Monday, September 30, 2019

Ethical theories Essay

There are five types of ethical theories: 1. Teleological theory of ethics 2. Deontological theory 3. Virtue ethics 4. Justice as fairness 5. Feminism The teleological theory examines the consequences in terms of pleasure and pain, which is termed as â€Å"Utilitarianism†. According to this theory, our obligation in any situation is to perform that action which will produce the greatest amount of good over evil. Under this theory, the ethical virtues such as being honest or not lying are not obligatory. Utilitarian morality compels you to do only those particular acts which bring out good results only. For instance, consider a situation where telling the truth can break someone’s heart or hurt his/her feelings then in the light of this theory, lying is better than honesty. One of the fundamental characteristics of utilitarianism is universalism which talks about the pleasure of everyone, rather than benefitting your own self only. The two versions of utilitarianism have evolved from these conditions, act-utilitarianism and rule-utilitarianism. The two great philosophers, Jeremy Bentham and Stuart Mill presented their views in the light of this theory. Bentham proposed the act-utilitarianism theory and said: â€Å"An action is right if it produces greatest amount of pleasure over pain for everyone† However, this statement was greatly opposed by many critics since they termed it as a â€Å"pig philosophy†. Critics complained that pleasure alone can not constitute the good for human beings because even pigs are capable of attaining pleasure from their own bodies so it would be better to live the life of a satisfied pig rather than being a dissatisfied human being such as Socrates. Seeing these objections, Stuart Mill supported the utilitarianism gave the idea of act-utilitarianism by giving his view that an action is right if it produces greatest amount of pleasure over pain by following certain moral rules. Mill said that a person should go for qualitative pleasure rather than quantitative pleasure. Mill also defended the accusation of pig philosophy on Bentham by giving his views that human beings are able to enjoy the higher levels of pleasure than swine. Human beings can pursuit pleasure in the form of intellectual arts and other such activities. Hence, Mill categorized pleasure in higher and lower forms of pleasure. Rule-utilitarianism emphasized tremendously on morality and social obligations, which in fact, are the problems of all teleological theories. Concluding the discussion now, the best theory is the rule-utilitarianism as compared to act-utilitarianism theory because one does not need to calculate the amount of pleasure and pain before performing any deed. Instead, it provides the basic grounds of morality and goodness for doing any action.

Sunday, September 29, 2019

School Letter

Dear Parents: The Elementary Science Club will be having its annual Investigatory Projects Exhibition on Saturday, May 29, 2009, at the school auditorium. In this regard, I would like to seek for you permission to allow your son/daughter to be present on May 22 and 29, both Saturdays, for the activity. As part of the Science Club, he/she will be working with co-members in preparing an Investigatory Project for the exhibit. The theme for this year’s exhibit is â€Å"Science in the Face of the Global Financial Crisis. The project will be started on May 22. Then, the works of the students will be showcased on the event come May 29. Through the years, breakthrough projects have been discovered in this annual activity. Similarly this year, three winners will be selected. The grand prize-winning entry will be brought to the state competitions. Last year, the school is proud to take home the third prize for the state championship. It is the school’s thrust to create holistic development for your children. I personally understand that after school, you would like your children to perform other activities, perhaps activities at home or in some other endeavor where you would like your children to excel. The Science Club has the same objectives. Activities such as this helps your children apply their classroom learning into action. I believe that you want this exposure for your children. We have attached a permission slip for you to sign. Should you have any questions or clarifications, please feel free to call our office.

Saturday, September 28, 2019

Concepts of leadership Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 1

Concepts of leadership - Essay Example Management, on the other hand, is a delegated authority. Managers are given formal roles by other people. In essence, they represent the interests of others. Management roles have goals that act as performance indicators. Managers have specific duties and roles such as planning, organizing and making decisions. Nursing managers have roles such as administration, financial management, and personnel management to meet the health objectives. In essence, management roles require managers to act in the best interest of the organization they lead. Leadership and management roles overlap in several aspects. Overlapping is especially common for nurses who fit to be both leaders and managers. Both leaders and managers try to strike a balance between the needs of the institution, patients and other employees. Thus, both leadership and management require critical skills such as interpersonal skills, critical thinking and coping. Such skills are essential in ensuring success. As a nurse leader, I would take advantage of the overlap to influence the welfare of nurses by seeking a management role. Leaders are influential especially if they have the management

Friday, September 27, 2019

GPS and Telecommunications Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

GPS and Telecommunications - Essay Example GPS is a system composed of 24 satellites rotating around at 12,000 feet. The system allows the user to determine the location of something in precise manner. A GPS system can achieve precision within 5 meters. When it was invented in 1978 the system was utilized for military applications. Three satellites allow the creation of 2D images, but when four satellites interlock the user can achieve 3D images (8garnin, 2009). The best attribute that of GPS technology is that its users do not have to pay a penny to gain access to the technology. The fact that GPS is an open source allowed companies to exploit the technology to gain profits. GPS has changed the lives of people around the world. Mobile technology is segment in the communication industry that has benefit a lot. GPS receptor system used to be, but a days a cellular telephone can be converted automatically into a GPS device that allows a person to exactly where he is even if the person is in moving vehicle. A lot of new vehicles come with a GPS as standard feature which allows the driver lo look road maps in and determine the best route to get to the desired location. The map guiding gaps application also applies to mobile phone. The gaps communication capabilities have change the way companies do business. The retail giant Wal-Mart utilizes gps derived application such as radio frequency identification (RFID) in order to determine the location of items. Wal-Mart has the capability to determine the movement of valuable inventory while it is in transit and once it arrives at warehouses it allows the company to eliminate wastage in its supply chain function. Since their costs are lower the company is able to pass those savings on the customer. This example shows how improved communication systems application benefits a large group of people. Another way gps is helping people around the world is by its utilization in agricultural projects. Ground –based weather, plant stage

Thursday, September 26, 2019

Managing Human Resources (Procedural Justice and Ethics in Employee Essay

Managing Human Resources (Procedural Justice and Ethics in Employee Relations,) - Essay Example Employers often claim they are protecting the business from â€Å"theft, loss of productivity, lawsuits, avoiding violence and terror attacks† (Lane, 2003 p. 12). However legitimate these reasons are, employees’ privacy also need to be respected. The law does not protect employees’ especially private sector employees from infringement of their privacy thus they depend on their good faith and procedural justice and ethics. The main purpose of this paper is to devise guidelines to follow in determining reasonable compromise between company’s need to run its business and employee rights to privacy. The paper will achieve this by first discussing the various ways businesses impinge on employee privacy. Secondly, the reasons behind employee surveillance will be discussed and the options employees have to protect their freedoms. Lastly, a set of guidelines will be drawn that can assist an organization fulfill its needs without necessarily undermining workersâ₠¬â„¢ feelings of dignity and worth. This is based on the belief that if workers are informed of what is going on they can easily adapt and accept a little infringement of privacy for the common good of all. Businesses especially with the advancement in technology have numerous ways of invading employees’ privacy. ... In one survey held in 1979, 75% of respondents believed in individual basic rights to privacy (Bies, 1993). Some ethical dilemmas on workplace privacy are specific to industries while others are common to all companies such as web surfing. Some of the methods used by employers that invade privacy include: computer-aided surveillance, drug and alcohol testing, AIDS testing, generic screening, health screening, background checks, credit reports, personality tests, use of video cameras, and Global Positioning System (GPS) (Brown, 1996 p. 1237). These generate private information about employees which employers can use for business purpose. Management is updated about employees’ activities every minute. Lanes (2003) argues that a certain amount of information and supervision is a necessary component of successful business. However, he also acknowledges that only relevant information should be sought and kept especially in an era when federal government has capability and will to u se that information for public policy purposes. Why do employers keep surveillance of employees? Some argue they are protecting the company from theft and sabotage. In this era of computer technology, employees have found ways of defrauding the company or divulging company secrets to outside world (Bies, 1993). As such, companies need to check what employees are surfing on the net, their emails, and what they do with company resources such as vehicles. Theft of intellectual property can e avoided by keeping close surveillance of employees use of personal computers. Another justification for surveillance is employee productivity. Many employees spend much of their time web surfing, talking on the phone, sending emails and playing

Wednesday, September 25, 2019

Market Segmentation and the Disintegration of an Entire Market Assignment - 7

Market Segmentation and the Disintegration of an Entire Market - Assignment Example Demographic Variables concern the characteristics of customers, for instance, marital status, gender, age, occupation, income, education, and religion among others. Market segmentation can also be done on geographical variables deals with the regional placement of customers for instance countries, states, and urban centers while behavioral variables concerns brand loyalty, product usage rate, and willingness to purchase (Cahill, 7). Initially, Starbucks targeted the entire coffee market and but tried to differentiate its coffee by developing fitting personal service and thus the Starbucks Experience. It also applied Geographical Segmentation principle by distributing it's over 17,000 outlets in different countries. The principle of market targeting requires a business to recognize the diversity of its customers and thus should offer them diverse services or goods that meet their varied tastes. The firm should be able to move at the same pace as the demands of consumers changes. The Starbucks experience first changed due to its attempts to meet the dynamic needs of the ever-increasing number of customers. It had to reconstitute its operations, as well as open new coffee outlets in potential market segments. After realizing that the business was losing most of its customers to the competitors, Schult came up with new policies for strategizing the future of the organization. It was no longer appealing to the traditional customer, thus lost its specialty, and finally became different. Starbucks now aims at meeting the unique and ever-changing needs of its customers. Stiff competition from other coffee houses forced the company to change the brand of their products in order to differentiate them from those offered by the competitors. The firm is now more focused on the benefits that customers will generate from consuming its coffee, which includes personal satisfaction, quality services beyond the  customers’ expectations, timely delivery of services amongst others.

Tuesday, September 24, 2019

Why Cruise, why cruise line is used Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Why Cruise, why cruise line is used - Essay Example dual cruise ships for targeted customers in order to heighten the quality of services and manage stiff competition that has left only â€Å"a few numbers of large corporations† in the market (Fabbi 2013, p.3). An example of a cruise ship with customized mission is one which stays for about one month in the seas, traversing vast waters with tourists whose main objective is amusement on board (Klein, 2005). Customized cruise ships provide interesting experiences when tourists need them the most. The right time to look for the best cruise ship and the unique services which one would like to enjoy is shortly before or during the holiday season. These are the times when the wild oceanic sceneries are out for sightseeing by individuals who are out of occupational commitments. Cruise ships are especially important form of amusement and adventure during winters when the air is virgin and crisp. With a clearly formed cruise ship case statement, customers would know beforehand, the beautiful landscapes, sea water experiences and other related activities they would enjoy during the trip. Taking a voyage with like-minded persons to experience the fresh air that a cruise ship has promised its patrons would be the best experience for tourists and the cruise ship crews whose schedule would remain unchanged by conflicting interests during the trip. As Klein (2005, p.4) has suggested that â€Å"customers perceive cruises as all-inclusive†, a well-informed audience that is aware of ships offering customised services would go a long way in aiding quicker customer decisions regarding which ship to take; and what sea routes one should follow to enjoy maximum experience. These experiences would be viable for specific cruise ships offering such services as well. As Mancini (2010) has said, disembarking at remote, but safe islands in a summer would enable many snorkelers in a customised ship for amusement the view of clear waters and sights of tropical fish species as well as coral

Monday, September 23, 2019

FINAL Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

FINAL - Essay Example â€Å"The moral structure of discretion remains essentially the same for all officials because they are all charged to obey and implement the law and respect legal process in exercising their power and judgment† (Victoria 1). Discretion is involved in every matter of professional life for a street-level government employee. A front line officer is usually more involved in dealing with public matters because he/she has to deal with public more than the higher ranked officials do. A front line government officer should exercise his/her discretion in resolving public matters instead of sending every simple case to higher authorities. For example, a police officer should have the power to decide whether he/she should resolve a conflicting situation on his/her own or he/she should send the case to the court to decide on it. However, it depends on the nature of the case. If a case is not very complex and both conflicting parties come to the police officer to suggest a solution for t hem, then the police officer should make the decision on his/her own. Such discretions in day-to-day work not only enhance the ability of front line government offices to the critical decisions but also reduce the load of work for the government agencies. For example, if a police officer resolves simple conflicts between people on his/her own, it will reduce the workload for the court which is usually already burdened with a number of cases. However, sometimes discretion in day-today activities does not work well for the society. The reason is that the reasoning and logic that a person at a higher level can give related to public administration matters is different from the mindset of a person working as a front line government employee. Higher appointments are done based on the level of qualification and intellectual ability of people. Such people can take wise decisions by looking all aspects of matters. For example, a decision that a judge can take is more wise and merit-based th an the decision that a front line police officer takes. Similarly, a decision that the manager of an organization can take for employees is more applicable and rational as compared to the decision that an employee takes for his/her work. Therefore, we can say that the consequences if street-level bureaucrats have discretion in their day-to-day activities vary from case to case. However, the negative consequences are not able to overcome the benefits associated with discretion to day-to-day works, such as, enhanced intellectual ability and reduced workload for government agencies. â€Å"Every elected, appointed, and career official must exercise judgment and discretion in carrying out the duties and responsibilities of office† (Victoria 1). Part: B The fundamental assumption of administrative reformers in the late 1800s and early 1900s that politics could have only adverse effects on administration was true up to some extent. The reason is that the politics of that time had in corporated such elements which could have disturbed the administrative approaches and systems of almost every department. Some of such elements included thirst of power, reducing the rights of others, and political instability. All of these elements played their roles in running the political matters of Central European countries. Such elements could have broken the

Sunday, September 22, 2019

Black People and Affirmative Action Essay Example for Free

Black People and Affirmative Action Essay Please be advised that Assignment One on the printed Tutorial Letter 101/3/2013 on pages 12 14 has a number of both typographical and numerical mistakes. This happened as a result of a number of factors: the initial assignment reading was too costly for the Department to commission in terms of copyright and had to be retracted at the last minute. The reading on Affirmative Action: a losing battle? was then included but with an almost impossible deadline, which resulted in the errors reflected therein. This is regrettable and we apologise for any inconvenience this might have cost you. The corrected version of the assignment is on page 3 and is attached to this TL and again on my UNISA for your convenience. The marks are out of 100 marks 50 for Section A and 50 marks for Section B. NB: Please note that the due date has not changed in any way (4 March 2013). 2 ENN103F/102 8. 4. 1. FIRST SEMESTER ASSIGNMENTS The purpose of this assignment is to teach you how to read an article and to critically engage in academic reading and reflecting on the material in an academic manner by answering the short paragraph questions provided as well as an essay. Assignment 01 will be marked fairly fully and sent back to you. Affirmative action: a losing battle? There are considerable reasons to suppose that this topic, which affects all citizens of South Africa, in particular, seems dated. In some instances it is a policy viewed with hostility as it is said to discriminate against sections of the population, yet in others it is seen as beneficial to women, black people and the disabled. Studies show that in many instances this form of historical redress has proven a hindrance to performance and makes the beneficiaries doubt their abilities when viewed by their superiors. This has a negative effect on an organization since the quality of work is seen as being sub-standard. Equally, there are significant indicators, both in industry and the private sector, that the opening up of previously closed avenues through the policy of affirmative action made companies perform better since the beneficiaries of such workplace selection viewed their work as a challenge. Where beneficiaries claim stigmatization by such a selection process, it means they prefer not to have been selected through such efforts. Either way, the battle seems to go on and on. In the light of this ongoing and divisive debate, the level of debate regarding the policy has not progressed further since comparative studies of the policy have not been seriously undertaken. There has been no systematic study of the developments in how the policy actually proves beneficial as a tool of redress. Part of the reason is that, firstly, there is a lack of monitoring of what goes on in organizations, and secondly, that the regulations are not strictly enforced. For instance, companies will usually ‘front’ a black person, a woman or a disabled person, as a chief executive officer and leave the matter of compliance as a secondary issue. Rarely do such companies face serious consequences even if they do business with the government. The question then is whether a time limit should be placed on the policy and Act or whether it should be declared unconstitutional. Consideration has not been taken, for instance, of measures used in other countries to actively promote privilege. Very few advocacy groups ever mention the Naturalization Act of 1790, the Homestead Act of 1862 or even the Federal Housing Administration Loan Program of the 1930s used by the government of the United States of America to promote racial preference; or that such Acts were also used as models for other racially divided societies. Advocacy groups for and against the policy and Act have routinely made it a point that the policy is unsettling, needless and discriminatory, on the one hand, while others argue forcefully that the amelioration of past injustices justifies its implementation. Whichever side is on the ascendancy cannot take the other side’s viewpoint, and in the end the past divisions are set to continue. 3 SECTION A: Short questions Answer the following questions in short paragraphs. Please note that each question will be marked out of 10 marks: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. Is the affirmative action policy morally defensible? Explain. In your opinion, which country has successfully implemented the policy of affirmative action and why did it succeed? In your view, why did the South African government choose to implement the Affirmative Action policy and Act, and was it ever justifiable? Does the policy need to be discontinued after a certain length of time, and why? In your opinion, why is it that people from a different racial group are unemployable in certain sectors of the economy and not in others? [10 X 5 = 50] SECTION B: Essay Write an essay of approximately one and a half page on either of the questions below. Please note that each essay will be marked out of 50 marks: 1) Do you think cultivating an equal opportunity society has helped countries such as South Africa and America to move forward? In a carefully worded essay, show why this is the case or why it is not. OR 2) To what extent do you consider such a policy and act relevant to the needs of any society today? [50 marks] Best wishes The ENN103F Team 4.

Saturday, September 21, 2019

The Global Economic Crisis Essay Example for Free

The Global Economic Crisis Essay The current global financial has spawned a renewed interest among economists and policymakers to identify its causes and to come up with possible solutions. There were a number of financial crises that have taken place in the 20th century, a considerable number of which elicited panic that the whole economy was at the verge of collapse (Karabell). Countries previously affected by economic crises seem to be rebounding, with improvements in credit ratings and returns of foreign capital. Despite the lessons learned from the past crises, it is inevitable for history to repeat itself. Moreover, not even the world’s strongest economy is immune from this terrible fate. The meltdown in the US mortgage industry started the series of unfortunate events that led to the massive economic crisis. The perception that real estate prices would rise encouraged financial institutions to loosen their standards to borrowers (Shiller 29). However, this economic slowdown was not contained in the mortgage industry. Months after the initial signs of such slowdown, bigger financial institutions have been hit of what has become a global financial crisis. It was like dominoes falling one right after another: The demise of Lehman Brothers tipped to the rush sale of Merrill Lynch to Bank of America, followed by the federal takeover of AIG (Duffy). Now that the U. S. government has granted a $7-billion bailout, the U. S. financial market shows promising potentials of recovery. Yet, none can be of infallible certainty as to its sustainability (Sahadi). It is impossible to account at this early point of time the effectiveness of the bailout. What is possible is to recognize what is happening and to take basic steps in the restructuring of the institutional foundations of the financial economy. These include taking short-run remedies to put a halt at least to the continuing detriments of the crisis and to employ long-term changes that would reduce, if not totally eradicate, the risk of another global financial crisis. Works Cited Duffy, Michael. â€Å"After the Financial Crisis, a Cleanup That Changes Everything. † Time Magazine. 22 September 2008. 28 October 2008 http://www. time. com/time/business/article/ 0,8599,1843213,00.html. . Karabell, Zachary. â€Å"In A Few Fateful Days. † Newsweek. 18 October 2008. 28 October 2008 http://www. newsweek. com/id/164593. Sahadi, Jeanne. â€Å"Bailout is law: President Bush signs historic $700 billion plan aimed at stemming credit crisis. † CNNMoney. 4 October 2008. 28 October 2008 http://money. cnn. com/2008/10/03/news/economy/house_friday_bailout/index. htm? postversion=2008100309 Shiller, Robert J. The Subprime Solution: How Todays Global Financial Crisis Happened, and What to Do about It. New Jersey: Princeton University Press, 2008.

Friday, September 20, 2019

Reverend John Hale in The Crucible

Reverend John Hale in The Crucible Reverend Hale, The Mentor The Character, Reverend Hale, is introduced into The Crucible as a very faithful and respected man. Swiftly being pulled into the ever broadening chaos that ensued in Salem. As days passed Hale is transformed from the man who will extract the witches to the man who will try to save Proctors life. Hale being both a mentor for the village and for Proctor while the story progresses while also keeping the peace. Hale being a 40 year old Reverend of the church and is told to have helped in the witch hunting in another much larger town is seen highly in salem. Reverend Hale is the classic Mentor archetype, whose strong faith but lack of political savvy hinders his ability to save the people of Salem. The Mentor archetype is profiled as His or her task is to protect the main character. (According to Literarydevives.net). Hale fits this perfectly, trying to protect John all along the way. Excellency, it is a natural lie to tell; I beg you, stop now before another is condemned! I may shut my conscience to it no more-Private vengeance is working through this testimony! From the beginning this man has struck me true. By my oath to Heaven, I believe him now, and I pray you call his wife back before we- He spoke on page 119 saying how Elizabeth had just tried to save his name when he went to call out Abigail on Harlotry. Another prime example was when he begged Danforth to not make him confess others on page 148 Excellency, it is enough he confess himself. Let him sign it, let him sign it. The final example was when he began to nearly plead with Elizabeth to beg him to sign it even though John made it extremely clear he wouldnt sign his name away on page 152 Woman, Plead with him! Woman ! It is pride, it is vanity. Be his Helper!-What profit him to bleed? Shall the dust praise him? Shall the worms declare his truth? Go to him, take his shame away!. In many ways does Hale fit the classic Mentor archetype, he helps the general populace and later Proctor since he cared so much. Reverend Hale has both strengths and weaknesses that show within the play. Hale shows how he has to rely on the court instead of intervening, like when he told Mr. Nurse on page 71 Believe me, Mr. Nurse, if Rebecca Nurse be tainted, then nothings left to stop the whole green world from burning. Let you rest upon the justice of the court; the court will send her home, I know it.. He also shows how he is well liked and his faith is very powerful. On page 36 the narration says about Hale He feels himself allied with the best minds of Europe kings, philosophers, scientists, and ecclesiastics of all churches. All in all Hale was quite a spiritually and faithfully strong character while also having weaknesses within the court in both inability to fight against the court and being fearful. The motivation of Hale resides within his Faith. The narrator says at one point His goal is light, goodness and its preservation, and he knows the exaltation of the blessed whose intelligence, sharpened by minute examinations of enormous tracts, is finally called upon to face what may be a bloody fight with the Fiend himself. One of the other good quotes to show his willingness to fight and drive out the evil is on page 39 where he says We shall find him out if he has come among us, and I mean to crush him utterly if he has shown his face! His willingness to help anyone and others is shown on page 46 Tituba, turn your back on him and face God-face God, Tituba, and God will protect you. he would even defend a slave. Hales motivation to help and to share the love of God with others, Hales will to help others trumps greed as he is willing to help even accused witches. The archetype of the Mentor perfectly fits for Hale, residing with his will to help others and his strong faith while also being undermined by his issues with the court. The Mentor archetype is based after someone who wants to help lead someone to their cause or is trying to help people in some way. Think of Hale much like other mentors, like Gandalf and Dumbledore, like Obi wan and Mace Windu. They all want to help the hero no matter what happens to them.Reverend Hale, The Mentor The Character, Reverend Hale, is introduced into The Crucible as a very faithful and respected man. Swiftly being pulled into the ever broadening chaos that ensued in Salem. As days passed Hale is transformed from the man who will extract the witches to the man who will try to save Proctors life. Hale being both a mentor for the village and for Proctor while the story progresses while also keeping the peace. Hale being a 40 year old Reverend of the church and is told to have helped in the witch hunting in another much larger town is seen highly in salem. Reverend Hale is the classic Mentor archetype, whose strong faith but lack of political savvy hinders his ability to save the people of Salem. The Mentor archetype is profiled as His or her task is to protect the main character. (According to Literarydevives.net). Hale fits this perfectly, trying to protect John all along the way. Excellency, it is a natural lie to tell; I beg you, stop now before another is condemned! I may shut my conscience to it no more-Private vengeance is working through this testimony! From the beginning this man has struck me true. By my oath to Heaven, I believe him now, and I pray you call his wife back before we- He spoke on page 119 saying how Elizabeth had just tried to save his name when he went to call out Abigail on Harlotry. Another prime example was when he begged Danforth to not make him confess others on page 148 Excellency, it is enough he confess himself. Let him sign it, let him sign it. The final example was when he began to nearly plead with Elizabeth to beg him to sign it even though John made it extremely clear he wouldnt sign his name away on page 152 Woman, Plead with him! Woman ! It is pride, it is vanity. Be his Helper!-What profit him to bleed? Shall the dust praise him? Shall the worms declare his truth? Go to him, take his shame away!. In many ways does Hale fit the classic Mentor archetype, he helps the general populace and later Proctor since he cared so much. Reverend Hale has both strengths and weaknesses that show within the play. Hale shows how he has to rely on the court instead of intervening, like when he told Mr. Nurse on page 71 Believe me, Mr. Nurse, if Rebecca Nurse be tainted, then nothings left to stop the whole green world from burning. Let you rest upon the justice of the court; the court will send her home, I know it.. He also shows how he is well liked and his faith is very powerful. On page 36 the narration says about Hale He feels himself allied with the best minds of Europe kings, philosophers, scientists, and ecclesiastics of all churches. All in all Hale was quite a spiritually and faithfully strong character while also having weaknesses within the court in both inability to fight against the court and being fearful. The motivation of Hale resides within his Faith. The narrator says at one point His goal is light, goodness and its preservation, and he knows the exaltation of the blessed whose intelligence, sharpened by minute examinations of enormous tracts, is finally called upon to face what may be a bloody fight with the Fiend himself. One of the other good quotes to show his willingness to fight and drive out the evil is on page 39 where he says We shall find him out if he has come among us, and I mean to crush him utterly if he has shown his face! His willingness to help anyone and others is shown on page 46 Tituba, turn your back on him and face God-face God, Tituba, and God will protect you. he would even defend a slave. Hales motivation to help and to share the love of God with others, Hales will to help others trumps greed as he is willing to help even accused witches. The archetype of the Mentor perfectly fits for Hale, residing with his will to help others and his strong faith while also being undermined by his issues with the court. The Mentor archetype is based after someone who wants to help lead someone to their cause or is trying to help people in some way. Think of Hale much like other mentors, like Gandalf and Dumbledore, like Obi wan and Mace Windu. They all want to help the hero no matter what happens to them.

Thursday, September 19, 2019

Unlikely Savior :: Religion Religious Essays

Unlikely Savior If people were asked to describe a judge or leader for the Israelites, imaginations might conjure up a pious, older man paying strict adherence to the Mosaic laws and Codes of his people. One would not call to mind a young man with superhuman strength who drinks, fights, gambles and goes whoring whenever the spirit moves him. Samson fits the latter description, a very unlikely vessel for the Holy Spirit. Even more remarkable is the realization that Samson was exactly the way God wanted him to be—a hell-raiser. Why would God pick such a rabble-rousing rogue to be the champion of freedom for His chosen people? Because Samson was a catalyst meant to disrupt the complacency of the Israelites with regards to their subjugation to the Philistines—the proverbial lit match to the powder keg. He was also created to serve as an archetypical folk hero for his generation and those to follow, a larger-than-life symbol to remember and take heart from when thi ngs got tough. â€Å"Created† is the operative word for Samson—he is created for a purpose. He doesn’t become the man he will be due to happenstance; he is given no choice. God had plans for him since before he was born. In a passage similar to others found in both the Old and New Testaments, an angel comes to Samson’s mother (then barren) and announces a miraculous birth. He instructs her to abstain from wine and not to eat things from the vine or unclean things. He adds that â€Å"†¦no razor shall come to his head: for the child will be a Nazarite unto God from the womb: and he shall begin to deliver Israel out of the hand of the Philistines.† Samson was predestined to initiate a chain of events, not to see what he started to its conclusion. Note that the angel said, â€Å"†¦shall begin to deliver,† not â€Å"†¦shall deliver...†(Judges 13:3-5). Regardless of the outcome, Sampson reaches adulthood and sets forth to fulfilling his destiny with great aplomb.

Wednesday, September 18, 2019

Cannibalism as a Sexual Disorder :: Anthropology Essays Paleontology Papers

Cannibalism as a Sexual Disorder Cannibalism occurs prevalently in both Tarzan and Heart of Darkness, and is a controversial topic with which the public is largely unfamiliar. Although cannibalism is generally thought of in a primitive animal sense, experts have revealed that cannibalism can be identified as a sexual disorder (O’Connor). A cannibal is scientifically classified as an anthropophagus (â€Å"Anthropophagus†), which falls under the category of Anthropophagy. Anthropophagy by definition is the sexual gratification by consumption of human flesh or blood. Although rather disturbing, sexual cannibalism is now accepted as the more common variety of cannibalism (O’Connor). Because sexual cannibalism is considered to be a social taboo both today, and during the times of Tarzan and Marlow, the creation of entertainment based on it has been limited, though the urges to expand on this topic may have been far more prevalent. There have been many films and novels created which depict the anthropophagy related to animals, most specifically, spiders. For example, films such as â€Å"Invasion of the Body Snatchers† and â€Å"Little Shop of Horrors† develop the similarities among human and insect anthropophagy (O’Connor). Due to the use of Anthropophagy for leisure purposes, it is evident that cannibalism is a topic of much interest among humans, aside from its label as a social taboo. Technically, a human’s eating of another human has a chemical effect on the blood. Too much human meat causes a build up of vitamin A and amino acids such as homocysteine in the bloodstream, which could cause congenital defects in future offspring. However, if human organs which are rich in B vitamins and folic acid are eaten along with the human meat, homocysteine is not able to metabolize in the bloodstream. This means that cannibalism could hypothetically be the basis of a healthy diet (â€Å"Natural Food†). Contrary to human meat and organs actually being healthy to a human diet, cannibalism is also said to cause madness and addiction based on sexual urges and gratification. Kate Rix depicts that sexual cannibalism in its truest sense may in fact lead to the development of necrophilia tendencies. Disturbing behavior, such as that of cannibalism as well as necrophilism, is a result of chemical imbalances in the brain.

Tuesday, September 17, 2019

Indian Book Retail Industry Essay

The Indian book retail industry is estimated to be over Rs 3,000 crore, out of which organised retail accounts for only 7 per cent. The industry is expected to grow by approximately 15 per cent a year. Book retail contributes only about 1 per cent to the overall retail industry. Text and curriculum books account for about 50 per cent of the sales. Second-hand books are also a big chunk of the book retail market. In the past few years, several large format book store chains have come up, such as Landmark, Crossword and Om Book Shop etc . More than 75 per cent stores of these large chains are in top eight cities. These Organized Book retailers are focusing on improved customer experience. Many book stores have also introduced coffee shops and provide a library-like atmosphere where customers can sit and read, while sipping coffee. Besides this online channel is also significant with players like Flipkart, Indiaplaza, Infibeam etc. With the printed word considered an endangered species in much of a rapidly digitizing world, India now represents one of the best book markets in the world. â€Å"There has definitely been a huge jump in the size of the industry in terms of book sales and the number of books being published,† said Mita Kapur, the founder of Siyahi, a literary agency, who says the number of books published in English is growing by 30 percent a year. Vikrant Mathur, associate director of Nielsen Book, India, said the volume of book sales grew by 45 percent during the first half of 2011. For the entire year, Nielsen, a global information provider, documented English-language book sales of 3. 28 billion rupees – about $62 million – from more than 12 million books sold. And that is probably only a fraction of true total sales, since Nielsen only measures about 35 percent of the total market. â€Å"Where physical books are concerned India right now is a very, very big market,† said Priyanka Malhotra, director of Full Circle Publications. â€Å"There is a whole younger generation coming up from BPOs who are starting to read in English, which is where a lot of new demand is coming from. † Online retail have also spurred growth in the industry. To summarize India’s book retail industry is broadly divided into 3 sectors : 1. Organized 2. Unorganized 3. Online The organized sector has big names such as : crosswords, OM book shop , landmark etc to name a few. On the other hand unorganized sector is huge and highly fragmented, with shops spanning from local book stores to road side book shanties to red light book sellers etc. This sector is also filled with piracy and pirated copies of original books (which is a serious threat to the sales of organized sector) Online sector is the newest of them all and has just started to takeoff in sales since last 3-4 years. The major advantage of such a format is the wide variety of offerings under one roof and ease of access for the users. Thus this is the fastest growing sector among all of them. The prominent players in this category are Flipkart. com, Infibeam. com etc. Unorganized sector (Golden book depot) Golden book depot is a typical book store among many in the unorganized sector of the india book retail industry. This store is loacated in the vicinity of our target organized sector store ( OM book shop) i. e.  Ber Sarai ( adjacent to IIT) in south Delhi. As can be seen in the photograph, this is a small shop , almost 1/10th of the size of om book shop and most of the products are available behind the counter, with only magazine stand placed just outside the store. As magazines as a category has most no of impulse purchase. On an average around 50-70 customers come to this book store, and this tore has a footfall conversion of over 85% which is very high as compared to the organized sector (OM book shop) . The reason for this behavior is that most of the products in these kind of shops are behind the counter and it doesn’t provide the luxury to the customer to stroll around and search and read a book as in the case of organized sector. Therefore almost all of the customers coming to these shops like golden book depot are aware of what they want and demand that directly from the shop keeper who then searches the book in the shop and hands over to the customer. Besides having a smaller area , less variety of books and behind the counter selling, the sales (in terms of no.of books sold) is still higher in golden book depot as compared to OM book shop . The reason for that being : 1. Availability of educational books , i. e. educational course materials and competitive exam preparation books. These books constitute the majority of the portion of these book shops in unorganized sector. These kind of books , especially course materials for various courses such as MBA, B. Tech, BCA etc . are not available at book stores like OM book shop. As they (Organized) focus more on selling of novels and leisure read books. 2. Many of the popular shops in unorganized sector offer a facility to bring the old books and exchange them with the new books at a discounted rate or return the old books at a discounted rate in form of cash return. This is a major reason why price conscious middle class Indian customers prefer unorganized sector over organized sector. 3. Perception in the minds of Indian customers that these small shops will offer the same product at cheaper rate than the organized sector shops, which have flashy interiors and huge shop floor. This perception is true also upto some extent as these shopkeepers in these small shops have the control over their margins and not guided by any company policy ( as in the case of OM book shop) that means these shop keepers can even squeeze their margins from around 10% to as low as 1-2% to attract or retain a customer by offering them the cheapest bargain. Organized sector (OM BOOK SHOP ) About Om Book Shop Retailer and Publishing House: Om Book Shop is a part of Om Books International, a leading English language trade publisher in the subcontinent, and is a prominent player in the Indian book industries. The book retailing chain has a significant presence across the Delhi-NCR region. Besides stocking books, movies, magazines and CD ROMs, Om Book Shop is also a major distributor of books of many leading international imprints. OBI began publishing in 1993. Collection: With a strong focus on children books and coffee-table books, the store has a diverse collection including books on Lifestyle, Nature and Wildlife, Fashion, Bollywood, Heritage and Culture, Management, Health & Fitness, Cookery, Architecture and Interiors, pictorial books for children etc. Children section is a major thrust area for the company and OBI publishes children’s titles under the Om Kids imprint: illustrated classics, mythology, folk tales, encyclopaedias etc. Loyalty programs and other salient features: Other salient features Om Book Shop currently holds about 50 thousand registered customers with the Om Book Privilege Loyalty Programme which offers points, discounts & other offers to its loyal customers. OBS aims to popularize the Gift -a- book idea across its stores and delivers services like Dial-a-book which allows the customers to shop from their homes; and the efficient and helpful staffs in the book stores assists them in finding the right book or the right gift for the right occasion. Overview: Product, Category and Store Product Category: ‘Books’ Retail Format: Category Specialists Customer segments: In terms of demographics, the Om Book shop customer can be a child/adult from any age group, gender, income class (reasonably well off) etc. Store: Om Book Shop is located in DLF Promenade Mall in Vasant Kunj. The store is located on the 2nd floor of the mall and the floor plan is provided in Figure1. The store is strategically located in a way that it falls on one of the 2 ways to the food court and movie theatre. Figure 1: Floor Plan of Om Book Store STORE PHILOSOPHY * Layout * Ambience/decor * Sale program * Loyalty Store layout structure Om book store has a very functional and efficient physical layout. Mall sq. foot area is very expensive so there seems to be an effort on part of the book store to utilize as much area as possible. Hence the layout may be a bit crammed for some customers. The bird’s eye view of the layout is as follows: K1 K2 K3 Graphic K Adv Cin/music Photo Sports Arch Interior Craft T20 F Ind F Sc F K Classic Rom F Languages (Dic//Ref/Hindi) Poetry(1) Classics(2) Travel Gardening Pet Wildlife OM KIDS (Activity) On the Ground OM KIDS (Story Books) MAGAZINES Cook Book Hor KR Envelopes Movies CD/DVD Biography NF Poi Hist Astro Psycho Philo Mili K NF (encyclopedia) Fiction (A-Z) BS BS BS BS BS BS BS BS BS BS ENTRY s mp p s P NA Cooking T 20 NF s Teenage F Health Indian Religion Management HBR Fashion/Textile Om Posters Om Posters Hobby/Work F= Fiction. NF= Non Fiction NA= New Arrival K= Kids bm Loyalty info om The front view of the store is a transparent glass window through which a passerby can easily see into the store. The poster’s on display from the front view are only of â€Å"OM publisher’s† in different categories like kids books, cook books, and biography (Amir Khan’s â€Å"I’ll Do it My Way†. The most popular and eye-catchy book categories are positioned near the entrance of the store. The largest selling categories, Children’s books, Fiction, and New Arrivals are placed in shelves that a customer encounters as soon as he enters the store. These sections also have the largest impulse buy and are therefore kept at the forefront. Om book’s self published books in the kids category is displayed in big piles on the ground straight in the line of path of a customer who walks into the store. Since the child often runs about choosing his/her own story books and activity (colouring/mask) books and heavily influencing the purchase decision of the parent so the children books of the OM publisher has been strategically kept within reach of the child on the ground to woo the him/her. Other publications in the same Children’s category have been kept on the shelf and in â€Å"sideway† display to decrease their exposure to the child/parent. Om Publication’s in any other category when placed on the shelf have been given a frontal full display to encourage sales. Management books being the next most popular category, they have been placed right after the popular categories when comparing in terms of â€Å"distance from entrance†. Categories pertaining to work or hobby like gardening, travelling, cooking etc / or specific topics of interest like astrology, philosophy, poetry, etc have been grouped towards the end of the store, furthest away from the entrance. This is because these categories can usually not create impulse purchase and so every customer need not pass through these segments/aisles. People who do buy these books are targeted shoppers and will anyhow walk to the back end of the shop to pick up his/her book. These categories are not as popular as the others and have loyal customer following. The impulse buy accessories are lined along the passage on either side from the entrance to the cash counter. It is further seen that the counter is placed at the other end from the entrance to ensure that a customer has to walk through all the impulse purchase offerings before he/she can buy the book. The products on offer in this so called â€Å"impulse accessory† shopping segment are: pens (parker and waterman), magazines, cookbooks, horoscope books, key rings, bookmarks, marble-paper/wrapping paper, and bestsellers in each category. It can further be noticed that the best seller section just prior to the cash counter is dedicated solely to Om publication. Additional aspects of the Store Layout The layout is no doubt very functional keeping in mind the profit maximization philosophy of the store and the main agenda of pushing its own publication to the shopper. However the spacing of shelves is crammed with little walking space, hardly any sitting space (only 2-3 stools), and only 1 book stand. The entire focus is on 1 product offering i. e. books. Unlike competitors in the organised sector like Landmark, it is not focussing on the entire shopping experience, (no coffee, no other items on offer like stationary etc, no sitting space). Store Ambience and Decor The bookshelves were made of engineered wood like particle wood. This created a unique and rich traditional effect. Plastic or metal bookshelves were not used since they do not look expensive and give a modern feel, which was not something the book store wanted. Furthermore the particle wood was coloured a light shade of brown to give a bright and roomy/spacious look to the store. However the bookshelves were placed too close and for a particular section of customers who prefer the comforts of abundant seating arrangement, coffee facility, and walking space (as provided by Landmark), the sheer functional design of the store might be interpreted as a crammed. This might not work well for a particular segment of customers whose involvement with the shopping experience is as high as, if not higher than the involvement with the product itself. Furthermore the store works on the philosophy that it will focus on selling books alone and not encourage customers to spend hours just reading in the store. This is unlike some of its contemporaries like Landmark that encourage customers to sit and read inside the store. Hence at OM book stores some customers may complain that the staff hover close to them and make them feel uncomfortable if they stay too long. The store plays light and slow English instrumental music to suit the taste of the higher-strata of people who usually visit the Promenade Mall and create a relaxed atmosphere in the store. Instrumental music is played since a song with wordings would disturb the concentration of a customer reading the epilogue/back-cover of a book. This gives a contemporary feel to the store. Store Sale Programs The store’s maximum profit comes from its Children’s section. Hence the sale period coincides with the summer and winter vacation in schools in Delhi. December to Mid-January and May to June are the respective winter and summer sales. The store is also receptive to mall trends in sale. Since almost every other shop in the mall had a sale in July, so the store too announced a sale to cash in on the increased footfall to the mall during the sale-period. There was no Flat Sale offer. Discount amounts were graded on the basis of demand. Books with high demand had low sale; New Arrival, Top 20 Fiction/Non-Fiction, general Fiction, and bestsellers had only 10% discount. The store felt that irrespective of the price these books would sell and so gave negligible discount on them. However on the kids section the discount was higher, around 20%, and even higher discounts on children’s books published in-house by Om Publications. This is because the store believes that parents during the sale period buy in bulk and a higher sale would induce them to buy more and yet it would not affect your margins. Furthermore parents are price conscious when buying for little kids since the books cannot be added to a collection later on and mostly become irrelevant in a short time after the child has outgrown them. The sale on OM publication was the highest because they already had the highest margins on it due to the absence of a middleman, and therefore could easily afford a large discount on those books. By touting the large discounts they aim to attract consumers to their publication and yet make the largest profit on the same sales. The books with the largest discounts (say more than 50%) were displayed in piles on the floor. This was due to the belief that even if the books weren’t displayed at eye-level, even then the mammoth sale amount would encourage the shoppers to make the effort of bending down to pick up the book. To publicise the sale big red stickers were pasted on the glass walls of the store which can be viewed by the casual shopper passing by the store. Inside the store the discount for each section was mentioned separately through stickers and pointers. Store Loyalty Program A book is generally a product category where the consumer’s involvement with the product (i. e.the book itself) is much higher than his involvement with the store. Even if a person might have store preferences, yet his/her loyalty lies with the book and not with the store. Hence a consumer would not really care much as to whether he bought his/her book at OM Book stores or at Landmark, which is a stones throwaway. Thus in order to boost retention of loyal customers Om book stores has come up with a loyalty program, a privilege card holder concept which is as follows: * 1 point for every Rs. 10 purchase. * Minimum points for redemption are 500 points. * 1 point equals Rs 1 reduction in bill amount. 60-70% of walk-in customers were privilege card holders and the store already has 4500 privilege card holders. The scheme is a moderate success. Store Timings | 11 A. M to 10 P. M ( For Mall)11 A. M to 8 P. M ( For standalone shop not the store we studied)| Working days| All 7 Days of the week| Peak days| Saturday and Sunday| Peak hours| Evenings post 6:00 pm| Staff| 10-12 members including the manager. Manager stands behind the counter at one of the two cash registers. He is accompanied by 2 staff members whose work is to: 1. Use the second cash register for quick transactions during peak hour to prevent long queuing period 2. To get a book for a customer if he/she directly comes to the counter and asks for a specific book. | Floor Staff responsibilities| * Taking care of the specific three to four sections assigned to them. * keeping a track of inventory * Filling the requisition form for the replenishing of stock * Guiding the customers if required * Sticking the barcode behind each new book before placing them on the shelf. | Shifts| There are no shifts; each staff member works throughout the day from 11:00 AM -8:00pm (fixed) and from 8:00pm-10:00pm (variable) depending on the rush. Hence post 8:00 pm the retained staff is paid on overtime basis. | Showrooms (strategic positioning)| NCR – 5 in malls and 2 stand aloneMumbai – 1 stand aloneThe store we studied was in the Promenade mall beside DT cinemas movie ticket counter on the 2nd floor. | Revenues| 1. 5 to 2 Lakhs on weekdays3 to3. 5 Lakhs on weekendsChildren, Fiction – highest selling category (80% of sales)| CONSUMER BUYING BEHAVIOUR The product category is such that it involves Limited-Decision Making by the customers. The reasons for purchase of a book from the store can be: * Buying for self- Leisure * Buying for self Knowledge * Buying for Others- Regular * Buying for Others- Situational. The greater the motivation to make an optimal decision, the more likely an attribute-based choice will be made. Thus, attribute-based processing is more likely for an expensive book purchase than it is for an inexpensive magazine. The easier it is to access complete attribute-by-brand information, the more likely attribute-based processing will be used. A variety of situations influence which choice approach is most likely. A book bought with the intention of a gift purchase is assigned more importance than a purchase for oneself. Thus, gift purchases would be more likely to produce attribute-based decision processes. Time pressure is a major determinant of choice process used, with increasing time pressures producing more use of attitude-based decisions. Thus, we can identify 3 major clusters of customers that visit Om Book Shop. Category I: DEDICATED READER This is the kind of person who feels complete with a book in his hand. For him, the behaviour is governed by his choices alone and it is solely his decision. He is always trying to find the time to get back to his book. He is convinced that the world would be a much better place if only everyone read more. His primary information search happens within the store only. Category II: LITERATE GOOD CITIZEN This is the kind of person who usually buys a book after reading it review by a critic or an expert. Such a person does more information search before coming to the store. For our respondent group, the most dominant sources for this information were reviews and Bestseller lists published in newspapers, magazines or online blogs and sites likes Amazon. com. Category III: FAD READER This is the kind of person who only reads the popular books/ latest bestsellers so he can be up to date on what other people are talking about and be seen by others as someone who is well read. He often reads for the social credit he can get out of it. His primary information search is more through his friend circle or his group of colleagues from whom he might hear the latest ‘fads’ in terms of books. Such a person could also go in for information search in popular newspapers/magazines or the shares on social media websites. From the interactions with a few customers at the Store, we could find out the following: Social Class| Effect on Book Purchasing Behaviour| Contended Upper-Middle class| Preferences:†Popular fiction† is their favorite category. Read fewer authors. Might read books in vernacular. Purchases: most of them prefer borrowing from friends/library, buy books once in a while. Prefer buying during sales unless the book means a lot to them. Communication: they are most exposed to TV and then the Internet. Reviews from friends also propel them to buy popular books. | Aspiring Upper-Middle Class| Preferences: Like reading a variety of books. They read popular fiction, romance, thriller, and also lots of red classics, classics and mature serious books. Often read books due to peer pressure. The time they can devote to reading is very little because they are usually time-constrained. Purchases: Prefers borrowing books to buying them. Communication: Internet and TV is relatively high, followed by the newspaper. They often read books that are suggested by their friends. Being seen reading particular books gives them a social esteem and acceptance among their peers. | Upper Class | Preferences: prefer a variety of books from contemporary novels, to classics, red classics, neo-classical books, non-fiction and business related books. Hardly read romantic fiction and don’t blindly go for bestsellers. Purchases: convenience is important. If the book is available instantly with a friend they will borrow, else they will buy it without delay, whichever is faster. Communication: Highest exposure to and influence of net (online reviews and blogs) and newspaper. A close friend/colleagues suggestion might matter. They do not read to fit in with their peers. | Upper-Upper class| Preferences: A preference for mature intellectual serious reading and contemporary novels. No â€Å"cheesy romantic novels†. However since Sumedha is a housewife she admits that at times she also likes reading thrillers (fiction). Read a variety of authors. Reading books is a popular leisure activity in this class. Purchases: They purchase the book they want to read, never borrow. Communication: Newspaper, Blogs, online reviews, magazines matter. TV doesn’t play any role and nor do peer group tastes in books. Friends don’t influence their purchase. | Some interesting finds about what customers believe about book reading: * Strongly believed that if parents read book then usually the child inculcates the habit of reading books too. * Felt that girls read more than boys. * Felt that people pick up the habit of reading books in school. * Felt that books influence the internal self. * Felt reading books is an enjoyable activity. * Fiction is the most popular category. * Bestsellers and classics/novels are the next preferred category. * Non-fiction, philosophy/religion/supernatural, business/law books, and books on specific topics of interest are least favoured. RECOMMENDATIONS STORE BASED RECOMMENDATIONS: When we map the Customer decision making process to the Store philosophy and operations we see that OM book store fairs well on certain aspects and do poorly on others. These have been described in greater detail below: Strengths: * Promoting their own OM Publication Om Book stores layout and staff are clearly successful in attracting a majority of the customers to their own publication by strategically placing these books in certain ways. For eg: they have placed OM publisher’s children books on the ground within easy grab opportunity of children who majorly influence the parents buying decision. And this section is placed straight in line with the entrance, i. e. any customer entering the store will be bound to enter this section. However children’s books of other publishers have been placed on the shelves. Further the way the books have been displayed influence buying impulses. Even on the shelf display the store practices discriminatory display policy. They mostly display other books sideways, while at least 1 copy of each of their books have a frontal display. Further to cash in on impulse purchases they have stocked the bestseller section closest to the payment counter and the bestseller section at the mouth of the entrance is stocked only with OM publications. * Cashing in on Impulse Buying. Impulse buying can occur in 2 categories, either in the main category i. e. books, or in the accessory category i. e. pens, magazines, marble papers, key rings etc. Impulse buying can mostly occur in the Fiction, New arrival, Bestseller and Kids section. Hence these sections are kept in the front and a customer walking into the store is bound to encounter these sections because he will be forced to walk into these aisles. Further the right side of the aisle leading from the entry to the payment counter is lined with the best sellers in the respective branch aisle. Hence even if a customer isn’t a management book loyalist, he will still get an exposure to the top selling bestsellers in the management category, and this might interest him enough to buy the book. The categories which are specific to a hobby/work/topic of interest and have low chances of impulse buying have been pushed to the back end of the store so that every customer wouldn’t have to face the hassle of walking through them, which is also unnecessary since impulse buying scope in these sections is very low. A category loyalist would never mind walking up to the category and so there is no loss in customer sales. Impulse buying in knick knack accessories has been promoted by lining the left side of the main aisle from the entrance to the payment counter with pens, magazines, recipe books, horoscope books etc. Bookmarks have been placed on the payment counter. * Very High Discount books displayed on the ground This was a clever move because it saved space, and even though the books weren’t displayed at eye-level or reach level; the prominent low prices would make the customer bend down to pick up the book. Areas that need Improvement * In store shopping experience The lack of sitting availability, coffee counter, spacious movement space might annoy certain segments of book purchases who want to have a leisured nice shopping experience in-store. These customers might want to sit and evaluate the books and go through them. Om book stores would lose out on this segment of customers who wish to get a â€Å"feel† of the book to stores like Landmark and Crossword where furthermore the staffs does not hover around you if you have been in the store for too long. * Online/Flipkart shopping. In all cases where the publisher is not OM Publisher, the prices in the store would be definitely higher than prices on Flipkart since the latter has no middleman margin loss. It is often seen that OM book store purchases from Flipkart hence they can never sell at the same low online price. Further the variety online would be greater and have the benefit of home delivery. Most young or tech savvy customers are moving to Flipkart. The home delivery problem can be solved if the company decides to offer this service to privileged loyal/high potential customers by making them aware of the online purchase option on the OM books store website. They should promote the website. * Neglecting some Book categories The stores strong focus and monumental variety keeping priority in the kids, and fiction category often make certain customers, who are interested in specific work/hobby/topic of interest related categories, feel that the collection in these categories is unsatisfactory. As a solution they could either stock more books in these categories, or if it is not in line with their aim/policy, they can attract customers by giving marginally greater discounts on these books than their competitor stores. * Lack of Clear Sale communication It was often found that though the header of a category column bookshelf read 10% or 20% it still stacked books with higher discounts like 50% and up. This will make the store lose out on prise sensitive sale crazy customers. Additional Recommendations: * The store needs to decide on its vision, mission, and focus and align its product offering and ambience accordingly. If it still wants to differentiate as a non-commercial book stop then it can continue with its current policy and live with losing out some of its customers. Store space limitation is a problem in this particular store for it to provide a Landmark-like offering. * The store should specifically target the loyalist who will in any case come to the book store and purchase all that the book store has to do is to keep the books of their interest. The book store can also take advantage of the Social Conscious nature of North Indians. So they can provide seating within the book stores and so that the consumers can come and sit over which will give them a sense of good feel as they will be recognized by others as an intellectual person. It can also start service like home delivery for consumers like Rajiv who don’t have time to come and buy books although he like to buy them from book stores. * They should try to convey the value of the product. If he’s successful in conveying the value of the product then the marketer i. e. book shop can make the Marwari Baniya loyalist. They should also come out with sales once in a while so that the value buying consumers come in and along with the books giving value they also pick up other books which are not on sale i. e. promote impulse buying behavior. This will increase the customer traffic and also help in increasing revenues. For Bengalis since book reading is a culture so we should have book stores at as many locations as possible and also the marketer should try to make his book shop more popular among the group as they would buy books anyways so if the unaided recall is high then the consumers would go to the books stores. The book stores should also be at strategic locations where the crowd is more * As we can infer, that the person who is highly involved in purchase, will sit in the book shop for a longer time and browse. The book shop staff can go to such person and suggest him some of the latest books which might have come or ask him about his preferences and suggest books accordingly. * Another area which can be tapped is of low product involvement category like people buying for others they are the consumers who spend less time but are generally confused as to what they should buy so the shop staff should help these people in selecting the books and also add relevant suggestion wherever necessary. In this way the person might actually end up buying more than initially thought. SEGMENT BASED RECOMMENDATIONS: DEDICATED READER For the Dedicated Reader, as has been re-iterated time and again external influences do not work for him and if anything he only shirks off popular culture. Self-actualized people have realistic perceptions of themselves, others and the world around them. Thus promotions and marketing efforts have no influence on this category. She/he doesn’t need to be persuaded to read and neither does she/he need any felicitation or acceptance for picking up a book to read. This category needs to be communicated that Om Book Shop (OBS) is a place where she/he will find all the categories of books and that availability r variety is not going to be a problem. The ad pitch to him must re-iterate the points of variety and availability in all categories of books. Since, this category enjoys reading and wants to make an experience.

Monday, September 16, 2019

Einstein Essay Essay

The reason she would have most likely be asking this question is probably because the world at the time is going through tough times such as The Depression and it also being post World War 1 era. Einstein’s response to Phyllis’s question was ineffective because it lacks ethos, pathos, and it did not give a straight forward answer to the question. The lack of ethos made the argument less effective because even though Albert Einstein is one of the most famous scientists of the twentieth century, he did not show any credibility that he had towards the argument. Yes he might have won a Nobel Prize for Physics, but that does not mean he knows anything about religion, also being the only scientist responding to Phyllis’s question, Einstein does not necessarily have the correct answer because he does not give the point-of-view of the other scientists. Yes, Einstein was most likely one of the only known scientist at the time, and for that reason he would be the â€Å"go-to† guy, for this question, but that does not give him much credibility for this question. The lack of pathos made the argument less effective because he did not show any emotion towards the reader, Phyllis Wright. Einstein should have showed more compassion towards Phyllis because she was merely a 6th grader, not one of his colleagues. Yes, Einstein had many facts on why scientists may or may not pray, but by the way he worded the response, it seemed that he did not take into consideration that Phyllis was just a young girl. He also says that â€Å"a research scientist will hardly be inclined to believe that events could be influenced by a prayer,† thus making it seem that there was no reason for Phyllis to even ask the question, thus making her feel like she just wasted his time asking him the question. His answer too was not straightforward, due to how he would say one thing and then went on saying something else that would go against his first argument by doing this; he is making it difficult for Phyllis to comprehend what he is trying to say. If he were to use more pathos the argument would be more effective because it allows the reader to feel what the writer is feeling. Einstein did not lack logos, but he did fail to give a straight forward answer which in turn made the made the argument ineffective. He uses the â€Å"Red Herring Fallacy† in order to divert attention from the original question. For example he stated †the belief in the existence of basic all-embracing laws in Nature also rests on a sort of faith† which has nothing to do with the question on whether scientist pray or not. Using this fallacy makes Phyllis’s attention to her question divert from whether or not scientist pray to, whether or not there is a god. Einstein’s use of logos was used greatly throughout his argument, but he must remember that he is talking to a young girl and should not be talking to her as if it was one of his colleagues, so there is a chance that she did not comprehend the argument thoroughly. Because Einstein’s argument lacked ethos and pathos, as well as not giving a straight forward answer, it was ineffective. The fact that he lacked ethos, made this essay ineffective because being a scientist does not give him any credibility towards religion. The lack of pathos, made this argument ineffective because he needs to make the reader feel the way he felt while writing this response. The way he worded the response made the argument unclear of what he wanted to say, which made the reader unsure of what his stand on the question was. Ethos, pathos, and logos are all necessary when attempting to make an effective argument, but Einstein seemed to have left some of these key factors out of his argument.

Sunday, September 15, 2019

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Michael Santos Mrs. Zelnick Period 1 ! Recently, the idea of cheating had gotten much attention in the world of sports entertainment, and politics. Many celebrities have been accused of gaining a competitive edge through dishonest means. While cheating has mainly been publicly condemned, there are many that feel there are times when cheating can acutely be a way of making things better. They believe there is nothing wrong with making oneself a better athlete, entertainer, or politician if what they have done males the even more entertaining, or assist the greater good.A wise philosopher named Susannah Centivre once said, â€Å"Tis my opinion every man cheats in his own way, and he is only honest who is not discovered. † There are times when cheating is not acceptable or is never justi? ed, because everyone cheats, even if it was something little as someone copying homework from someone else. ! To begin with, Not everyone cheats as much as others. Most people cheat because they did not study or they did not do their homework, but there are people who do, do all their responsibilities.Some people rarely cheat, if they really do not know something or they had no time to do something. That is when people start to cheat. It is wrong, but if no one is perfect. Everyone cheats, even if they rarely do it. The people who does not cheat as much as others become successful even more successful than the ones who do, but there are more people who cheat a lot than those who do not. ! Subsequently, if no cheating was strictly ensured most people would not be successful as they would be being able to cheat.Studies show that each new generation gets lazier, and if no cheating was strictly ensured then each new generation would be less successful. With most of the new generations not doing any of their responsibilities, and not being able to cheat, there would be no future for them. With each of the generations not being successful, each upcoming generation would be even worst than the one before. ! Lastly, cheating is wrong, but every single person has cheated at least once. Cheating is what helped some people become that brain surgeon, or rocket scientist.Most people cheat because they were to lazy to study for the test or to lazy to do the homework. Not often that the reason they cheat is because they had no time to study or do the homework. Not everyone cheats all the time but, people still do it to accomplish a goal. Either to get an â€Å"A† in class or to get into a good college to be able to do once’s dream job. So, when people are protesting cheating because it is wrong, they have done it too, maybe not something big, but they have still done it. ! ! A wise philosopher named Susannah Centivre once said, â€Å"Tis my opinion every an cheats in his own way, and he is only honest who is not discovered. † There are times when cheating is not acceptable or is never justi? ed, because everyone cheats, even if it was something little as someone copying homework from someone else. People today cheat all the time, some people more than others. and its is important because the ones who do not get caught become somewhat successful. Clearly saying cheating is the best thing to do is not the best route, but the main idea is people do it, and you cant force people not to do it.

Saturday, September 14, 2019

Children Parents and Family needs Essay

E1 Explain the needs of families which may require professional support. Families may have a variety of needs, in which they need professional support. Families with a large number of children may not have the required amount of living space, this could mean that children are sharing beds, or parents are not sleeping in a room. Children will lack of sleep are proven to concentrate less and develop slower. Families that are suffering with poverty may not be able to afford a house or afford to pay the bills. This is where the family will gain financial support such as housing benefits, their council tax will be paid for them leaving them to pay for water, gas and electricity. Sometimes this help still isn’t enough so families go without heating or hot water meaning they aren’t meeting their basic care needs. Within the community there will be many areas that will offer families in this situation help. They include, sure start centres, food banks, the church and other families. Families in this situation benefit from living in an inclusive community, where the area is safe and free of crime, be it anti-social behaviour of elders or racial harassment. Most areas have community support officers that the children will get introduced to in school or when out on the streets playing. If a family is new to the area and are of a different culture they may struggle to gain help, due to harassment, or lack of communication, be it language problems, or no phone. Money seems to be the main cause of most of the needs that require help. E2 Explain the issues which may lead to stress in families. There are many issues which may lead to or cause stress in a family, these can include, bereavement, new arrivals, a disabled family member, unemployment and poverty. Bereavement has a huge impact on children as well as adults; however children don’t always show that they are being affected. Bereavement will affect the family in different ways depending on who has passed on. If the deceased is a strong main family member, such as a sibling or a main carer the child will be affected hugely, this will have an effect on their whole routine. This could be because they are used to looking that person, or they are used to that person looking after them. A new arrival can cause stress throughout the family, between the primary carers and between siblings, maybe even between children and carers. A baby causes stress between all relationships in a family. The primary carers may begin to argue this is because the child has taken over their day; they may become tiered meaning their mood changes and arguments crop up. The other children in the family may feel left out and start to resent the new arrival. This can cause older children to start misbehaving and younger children may hurt the new baby. A disabled family member will cause stress between the family members, this could be through others interfering, or members feeling left out. When a disabled family member needs a lot of care and attention it takes over the families routine. When the main carers become unemployed it causes stress between them and throughout the family. A change I routine can affect all the family as well as the person becoming unemployed. If that person’s income was used to pay bills then the family may become homeless, they may have to live in a shelter or even worse the streets. Poverty causes stress on all the family they will start to cut back on privileges, this can cause bullying in schools when mufti-day is concerned. E3 Explain the role of parents in children’s play and identify appropriate resources and toys. The parent’s role is to keep the child safe and give them many play opportunities throughout the day. This will differ and change regarding the child’s age and abilities. The child will develop at their own speed meaning that they will need different resources to encourage development. It is believed that children learn best through play so neglecting the child of play is potentially stopping the child from learning healthily. It is important that the resources are age appropriate for the children; this is for health and safety mostly due to small parts which may lead to choking. It is important that the toys are working properly too, as if the toy is supposed to talk out loud and flash the child will not be getting the most out of the toy and will lose interest meaning they will not develop. In the first few months of a baby’s life, when they can’t sit up or pick up objects babies like things that sing and move such as mobiles. It is good to look for mobiles with high-contrast colours and patterns. Many babies are particularly fond of mobiles that play music. Small hand held toys such as rattles are good at this age as they will learn if they move their hand they are making the noise. Having soft music or nursery rhymes playing when interacting with the child will allow the parent to see how the baby responds to music. Babies like to see their own refection so a plastic mirror allows them to play safely. Soft books with sensory sections are good for babies to explore, at this age it is usually with their mouths instead of their fingers however if it’s noisy they will scrunch the book to make noise. As they get older (6 months) the baby will have new needs and parents should fulfil them to the best they can. Babies enjoy play mats and activity bars. These usually contain toys that dangle above the child of are around the child when they are lying down this will encourage physical development. Activity bars are good for playing on the move in cars or in prams. Teddy’s become more of a comfort if the child has it constantly so that when they are going somewhere different they have a home comfort which is familiar to them. Rubber toys such as ducks will allow children to chew and explore whilst providing entertainment when squeaking if being gripped. Thick hard board books will allow children to help try and turn pages and they will enjoy listening to the story as well as looking at pictures. At 12 months the baby will start to move more they will have gain a lot of strength in their arms and legs and toys such as large building bricks; push and pull toys; sorting and nesting toys; climbing gyms; balls; crayons; ride on toys; kitchens and picture books. E4 Describe the benefits of communication between children, parents and practitioners. It is beneficial to children, parents and practitioners to have good communication and a professional relationship. This can be good because sometimes parents feel left out and feel they are not making decisions on their child’s life. These decisions can be what they do, what they eat, whether they learn about different cultures if they are involved in lessons such as sex education and lessons involving celebrations such as Christmas and Easter. If a family had a different cultural background their beliefs may be different, meaning that their family may not want them to learn or take part in festive activities. Some cultures have certain food that they can’t eat this is important that it is shared with setting so that we can respect their wishes and uphold their religions to the best we can. By respecting the family practitioners can keep the consistency of care the child is receiving at home. Meaning confusion is unlikely. Practitioners should have good relationships with the children in their setting, if that child is one of their key children it is important that the practitioner builds a relationship of trust so that the child can come to them with any problem or difficulty they may be having. Communication can be in person, however sometimes parents do not have the same language as we do so in this case letter form in their mother tongue is useful. My setting have a baby book that they send home each night giving the parent the information they need such as what they have done, what they have eaten, their bowel movements, how much they have slept and if they have had any injuries, they will also be given a copy of the accident form. E5 Discuss skills and strategies which are effective in supporting families. There are many ways in which settings can support families effectively. Setting can support families by communicating with them as and when needed they can keep them updated on their child’s progress and what is happening by, text, email, letter, newsletter and some will do it in person. Families can also communicate with settings so that they can request they support they need. This can be for a short period of time or long term due to the seriousness of the issue. Providing suitable resources such as books or story sacks will mean that the setting is supporting the family help the child learn at home. This is by allowing children to take home stories to read or by giving them the story sack so have a play with. Story sacks can help when the child is learning a new story such a little red riding hood. In the sack will be toys that will allow them to play and re-enact the story. They can sometimes be given maths activities and games if the child is lacking in a certain area making their learning fun for all the family. Settings can also introduce new services to the family if they require extra help; these can include family support officers, social workers and psychiatrists. This can be for many reasons but will be initially to support the family. E6 Describe the types of support and information available to parents and families. C1 Evaluate the types of support which will enable parents to meet the needs of their children- â€Å"We have defined ‘family support’ as all services which aim to promote family wellbeing by improving relationships in families and improving standards of living.†(Bruce.T. pg 32 2007) Children’s centres were providing a wide range of such services: home visiting, parenting courses, drop-ins, support groups, family learning activities, adult education and employment support. There are numerous amounts of support and information available for families. This will differ according to required help. All families will have support workers however not all of the families will have social workers. Social workers are used for families that may have difficulties, such as child with disabilities or families where a parent is in or just out of prison or families where the child is lacking in development massively. Families will be offered sure start places, where they will learn new strategies and will be able to talk to other new parents. This is also good for the babies as they can interact with each other and learn how to play and share. The sure start centre by me offers mingle and munch with stay and play from 9.15am- 11.30 followed by bring your own lunch and eat at the centre from quarter to twelve to twenty five minutes past twelve. There is also a stay and play group for two hours on a week day afternoon. They offer families early child care which is affordable, employment and training for families with young children; family support such as home visits, support for parents, information and guidance on parenting and specialist support for families. They offer health services – Anti natal advice, midwife sessions, dental care, speech therapists, breastfeeding, health and safety and help with healthy lifestyles. Sure start centers have many positive points these being, local flexibility, services including outreach and home visiting, family support and good quality play, learning and childcare facilities. Some negatives are that some people feel sure start is there to help people that are lacking in care for children, so they are put off. A toy library lends or hires out toys, puzzles, and games, functioning either as a rental shop or a form of family resource program. Toy libraries offer play sessions for families and a wide range of toys appropriate for children at different stages in their development. Toy libraries provide children with new toys every week or two, saving parents money and keeping children from getting bored. Positive reasons for toy libraries are that they allow families to rent and borrow toys so that the children can play with their new interests this can also allow them to develop while the parent saves money to buy them new age appropriate toys to help them develop also some children have short interests so to buy the toys would be a waste if they only get played with once. A child I know took an interest in dolls and prams, so they borrowed one from the toy library which he played with twice and has never shown interest again. Negatives, is that sometime it’s a struggle to get to the library; some parents may be put off as they think it’s not clean and it looks like they can’t provide for their children. If it is a puzzle maybe there are pieces missing, this should be checked but may have been missed. Some children can’t borrow what they want as others already have, and if they brake the toy that child misses out. E7 Explain the role of the practitioner in supporting families- The role of the practitioner in supporting families is to give them all the help and advice you can. When doing this it is important that practitioners respect the codes of confidentiality both ways not speaking about what they have been told unless it is a concern and not telling them information they don’t need to know, this could be about other children, parents or staff. The practitioner’s job is to care for the child and insuring their welfare is paramount. They will do this by observing the child on a regular basis. This is the most important job. To do these practitioners will attend meeting to discuss anything they have concerns about, be it their health or development. If their concerns are put further they will have to attend multi-agency team meetings which will have other professional in to discuss what should happen with the child. â€Å"The Children Act 1989 has influenced setting by bringing together several sets of guidance and provided the foundation for many of the standards practitioners sustain and maintain when working with children.†(Meggit, pg376 2012) The Act requires that settings work together in the best interests of the child and that they form partnerships with parents /carers. It requires settings to have appropriate adult: child ratios and policies and procedures on child protection. This Act has had an influence in all areas of practice from planning a curriculum and record keeping. D1 Describe how the practitioner can recognise when children and adults may be experiencing problems. The practitioner can recognise problems with children if they have looked after them for a long time the children are very familiar to them. They will notice if the child is unhappy or troubled, this can be shown through behavior, lack of interest, be it food or activities. A child will also show their problems through observations; this can be attitude and behavior changes. If the child has emotional stress they will show it through crying, or sometimes through playing, it could be shown in the role play area or just in chit chat with their friends. They will see problems in adults in various ways. If the family are starting to have financial problems this may be shown through cheques bouncing. If there are other problems at home, parents may come in looking upset, tiered, and hot and bothered. Practitioners can tell a lot by someone’s body language and their facial expressions. D2 Discuss TWO (2) strategies which parents can use for promoting positive behaviour in children. Parents have a range of different strategies for promoting positive behaviour; these include reward charts and time out. Reward charts can be for numerous reasons meaning you can reward them for doing more than one thing. This promotes all types of positive behaviours like using manners, eating all their lunch, tidying their toys, not having an accident, and going to bed at night. The idea is that once they have filled their reward chart they can do something they enjoy. It is important not to take the stickers off them as they will think they are never going to fill it. All theorist believe in praising and rewarding good behaviour. Time out is an effective way of disposing of bad behaviour this is done usually by the same rules. 1st telling the child that it is unwanted behaviour and it is not acceptable, 2nd warning the child that if they do it again they will be put on time out, and 3rd following through and putting them in time out. Parents will then go to them after the correct time and ask them for an apology, if they apologise properly it is suggested that they have a kiss and a cuddle to show that they have been forgiven. However if they don’t apologise they should remain in time out till they realise their behaviour is unacceptable. Many child behaviour theorists support this such as Jo Frost. B1 Analyse some key issues for professionals working in support of families. The key issues for all professionals are building a trusting relationship with the families this is not just with the parents but with the children too, this is so that they can talk to them in confidence about any troubles and concerns they may have when they are given the information practitioner must not break the trust and be confidential with the information unless they feel it needs to be looked in to. Practitioners need to make sure they are not showing any judgements on the family, if judgments are made and are spoken this could lead to the relationship failing and communication dropped if this happens in a setting we cannot make sure the child’s welfare is ok. Language barriers can occur in different ways, these being if they speak a foreign language and if they don’t have an education in your area of profession such as telling a parent you are an EYP will be like talking to them in French they won’t understand. It is important to be clear to all the family and all the other professionals involved. If the multi-professional team is involved in supporting the family there can be many issues the family have, they may become confused as although they are working to the same aim they are pushing their own area of work more, however this might not be the best option for the child. The parents of the child will become overloaded with information and they may become confused. Families working with the multi-agency team will have many areas of professions working alongside each other to get the child on the right tracks however all the areas are completely different so they will be asking a lot all at once. This will be a lot to take in and parents may feel like there is too much to do. A1 Reflect on the benefits to children, parents, families and practitioners from working in partnership When parents are working in partnership with practitioners it mean they are working towards the same aim as each other. This is important as children are easily confused. If parents are involved in planning it means that they know what is happening in their child’s life at nursery, this is good if the child is too young to talk or has communication problems. It is important to have a good, but professional relationship with the family members of the child in your care, as a practitioner we need to know what is happening in the child’s life at home so we can meet their individual needs, this will be done as and when it is needed. We need to be aware of what they are able to do, regarding religious beliefs and cultural backgrounds. This is important when we are cooking for the children too; we also need to be kept up to date with any medication they are on, any food allergies, what they are allowed to eat and what they aren’t. Sometimes parents feel they need to compete with the child’s key worker as they both have a strong bond with the child. This is usually when a child is in the care of a practitioner for most of the waking day. If parents have concerns they should speak to the key worker and they can put into place an activity, where they are showing pictures of their family and teaching them who they are, for example mummy and daddy. Parents can be resentful towards the setting if the child does something significant in their care, such as first words or first steps. If practitioners are working in partnership and have a good relationship with the parents they will take this on easier than if they don’t have a very good relationship.