person looking directly at the Medusa would immediately turn into stone (Wallace, 2003). In the same kingdom, Perseus was the son of Danae who later fell in love with Polydectes (Wallace, 2003). Subject to t he love affair between Perseus mother and Polydectes, Polydectes hatched a plot to kill Perseus by sending him to fetch the head of Medusa the monster (Wallace, 2003). However, the gods loved Perseus and helped him to succeed in cutting Medusa’s head. Indeed, they gave Perseus winged sandals, a curved sword, a helmet that made Perseus invisible, and a mirror like shield which allowed him to see a reflection of Medusa’s face and to avoid being turned into stone (Wallace, 2003). With these materials, Perseus was able to cut the head of Medusa and hence the painting according to the media. In addition, the media asserts that later on, the hero Perseus used the head of Medusa as a weapon before handing over the head to the goddess of Athena (Wallace, 2003). The painting, Perseus Beheading Medusa is a bronze sculpture and has been one of the most famous statues in modern art. At the time of producing this painting, Hayter and other artists were working at Atelier 17 where t hey were actively experimenting in color printing techniques. The painting has a dull look and depicts the sketchy image of a person holding a head. The person is also holding a sword on the right hand. The painting has artist's proof, signed, dated, titled, and inscribed "A/A" in pencil at the lower margin (ARCADJA, 2013). It has a very good, dark impression, a warm plate tone, and inky edges (ARCADJA, 2013). The black lines

A common foreign and security policy for the EU, a bright future or an Essay

A common foreign and security policy for the EU, a bright future or an unachievable dream - Essay Example Through the evolution of events and treaties leading up to the Treaty on European Union (Maastricht), The European Union (TEU) emerged in 1992 as the organization encompassing a â€Å"three pillar structure† in common foreign and security policy (CFSP) and â€Å"justice and home affairs†3. Since 1992, the goal of TEU has been â€Å"The onus . . . to develop credibility, expertise the basis for a political power of its own 4.† While it is the combination of the three prong structure that comprises TEU, and without the third prong of â€Å"justice and home affairs,† certainly it would be difficult if not impossible for the first two to be pursued; it nonetheless is the first two, or CFSP, that this paper concerns itself with. As would be expected, the coming together of cultural and political forces which combine to form the EU result in dynamic policy making decisions with respect to CFSP. It is imperative to remember that the council members who sit on the EU come from individual countries with sovereign governing bodies within each of the separate member countries5. Yet the members elected to the EU are attempting to make policy with respect to a â€Å"community† of nation-states that have defined borders and a common interest in defense of those borders, while the interests of the countries independently may be very different6. It would be impossible to make progress if the scope of focus here was not limited to â€Å". . . common policy development, and evidence of convergence, as either a prompt – or a consequence – of involvement in the EU process7.† Likewise, it becomes important to consider, too, that the EU policy cannot realistically be considered within the geograp hical boundaries of just the present day member countries 8. In other words, while the members states and representatives of the EU were coming together to identify issues of foreign policy and defense for themselves as a community, there were still the considerations of

Southwest Airlines selections system Case Study

Southwest Airlines selections system - Case Study Example Southwest is also the largest carrier based on scheduled domestic departures.. Yearend results for 2006 marked Southwest's 34th consecutive year of profitability. Southwest became a major airline in 1989 when it exceeded the billion-dollar revenue mark. Southwest is the United States' most successful low-fare, high frequency, point-to-point carrier(southwest.com 2007)" However, the success of the airline did not only revolve on how they deal with the customers in which majority of the businesses deems that they are the most important element of the company, South West airlines also deals with their employees which the management also deems that it is very important to give them the right compensation as the said company believes in meritocracy wherein they tend to give rewards for the employees in order for them to do more. With this, the company gives incentives and perks for the employees. With this, there are a lot of individuals who wishes to be employed in the said company. To date, the said company provides work for 33,000 total employees. Considering the fact that the company has the prestige and volume of applicants, the interesting part that one must look into and garners interest is the selection process. Of course, it is an established fact that due to the aforementioned premises, the selection process is much different from other employment method. The question, how the selection process is done in line with the standards of the company and the demand of the job without sacrificing the prestige and the name established by the company This is indeed a subject that is worth dealing with specially, the selection system of the company. The company focuses on the strength and weakness of an individual in which, this is the basis on how an employee is selected. Of course, there is an advantage for those people who can project their strength much more than their weakness in a certain job description but this kind of bearing is not the sole basis of the company in order for one to be employed in the job. There are instances that hired applicants are assessed how they can adjust their weakness into strength and how a job description could be suited in an individual's personality- even if it means that a person's weakness is the main reason of why he/she is employed. Petree (2003) further added that "Southwest philosophy is to hire for attitude and train for skill," and having a process for assessing and developing needed skills for the job is a part of the learning management strategy. "That done, we also want to focus on increasing people's strengths-not always focusing on where you may have development opportunities, but where you have strengths that we want to enhance to make you even more effective in your job" Upon analyzing the costs that the company shoulders whether direct or indirect has something to do with the operation of the company. In this case, some companies would suggests that the lesser the cost, the better and the more it would benefit the company. There are a lot of considerations that are needed in order for its impact in the company to be analyzed. In this case, one should look into a more concise and deeper perspective. This means that we should look into the price that the company should pay in order for the said system to be utilized by the company. If we are to analyze, the company

Jury Nullification Paper Essay Example for Free

Jury Nullification Paper Essay Jury nullification is a constitutional doctrine that allows juries to acquit defendants who are technically criminals guilty, but who do not deserve punishment. It occurs in a trial when a jury reaches a verdict contrary to the judges instructions as to the law. A jury verdict contrary to the letter of the law does not belong only to the particular case before it. If a pattern of acquittals, however, develops in response to repeated attempts to prosecute a statutory offense, it can have the de facto effect of invalidating the statute. A pattern of jury nullification may indicate public opposition to an unwanted legislative enactment. In the past, it was feared that may unduly influence a judge alone or a panel of public officials to follow established legal practice, even if such practice had drifted from its origins. In most modern Western legal systems, however, often instruct juries only serve as finders of facts, whose role is to determine the veracity of the evidence, and the weight accorded to evidence, to implement these tests the law and reach a verdict, but not decide what the law is . Jury Nullification â€Å"It is not only the juror’s right, but his duty to find the verdict according to his own best understanding, judgment, and conscience, though in direct opposition to the direction of the court.† This is what John Adams said of jury nullification. John Jay, who was the first justice of the Supreme Court said, â€Å"The jury has the right to judge both the law as well as the fact in controversy.† So what is jury nullification and how does it influence courtroom proceedings and judicial practices? The definition of jury nullification according to thefreedictionary.com website jury nullification is defined as a sanctioned doctrine wherein members of a  jury disregard either the evidence presented or the instructions of the judge in order to reach a verdict based upon their own consciences. It espouses the concept that jurors should be the judges of both law and fact. The doctrine of jury nullification is based one important things, one that a juror can never be punished for the verdict they bring back to the judge, and second that a defendant cannot ever be retried once the jury has returned to the courtroom with a not guilty verdict. The first case of jury nullification in British law dates back to 1670 in trial of William Mead and William Penn, (William Penn would later go on to be the founder of the Province of Pennsylvania) these two men were charged in England for unlawful assembly, which was a law that was aimed at preventing different religious groups that were not noticed by the crown from worshipping. Both of these men were clearly guilty of breaking the law according to British law and the judge presiding over the case demanded that the jury find William Mean and William Penn guilty, but the jury refused to find these two men guilty because they felt that the law itself Jury Nullification was unjust. The judge continued to insist that the jury find these two men guilty, and the jury repeatedly refused, the judge became so infuriated with the jurors that he threw the jurors in prison. The highest court in England ordered that the jurors be released and established into common law the integrity of jurors in criminal cases. In America the Founding Fathers recognized the relevance of letting jurors determine not only the guilt or innocence of the person on trial, but the fairness of the law in which the person is charged with breaking. In more recent cases, in California a jury convicted Ed Rosenthal in two-thousand three of growing marijuana which was a violation of federal law. During the case the jury did not know and was never allowed to hear that not only was Ed Rosenthal growing medical marijuana for medical patients, but he was growing and harvesting the marijuana for the city of Oakland, California. When the trial ended and the jury found out the true facts of the case they were outraged and the foreman of the jury was quoted in the New York Times as saying â€Å"it is the most horrible mistake I have ever made in my entire life.† Should Ed Rosenthal b een convicted of growing marijuana? I feel that he should not have been convicted and the jury had a right to know the truth about who Ed Rosenthal was growing the marijuana for and for who it was being provided to. Another case would be that of Richard  Pen of Florida, who is serving a twenty-five year prison sentence in Florida for distribution of a controlled substance. Richard Pen was a forty-six year old paraplegic man who became a paraplegic after being involved in a very serious car accident that badly damaged his back, and after having back surgery that did not go as planned, Richard Pen was left in indescribable amounts of pain. Richard Pen realized that Jury Nullification. He could relieve his pain by taking large amounts of opiate painkillers, but the amount of medication his doctor had prescribed him was not enough, and they could not prescribe him anymore because it would exceed the amount of what his doctor could legally prescribe. Richard Paey felt that he had no choice but to obtain the medication illegally and he began photocopying the prescription and used them to get his medication from local pharmacies. Richard Paey was arrested and was charged with distribution of a controlled substance, but he never sold the medication, and never gave the medication away, he only used the medication for himself so that he could live somewhat of a normal existence and be free from the excruciating pain that he was in. But once again because of the way the laws are written the jury had no choice but to return to the court with a guilty verdict. In these two cases, I do feel that they did break the law, but should they have been found guilty of the charges against them? I do not feel that they should, and if the jurors were allowed to hear the truth about these cases these two men, Ed Rosenthal, and Richard Paey would not be serving time in prison, and since the Supreme Court ruled that prosecutors on the federal level can continue to arrest and charge people who use medical marijuana, you should expect to see more and more cases like this crowding up our courtrooms. You will probably see more and more cases such as Richard Paey, and other patients like him who are just trying to manage their pain and try to live somewhat of a normal life crowding up our courtrooms as well. So what can us as citizens do to undo the injustice of the Richard Paey’s and the Ed Rosenthal’s? Well unless you are serving on a jury panel, nothing, but if you happen to get a jury Jury Nullification Summons in the mail, do not ignore it as I have done many, many times before although I did have valid reasons for not being able to serve as a juror, I had a disabled parent and I was his sole caregiver, instead send back the summons stating that you are available to serve as a juror, and who knows you might be able to undo some  of the injustices of the judicial system, and keep an innocent person from serving a lengthy prison sentence. References http://legal-dictionary.thefreedictionary.com/jury+nullification http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,163877,00.html http://www.lewrockwell.com/orig10/emal1.1.1.html

Two Items on the Same Desk Essay Example for Free

Two Items on the Same Desk Essay The first six weeks of school are always a joy . They are the spring time of teaching. The last six weeks? Those weeks can be, in the immortal words of Thomas Paine, â€Å"The times that try mens souls.† Those are the days when teachers consider retirement regardless of whether theyve been teaching for three years or thirty. Mr. Hemphill was nearing the 30 year mark. Today Mr. Hemphill, as students always called him to his face, felt more like the â€Å"old Mr. Hemphill† he knew students often called him behind his back. Not quite 60, his friends, all of whom referred to him as just â€Å"Bob,† often commented on how young and fit he appeared for a man his age. To the high school students at Olympus High he was ancient. Ninety percent of the other teachers were youngsters under 40, most under thirty. â€Å"How old are you?† he was often asked. â€Å"Older than you can imagine,† hed reply. â€Å"I used to teach Shakespeare.† â€Å"You still teach it; we read Romeo and Juliet first semester.† â€Å"No, no,† he would grin. â€Å"I used to teach Shakespeare the MAN. Thats why he uses so many puns in his plays.† Mr. Hemphill never gave a quiz or test without including a bonus question, always a pun of some kind. He didnt feel very punny today. He just felt tired, weary to the bone. On his now cleared, moments earlier cluttered desk, were two items. The first was the true source of his fatigue. Seventh (the final) period of his day Mr. Hemphill had been doing his best to lead a literary discussion with a class of 38 students. Most of them hadn’t read the mere seven pages of the novel hed assigned for homework and upon which the discussion was about. Suddenly a piece of paper floated into the air from somewhere in the middle of the room, and past three or four desks. It lighted softly as a tiny bird at his feet. He picked it up. The paper, which had floated like a bird, was as welcome to Mr. Hemphill as bird poop. Indeed, the less euphemistic form of the word â€Å"poop† came to mind as he saw what was on the paper. In graphic, splendidly detailed tagger art color was a picture of a penis and scrotum on a skateboard. Mr. Hemphill commented on the quality of the art and expressed his wish that the author would channel his obvious talents in a more productive manner. What he almost said was that the artist must surely have spent hours and hours studying and handling his subject in order to depict it so 2. accurately. He didnt say it however because Mr. Hemphill in his core saw himself as a professional. His clothes, though not expensive, were ironed and neat, his shoes polished. The years hed spent in front of classrooms had taught him losing his temper was not professional. More importantly, it did you no good. He had taken a copy of the paper to the vice principal with the names of those he was certain were responsible. To the class as a whole he expressed his disappointment that some of them who had such grand potential for greatness were choosing to waste it on depravity. He meant it too and said it with great sincerity. A few looked as if they agreed with him. Several others, and probably the ones responsible, snickered albeit surreptitiously. â€Å"They think Im just an old, old guy from another planet,† he thought at the time. When he looked at the item now he felt disappointment once again, and anger, most definitely, and hurt. For some reason it definitely hurt. Of course it most likely had not been meant for him. It had a boys name on it, Nick ________, and it was likely a gang thing. When a gang member gives a guy a picture of a male private part it is a message. Hes calling the guy out, insulting him, asking him what hes going to do about it. Sometimes a gang guy draws a picture of the female equivalent. That is a worse insult, and implies the recipient wont or cant do anything about it because he’s just a P______. â€Å"Dont judge these guys† Mr. Hemphill told himself. â€Å"You dont know what the house or apartment they go home to is like. You dont know whats been done to them, what happens on their block, in their hood every day.† â€Å"Now why did they pose the penis on a skateboard?† he asked himself. The skateboard could be said to add an element of humor to the drawing. Humor to the deprived and ignorant who felt any fellow who farted was funny. But humor reflects that there is humanity somewhere in there. Maybe divinity too? Mr. Hemphill shrugged, and sighed, and turned the distasteful drawing over. Next to it was a letter from a former student, Sean. Hed found Mr. Hemphill earlier that day at break and came up to him to give him the letter. The letter wasnt to Mr. Hemphill. It was a letter to a college he was applying to. He was supposed to tell the college a little about himself and why he would be a great student to accept. Though the letter wasnt to Mr. Hemphill, the first half of it was all about him. â€Å"I owe my knowledge and ever-lasting developing love of the Literary Arts to Mr. Hemphill† the letter said. â€Å"He taught me the power stories have, and helped me learn the basic skills every writer needs. Because of him hopefully I will be able one day to consider myself a successful screen writer.† Mr. Hemphill re-read those lines three times savoring every word. He remembered Sean as he had looked as a freshmen. Short, pudgy, big glasses. It was a clichà © perhaps, but at first glance Mr. 3. Hemphill had thought that if he had a book of slang and looked up the word, â€Å"nerd† Seans photo would be beside the definition. He was smart and determined and wanted to learn. Sean wasnt as short or pudgy any more. He was starting to look like a handsome, confident young man. He would come into his own in college. â€Å"I didnt teach him anything, not really,† Mr. Hemphill reflected, â€Å"I just steered him a little.† What were the odds of receiving both these items on the same day? Mr. Hemphill remembered the year hed had Sean, his freshmen year. In the fall while he was absent and had a sub, some students who werent his students came to his fourth period pretending to be his students. Two of them distracted the substitute while the others stole some things off and in his desk. Somebody even snatched a big Muhammad Ali poster hed had on the wall for years. â€Å"Im so fast when I turn off the light switch on the wall, I can go jump into bed before its dark!† Ali said on the poster. Hemphill had used it for years to instruct students about hyperbole, and pride. The worst thing about the incident was that they took his pencil can. It wasnt worth anything, but it was something his oldest daughter had made for him when she was in kindergarten or first grade. Shed put paper around a small can and drawn hearts all over it, and it said, â€Å"I love you daddy† on it. Hemphill kept it on his desk with pencils in it for years. Every time he looked at it he remembered the way his Samantha, now a young mother, had looked the day she gave it to him. Why had they stolen that? Eventually the guilty students got ratted out and punished, but the stolen items were forever lost. Spring of that same year in his sixth period students got together and bought him a big brand new Muhammad Ali poster, nicer than the other one. They had gotten a card and all the students signed it and presented it to him during finals week. Those were the worst and the best things students had ever done to or for Mr. Hemphill throughout his whole career. They had happened during the same school year. These two items on the desk happened during the same school day. Looking at the two items, the gross picture and the letter were a dà ©jà  vu of that previous school year. The two items in a way represented of all the days and all the years he had been a public school teacher. How many of his students’ fathers had pencil can mementos on their desks? How many of his students, if asked to write an essay or a quick write about a hero, someone they admired, would turn in a blank sheet of paper? He remembered that he had asked to go to this school in this part of town. He’d started out at Capital High where students came from the town’s nicer neighborhoods and most of the parents had jobs. Innocent and idealistic, he’d wanted to go where he could combat ignorance and be a â€Å"light in the darkness.† After 30 years the idealism still smoldered in his heart. When that flame went out it would be time to quit. 4. Mr. Hemphill pushed himself away from his desk. Along the side wall uncorrected papers mounted up in little baskets. They would have to wait. He was too tired today to correct papers. Mr. Hemphill walked to the back window. There he looked out at the blue sky. He placed his hand over his heart, and then flung the hand outward like a fishermen who has just cleaned a fish and then flings the raw guts out into the open sea. It was a ritual started when his kids were small, a way to not carry the cares of the day home in the evening. Then he went home. He looked forward to kissing his wife and listening to his youngest daughter, a high school senior, tell him about her day. When he left the room one of the items on his desk was now in the waste basket beside the door. The other was inside his grade book tucked under his arm, gripped tightly beside his heart.