Sunday, November 24, 2019

Pilgrimage essays

Pilgrimage essays As early as the 4th century A.D. pilgrimage started developing. This first started occur after Emperor Constantine legalizes Christianity. As Christianity was already legally spreading it gained many followers who wanted to gain purification in their souls and salvation by going to holly places such as Jerusalem. Pilgrimage is in a way a journey to a Spiritual transformation expressed in an act of homage to the deity and its early representatives involving travel to a holy site. Most of the places where people would go to a pilgrimage such as Canterbury (St. Theodores bones) in England or Santiago de Compostela (St. James bones) in Spain are connected with relics. This is a physical object with sacred meaning. What was so sacred? It was an example of the contact of the mental world with the transcendent. It was an example of reincarnation of Christ. Physical healing was a major reason for people to go to a pilgrimage. The Pilgrimage changed its form with the centuries. At the 11-13th centuries the Crusades were called pilgrimage. The world crusade wasnt used. During the 12-16th centuries pilgrimage was sort of remission of penance. It was to clear one from ones mistakes. The fact that one has already prepared and is on his way to a pilgrimage meant that he is already forgiven for his deeds. Pilgrimage helped not just for spiritual transformation but also for economic growth for the land that was visited by the pilgrims. Also, pilgrimage helped for better geographical understanding of foreign countries and even for the creation of maps. It was very useful for people from one side of the world to understand the culture, the art, music and architecture of people from the other side of the world. It was very important that during pilgrimage people would do some trade even sometimes souvenirs. ...

Thursday, November 21, 2019

Congressional Consideration of New Deal Legislation Essay

Congressional Consideration of New Deal Legislation - Essay Example It wasn’t but 50 years ago that America was engulfed in the â€Å"Great Depression†. Political pundits and members of Congress alike compare our current situation as the worst economic climate since the Great Depression. While the times of that era were certainly tough, the strength and enduring spirit of the American people proved to be resolute and we as a country rose from the ashes like a phoenix. While the spirit of the American people has an ethereal reason on why we overcame the Great Depression, any well-versed scholar of American history knows that it was indeed President Franklin Delanor Roosevelt’s New Deal that catapulted our country out of the economic abyss. â€Å"We have had recessions before and we will have them again; and always, when we do, we can be thankful to the New Deal. For nearly half a century, its innovations in the thirties have helped to keep recession from deepening into depression.†1 The Great Depression lasted from the end of 1929 to the early 1940s, beginning in the United States but slowly spreading to other countries as well, because they had become economically dependent on each other. This era is a widely studied and thoroughly examined time in American history. There are numerous underlying reasons for the Depression, and there are many theories on why it occurred. Some of the seeds that gave root to the Great Depression can be linked to events far before the time of that gloomy era. â€Å"The roots of the Great Depression can be traced back to the world war of 1914-1918 and even beyond. Some authorities describe it as the ultimate collapse of the industrial revolution, with the machine devouring the man†¦..Between 1920 and 1930 economists ceased pondering the question of ‘America’s capacity to produce,’ which had preoccupied them for fifty years and turned belatedly to â€Å"America’s capacity to consume, about which the y

Wednesday, November 20, 2019

Exploring Theme in August Wilsons Fences Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Exploring Theme in August Wilsons Fences - Essay Example Many of these restrictions and attitudes might have gone unnoticed and unremembered except for the black playwrights and authors who revealed their effects on the community as a whole. In his play Fences, August Wilson uses the concept of a fence as both a theme and a symbol to reveal the hidden boundaries his characters encounter as they attempt to achieve a modest version of the American dream in the 1950s North. The concept of invisible boundaries blocking one’s ability to reach the American Dream is the central theme of this play. The story begins on a random Friday afternoon. The play’s main character, Troy Manxson, is waiting for his latest paycheck from the city’s waste removal services department where he works somewhat unwillingly because his dreams of being a big baseball star were thwarted when he was younger by rules that prevented black men from playing in the major leagues. As the play progresses, it becomes clear that all the characters featured once had big dreams that were thwarted by the generalized lack of opportunity that applied to anyone with darker skin. In this opening scene, Troy immediately addresses the theme of the play when he tells Bono about the invisible ceilings that are constantly placed over his head, such as the boss’s reaction when Troy asked why only white men were allowed the position of garbage truck drivers. Troy’s fru stration is clear as he obviously realizes that playing for a professional team would have afforded him and his family an entirely different kind of life, and he is even held down in this lowly position working on a garbage truck. His response to the idea that things are changing and he was just born too young, Troy says, â€Å""There ought not never have been no time too early† (Wilson, Act 1, Scene 1). In spite of knowing his limitations were externally set, Troy feels he has failed

Sunday, November 17, 2019

International Fashion Marketing Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 5000 words

International Fashion Marketing - Assignment Example The paper "International Fashion Marketing" analyzes the International Marketing in the fashion industry. Due to its nature these emerging markets are also witnessing a surge in new areas of business like fashion and other luxury items. There are many factors to be considered by a company in the case of international expansion. The political atmosphere, the economic growth, local work and social culture, the level of competition that exists, the legal factors, foreign trade policies of the intended market, and many other related factors are to be understood and analyzed in order to decide which market to enter. Understanding of these factors is also essential to compete and be successful in such markets. This paper is a study of the entry factors for the multinational fashion house Ralph Lauren into the Indian or Russian markets. The market and the company will be analyzed using factors like SWOT analysis, Porter’s five forces model, PEST analysis, TOWS matrix, pull and push s trategy etc. Culture of a country is also an important factor when entering into international markets. This is especially relevant here since the culture that exists in the home country of Ralph Lauren and India is different. Polo Ralph Lauren Corporation is a leader in the design, marketing and distribution of premium lifestyle products in four categories: apparel, home, accessories and fragrances. For more than 35 years, Polo’s reputation and distinctive image have been consistently developed across an expanding number. of products, brands and international markets. Ralph Lauren is developing at a rapid rate than when founder Ralph Lauren first entered the arena 40 years ago. With powerful brands such as Polo by Ralph Lauren, RRL, Rugby, and Club Monaco, the company designs and markets apparel and accessories, home furnishings, and fragrances. Its collections are available at some 10,800 locations worldwide, including many upscale and mid-tier department stores. The compan y also operates about 315 Ralph Lauren, Club Monaco, and Rugby retail stores worldwide as well as the e-commerce sites RalphLauren.com and Polo.com. Ralph Lauren began with a collection of ties, has grown into an entire world-redefining American style. Polo is known for providing quality products and creating worlds that invite people to take part in our dream. They position themselves as the innovators of lifestyle advertisements that encourage customers to participate in that lifestyle. (Industry centre -textile- apparel clothing 2009). Emerging markets: Many companies are now looking towards emerging markets as a part of their expansion strategies. Such markets are those "Developing foreign markets, involving greater volatility and higher risk than established markets." (Basic investment terminology). The term developing is of importance since it is possible to grow in such circumstances even though emerging markets tend to be more volatile and risky than established ones. The two emerging markets that are to be studied for entry by Ralph Lauren are India and Russia. Even though both are promising market destinations, there are vast differences in policies, politics, economy, social structure, technology and other factors between these two countries. Russia is a very young political entity and was formed only after the collapse of the erstwhile Soviet Union. The communist system of governance that has been in existence since the revolution during the early part of this century has now been replaced with a democratic system of governa

Friday, November 15, 2019

Airline Reservation System Ars Software Requirements Specifications Computer Science Essay

Airline Reservation System Ars Software Requirements Specifications Computer Science Essay Airline reservations system (ARS) is a online software application used to reserve and retrieve information and perform transactions related to air travel. Originally designed and performed by airlines, ARSes were later developed for the use of travel agencies. Major ARS operations that book and sell tickets for multiple airlines are known as Global distribution systems (GDS). Airlines have divested most of their direct holdings to dedicated GDS companies, who make their systems accessible to consumers through Internet gateways. Modern GDSes are providing the services like booking hotel rooms and rental cars as well as airline tickets. They also provide access to railway reservations in some markets although these are not always integrated with the main system. REQUIREMENTS DOCUMENT First we are developing a Software Requirements Specification (SRS) document that specifies what an airline reservation system should and should not do. The SRS document is divided into five sections namely System Objectives Mainly we discuss the goals and objectives of the system categorized based on the viewpoint of the airline company and the customer. They help in a top-down development of the SRS. System Context This section clearly depicts the environment and boundaries of the ARS and the entities with which it interacts. It helps us see how the system fits into the existing scheme of things. What the system will do by itself and what it expects other entities to do is clearly delineated. Functional Requirements These requirements states the functions of the system what it should do and what it should not. This will includes the most common requirements of the customer in addition to some additional features. like reserving tickets, rescheduling tickets etc. Freedom from ambiguity and navigability were kept in mind while documentation. A consistent terminology has been followed throughout and the terms are explained in the appendix. The subsections follow a logical sequence that reflects the real world. For example, a customer cannot reschedule a ticket unless he has bought one earlier and cannot buy one unless he has checked its availability. Non-functional Requirements These are quality requirements that stipulate the performance levels required of the system for various kinds of activities. Numerical lower and upper limits set conditions on the response times, access times etc of the system. Sometimes, tradeoffs are necessary among various non-functional requirements. Future Requirements As technology improving day to day,users needs are also increasing.so we have to update our applications time to time in order to satisfy the customers.These are the specifications which are not provided for now in the current version of ARS but which could be incorporated into future versions. Some of these need advanced technologies and interfaces with other systems. The ARS could be designed in future to enhance the existing capabilities or add entirely new ones. The assumptions and limitations of the ARS have been interspersed in the SRS to present the same in their proper context. REQUIREMENTS ANALYSIS DOCUMENT 1. System Objectives 1.1 The Airline Reservation System (ARS) is a software application to assist an airline with transactions related to making ticket reservations, which includes blocking, reserving, canceling and rescheduling tickets. 1.2 From the viewpoint of the airline 1.2.1 Minimize repetitive work done by the system administrator and reservation clerks. 1.2.2 Maintain consistency among different access modes, e.g. by phone, by web, at the information desk and across different physical locations. The users should be basically taken through the same steps by the system as they go through in conventional desk-reservation systems. 1.2.3 Maintain customer information in case of emergency, e.g. flight cancellation due to inclement weather. The profile can also be used by the airline company to track user preferences and travel patterns to serve them better, plan routes, for better marketing and efficient scheduling of flights. 1.2.4 Maximize the revenue of the airline company by various means: 1.2.4.1 Increase awareness among frequent travelers about various special offers and discounts. 1.2.4.2 Minimize the number of vacant seats on a flight and maximize flight capacity utilization. 1.2.4.3 Maintain the capability to adopt a flexible pricing policy. The price of the tickets should be dynamically determined based on how early, before the date of departure, the customer buys the ticket. 1.3 A survey conducted by airline companies shows that users of an existing reservation system would respond favorably to an ARS that satisfied or helped them satisfy the following objectives: 1.3.1 Reduce effort and frustration for travelers in scheduling a trip, especially by reducing the search effort for the flight they need to take. 1.3.2 Show all possible combinations and itineraries available for a pair of origin-destination cities. 1.3.3 Reduce redundancy in the information required from the customers in order for them to buy tickets, create user accounts etc. 1.3.4 Check the validity of input data and give a feedback to the user in case of errors or inconsistency. 1.3.5 Provide flexible access modes to users internet, telephone, PDA. 1.3.6 Protect customers privacy concerns. 1.3.7 Make it easy for travelers to check the ticket status or make changes to their trip. 2. System Context 2.1 The ARS will provide the following types of easy-to-use, interactive, and intuitive graphical and telephonic interfaces. 2.1.1 The ARS will provide an easy-to-use, intuitive Graphical User Interface (GUI) as part of the Clerk/Administrators working desktop environment. 2.1.2 The ARS will also provide an interactive GUI, on the World Wide Web for the general customers. The above two ARS interfaces shall help provide the following functionalities to the users access to the ARS to check the flight schedule, availability of seats, ticket price and to block, reserve, cancel, and reschedule tickets. The ARS will also provide an easy-to-use, simple telephonic user interface, which can be accessed by the customers through telephone or cell phone from anywhere. This interface shall provide access, only to the following functionalities, namely, check flight schedule and check ticket status including any change in the flight timings. The functionality available through this telephonic interface is limited because of security constraints. 2.2 The system and its environment and the interactions between them are depicted in the diagram below. DB-Reservations Flight Schedule Database Customer Via Web DB-User DB-Schedule I N T E R F A C E CW DB-Geography ARS software INTERFACE Cp Customer Via Phone INTERFACE A Administrator The closed boundary above clearly delineates the system and the environment. The diagram shows the interactions between the ARS software and the databases inside the system. There are three databases internal to the system and which the system maintains. DB-user is the database containing all the personal information of the registered users of the ARS. This can be updated by the user by logging in to the system. Information from this database is used during transactions like charging the credit card etc. DB-schedule is a copy of the flight schedule database. The latter exists independently and is updated by a flight scheduler system which is out of scope of the ARS. DB-schedule is updated with the latest status of the flight schedule database whenever there is any change in the latter. For example, if a flight has been added to the schedule between two cities on Tuesdays, DB-schedule gets updated with this change through a process with which we are not concerned. It is external to th e system and is out of the scope of this SRS. DB-schedule also contains the base prices of tickets for various flight numbers. DB-reservations are a database containing information regarding the number of seats available on each class on different flights. It has provision for marking how many of the reserved seats have been blocked but not yet bought. DB-reservations should update itself using DB-schedule, for example, if a new flight is added. DB-geography is a database, which contains information about the cities and towns serviced by the airline. The distance between all cities and towns is contained in a matrix form. There are three interfaces, one for the administrator, one for the customer via web and another for the customer via phone. The administrator can update DB-schedule with any changes in the base prices of flight tickets. The system uses a pricing algorithm and dynamically determines the actual price from this base price depending on the date of reservation vis-Ã  - vis date of departure. The customer interfaces (web and phone) enable multiple functions which are described in the following section section 3. 3. Functional Requirements User Accounts Registration and creation of user profile Checking Availability Making Reservations/Blocking/Confirmation Confirm Ticket Reschedule Ticket Cancellation Update Profile View Ticket Status Query Flight Details Telephone access User Accounts The passenger, who will henceforth be called the user, will be presented with 3 choices by the reservation system, as the first step in the interaction between them. A user can choose one of these and his choice would be governed by whether he is a guest or a registered user and whether he wants to check the availability of tickets or also block/buy them. The terms registered user and guest are described below. A user who has traveled by the airline earlier would have been given a user id and a password. He would have his personal information stored in the database referred earlier as DB-user. This personal information would be henceforth referred to as profile. Such a user with a profile in DB-user shall be called a registered user. A registered user will be able to check the availability of tickets as well as block/buy a ticket by logging into the system. A new user, on the other hand, would either have to register himself with the system by providing personal information or log into the system as a guest. In case of a, the new user becomes a registered user. In case of b, the new user would remain a guest. A guest can only check the availability of tickets and cannot block or buy tickets. But a registered user can also act as a guest if he only wants to check the availability of tickets. Availability of tickets always refers to viewing the flight schedule for given days, the price of tickets and any discount offers. The system shall present the user with an option to exit from the system at any time during the following processes. Registration and creation of user profile The system shall require a user to register, in order to carry out any transactions with it except for checking the availability of tickets. It will ask the user for the following information at the least a user id, a password, first name, last name, address, phone number, email address, sex, age, preferred credit card number. The system will automatically create a sky miles field and initialize it to zero in the users profile. Checking Availability After logging in a user (either a registered user or a guest), the system shall request him to enter the following details origin city and destination city. City is a generic term and refers to a city or town as the case may be. The origin and destination cities would be entered as text. The system shall now refer to the flight schedule database, referred to as DB-geography earlier, and check if there is any ambiguity with the names of the cities. In case there are more than two cities with same name as entered by the user, the system shall list all of them (with more qualifications) and ask the user to select one of them. In case, either the origin or destination cities are not listed in DB-geography as being directly serviced by the airline, the system shall suggest the nearest city to which service is available, including the distance of the destination city from this nearest city. After the origin and destination cities are ascertained, the system shall now access the flight schedule database, referred to as DB-schedule , and checks if there is a direct operational service between the two cities. If not, the system shall suggest possible routes and transfer points using a route selection algorithm. The user shall now be presented with a choice of either selecting one of the routes. In case he selects a route, the system shall fill in the intermediate stop over points and create a multiple trip itinerary for the user. The system shall now ask the user to enter the following details class, one-way or round trip, departure date and the number of adult passengers, children and senior citizens. Class refers to business class/first class/club class/smoking/non smoking. This choice shall be made by the user through a drop down menu indicating all the possible combinations of choices. One-way/round trip shall be either a drop down menu or a check box selection. Departure date refers to either a single date or a range of dates, entered through a calendar-like menu. This menu shall not show dates in the past or those dates that are too ahead in the future(as determined by the airline policy). In case, the trip is a round trip, the system shall also ask the user to enter the departure date on the return trip. Having taken all the above input from the user, the system checks for any false entries like the departure date on the return trip being earlier than the departure date on the onward trip. In case of incompatibility, the system shall display a suitable error message and prompt the user to enter the information correctly. Having taken all of the information ,the system shall now access the flight schedule database DB-schedule and queries it using the input provided by the user. The system queries the reservation database DB-reservations to check which of the flights on the schedule have seats available. The system displays the results in a suitable form (a tabular form) with the following information depicted for each flight number the flight number, departure time in origin city, arrival time in destination city, the duration of the flight (taking into account the possibility of a change of time zone) and the number of seats available on that flight. There can be several flights between two cities and all of them will be listed for the particular date that the user wants to depart from the Origin City. In case, the user has entered a range of dates, the system shall display all the flights for all those dates in the range. If the user has requested a round trip, the system shall display two tables one for the onward trip and one for the return trip. There will be a check box in front of each line in the table representing a flight with available seats. The user is now asked to check one of the boxes reflecting a choice of a flight number and time. In case of a round trip, the user is asked to check one box each in the two tables. The system shall now display the price of the ticket for the trip. This will be the sum of the prices for all the members of the travel party being represented by the user. The system shall also list any rules regarding the cancellation of tickets what percentage of the price will be refunded within what date ranges. This will be displayed as a table. Making Reservations/Blocking/Confirmation After having taken the user through the, Checking Availability, The system will now ask the user if he wishes to block/buy the ticket. If yes, and if the user has been a guest, he will have to first register and become a registered user and then log onto the system. If the user is already a registered user, and if he has logged on already, he can block/buy the ticket, but if he has been acting as a guest, he will have to log on. Having ensured that the user is logged on validly according the system compares the departure date with the system date. If the departure date falls within 2 weeks of the system date, the system informs the user that he has no option to block the ticket and asks him if he would like to buy it. If the difference between the departure date and system date is more than 2 weeks, the system asks the user if he would like to block or buy the ticket. The system informs the user that he can block the ticket at no cost now. It also informs him that if he chooses to block the ticket, he should make a final decision before 2 weeks of the departure date. The system shall send an email to the user, 3 weeks before the departure date as a reminder, in case he decides to block the ticket now. Having taken the input from the user, the system shall now proceed to update the reservation database DB-reservation. It will decrement the number of available seats on the particular flight for the particular class by the number of travelers being represented by the user. In case of a blocking, the system makes a note of it in the database to be used if the user doesnt turn up before 2 weeks of the departure date. It generates a blocking number and displays it for the user to note down. In case the user buys the ticket, the system accesses his profile and charges the price of the ticket to his credit card number. It simultaneously generates a confirmation number and displays it to the user for him to note down. The ticket has been reserved. It adds the mileage of the trip (accounting for the number of travelers) to the skymiles in his profile. Confirm Ticket A user who has earlier blocked a ticket after going through the previous steps required to either confirm the ticket before two weeks of the departure date or the ticket stands cancelled. To let the user confirm a ticket, the system shall first log him on and ask for his blocking number. Then it accesses DB-reservation and removes the check mark, which so far represented a blocked seat. The seat is now confirmed and reserved for the user. The system accesses DB-user and charges the price of the ticket to the credit card number of the user. It simultaneously generates a confirmation number and displays it for the user to note down. The ticket has been reserved. It adds the mileage of the trip (accounting for the number of travelers) to the skymiles in his profile. Reschedule Ticket The system shall present the user with an option to re-schedule his travel partys trip. In order to do this, the system first logs on the user and requests his confirmation number. It will not allow a user to reschedule a blocked ticket but only a confirmed ticket. Using this, it queries DB-reservation and presents the details of the trip to the user, including but not limited to origin city, destination city, date of departure and date of arrival (in case the trip is a round trip). The system shall now ask the user to select new dates from the calendar-menu. In case, there are no available tickets for the dates entered, it displays a suitable message informing him that rescheduling to that date is not possible. In case there are tickets available, the system asks the user to select the flight number for the trip (another for the return trip if the trip is a round trip) and proceeds to update the database. The system accesses DB-reservation and decrements the number of available seats on the flight(s) by the number of members in the users travel party. It then increments the entry for the previous flight by the same number to reflect an increase in the available seats on it as a result of the rescheduling. The system now checks if there is any difference in the prices of the tickets. If so, it accesses DB-user and charges or credits the credit card as the case may be. The system generates a new confirmation number and displays it to the user. Cancellation The system shall also give the user an option to cancel a confirmed ticket or a blocked ticket. The latter case is simpler and will be dealt with first the system shall first log on the user and request the blocking number. Then it accesses DB-reservation and updates it by incrementing the number of available seats by the number of people in the users travel party. In the former case, i.e., for a confirmed ticket, it asks for the confirmation number and accesses DB-reservation and presents the details of the trip. It then lists the applicable rules for cancellation of tickets and depending on the system date and the departure date, it displays the % of the amount that would be refunded if the user cancels the ticket. After the user cancels the ticket, the system generates a cancellation number and displays it for the user to note down. It accesses DB-reservation and updates it by incrementing the number of available seats on that flight by the number of travelers in the users party. It accesses DB-user and credits the refund amount to his credit card number. The system then deducts the mileage of the trip (taking into account the number of travelers in his party) from the sky miles in his profile. Update Profile The system shall enable the user to update his profile at any time. Changes can be made in fields including but not limited to address, phone number and preferred credit card number. View Ticket Status The system shall allow a user to view all information about his trip. After logging him on, it asks for his blocking number or his confirmation number. It accesses DB-reservation and retrieves the details of the trip and presents them to the user in a convenient format, including any last minute changes to the flight timings etc. Such changes will be highlighted. Query Flight Details The system shall allow any user (registered or non registered) to access the details about the arrival and departure times of a flight by requesting the user to input the flight number and date. The system accesses DB-schedule and presents the time of arrival and departure. Telephone access The system shall be accessible through a touch-tone telephone. The telephonic interface shall, at the least, provide the customer with the facility to check availability of tickets and query flight details. The system shall walk the customer exactly through steps 3.3 and 3.9 respectively but through a telephonic interface. Non-functional Requirements Performance Response time of the Airline Reservation System should be less than 2 second most of the time. Response time refers to the waiting time while the system accesses, queries and retrieves the information from the databases (DB-user, DB-schedule etc) (A local copy of flight schedule database is maintained as DB-schedule to reduce this access time) ARS shall be able to handle at least 1000 transactions/inquiries per second. ARS shall show no visible deterioration in response time as the number of users or flight schedule data increases Reliability ARS shall be available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week ARS shall always provide real time information about flight availability information. ARS shall be robust enough to have a high degree of fault tolerance. For example, if the user enters a negative number of passengers or a value too large, the system should not crash and shall identify the invalid input and produce a suitable error message. ARS shall be able to recover from hardware failures, power failures and other natural catastrophes and rollback the databases to their most recent valid state. Usability ARS shall provide a easy-to-use graphical interface similar to other existing reservation system so that the users do not have to learn a new style of interaction. The web interface should be intuitive and easily navigable Users should be able to understand the menu and options provided by ARS. Any notification or error messages generated by ARS shall be clear, succinct, polite and free of jargon. Integrity Only system administer has the right to change system parameters, such as pricing policy etc. The system should be secure and must use encryption to protect the databases. Users need to be authenticated before having access to any personal data. Interoperability ARS shall minimize the effort required to couple it to another system, such as flight schedule database system. Future Requirements Support for waiting list functionality ARS shall be made more flexible in ticket reservation handling, and shall accept waiting list for reservation.The waiting list handling capability of ARS shall be made more advanced, by enabling it to send requests to the Flight Scheduler to schedule extra flights, depending on the demand in a particular corridor, and providing the wait listed passengers with a new flight. The telephonic interface of the ARS shall be improved to support more functionality like allowing the customers to cancel a ticket etc., by incorporating security measures. ARS shall be made more dynamic and helpful to the users by enabling it to send instant messages to the passengers, of a cancelled or rescheduled flight, through email, phone, Fax etc., informing them about the change, and providing them with other feasible alternatives. Information about the kind of meals served in a flight and the type of entertainment offered on a flight should be incorporated into the system.Provide service integration with auto rental agencies and hotel chains. Interface for the travel agents shall be provided in the future versions with additional features like informing them of any availability of seats on a flight which was earlier booked to capacity. Choices like aisle or window seats shall be provided to the users. The ARS shall be able to handle the situation where flight services are available to multiple airports in a single city.

Tuesday, November 12, 2019

Invisible Man Essay: Invisible Man and the Pre-Made Identity

Invisible Man and the Pre-Made Identity    Society forms definitions, or stereotypes, of people according to the color of their skin, their economic status, or where they live. Stereotypes define how society believes these people should act and how they should be treated. These stereotypes are, in effect, a pre-made identity. There are three options an individual must face when presented with this pre-made identity. The individual can accept this identity as his/her own. This would maximize the individuals acceptance into society, but at a considerable price. The individual would lose power, become exploitable, suppress and consequently lose his/her own "true identity," and then would become one of many faces in the crowd. The "true identity" would be stifled and strangled under the one imposed by society. Anger, frustration , and confusion would occupy the mind of the individual. The individual could reject this identity outright and could circumvent the accumulation of this anger and confusion, but not without consequences. This person may be branded a heretic and be rejected by society. They would lose their agency and legitimacy in the society and would lose any hopes of bringing about any change. The third option entails living a lie. On the surface the individual would embrace society's identity, bu t keep their true self hidden within. This option would allow the person to retain their agency in the society and their individuality. However, like the other two options, there exists a downside. The person would constantly have to put on the mask a particular community wants him/her to wear in order to conform to that community's ideals. It then becomes almost impossible for anyone to get to know the real person, hid... ...come invisible.      Works Cited and Consulted Bellow, Saul. "Man Underground" Review of Ralph Ellison's Invisible Man. Commentary. June 1952. 1st December 2001 Available: http://www.english.upeen.edu/~afilreis /50s/bellow-on-ellison.html Ellison, Ralph. Going to the Territory. New York: Random House, 1986. Fabre, Michel. "In Ralph Ellison's Precious Words." Unpublished Manuscript. 1996. 30 November. <http://www.igc.org/dissent/archive/ Ellison/early.html Howe, Irving. "Review of: Ralph Ellison's Invisible Man" Pub. The Nation. 10 May 1952. 30 November 1999. <http://www.english.upenn.edu/~afilreis/50s/howe-on-ellison.html. O'Meally, Robert. The Craft of Ralph Ellison. Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press, 1980. O'Meally, Robert, ed. New Essays on Invisible Man. Cambridge; New York: Cambridge University Press, 1988.

Sunday, November 10, 2019

Decision Making in Healthcare Organization

Running Head: Decision Making in a Healthcare Organization 1 Decision Making in a Healthcare Organization Xavier Hunt MHA 601: Principles of Healthcare Administration Professor Jack Lazzare December 19, 2011 DECISION MAKING IN HEALTHCARE ORGANIZATION 2 In the health care profession a CEO will be asked to make a lot of difficult decisions. The CEO will not only have to make decisions that fit the ongoing vision of the healthcare facility he/she may work at they will also have to form stable relationships with their peers, media, and staff. Decision making occurs in all organizations. The decision-making process begins with identifying a question, problem, or area needing improvement, or an operational issue. Problems, issues, questions, and operational challenges come to leaders and managers from many different people both within and outside the health organization (Pablo, 1996). To make the important decision that was given to us in the case study, I would use the garbage can model and its subsets to help me come to a conclusion. This decision involves a lot of people so the choice that will be made will affect all parties involved. In this paper I will discuss how I would tackle this problem with the various tools of decision making through the readings that we have had. The Garbage Can Model How can the garbage can model help in this situation? The garbage can model was invented to expand the understanding of the organization. It addresses the problem that is going on at that time and accepts confusion as a reality. In the garbage can model loose coupling is required in an organization to understand decision making. The garbage can model has also been introduced as a possible method to understand how an organization learns (Tsang, 1997). In the case study the CEO is faced with a myriad of issues like for instance trying to keep the physicians, and adequate staff at the hospital not only that if they were to leave they have threatened to go to their rivals hospitals across the city. The CEO also has to deal with a possible DECISION MAKING IN HEALTHCARE ORGANIZATION 3 lawsuit because the nurse who possibly has HIV has been asked to leave the operating room to work somewhere else. Would this not spark a fire? Could asking the nurse to leave no matter how they tried to butter the deal up still seem like covert discrimination? So the hospital is about to be hit by a media freight train if they cannot get this under control. The garbage can model allows for the CEO to handle these problems accordingly. â€Å"Garbage can decisions can occur in any organization but are more likely to be found in ‘organized anarchies’ where decisions are made under ambiguity and fluid involvement of participants. † Garbage can models are attempts at finding logic and order in the mist of decision-making chaos. Garbage, defined as sets of problems, solutions, energy, and participants, is dumped into a can as they are produced (streams of â€Å"garbage† in time) and when the can is full, a decision is made and removed from the scenario (Takahashi, 2002). The garbage can model depicts the chaotic nature of decision making. Temporal Order Temporal order is a component of the garbage can model. Temporal order replaces sequential order. Time is spatial in that a multitude of issues, problems, information flows, and sensing mechanisms can bombard decision makers in short or long time blocks. How problems and information to resolve the problems arrives in time has relatively equal priority as the evaluation of their importance. Arrival time and sequence in the current context influences decision makers’ attention to the situation. â€Å"The process is thoroughly and generally sensitive to load. An increase in the number of problems, relative to the energy available to work on them, makes problems less likely to be solved, decision makers more likely to shift from one arena to another more frequently, and choices longer to make and less likely to resolve problems† DECISION MAKING IN HEALTHCARE ORGANIZATION 4 (March, 1996). Individuals in the decision-making process, directly and indirectly, are interconnected and influence the context of the decision at hand. The amount of time that the CEO has to make his decision is limited he has to try to make an informed decision about a very sensitive issue that involves a lot of individuals. His decision also will take an effect on peoples family members that use the hospitals services. If he keeps the man will they still want to use the hospital? Or will they go to the cross cities rival hospital? The CEOs problems increased when the media got involved. The CEO has to find a way to balance his time so no one issue become bigger than the other because if he does this something will be forgotten in the process. To combat these issues the CEO will have to be attentive. Attention demands influence decision making. Time and energy must be allocated to understand, evaluate, and formulate a problem, then synthesize relevant information, evaluate options, and finally choose an alternative to counter or terminate the problem. Individuals focus on some things and do not attend to others in the same space of time. Corporate actions, outcomes, and responsiveness are the results of dynamic organizational processes, not heuristics of individual choice (Swanson 1996). Time and energy combine to form â€Å"attention. † Attention is a dynamic concept that is highly dependent on load (that is the number of decisions that need to be made). Information to Media The information that is conveyed to the media is an important tool in this case study. The way that we receive news has dramatically changed in recent years with the addition of social DECISION MAKING IN HEALTHCARE ORGANIZATION 5 etworking sites. These sites allow us to get information much more quickly, and the way a decision is made and perceived can be misconstrued. Information richness is defined as the ability of information to change understanding within a time interval. The longer the time interval to exchange understanding, the less rich the information. Consequently, the less time required the more rich the information is to the communicators (sender and receiver). The media (such as email, the telephone, or face-to-face conversation) that carries information to intended audiences also has a richness associated with it. A continuum of media richness has been established based on the medium’s capacity for immediate feedback, the number of cues and channels utilized personalization, and language variety. In decreasing media richness, the continuum of richness consists of: â€Å"1) face-to-face, 2) telephone, 3) personal documents such as letters, memos, and emails, 4) impersonal written documents, and 5) numeric documents. † The richer the media, the better equivocality can be reduced; media low in richness is best used when communicating messages that are understood well and possess standard information (Draft, 1986). Simply put, face-to-face interaction works best and bulletin board flyers work the worst in transferring meaning. Leaders and managers must consider what media with which to communicate to ensure the highest probability to transfer meaning to their intended audience. So as CEO he need to make sure that he communicate well with the media saying exactly what he means at all times. My final decision would be to not remove the nurse from the operating room because if he is singled out a lawsuit would ensue and it would be hard to say that he was not removed because it is suspected that he has HIV. He cannot be asked if he has it or not because of HIPPA DECISION MAKING IN HEALTHCARE ORGANIZATION 6 laws prohibit this. As long as everyone followed hospitals protocols such as use of blunt tip sutures as approved by the surgeon, a hands free neutral zone large enough where sharps can be placed and not easily tipped over and the use of double gloves in the operating room if would be okay for everyone to work there. If these procedures were taken lightly whoever did not follow would be reprimanded because there is little room for error in this type of setting. It has already been said that you treat everyone as if they are infected not just certain people. DECISION MAKING IN HEALTHCARE ORGANIZATION 7 References Daft RL, Lengel RH. Organizational information requirements, media richness, and structural design. Manage Sci. 1986;22(5):554–571. March JG, Weisinger-Baylon R. Ambiguity and Command: Organizational Perspectives on Military Decision Making. Marshfield, MA: Pitman Publishing; 1986. Pablo AL, Sitkin SB. Acquisition decision-making processes: The central role of risk. Journal of Management. 1996;22(5):723–747. Swanson DL. Addressing a theoretical problem by reorienting the corporate social performance model. Acad Manage Rev. 1995;20 (1):43–65. Takahashi, N. A single garbage can model and the degree of anarchy in Japanese firms. Hum Relat. 2002;50(1):91–109. Tsang EWK. Organizational learning and the learning organization: A dichotomy between descriptive and prescriptive research. Hum Relat. 1997;50(1):73–90.

Friday, November 8, 2019

U.S. Constitution - Article I, Section 10

U.S. Constitution - Article I, Section 10 Article I, Section 10 of the United States Constitution plays a key role in the American system of federalism by limiting the powers of the states. Under the Article, the states are forbidden from entering into treaties with foreign nations; instead reserving that power to the President of the United States, with the approval of two-thirds of the U.S. Senate. In addition, the states are forbidden from printing or coining their own money and from granting titles of nobility. Article I, Section 10 of the Constitution limits the powers of the states by prohibiting them from entering into treaties with foreign nations (a power reserved to the president with the consent of the Senate), printing their own money, or granting titles of nobility.Like Congress, the states may not pass â€Å"bills of attainder,† laws declaring any person or group guilty of a crime without due process of law, â€Å"ex post facto laws,† laws that make an act illegal retroactively or laws that interfere with legal contracts.In addition, no state, without the approval of both houses of Congress, may collect taxes on imports or exports, raise an army or harbor warships in times of peace, nor otherwise declare or engage in war unless invaded or in imminent danger. Article I itself lays out the design, function, and powers of the Congress – the legislative branch of U.S. government – and established many elements the vital separation of powers (checks and balances) between the three branches of government. In addition, Article I describes how and when U.S. Senators and Representatives are to be elected, and the process by which Congress enacts laws. Specifically, the three clauses of Article I, Section 10 of the Constitution do the following: Clause 1: the Obligations of Contracts Clause â€Å"No State shall enter into any Treaty, Alliance, or Confederation; grant Letters of Marque and Reprisal; coin Money; emit Bills of Credit; make any Thing but gold and silver Coin a Tender in Payment of Debts; pass any Bill of Attainder, ex post facto Law, or Law impairing the Obligation of Contracts, or grant any Title of Nobility.† The Obligations of Contracts Clause, typically called simply the Contracts Clause, prohibits the states from interfering with private contracts. While the clause might be applied to many types of common business dealings today, the framers of the Constitution intended it mainly to protect contracts providing for the payments of debts. Under the weaker Articles of Confederation, the states were allowed to enact preferential laws forgiving the debts of particular individuals. The Contracts Clause also prohibits the states from issuing their own paper money or coins and requires the states to use only valid U.S. money – â€Å"gold and silver Coin† – to pay their debts. In addition, the clause prohibits the states from creating bills of attainder or ex-post facto laws declaring a person or group of persons guilty of a crime and prescribing their punishment without the benefit of a trial or judicial hearing. Article I, Section 9, clause 3, of the Constitution similarly prohibits the federal government from enacting such laws. Today, the Contract Clause applies to most contracts such as leases or vendor contracts between private citizens or business entities. In general, the states may not obstruct or alter the terms of a contract once that contract has been agreed to. However, the clause applies only to the state legislatures and does not apply to court decisions. Clause 2: the Import-Export Clause â€Å"No State shall, without the Consent of the Congress, lay any Imposts or Duties on Imports or Exports, except what may be absolutely necessary for executing its [sic] inspection Laws: and the net Produce of all Duties and Imposts, laid by any State on Imports or Exports, shall be for the Use of the Treasury of the United States; and all such Laws shall be subject to the Revision and Controul [sic] of the Congress.† Further limiting the powers of the states, the Export-Imports Clause prohibits the states, without the approval of the U.S. Congress, from imposing tariffs or other taxes on imported and exported goods in excess of the costs necessary for their inspection as required by state laws. In addition, the revenue raised from all import or export tariffs or taxes must be paid to the federal government, rather than the states. In 1869, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that the Import-Export Clause applies only to imports and exports with foreign nations and not to imports and exports between states. Clause 3: the Compact Clause â€Å"No State shall, without the Consent of Congress, lay any Duty of Tonnage, keep Troops, or Ships of War in time of Peace, enter into any Agreement or Compact with another State, or with a foreign Power, or engage in War, unless actually invaded, or in such imminent Danger as will not admit of delay.† The Compact Clause prevents the states, without the consent of Congress, from maintaining armies or navies during a time of peace. Additionally, the states may not enter into alliances with foreign nations, nor engage in war unless invaded. The clause, however, does not apply to the National Guard. The framers of the Constitution were keenly aware that allowing military alliances between the states or between the states and foreign powers would seriously endanger the union. While the Articles of Confederation contained similar prohibitions, the framers felt that stronger and more precise language was needed to ensure the supremacy of the federal government in foreign affairs. Considering its need for it so obvious, the delegates of the Constitutional Convention approved the Compact Clause with little debate.

Wednesday, November 6, 2019

Indice de aprobación de visas de turista por país

Indice de aprobacià ³n de visas de turista por paà ­s El à ºltimo aà ±o, EE.UU. emitià ³ un total de 6.740.754 visas de turista sus embajadas y consulados de todo el mundo, pero hay una gran diferencia en el porcentaje de visas que se aprueban segà ºn la nacionalidad del solicitante. En las estadà ­sticas del aà ±o fiscal 2018 de las visas de turista – tambià ©n conocidas como de placer, paseo, B2 o la conjunta B1/B2 o combinada con la BCC o de lser o de cruce. Estas à ºltimas solamente se emiten a los mexicanos que residen a lo largo de la frontera terrestre con EE.UU. Sin embargo, en estas cifras no estn incluidos los turistas que ingresaron sin Visa a EE.UU. por ser nacionales de uno los 38 paà ­ses incluidos en el Programa de Exencià ³n de Visados (VWP, por sus siglas en inglà ©s), como chilenos y espaà ±oles. Por lo tanto, las estadà ­sticas de chilenos y espaà ±oles no aplica a la totalidad de turistas de esas nacionalidades que ingresaron a EE.UU. el aà ±o pasado sino tan solo a las personas que, por cualquier razà ³n, no pueden acogerse al VWP como, por ejemplo, haber previamente estado ilegalmente en el paà ­s o desear permanecer en EE.UU. por ms de 90 dà ­as, etc. Porcentaje de visas de turista aprobadas por nacionalidad Los siguientes son los porcentajes de visas de turista aprobadas en relacià ³n al total de solicitudes,  segà ºn la nacionalidad del solicitante durante el à ºltimo aà ±o fiscal: Argentina: 98,27%Bolivia: 77,81%Chile: 88,66%Colombia: 64,89%Costa Rica: 90,09%Cuba: 49,03%Ecuador: 68,62%El Salvador: 48,51%Espaà ±a: 85,96%Guatemala: 46,38%Honduras: 39,68%Mà ©xico: 75,07%Nicaragua: 53,35%Panam: 88,29%Paraguay: 91,98%Perà º: 71,47%Repà ºblica Dominicana: 50,46%Uruguay: 95,89%Venezuela: 25,72% Estas cifras son por nacionalidad, sin que importar en quà © consulado o en quà © paà ­s solicitaron la visa. Y es que à ©sta puede solicitarse fuera del paà ­s de residencia habitual, pero en ningà ºn caso mejora la posibilidad de sacar la visa y, sin embargo, sà ­ que puede perjudicarla.  ¿Por quà © algunas nacionalidades tienen à ­ndices de negacià ³n de la visa visa ms altas que otras? La visa de turista puede ser denegada por muchas razones. Pero la ms frecuente en todo el mundo es la de no acreditar suficientemente lazos econà ³micos y/o familiares o sociales en el lugar de residencia habitual. Es decir, el oficial consular sospecha que el solicitante de la visa puede quedarse en los Estados Unidos ms tiempo del autorizado o quieren aprovechar su estadà ­a para trabajar. Este problema puede afectar en todo el mundo por igual a solicitantes jà ³venes de cualquier paà ­s que cuando fueron nià ±os nunca tuvieron una visa americana. Sin embargo, en algunos consulados en particular ese tipo de sospechas son, en general, altas para todos los solicitantes, cualquiera que sea su edad. Las razones son varias, por ejemplo, la inestabilidad polà ­tica, econà ³mica y social de un paà ­s, que se refleja en el alto à ­ndice de sus ciudadanos que en los aà ±os anteriores obtuvieron una visa de turista, viajaron a EE.UU. y se han quedado ms tiempo del autorizado. Por ejemplo, el aà ±o pasado todas las solicitudes de visa de turista de ciudadanos de Andorra, Liechtenstein, Mà ³naco y Vaticano fueron aprobadas. Son paà ­ses estables con à ­ndices bajà ­simos de violaciones migratorias por parte de sus ciudadanos. En el otro extremo se encuentran Corea del Norte y Micronesia. En el à ºltimo aà ±o fiscal EE.UU. denegà ³ todas las solicitudes de visa de turista de los ciudadanos de esos dos estados. Un caso a destacar, porque ilustra muy bien este punto, es el de Venezuela. El aà ±o pasado, fueron rechazadas el 74,28 por ciento de solicitudes de visas de turista realizadas por venezolanos en cualquier embajada o consulado de EE.UU. en todo el mundo. En otras palabras, solo una de cuatro peticiones fue aprobada. Diez aà ±os antes, en el aà ±o fiscal 2008, solamente fueron rechazadas un 25,4 por ciento de las visas de turistas solicitadas por venezolanos. Es decir, tres de cada cuatro solicitudes era aprobada.  ¿Quà © saben los consulados sobre el solicitante de una visa? Otro factor que puede influenciar en la diferencia de à ­ndices de aprobacià ³n de las visas es la mayor tendencia en algunos paà ­ses a presentar documentos falsos o realizar declaraciones exageradas, en muchos casos animados por asesorà ­as que venden servicios varios para mejorar la chance de sacar la visa. Las informaciones de los consulados varà ­an de paà ­s a paà ­s pero en general puede decirse que antes de que el solicitante de la visa se presente delante del oficial consular para la entrevista ya el personal consular ha realizado una importante labor. Siempre se verifica la identidad del solicitante en bases de datos propias del gobierno estadounidense y que tienen la misma informacià ³n que los puntos migratorios de entrada a EE.UU. Tambià ©n se verifican los datos biomà ©tricos despuà ©s de tomar huellas y fotos al solicitante. Un grupo de empleados, que pueden ser estadounidenses o locales de gran confianza, busca por cualquier anomalà ­a que pueda aparecer en la aplicacià ³n de la visa. Si algo les llama la atencià ³n, proceden a una investigacià ³n ms en profundidad. Toda esa informacià ³n se presenta al oficial consular que va a llevar a cabo la entrevista y por eso puede tomar una decisià ³n sobre aprobar o negar la visa en apenas dos minutos. Adems, à ©ste puede acceder desde su computadora a todos los expedientes que puede tener el solicitante de la visa como, por ejemplo, previas solicitudes y conocer incluso todas las anotaciones realizadas por otros oficiales consulares desde otro consulado ubicado en cualquier lugar del mundo. Con respecto a la duda de si pueden verificar la informacià ³n de los informes bancarios, no es posible pedir un estado del balance de una cuenta de un ciudadano que no es estadounidense. Sin embargo, por diversos medios sà ­ que es posible para los consulados obtener confirmacià ³n por parte de los bancos sobre si los informes presentados son real y si fueron emitidos en la fecha que consta. La presentacià ³n de documento falsos da lugar a la negacià ³n de la visa por fraude de ley y equivale a cavar uno su propia tumba ya que es un problema muy difà ­cil de solucionar. Serà ­a necesario obtener un perdà ³n o waiver, que es muy complicado obtener. Puntos Clave: visas de turista aprobadas y rechazadas en FY2018 6.740.745: nà ºmero de visas de turista B2, B1/B2 y combinacià ³n B1/B2/BCC aprobadas por los consulados de EE.UU. en todo el mundo en aà ±o fiscal 2018.China: paà ­s con ms visas de turista aprobadas, seguido de Mà ©xico y, en tercer lugar, India.0% solicitudes de visas de turista aprobadas: Corea del Norte y Micronesia.100% solicitudes de visas de turista aprobadas: Andorra, Liechtenstein, Mà ³naco, Vaticano y Sahara Occidental.Factores que influyen en diferencias de à ­ndices de aprobacià ³n: falta de estabilidad econà ³mica, polà ­tica o social de un paà ­s, altos porcentajes de nacionales de un paà ­s que se quedan en EE.UU. ms tiempo que el autorizado y altos à ­ndices de presentacià ³n de papeles fraudulentos o declaraciones falsas durante el proceso de solicitud de visa. Este no es un artà ­culo legal, es solo informativo.

Sunday, November 3, 2019

Hunter College Dance Program Student Concert program C Essay

Hunter College Dance Program Student Concert program C - Essay Example The role of the audience is to be critical of the dances in order to comprehend the artistic influences in the dance and to encourage and critique the performers to facilitate the development of the performers(Minton, 74). The rationale for the concert is to facilitate an interaction between the performers and the audience. The reason for the choreography was to serve as a guide for aspiring artists on how to handle a real life situation. The concert provides the dancers with a platform to present their creativity to the audience in order to learn how to perfect technique, style and execution (Minton, 48). The audience is watching in order to experience the artistry, which is present among the students at the collage. This offers the audience with an opportunity to comment on the pieces. The audience is also watching for entertainment through the music and choreography, which characterizes the concert. There is a definite relationship between the audience and the performers. This is essential in order to facilitate both parties to experience the different emotions and messages which are evident in a performance. However, in this scenario, the performer is the source of the content the audience will respond to during the choreography (Minton, 74). This means that the choreographer leads the audience through this artistic journey. The audience has to interpret the message in the dance in order to comprehend the artistic message being passed by the choreographers. This was evident in several performances especially in the choreography Not my Chains, Choreographed by Elana Jaroff whereby the choreographer elicited the feel of freedom. Music was an essential element in the performances. This is because it provided the rhythm for the performers to express their artistry. The choreographers used music, which complemented

Friday, November 1, 2019

Reaction paper Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 24

Reaction paper - Essay Example There were other neighboring plantations in the area like New Design and also Wye Town. The home plantation was the administrative base of all the twenty farms in the area. The slaves who proved unmanageable were also punished at the home plantation. The punishment forms include; whipping, sloop boarding, and being sold. These punishments were aimed at minimizing or eliminating resistance from other slaves. At the home plantation, all the slaves received their monthly food allowance for sustenance (Douglas 16). Mr. Litch was another player who, despite being uneducated was very wealthy. His plantation had approximately 600 slaves. He employed competent overseers to manage his plantation, and he adequately remunerated them. There was a jail and also a whipping post within his plantation. These punishment approaches, were aimed at the slaves who did not adhere to set down rules. Mr. Litch even engaged in murder, without being questioned due to his vast amounts of wealth. The reaction illustrates very inhumane punishment that the slaves received in the plantation of Mr. Litch. He required strict compliance to eight commandments, within his plantation. However, if a neighbor accused a slave against theft, the master engaged in browbeating and also assurances that he provides adequately for his slaves and hence they do not have reasons of stealing. The accuser was, however, whipped as a form of punishment, after the neighbor has left. The slaves who engaged in stealing pieces of meat or corn we re punished through being chained, imprisoned and finally subjected to hunger (Jacobs 57). The north and the south regions of America are different due to the direct issue of slavery. Thus the reaction paper illustrates the 1857 south crisis. The south policy is relatively ineffective, in the moral, social and political areas. The north, through its effective approaches and policy, are effective in almost all issues and opinions. It is