A Passage to India Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

A Passage to India - Essay Example As an initial matter, it is quite true that Fielding and Dr. Aziz established a genuine friendship. This owes a great deal to Fielding's fiercely independent nature. Unlike other British officials whom adopted a condescending attitude toward the native people, Fielding treated the Indians with a sense of decency and respect. He wasn't an idealist, but he did tend to approach issues and people from an objective and open-minded point of view. He didn't allow his perceptions of India to be affected negatively by bias or stereotypes. These qualities attracted Dr. Aziz and distinguished Fielding from the other British officials. Indeed, when Dr. Aziz was subsequently accused of assault by Adela, Fielding broke with the British and lent his support to the Indians. In short, the qualities that allowed Fielding's friendship with Dr. Aziz to flourish were his independence of mind, his personal conviction in the notion of an objective justice for all, and his strength of character in declaring and acting on his beliefs. Fielding was a principled man and Dr Aziz respected him in this way. That there were very real limits to this friendship, however, is beyond doubt. There are moments, in the beginning of the novel, when Dr.

Bio of Marley :: essays research papers

BOB MARLEY Jamaica has produced an artist who has touched all categories, classes, and creeds through innate modesty and profound wisdom. Bob Marley, the Natural Mystic who introduced reggae to European and American fans still may prove to be the most significant musical artist of the twentieth century. Bob Marley gave the world brilliant music and established reggae as major forces in music that is comparable with the blues and rock&rolls. His work stretched across nearly two decades and still remains timeless. Bob Marley & the Wailers worked their way into all of our lives. "He's taken his place with James Brown and Sly Stone as pervasive influence on r&b", said Timothy White, author of the Bob Marley biography "Catch A Fire". It is important to think of the roots of this legend: the first superstar from the Third World, Bob Marley was one of the most charismatic and challenging performers of his time. His music reflects only one source: the street culture of Jamaica. Later, in 1930, Ras Tafari Makonnen was crowned Emperor of Ethiopia. Tafari claimed to be the 225th ruler in a line that went back to Menelik, the son of Solomon. The Garvey followers in Jamaica, who consulted their New Testaments for a sign, believed that Haile Selassie was the black king that Garvey had said would deliver the black race. It was the start of a new religion called Rastafari, which Bob was into heavily. Fifteen years after, in Nine Miles deep within Jamaica Robert Nesta Marley was born. His mother Cedella Booker was an eighteen-year-old black girl while his father was Captain Norval Marley, a 50-year-old white man working for the Jamaican Forestry Commission. The couple married in 1944 and Norval left Cedella to legitimize their unborn child. Then Bob was born on February 6, 1945. Norval's family applied constant pressure to Bob and, although he provided financial support, Norval seldom saw his son who grew up in St. Ann to the north of the island. Bob Marley, barely into his teens, moved to Kingston (Trench Town) in the late Fifties. His friends Were other street youths, also not happy with their place in society. One friend Neville O'Riley Livingston was known as Bunny, Bob met Bunny when his mom took work taking rooms behind a rum bar owned by Toddy Livingston Bunnys father. Bob took his first musical steps with Bunny.

Marriott Corporation: Business Overview

Harvard Business School 9-282-042 Rev. September 15, 1986 Marriott Corporation The idea of repurchasing shares was no stranger to Bill Marriott by January 1980. Almost five million shares of common stock had been repurchased on the open market by Marriott Corporation during 1979 at a total cost of $74 million and an average price of $15. 16 in the belief that they were undervalued—a belief that still was not fully reflected in the market price. At $19 5/8, the stock was selling at only six times cash flow per share; and its price/earnings ratio of nine was a far cry from historical multiples as high as fifty times as recently as 1973.Its low price seemed to offer once again an obvious opportunity to benefit shareholders. However, the proposal to repurchase 10 million of the 32 million still outstanding shares aroused some uneasiness. If successful, it had the potential of enhancing Marriott's EPS and of increasing family and management control from 20% to 29% of outstanding sh ares. However, it represented a move that was almost entirely financial—one that would run the debt well above the levels advocated before the Board of Directors only two years earlier.The repurchase would also necessitate renegotiation of restrictive covenants in existing loan agreements. Lastly, the huge size of the proposed program would require a tender price of $23 1/2, a hefty premium of $4 over the current market price. All of this seemed somewhat out of character for a corporation known for caution and stability. Background Marriott Corporation was founded as a nine-seat A Root Beer Stand in Washington, D. C. , in 1927 by J. Willard Marriott. Mr.Marriott had a gift for anticipating, or helping to create, trends in public eating habits. Shortly after the first stand opened, a second was built, and soon a chain of Hot Shoppes was underway. In 1934, industrial cafeterias were opened at a General Motors plant in Georgia and at the Ford Motor Company plant in Virginia. In 1937, the airline industry was revolutionized when Mr. Marriott established an airline catering service, providing box lunches from a Hot Shoppe next to the old Hoover Airport, on the site of what is now the Pentagon. Seven years later, Mr.Marriott led the company into the hotel field, opening the Marriott Twin Bridges just over the Potomac River from Washington. It became known as a motor-hotel and helped to revolutionize the lodging industry, for it offered a drive-in registration desk, a restaurant on the premises, and a convention center. By 1964, there were 77 restaurants, 4 hotels, and 9,600 employees generating total sales of $85 million. This case was prepared for class discussion rather than to illustrate either effective or ineffective handling of an administrative situation.Copyright  © 1981 by the President and Fellows of Harvard College. To order copies or request permission to reproduce materials, call 1-800-545-7685, write Harvard Business School Publishing, Boston, MA 02163, or go to http://www. hbsp. harvard. edu. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, used in a spreadsheet, or transmitted in any form or by any means—electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise—without the permission of Harvard Business School. 1 282-042 Marriott CorporationBill Marriott assumed the presidency from his father in 1964 and initiated further diversification into theme parks, cruise ships and international host services. In 1967 the company acquired the Big Boy Restaurants franchise based in the Los Angeles area. A year later, Marriott opened its first Roy Rogers Roast Beef Sandwich outlet, which would grow into the Roy Rogers Family Restaurant chain. Since 1964, growth was little short of phenomenal. From sales of $85 million 16 years earlier, sales in 1979 exceeded $1. 5 billion.Operations expanded to 476 company-operated restaurants, 55 hotels and resorts, a cruise ship line, two theme parks , and 66,000 employees. (See Exhibit 1 for financial information on Marriott's various businesses. ) Hotels (35% of sales)—Marriott Hotels was one of the world's leading and most successful operators of hotels and resorts. By 1980, more than 23,000 rooms were offered through 55 hotels and resorts located primarily in the U. S. Approximately 70% of company-operated rooms were owned by outside investors and managed by Marriott under agreements averaging 70 years in length.These management agreements contributed approximately $40 million to operating profits in 1979—profits that tended to rise with inflation. Contract Food Service (32% of sales)—Marriott operated almost 300 contract food units, providing a wide range of food service capabilities to a variety of clients. It was the world's leading supplier of catering services to airlines, with 62 flight kitchens serving domestic and international air travelers. The Food Service Management Division also managed rest aurants, cafeterias, conference centers and other facilities for over 200 clients, including business, health care, and educational institutions.Restaurants (25% of sales)—Marriott's Restaurant Group consisted of 476 company-owned units offering a variety of popularly priced food in 46 states. Roy Rogers fast food restaurants and Big Boy coffee shops accounted for 92% of the total units. Theme Parks and Cruise Ships (8% of sales)—The two Great America theme parks, located in Gurnee, Illinois, between Chicago and, Milwaukee, and in Santa Clara, California, were opened in 1976. Both parks combined a wide variety of thrill and family rides, live musical productions and stage shows, arcades and games, merchandise and food.The attractions were set in five authentically recreated areas of America's past and have strong appeal for the entire family. The Sun Line fleet, consisting of three vessels, offered luxury sailing in both the Aegean/Mediterranean and Caribbean cruise ma rkets, and was widely recognized as the leader in quality in the Aegean market. Past Performance Marriott had always been a strong performer in profit terms. Over the entire 25 years ended 1979, there were only two down years and only three other years in which earnings per share grew at less than a 15% rate.Profits doubled on average every 3 to 4 years. A major return on investment improvement program, initiated in 1975, accelerated the earnings growth. The program consisted of three parts: (1) the sale or liquidation of $92 million of marginal assets, including land, 38 restaurants, a security services business, 2 European airplane flight kitchens, and a travel division, (2) a major effort to turn around the Sun Line operation and to develop volume in the recently opened Theme Parks, and (3) the shift of Marriott's hotel strategy from ownership to leasing and management contracts.The shift in the hotel strategy reflected management's belief that its comparative advantage was in ho tel development and management, and not in long-term hotel ownership. 2 Marriott Corporation 282-042 The results were dramatic. Net income as a percentage of sales rose from 3. 1% to 4. 7%. The company's return on average equity improved from 9. 5% in 1975 to 17. 0% in 1979. Earnings per share soared from 69? to $1. 95. (See Exhibit 2 for a summary of Marriott's historical performance. ) Profitability—An Elusive NotionWhile the trend in profitability seemed clear and encouraging, the actual level was a matter of debate and uncertainty for Marriott, as well as for American business in general. Double-digit inflation cast doubts on the usefulness of numbers based on historical costs, and the Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) recently issued guidelines which required firms to present, beginning in 1979, supplemental financial information that reflects the effects of general inflation. Marriott even though they reported these adjustments as required by Financial Account ing Standards No. 3 felt the numbers were misleading since they only adjusted for general inflation. Marriott also reported a second method of adjusting for inflation which they called Current Value and which they explained in the annual report: The Financial Accounting Standards Board has recently addressed the problem of financial reporting during inflationary periods. However, each industry and company is impacted differently by inflation and the choice of measurement must reflect the specific situation. Current Value is the best method for tracking Marriott's economic performance, and it differs from either historic costs or the present FASB definition.According to Current Value accounting, the value of shareholders' equity increased by $125 million in 1979 alone, and the increase would have been $199 million more if not for the $74 million share repurchase. (See Exhibit 3 for Current Value Figures). Current Value accounting differs from historic cost accounting in four areas. F irst, it values most fixed assets on a discounted cash flow basis, net of anticipated future capital requirements, thereby eliminating the valuation distortions caused by conventional depreciation accounting.In contrast with manufacturing facilities, Marriott's high-quality building structures, properly maintained, do not physically wear out at the depreciation rates assumed by industry accounting standards. In fact, Marriott's real estate assets actually increase in value during inflation, as demonstrated by actual property sales. For example, Marriott's Essex House Hotel is 50 years old, yet it remains one of America's finest real estate values due to its location in New York City and its excellent maintenance program.Second, Current Value reports an improved measure of annual economic profit— Discretionary Cash Flow—which disregards accounting depreciation and substitutes the actual required capital expenditures made for maintenance of property, plant and equipment. Third, Current Value accounting recognizes the annual gains in purchasing power from repaying debt in cheaper, inflated dollars. Accounting convention charges the inflation component of interest against current earnings, but does not reflect the benefits of debt.Fourth, Current Value reflects the gains from holding debt borrowed at comparatively low interest rates. According to Marriott's calculations the current value price per share of Marriott's stock was $27. 83 versus the historic book value of $12. 88. Prospects Stock price, of course, is based on more than book or replacement value; it is also based on future earnings potential. Marriott's prospects for growth and profitability seemed excellent. Marriott's major chain competitors were not expanding on an ownership basis and only selectively on 3 282-042 Marriott Corporation management basis; and independents were unable to obtain financing for new hotels without a chain affiliation and a management contract from a successful national operator. This presented management with a major opportunity to accelerate the planned annual hotel room growth to 20%-25% per year. There were already over 50,000 hotel rooms, representing nearly 100 properties, in the development â€Å"pipeline. † This was 2 1/2 times the current number of company-operated rooms. Management was optimistic about the future and expected profitability to improve from an aftertax return on assets of 6. 6% in 1979 to 8. 7% by 1983.Furthermore the company seemed ahead of schedule in achieving its goal of a 20% ROE by 1983. Main contributors would include a continued buildup of attendance at the two Theme Parks and a continued shift from hotel ownership to outside ownership and Marriott management contracts. All management contracts provided at a minimum a constant percentage of hotel profits, and most new contracts would provide Marriott with an increased share in profits after achieving certain targeted levels. Financial Policies Marri ott's success seemed certain to present management with a problem of too much cash and underutilized debt capacity. . . a situation almost totally the reverse of what Gary Wilson, chief financial officer, found when he joined Marriott as treasurer in 1974. At that time, he found a company with a high debt burden, heavy debt repayments due to short maturities, and access to only a limited number of funding sources. Wilson immediately went to work at broadening the potential lenders, opening up the commercial paper market, refinancing with longer maturities, and reducing the total debt load from 55% of total capital in 1975 to 41% at year-end 1979.His financial policy guidelines won approval by the board of directors in 1978 and included the following: 1. Maintain senior funded debt to total capital in the 40%-45% range; maintain this ratio including capitalized financing leases below 50%. 2. Maintain the P-1 Moody's commercial paper rating, as it lends credibility to Marriott's claim of prime credit worthiness and impacts the availability and rate of its commercial bank and privately placed bond debt. Among the 500 companies with P-1 rated commercial paper and rated bond debt, only one has a bond rating of less than â€Å"A. â€Å") 3. Position the company further in the domestic, unsecured, long-term, fixed-rate bond market as the principal source of future debt financing. 4. Issue no convertible debt or preferred stock. In addition, while Marriott had begun paying a cash dividend in 1977 and had increased it twice, the firm's policy was not to increase payout substantially as explained in its Annual Report: 5. The company has a good record of reinvesting cash flow at high returns.Marriott will continue this reinvestment strategy, so that shareholders should profit through share appreciation taxed at advantageous capital gains rates, rather than through higher dividends taxed at ordinary rates. Too Much Cash By 1979, Marriott's four-year-old program of impro ving its returns through hotel management fees and the divestiture of low return operations was working so well that it was producing an embarrassment of cash-flow riches. The company was rapidly moving in the direction of unused debt capacity, which Wilson deemed â€Å"imprudent† in an inflationary environment. 4 Marriott Corporation 82-042 By 1983, the debt to capital ratio would fall to roughly 20% if the projected excess cash flow, $125 million over the 4-year period, were merely used to pay down debt while the equity base continued to grow through the retention of earnings. Wilson explained his dislike for low debt ratios: I'm a great believer in prudent leverage. Many other companies aren’t. But in the next decade, inflation will make them come around to my viewpoint. Leverage is attractive for a very simple reason. Capital, which is the stuff by which investments are made, is comprised of two components—equity and debt.Equity in the case of Marriott costs about 17% after tax; that is, the investor expects to earn 17% on an investment in Marriott's stock. Debt costs only about 5% after tax. Given an investment that earns 10% after tax, it is evident that the more debt that I have in my capital structure, the lower will be the cost of my capital, and the more return I will have left over for the holders of my common stock. Since debt is so cheap relative to equity, it would seem attractive to use as much debt as possible in a capital structure. In fact, if cost were the sole criteria for selection, one would use 100% debt.This brings us to the second component of the determinants of capital structure and that is coverage. Debt unlike equity has a fixed interest charge that must be met or the equity holders' investment will be jeopardized. It is common to speak of the firm's ability to meet its interest payments in terms of coverage, or the number of times the pretax cash flow from the firm meets the interest charges. Coverage is proba bly the most important quantitative measure used in the rating of debt instruments by rating agencies; as coverage rises, so does the bond rating.Highly rated firms also tend to have low debt ratios which are more representative of the fact that these firms tend to be exceedingly large, in mature industries, with limited reinvestment opportunities, rather than demonstrative of prudent financial policy. It can be reasonably argued that growth companies should be positioned in the triple-B range or lower, as opposed to the higher ranges. The firm's annual report expanded on this theme by stating: Maintaining excess debt capacity is inconsistent with the goal of maximizing shareholder wealth for three reasons; (1) Unused debt capacity is comparable to unused plant capacity.Fully utilizing this capacity maximizes shareholder's returns. (2) High proportions of debt reduce a company's weighted cost of capital and increase the real returns to shareholders. (3) Debt-financed real estate pro vides distinct advantages in an inflationary environment. Repurchase of 10 million shares would, with one move, eliminate Wilson's concern. In fact, it would push the debt ratio back above the 1975 high and also above the policy guidelines passed less than two years before. Further, it would result in interest coverage of less than three times—well below the six times deemed necessary for an â€Å"A† rating. See Exhibit 4 for pro forma statements based on the proposed share repurchase. ). Bill Marriott's Concerns Bill Marriott had great respect for the judgment of his financial team. However, a $235 million debt issue used to repurchase 10 million shares would put Marriott's debt ratio well outside the range of other food and lodging firms, and would necessitate renegotiation of several restrictive covenants under existing loan agreements. (See Exhibits 5 and 6 respectively for financial information on competitors and for information on restrictive covenants. ) Repurch ase also seemed to 5 282-042 Marriott Corporation be a negative move. . . a cutting back of resources . . . . very different from the tone of aggressive expansion of operations. Maybe Finance was right about the potential leverage benefits; maybe the proposal to repurchase all shares held outside of the family and management was more than jest. But was it obvious that paying a premium of $4 per share to bring in 10 million shares was wise? What was the correct price for Marriott's stock and would a repurchase help increase it? The Street certainly seemed divided on the attractiveness of the stock at $19 5/8. (See Exhibit 7 for a summary of the forecasts and opinions of several leading analysts on Wall Street. 6 Marriott Corporation 282-042 Exhibit 1 Sales Summary of Operations by Principal Business Segment (dollars in millions) 1975 $238 256 268 – 14 $776 1976 $281 289 296 64 17 $947 1977 $335 342 317 72 24 $1,090 1978 $408 388 347 76 31 $1,250 1979 $535 480 377 84 34 $1,510 Hotel group Contract food Restaurants Theme parks Cruise ships and other Total Operating Profit Hotel Group Contract food Restaurants Theme parks Cruise ships and other Total Interest (net) Corporate expenses Income before taxes $33 19 22 – (3) 71 23 8 $40 $38 19 20 15 1 93 27 13 $53 $54 21 26 10 4 115 30 16 $69 $66 23 28 12 5 134 24 15 $95 87 32 29 17 6 171 28 20 $123 Net Assets 1978 Hotel Group Contract food Restaurants Theme parks Cruise ships and other Corporate Total $304 99 162 161 32 69 $827 Employed 1979 $372 124 175 158 32 31 $892 Capital 1978 $63 11 34 9 0 22 $139 Expenditures 1979 $81 20 45 6 1 5 $158 Depreciation 1978 1979 $15 8 12 9 2 1 $47 $16 8 15 9 1 2 $51 7 282-042 Marriott Corporation Exhibit 2 Summary of Historical Performance (dollars in millions, except per share amounts) 1975 1976 $ 947 32 3. 4% $ 326 378 48% 3. 0 10. 4% $ . 86 0 8. 95 13. 54 36. 5 14,765 52,900 1977 $1,090 39 3. 6% $ 366 370 45% 3. 3 11. 1% $ 1. 04 . 03 10. 02 11. 75 36. 15,383 56,100 1 978 $1,250 54 4. 3% $ 419 310 38% 5. 0 13. 9% $ 1. 43 . 13 11. 40 12. 13 36. 7 17,987 63,600 1979 $1,510 71 4. 7% $ 414 365 41% 5. 4 17. 0% $ 1. 95 . 17 12. 88 17. 38 32. 1 20,956 65,700 Sales Net Income % of sales Shareholders' equity Senior debt and capital lease obligations % of total capitala Times interest earnedb Return on average shareholders' equity after taxes Earnings per sharec Cash dividends per share Book Value per share Year-end market price Number of shares outstanding (millions) Company-operated hotel rooms Employees $ 776 24 3. 1% $ 264 406 55% 2. 7 9. 5% $ . 69 0 7. 68 15. 46 34. 4 12,987 47,600 Total capital is defined as total assets less current liabilities. b Times interest earned is calculated by dividing earnings before interest and taxes by interest expense net of interest on projects under construction. c Fully diluted earnings per share based upon the average number of shares outstanding for the year. 8 Marriott Corporation 282-042 Exhibit 3 Current Value Statement (dollar figures in thousands) Changes in Shareholders' Current Value Equity for 1979 Current value, December 28, 1978 Increase in current value of assets Discretionary cash flow Reduction in current value of debt Cash dividends Purchase of sharesCommon stock issued Current value, December 28, 1979 Change in current value during 1979 Change in current value during 1979 before cash dividends, share repurchase and issuance of new common stock $ 767,719 77,227 99,123 25,287 (5,776) (74,187) 3,810 $ 893,203 $ 125,484 201,637 Shareholders' Equity Historical Cost Non-monetary assets (primarily plant and equipment) Less: net monetary liabilities Senior debt and capital leases Convertible debt Other monetary liabilities Shareholders' equity, December 28, 1979 $ 927,287 365,279 26,918 121,587 $ 413,503 Current Value $1,356,244 320,736 20,718 121,587 $ 893,203 282-042 Marriott Corporation Exhibit 4 Pro Forma Financial Statements Based on Repurchase of 10 Million Shares of Common Stoc k, Funded with a $235 Million Debt Issue (dollar figures in millions, except earnings per share) Year Ended December 28, 1979 Actual Pro Forma Earnings before interest and taxes Interest: existing debt $235 million in new debt Profit before tax Income taxes Net income Average number of shares (millions) Earnings per sharea $ 151 28 – $123 52 $71 36 $1. 96 $151 28 31 $92 36 $56 26 $2. 14 Consolidated Balance Sheet, December 28, 1979 ASSETS Cash & Mkt.Securities Accounts receivable Inventories Other Total current Net fixed assets Other Total Actual $ 21 100 47 10 $ 178 825 77 $1,080 Pro Forma $ 21 100 47 10 $ 178 825 77 $1,080 LIABILITIES & EQUITY Short-term loans Current portion, longterm debt Accounts payable Accrued liabilities Income taxes payable Total current Senior debt Capital lease Subordinated debt Other liabilities Equity Total a Fully diluted based upon the average number of shares outstanding for the year. Actual $ 4 10 72 80 22 $ 188 341 24 27 86 414 $1,080 Pro Fo rma $ 4 10 72 80 22 $ 188 576 24 27 86 179 $1,080 10 Marriott Corporation 282-042 Exhibit 5Financial Information on Competitors Holiday Inns $17 1/4 1. 75 9. 9 3. 50 4. 9 . 66 17. 50 Marriott Stock Price January 1980 1979 epsa P/E Ratio 1979 Cash Flow per share a Price/Cash Flow Dividend per share Book Value per share Avg. Annual Growth (1974-1979) Sales Earnings Return on Equity, 1979a Total Long term debt % Book Capital Times Interest Earned Rating of Senior debt Beta a Estimated Hilton $29 1/2 3. 75 7. 9 4. 80 6. 1 1. 09 14. 91 McDonalds $ 44 4. 70 9. 4 6. 80 6. 4 . 51 23. 69 Disney $ 45 3. 50 12. 9 4. 80 9. 4 . 48 29. 75 $19 5/8 1. 95 10 3. 80 5. 2 . 17 12. 88 18. 7% 23. 4% 17% 45% 5. 4 NR 1. 25 6. 2% 41. % 26% 24% 15. 0 NR 1. 30 2. 45% 11. 4% 9% 33% 5. 6 BBB 1. 45 21. 6% 22. 9% 20% 50% 5. 2 A 1. 05 13. 1% 18. 7% 12% 0% – NR 1. 15 Note: Yields on 91-day Treasury bills, 5 yr. Treasury notes and 30 yr. Treasury Bonds were 12. 5%, 10. 4%, and 10. 1%, respectively, as of Janu ary 1980. 11 282-042 Marriott Corporation Exhibit 6 Selected Restrictive Covenants Under the $40 Million Loan Agreement Dated 1977 With Six Life Insurance Companies, 8-3/4% Rate, Due in 15 Equal Annual Installments Beginning December 15, 1983 1. Total book assets shall be at least 155% of the sum of consolidated funded debt plus consolidated capital leases.Funded debt shall mean all indebtedness having a final maturity of more than one year. 2. Consolidated net working capital shall be at least equal to $6 million. 3. Consolidated senior funded debt shall be less than the sum of 66 2/3% of consolidated net hotel assets plus 50% of all other consolidated assets. 4. Consolidated tangible net worth shall be maintained at all times in an amount of least equal to the sum of $240 million plus 25% of consolidated net income for the period from July 31, 1976. Tangible net worth shall mean shareholders' equity minus all intangible items. 5.Net income available for fixed charges for the past year shall have been at least 175% of pro forma annual fixed charges. Net income available for fixed charges shall mean EBIT plus the imputed interest in all capital leases. Source: Casewriter 12 Marriott Corporation 282-042 Exhibit 7 Summary of Forecasts and Opinions of Several Leading Analysts from Major Investment Firms Firm A Est. 1980 eps Est. 1983 eps Est. 1980 return on equity Est. 1983 return on equity Est. long-term eps growth Riskiness of stock $1. 95 3. 00 14% 14% 15% average Firm B $2. 20 3. 80 16% 17% 20% average Firm C $2. 0 3. 25 14% 15% 16% average Firm D $2. 10 3. 60 15% 16% 20% low Firm E $2. 15 3. 25 15% 15% 15% low Avg. $2. 08 3. 38 14. 8% 15. 4% 17. 2% – Recommendation Long-term Hold Long-term Buy Long-term Hold Hold Long-term Hold – Marriott and Market Information Marriott Return on Equity Earnings per share Dividends per share Price/Earnings (Average) Market value/Book value (Avg. ) Standard & Poor's Industrials Return to Equity Earnings per shar e Dividends per share Price/earnings Market value/Book value Interest Rates (Year-end) 91-Day Treasury Bill 5-Year Treasury Note 30-Year Treasury Bonds 7. % 7. 2% 8. 0% 5. 3% 7. 4% 8. 0% 4. 4% 6. 2% 7. 3% 6. 3% 7. 5% 8. 0% 9. 6% 9. 3% 8. 9% 12. 5% 10. 4% 10. 1% 14. 8% $9. 69 4. 72 10 1. 4 12. 3% $8. 55 3. 78 11 1. 4 14. 5% $10. 68 4. 25 11 1. 5 14. 6% $11. 57 4. 96 9 1. 3 15. 2% $13. 12 5. 35 8 1. 2 17. 1% $16. 08 6. 04 7 1. 2 1974 10. 6% $ . 70 0 18 2. 1 1975 9. 5% $ . 69 0 17 1. 6 1976 10. 4% $ . 86 0 17 1. 8 1977 11. 1% $1. 04 . 03 12 1. 2 1978 13. 9% $1. 43 . 13 10 1. 3 1979 17. 0% $1. 95 . 17 8 1. 2 13

The Old Man and the Sea as an Allegory: Sharks

The Old Man and the Sea as an Allegory: Sharks The novel â€Å"The Old Man and the Sea† was an allegory for Hemingway’s life, meaning the book was symbolic to Ernest’s journey and struggles. In this novel, the old man was faced with a dramatic life or death situation when he was getting chased by sharks while catching for the marlin. â€Å"The old man's head was clear and good now and he was full of resolution but he had little hope. It was too good to last, he thought. He took one look at the great fish as he watched the shark close in† (101).The â€Å"sharks† are planning to hurt him and Santiago just notices it. These sharks are symbolic to Ernest’s problems and demons as an author, as they were much like â€Å"sharks† in the fact that they caused him a lot of trouble and worry. A few of these â€Å"sharks† were his parents and his poorly received book â€Å"Across the River and Into the Trees. † For example, Hemingway ’s parents did not want him to become a writer. They wanted him to go to college and pursue a different path.His parents were like the â€Å"sharks† because just like how the sharks were trying to eat the old man, his parents were â€Å"eating† his plans and future. The critics of his were also â€Å"sharks. † Hemingway’s critics were not exactly the nicest to him about his book â€Å"Across the River and Into the Trees. † â€Å"However, O'Hara's was one of the few good reviews, with negative reviews appearing in more than 150 publications. Critics claimed the novel was too emotional, had inferior prose and a â€Å"static plot†, and that Cantwell was an â€Å"avatar† for Hemingway's character Nick Adams. (Wikipedia) Hemingway’s books are symbolic to his life, and for it to be criticized as too emotional, boring, and like a bad autobiography can be taken to heart. The critics were â€Å"sharks† because they had no mercy with Hemingway, they ate up prey (beat his book to the ground) and left nothing behind, which is cruel to his artistry and his pride. The above clearly shows that Hemingway had to deal with â€Å"sharks† as a writer, which were his parents and his critics.

Free Essays on Rap Censorship

. The project promotes literacy and cultural awareness and teaches black history. Pubic Enemy criticized for excessively violent lyrics, has even launched a Black Awareness program. The members have also raised and contributed money for various causes such as Urban Development Program, a nationwide program by which youths build houses for the homeless. In the States, Public Enemy toured 20 cities in the â€Å"Unity for Peace† tour and raised money for such local charities as the Boys and Girls club... Free Essays on Rap Censorship Free Essays on Rap Censorship Rap should not be censored because everybody has the right to their freedom of speech, as it is in Section 2 of Charter of Rights and Freedoms. â€Å"Us as rappers express our thoughts and the whole world is after us.† (pg. 171, Sexton) Rap has done a lot to our world; as a result our society has improved. Laws are stated for music censorship. Rap censorship is wrong; there are cases, songs, and interview to prove that. A lot of people think that rap music promotes violence and that it is negative to the society! While so much emphasis is placed on the detrimental effects of some rap music, there’s little acknowledgment of rap’s positive cultural contribution and social activism. Jive’s KRS-One, known to his community as â€Å"The Teacher† is just one example of the good work being done. KRS-One now lectures at universities such as Harvard, Yale, Vassar and Stanford on his philosophies â€Å"The deepest part of being black is being African. The dee pest part of being African is being human,† he has started. â€Å"The deepest part of being human is being universal. And the deepest part of being universal is being balanced. It’s all according to where to start and stop studying.† The rap artists have been involved with such organizations as Stop the Violence, Heal and the National Urban League (for which KRS-One raised $600,000) One of his projects â€Å"Break the Chain,† was made into an audiocassette soundtrack with his songs and spoken words. The project promotes literacy and cultural awareness and teaches black history. Pubic Enemy criticized for excessively violent lyrics, has even launched a Black Awareness program. The members have also raised and contributed money for various causes such as Urban Development Program, a nationwide program by which youths build houses for the homeless. In the States, Public Enemy toured 20 cities in the â€Å"Unity for Peace† tour and raised money for such local charities as the Boys and Girls club...

The social problems essay

The social problems essay The social problems essay The social problems essay  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   It is not a secret that social problems form the basis of social policies. According to researchers, â€Å"it is impossible to talk about social policy history, analysis and provisions without referring to the social problems those policies are designed to address†(Ginsberg Miller-Cribbs, 2005, p. 56). There are many severe social problems that have a strong impact on the lifestyle and development of each member of American society. Some of these problems include unemployment, high incarceration rates, school dropout rates, concentrated poverty, drug trade, health problems, low marriage rates, high divorce rates, discrimination against gays and lesbians, etc. (Korgen Furst, 2012).   African American communities are among minority groups which are eminently influenced by social problems that are â€Å"partly the result of past and present racial discrimination against black people† (Shelby, 2013, p . 241). The problem of high divorce rates among African Americans is really an actual social problem, which requires prompt and comprehensive solutions. Thesis statement: The problem of high divorce rates among African Americans caused by a variety of factors, including unemployment, should be addressed by comprehensive social policies, aimed at providing support to families at risk of divorce.Description of the selected social problem The social problem selected for the discussion is the problem of high divorce rates among African Americans. This problem can be qualified as a social problem because it is caused by â€Å"general patterns of human behavior or social conditions that are perceived to be threats to society by significant numbers of the population, powerful groups, or charismatic individuals and that could be resolved or remedied† (Maris, 1988, p. 62). In other words, this problem requires social response in order to avoid violation of social norms and values.The nature of the problem lies in the fact that Black men and women are less likely to remain married than other minority groups, such as Hispanics and Asians. As a result, there is evidence that Black children have to live in sole-parent families. According to the statistical data, approximately 66% of Black children live in single-parent households compared with only 24% of White children (McRoy Griffin, 2010). In addition, â€Å"African American divorce rates are higher than those for Whites or Hispanics† (McRoy Griffin, 2010, p. 164).As a matter of fact, this social problem can be explained by some sociological theories, including symbolic interaction theory, conflict theory, feminist theory and functionalist theory. These theories can be applied to the social problem like high divorce rates among African Americans in different ways. According to researchers, high divorce rates found in minority groups is connected with certain feminist issues (Andersen et al., 2014). Women are willing to work and make serious decision by themselves. According to feminist theory, family can be conceptualized as a system of power relations, in which women are more powerful than men (Andersen et al., 2014).   Symbolic interaction theory highlights the meaning of an individual’s behavior and that of other individuals as social interaction. High divorce rates can be explained by different experiences of people involved in family relations. Conflict theory â€Å"interprets the family as a system of power relations that reinforces and reflects the inequalities in society† (Andersen et al., 2014, p. 311). The problem of high divorce rates involved conflict in relations, which may be associated with inequalities in society. Functionalist theory explains family relations as a complex integrative institution, aimed at maintaining social stability. This theory can be applied to the social problem like high divorce rate because it refers to the criticism of comple x family relations (Andersen et al., 2014).Discussion of the scope and consequences of the problem  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   It is necessary to understand the scope of the problem of high divorce rates among African Americans. The problem suggests that there are serious problems with intimacy in intimate relations, which often lead to divorce. Statistical data show that â€Å"compared with white women, African American women are 25 % less likely ever to have been married and about half as likely to be currently married† (Besharov West, 2010). These facts help to assess the scope of problem.There are certain individual and social implications of the problem of high divorce rates among African Americans. There is much evidence that can be used to support the discussion of implications. To start with, researchers suggest that there are major individual implications. Divorce can become a challenging process to many individuals and family members because a singl e-parent family is at risk for developing a wide range of problems, including social, emotional and behavioral problems (Birditt et al., 2010). Research findings point out to the fact that Black children raised by single mothers are three-four times more likely to live below the poverty line than those children who are raised by two parents (Andersen et al., 2014; Birditt et al., 2010). They tend to have poor academic achievement, high dropout rate and serious behavioral problems.In addition, the high divorce rates among African Americans have major social implications for the emotional and psychological development of African American children. This fact means that family structure has a strong impact on social development of children.   African American communities are concerned about the overall health of the ethnic group because children who are raised in single-parent families have fewer chances to get good education and succeed in professional career (Besharov West, 2010). Actually, three-four years after the divorce, the income of Black families remains 47 % lower than if the parents had remained married (Besharov West, 2010).In general, social science experts have discussed the problem of high divorce rates among African Americans. Their conclusions are methodologically sound.Assessment of society’s responses to the problem  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Social problems can be viewed as the sources for the development and implementation of specific social policies (Korgen Furst, 2012). All members of our society should consider this problem, no matter what color of skin they have. Much can be done about this problem. Undoubtedly, public policies and other formal responses are essential for finding solutions to the existing problem. However, it would be better to involve all members of our society into implementation of concrete actions to reduce high divorce rates among African Americans. Marital education can work to reduce di vorce rates.In general, the existing societal efforts to solve the social problem are working. There are many initiatives that contribute to reducing divorce rates and improving the well-being of disadvantaged families. Community marriage initiatives are specially developed to â€Å"strengthen marriage and increase marital stability by addressing relevant laws, policies, and cultural factors† (Birch et al., 2009).It is necessary to explain unmarried and divorced people that marriage can bring a host of benefits to them and children. On average, married African Americans look happier, earn more money, and choose healthier behaviors than their unmarried peers. As a result, their children are healthier and more satisfied with life choices (McRoy Griffin, 2010).Presentation of an alternative supported by scholarly researchThe proper alternative should be selected to give effective response to the existing social problem. One of the effective alternatives is to provide financial support to Black families at risk of divorce (Besharov West, 2010; Birditt et al., 2010; McRoy Griffin, 2010). This financial support could come from governmental programs and social programs aimed at reducing unemployment. In addition to this alternative, it is necessary to address the following risk factors of divorce through effective educational programs: young age; rape; religion, education, social status, poor communication and other factors (Besharov West, 2010; Birditt et al., 2010; McRoy Griffin, 2010).Undoubtedly, there may be negative consequences of the alternative response. For example, White families and Hispanic families may protest against this alternative because it addresses only African Americans. In addition, there may be certain problems with funding. Finally, there may be negative attitudes of African Americans who want to divorce anyway.Conclusion   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Thus, it is necessary to conclude that the social problem discuss ed in this paper requires finding the proper solutions through implementation of specific social policies and programs. Compared with White men and women, African Americans face serious problem, which may have both individual and social implications. It is very important to find adequate solutions to this problem. One of the alternatives is to provide financial support to Black families at risk of divorce and enhance educational practices aimed at addressing certain risk factors of divorce.

Emphasis sponsors MCA Awards - Emphasis

Emphasis sponsors MCA Awards Emphasis sponsors MCA Awards Emphasis are proud to be sponsoring the Customer Engagement Award at the MCA Awards 2012. Last year, management consultants Navigant scooped the Customer Engagement Award for their work with Skandia investment managers. This year, the shortlist for the award comprises: Ernst Young, for their work with BMW; IBM with Nationwide; LOC Consulting with Truvo; Propaganda with Clipper Logistics; and Transform with Argos. All the companies on the shortlist have achieved great things this year and we wish them the best of luck. Well be there on the night, and Emphasis Chief Executive Rob Ashton will be presenting this years Customer Engagement Award. As well as Rob, Director Tom Wilde and Development Manager Jenny Ferguson will be attending. Please do come and say hello, whether to talk about how we can help your company or just to put names to faces. Well be reporting on the night, so its also your chance to tell us your latest news. The MCA Awards will be held on Thursday 19 April at the Hilton Hotel in Park Lane, London. For more information, and to see the companies shortlisted in other categories, click here.

The Ministers Black Veil Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

The Ministers Black Veil - Essay Example Milton Stewart’s comment is remarkable in this regard, â€Å"Evil will forever reign over good, for the peccable, weak souls of todays youth are for more intelligent than any of us will ever be.† Nathaniel Hawthorne has incorporated this theme in some of his works of great significance, for instance, ‘The Scarlet Letter’ and ‘Young Goodman Brown’. Hawthorne through his work ‘The Minister’s Black Veil’ tends to identify individual flaw with universal character of mankind using a symbol, which hides the physical but reveals the abstract. The short story of Hawthorne uses the black veil as a symbol, which gains prominence in the very title of the story. The black veil predominates the very plot and theme of the story. The story initiates in front of the church where the funeral ceremony of a young maiden is being held and the minister appears with a black veil covering more than half of his face. Only his mouth and chin were visible and the onlookers search for the reason behind it. When he bends over the maiden the veil hangs such that if the corpse’s eyes are open she can see his face. This again raises a question about the reason why he is hiding his face and what his â€Å"secret sin† is. He immediately catches the veil with his hand to keep the face covered. Even his wife cannot get a definite answer and the minister declares that he is going to wear the veil throughout his life. Many critics have questioned the purpose of using the veil but according to Carnochan, the black veil serves more as a à ¢â‚¬Å"symbol of symbols† than simply a â€Å"parable of guilt†. The purpose of the veil is to reflect a meaning on one hand and on the other, hide it – â€Å"inviting speculation and resisting it† (Freedman, 354). Once the face is revealed the significance of the veil will be lost. The purpose of using the veil in the story is to initiate emotions of an individual. The plot tactfully reveals the curiosity of the townspeople,

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

Prcis - Essay Example e in the industrialized world, people are growing more dependent on new gadgets, the notion of perpetual growth, chemically fertilized food and drugs that are synthesized chemically. The letter also warns that the present generations are wrongly informed that using fossil energy without consideration for the future is normal. It is shown that the problem with the current use of energy is that more energy is spent to put the technologies in place than is actually produced by the technologies. The realization by governments and politicians that fossil energy is exhaustible is what has led to enmity between high consumers of energy and the supplying nations, often culminating in military aggression and economic depression. Present generations are adviced that turning to solar energy is the best way to guarantee continuous, non-exhaustible energy, but also warned that solar energy cannot support the entire requirements of people that are virtually dependent on energy for livelihoods. Then, the cutting down of ancient forests must stop and the anti-biotech, anti-nuclear, conservation and organic food gardening movements stepped up. On the other hand, Bob Holmes’ Earth without Humans portrays humans as the earth’s most predominant species and imagines what the planet would be like without them. For example, the average eco-footprint, in terms of hectares, is placed at 9.7 for a single US citizen (Holmes 39). Humans have consumed over one third of the planet’s land surface for pastures, farmland and cities in slightly over a few thousand years. The results are messy and include chemical pollution, nuclear waste, mass extinctions, invasive species, drained aquifers, razed forests and, most significantly, the threatening specter of climate change. The document suggests that the earth’s outlook would start getting better once humans are removed from the picture. For instance, 18.7 percent of the earth’s surface would be rescued from the present effects of light

International Systems Corporatin Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

International Systems Corporatin - Case Study Example The most significant problems that are affecting the plant include, material cost and a bad co-ordination between Research & Development people and Production engineers. Repeated design changing is making the overall cost higher. Had been designs coming from R & D section go directly for production without any more rectification, cost would have lowered. There is a dispute between R & D and Production peoples. One is blaming the other, which forces me to incorporate one special investigation team to govern actually where the conflict is. One design after coming to Production section does not reserves the right to be changed without proper notification to me. According to the notice sent by Employee & Community Relation Manager, we need to hire women and people of color very soon and make sure a higher percentage will be recruited into Production section which requires more effective manpower. Nothing is born perfect. We have to give the color of perfection. Question is not how effective we are, rather question is how much more we have to be. There must be a good relation among the people in the department as well as within various departments. After getting sure that design is complete and may rule over the market then only materials should be purchased. Otherwise it's immaterial to periodically purchase and change the model structure. To set up good relationship, weekly meetings will be organized where all the in- charges of various sections may come with their ambiguities and questions if any. Other than this, picnic party, cultural activities will help the employees to intermingle. As Baker and Baker is interested for our model 80, so production engineers must do their work to make the product available as soon as possible. After that only other models and multi channel digital system will be carried out. As we are hiring people, later on works can be split up. The product whose design is about to complete; before going to production department, requisites must be sent to material management people. If after purchasing any such modification is required, it should be done showing valid cause before me. Finally, instead of maintaining own records department heads are requested to provide necessary information to the finance authority. Response to Robert Strauss We all know that company is running above the projected expenditure for last few months especially due to higher material cost. I have understood the actual reason behind it. It has been decided, next time onwards prior to sending the design to production department, a list of required materials will be given to your department. And also designers/production peoples are not allowed to change the design so easily ensuring proper utilization of the resources purchased. Model 95 will be told to stall for a moment till model 80 gets done. Another discussion I want to make with you regarding the materials that remain unutilized due to the changing of designs. We will check if

Human Resources Administration Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 1

Human Resources Administration - Assignment Example The third step is in the wake of understanding that more efforts would be needed to move things from one place to another if unions are formed, and hence it would be a good idea to do away with the same, right from the outset of such understandings. The fourth step is in making the employees comprehend that if they avoid unions, they will reap the rewards themselves because more work will be done in a lesser amount of time, and hence their benefits would be ensured easily. The fifth and last step is in the form of gaining an idea that unions leave a very negative perspective of the company and no employee would like to be seen as a hindrance within the smooth working tenets of an organization. Hence forming unions needs to be avoided at all costs. The reason for choosing these five points is because they give an overall view of how the unions need to be avoided at all costs. It also makes one realize where the negativity creeps in and what needs to be done to make sure that the employees remain steadfast with their respective domains. The cost, time and effort factors are pertinent for any business and should always be thought out of as such. If these aspects are not properly covered, then unions will come in and hence the focus of the organization would shift as a result of the same. Employees would ask for more favors from the organizational tenets and there would be more instances of collective demonstrations and upheaval for all the wrong reasons (Ferris, 2012). From an organizational standpoint, this cannot be tolerated at all because these document how improper the standards of the individuals working within the organizations are at the end of the day. It also dictates the anomaly that comes about for an organization be cause it has to see which employees are loyal to the core, and which ones are creating problems for its business operations,

Implemenattion of Human Resource Management Practices in Eagle Hill Sc Essay

Implemenattion of Human Resource Management Practices in Eagle Hill School - Essay Example The strategic human resource management practices that can be used in Eagle hill school are staff recruitment, employee training and development and employee compensation. Staff recruitment is the act of getting new people to work for an organization, company or an institution either on a contract basis or on a permanent basis. It incorporates the search for employees, interviewing of the employees and allocating them jobs. It is important for Eagle hill school to recruit new staff to boost their service delivery to the public. In addition, recruitment helps to replace retired employees, dead employees, sacked employees or those employees that have gotten new jobs in different places (Whitmore 2002). In order to employ new staff, the human resource management in Eagle hill school should ensure that the proper steps and stages are followed. These steps include; job advertisement, reception and analysis of applications, shortlisting of candidates and attending of interviews. Job advertisement is a vital step in the recruitment process by any institution. This is because advertisements are meant to inform the public of the availability of a certain job offer. In order to reach the correct target people, the Eagle hill school should decide on the medium of advertisements. This can be in form of print media, radio, notices, cards etc (Gamble 2010). In the adverts, the institution must specify the type of people required and the qualifications. For instance, Eagle school can advertise for employees with knowledge in training in the disability sector. Apart from the academic qualifications, Eagle hill school should include special qualities and traits that the applicants must possess (Jones 2007). The adverts should also include the dates for submission of the request. After the deadline for submission, the received  documents are to be analyzed.  

Human Resources Administration Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 1

Human Resources Administration - Assignment Example The third step is in the wake of understanding that more efforts would be needed to move things from one place to another if unions are formed, and hence it would be a good idea to do away with the same, right from the outset of such understandings. The fourth step is in making the employees comprehend that if they avoid unions, they will reap the rewards themselves because more work will be done in a lesser amount of time, and hence their benefits would be ensured easily. The fifth and last step is in the form of gaining an idea that unions leave a very negative perspective of the company and no employee would like to be seen as a hindrance within the smooth working tenets of an organization. Hence forming unions needs to be avoided at all costs. The reason for choosing these five points is because they give an overall view of how the unions need to be avoided at all costs. It also makes one realize where the negativity creeps in and what needs to be done to make sure that the employees remain steadfast with their respective domains. The cost, time and effort factors are pertinent for any business and should always be thought out of as such. If these aspects are not properly covered, then unions will come in and hence the focus of the organization would shift as a result of the same. Employees would ask for more favors from the organizational tenets and there would be more instances of collective demonstrations and upheaval for all the wrong reasons (Ferris, 2012). From an organizational standpoint, this cannot be tolerated at all because these document how improper the standards of the individuals working within the organizations are at the end of the day. It also dictates the anomaly that comes about for an organization be cause it has to see which employees are loyal to the core, and which ones are creating problems for its business operations,

Corporate Culture Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Corporate Culture - Essay Example If I were the leader of Zappos, I would cultivate a more participative culture that would incorporate all the stakeholders including the customers in the decision making process of the organization. This will result into stimulation of ideas which will enable all the stakeholders to always respond to shared problems with innovative suggestive and unusual efforts. This will also improve the level of morale and a sense of satisfaction amongst the employees. A strong culture that is widely recognized constitutes one factors which contribute greatly to the success of any company. The managerial approach of most organizations tend to be characterized as being highly structured with set vision, mission and various strategies which guide its operations (Weiss, 2011). What determines the attainment of all this, depends on the organizations culture. If the employees share similar goals and objectives of the organization, the organization will tend to realize its vision and mission while there is always successful implementation of their strategies while the contrary is true. All this depend on the ability of the management to make the employees have a good assessment of and embracing the organizations

Presentation Architecture in Renaissance and Baroque Essay Example for Free

Presentation Architecture in Renaissance and Baroque Essay All aspects of Renaissance culture, from art and architecture to philosophy, were influenced and inspired by Ancient Greek and Roman civilizations. Generally, architecture in the Renaissance can be described as symmetrical, harmonious and sober. Many buildings that were built in the Renaissance are perfect symmetrical, if you would draw a line through the middle of the building, it would have two exact same halves. Because it is so symmetrical, it looks very harmonious and static. However, it often also looks authorative probably because of the use of pediments and columns which make it look like Grecian temples. Renaissance buildings are rarely very high or vertical in contrast to buildings in Gothic architecture. Furthermore, architecture in the Renaissance was very much about the details. On many buildings, you can see lintels, which are the things above the window and you can also often see small sculptures of men, women, gods or other important people. The most important characteristic of the Renaissance is that shapes from the Greek and Roman times were reused in new designs. Typical characteristics that returned in many designs are: columns, which are vertical pillars, pilasters, which is almost the same as a column except that a pilaster is connected to the wall sticking out and it is used as a decoration, vaults, which are arched roofs that support the weight of a roof, domes, which is a hollow sphere above a building and arches, which are structures that span a space while supporting weight, such as a doorway or window in a wall. This is one example of a villa built in Renaissance style. The architect was Palladio, who designed the building in 1567. Palladio was asked to build a villa for Paolo Almerica, a high functionary of the Pope. Villa Almerica is better known as La Rotonda. It was used as a location for parties as well as a place to live in. It is made up of a cube centre part, where the owners of the villa lived, with on the 4 sides of the building the same set of columns and entablature built to it. In this picture, you can see that this building has a dome, pilasters, lintels and columns with Ionic capitals, which you can see here. A capital is the top of a column. It also has an entablature with a cornice and the architrave. The two middle columns are placed a bit  to the sides to emphasize the door. This part looks a bit like a Grecian temple and that makes it look authorative. Another example of a building made in the Renaissance is The Tempietto del San Pietro. It is a cylinder-shaped little church in Rome. The word â€Å"tempietto† means â€Å"small Temple† as it is one. The Tempietto is built at the court of the San pietro in Montorio church. It was built by Donato Bramante in 1502. The Spanish king Ferdinand ordered Bramante to build a church to remember the crucifixion of Petrus, one of the first apostles and the first pope. The little temple would be built on the spot where Petrus was crucified. This is why the building is especially important in Rome. As you can see it looks very Greek again because of the columns with doric capitals. It also has a dome but it especially looks Greek because of the symmetry of the temple. The building expresses the balanced proportions of Renaissance architecture. The columns, the frieze and the decorative features all show the classical influence. At the end of the 17th century, Baroque rose up and started to replace the Renaissance. This change was due to religious reasons. In the 1500s the Roman Catholic Church was under much pressure to reform. In this period, Protestantism was rising, especially in northern Europe. Protestantism was highly critical of the Roman Catholic Church and its abuses of its powerful position. Baroque can be seen as a cultural public relations movement started by the Roman Catholic Church to win back the support of the people. Protestantism is characterized by sober architecture. The roman-Catholics decided to go the opposite direction and promote architecture which was over the top, dramatic and extraordinary, to try and get the public back to re-interest in the Roman Catholic Church again. Baroque is an architectural style, which evolved in the 16th century in Italy. During the 17th century, the style spread through Europe and Latin America. Baroque architecture is the opposite of Renaissance architecture. Renaissance architecture was very calm and balanced, symmetrical and harmonious while the baroque architecture was very extravagant and asymmetrical. Baroque style is all about drama, energy and rhythm. The  grandiose buildings, sculptures and paintings were meant to inspire religious awe and excitement in the people. The Baroque architecture draws your attention. Baroque style is typical for breaking the limits for classic buildings and going in an extreme form. Most baroque buildings have bent asymmetrical shapes. Baroque architecture buildings are supposed to amaze people. It is supposed to look fantastic and over the top. Some people might think it is kitsch. This is a picture of a kaisersal residence, which was used from 1719 to 1944. Johann Balthazar Neumann was the architect who designed this baroque style house for the Prince Bishops of Wuerzburg. In this room, the Bishop received important people. The over the top theme of baroque is shown in this room by the amount of decoration. It is really overwhelming because of all the gold and the decorations. You can see that this room was designed to receive important people as it would impress them. You can’t recognize any Renaissance architecture features in this room anymore. You can’t see any Ancient Greek or Roman architectural features. This is another example of Baroque architecture. It is the Berlin Cathedral or Berliner Dom in Berlin, Germany. It is also called the Lutheran Cathedral. The people who went to Berlin might recognize it. Again, you can see that it is very extravagant and over the top. It has many details and decorative features such as all the sculptures. This building has some Renaissance features though such as the pilasters and the pediments and off course the domes. The baroque spread through Europe but didn’t really spread in this form to northern Europe because Protestantism was too strong there. In Holland, which was also very protestant, the Baroque style developed in its own way. It had such a distinctive style that it got a different name: Dutch Classicism or Hollands Classicisme. It glorified the Dutch Republic of the 17th century, democracy and the new found wealth from colonialism.

Work And Family Life

Work And Family Life Todays employees are working in a highly turbulent and competitive business and working environment. As a result majority of employees work life become so complex. Due to this work life complexity and current world economical condition leads employees to work long hours or do multiple jobs. With the expansion of global business and technology, employees of the global firms need to maintain continues contact with their colleagues or customers who operate within 8 or 10 different time zones away. This means that many employees work within the global firms need to be standby during 24 hours. Moreover cutting edge technology allows employees to perform their work at home or any other place. In fact most of todays world married employees are part of a dual-career couples This makes increasingly difficult for married employees to find time to fulfil commitment to home, spouse, children, parents and friends. Therefore, due to these reasons work life tent to be interfere with family life. Th is is called work family conflict. Since this work family conflict leads to create negative consequences such as increased absenteeism, increased turnover, diminishing performances, etc; it is important to have a good understanding about this work family conflict in organisational context. Therefore in todays organisations, work place environment is being modified to minimise work family conflict and to establish a balance between work and family life. This mostly include offering flexible work schedule, relocated assistance, adoption assistance, provide training for managers to assist employees in dealing work/family conflicts, focus on employees actual performance rather face time, casual day programme, etc. Conduct these types of programmes within the organisations is important since its tent to reduce mainly work/family conflicts, job dissatisfaction, and stress related problems. But on the other hand it may be difficult to assess the direct positive impacts of these programmes have on work performances of the emp loyees. Work and Family Life- reciprocal effects article is mainly focus on foresaid work/family conflict. All arguments of this article are base on several research findings done by the Australian Institute of Family Studies and other relative studies. According to article it is been proved that 25 and 40 percent of employees indicate that their jobs interferes with family life to some extent. Furthermore base on the research done by Australian Institute of Family Studies found that 28% of women and 40% of men believe that work life interferes with home life. At the same manner 35% women and 28% of men believe that their partners work life interferes with home life. But out of all respondents only few men and women believe that the family life interfere with their work life. This result of the survey shows the impact of family life to the employees working life. These factors increase the real need of work/family life balancing in order to gain employees performances. Most of the middle age employees(30-49) believe that work life interfere with family life with the complexity of work and family life that they are experiencing at that age such as child care, high peek career demand, etc. Courses for work/family conflicts When analysing work/family conflict it can be identify few major factors associated with it. One factor is employees job situation. As a result of job related factors such as downsizing, additional task allocation, challenging assignments, and strategies of participation, job insecurity and frequent relocations have brought an increased workload which stimulates tension and course to create a true conflict between employees work and family life. Another main factor highlighted in this article is employees working hours. According to the research findings, 23 percent of women and 66 percent of men were working more than 41 hours per week. This hour of work is tent to affect the degree of impact to create work/family conflict. Research finding indicate that 60 percent of men and women are preferred to work fewer hours than they currently work as a result of work interfere with home life. In fact job position of the organisation also determine the level of work interfere with family life. Employees in higher job positions tend to work longer hours, under pressure with higher responsibilities and job tasks. This leads to create high stress to the employees. This stress leads to negative sequences such as unsatisfactory behaviours at job: delays, absenteeism, lack of motivation and reduced level of performance. On the family life, presence of childrens can also tend to complex this work/family conflict and will act as obstacle for work family balancing process. One factor which tend to determine the level of work interfere with family life is age levels of childrens of married employees. This varies for fathers and mothers. According to this article, youngest childrens have a great impact to the level of work/family conflict of mothers where as the younger childrens have greater impact for fathers in creating conflict between work and family. Partners work schedule and conditions have greater impact in determining level of work/family conflict as a result of increasing level of dual careers of families. Therefore this leads to determine the happiness of family life bas on the job situations experiencing by the employees. According to the research findings; out of fulltime working couples with children under 18, 47 percent fathers and 41 percent of mothers strongly believe that their work life is interfere with family life. Moreover mothers who work for part time is less likely to feel that their work life tend to interfere with family life since they have much more time in balancing work and family life. In fact more men than women tend to believe that their work life interferes with family life as a result of working long hours. On the other hand, there is high tendency to exist high work/family life for lone mothers than couple families since all responsibilities fall on the one parent. When considering courses for work/family conflict many researches and studies argue that many employees tend to believe, work life more interfere with family life rather than family life interfere with work life. Moreover many studies highlighted that employees are better in managing potential disruptions occur from family life into work rather than managing work disruptions affect to family life. According to the research findings (Australian family life course study); only few employees were believe that family life interfere with work life. (Out of full time employees, 11 percent men and 13 percent women and 0 percent of part-time working women) Therefore it can be noted that work life begin to interfere for family life, when job responsibilities and problems begin to interfere in accomplishing family related obligations. Outcomes of work/family conflict As foresaid, it can be distinguish two types of work-family conflict: work interferes with family life and family interfere with work life. Therefore these two types of conflict are adverse consequences for several outcomes for employees. Stress Stress can be identifying as one of main outcome of work-family life conflict. Most of the employees tend to suffer from this stress as a result of failing to have a better balance between family and work life. Therefore we can find that there is high correlation between work/family conflicts with employee stress. Most of the researches conduct various types of researches to identify this relationship. Many authors define Stress as an interaction between the factors that leads to stress (stressors) and level of individual response towards it (strain). http://icssea.ppiukm.org/paper/PSI-97.pdf Lot of employees are subjected to have an anxiety, low work motivation, low job satisfaction, pressure and burnout as a result of high work responsibilities, long working hours, job insecurity, high competition, unmet family obligations, etc. Since all foresaid factors are the reasons for work family conflict most researchers has been identify that the work/family conflict as a main source to ha ve stress and pressure. According to the Australian Family Course study, 43% percent men and 53% percent women often felt tired and run down their job tasks. From this research findings researches have been identify a positive relationship with work interfering with work and stress which influence employees well being. (Case) Job dissatisfaction Job dissatisfaction is associated with the degree of employees feeling towards their job. Negative feelings towards the job can leads to create low level of job satisfaction and this course to have high employee turnover, low performance, high absenteeism, etc. In order to identify the relationship between work/family conflict and job dissatisfaction, several researches had been done. These research findings always tend to highlight a negative relationship between work/family conflict and job satisfaction. As foresaid, stress, anxiety and high pressure are some of main outcome of work/family conflict. Therefore due to all these factors, leads to create low level of job satisfaction. According to the model proposed by Kopelman (1983), explain the relationship between factors like work conflict, family conflict, job satisfaction, family satisfaction and life satisfaction. This model argue that the factors such as work conflict and family conflict leads to create inter role conflict by employees and this inter role conflict, influence employees job and work satisfaction. Ultimately this both job and work satisfaction affect to life satisfaction. http://psasir.upm.edu.my/3101/1/Associations_of_Work-Family_Conflict,_Job_Satisfaction,_Family_Satisfaction.pdf This level of satisfaction is a crucial factor for any organisation, since its highly connected with employee turnover, absenteeism, performance level and productivity of the organisation. Therefore it is extremely important to assist employees o maintain a well balance work and family life. According to the research conduct by Department of Social Psychology and Methodology of Behaviour Sciences, University of Granada, Spain; has been identify that the relationship between work/family life and general job satisfaction is stronger in women than men. Moreover it found that general role of women in a family has a significant moderate effect on the association between work/family conflict and general job satisfaction of women. http://www.academicjournals.org/ajbm/PDF/pdf2010/4July/Calvo-Salguero%20et%20al.pdf

Free Essays - Hamlet as a Tragic Hero :: Shakespeare Hamlet

An Examination of Hamlet as a Tragic Hero Webster’s dictionary defines tragedy as, â€Å"a serious drama typically describing a conflict between the protagonist and a superior force (such as destiny) and having a sorrowful or disastrous conclusion that excites pity or terror.†Ã‚   A tragic hero, therefore, is the character who experiences such a conflict and suffers catastrophically as a result of his choices and related actions.   The character of Hamlet, therefore, is a clear representation of Shakespeare’s tragic hero.   As the play’s tragic hero, Hamlet exhibits a combination of good and bad traits.   A complex character, he displays a variety of characteristics throughout the play’s development.   When he is first introduced in Act I- Scene 2, one sees Hamlet as a sensitive young prince who is mourning the death of his father, the King.   In addition, his mother’s immediate marriage to his uncle has left him in even greater despair.  Ã‚   Mixed in with this immense sense of grief, are obvious feelings of anger and frustration.   The combination of these emotions leaves one feeling sympathetic to Hamlet; he becomes a very â€Å"human† character.   One sees from the very beginning that he is a very complex and conflicted man, and that his tragedy has already begun. Hamlet’s anger and grief- primarily stemming from his mother’s marriage to Claudius- brings him to thoughts of suicide, which only subside as a result of it being a mortal and religious sin.   The fact that he wants to take his own life demonstrates a weakness in his character; a sense of cowarness, his decision not to kill himself because of religious beliefs shows that this weakness is balanced with some sense of morality.   Such an obvious paradox is only one example of the inner conflict and turmoil that will eventually lead to Hamlet’s downfall.   In addition to this internal struggle, Hamlet feels it is his duty to dethrone Claudius and become the King of Denmark.   This revenge, he believes, would settle the score for his mother’s incestuous relationship and would reinstate his family’s honor.   These thoughts are solidified in Act I, Scene 5, when his father’s ghost appears and informs Hamlet that is was Claudius who murdered him, and that Claudius deprived him â€Å"of life, of crown, and queen† (line 75).   This information leads to Hamlet’s promise to kill Claudius, while not punishing his mother for their incestuous marriage.   His statement, â€Å"thy commandment all alone shall live within the book and volume of my brain† (lines 102-103), demonstrates his adamant decision to let nothing stand in the way of his promise for revenge.

Tourism to Hong Kong

1. 0 Introduction Hong Kong is one of the most important tourism destinations in the Pacific Asia region for its unique landscape and shopping convenience. According to statistics, a total number of 41921310 people visited Hong Kong in 2011, that is 16. 4% more compared to 2010 (Hong Kong Tourism Board 2012). Total tourism expenditure was 263142. 71 million HK dollars and shopping accounts for most of them because it is the main purpose for individual visitors (Hong Kong Tourism Board 2012).Therefore, to sustain tourism prosperity while seeking development in the city, it is necessary to understand its unique geographical features and precisely examine the tourism trends. Meanwhile, analysing factors that have influenced tourism development will also contribute to the study. Besides, eco-tourism and climate issues are discussed as implications for the future. 2. 0 Findings 2. 1 Physical and human geography 2. 1. 1 Location Hong Kong is a mountainous citylocatednearShenzhen, China.The re are four main areas in the city, including Hong Kong Island, Kowloon, New territories and Outlying islands, and their area add up to 1100 square kilometres (Cullinane&Cullinane, 2003). For the reason of its unique landscape, approximately 40% of Hong Kong is built up as country parks (Cullinane&Cullinane, 2003). 2. 1. 2 Demography The city enjoys of a population of 6. 7 million, and it is growing at a rate of one million every ten years (Cullinane&Cullinane, 2003). 2. 1. 3 Political statusFor over 150 years before 1997, Hong Kong had been governed by the British administration, and it became a part of People’s Republic of Chinaonce again on July 1st, 1997 (Cullinane&Cullinane, 2003). This reunification has brought opportunities and enormous changes in Hong Kong. 2. 2 Pattern of tourism 2. 2. 1 Visitor arrivals Figure 1Visitor Arrivals 2007 – 2011 (‘000) Source: (Hong Kong Tourism Board 2008, 2010, 2012) Figure 1 shows the total number of visitors to Hong Kong in every single year from 2007 to 2011.Visitors are divided into three categories, including overnight visitors, same-day in-town visitors, and Cruise-in/Cruise-out Passengers. It is indicated in the figure that overnight visitors occupied most of the visitors. Table 1Visitor Arrivals Details by Country/Territory of Residence 2007 – 2011 (Overnight Visitors – ‘000) Source: (Hong Kong Tourism Board 2012) Table 1 shows that Mainland China has the most visitors to Hong Kong in the past five years, with an annual growth rate of approximately 15%.Besides, Taiwan, Japan, the USA and South Korea are also generating a large number of tourists to Hong Kong, leading to tourism prosperity of the city. 2. 2. 2 Total tourism expenditure Figure 2Total Tourism Expenditure Associated to Inbound Tourism Source: (Hong Kong Tourism Board 2012) Figure 2 shows total tourism expenditure from 2007 to 2011 and the line chart presents an increasing trend. The growth rate is rather high i n 2010 and 2011 as a result of the tourist boom in those years. 2. 3 Factors that have influenced tourism in Hong Kong 2. 3. 1 Outbursts of infectious diseasesIn 2003, Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) attacked the city of Hong Kong and led to the devastation of Hong Kong tourism. Originated in southern China, SARS was a mystery to the rest of the world until several people were infected in a hotel in Hong Kong and brought the disease back to their home country. Before understanding the danger and risk that would have been brought by SARS, the World Health Organization (WHO) made a recommendation to the world that Asia, especially areas of Hong Kong, Singapore, Mainland China, Thailand, Vietnam, and Taiwan, were not advisable destinations for tourism (McKercher& Chon 2004; Kuo et al. 008). This unprecedented announcement caused significant panic in the world, tourists were quarantined for no reason after returning to their country, breeding industry was interrupted for disinf ection on chicken farms, and Asians were restricted from traveling elsewhere. The mess finally led to the crackdown of tourism in Asia, with Hong Kong suffering the most (McKercher& Chon 2004). This outburst of SARS uncovered huge hidden dangers in the world tourism system.The governments’ over-reaction tounclear threat was nothing but rational (Mao, Ding & Lee 2010). The crisis was a lesson for the world on the relationship between tourism and crisis management, the government should act more judicious so that diseases could be effectively controlled and meanwhile, tourism does not suffer to a great extent. 2. 3. 2Construction of city infrastructure Since the accelerated development of infrastructure in Hong Kong in the 1990s, the number of tourists has experienced a continued increase (Poon, Yu & Ng 2001).Tourist infrastructure mainly includes apartments or hotels for accommodation and transportation infrastructure, and the latter consists of facilities for planes, trains, ships and other modes of transportation (Gossling 2002; Khadaroo 2007, 2008). Researchers have found that the ability of a city to attract tourists is largely determined by the level of traffic infrastructure in the city (Khadaroo 2007), for the reason that rational city planningand well construction of ports could provide convenience for tourists, which leads to smooth trips.Successful travellers are willing to recommend their tourism destinations to their friends, and this will further lead to lasting prosperity of that destination. Although most facilities in Hong Kong are relatively complete, there remain some incompletion. An example is medical facilities needed for medical tourism. Hospitals in Hong Kong provide high level healthcare services, and the government attempts to boost medical tourism in the city (Heung, Kucukusta& Song 2011). However, the lack of medical resources ends up to be the barrier which prevents tourists with medical needs from cutting edge technologies in Hong Kong.As a result, Hong Kong failed to build its reputation as a medical tourism destination. 2. 3. 3 Outbreaks of financial crises Hong Kong has experienced two major financial crises during past two decades, the Asian financial crisis burst out in 1997 and the world financial crisis in 2008 (Song & Lin 2010). This report mainly focuses on consequences that were brought to tourism in Hong Kong by the latter crisis. Table 1 shows that the USA, UK, Japan and Singapore are among the source markets that generate most tourists to Hong Kong.The high market share of long-haul markets indicates that Hong Kong tourism is vulnerable to world economy and thus would be negatively influenced if something went wrong. In 2008, tourists from long-haul markets such as the USA and European countries declined by 10% and hotel rooms were less occupied than ever before (Song et al. 2011). If the tourists increasing rate before the crisis is taken into consideration, conclusions could be drawn that the financial crisis really affected tourism in Hong Kong to a great extent.Fortunately, tourists from Mainland China were not greatly influenced by this enormous crisis and visitors continued to travel to Hong Kong. This prevented the city from tremendous losses. Nevertheless, the overall expenditures dropped in 2009 which leads to the conclusion that financial crises could impose great threats to tourism in Hong Kong (Song & Lin 2010). 2. 3. 4 Adjustments of policies towards Mainland China After introducing the Individual Visit Scheme on July 28, 2003, citizens of Beijing, Shanghai and Guangdongare allowed to apply for visas and visit Hong Kong on anindividual basis (Wu, Li & Song 2012).The scheme was implemented forthe acceleration of tourism development in two special administrative regions in China, and it is successful according to statistical results. Statistics show that the number of tourists from the source market of Mainland China increased by 24% in 2003 compared to tha t of 2002, and most of the growth was contributed by individual visitors (Hong Kong Tourism Board 2012). As a matter of fact, thousands of Mainlanders have boosted into Hong Kong for the purpose of shopping and Hong Kong has become the paradise for shopping in the eyes of Mainlanders ever since (Wu, Li & Song 2012).In order to guarantee long-term prosperity of businesses, merchants targeting Mainlanders have made adjustments regarding to shopping customs of Chinese consumers and the crucial point of the efforts is to create an atmosphere of mutual trust and cooperation (Wu, Li & Song 2012). Since tourists from Mainland China occupy approximately 60% of total tourists every year, it is important that policies towards Mainland China remain mild in the coming years to sustain tourism prosperity in Hong Kong (Hong Kong Tourism Board 2012). 2. 4 Implications for the future of tourism 2. 4. Sustainable tourism practices Experience has shown that it is almost impossible to develop tourism while maintaining a clean environment at the same time. However, people have been making efforts to seek some extent of harmony and unity between the two. Hong Kong is a perfect city for the development of eco-tourism for it has a spectacular landscape, including mountains, valleys, coasts and islands (Ng & Li 2000). Hong Kong government has been successful protecting the city’s natural resources, it had the highest percentage of the park area in the worldin 2000 (Ng & Li 2000).Besides, Hong Kong enjoys a large variety of both animal and plant species, some of which cannot be found elsewhere in the world (Ng & Li 2000). Enchanting as the scenery is in Hong Kong, eco-tourism is not a main form of tourism there. The following factors may account for this result. First of all, Hong Kong is in the sub-tropical zone, and the typical summer is so hot that people will feel uncomfortable to visit popular attractions (Ng & Li 2000). Second of all, eco-tourism destinations are usually sensitive to the number of visitors, thus, they normally have a low capacity (Ng & Li 2000).Rational management regulations should be made to balance tourism satisfaction and the necessary visitor limitationneeded for scenic spots. Finally, more experts in guidance have to be trained to provide information of spots (Ng & Li 2000). It seems that there is still a long way to go before eventually launching a successful eco-tourism plan in Hong Kong. 2. 4. 2 Climate change How climate change will affect the pattern of tourism has long been studied. Studies have shown that as climate change will either directly or indirectly influence tourism (Chan & Lai 2012).One of the main results of climate change is the rise in temperature. According to statistics, Hong Kong’s temperature has been surging during the past 15 years, and it is almost 5 degrees Celsius higher than 10 years ago (Chan & Lai 2012). The high temperature will definitely bring uncomforting experiences to tourists,. Thu s, it is likely that potential visitors will change their destinations elsewhere. Besides, although some tourists might not consider the temperature increase itself as a crucial factor in determining their destinations, the change due to this phenomenon, such as increased travel expenses, will affect tourism ehaviour to a great extent (Chan & Lai 2012). While efforts have been made towards lowering the speed of temperature increase, the results turn out not assuring. Although climate change does not affect tourism in Hong Kong as much as that in tourism-oriented island cities, people should deal will this issue seriously before it is too late. 3. 0 Conclusion In conclusion, although Hong Kong has been through some hard times, the city remains potential as a tourism destination.This report discusses the city of Hong Kong from tourism aspect. As an important city in the Pacific Asia region, Hong Kong has enjoyed a fine reputation among tourists. Its unique landscape and special locati on have attracted and are still attracting visitors in large scales. During the past two decades, several financial crises have imposed danger on tourism in the city to a great extent, but a few policy adjustments, especially the policy of opening up to Mainland China individual visitors, saved the industry from collapsing.Eco-tourism could be further developed to balance economic development and environment protection, but several issues need to be solved before concrete implementation. Climate change is also a challenge that needs early planning, thus, effective efforts demand immediate attention. ? References Chan, GKY & Lai, MTH 2012, Understanding Climate Change, Carbon-offsetting and their Impacts on Travel Behaviour, viewed 24 November 2012, . Cullinane, S , K 2003, ‘Hong Kong City Profile’, Cities, Vol. 20, No. 4, pp. 279-288.Gossling, S 2002, ‘Global environmental consequences of tourism’, Global Environmental Change, Vol. 12, No. 4, pp. 283-302. H eung, Vincent CS , Kucukusta, D & Song, H 2011, ‘Medical tourism development in Hong Kong: An assessment of the barriers’, Tourism Management, Vol. 32, No. 5, pp. 995–1005. Hong Kong Tourism Board 2008, A Statistical Review of Hong Kong Tourism 2007, viewed 21 November 2008, ; http://partnernet. hktb. com/filemanager/publication/143330/Default. html;. Hong Kong Tourism Board 2010, A Statistical Review of Hong Kong Tourism 2009, viewed 21 November 2010, ; http://partnernet. ktb. com/filemanager/publication/143332/Default. html;. Hong Kong Tourism Board 2012, A Statistical Review of Hong Kong Tourism 2011, viewed 21 November 2012, . Khadaroo, J , B 2007, ‘Transport infrastructure and tourism development’, Annals of Tourism Research, Vol. 34, No. 4, pp. 1021–1032. Kuo, HI, Chen, CC, Tseng, WC, Ju, LF & Huang, BW 2008, ‘Assessing impacts of SARS and Avian Flu on international tourism demand to Asia Original Research Article’, Tourism Management, Vol. 29, No. 5, pp. 917-928.Mao, CK, Ding, CG & Lee, HY 2010, ‘Post-SARS tourist arrival recovery patterns: An analysis based on a catastrophe theory Original Research Article’, Tourism Management, Vol. 31, No. 6, pp. 855-861. McKercher, B & Chon, K 2004, ‘The Over-Reaction to SARS and the Collapse of Asian Tourism’, Annals of Tourism Research, Vol. 31, No. 3, pp. 716–719. Ng, CN & Li, Y 2000, Eco-tourism in Hong Kong: its potentials and limitations, Kiskeya Alternative, viewed 23 November 2012, . Poon, CS, Yu, ATW & Ng, LH 2001,‘On-site sorting of construction and demolition waste in Hong Kong’, Resources, Conservation and Recycling, Vol. 2, No. 2, pp. 157–172. Song, H, Lin, S 2010, ‘Impacts of the Financial and Economic Crisis on Tourism in Asia’, Journal of Travel Research, Vol. 49, No. 1, pp. 16-30. Song, H, Lin, S, Witt, SF & Zhang, X 2011, ‘Impact of financial/economic crisis on demand for hote l rooms in Hong Kong’, Tourism Management, Vol. 32, No. 1, pp. 172–186. Wu, DC, Li, G & Song, H 2012, ‘Economic Analysis of Tourism Consumption Dynamics: A Time-varying Parameter Demand System Approach’, Annals of Tourism Research, Vol. 39, No. 2, pp. 667–685.

Copy And Paste The Introduction Essay

1. Copy and paste the introduction to your essay in the space below. There have been more unsolved bombings of Negro homes and churches in Birmingham than any city in this nation. 2. Using techniques learned in this lesson, write the conclusion to your essay in the space below. Lastly but not least, I was thinking that when he gets out of jail there will be no racism against other black people in the nation. Now, let’s break your conclusion apart to show the different techniques you used. 3. How did you connect your introduction and your conclusion? (Did you use a similar technique, repetition of a significant word or phrase, etc.?) Explain. I used nation letting the readers know this is all over the United States. 4. Copy and paste the words or sentence that signals closure of your essay. Lastly but not least 5. Copy and paste the sentences that synthesize your ideas. Remember, synthesis combines the main ideas of your essay AND comments on the significance of those ideas. There have been more unsolved bombings of Negro homes and churches in Birmingham than any city in this nation. 6. Copy and paste the sentences that answer the question from the prompt: What conclusion or implications can you draw? (It is okay if you have these sentences as a part of your synthesis or challenge to your audience. Include them here as well. It is also okay if these sentences are separate from those two elements.) There have been more unsolved bombings of Negro homes and churches in Birmingham than any city in this nation. 7. Copy and paste the sentences from your conclusion that challenge your audience to think, feel, or do something. There have been more unsolved bombings of Negro homes and churches in Birmingham than any city in this nation.

Are Mobile Phones a Necessity?

Mobile phones take a big part in our lifes nowadays. Although they are very useful, some people are beginning to ask if they are good for us or we really need them. In my opinion, we can’t talk about an easy life without mobile phone. In the first place, as their reason to be invented, we can connect with other people whenever and wherever we want. We can send messages to people and sometimes it can be very important. Especially at deathlines your saviors are mobile phones. Furthermore, as technology is improved, we can do more than just sending messages or talking with someone with mobile phones. We can save our files, listen music and we can connect to internet. We can receive and share a lot of things. And mobile phones’ cameras are very improved, we can catch very good scenes from life†¦ Nevertheles, there are so many people who say that mobile phones are making our lifes â€Å"short†. I mean mobile phones have a weak point: Radition. As many doctors say, mobile phones spread radition, which can be very dangerous for human life. Also, people say that mobile phones kill face to face relationship, basically people do not go to see their relatives, just call them. All in all, despite their weak points, mobile phones are making the life easier. I believe in future radition problem will be solved and mobiles phones will be exactly safe. And we have not to forget this: People make inventions good or bad†¦

Business Psychology and Organisational Behaviour Essay - 3

Business Psychology and Organisational Behaviour - Essay Example It is believed to be gathering together the biological aspects or inborn features related to desires, urges, needs and impulses to seek immediate gratification. Id ignores consequences. Every individual tend to focus on the pleasure principle to maximize pleasure and minimize pain. In order to release tension it fantasizes and applies pleasurable sensations or feelings to any bodily functions (McKenna 31). The ego, Freud described, was related to the thinking and the problem solving aspect of personality. It has ability to learn through experience. It is based on reality principle. The ego controls id i.e. behavior and movements of the person through conscious approach. The ego selectively satisfies desires by avoiding negative impacts of the act. In other words, the ego postpones the release of the ids psychic energy until the right object or method is found. The concept of the ego is based on the individual’s conscious sense of himself (Edgcumbe 212). Superego emphasizes on the moral development standards and ethical values procured from parents or society. Every human being tends to internalize parental standards as their own. Superego uses guilt/anxiety as an important function. When aggressive forces stored in the superego are opposed with mental processes related to ego, it might lead to depression. When an individual is progressed from dependency towards autonomy, superego gradually becomes impersonal. The values acquired from parents get substituted by admired figures in society or high social ideals. His conscience acquires ethical character by the recognition of distinct principles and ideals. The interaction between these three mental processes gives rise to struggle which influences personality structure (Chan et al. 27). Id is a reservoir of psychic energy which does not obey any rules and regulations, while superego inhibits these intrinsic desires.