Cultural Event Report Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 19

Cultural Event Report - Essay Example Among the attendees were myself and five of my friends. All cell phones were to have been switched off completely as even video and music recordings were both proscribed. People were supposed to have dressed up, since the festival was a nocturnal show. Upon attending the festival themed Power of Our Voice, our group’s initial reaction was that of excitement and amazement, as different performing artistes graced the stage. Among the many performances that graced the occasion, Aretha Franklin and D’Angelo’s performances remained the most appealing. Aretha Franklin’s performance was central in the festival, as it remained present from the onset of the show, right to the four-day festival’s closing night. Franklin sang the famous song I have Never Loved a Man, much to the delight of the mammoth crowd. The song presented Franklin with the power to showcase her gift in working out her vocals. As she sang, slideshows were screened to help the fans sing along. However, technical glitches and the garbling of sound mixes accompanied the show as minor hitches. At the same time, a greater part of the audience felt shortchanged by the fact that Franklin’s greatest hit, Respect was not featured during the festival. While many cited oversight, others thought that lack of adequate time had precipitated this mishap (Rothman, 1). Nevertheless, the spirit of discontentment among the fans drowned in the sea of glee as Franklin eventually changed into her gold-accented caftan costume. As the stage lights finally came alive upon her, her regal carriage became outstanding and made her maintain her centrality in the stage. Because of Franklin’s astounding performance in this music festival, Franklin became the first person to receive the Power Award, because of her contributions to the world of music. In this festival, D’Angelo attempted to recapture his streak as the soul and R&B

The adversarial system in England and Wales Essay Example for Free

The adversarial system in England and Wales Essay The adversarial system of law involves a prosecutor defending his/ her clients in the court of law in the presence of a jury. The jury’s role is to make decisions that will be used in passing the sentence. In this system, the lawyers determine the rulings that are passed. â€Å"Lawyers play a central role in presenting each sides case (Mallenson 11). †This is because their intelligence in solving disputes will determine the sentence passed. Therefore, justice will be served when a prosecutor convinces both the judge and the jury that their defendant is innocent. The accused is not mandated to give evidence but should they choose to defend themselves, they will be cross examined by both parties. In England, the adversarial system is overly institutionalised. The prosecutor has to convince the jury beyond reasonable doubt that the accused committed the crime. The rule of law entails that the law enforcement agents can only make decisions and exercise their duties when as the law suggests. The rules of revealing evidence are developed based on the laws of England and Wales. The rules in this case give the judge limited power. Hence the roles played by judges in the adversarial system are passive since their duties are to ensure that both parties comply with the court rules and they will give direction on the way forward when disputes arise. The adversarial system, the rules of evidence are strict and the stand of prosecutors should be based on facts. For this reason, the cases are well prepared as prosecutors conduct intensive and extensive investigation prior to the court proceedings. The jury is also supposed to be impartial such that they represent what they consider as the truth so as to enable justice to be served. The adversarial system ensures fair trial as the state is not biased against the defendant. Key principles which govern the behaviour of advocates for the prosecution and the defence For advocates to perform well there are certain principles which they must follow. The key principles are the Expediency principle and the legality principles. The expediency principle also called opportunity principle which ensures that prosecutors need to be well disciplined and discrete so that they can represent the defendants impartially. This means that they are not supposed to handle cases just because they have been presented to the courts but because they want to bring about change and help justice take its course. The legality principle ensures that prosecutors have enough, reliable and valid evidence especially in the early stages. Moreover, the prosecutor is not supposed to be influenced by outside forces (Fionda 8). The key principles are father enhanced by other principles some of them are: The prosecutors should treat each case uniquely and not relate it to similar cases before. They must be fair, independent and should not be influenced by anyone or anything, they have to work in the interests of promoting fair justice and not to fulfil their personal ambitions, they have a responsibility of guiding and advising investigators whenever possible. They also review cases and ensure all evidence is presented to the courts. The prosecutors work is to assist the courts to reach a proper and fair sentence that is backed by sufficient evidence and facts so as to assist the courts to come up with a valid conclusion. They will do this by looking into various matters such as making sure they are conversant with the guidelines on the court procedures with regard to the case; do background research on the victims which will include if they have faced any previous charges. They will also need to make sure that there are fewer barriers that will influence their investigations for instance restraining orders. The prosecutor therefore is useful to the courts because they may tell the court how the victim should be sentenced depending on the crimes they have committed. This is because they prepare a plea and Sentence document before sentencing and they present it to the courts. The prosecutors will therefore ensure fair trial by following up court proceedings by constantly reviewing what is presented to the courts as correct and relevant. Fair trial is also furthered when they address new cases afresh by looking into all the supporting evidence so that they can argue their points in court. In enhancing equality, they do this by making sure that they are not influenced by other people or their personal feelings getting in the way of their work and they will present wrong judgements. They also make sure that the court legislators are informed of what is expected from them as they are constantly advised on the areas where they have doubts. â€Å"Adversarialism will only be valid if both sides are equally matched and every party is treated equally (Ian K, 4). † Presumption of innocence is the state of being considered innocent until the court says you are guilty. This is a right that every accused person is entitled to. The prosecutors therefore are the ones who help the courts prove that a person is ‘guilty’ or ‘not guilty’ beyond any reasonable doubt. The courts refer to as the burden of proof and will only take place when there is evidence. And the prosecutors do this by collecting and presenting the evidence. If the prosecutors or the court has doubt in the evidence presented, the prosecutors will have to be given extra time so that they present what is correct.

Tourism And Its Impact On Nation Branding Tourism Essay

Tourism And Its Impact On Nation Branding Tourism Essay How a country is perceived, both domestically and from abroad, from the quality of its goods and services, to the attractiveness of its culture and its tourism and investment opportunities, to its politics, economic policies and foreign policy, can be shaped under a brand. In this section, we will focus on tourism, its impact on nation branding, its effect on GDP and the benefits of tourism branding. In the latter part of this section, we are going to analyse the tourism industries of India and Malaysia, their successful tourism campaigns, and further scope of improvement in the respective areas. We will also try to enumerate what are the major constituents of a tourism industry in any country and their relative importance, in the two countries taken as our focus areas. The early history of tourism tells us that people travelled from one place to another mainly because of food or shelter. But in due course of time, large scale mobility of people was caused by the natural elements of human pressure, livelihood or a better standard of living. In the words of UNESCO, tourism is a traditional instrument, which enables culture to be rehabilitated and made known to the rest of the world. Tourism has become a popular leisure activity. International tourism activities have grown by leaps and bounds in the past years.   With the dismantling of national boundaries, the tourism scenario is changing. There is a steady growth in the number of tourist arrivals and more satisfactorily the average spending of foreign tourist has gone up. Tourism is vital for many countries such as Egypt, Thailand, Malaysia and Maldives and last but not the least, India. The associated goods and service industries in these countries have sprouted to aid the tourism industry. These include transportation services, hospitality services such as accommodations including hotels and resorts, and entertainment venues like amusement parks, shopping malls and casinos etc. It is universally accepted that government promotion of tourism is a good idea that brings excellent return on investments. It generates jobs like no other, and its development also leads to development of infrastructure, education and related industries. However, promoting tourism successfully requires setting a context that will allow the tourists to appreciate what is on offer. THAT context is the brand or the overall image of a country. If a country is widely viewed as secure, modern, clean and efficient, chances of getting tourists to frequent attractive destinations are good. If a nation is known for its unique features whether they be cultural, manmade or natural, there will a positive curiosity towards them encouraging tourists to discover first hand something new. On the other hand, if a country is known for civil war, crime and corruption, inadequate infrastructure or unfriendly population, inviting tourists to your country is a mammoth task. They either require pretence of not existing, or there will be a lot of convincing to be done that it doesnt impact the travel experience in any adverse manner. Tourist choice behaviour is one of the most needed studies by today. Tourists take into account the various factors in terms of facilities, local attractions etc, before choosing their destination. Local attractions, accessibility, facilities are some of the factors that generate tourist flow to a particular location. Absence of any of these facilities may deter the tourists from travelling. Hence, tourism has to be seen in totality and as comprising of its constituents mainly attraction, hospitality and the transport facilities in the country. We are going to look at each of them in the following pages. The model that this section follows is as under: Attractions A  tourist attraction  is a place of interest where  tourists  visit, typically for its inherent or exhibited cultural value, historical significance, natural or built beauty, or amusement opportunities. Attractions are the major factors, which ensure the flow of domestic or international tourists to a specific place. Some examples include historical places,  monuments,  zoos,  aquaria,  museums  and  art galleries,  botanical gardens, buildings and structures (e.g.,  castles,  libraries, former  prisons,  skyscrapers,  bridges), national  parks  and  forests, theme parks  and  carnivals,  living history museums,  ethnic enclave  communities,  historic trains  and cultural events. The history of attractions has often been inextricably linked with the development of travel industry in any country. It can be assumed generally that older attractions (either manmade or natural) were not designed to appeal to travellers. Some of the best examples include the Tajmahal, Niagara Falls and the Pyramids. Most modern tourist attractions on the other hand, have been purpose-built for visitors, like theme parks or casinos. However, in the Asian context, this may differ as the attractions are generally perceived as more elaborate culture and history. The definition of attractions has been changing over time; and a few broad classifications of tourist attractions can be as follows: Natural Man-Made Outdoor Indoor Heritage Based Purpose Built for tourism Special Global Events Local Festivals/Events Drawing Power (high) Drawing power (low) The growth of small local attractions has also been manifold due to an increase in the number of independent off-beat travellers. Interest in exotic destinations and wildlife has led to the development and upkeep of modern zoos and safari parks. The continuing trend of increased leisure time, greater mobility and more disposable income has led to a boom in the attractions sector. Parallel attractions like theme parks have also emerged, and a number of shopping centres and waterfronts have become tourist attractions in their own right. Culture and Tourism Culture is a human construct, existing in representations and understanding by the people. Culture defines a society in a way which makes it different from the next. Contemporary societies are not isolated, insular entities. There is a constant exchange of ideas, beliefs and faiths; travel and tourism undoubtedly play a significant role in this. Culture and creative industries are being increasingly used to promote destinations and enhance their competitiveness and attractiveness. Many locations are now developing their tangible and intangible cultural assets as a means of developing comparative advantages in an increasingly competitive tourism marketplace. People, when they visit a country or a destination or a city, are always keen to visit the sites that are important, the places of distinction, the question is always what is there to see, what is there to experience and the destinations provide further encouragement through the printed material, the information, the brochures that they provide to visitors. There are also wider benefits of developing relationship between culture and tourism such as enhanced image and support for the cultural sector. Culture creates distinctiveness in a crowded global market. Local communities are beginning to come together to develop cultural products for tourism rather than competing directly with one another. New policies are likely to feature new structures and projects involving public-private partnership and bringing together a wider range of stakeholders to use culture not only to make destinations attractive for visitors, but also to promote regions as destinations to live, work and invest in. Local communities are not only hosts; they define the sense of the place, providing cultural experience for tourists. Culture in all its forms is likely to figure strongly in the tourism product and promotion of most regions, even those which have traditionally relied on their natural assets, such as sun and beach or mountains, for their attractiveness. Destinations are also trying to increase their comparative advantage by adding to their stock of cultural attractions. They are also trying to develop their intangible culture and creativity. Culture creates authenticity and distinctiveness in the global tourism market. In this regard, tourism experiences that can connect people and visitors to local cultures are very important. In many cases, destinations are also linked to specific cultural events (e.g. connected to famous places, people or historical events) which can also play a catalyst role in this development. The Cultural Heritage of India is a vibrant mosaic of lively and magnificent colours. Indian Culture encompasses a unique blend of food, fashion, festivals, dance and music that spellbound the four corners of the world in its euphoric nature.  India is a popular destination and boasts a cultural heritage that is worth exploring. As a tourist one has many choices to explore from cuisine to dances to music. All diverse in nature encompass to form the culture of India. Very few countries in the world have such an ancient and diverse culture as Indias. Dating back to over 5000 years old civilization, Indias culture has been enriched by successive waves of migration which were absorbed into the Indian way of life. The Indian culture comprises of Indian music, Indian Dance, Indian cuisines, costumes and Indian Festivals.   Internet has also become a universal tool which offers the possibility to tourists to package destinations and events with accommodation and travel. Architecture and Tourism Because tourism is such an enormous industry, which involves monuments, museums, and other special purpose buildings, it is not a phenomenon that can be controlled. It always stands within the cultural and political conditions of the environment, and the tastes and habits of tourists thronging a place. Everything from historical monuments to exotic holiday destinations has been redesigned and packaged for mass consumption. As a result, the histories of specific sites have been re-conceptualized. Some have been preserved and celebrated, while others have been left to decay. Monuments like the Tajmahal or the Cellular Jail were not built for tourist purposes; however they have been converted into one now. A more contemporary example of construction for attraction, and certainly one that is totally synonymous with its location is the Eiffel Tower in Paris. The association is incredibly strong and more amazing given the fact that Eiffels structure to celebrate the Worlds Expo was designed for disassembly and should have come down in 1909 after just 20 years. Possibly the biggest construction sites of all are to be found today in the Middle East which has made huge strides to develop other sources of wealth including tourism, by constructing hotels and islands. Dubai has made the biggest splash, with the Burj Al Arab embedding deep in everybodys psyche. One of the best architectural tourism spots in the world is China. Chinese architecture ranging from the various dynasties that ruled it has undergone a great evolution. People recognize Chinese architecture from  The Great Wall of China  and the beautiful pagodas. But there is more to Chinese architecture than that. People who are interested in  architecture  will find China to be a virtual unexplored region which has some of the best monuments and buildings.   China  is a country of architectural marvels both ancient and modern and it is one of the best tourist destinations for people who love architecture.   Some notable Chinese architecture that are a must see are Terra Cotta Warriors in the Mausoleum of Qin Shi Huang in Xian, the Hanging Temple, Forbidden City etc. In Budapest, an eastern European country, architectural tourism has been promoted very well. Monasteries, churches, caves, Basilica etc are some well known attractions which pulls throngs of tourists here annually. History and Tourism Tourism is a powerful economic development tool. Tourism creates jobs, provides new business opportunities and strengthens local economies. When heritage and history is paid attention to and used to our advantage, it also helps to protect a nations natural and cultural treasures and improve the quality of life for residents and visitors alike. In the past, the tourism industry saw its primary role as marketing ready products to travellers, such as package tours to Mumbai. But countries are now looking for new ways to attract travellers, and today culture and history are more likely to overlap than any other domains. A concrete example is India, which with its potpourri of different religions and faiths, is a centre for people from countries following similar faith. Tourists from countries like Thailand, Indonesia or Burma (which follow Buddhism as well) desirous of visiting Bodhgaya are attracted to the history and heritage of the country. This can be exploited to promote history and heritage tourism making India a lucrative destination for people sharing the same faith. Also an example is the International Kite Festival held in Gujarat every year, which is slowly turning into a big crowd puller year after year. Cashing in on the history of a place and promoting heritage tourism refers to travelling to experience the places and activities that authentically represent the stories and people of the past and the present. Food and Tourism Food is something an increasing number of us remember from our travels. Like never before, holiday makers are choosing where they go by what they can put in their stomachs. Food is a manifestation of a destinations culture which can be invaluable for giving travellers a hands-on experience. You can open a different door with every meal. The last few years has seen an incredible shift in the way holidays are created and marketed, and that is because people demand authentic experiences. Eating traditional dishes is considered very important on a holiday. People also willingly miss meals in their hotel or resort to try out local restaurants. Tourists are becoming more experimental as well as sophisticated in what they eat during a vacation. Supermarkets have also played a major role in making foreign foods more available. Food festivals are another crowd puller. Singapore hosts an annual food festival each July celebrating a different aspect of its culture. The colourful opening of the  West Bengal Tourism  and  Food Festival  is a reflection of the states positive efforts to boost the tourism sector.   Indian cuisine ranges from the simple and bland to the lavish and complexly pungent. Each region has its specialty cuisine, though some dishes are available throughout the country. All the states have their own signature dishes which are world famous and tempt the tourists to visit those states, for having an authentic experience. Indian sweets and various varieties of tea, especially Assam Tea, boost tourism in India. The cooking styles and flavours of every region of India is unique and differs from each other. While Kashmir is famous for its 24-course banquet- the Wazwan; coastal Goa, Kerala and Bengal specialize in fish, seafood and coconut-based dishes. Gujarat and Tamil Nadu are the best states to taste vegetarian specialties. Bengal, Bikaner and Delhi are particularly famous for sweets. Food tourism includes all unique and memorable food experiences, not just four star or critically acclaimed restaurants. Price is not necessarily indicative of quality. According to industry research, true food tourists are perfectly happy at a roadside cafà © in the middle of nowhere, as long as there is something memorable about their visit. Transport Relevance Though transportation as a topic can be discussed independently, tourism cannot thrive without travel. Transportation is an integral part of the tourism industry. It has been largely due to the improvements in mobility that tourism has expanded to such a stage. Transportation links various cities and countries in some cases. Tourism is all about travel, and the role of transportation in its operation cannot be overemphasized. Accessibility and tourism activities have broken barriers and opened formerly off-the-beaten-track areas to visitors through aggressive marketing of some far-off paradise with the availability of transport. It is, more often than not, seen as only that part of tourism which is in charge of bringing the tourists to their destinations; provide a means of getting around the place and leaving it once the stipulated duration is over. In fact, the transportation system of a tourist destination has a huge impact on the tourism experience which explains how people travel and why they choose different forms of holidays and destinations. Access to tourism sites relies heavily upon the state of infrastructure, and the efficiency of the public transport system. Tourists arriving at international cities need mobility and few decide (or can afford) to hire private  transport. Because of this, the public  transport  system is an essential service for this population, especially in cities large enough to need bus, metro and train systems. However, in congested cities with weak public  transport  networks, the influx of tourists exerts additional demand pressure on the  transport  system. Modes Available There are five modes of transportation, based on the physical characteristics of the service offered and the right of way over which a transportation carrier operates. These are air, highway, rail and water, arranged in decreasing order of speed. All modes of transportation are regulated in some manner, be it economic or non-economic. Economic regulation has been reduced in a number of transportation markets in recent years, beginning with domestic airline deregulation in the United States in the late 1970s. Since then, many other countries have deregulated their national transportation systems to some degree, including air, highway and rail. Internationally, economic regulation has been reduced in some markets, with the European Union being a prime example of including not only air but other modes as well.   Passenger transportation plays a critical role in determining the success or failure of nearly every segment of tourism. Without a reliable and economic form of passenger transportation to, from and within a destination, enticing tourists to visit that destination may be very difficult. Island economies like Hawaii, Andaman Islands or Malaysia are almost fully dependent on air transport access. Off-beat destinations The transportation carrier may also become a destination in its own right, such as a few cruise liners in areas like Singapore, Malaysia, Caribbean and the Mexican Riviera. Other forms of transportation serving as destinations include Palace on Wheels, The Orient Express etc. For about the past four years, the travel industry in Asia and the Pacific has been undergoing a dynamic change, and the growth of low cost carriers has been cited as the single most important factor currently shaping the regions airline industry. Thus at the same time, tourism has also had a major impact on transport modes and networks through its ability to supply additional motivations for leisure and business travel. Due to the intensity of worldwide competition and product parity, positioning strategies will become a strategic weapon for tourism destinations. Tourist destinations, for example resorts which can be fairly similar, can succeed in developing strong and differentiated brands through excellent access to transportation facilities. Transport policies and decisions of governments can play a big role in the destinations available to tourists. If the public sector does not cope with the demand in terms of transport infrastructures, tourism industry might not develop in those regions. Hospitality Hospitality  is the relationship between guest and host, or the act or practice of being hospitable. Specifically, this includes the reception and entertainment of guests, visitors, or strangers,  resorts, membership clubs, conventions, attractions, special events, and other services for travellers and  tourists. Hospitality is about compensating/equalizing a stranger to the host, making him feel protected and taken care of, and at the end of his hosting, guiding him to his next destination. Cultures and subcultures vary in the extent to which one is expected to show hospitality to strangers, as opposed to personal friends or members of ones  in-group. The tourism industry has several components food, accommodation, place of attractions, transportation etc. All these components are related to hospitality. Hospitality and tourism experiences have important emotional dimensions that traditional marketing tend to underplay. By understanding the hospitality-based transaction between guests and hosts, marketers and commercial operators can deliver customers experiences through which to build customer loyalty and a robust business better able to withstand. The guest and host relationship has a long tradition, pre-dating modern hospitality and tourism businesses by thousands of years and universally evident across all societies. Hospitality creates an impression of hosting and hospitableness, which prioritizes guest experiences. The Indian civilization is one of the oldest on earth, and like every culture has its own favourite stories including some on hospitality. That of a simpleton readily sharing his meagre morsels with an uninvited guest, only to discover that the guest is a God in disguise, who rewards his generosity with abundance. That of a woman who lovingly cooks up all the  Khichdi she can afford, for everyone who is hungry till one day when she runs out of food for the last hungry person to whom she offers her own share, and is rewarded by the god in disguise with a never ending pot of Khichdi. Most Indian adults having grown up listening to these stories as children believe in the philosophy of Atithi Devo Bhava, meaning the guest is God. From this stems the Indian approach of graciousness towards guests at home, and in all social situations. Benefits of Tourism Branding While many regard branding as simply creating a new look and tagline, if done correctly, a genuine brand management strategy should positively influence all aspects of a nation. The reputation of the country we live in, work and study matters. An attractive and distinctive identity makes it easier for a city (and its citizens) to be preferred in any competitive setting because the place is seen to have qualities that resonate positively with key audiences and can enhance the well-being of its citizens. We can retain different campaigns for a country. They can include exports, education, foreign trade etc. All these should contribute to a clear identity of a nation. It is the tourism promotion in whatever form (advertising, PR, websites etc) that will have the biggest impact on the attitudes to a nation. Tourism is the acceptable public face of a national brand. Clarke (2000) has identified six benefits of branding related to tourism destination products (TDPs): As tourism is typically high involvement, branding helps to reduce the choice; Branding helps in reducing the impact of intangibility; Branding conveys consistency across multiple outlets and through time; Branding can reduce the risk factor attached to decision making about holidays; Branding facilitates precise segmentation; Branding helps to provide a focus for the integration of producer effort, helping people to work towards the same outcome. Impact on GDP Focussing exclusively on India in this section the tourism industry has contributed enormously in the flourishing graph of Indias economy by attracting a huge number of both foreign and domestic tourists travelling for both leisure and business purposes. As per the Travel and Tourism Competitiveness Report 2009 by the World Economic Forum, India is ranked 11th in the Asia Pacific region and 62nd overall, moving up three places on the list of the worlds attractive destinations. It is ranked the 14th best tourist destination for its natural resources and 24th for its cultural resources, with many World Heritage sites, both natural and cultural, rich fauna, and strong creative industries in the country. India also bagged 37th rank for its air transport network. The India travel and tourism industry ranked 5th in the long-term (10-year) growth and is expected to be the second largest employer in the world by 2019. The hotel and tourism industrys contribution to the Indian economy by way of foreign direct investments (FDI) inflows were pegged at US$ 2.1 billion from April 2000 to March 2010, according to the Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion (DIPP). According to the Travel Tourism Competitiveness Report 2009 brought out by the World Economic Forum, the contribution of travel and tourism to gross domestic product (GDP) is expected to be at US$ 187.3 billion by 2019. The report also states that real GDP growth for travel and tourism economy is expected to achieve an average of 7.7 per cent per annum over the next 10 years. Export earnings from international visitors and tourism goods are expected to generate US$ 51.4 billion (nominal terms) by 2019. Furthermore, the sector which accounted for 6.4 per cent of total employment in 2009 is estimated to rise to 7.2 per cent of total employment by 2019. Deeming the growing rate of the tourists arrival in the country, the Indian tourism industry designed a wide spectrum of holiday packages and cheaper airfares to attract more tourists. The booming success of Indian tourism industry has led to a drastic change in the hospitality department as well. The increase in the ratio of tourists resulted in the increase of room rates and also setting up of a wide range of hotels and other residing areas. The Indian tourism industry offers online booking system, one of the basic proofs of technological advancement in this sector. These online bookings are applicable for booking the air tickets via Internet by logging on to the website and also booking the hotel room of the place to be visited. The Role of Tourism Industry in India GDP also features medical tourism that includes traditional therapies like yoga, meditation, ayurveda, allopathy and other conventional systems of medicines is currently estimated at USD 333 million and is most likely to reach USD 2.2 billion by the year 2012. Analysis of India as a preferred tourist destination Tourism is the largest service industry in India. As we have seen in the previous section, it plays an extremely important role in the Indian economy by direct as well as indirect impact. Countries such as USA, UK, Singapore, Thailand and Australia feature high on the list of favourite tourist destinations. Which leads us to the million dollar question Where does India stand among other Preferred Holiday Destinations? India is a Land of all seasons, where beauty beckons, culture echoes, diversity delights and tradition talks. Those who reach India are greeted with a gracious Namaste, Namaskaaram, Vanakkam or Sat Sri Akal denoting warmth, hospitality and respect a tradition in tune with the countrys age-old motto Atithi Devo Bhava where the guest is treated as God. The Incredible India campaign focuses on the hospitality of our country, and the pristine and undiscovered lands it offers. The campaign has been running successfully for some time now, and has succeeded in pulling both domestic and international travellers to Indian destinations. Graciously endowed with mist clad mountain ranges, deep blue seas, enigmatic deserts, golden beaches, emerald green valleys, palm fringed backwaters on the one hand and unique art forms, exciting fairs and festivals, interesting pilgrim centres, exclusive heritage sites, royal forts, majestic monuments, architectural marvels and exotic flora and fauna on the other, this legendary land is unique in all aspects it is no wonder that India has emerged as one among the Top Five Tourist Hotspots of the world, with a tremendous increase in tourist traffic all through the year. Many factors have been collectively responsible for boosting our countrys economic reserves and the impact of Indias economic growth on tourism is increasingly being felt in niche sectors. India abounds in attractive and well-preserved historical sites, ancient monuments of architectural grandeur and not-so-ancient mosques/durgahs, churches and places of worship of other diverse faiths. India is also known for some of its fine beaches like Goa, Mamallapuram, Kovalam, Pondicherry, Puri-Konark etc. In addition island tourism has been developed at Andaman/Nicobar and Lakshadweep Islands. All across the country are wildlife sanctuaries whose areas extend over several thousands of square kilometres, where wildlife can be observed in their natural surroundings. Each sanctuary supports several species of wildlife, being well known for one particular species. In some cases, there are rare or even endangered species. India is a land of fairs and festivals with atleast one fair in each day of the year. These fairs and festivals add colour to the social life of Indian people. Some of the important fairs and festivals are Pushkar fair in Rajasthan, Crafts Mela at Surajkund, Holi in North India, Pongal in Tamilnadu, Onam in Kerela, Baisaki in Punjab, Bihu in Assam, Dance festivals at Khajuraho and Mamallapuram etc. India has a treasure trove of handicrafts for any discerning shopper, in truly remarkable variety of styles and prices. Over the years, India has developed world standard accommodation infrastructure for entertaining the visitors. There are about 60,000 classified hotel rooms in India and about 35,000 rooms are under construction. These hotel rooms scattered in various cities are of varying price range. Some of the major hotel chains in India are the Oberois, Taj Group of Hotels, Welcome Group of Hotels and India Tourism Development Corporation Hotels. Despite the fact that India has a wealth of amazing places waiting to be seen and appreciated and an unbeatable tourism potential, India receives far lesser tourists compared to other relatively smaller countries. Most foreigners who visit India for the first time are heard complaining about Over priced Hotel rooms Corrupt autos and taxi drivers waiting to take them for a ride, literally! Lack of proper infrastructure Confusion and chaos at the airport Unhygienic conditions etc Probable Areas of Improvement India is well known for personal bonding and relations with their tourist customers. What will be promising for India is the effectiveness of proactive relationship building strategies undertaken by India. India should focus on building and maintaining strong tourist relationships. It should also note that the selection and training of tour guides who are directly dealing with the tourists is undertaken properly. Accordingly, the holiday destination managers may undertake certain measures to improve the status of the dominant factors, which will ultimately lead to the improvement in visitors perception towards India as a tourist destination. Hence expertise and communication, and familiarity with tourists are the most effective relationship-building strategies. The next effective strategy could be investing in

Gods Nature vs. Mans Free Will Essay -- Philosophy Religion Essays

God's Nature vs. Man's Free Will The reconciliation of God's nature and Man's free will has long been a subject of debate for philosophers and theologians. Christianity rests upon certain ideas about the nature of God and the universe. The Bible speaks of God as eternal, all-knowing, and as the very author of reality. The concept of God as a benevolent, omniscient, omnipotent, and omnipresent entity is rooted in thousands of years of church tradition. This tradition is so ingrained in Western culture, that, when one mentions "God", these ideas almost invariably come to mind. The idea of Man's free will is also a well-established tradition in Christianity. The very need for Christian redemption is based upon the choices made by Adam and Eve at the very beginning of history. There is an idea that Man either chooses to sin against God, or chooses to obey Him. This ability to choose between two options allows good and evil to exist as opposites on the spectrum of morality. This in turn necessitates a need for an atonement process by which Man can be redeemed for the evils that are committed. Without this doctrine, Christianity is unnecessary. Redemption is not required for those who commit no wrong. The above ideas seem relatively straightforward when presented as independent beliefs. A great deal of confusion does arise, however, when the ideas are brought together as a system of beliefs. Some parts of God's nature seem to disallow the possibility of free will. How can God's knowledge of all actions - past, present, and future - allow any human to make a choice of his own volition? By its very nature, omniscience is infallible, therefore it seems that one is not free to choose anything other than that which God knows. Th... ...sions in order to be 'all-good', and He chose to allow us to choose. In conclusion, I suggest that there is a big difference between saying, "God can't do X and be consistent", and, "I don't know how God can do X and be consistent." As common sense suggests, ignorance of a solution does not take away from that solution's existence. Soli Deo gloria. Works Cited Augustine. "Divine Foreknowledge and Human Free Will." Philosophy of Religion: An Anthology. 259-261. Mackie, John L. "Evil and Omnipotence." Ibid. 186-193. Pike, Nelson. "God's Foreknowledge and Human Free Will Are Incompatible." Ibid. 261-271. Plantinga, Alvin. "God's Foreknowledge and Human Free Will Are Compatible." Ibid. 271-275. Plantinga, Alvin. "The Free Will Defense." Ibid. 194-212. Pojman, Louis P., ed. Philosophy of Religion: An Anthology. New York: Wadsworth, 1998.

Engelsk Stil – God Save the Pub

God Save the Pub Task 1 B. State your opinion about theme pubs and discuss whether it is a good idea that theme pubs go global. A lot of people today would state that the good old English pub is dying, especially after the smoking ban on July 1, 2007, and the fact is that 52 pubs are closing every week, and more than 6,000 fewer pubs today than just ten years ago, but ironically there are more places to enjoy a drink now, than just a couple of years ago.And the reason is quite simple, because a lot of the traditional pubs have been transformed into a new generation of pubs, the so called â€Å"theme pubs† with excellent beverage and high class food, and some pubs are even serving ecological food and beverage. I think it’s very positive that the traditional English pub is being replaced, so the dark and sultry tobacco men pubs, today often are theme pubs, with an open minded friendly atmosphere where women as well as children can come and talk about what’s going o n in the local society.Young people today know exactly what they want, and they want it in a very high quality in a clean environment, and that’s what most of the new generation of theme pubs can offer today. UK is an island in more than one sense and the British people have always been very conservative and afraid of new changes, phenomena also known as nepotism, as we also known from parts of Denmark like Bornholm etc. But since England joined the European Community in 1973 together with Ireland and Denmark, England has slowly changed to be a global and modern country.Therefore I think that the transformations of the traditional pub into modern theme pubs are a natural development nobody can fight against. But theme pubs can in my opinion also become a problem for the British. The newspaper of today tells me, that the British has the highest rate of teenage drunkenness, because young teenagers in England are more likely to get drunk than anywhere else in the whole industria l world. Personally I hink that one of the reasons why the UK has this world record in teenage drunkenness is because children are allowed to go to the theme pubs together with their parents, and here the children see their parents drinking alcohol in a social environment. When the children grow up they will use/abuse alcohol because it already had been accepted by the parents. A huge success in theme pubs in England today is the â€Å"Irish pub theme† â€Å". The Irish pub theme started as just another pub theme, but somehow the Irish theme seems to have fallen into the British taste of pub themes, and appears to go on forever as part of the English pub culture.I think that the English pub tradition with all its different themes is a special and unique English piece of culture, and the question is if it is a good idea that theme pubs go global. First of all I think that it is a very good idea to export theme pubs overseas, because countries like Denmark, Germany, France, Ho lland etc. already have got the traditional English pub for quite a number of years. But the next question is if it’s already too late to do such a business.As we well know the Irish pub themes have been overseas for a great number of years with huge success, so to start a global investment in English theme pubs abroad will rarely be any success. At last its worth to mentioning that the financial crises will kill the idea, even before the idea just was a little thought. Task 2 Murphy’s Memo Date: 2 September 2009 From: Isabella Knudsen To: Management Sales manager Re: New pub theme concept in IrelandJust returned from the UK where I have studied the new theme pubs, I like to inform you about my research. The new generation of theme pubs are popping up all over the UK, and it looks like a huge success. The new theme pubs seem to have a great impact on the young generation, and have become such a huge success, that within a short time the traditional Irish pub slowly wil l die. The new theme pub concept is a transformation from an old-fashioned pub into a modern restaurant. Each theme pub has its own identity.During my visit in the UK I visited different kinds of theme pubs like disco theme pubs, but the most interesting theme was the family and female/children friendly theme pubs. It is also my opinion that people spend more quality time during their stay in their local theme pub. My idea for a new pub theme should be a merge between a family restaurant theme pub in the daytime and a disco live music pub theme in the night time, every night, or for a start every Friday and Saturday night. That will definitely attract the young people of Ireland.I recommend that management should let the advertising agency Shandon Advertising perform a market survey to obtain some exact knowledge about what appeals to young people in Ireland. Thank you, Isabella Knudsen Murphy’s 48 MacCurtain St. Cork 22 October 1998 Shandon Advertising Church St. Cork Dear S ir. We are writing to you, as we need your expert knowledge concerning a new project. Our market share on the Irish market is decreasing, and therefore we are considering starting a new type of pub. Our sales manager has just visited a number of British pubs which have changed a lot lately.Some have become â€Å"superpubs† with space for 500 or more. Other pubs are theme pubs, to meet young people’s taste. Furthermore there are pubs, where you can get a wide selection of dishes at reasonable prices. There is almost an entertainment concept for every taste. As we would like to appeal to young people, we intend to start some new pubs on a trial basis. But before we make a final decision, we need some more details. Therefore we are asking you to inform us if you can do some market researches for us We are looking forward to hearing from you. Yours faithfully MURPHY’S Flann O’Brien Marketing manager

Components of a Good Research Paper

Components of a Good Research Paper Research papers form an important part of any writer’s life. From time to time, one is required to prepare a research paper based on certain specific topics. This paper provides a guideline of what a good research paper should comprise. A good research paper is described as a sustained inquiry about a particular subject. Any research paper must have a thesis statement. It gives the writers position on the issue of discussion. All the contents of the paper revolve around the thesis. The thesis statement should be limited in scope to be argued in a short composition and with the available evidence (Bailey 2003). The paper must also have a title. The title is based on the subject of discussion. A good title should be short, accurate and concise. This will help anyone reading the work to figure out what the paper is all about even before they get into its details. Key words of the paper should feature in the title. Though it should be comprehensive; the title should not be unduly long. The body of the research paper forms the bulk of the essay. Detailed research information is found here. Information should be paragraphed topically. It should be done in clear concise language and irrelevant information should be avoided. All facts stated in this section should be fully backed by facts except where personal opinion is required. The contents of the paper should exhibit originality of the writer. Plagiarism should be avoided at all costs. Direct quotations should be acknowledged with citations being indicated. Grammatical errors should be avoided in these papers. Spelling mistakes make comprehension of statements difficult. The reader may have a hard time going through the paper making them either lose interest or have low opinion on the same. Economy of words should apply. Facts or opinions should be communicated with as few words as possible. Paragraphs should neither be too short nor too long.. If you have a paragraph that is more than half a page in length, break it into two paragraphs. Avoid one sentence paragraphs. A good research paper would be incomplete without a well laid out reference. A reference refers to a list of sources which the writer or author has used during the process of writing a research paper. A paper missing a list of references used is considered plagiarized. In addition to the list, the writer may opt to include other relevant sources that may help a reader in seeking more information on the research topic. In this case, the list is referred to as a bibliography. A conclusion in a research paper summarizes the key points. All the major points should be reflected here. At this point, the writer is not supposed to bring in new ideas for the paper. One can also use this section to sum up the argument as well as well as discuss further development of the particular research. Our custom research paper writing service can provide you with high-quality research papers on any topic. We work with only professional academic writers (Ph.D./Masters).

Free Essays on Discrimination Against A Social Class

In today’s society discrimination takes on many different forms, from gender inequality to the social class of a person. Everyday people are looked down upon because of the color of their skin or because they may have different beliefs. However, although there are many forms of discrimination, the people that are discriminated against because of their lower social class are being pointed out and labeled a â€Å"disgrace† to society in some ways. Instead of providing assistance to these people in need, society wants to ridicule them and take even more away from them, making it even harder for them to succeed. According to The Declaration of Independence â€Å"all men are created equal†, yet in some cases this isn’t true at all. The people that discriminate against the people that don’t have a lot of money are only contributing to that person’s problems. This is only hurting their situation even more. In an article entitled â€Å"The Culture of Cruelty† by Ruth Conniff (associate editor of â€Å"The Progressive†) she is speaking with a man on a morning radio show about welfare. The caller was very adamant about letting her know what he thought about the â€Å"freeloading welfare mothers living on the high hog†. â€Å"A whiff of starvation is what they need† (Coniff 265). Is this the way people really think in society? Are people that need assistance from the government inadequate to the people that have a good job and a nice home? Many people have just had a hard time in life and need some help in life. There may be people in the world that use the benefits that the government gives them to their advantage, so they don’t have to work. Yet there are people that truly use those benefits for the right reasons. In some cases the people that are in need of assistance will not ask for help simply because society has made the word â€Å"welfare† seem dirty. Therefore these people refuse the assistance they truly need to keep t... Free Essays on Discrimination Against A Social Class Free Essays on Discrimination Against A Social Class In today’s society discrimination takes on many different forms, from gender inequality to the social class of a person. Everyday people are looked down upon because of the color of their skin or because they may have different beliefs. However, although there are many forms of discrimination, the people that are discriminated against because of their lower social class are being pointed out and labeled a â€Å"disgrace† to society in some ways. Instead of providing assistance to these people in need, society wants to ridicule them and take even more away from them, making it even harder for them to succeed. According to The Declaration of Independence â€Å"all men are created equal†, yet in some cases this isn’t true at all. The people that discriminate against the people that don’t have a lot of money are only contributing to that person’s problems. This is only hurting their situation even more. In an article entitled â€Å"The Culture of Cruelty† by Ruth Conniff (associate editor of â€Å"The Progressive†) she is speaking with a man on a morning radio show about welfare. The caller was very adamant about letting her know what he thought about the â€Å"freeloading welfare mothers living on the high hog†. â€Å"A whiff of starvation is what they need† (Coniff 265). Is this the way people really think in society? Are people that need assistance from the government inadequate to the people that have a good job and a nice home? Many people have just had a hard time in life and need some help in life. There may be people in the world that use the benefits that the government gives them to their advantage, so they don’t have to work. Yet there are people that truly use those benefits for the right reasons. In some cases the people that are in need of assistance will not ask for help simply because society has made the word â€Å"welfare† seem dirty. Therefore these people refuse the assistance they truly need to keep t...

Analysis of The Yellow Wallpaper by C. Perkins Gilman

Analysis of The Yellow Wallpaper by C. Perkins Gilman Like Kate Chopins The Story of an Hour,  Charlotte Perkins Gilmans The Yellow Wallpaper  is a mainstay of feminist literary study. First published in 1892, the story takes the form of secret journal entries written by a woman who is supposed to be recovering from what her husband, a physician, calls a  nervous condition. This haunting psychological horror story chronicles the narrators descent into madness, or perhaps into the paranormal. Or perhaps, depending on your interpretation, into freedom. The result is a story as chilling as anything by Edgar Allan Poe or Stephen King. Better Health Through Infantilization The protagonists husband, John, does not take her illness seriously. Nor does he take her seriously. He prescribes, among other things, a rest cure, in which she is confined to their summer home, mostly to her bedroom. The woman is discouraged from doing anything intellectual even though she believes some excitement and change would do her good. She must write in secret. And she is allowed very little company- certainly not from the stimulating people she most wishes to see. In short, John treats her like a child, calling her diminutive names like blessed little goose and little girl. He makes all decisions for her and isolates her from the things she cares about. His actions are couched in concern for her, a position that she initially seems to believe herself. He is very careful and loving, she writes in her journal, and hardly lets me stir without special direction. Her words also sound as if she is merely parroting what shes been told, and hardly lets me stir seems to harbor a veiled complaint. Even her bedroom is not the one she wanted; instead, its a room that appears to have once been a nursery, thus emphasizing her return to infancy. Its windows are barred for little children, showing again that she is being treated as a child, and also that she is like a prisoner. Fact  Versus Fancy John dismisses anything that hints of emotion or irrationality- what he calls fancy. For instance, when the narrator says that the wallpaper in her bedroom disturbs her, he informs her that she is letting the wallpaper get the better of her and thus refuses to remove it. John doesnt simply dismiss things he finds fanciful; he also uses the charge of fancy to dismiss anything he doesnt like. In other words, if he doesnt want to accept something, he declares that it is irrational. When the narrator tries to have a reasonable talk with him about her situation, she is so distraught that she is reduced to tears. But instead of interpreting her tears as evidence of her suffering, he takes them as evidence that she is irrational and cant be trusted to make decisions for herself. He speaks to her as if she is a whimsical child, imagining her own illness. Bless her little heart! he says. She shall be as sick as she pleases! He does not want to acknowledge that her problems are real and so he silences her. The only way the narrator could appear rational to John would be to become satisfied with her situation; therefore, there is no way for her to express concerns or ask for changes. In her journal, the narrator writes: John does not know how much I really suffer. He knows there is no reason to suffer, and that satisfies him. John cant imagine anything outside his own judgment. So when he determines that the narrators life is satisfactory, he imagines that the fault lies with her perception of her life. It never occurs to him that her situation might really need improvement. The Wallpaper The  nursery walls are covered in putrid yellow wallpaper with a confused, eerie pattern. The narrator is horrified by it. She studies the incomprehensible pattern in the wallpaper, determined to make sense of it. But rather than making sense of it, she begins to discern a second pattern- that of a woman creeping furtively around behind the first pattern, which acts a prison for her. The first pattern of the wallpaper can be seen as the societal expectations that hold women like the narrator captive. The narrators recovery will be measured by how cheerfully she resumes her domestic duties as wife and mother, and her desire to do anything else- like write- is seen to interfere with that recovery. Though the narrator studies and studies the pattern in the wallpaper, it never makes any sense to her. Similarly, no matter how hard she tries to recover, the terms of her recovery- embracing her domestic role- never make any sense to her, either. The creeping woman can represent both victimizations by the societal norms and resistance to them. This creeping woman also gives a clue about why the first pattern is so troubling and ugly. It seems to be peppered with distorted heads with bulging eyes- the heads of other creeping women who were strangled by the pattern when they tried to escape it. That is, women who couldnt survive when they tried to resist cultural norms. Gilman writes that nobody could climb through that pattern- it strangles so. Becoming a Creeping Woman Eventually, the narrator becomes a creeping woman. The first indication is when she says, rather startlingly, I always lock the door when I creep by daylight. Later, the narrator and the creeping woman work together to pull off the wallpaper. The narrator writes, [T]here are so many of those creeping women, and they creep so fast. So the narrator is one of many. That her shoulder just fits into the groove on the wall is sometimes interpreted to mean that she has been the one ripping the paper and creeping around the room all along. But it could also be interpreted as an assertion that her situation is no different from that of many other women. In this interpretation, The Yellow Wallpaper becomes not just a story about one womans madness, but a maddening system. At one point, the narrator observes the creeping women from her window and asks, I wonder if they all come out of that wallpaper as I did? Her coming out of the wallpaper- her freedom- coincides with a descent into mad behavior, ripping off the paper, locking herself in her room, even biting the immovable bed. That is, her freedom comes when she finally reveals her beliefs and behavior to those around her and stops hiding. The final scene, in which John faints, and the narrator continues to creep around the room, stepping over him every time, is disturbing but also triumphant. Now John is the one who is weak and sickly, and the narrator is the one who finally gets to determine the rules of her own existence. She is finally convinced that he only pretended to be loving and kind. After being consistently infantilized by his prescriptions and comments, she turns the tables on him by addressing him condescendingly, if only in her mind, as young man. John refused to remove the wallpaper, and in the end, the narrator used it as her escape.

Jose Enrique Rodo's Ariel Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Jose Enrique Rodo's Ariel - Essay Example As Carlos Fuentes explains in the prologue, "Ariel appears as the emotional and intellectual response of Latin American thought and Latin American spirituality to growing North American imperial arrogance, gunboat diplomacy, and big stick policies."1 United States utilitarianism is seen negatively by Rodo, since it represents a cultural conquest that could easily take over the Spanish American way of life. Rodo criticizes the United States drive to dominate the world and force his ideals onto the world, causing "the axis of the world to shift in the direction of a new Capitol". Jos Enrique Rodo published Ariel in 1900, at the turn of a new century and at times where modernists were discussing and questioning the role of society, as well as the idea of powerful masses versus the individual self. This text basically deals with the question of how Latin American culture is to survive in a modern mass society that often admires the United States democratic and utilitarian way of life. The essay, one of Rodo's most influential works, uses Shakespeare's characters from ''Tempest,'' Ariel who represents the spiritual values, and Prospero, a teacher who represents the intellectual, and is faced with a choice between losing power or allying himself with the masses. In Prospero's character, the author incarnates the Latin American concern of whether succumbing to the ut

Learned Lessons from Completing the Project on Royal Tires & More Assignment

Learned Lessons from Completing the Project on Royal Tires & More Systems Upgrade - Assignment Example While completing the project it was evident that it involved change and therefore, it meant that the project manager was equally tasked with change management of which according to the writings by Marshak (2005), the project managers or managers’ in-charge of a change programme are also required to manage people as part of their roles. Being that the project manager did not have any background knowledge on human resource management there were few cases whereby some employees of the company showed resistance to the implementation of the project because of fear of job loss due to the system upgrade that seemingly made some of them redundant. Part of the lesson that the project manager learned from the resistance that was attributed to change, was that he should adopt a humanistic approach to projects that involve change. The humanistic approach according to Kotter (2011) is built on the premise that there has to be an interpersonal relationship between managers and employees, an d therefore managers have to consider the opinions or views of every party affected by the change. Secondly, while completing the project another key lesson that was learned is that the project budget is highly prone to changes that are beyond the control of the project manager. These changes are attributed to economic factors that are external and they may cause an influx of the budget beyond the original estimates or they may cause a reduction in the original estimates of the project budget. The first lesson that was learned while completing the project was that projects that involves change, should be integrated change or people management to eradicate cases of resistance from employees.  

Care given to a 15 day old baby with breathing difficulties Essay

Care given to a 15 day old baby with breathing difficulties - Essay Example Moreover, the paper will include efforts to understand the foetal circulation in relation to a neonate circulation along with an explanation of provision of the most appropriate treatment and care to Flora, as well as to her family members. Lastly, the researcher will endeavor to provide a clarification of ways that a children’s nurse can take to make a respiratory assessment of a child of Flora’s age, as well as assessments of older children. Discussion On arrival at The Royal Manchester Children’s Hospital, the team took Flora to the resuscitation room where they noticed her having breathing difficulties and a high pulse rate. Results of the initial assessment indicated her to be at a high risk; however, it was usual as infants often confront respiratory distress and similar signs and symptoms due to undiagnosed cardiac problems (Fergusson, 2008, 23-39). Subsequently, Professor Carley evaluated Flora’s physical condition and her behaviour using observati onal assessment of her airway, breathing, and circulation (Resuscitation Council UK, 2006, 1-10). It was noticeable that Flora was able to move all of her limbs with vigour, and there was no evidence of pallor that could indicate hypoxia (Fergusson, 2008, 35-40). In addition, the team noticed signs of efforts for breathing and visual signs of recession while observing Flora’s chest (Nursing and Midwifery Council, 2010, 29). The team also listened to the sound of Flora’s breathing, and luckily, both nasal flaring and chest recession were evident. Vital signs such as, temperature, blood pressure, pulse rate, respiration rate, and oxygen saturation were intact and functioning (Federspiel, 2010, 135). Furthermore, the team took blood samples for testing, which revealed that her kidneys were working in satisfactory condition and she was not anaemic, and additionally, Flora’s iron levels in her blood were normal as well. The hemoglobin levels in her blood were good, o xygenated cells were in high enough numbers within the blood to deliver oxygen to all tissues around the body that was another good sign. In addition, the team carried out blood tests to check PH imbalance and white cell count, as when in high numbers, they could indicate infection (Harrison, 2008, 56-67). After evaluating all these tests, Professor Carley reassured Flora’s parents by using the word ‘safe’ while explaining her immediate condition. In particular, Flora was at an age when cardiac abnormalities are often usual. One of the reasons is that in utero, the foetus obtains oxygenated blood, and nutrients from the placenta via the umbilical vein as defined by Chamley et al (2005, 11-26), and the lungs are not functional at this stage. At birth, important changes occurred to turn the foetal circulation into that of a neonatal circulation and before a baby can take in oxygen; her heart had to connect with the lungs (Holmes, 2010, 12), and this transition enab led Flora’s body to take over and begin to work independently (Glasper et al., 2007, 30-55). In particular, with every baby’s first breathe, the airways open and the drop-in pressure causes blood to rush to the lungs to receive oxygen, this oxygen reaches blood, and subsequently,

Week 7 Assginment--Business Report Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Week 7 Assginment--Business Report - Assignment Example First of all Outsourcing decision depends on the company as a whole, when a company wants to lower the costs by associating with the third party to make the better usage of company’s land, labor, capital, technology and its resources, time and energy. The term Outsourcing is becoming more common in the business world, nowadays. Even, there are some companies in which the entire information management is outsourced. The Companies are outsourcing to fully focus on the core process of their business, by consuming time to provide their best services to external agencies. Outsourcing also allows a company to free their most of the internal resources, which can be easily used for other purposes. The research has shown that sometimes the internal resources of a company get short, where outsourcing helps them to avail the required resources within the company. although in several cases the company finds it much difficult to manage particular functions related to the production, theref ore companies outsource by delegating the powers to the third party to manage and control the functions performed. The functions performed by the third party could be beneficial for the business. We have come to know that the Companies are also outsourcing to cut down the risk factors involved with their production or services. Outsourcing even helps a company to realize the benefits of re-engineering. Outsourcing also enables the companies to expand more in new market areas, where they can easily fasten their delivery to the end users. The research has proved that however, outsourcing provides much profit to the organizations, they need to endure. (The Top 10 Reasons To Outsource) When outsourcing you should know what advantages it can provide to your business. The research has analyzed several advantages. Some of them we will discuss. The research has shown that when a rapid growth period hits a company, the back-office operations of a

Over education in the graduate labour market Coursework

Over education in the graduate labour market - Coursework Example The qualification has not been much a factor into determining the amount of wages one is to get from working. In seeking for reasons to back the claims, most researchers have found out that the phenomenon is pegged on the fact that there is difference in ability between those who leave higher education above others (SILLES, Peter Dolton and Mary, 2001). In addition, the perception and reception of higher education has changed leading many people to join and pursue education. Career relation of most courses result in mismatches and as the search for jobs intensifies, higher education becomes the differing factor hence the presence of overqualified members in jobs they take. The economist published an article that portrayed the over 40,000 degree courses offered across the UK universities as at 2002. Moreover, Chevalier (2000) noted that the education tuition fee has come down a great deal and many people are resorting to better themselves with the view of obtaining better jobs and take home packages. Eyebrows were raised when an author Hutt claimed that there is great waste that results from personnel that work in wrong jobs than those that are unemployed (CHEVALIER, Arnaud, 2000). In their article, Dolton and Vignoles (2002) came up with a revelation that estimated 30% of the UK graduates to be more educated than job requirement and availability in the UK markets. 22% have jobs that do not require them to have degrees while six years down the line they find themselves highly educated than their job demands (CHEVALIER, Arnaud, 2000). Studies reveal a majority of reasons into why people are more educated than they are required in their job requirements. The phenomenon has been shaped by the labor market structures, public sector culture, nature of work (part-time and temporary), family commitment, health conditions, debt incurred during study time, early market choices, business-cycle

Sign Language in Spain Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Sign Language in Spain - Essay Example These variations are due to the difference in cultures of the countries. Such differences keep evolving over time and they become part of the sign language used in the territory. In the United States there is a full history of deaf culture that goes back to fifty years or so, and it is traceable if one looks through scholarly and academic sources. Such a thing is not present in Spain, where the period of history is just around fifteen years. Besides that, in Spain it was not very long ago that there was an attempt to give an official status to their sign language (which could be Spanish Sign Language [LSE] and Català ¡n Sign Language [LSC]). It was in 2005 that they drew up a law that supported sign language; later on the language was at long last supported by the Spanish senate by the year 2007. In the United States deaf culture was actually the basis on which research had been started, more so in the groups of deaf people, universities, and in certain related courses such as linguistics and anthropology. On the other hand, in Spain the issue has just been debated a lot all this time. The biggest clash in this seemingly never ending history can be succinctly put in this manner: the attribute of oralism in deaf education during the early times is noteworthy as it broke with long believed philosophical thoughts regarding deafness and language. It is possible that this assimiliationist representation had a positive goal of including deaf people in society. There were materially important social advantages for people who could learn to talk. For example: people who were deaf and did not speak either were not allowed to inherit property, while on the other hand, people who took pains to learn to speak were given permission to inherit. Though the past of generous paternalism concerning the deaf people in Spain may have had its share of advantages, but indisputably it has not permitted the complete addition

Week 7 Assginment--Business Report Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Week 7 Assginment--Business Report - Assignment Example First of all Outsourcing decision depends on the company as a whole, when a company wants to lower the costs by associating with the third party to make the better usage of company’s land, labor, capital, technology and its resources, time and energy. The term Outsourcing is becoming more common in the business world, nowadays. Even, there are some companies in which the entire information management is outsourced. The Companies are outsourcing to fully focus on the core process of their business, by consuming time to provide their best services to external agencies. Outsourcing also allows a company to free their most of the internal resources, which can be easily used for other purposes. The research has shown that sometimes the internal resources of a company get short, where outsourcing helps them to avail the required resources within the company. although in several cases the company finds it much difficult to manage particular functions related to the production, theref ore companies outsource by delegating the powers to the third party to manage and control the functions performed. The functions performed by the third party could be beneficial for the business. We have come to know that the Companies are also outsourcing to cut down the risk factors involved with their production or services. Outsourcing even helps a company to realize the benefits of re-engineering. Outsourcing also enables the companies to expand more in new market areas, where they can easily fasten their delivery to the end users. The research has proved that however, outsourcing provides much profit to the organizations, they need to endure. (The Top 10 Reasons To Outsource) When outsourcing you should know what advantages it can provide to your business. The research has analyzed several advantages. Some of them we will discuss. The research has shown that when a rapid growth period hits a company, the back-office operations of a

Sign Language in Spain Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Sign Language in Spain - Essay Example These variations are due to the difference in cultures of the countries. Such differences keep evolving over time and they become part of the sign language used in the territory. In the United States there is a full history of deaf culture that goes back to fifty years or so, and it is traceable if one looks through scholarly and academic sources. Such a thing is not present in Spain, where the period of history is just around fifteen years. Besides that, in Spain it was not very long ago that there was an attempt to give an official status to their sign language (which could be Spanish Sign Language [LSE] and Català ¡n Sign Language [LSC]). It was in 2005 that they drew up a law that supported sign language; later on the language was at long last supported by the Spanish senate by the year 2007. In the United States deaf culture was actually the basis on which research had been started, more so in the groups of deaf people, universities, and in certain related courses such as linguistics and anthropology. On the other hand, in Spain the issue has just been debated a lot all this time. The biggest clash in this seemingly never ending history can be succinctly put in this manner: the attribute of oralism in deaf education during the early times is noteworthy as it broke with long believed philosophical thoughts regarding deafness and language. It is possible that this assimiliationist representation had a positive goal of including deaf people in society. There were materially important social advantages for people who could learn to talk. For example: people who were deaf and did not speak either were not allowed to inherit property, while on the other hand, people who took pains to learn to speak were given permission to inherit. Though the past of generous paternalism concerning the deaf people in Spain may have had its share of advantages, but indisputably it has not permitted the complete addition

Strategic Operations Issues Essay Example for Free

Strategic Operations Issues Essay Using your own organisation or a local organisation that you know well, identify a strategic operations issue or problem that needs to be addressed. Describe the organisation briefly and briefly explain the specific operational issue, problem or process that needs to be addressed and provide clear details of its functions within the organisation; analyse the problem using a concept covered in the subject; consider the performance objectives of operations management; changes to performance objectives or outcomes; improvements; theory and recommendations for improving the system or operation. Executive summary Manufacturing plant operation issues of XYZ Plastics Pty Ltd This paper studies the operations issues of XYZ Plastics Pty Ltd’s manufacturing plant. In the last three months, the plant experienced a decline in % OEE (% Overall Equipment Effectiveness) from 90 per cent to 81 per cent, the raw materials inventory increased 10 per cent from 900 tons to 990 tons and increased the outsource warehouse cost from $100 000 per month to $150 000 per month. The overtime cost was also increased by 50 per cent from $20 000 per month to $30 000 per month. The analysis of the manufacturing process and workflow revealed that the root causes were: a) Inadequate communication linkage between the Planner and Maintenance supervisor which resulted in lack of critical spare parts to service major equipment breakdown. b) The batch size of white product was too small which contributed to speed loss and quality loss c) The Planner’s order quantity of raw materials was too big and caused average inventory to increase and inventory overflow to outsource warehouse. d) The double handling of raw materials by the warehouse staff which contributed to the wastage of overtime resources. The study recommended the company: a) Use a Kanban system to signal â€Å"pull† to the Planner to order spare parts for maintenance department. b) To set up an operating policy to limit the minimum production batch size to ËÆ'24 tons for white product. c) To maintain a discipline of using the Economic Order Quality (EOQ) for replenishment  order of the raw materials and reorder according to the inventory profile based on safety stock, delivery time and consumption rate. d) To provide training to the operating staff regarding the Wastes of Lean Manufacturing as a way to promote the learning culture. Table of Contents Table of Figures 1 Introduction XYZ Plastics Pty Ltd manufactures and sells black and white plastic materials for toy molding application. Its manufacturing process involves grinding the polyethylene plastics into a molten form and mixing with black pigment or white pigment. It produces a black product and a white product. The products are sold in 25 kg bags. The plant operates 24 hours by seven days a week but only four weeks in a month. It produces a product mix of 96 per cent black and four per cent white. The General Manager reviewed the monthly operations report recently and found that in the last three months, the operations performance was on a downward trend: a) Its Overall Equipment Effectiveness (OEE) dropped down from 90 per cent to 81 per cent. Pophaley (2010) states that there would have been issues associated with the Availability rate, Performance rate or Quality rate. b) Raw material average inventory was increased by 10 per cent and the outsourced warehouse costs increased by 15 per cent. c) There was 50 per cent more overtime paid to fulltime workers. The sales volume remained unchanged at around 672 000 kg per month in the last three months. This was alarming because it suggested that the profile and productivity would have dropped. The General Manager called a meeting with its operations team to review the performance data and operations issues. They traced the problem back to the manufacturing processes and workflow to determine the root causes and take corrective actions. Discussion and analysis The manufacturing process involves loading the plastic pellets and pigments into the hopper, the grinder and mixer converts the mechanical energy into heat then melts and mixes the raw materials. The mixed molten paste is extruded out through a pressing die with 400 holes to form spaghetti like strips. The strips are cooled by water and cut into pellets by the rotary cutter, the slurry is then spun in a water separator to remove the water and dry the plastic pellets (see Figure 1 below). The products are then packed into 25 kg bags and stacked onto a pallet as a 1000 kg lot. Figure Manufacturing process schematic diagram 2.1 OEE performance trend analysis The operations team reviewed the % OEE trend of the last three months and looked at the date of three components that made up the % OEE, namely Availability rate, Performance rate and Quality rate mentioned by (Pophaley 2010). They found that all three components were on the decreasing trend which contributed to the % OEE decrease from 90 per cent to 81 per cent. The operations team found that the Availability rate dropped from 95 per cent to 93 per cent which indicated that there was increase of equipment breakdowns. They looked at the maintenance log book and found that there was an increase of pressing die cleaning frequency. During the pressing die cleaning, the process is shut down and the maintenance staffs needs to spend 16 hours to drill holes to clean the dirt out. This maintenance job is usually outsourced and they have a spare pressing die but this was not returned to the plant on time from the cleaning services supplier because there was a miscommunication between the Pla nner and the Maintenance Supervisor. The workflow is described in (Figure 2 below). Figure Process mapping of workflow The maintenance supervisor left an email message to the Planner, to order the die cleaning service which the Planner overlooked. There was a delay in sending the spare pressing die out to the supplier for cleaning. If they had  the spare pressing die ready, they would have saved the downtime of 16 hours for cleaning the die. It appears that a Kanban pull system would have provided better systematic demand information as stated by (Claudio Krishnamurthy 2009) for parts replenishment. The operations team found that the performance rate dropped from 97 per cent to 92 per cent of their maximum capable production rate of 1030 kg per hour, based on the current deteriorated production rate of 947.6 kg per hour (0.92 Ãâ€" 1030) the plant will be behind the monthly production target. The operations team reviewed the production log book and found that the production speed loss was due to increased production runs of white products. For every white production run, the operating staffs needs to clean the whole production line thoroughly because the black pellets in the previous run will contaminate the white products. The cleaning process required two hours per run. The plant also needs to spend two hours to change the rotary cutter as well. The plant normally runs one white product per month (26 880 kg) but in recent months the sales team requested four smaller white product runs per month (6720 kg Ãâ€" 4). The rationale was there were four smaller customers willing to pay higher price for the white products but they required delivery at short notice without providing forecast to the Planner. The smaller run size of white product contributes negatively to the per cent performance rate, the cleaning time of two hours per run and cutter changing time of two hours per run contributes a total of four hours of speed loss per run which could have been utilised to make more products. The Planner and sales team did not communicate with each other on this change and assess the economy of scale for the production run. The operations team re-assessed the change with the capacity size decision process, as (Rabta Reiner 2012) suggested that optimal values of production batch size will reduce cost and lead time. The operations team took considerations on algorithms of the extra cost required for the cleaning, changing cutter and speed loss for different batch sizes, and generated a graph (see Figure 3 below) to assist the decision on the size of the production run. Figure Capacity size decision graph The Figure 3 graph showed that the smaller run (6720 kg per run) costs more to make per ton and even selling at increased price, it was making a profile margin of only $100 per ton. In comparison, the larger run size (26 880 kg per run) costs less to make but even selling at normal price, it was still making $400 per ton. The graph showed that the most economical run of the white product is ËÆ'24 tons. The operations team also found that the quality rate dropped from 98 per cent to 95 per cent. They checked the quality records and determined that this was due to the rework materials generated from the increased white runs. The manufacturing team used raw materials to purge clean the process system to avoid contamination. The purged materials were used later on the black runs as rework. The time they spent on the rework could have been utilised to make good product. The above analysis determined the root causes which caused the % OEE drop from 90 per cent to 81 per cent and it is illustrated below: % OEE = Availability rate % Ãâ€" Performance rate % Ãâ€" Quality rate % Historical % OEE = 95% Ãâ€" 97% Ãâ€" 98% = 90% Current % OEE = 93% Ãâ€" 92% Ãâ€" 95% = 81%. 2.2 Raw materials inventory analysis The operations team reviewed the inventory performance on the monthly operations report; it showed that the raw material average inventory volume increased by 10 per cent from 900 tons to 990 tons in the last three months. Due to the increase in average inventory, the plant ran out of storage space and therefore it required the inventory to be stored at an outsourced warehouse location. The plant storage space was enough to store 1000 tons of raw materials but from time to time the space is filled and overflows the inventory to the outsource warehouse especially in the last three months. As a result, it increased the storage costs by 15 per cent from $100 000 to $115 000 per month including logistics and labour costs for the material handling. The operations team interviewed the Planner regarding the order quality and order frequency. The investigation revealed that the Planner was not  ordering based on inventory management principles. The ordering process takes about one week, from placing the order to receiving the goods. The plant normally keeps a safety stock of 672 tons of raw materials (roughly enough for one month consumption). This was based on their experience that the raw materials comes from other state and shipment delays could be up to four weeks; this safety stock is to maintain the service levels of the company. The raw material comes in normal order quantity of 2.5 weeks consumption, about 420 tons (672 Ãâ€" 2.5/4 = 420 tons). The Planner starts to place order when the inventory gets close to 672 tons (the safety stock mark). When there is a supplier promotion, the Planner would order a bigger quantity than 420 tons, thinking that would save the company money. There were a number of supplier promotions in the last three months and the Planner placed a bigger order quantity of 470 tons for each promotion which resulted in an increase in average inventory level from 900 tons to 990 tons. The operations team constructed a graph to determine if the Planner was making the correct order quantity decision. They used the total inventory cost based on two inventory cost components mentioned by (Schreibfeder 2009), namely holding cost and materials order cost. Figure Economic order quality(EOQ) The EOQ graph in Figure 4 indicated that the order quantity of 470 tons which the Planner placed on the supplier’s promotion was not economical. Rather than saving the company money, the total cost was higher than that of the EOQ of 336 tons. Even the normal order quantity of 420 tons was not as economical as the EOQ of 336 tons. The inventory profile with the new EOQ of 336 tons is shown in (Figure 5 below). It was constructed according to the method shown by (Silver Zufferey 2011) with the probabilistic replenishment lead time and slope (consumption rate). If The EOQ of 336 tons was adopted and orders were placed when the inventory touches 840 tons, it would have kept an average inventory of 840 tons and maximum of about 1000 tons on site. The inventory profile showed that average inventory (840 tons) would be lower than the current average inventory (990 tons) and most importantly it would eliminate the need for outsource warehouse. Figure Raw material inventory profile 2.3 Labour cost analysis The operations team reviewed the profit and loss statement and found out that there were 50 per cent more overtime paid to fulltime workers. It increased from $20 000 to $30 000 per month in the last three months. The amount of overtime was mainly paid to the warehouse staff. The operations team interviewed the warehouse supervisor and found that when the raw materials warehouse is full, they would move the materials to the finished goods warehouse for temporary storage, and shift it back when there are more spaces. One round trip to transport one ton of materials on a fork lift would require two minutes. These are considered double handling of materials as stated by (Liker Franz 2011). This is one of the Wastes in Lean manufacturing namely (transportation) that should be avoided (Slack, Brandon-Jones, Johnston, R Betts, A 2012). Conclusion The drop in Availability rate was due to the longer breakdown time required to clean the pressing die as there was no spare pressing die available. It appears that both the Planner and Maintenance supervisor required an improved communication system for the spare parts ordering. The capacity size decision graph in Figure 3 showed that the most economical run of the white products is 24 tons. Any smaller run size would result in speed loss and contribute negatively to the performance rate. The quality records showed that the drop in quality rate was due to the rework materials generated from the increased white runs per month. These root causes need to be addressed in order to improve the % OEE from the current level of 81 per cent back to 90 per cent. The EOQ graph in Figure 4 indicated that the order quantity of 470 tons which the Planner placed on the supplier’s promotion was not economical; even the normal order quantity of 420 tons was not economical. The associated total costs were both higher than that of the EOQ of 336 tons; it increased the average raw materials inventory level on site and causes inventory overflow to the outsource warehouse. There were double handling of materials by the  warehouse staff and this is a â€Å"transportation waste† which needs to be avoided according to the lean manufacturing principals described by (Liker Franz 2011). 4 Recommendations The maintenance supervisor should use a Kanban system to signal a â€Å"pull† to the Planner to order outsource services to clean the pressing die. Kanban is a visual signal system advocated by the Japanese manufacturer Toyota and mentioned by (Liker Franz 2011). The Maintenance supervisor can use a red box to signal that the pressing die is ready to be picked up and send outside for cleaning. When the cleaned pressing die returns, it can be placed in a green box indicating it is ready to be used, similar to the dual card system described by (Chen Subramaniamac 2012). The plant needs to set up an operating policy which states that the minimum size is to be 24 tons for white product. The Planner needs to maintain a discipline of using the EOQ of 336 tons for replenishment order of the raw materials and placing the purchasing order when the raw materials inventory touches 840 tons (a re-order point about one week before it reaches the safety stock of 672 tons). The inventory profile should be reviewed every three months to update the consumption rate to determine the new re-order point. The plant needs to provide training to operating staff regarding the Wastes of Manufacturing especially the warehouse staff as a way to promote the learning culture as advocated in Toyota and stated by (Liker Franz 2011). The operations performance such as OEE should be shared with all staff and initiate counter measures to poor performances. This will connect the staff to the continuous improvement cycle to achieve operational excellence.

Social Media from a Functionalist Perspective

Social Media from a Functionalist Perspective Introduction Late modern society is a network society (Castells, 1997). Devices such as smart phones are portable connect individuals in a complex system of interaction via emails, Facebook, Linkedin, Mumsnet, BlackBerry Messenger which support the functionalist vision. Social media sites are social platforms such as Twitter and Facebook that function for the purpose of enabling the interaction between millions of individuals whenever, wherever and about whatever given subject they wish to communicate. By the end of 2013 Facebook had 1.23 billion subscribers (Sedghi, 2014). This growth amounted to 170 million new subscribers in 2013 alone (Sedghi, 2014). The main use of Facebook is to maintain socially cohesive contact with friends and family which supports the functionalist vision of society (Ofcom, 2011).   It is argued by C. Wright Mills (1956) that society is manipulated into a social order by the one-directional rhetoric of the mass media. In contrast, social media sites are capable of bi- directional interaction with others which is socially cohesive and supports the functionalist vision of society. However, this is not always the case. This paper provides a critical evaluation of the function of social media sites firstly by providing an overview of functionalism and secondly by illustrating how social media both supports and contradicts the functionalist vision of society. Functionalism The positivist approach of structural functionalists involves analysing society from a macro-sociological perspective. They view society as a set of interrelated institutions which form a whole (Abercrombie et al., 2000:145). Such institutions include the family, education, politics, law, the media, organisations, economics and religion (Abercrombie et al., 2000:145). These form the agents of socialization which the shape behaviours that form a public consensus among which they do through constant institutional interaction (Durkheim, 1893:50). Durkheim focused on the consequences of social change between two eras; pre-modern [mechanical] society and industrial [organic] society (Durkheim, 1893).   Pre-modern agrarian society was cohesive, tied by kinship with a collective consciousness of norms, which were constantly reinforced through socialisation and interaction (Durkheim, 1893). The shift from the simplicity of the mechanical society to the complexities of organic society impac ted negatively on kinship and collective values as individuals undertook multiple forms of work in this new mode of production; capitalism (Durkheim, 1893). Durkheims (1893) analysis of organic society extends an analogy originally devised by Spencer (1820–1903) whereby he likens society to the human body insofar as both have interdependent parts that must function for survival (Coser, 1893 [1997]: xvi).   If any organ [institution] malfunctions, the body social [society] becomes unstable (Durkheim, 1893). As such, each organism [individual] has a specialist role within these institutions which it performs for the social good; not least because their own survival depends on it (Durkheim, 1893). Appropriating active social change is not advised because the institutions and the body social will be destabilised causing anomie (Durkheim, 1893). Anomie is a causal factor of social instability as a result of the inequalities in the division of labour as a result of some organisms outperforming others (Durkheim, 1893). This differentiation exacerbated the stratification that formed hierarchies in the new industrial workforce which pola rised rich and poor (Durkheim, 1893). Social Dysfunction In a modern context, anomie also descended on the British inner cities for similar reasons in August 2011 when the dysfunction of the political, legal and educational institutions failed to meet the needs of the body social (Durkheim, 1893). Merton argues that institutional dysfunction which can be the unintentional consequences of latent functions (Merton, 1968:105). In contrast, adaptations to society by institutions are manifest functions which are deliberately applied (Merton, 1968:105). The manifest functions involved (Merton, 1968: 105). As Merton asserts, such functions are targeted towards individuals in diverse statuses, subgroups the larger social system and culture systems such as limiting opportunities to education through welfare reforms for British working class youths (Merton, 1968:106). The response by disaffected youths was the riots that ensued across the UK in 2011 which was orchestrated using the free service BlackBerry Messenger [BBM] (Lewis et al., 2012). BBM is a free service in which one message can be disseminated to hundreds of recipients instantly who then forward the message to the hundreds more (Lewis et al., 2012). The social cohesion resulting from BBM extended to a temporary truce between otherwise rival gangs which is a positive function of interaction (Lewis et al., 2012). The riots came to an abrupt end when BlackBerry disconnected the service thus illustrating how solidarity depends on interaction (Lewis et al., 2012). Twitter was also accused of inciting the riots but it was later proven that the 2.5 million riot-related tweets showed solidarity against the rioters whilst also recruiting individuals to help with the clean-up process which serve the functionalist vision of society (BBC News 2011: [Online]). Similarly, the anomie in Egypt and Tuni sia was corrected by implementing the overthrow of their relative dictators which was mobilised via Facebook (Bouteflika, 2011). The Social System It is also argued that crime is necessary, inevitable and functional because it elicits the solidarity of the law-abiding public whose anger culminates in the public shaming and punishment of the offender (Durkheim, 1893). Crime therefore serves to redefine the moral boundaries which supports the functionalist vision of society (Durkheim, 1893).   Unlike the riots, social stability occurs when all of the component parts are fully functioning producing a system of equilibrium (Parsons, 1951which is contingent upon the strength or weaknesses of the interactive relationships between the institutions (Parsons, 1951: [1999: 84). In this context, Parsons (1951) claims that actors are goal-achieving and have alternate ways of achieving goals such as through education which is universal and equal (1951:130). In contrast, Merton argues that society sets the cultural goals but fails to provide the institutional means to achieve them (1938:100). While Durkheims functionalist vision is positivist in its assumptions that organisms are homogenous, Talcott Parsons theory of The Social System recognised that society comprised of a plurality of individual actors interacting with each other (1951 [1991]: 3). Parsons (1951) argued that the social system is contingent upon a set of four prerequisites which include: adaptation in times of social change due to one of the institutions malfunctioning; goals involves achieving certain goals in society; integration is the reliance that actors will identify with their social group; and latency involves maintaining the foundations of the social system such as through solid family socialisation.   Mumsnet This would never be tolerated by the UKs top parenting site Mumsnet which is an interactive forum run by parents for parents (Mumsnet, 2015: [Online]). Mumsnet offers advice to parents on pregnancy, education, money, and work (Mumsnet, 2015: [Online]). Within these discourses advice ranging from breastfeeding to university education is all designed to educate and optimise how parents raise their utmost for their children (Mumsnet, 2015 [Online]).   In this context, Mumsnet clearly supports the functional vision of society as it interacts with most of the institutional organs of the body social most all of the institutions (Mumsnet, 2015). According to Maxwell and Aggleton, (2013:139) Mumsnet contains symbolic and ritualistic undercurrents that allow the class disparities to surface. For example, Mumsnet has a strict netiquette whereby husbands and children are identified within the posts by individuals as DH [dear husband] DS [dear son] and DD [dear daughter] which denotes ritual whilst imposing middle class values on working class families.   Parsons argues that the primary problems and strains centre on the role of the wife and mother †¦ The easy solution is for her to be completely excluded from the occupational system by confining herself to the role of housewife (1951:128).   However, Mumsnet mothers consider themselves professional mothers who can juggle their work-life balance with ease (2013:139). For example, class disparities are evident in an exchange on Mumsnet between several mothers on children watching TV. For example, We cant all be Mother Earth I wouldnt listen to some of the militant mums on here Being pregnant is no reason to be lazy parent to your toddler How judgey some people can be about a little TV At least the child isnt strapped in a buggy with a packet of crisps and a bottle of coke Nowt wrong with crisps and a bottle of coke Exactly, as long as theyre organic (Maxwell and Aggleton, 2013:138) Such class differentiations are glaringly evident on Mumsnet who sell themselves as professional mothers who are well versed in child rearing (Maxwell and Agglegate, 2013). While functionalists overlook class in their macrosociological analysis, Mumsnet is class led and intimidating it is a site for those mothers who do not fear militant mothers or those labelled as Mother Earth (Maxwell and Agglegate, 2013:139). While in principle the mother and homemaker serves the functionalist vision of society, through rituals and cultural practices, the fact that many Mumsnet mothers are working or unmarried will contradict this vision as being negative to children (Maxwell and Aggleton, 2013). The collective consciousness that perform rituals and totemic symbolisation provides a cauldron of collective effervescence for the religious (Durkheim, 1915: 469). Religion which is the most socially cohesive element of the institutions collective life awakens religious thought (Durkheim, 1915: 469). (Coser, 1915: xx). Evidence of such effervescence surrounds Christmas, weddings Bar Mitzvahs and funerals is displayed on social media sites because religion is an eminently collective thing (Durkheim, 1954: 47). Death is also a ritual and a commodity as people flock to mourn the departed; this collective mourning is replicated via social media (Durkheim, 1954; Bell, 1992). Durkheim argued that all societies were divided by the sacred and the profane; the sacred are the totemic objects that are reserved for religious rituals which are emblematic of the clan or tribe, community or society; this is the case across the globe as all primitive religions adopt   the sacred/profane dichotomy (Durkheim 1915: xx). Sacred totems evoke emotional attachment whereas the profane represents everyday objects that are used routinely (such as social media devices) (Durkheim, 1915: xx). However, such totems are only sacred because individuals deemed them as such (Durkheim, 1915). To this end, Durkheim dismisses the centrality of a God in religion; it is the society itself that is God (19). It could be argued that the online community also worships itself as social media sites are central to society (Preston, 2011: [Online]). For example, in the previous week to the time of writing, the Facebook page Jesus Daily received 26.6m Likes and 3.2m interactions (Facebook, 2015: [Online]). Similarly, In a Facebook post by a Jesuit priest supporting the Supreme Court decision to legalise gay marriage Rev. James Martin asserted that: No issue brings out so much hatred from so many Catholics as homosexuality. Even after over 25 years as a Jesuit, the level of hatred around homosexuality is †¦ unbelievable to me, especially when I think of all of the wonderful LGBT friends I have (cited in Gibson, 2015: [Online]). The Reverends message went viral receiving 18,000 posts,140,000 shares and 400,000 likes on Facebook (Gibson, 2015:[Online]).However, Pope Benedict warned Catholics that human interaction in physical terms was crucial (Preston, 2011: [Online]). Similarly, a Presbyterian reverend urged individuals to experience the physical sensation of water in Baptism [and] hold hands in a service of worship (Preston, 2011: [Online]). This illustrates how religion is mediated in terms of a system of culturally structured and shared symbols (Parsons, 1979:6). Durkheim argues that forbidden, beliefs and practises assists the solidarity to one moral community called a church (Durkheim, 1995:44).   A Church is not simply a priestly brotherhood; it is a moral community (Durkheim, 1995: xxii-xxxii). The anomaly lies in the founder of Jesus Daily,   Aaron Tabor who is actually doctor and finds time to update Jesus Daily with Biblical texts (Preston, 2011: [Online]; Drescher, 2011 ). Similarly, the retw eeting of Pope Francis tweets comes second only to Barak Obama (1954: 47). This is evidence of a shift towards maintaining a less secular online identity which supports the functionalist vision of society for its cohesive qualities.   In contrast however, radical religiosity contradicts the functionalist vision. ISIS uses YouTube to showcase its killing; Twitter to increase its presence and Facebook to radicalise and recruit young British Muslims from a distance because criminals are often the result of instinctive, irresistible feelings that they often spread to the innocent object (Durkheim, 1893:47; Engel, 2015). While Twitter is constantly deleting ISIS accounts, ISIS is more intelligent than terrorists of the past which most definitely contradicts the functionalist vision (Engel, 2015). Conclusion In conclusion it is evident following a critical evaluation of the debates above that social media on the whole supports the functionalist view of society in maintaining to high degree the social stability of the body social. It is evident that rituals are performed constantly and values are reinforced where needed. However, other sites are more philanthropic and patronising of their working class subscribers which contradicts the functionalist vision. Social media has been beneficial to parts of the Arab world by overthrowing oppressive dictators while the social action of British youths served to redraw the moral boundaries.   ISIS contradicts the functionalist vision in its aim to eradicated Christians from Iraq and Syria. Nevertheless, the social cohesion of interacting with family and friends while the rituals that religious beliefs behold do support the functionalist vision of society. Word Count: 2,190 Bibliography BBC News (2012) Social media talks about rioting constructive, BBC News [Online] Available:  http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/mobile/uk-14657456  (Accessed 16th September 2015) Bell, C. M. (1992). Ritual theory, ritual practice. New York: Oxford University Press. Bouteflika, A. (2011) Twitter, Facebook and YouTubes role in Arab Spring, Social Capital [Online] Available:  https://socialcapital.wordpress.com/2011/01/26/twitter-facebook-and-youtubes-role-in-tunisia-uprising/  (Accessed 16th September 2015) Castells, M. (1999) An introduction to the information age in Mackay, H. OSullivan, T. (eds) The Media Reader: Continuity and Transformation (pp. 398-410). London: Sage Coser, L. (1984) Introduction in Durkheim, E. (1893) Division of Labour in Society (pp. ix-xxv), New York: Free Press Drescher, E. (2011) Five Social Media Trends That Are Reshaping Religion, Religion Dispatches [Online] Available  http://religiondispatches.org/five-social-media-trends-that-are-reshaping-religion/  (Accessed 16th September 2015) Durkheim, E. (1893) Division of Labour in Society, New York: Free Press Durkheim, E. (1995 [1912]) The Elementary Forms of Religious Life. [Translated and with an Introduction by Karen E. Fields.] New York: Free Press Engel, K. (2015) ISIS has mastered a crucial recruiting tactic no terrorist group has ever conquered Business Insider Gibson, D. (2015) A Catholic priests viral Facebook post on gay marriage, and what it means, Religion News Service [Online] Available:  http://davidgibson.religionnews.com/2015/06/29/a-catholic-priests-viral-facebook-post-on-gay-marriage-and-what-it-means/#sthash.G2wzRgMO.dpuf  (Accessed 16th September 2015) Maxwell Aggleton (2013) Privilege, Agency and Affect: Understanding the Production and Effects of Action, Basingstoke: Palgrave MacMillan Lewis, P. (2012) Reading the Riots, London: Guardian LSE Merton, R.K. (1938) Social Structure and Anomie, American Sociological Review, 3(5): 672-682. Merton R.K. (1968) Social Theory and Social Structure, New York: Free Press Mumsnet (2015) Home Page Mumsnet [Online] Available:  http://www.mumsnet.com/  (Accessed 17th September 2015) Parsons, T. (1951) The Social System, New York: Free Press Parsons, T. (1961) Theories of Society: Foundations of Modern Sociological Theory. New York: Free Press Parsons, T. (2001[1979]) The Structure of Social Action And Contemporary Debates Preston, J. (2011) Facebook Page for Jesus, With Highly Active Fans, New York Times [Online] Available:  http://www.nytimes.com/2011/09/05/technology/jesus-daily-on-facebook-nurtures-highly-active-fans.html?_r=0  (Accessed 15th September 2015) Sedghi, A. (2014) Facebook: 10 years of social networking, in numbers, The Guardian [Online] Available:  http://www.theguardian.com/news/datablog/2014/feb/04/facebook-in-numbers-statistics  (Accessed 27th September 2015) Weber, M. (1930 [1904–5]) The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism, Oxford, Blackwell. Wright Mills, C. (1956). The Power Elite. Oxford Press