Berawan death practices

Death is not only a physical process, but a social and spiritual paradigm infused by a culture's specific ‘beliefs, emotions and activities which give it its distinctive character' (Hertz 1907, p. 197). Facing another culture's beliefs around death can be confronting, often creating ethnocentric reactions and cultural misconceptions. Comparing American and Aberrant death practices highlights how these rites, and the spiritual beliefs underlying them, can appear horrifying when viewed only from the observer's own cultural paradigm.Anthropologist Peter A. Metcalf observed the practices of the Aberrant tribe, found along Borer's north-central waterways, including the tribe's four-stage funeral rites (Metcalf 1993, p. 325). The first stage lasts two to ten days and includes ‘rites performed immediately after death' (Metcalf 1993, p. 325). The second stage, eight months to several years In duration (Metcalf 1993, p. 325), sees the corpse stored on a platform or in the communal residence with the remains contained in a coffin, earthenware Jar or similar vessel (Metcalf 1993, p. 5). During this period the corpse decomposes, allowing the soul's transformation to ‘perfect spirit' (Metcalf 1993, p. 326). However during this period the soul lurks close by, restless and uneasy, spreading the risk of Illness to the living and the possibility of corpse reanimation by an evil spirit (Metcalf 1993, p. 326). During the third stage, which Hertz referred to as the great feast' (Metcalf 1993, p. 326), the remains are brought into the residence and guests celebrate the deceased for six to ten days (Metcalf 1993, p. 325).The bones ay be removed and cleaned in preparation for the fourth stage – the decease's final burial wherein the physical remains are housed in a receptacle of value, such as a glazed Jar or wooden coffin, with that receptacle accommodated in a large mausoleum; safe in the knowledge the soul had transcended (Metcalf 1993, p. 325). American f uneral practices, by contrast, alma to preserve the body appearance (Hertz 1907, p. 201); embalming fluids replace bodily fluids, Injections fatten gaunt corpses, cosmetics enhance skin color, padded coffins give Impressions of a peaceful, endless slumber (Metcalf 1 993, p. 27). The American death,'afterlife transition is perceived as immediate, with little time between death and spiritual judgment (Hertz 1907, p. 197). In contrast, the Brawn's soul must await the body decomposition – and transformation – before beginning its journey to the afterlife (Hertz 1907, p. 202). Only when dry bones remain, is the soul ready (Metcalf 1993, p. 326). American practices offer horrifying outcomes for the Aberrant exemplar.For a body not given appropriate time for full decomposition and a premature final burial, ‘death ill not be fully consummated, the soul will not leave the earth, the mourning of the living will not be ended' (Hertz 1907, p. 204). The American rites suspend the deceased In a limbo between life and death – the period the soul Is most discontent, still with great capacity to affect the living through illness. During this time potential America is a land carpeted with potential zombies', all awaiting reanimation via the evil spirits that exist in Aberrant culture (Metcalf 1993, p. 26). With such a spiritual intent it can be understood why Aberrant are horrified by their belief the American culture traps a soul at the point of greatest unhappiness, dooming them to restlessly wander eternally; the dead never finding peace and the living never progressing past grief and mourning. The Aberrant-American comparison demonstrates that to fully comprehend a culture's significant, spiritual customs one must first seek to understand the social, spiritual and cultural paradigms surrounding those customs.

Language and Culture Essay

Language and culture reciprocate a fluid relationship. They both interact and shape the structure through which individuals can mediate their lives within a social context. Language and culture are immanent forces that help to define and open up the way we understand various dimensions of our lives, whether through the mass media and advertising, science and technology, slang, diverse vocabulary, changes of meanings. This essay will aim to break down the specific forums through which language is useful to culture and how culture forms the mechanisms and strategies through which we use language. I will begin with a discussion of the relationship between language and culture and then move on to the different paradigms that contain specific uses of language. To begin, it will be helpful to lay a framework upon which to build a working definition of language. According to the University of Princeton’s online dictionary, language is â€Å"a systematic means of communicating by the use of sounds or conventional symbols† (Language). This is straightforward enough for us to understand that language acts as a medium for communicating. The key terms to highlight here are systematic as well symbols because they stretch the function of the definition to include the power that institutions have over language as well as the way that language can shift and change through semiotics. As a system, language relies upon a specific and formal set of rules in order to function. Grammar, syntax, slang, and meaning are all elicited from the rules of language. The institution of a particular language also varies greatly depending on socio-economic factors as well as through educational strategies. For example, with the rise of information technology and the internet as well as through global capitalism, the English language has taken center stage as a pseudo-global language due to its far reaching capacity and its prevalence in scientific and technological innovations. It will be interesting to see how the role of English changes as the world becomes smaller through interconnectivity and the rise of other global languages such as Chinese. Different cultures, through different languages, create different modes of expression and understanding that give rise to cultural diversity. Cultural diversity relies upon the comparing and contrasting mechanisms through which meaning is ingrained. Semiotics is the realm of language that is concerned with signs and signification. Language is the tool through which we identify particular signs and accord them a meaning, or a signification. This is important because through the sign, or symbol, a culture places specific connotations beyond the traditional denotative structure of language. Language both identifies and distinguishes. This is where varying mediums play a significant role on the way cultures digest and create their lives through language. To illustrate how this works, I will next discuss the role that the mass media has on both the language of culture and the culture of language. The dominance of mass media and advertising over the realms of cross cultural communication cannot be underestimated. Through advertisements, newspapers, television, radio, and the internet, people across the world have instant access to a constant stream of information that shapes the way we live our lives. This can have both positive and negative impacts. On the positive side, mass media acts a vehicle for cross cultural dialogue. It provides people with a common language and a common set of terms through which to discuss the pressing issues of the day. The information presented is current and has a specific point of focus. Depending on a person’s cultural condition and through which avenue of mass media they travel on the information highway, the meaning of the information changes dramatically. In this way, two people from different cultures can watch the same news clip and come away from the experience with two completely different understandings from the same language and information. On the negative side of mass media we can point to what cultural theorists beginning with Antonio Gramsci have termed cultural hegemony. This names a dual process through which competing ideologies are struggled out on the stage of culture and through which subversive or outsider paradigms are brought into the dominant arena of culture in order to assimilate and therefore neutralize the conflict of interests (Chandler). This applies to our discussion of language and culture because it helps explain how the role of the media frames certain issues in order to parlay a particular point of view. For example, here in America hegemony can be witnessed through the way Fox News presents its conservative political agenda against the way that Comedy Central portrays its progressive politics through shows like the Daily Show. The language presented and used in media relies upon subtle ideological functioning in order to suggest at an agenda or viewpoint instead of simply communicating said purpose. As mentioned before, language both identifies and distinguishes. As in the previous example of news presentation, we can see how Fox News identifies its audience through its conservative ideology. By identifying as they do, they also distinguish themselves from the liberal-leaning Daily Show audience. It will be interesting to see how much, if any, influence Fox News can have during the Obama presidency and the rise of liberalism after relying so heavily upon Republican and conservative politics through the Bush administration. The shift in the power of balance in American politics will sway the tide of public opinion in the arena of culture that hegemony frames. We can also witness the way science and technologies rely upon specific uses of language in order to elucidate communication and meaning. Perhaps this arena of culture illustrates the example best. Science and technology create paradigms of knowledge. By this, we can see how biochemists almost literally speak another language than nuclear physicists in their professional lives. Again, this is not a positive or a negative situation; it is a cultural practice that plays itself out through particular frameworks of understanding the world. Another interesting example of how science and technology play out in the realm of language is to consider the macro level. As hinted at earlier, science and technology, with their innovations originating largely from the United States and Japan, have consisted and evolved through the language of not just professional jargon, but specifically and nearly exclusively through English. In his innovative essay, Translingual Travel: The Discourse Practice of Cultural Hegemony, Chinese cultural theorist Dai Xun writes of the impact this phenomenon has in China, â€Å"The primary premise in the rise of cultural hegemony is the advantages and control western countries enjoy over science, technology and information (Xun). This is another form of cultural hegemony that phases out periphery languages at the cost of integrating English into the global vocabulary as well as forming the unbalanced socio-economic relationships of our age. Language is utilized for specific purposes through systematic controls and symbolic gestures. That being said, language is not a monolithic and static entity. Although language relies on specific grammatical and syntactical rules, cultures have always innovated and bent the rules of grammar in an effort to assert their unique cultural conditions. The rise of slang is one of the most important and culturally reinforcing tactics that marginal groups use to coalesce and self-identify. Slang is a part of language, and it follows that it serves again to identify as well as to distinguish. One of the most striking examples of slang can be witnessed in hip-hop music. Hip-hop is rapidly becoming a global phenomena and it goes beyond just the music to include fashion, dancing, music making and lifestyle. In this way, the slang the hip-hop community uses separates them from other groups while also helping them to identify with like-minded people. Hegemony in the realm of hip-hop can help explain how power relations work themselves out through culture. In its infancy, hip-hop was a culture unique to African-Americans in inner-city America. With its popularity and rise through mass media, white, middle-class teenagers are adopting hip-hop into their lifestyles and trying to identify with the conditions that gave rise to it. This is how dominant culture integrates what was previously a subversive and politically threatening subculture into the mainstream. Now we see hip-hop artists in children’s cartoons, at suburban schools and in the malls. In conclusion, language and culture maintain mutually reinforcing relationship. Both dominant and subversive forms of communication are played out on the arena of cultural hegemony. This condition goes beyond the traditional positive/negative paradigm of culture. What is important to some cultures can have very little significance to others. Works Cited Chandler, Daniel. (2000). Gramsci and Hegemony. Marxist Media Theory. Retrieved December 22, 2008 from http://www. aber. ac. uk/media/Documents/marxism/marxism10. html Language. (2008). Wordnet. Princeton University. Retrieved December 22, 2008 from http://wordnetweb. princeton. edu/perl/webwn? s=language Xun, Dai. (2008). Translingual Travel: The Discourse Practice of Cultural Hegemony. Southwest Normal University. Retrieved December 22, 2008 from www. ln. edu. hk/eng/staff/eoyang/icla/Translingual%20Travel

Central European Market - Final Report Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

Central European Market - Final Report - Essay Example This paper examines the Auchan’s progress in the Russian market. The paper starts with background information and then analyzes the Russian market. The paper also discusses some of the challenges facing the company and suggests ways through which they can be addressed. Auchan Corporation is based in Croix, France and had presence in more than 12 countries. The company’s origin can be traced to 1961 when Gerard Mulliez opened the first store in Roubaix, France. Five years later, another store was opened in Roncq, Northern France. The company started expanding to other countries in 1981, when it established a subsidiary in Alcampo, Spain. In 1989, the company opened its first hypermarket in Italy. The company has also established foreign subsidiaries in China, Hungary and Russia. In order to increase its presence in the major economies, the company has also acquired other players in the retail industry. This mode of entry allows the company to expand much faster rather than using wholly owned enterprises. The company is one of the pioneers in the hypermarkets landscape in France and other major European countries. ). The consumers have extended values and intimacy to the corporation and the company has become more than a localized entity in R ussia. Auchan prefers organic growth and has 1,450 stores across the globe. Although the organization prefers organic growth, at times it expands to foreign markets through acquisitions. For instance, in 1996, the company acquired Docks de France and partnered with RT Mart in China. In Italy, Achuan acquired La Rinascente’s while in Italy it acquired GCI. Such acquisitions are very advantageous as they are less risky and are associated with positive outcomes such as increased market share, lower cost of operation, higher competitiveness, financial leverage and higher profitability. In most countries where it operates, the Achuan group pursues a strong

Managing change and innovation Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Managing change and innovation - Research Paper Example Innovation is a new way of doing something. Innovation could be a result of incremental or evolutionary process or it could be result of some radical or revolutionary process. Change and innovation are closely related to each other and most of the times are coupled with each other during usage. Dubai has become a center of attraction for many reasons like businesses, tourism, shopping, luxurious hotels etc. There are many unique things about Dubai that are available very rarely in other parts of the worlds at one place. With so much going on in the city, the basic facilities provided by the Government of Dubai need to be matching with the other factors as well. Amongst the basic facilities that are government’s responsibility, health is probably the most important factor to take care of. Dubai has state-of-the-art facilities in health fields which are very fitting if compared with the advancements made in other fields. Different hospitals working under the Department of Health and Medical Services (DOHMS) like Al-Wasl hospital, Dubai Hospital, Rashid hospital etc. not only have very nice facilities available but they are also working to keep up with the pace of research and development in the field of medicine. New researches are applied to make sure the cure and prevention methods are applied to maximum use. Dubai is part of oil-rich country United Arab Emirates. Oil-richness is a good enough feature for the rest of the world to be renowned for but in a matter of few decades, Dubai has transformed itself. Now it has earned a distinction of a city which is a home to great international businesses and a tourism favorite. Dubai is a dynamic city with ever-growing net of tall buildings and facilities that attract many businesses towards it. Dubai is a modern cosmopolitan city and it has a mixture of multiple ethnicities that live in a very well-coordinated manner. Dubai is considered to

Marketing advertising Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Marketing advertising - Essay Example The muscular body of the model on the cover page displays the importance of protein intake for maintaining good muscular body for improved performance. The title of the Magazine hugely supports my advertisement of protein isolate. The title of the magazine helps attract the attention of people and thereby the advertisement of protein. Sometimes, this also results in buying the product as it convince people regarding the importance of protein for body building. Moreover, the advertising is for people who are interested in sports and body building, especially the ones who want to work out for building body muscles for better performance. The advertisement of protein encourages readers to make buying decisions as its use would yield good results. Most importantly, it would make them healthy and fit and ready to take up strenuous exercises. But sometimes, advertisement of related or same products from different companies may confuse readers as all of them have good offer for the buyer..   I believe that this product is a good investment because lot of people will buy it when they see the advertisement and read about it. Also, when the product is endorsed by celebrities, it attracts more buyers. At the same time, it also reduces competition as it adds value to the advertisement of the product and thereby, in order to become like celebrity, it results in more sale. Hence, advertisements become critical component of marketing of

How has the New Public Management transformed the organisation and Essay

How has the New Public Management transformed the organisation and governance of public services, and to what extend do contemporary reforms illustrate a post-New Public Management era - Essay Example Companies in the private sector also deemed to perform in the most efficient manner because of the presence of high level of competition and pressure of attaining long-term sustainability (Laegreid & Christensen, 2013). It will not be ambiguous to state that companies in the contemporary context largely intend to assure customer satisfaction through their respective operations so that their business can be able to assure sustainable operations (Gonzalez-Perez & Liam Leonard, 2013; Fox, 2006; EU, 2009). However, these aspects or approaches of companies are not quite visible in the operations of the public sector companies. Notably, it is often believe that public sector is less effective in operations in comparison with the private sector. This is largely because of the aspect that companies in the public sector are less effective in designing their respective management policies along with proper adoption of advanced business practices (Flynn, 2012; EU, n.d.). This aspect further effects the efficacy of the public companies in an unfavourable manner altogether. In order to deal with this particular scenario, concerned authorities have developed the concept of New Public Management (NPM), which is expected to revive the public sector altogether towards a favourable direction (Lane, 2000). Contextually, this particular essay will analyse the concept of NPM in a comprehensive manner. The essay will also assess the impact of the NPM concept on the organisations and the governance of p ublic sector companies. The essay will be further concluded with the evaluation of the contemporary reform after the emergence of the NPM era. With the changing course of the modern day business, the approach of conducting business by companies also seems to be transforming in a rapid manner. In this similar context, the changes or the reforms in the public management practices

Critically consider the challenges and opportunities that social and Essay - 1

Critically consider the challenges and opportunities that social and community enterprises face in their pursuit to affect social change - Essay Example Such new generation of entrepreneurs uses new approaches from the commercial world and employ new types of  technology  to embrace the greater amount of social  and  environmental  problems that occurred recently. Now enterprises are socially and environmentally oriented and it does not matter whether it is a for-profit or a non-profit organization, its entrepreneurial solutions propose more engagement, jobs and hope in those areas where until today there were none of such enterprises (Branson, 2013). There appeared entrepreneurs with social passion, whose creativity skills and entrepreneurial frame is deeply in mind, those who are ready to create and implement â€Å"something out of nothing† (Praszkier & Nowak, 2011). These individuals are the social entrepreneurs and these are their businesses, which have already created a phenomenon of social entrepreneurship in practice. Social entrepreneurs are aimed to address their activities to the unsolvable social problems and that is how these modern companies have earned a considerable success in motivating a people to generate a huge impact on the society (Defourny & Nyssens, 2010). By the time that social entrepreneurs became well known type of business makers, they have grown into a global movement earning the name of those who bring social- value creations to people and thus are appreciated by more and more people. However, due to the limited research in this sphere, there is no single opinion whether social entrepreneurs bring mainly good things to the society or whether their activities are underestimated (Short, Moss & Lumpkin, 2009). The following paper will try to analyze the challenges and opportunities that social enterprises face today and if it impacts social change. Due to many researches that were studied, there are several definitions of social entrepreneurship. One of such definitions claims that its aim is the ability of

Stragegic management of human resources Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 6500 words

Stragegic management of human resources - Essay Example A customised version of Integrated Management Process (IMP) used by SAB to set the ball rolling relies on the same set of principles, techniques and practices as the case study demonstrates. Evidently, performance depends not only on hard and attenuating work of the personnel, but also on such essential characteristics as competence and ability to learn and develop. Despite the visible simplicity, the problem of effective training and development of employees faced by SAB during the attempt to solidify and further reinforce their market positions was exceptionally complex. A failure to properly, effectively and continuously train and educate the human resources in the right areas of the business, at the right time and at the right cost would have inevitably result in serious inefficiencies, considerable operational difficulties and even collapse of the organisation (Buckle & Caple, 2004). In order to evaluate the programme implemented by SAB one must be aware of the basic theoretical principles an effective programme must rely upon. An effective SHRD programme should be built around three basic theoretical concepts: organizational development change; leadership development; individual, group and organizational learning (Reid, Barrington & Brown, 2004). Although IMP focuses primarily on business planning, communication and performance management processes, the key element of the company's transformation was apparently learning since new skills and attitudes were required. In the past, learning focused primarily on individuals: people worked in large bureaucracies or assembly lines and, consequently, the goal of learning under such circumstances was training of the skills required for their functioning. However, since approximately three decades ago, the focus of learning in organisations began to shift from individuals to groups, and, what was even more important, the meaning underlying the constructs 'learning', 'training' and 'development' transformed dramatically. Scholars started conceiving these constructs as continuous rather than occasional while the purpose and the process of learning were also reformulated and recognised as vital for effective organizational performance (Harrison, 2005). Such continuous perception of learning as the key element of business transformation was probably the main factor of SAB's success: heavy investments in learning and development to support change turned systematic rather than being occasional. The systematic approach toward training, learning and development of employees emphasises such crucial element of the process as continuity while the earlier perspectives often viewed the process as linear and discrete with clearly defined beginning and end (Armstrong, 1996). Systematic approach to organizational development implies clearly identification of what employees should know and how they should act to be effective at a particular job; it also ensures that employees are adequately prepared in terms of the necessary knowledge, skills, and attitudes to fulfil their responsibilities (Kenney & Reid, 1994). Such systematic strategy implemented by SAB helped managers and supervisors get

Intervention Paper on Exercise Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Intervention Paper on Exercise - Essay Example She claimed that it has not been long since she was promoted, got stuck doing paper works and computer works. She felt left out as her friends in the office gather together during weekends, while she had to tackle take-home jobs. The program selected to address the feeling of "self-doubt" and lack of self-confidence on client is a daily exercise routine of 10 minute jogging around her front and backyard, 10 minute neck, arms and waist stretching, and five minute relaxation prior to her daily house and work routine. The above Record shall see to it that the Physical Exercise Intervention must be done religiously as a daily routine necessary to ensure the validity and effectiveness of the procedure. Likewise, the following Table will serve as Satisfaction With Life Scale (SWLS) record that shall be answered on a daily basis by checking which applies for one week with the premise that each number is the equivalent of the list below: The SWLS, according to Diener et al (1985) is focused on assessing global life satisfaction independent of positive affect of loneliness. It will show favorable psychometric properties including high temporal reliability. The SWLS scores correlate with other measures of subjective well-being and correlate predictably with some personality characteristics according to Diener et al (1985). Likewise, SWLS is also useful for most age groups in order to asses satisfaction with the client's life as a whole as "it assesses an individual's conscious evaluative judgment of his or her life by using the person's own criteria," (Diener, et al 1985). Results: Within the one week period that the client has undergone the physical exercise mentioned above, there exists a relevant difference from the first day until the last day as may be referred to in Appendix. During the first day, the client was on an extremely low moment as may be perceived in her answers to the questions, mostly in the negative. Then, the answers moved on to the affirmative, until it reached its peak on the seventh day. Reference: Diener, E., Emmons, R., Larsen, J. & Griffin S. (1985). "The Satisfaction With life Scale." Journal of personality Assessment Vol 49 No 1. pp 71-75. Pavot, W. and Diener, E. (1993). "Review of the Satisfaction With Life Scale." Psychological Assessment Vol. 5. No 2. pp 164-172. Appendix: Day 1 Statement 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 In most ways my life is close to my ideal. The conditions of my life are excellent. I am satisfied with my life. So far I have gotten the important things I want in life. If I could live my life over, I would change almost nothing Day 2 Statement 1 2 3 4

Supply chain management Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words - 5

Supply chain management - Essay Example 3.9 billion with the people employed by the company being 31,000 across the business (Argos, 2013). Being part of the Home Retail Group, it is among the United Kingdom’s leading general and home merchandise retailer. The company came into the limelight in July 1963 and Richard Tompkins was the founding member of the firm. During this time, he had already established the Green Shield Stamp which was based in the United Kingdom. The company started out as a stamp retailer shop but after Tompkins visited Argos City in Greece, everything changed. He embarked on selling gifts on cash. He later decided to rebrand the shop and named it Argos in 1973, July. The shop started out by making sales of ?1,000,000 the same year in November (De, 2011, Pg 25). BAT company purchased the shop in 1979 for ?32 million. It is at this time that the company resolved to always remain relevant in the market by embracing all the new initiatives in order to capture more clients. Literature review The boo k that gives a clear representation of the subject on chain supply theory is Slack, N., Brandon-Jones, A., Johnston, R. & Betts, A. 2012. Operations and process management. 3rd edn, Prentice Hall/ Financial Times, London. It analyzes some of the processes that have been used by Argos and other companies in inducing the innovations of technology. The mechanism is taken into consideration in terms of social, economic and environmental prospective through the supply chain, which is in accordance with the proposals set to produce a sustainable development (Slack, Brandon-Jones, Johnston, & Betts, 2012 Pg 15). The book continues to implicate some of the roles initiated by companies in building their supply chain. The innovations correspond with new technological developments, which are used in representing the best initiative in promotion of development in companies. The book is also responsible for the avocation of the debate developed in association with sustainability, innovation and supply chain management, which are used in the concept of sustainable innovations (Slack et al, 2012 Pg 32). . The same model is used management, which is used in the gap for differentiating development initiatives and those that are seen to have flopped. The application in the book is used to explain the case studies of Argos and the manner in which the company uses the model to benefit themselves at the moment and the future. In the case study, one will realize that there is demonstration of sustainable innovations which are driven by the company at the focal representation (Jespersen & Skjott-Larsen, 2005, Pg 78). This is seen to be an establishment of engagement of its suppliers in the reduction of the negative environmental and social impacts responsible for life cycle of the product in the market. A thorough examination of the book further explains that there is a possibility of the implementation of the innovations will generate a beneficial concept which is associated with t he net environmental and social in all the major players and stages of the supply chain. It is clear that the term supply chain was rampant in the 1980s at the time that majority of the companies were fighting to join the major players in the global trade (Slack et al, 2012 Pg 72). . This has always been a word used in the implication of materials flowing from one

Tourism Economics Essay Example for Free

Tourism Economics Essay Overview According to Dr. Warren H. Lieberman (1993), yield management or revenue management is the practice of maximizing profits from the sale of perishable assets by controlling price and inventory and improving service.   Sheryl E. Kimes of Cornell University, in turn, defines yield management as the control of customer demand through the use of variable pricing and capacity management to enhance profitability.   Finally, Kevin Donaghy, et. al. put forward in 1995 that yield management   is a revenue maximization technique which aims to increase net yield through the predicted allocation of available capacity to predetermined market segments at optimum price. Yield management (YM) has become widely accepted and used by capacity-constrained hospitality and tourism organizations in order to achieve optimum resource utilization and ensure wealth maximization.   Ã‚  For the use of this paper, we shall focus on the hotel industry. Yield Management Hotels Yield management in hotels, as Lieberman (1993) concisely puts, is the use of   information, historical and current, in combination with policy supports, procedural supports, and statistical models, to enhance a hotels ability to carry out a number of common business practices and thereby increase both its revenues and its customer-service capabilities.[1] Hotel capacity is not part of the institution’s inventory, and thus continuous operation without occupancy translates to overhead and opportunity costs.   The yield management approach allows the management to avoid these costs by providing a rational and systematic framework for management decisions.   Huyton et al. (1997) argues that the hospitality and tourism industries of the 90s are best remembered for their adaptation and refinement of yield management systems. Preconditions of YM Kimes (1997) identifies five preconditions for the successful application of YM.   These are: Fixed capacity Hotels are capacity-constrained, i.e., their main products or goods cannot be classified in their inventory. These products or goods are perishable. Capacity can be changed by increasing the number of rooms, for instance, but this entails significant capital outlay, which is discussed next. High fixed costs Adding incremental capacity to a hotel is very costly and time-consuming.   These resource constraints (fund allocation process, planning and construction time, etc.) lead to the fact that capacity cannot be adjusted rapidly. Low variable costs The cost that hotels incur by booking a guest in a room that would otherwise be vacant is classified as a low variable cost. Time-varied demand Due to high fixed costs, hotels cannot match their capacity easily to correspond to peaks and troughs in demand.   Donaghy, et al. (1995), bolstering Kime’s explanation, argues that hotels can benefit during demand fluctuations or variations.   They can do this by controlling capacity when demand is high and relaxing that control when demand is low. Reservation systems are very beneficial in efficient demand management as products and goods are allocated prior to consumption. Similarity of Inventory Units As a general rule, YM systems operate in a situation where inventory units are similar.   Hotel rooms are basically similar. Ingredients of YM Differential pricing is one of the foremost ingredients of YM.   As a prerequisite, hotels must be able divide their customer base into distinct market segments, in order to apply the principles of differential pricing. A manager will be more confident in his/her decisions regarding the acceptance or denial of reservations when he/she is familiar with their organization’s booking and demand patterns. A sound forecasting system for peaks and troughs in demand, based on good knowledge of sales and booking data is essential in the manager’s task of effectively aligning supply and demand.   YM, according to Kimes (1997), is essentially a form of price discrimination[2]. The YM systems being used by hotels and airlines rely on opening and closing rate bands. Logically, periods of low demand prompt the service operator to offer discount prices. Conversely, periods of high demand will normally see the closing off of these discounts.   Ã‚  Offering multiple rates, on a different note, may enable the manager to align price, product and buyer in a profitable manner achieve a greater net yield and therefore. Another essential YM ingredient is overbooking. Overbooking levels are systematically set using historical data, present developments, and forecasted activities that are directly or indirectly related to the business operation of the hotel. As a final ingredient in a good YM system, an effective management information system should be present to handle the substantial amount of information needed for the construction of effective management decisions. YM approaches in the hotel industry Donaghy et al. (1995) discussed three basic YM approaches to the hotel industry in consonance with Kimes.   These are: Rate Controls Under this approach, there are two methods being practiced.   The threshold curve approach or the control chart method deals with opening and closing rate classes. This method makes use of the booking curve as a base. The bid price system is the second method, and it is based upon algorithms.   Put simply, it is a shadow process of the capacity constraint. Availability controls The availability controls approach is based upon the guests’ minimum and maximum lengths of stay.   It isolates arrivals, which, in turn, are managed by manual and/or computerized systems. Allocation approaches Originally, this approach made use of the expected marginal seat revenue (EMSR).   He further explains that it allows the allocation of inventory to price in order to develop booking limits for different categories[3] (Donaghy et al., 1995).   Bedrooms can be booked at the maximum rate as long as they are available.   However, they but may be restricted at lower discounted prices.   Revenue maximization for a given demand and capacity constraint is the focus of this approach.   Donaghy et al., quoting Yeoman and Ingold (1997), proposed an equation for yield management: Yield management : a chaos paradigm x rationale / normative decision model = logical incrementalism. The equation simply means that in an economic and political environment influenced by chaos theory, YM contributes to better decision-making processes. Importance of YM in the Hotel Industry The analysis of actual costs the factor that ultimately influences profitability is a requirement of yield management in its capacity management.   Following a logical pattern, decisions are more likely to generate more efficient yield-focused capacity management methods when they take account of and are based on cost of sales. Of course, the importance of forecasted demand, booking demand patterns and overall historical data cannot be undermined.   This is the main reason why yield is a crucial factor in adding `value to managing capacity. The yield segmentation process (YSP) is one such method that accomplishes this.   By incorporating incurred costs, YSP ultimately adds value to managing capacity.   Cross (1997) identifies segmentation as one of the steps in yield management. The YSP, put simply, aims to determine how much a customer is willing to pay.   By determining accommodation value of targeted audiences, YSP becomes instrumental in identifying a hotel’s target consumers for a given time period. A hotel manager derives answers from the YSP provides using a comprehensive segmentation of market segments, existing and potential. Because of this, practitioners are provided with reliable information and are therefore better-equipped for decision-making, specifically in the following aspects: price structures, preferable target markets (within the context of yield value), potential profit/yield per market segment, actual costs of supporting each market segment and decision-making mechanisms for targeting new market segments. Hoteliers, not unlike most sectors of hospitality industry already analyze their market in their own ways, varying in degree or method of analysis. A manager’s capacity-management methods are not greatly modified when a yield-focused approach is incorporated.   Their analysis of decision factors are enhanced and therefore value is added through:   Delivery products or services that dynamically meets the needs and wants of clearly defined market segments   Shift in increased revenue results and focus from capacity utilization maximization (translating to overall revenue) for every segment to profit maximization within each segment. A comprehensive market segmentation performed by a team qualified hotel personnel is required to achieve these aims.   This team should utilize all resources and make use of all the expertise found in the organization. To illustrate, this requires participation from the hotel’s various departments: sales and marketing, rooms inventory, front desk, finance, accounting, conference and banqueting, and of course, the senior management. Based on the pooling of expertise from the said departments, the management is supplied with essential data on which sound decisions would be based. Yield management can be applied to a wide array of business processes. Successful integration and application will result in higher satisfaction levels for customers, and consequently greater revenues for the hotel. However, substandard integration and application will probably lead to lower customer satisfaction levels and loss of revenue and profit. It is not enough merely to say that a hotel practices yield management. The real question to be addressed is â€Å"how is yield management being practiced?† By addressing this, the hotel will be able to find out what it could do better.   Furthermore, the hotel, through experience and refinement, will be able to identify the additional benefits it could derive from yield management. A successful yield management program continuously evolves according to the needs of the organization using it. Various tools and performance measures have been designed to assist hotels to quantify the benefit streams arising from specific yield-management actions. It must be stressed that yield management is not a computer system.   Moreover, on a more simple definition, it is not a set of mathematical techniques.   Ã‚  To reiterate, yield management is a method or approach to increase revenues and improve service by being agile, dynamic, and responsive to market demand. It is a way of doing business.   It is no question that computer-based tools are very instrumental in achieving higher levels of success for a yield-management program. In this age, the gamut of yield management’s benefits cannot be achieved without the aid of technology-based tools.     These tools facilitate several intrinsic processes of hotel business: demand forecasting, reservation cancellation, and recording/analysis of no-show activity.   This gives the hotelier better foundation on which to base decisions such as: Determining when to restrict discounts Estimating the displaced revenue of transient demand Recommending and controll reservation availability based on particular lengths of stay and rate Applying YM methods appropriately, a hotel can achieve better effectiveness in its business operations.   The results include the following:   Effective pricing or hotel rate structure Prudent limitations on the number of reservations for each room during any time frame, founded on the expected incremental profitability of each reservation. High adaptability of reservation policies leading to well-informed decisions on inventory-control actions Effective and profitable negotiations for volume discounts High responsiveness in providing guests/customers with the product or service they want or may want, coupled with profitable complementation of other hotel services/facilities. A generally healthier revenue generation from current and potential businesses Appropriate empowerment of reservation agents, thus making them more effective business arms. Limitations of YM in the Hotel Industry After establishing the applicability and approaches of YM in the hotel industry, we now discuss the arguments for YM’s limitations as compared to the applicability to the industry that pioneered the use of YM – the airline industry. Multiple night stays An airline seat’s use is limited to a day and a night. Hotel rooms, on the other hand, are booked on an entirely different basis. Hotel guests may arrive on off-peak or low-rate days and stay multiple nights, possibly through some peak or high-rate days. This situation translates to a dilemma regarding the appropriate rate for each guest. Multiplier effect A hotel’s accommodation is but one of the revenue-generating functions of the establishments.   Restaurants, health and wellness facilities, banquets, conference halls, and leisure facilities contribute significantly to the hotel’s profitable operations.   A hotelier is thus prudent to mind all the establishment’s revenue-generating functions and departments and ensure that they become complementary to each other. Lack of a distinct rate structure Hotels seldom have rate restrictions that airlines impose on their passengers. To illustrate, travelers who have paid regular rates are hindered from some benefits appropriated to those passengers who have availed of leisure rates. Decentralization of information Kimes (1997) states that hotel bedrooms in group hotels are often booked at rates below expected â€Å"because the central reservation system is not linked in the unit hotels property management system†. Conclusion The effectiveness of a yield management system is based on the depth of the understanding of the necessary ingredients, preconditions, limitations and decision-making variables of an industry. Flexibility and system adherence are indispensible requirements of any proposed system.   With these conditions in mind, the yield management system is optimized managing capacity profitability. Profit enhancement is the bottom line for YM. In hotel industries, this translates directly to the simultaneous improvement of occupancy and rate. Focusing on either one as a separate goal only   optimizes capacity utilization.   Capacity utilization optimization does not necessarily optimize yield. Yield management systems, applied correctly, can manage capacity profitably in hotels and most tourism and hospitality industries, if not all. Capacity management and yield management must not be confused with each other.   Capacity management refers to the efficient use of available space with the fundamental aim of improving overall revenue.   YM, in turn, also strives for the efficient use of available capacity.   However, its focus is on profit optimization rather than revenue optimization. Yield management is not a panacea for a hotel’s ailing business operations.   It is not a way of luring customers to pay higher rates or for them to simply spend more while in the hotel.   It is a continuously evolving process that, if applied correctly, can increase a hotels revenues and at the same time, be responsive to its market’s demands, enabling it to deliver effectively the goods and services best suited to the wants and needs of its customers.   How well yield management works for a hotel depends on how well the program is designed and implemented. BIBLIOGRAPHY   Belobaba, Peter. â€Å"Application of a probabilistic decision model to airline seat inventory control†. In Operations Research, 37:2. 183-197. 1989 Cross, Robert. Revenue Management.   New York: Broadway Books. 1997 Donaghy, Kevin. and McMahon, Una. â€Å"Managing Yield: A Marketing Perspective†. In Journal of Vacation Marketing, 2:1, 655-662. 1995 Donaghy, Kevin, McMahon, Una and McDowell, D. â€Å"Yield Management: An Overview†. In International Journal of Hospitality Management, 14:2, pp. 139-150. 1995 Donaghy, Kevin, McMahon-Beattie, Una., Yeoman, Ian. And Ingold, Anthony.   Ã¢â‚¬Å"The Realism of Yield Management†. In Progress in Tourism and Hospitality Research 1:4. 187-195. 1998 Huyton, Jeremy, Evans, P, and Ingold, Anthony.   Ã¢â‚¬Å"The legal and moral issue surrounding the practice of YM, Viewpoint†. In International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management, 9: 2,3. 84-87. 1997. Kimes, Sheryl. â€Å"The Basics of Yield Management†. In Cornell Hotel and Restaurant Administration Quarterly, 30:3. 14-19. 1989 Kimes, Sheryl. â€Å"Yield Management: An Overview†. In Yield Management, Strategies for the Service Industries. (Eds) Yeoman, Ian and Ingold Anthony., London: Cassell. 3-11. 1997 Kimes, Sheryl.   â€Å"The Strategic Levers of Yield Management†. In Journal of Service Research, 1:2, 156-166. 1998 Lee-Ross, Darren. â€Å"Yield management in hospitality SMEs†. In International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management, 9:2,3. 66-69. 1997 Lieberman, Warren.H. â€Å"Debunking the Myths of Yield Management†. In Cornell Hotel and Restaurant Administration Quarterly, 34:1,   34-44. 1993 Orkin, Eric. â€Å"Boosting our bottomline with yield management†. In Cornell Hotel and RestaurantAdministration Quarterly. 28: 4,.52-56. 1988 Orkin, Eric. â€Å"Yield management makes forecasting fact not fiction†. In Hotel and Motel Management, August 15, 112-118. 1988 Sieburgh, Jules. â€Å"Yield Management at Work in the Royal Sonesta†. In Lodging Hospitality, October issue, 235-237. 1988 Yeoman, Ian and Ingold, Anthony.   Ã¢â‚¬ Decision-making†, In Yeoman, Ian and Ingold, Anthony (Eds) In Yield Management: Strategies for the Service Industries. 101-119. London: Cassell. 1997 [1] Warren Lieberman. â€Å"Debunking the Myths of Yield Management†. In Cornell Hotel and Restaurant Administration Quarterly, 34:1,   34-44. 1993 [2] Sheryl Kimes. â€Å"Yield Management: An Overview†. In Yield Management, Strategies for the Service Industries. Yeoman, Ian and Ingold Anthony (eds). London: Cassell. 3-11. 1997 [3] Kevin Donaghy and Una McMahon. â€Å"Yield Management: An Overview†. In International Journal of Hospitality Management, 14:2, pp. 139-150. 1995

Comparative Study of Advanced Classification Methods

Comparative Study of Advanced Classification Methods CHAPTER 7 TESTING AND RESULTS 7.0 Introduction to Software Testing Software testing is the process of executing a program or system with the intent of finding errors or termed as bugs or, it involves any activity aimed at evaluating an attribute or capability of programming system and determining that it meets its required results. Software bugs will almost always exist in any software module with moderate size: not because programmers are careless or irresponsible, but because the complexity of software is generally intractable and humans have only limited ability to manage complexity. It is also true that for any complex systems, design defects can never be completely ruled out. 7.2 Testing Process The basic goal of the software development process is to produce data that has no errors or very few errors. In an effort to detect errors soon after they are introduced, each phase ends with a verification activity such as review. However, most of these verification activities in the early phases of software development are based on human evaluation and cannot detect all errors. The testing process starts with a test plan. The test plan specifies all the test cases required. Then the test unit is executed with the test cases. Reports are produced and analyzed. When testing of some unit complete, these tested units can be combined with other untested modules to form new test units. Testing of any units involves the following: Plan test cases Execute test cases and Evaluate the result of the testing 7.3 Development of Test Cases A test case in software engineering is a set of conditions or variables under which a tester will determine whether an application or software system is correctly working or not. The mechanism for determining whether a software program or system has passed or failed such a test is known as a test oracle. Test Cases follow certain format, given as follows: Test case id: Every test case has an identifier uniquely associated with certain format. This id is used to track the test case in the system upon execution. Similar test case id is used in defining test script. Test case Description: Every test case has a description, which describes what functionality of software to be tested. Test Category: Test category defines business test case category like functional tests, negative test, accessibility test usually these are associated with test case id. Expected result and the actual result: These are implemented within respective API. As the testing is done for the web application, actual result will be available within the web page. Pass/fail: Result of the test case is either pass or fail. Validation occurs based on expected and actual result. If expected and actual results are same then test case passes or else failure occurs in test cases. 7.4 Testing of Application Software The various testing done on application software is as follows. Integration Testing 7.4.1 Integration Testing In this phase of software testing individual software modules are combined and tested as a group. The purpose of integration testing is to verify functional, performance and reliability requirements placed on major design items. These â€Å"design items†, i.e. assemblages (or unit group of units), are exercised through their interfaces using black box testing, success and error cases being simulated via appropriate parameter and data inputs. Simulated usage of shared data areas and inter process communication is tested and individual subsystems are exercised through their input interface. Test cases are constructed to test that all components within assemblages interact correctly, for example across procedure calls or process activations, and this is done after testing individual modules, i.e. unit testing. The overall idea is a â€Å"building block† approach, in which verified assemblages are added to a verified base which is then used to support the integration testing of further assemblages, In this approach, all or most of the developed modules are coupled together to form a complete software system or major part of the system and then used for integration testing. Integration testing is a systematic technique for constructing the program structure while at the same time conducting test to uncover errors associated with interfacing. The objective is to take unit-tested modules and build a program structure that has been dictated by design. The top-down approach to integration testing requires the highest-level modules be tested and integrated first. This allows high-level logic and data flow to be tested early in the process and it tends to minimize the need for drivers. The bottom-up approach requires the lowest-level units be tested and integrated first. These units are frequently referred to as utility modules. By using this approach, utility modules are tested early in the development process and the need for stubs is minimized. The third approach, sometimes referred to as the umbrella approach, requires testing along functional data and control-flow paths. First, the inputs for functions are integrated in the bottom-up pattern. 7.4.1.1 Test Cases for Support Vector Machine Support Vector Machine is tested for the attributes which fall only on positive side of hyperplane, attributes which fall only on negative side of hyperplane, attributes which fall on both positive and negative side of hyperplane and the attributes which fall on the hyperplane. The expected results match with the actual results. Table 7.1: Test Cases for Support Vector Machine 7.4.1.2 Test Cases for Naive Bayes Classifier Naive Bayes Classifier is tested for the attributes which belongs to only class ‘1’, attributes which belongs to only class ‘-1’, attributes which belongs to both class ‘1’ and class ‘-1’. The expected results match with the actual results. Table 7.2 Test Cases for Naive Bayes Classifier 7.5 Testing Results of Case Studies A particular example of something used or analyzed in order to depict a thesis or principle. It is a documented study of real life situation or of an imaginary scenario. 7.5.1 Problem Statement: Haberman Dataset Haberman data set contains cases from the University of Chicagos Billings Hospital on the survival of patients who had undergone surgery for breast cancer. The task is to determine if the patient survived 5 years or longer (positive) or if the patient died within 5 year (negative). @relation haberman @attribute Age integer [30, 83] @attribute Year integer [58, 69] @attribute Positive integer [0, 52] @attribute Survival {positive, negative} @inputs Age, Year, Positive @outputs Survival Training SetTest Set Weight vector and gamma w =0.09910.07750.2813 gamma = 0.3742 Predicted Class label of test set Confusion matrix of the classifier True Positive(TP)=8.000000False Negative(FN)=27.000000 False Positive(FP)=8.000000True Negative(TN)=110.000000 AUC of Classifier = 0.517792 Accuracy of classifier = 77.124183Error rate of classifier = 22.875817 F_score=31.372549Precision=50.0Recall=22.857143Specificity=93.220339 Confusion Matrix for SVM Fig 7.1: Bar chart of SVM for various Performance Metric Predicted Class Label of Naive Bayes Classifier True Positive(TP)=10.000000False Negative(FN)=25.000000 False Positive(FP)=11.000000True Negative(TN)=107.000000 AUC of Classifier = 0.5202 Accuracy of Classifier =76.4706Error Rate of Classifier = 23.5294 F_score=35.7143Precision=47.6191Recall=28.5714Specificity=90.678 Confusion Matrix for NBC Fig 7.2: Bar Chart of NBC for various Performance Metric Tab 7.3: Comparison of SVM and NBC for various Performance Metric Fig 7.3: Bar Chart for Comparison of SVM and NBC 7.5.2 Titanic Data set The titanic dataset gives the values of four attributes. The attributes are social class (first class, second class, third class, and crew member), age (adult or child), sex, and whether or not the person survived. @relation titanic @attribute Class real[-1.87,0.965] @attribute Age real[-0.228,4.38] @attribute Sex real[-1.92,0.521] @attribute Survived {-1.0,1.0} @inputs Class, Age, Sex @outputs Survived Training SetTest Set w = -0.10250.0431 -0.3983 gamma = 0.3141 Predicted Class label of test set confusion matrix of the classifier True Positive(TP)=154.000000False Negative(FN)=181.000000 False Positive(FP)=64.000000True Negative(TN)=701.000000 AUC of Classifier=0.426392 Accuracy of classifier in test set is=77.727273 Error rate of classifier in test set is=22.272727 F_score=55.696203precision=70.642202Recall=45.970149specificity=91.633987 Confusion Matrix for SVM Fig 7.4 Bar chart of SVM for various Performance Metric Predicted Class label of Naive Bayes Classifier True Positive(TP)=197.000000False Negative(FN)=138.000000 False Positive(FP)=148.000000True Negative(TN)=617.000000 AUC of Classifier = 0.4782 Accuracy of Classifier = 74Error Rate of Classifier = 26 F_Score = 57.9412Precision = 57.1015Recall = 58.806Specificity = 80.6536 Confusion Matrix for NBC Fig 7.5 Bar chart of NBC for various Performance Metric Tab 7.4: Comparison of SVM and NBC for various Performance Metric Fig 7.6 Bar Chart for Comparison of SVM and NBC Department of CSE, RNSIT2014-15Page 1

Abortion pro life vs pro choice

Abortion pro life vs pro choice Pro-life vs. pro-choice is a nasty debate that doesnt seem to have many answers. There are many questions and facts to back up both sides of the argument. Some people say abortion is a womens rights issue. Other people say its an issue of morality, and still others an issue of just being right. The issue of abortion rights is an opinionated controversy in public life. Every person has an opinion about abortion rights, and it seems that a moral objective has become divided into two different arenas-social issues vs. religious issues, with the Church and the politicians in the direct line of fire. On one side of the abortion rights debate are the pro-life proponents. In the United States, the position of most Christian churches is that the Church has something to say about public life and the good society. The primary involvement of the U.S. Catholic bishops in public life in the last decade focused on abortion. The movement is not flexible, and while the movement recognizes that some women might not be ready to become mothers, pro-life supporters offer women a chance to give up their babies or offer support services. The pro-life movement is simple: abortion is murder and murder is bad. Pro-lifers measure life as beginning at the moment of conception. Anything which may disrupt a pregnancy (including birth control) is wrong. On the surface, the pro-life movement seems to impact the reproductive rights of women-because it does. While Roe vs. Wade 1973 allows women the right to choose to have elective abortions, pro-life supporters believe that the law abortion 3 should stop this from happening. Pro-lifers believe that all abortions are wrong and that every baby should have a chance to be born. The pro-life movement gave rise in the sixties. The proponents maintain that the fetus is alive and human. They believe that the unborn fetus is a person and physically independent, and as a person, the fetus has human rights. Pro-life believers agree that killing an unborn fetus is murder. There appears to be a competition between the U.S. Catholic and American politics. The bishops describe abortion and euthanasia as pre-eminent threats to human dignity because they directly attack life itself. The bishops declare that killing an unborn child is evil and to make such an evil action legal is wrong. Their opposition to legal abortion is the primary social issue. The Churchs teaching that direct abortion is morally wrong has become a tradition in the Church itself-the Church teaches that abortion is not only morally wrong, it is murder. Pro-lifers argue for the rights of unborn fetuses. Catholic moral teaching is based on the dignity of the human person, and the principles based on this foundation of human dignity apply across the board to all life issues. Abortion is now the fundamental human rights issue of today. The outcome of the debate between pro-choice and pro-life opponents needs to be politically correct and morally right. Pro-life and pro-choice are terms of political framing. The Catholic Church does not give women a personal choice in the abortion issue. Abortion is murder and pro-life is anti-abortion. The end abortion 4 result could possibly be that the U.S. bishops and the American politicians will both win their side of the controversy at hand: the social issue and the religious issue of abortion rights will not be morally right, and abortion will not be legal. In the argument for pro-choice, those who want women to have the choice whether or not to have an abortion, the debate does not discuss whether life begins at fertilization. The argument in pro-choice is not necessarily that all women should HAVE abortions, but that women should have the CHOICE whether or not to have one. Pro-choice is a middle ground; anti-choice is forced motherhood. Pro-choice supporters believe abortion should be settled privately between a woman and her doctor. Pro-choice is not pro-abortion. Supporters include those who are personally against abortion, but who do not impose their viewpoint on all women. The pro-choice movement does not advocate abortion over birth-it simply defends the right of women to decide for themselves. The pro-choice believers support and work towards preventing unwanted pregnancies, reducing abortion, promoting contraception, educating women and youth, and ensuring that families have the necessary resources to raise healthy happy children. Abortion clinics and hospitals follow proper protocol for abortion. These clinics must provide full information on the risks and side effects and procedures. They must allow a woman to view the embryo, inform her if there are twins, and provide fetal development photos. All women are counseled on birth control, and counselors offer non-judgmental options to the women. abortion 5 Most women have already made up their minds to have abortions when they visit an abortion clinic, yet 1 to 5% change their minds after counseling. Clinic counselors clear up womens anxieties and fears about abortion. An abortion clinic counselor saves far more unborn babies in a year than an anti-abortion picketer saves in a lifetime. The pro-choice movement and abortion providers are in the business of protecting and respecting womens rights, their moral autonomy, and their choices. They want every woman to be willing and every child to be wanted. Pro-woman, pro-child, pro-family, and pro-life in the true sense of that term. The movement struggles alone in efforts to decrease the need for abortions. Anti-choice opposes contraception and sexual education-a possible return to illegal unsafe abortions. Legal safe abortion is a matter of fundamental rights for women BECAUSE LAWS AGAINST ABORTION DONT STOP ABORTION. Pro-choice supporters do not want to debate with those who wish to strip women of their rights. In my opinion, the moral issue has been transferred from Church to state. Pro-life is a struggle between what is politically correct and morality. Both the pro-life and pro-choice movements have become a moral and political debate between the Church and the lawmakers and work toward their own desires and goals. The Catholic Church says that killing an unborn child is evil and to make such abortion 6 an action legal is wrong. The Church interprets abortion as killing and teaches that killing is a mortal sin. I question where the interpretation comes from: the Bible? The Ten Commandments? The Vatican? The Church thinks that abortion is a threat to human dignity because it directly attacks life itself. The moral issue of abortion becomes a social issue because of the Churchs opposition to legal abortion. They are saying that the act of making an abortion legal is wrong. Its almost like blaming the lawmakers for the sin of abortion. Then, they want the law to enforce their teachings. The abortion issue is not whether a woman is committing a sin by having an abortion, its who is legally responsible for her decision and the outcome. A woman should have the rightful freedom to believe what she wants to believe, and her sin (if it is a sin), is between her and God-not the Church, and not the law. The Church does not give women a personal choice in the abortion choice, therefore, they are taking away their fundamental human rights. I am not going to debate whether pro-life issues are correct or false, but rather, try to understand what pro-life is, what it means, and why its still being argued as the right way. On the other hand, the pro-choice movement is an ethical view that women should have the choice to continue or terminate a pregnancy. If abortion is not legal, women will return to illegal unsafe abortions. I believer that a woman should have the RIGHT to choose what to do with her body, and at the same time, I support the teachings of the Catholic Church that abortion is morally wrong. Abortion is a moral choice for any woman wishing to abortion 7 control her body-and this should be a certain unalienable right. If I were attempting to exercise my right of choice to have or not have an abortion, I would need to ask myself the following questions: -Is the fetus alive? Of course. Its a biological mechanism-a genesis of new life. But it does not have human rights-including the right to be aborted during its gestation. -Is it human? Yes-a human being in an early stage of development-not with full human rights. -Is it a person? No-just a potential person. -Is it physically independent? No-absolutely dependent on another human being for its continued existence. -Does it have human rights? Yes and no. Not before birth. -Is abortion murder? No-its not an independent person. While I support the teachings of the Church, I believe that a women should have the right to choose what to do with her body. The pro-choice movement wants every woman to be willing and every child to be wanted. Pro-woman, pro-child, pro-family, and pro-life in the true sense of that term. No one has the right answer, but no one has the wrong answer either. Although the woman always has the right to choose, the pro-life movement makes some good points any scared and single mother might want to consider. As for my feelings, I believe that abortion is a private issue-an issue that abortion 8 should be between a woman and God. I believe the Churchs teaching that God gave me free will to make my own decisions. I think that the pro-choice movement struggles alone in its efforts to decrease the need for abortion. Legal safe abortion is a matter of fundamental rights for women because LAWS AGAINST ABORTION DONT STOP ABORTION. Pro-life vs. pro-choice is a vicious debate that doesnt seem to have many answers. Some people say abortion is a womens rights issue. Other people say its an issue of morality, and still other an issue of just being right. abortion 9

An Islamic Subversion of the Existence-Essence Distinction? :: Philosophy Philosophical Papers

Suhrawardà ­ and the philosophy of Light Mysticism ABSTRACT: The distinction between existence and essence within contingent beings is one of the foundational, hegemonic ideas of the discourse of medieval philosophy. Building upon neo-Platonic precursors, thinkers such as Avicenna, Aquinas and William of Auvergne discussed this issue and debated the nature of the distinction. However, one Islamic philosopher who was to have a lasting impact upon the development of philosophical discourse in Iran, subverted the traditional Peripatetic visions of reality and brought into question the very nature of half of the distinction — existence. Through a critique of the Peripatetic notion of existence, Suhrawardi (c.1191) shows how the distinction is absurd and irrelevant for metaphysical inquiry. Suhrawardi refuses to accept traditional Peripatetic realism and has little need for the distinction's role in affirming contingency and the existence of a Necessary Existence. Later Islamic philosophy's insistence on an essentialist reading of Suhrawardi could be described as a category mistake confusing his concept of light with their concept of existence. An analysis of his major texts will show how this cannot be the case. Finally, an attempt will be made to explain this misreading and suggest that the Platonic hermeneutic of essential vision which Suhrawardi expounds might be the reason for it. Shihà ¥b al-Dà ­n Suhrawardà ­ [exe.1191] was an influential mystical philosopher and founder of the school of ishrà ¥q (illumination) whose phenomenological view of reality led him to reject the concrete nature of existence. Suhrawardà ­'s position on existence and his basic rejection of a metaphysics of distinction represent both an alternative to Peripatetic metaphysics as well as provide a key to understanding the radical synthesis of later Islamic philosophy by Mullà ¥ à adrà ¥ [d.1641]. The central issue revolves around an anachronistic reading of a later aporia: where does Suhrawardà ­ stand on the question of primacy within the distinction between existence and essence? Is essence or existence primary ? Traditionally this question has been answered by Mullà ¥ à adrà ¥ and his school by stating that Suhrawardà ­ believed in asà ¥lat al-mà ¥hiyya (primacy of quiddity). This claim has to be verified and explained. Four central questions emerge. What does existen ce signify for Suhrawardà ­ and is it ontologically distinguished from being? Is 'light' the same as being as understood by à adrà ¥? How does Suhrawardà ­ understand the distinction and relate it to his metaphysics of contingency? i) Wujà ºd and Existence in Suhrawardà ­ Suhrawardà ­ sets out in the logic of Óikmat al-Ishrà ¥q, 'The wisdom of illumination' his mature magnum opus, to deconstruct the distinction through a critique of the Peripatetic theory of definition.

Development of Emotional Intelligence (EI) :: Management Business Work Leadership Essays

The development of Emotional Intelligence requires a recognition of one's own strengths and limitations, an exploration of how current decisions are framed through beliefs and prior experiences, and the actualisation of potential by using the greater self knowledge gained. However, in a report by the Institute of Management (2002) research showed that the quality of leadership in the workplace was poor. Further, the research reinforces a positive relationship between financial turnover and the priority given to leadership development (Institute of Management, 2002). Fifty-five percent of those questioned gave the characteristic of being inspiring as the most important attribute of leadership, but only eleven percent say they are witnessing it at work. Inspiration could be defined as the extent to which a leader stimulates enthusiasm amongst subordinates for the work of the group, and says things to build their confidence in their ability to successfully perform assignments and attain group objectives. In those organisations that do invest in bringing out the potential of their leaders it could be argued that a focus on working relationships could be considered most valuable. Again, it could be argued that self-and-other awareness is a prerequisite for developing these working relationships. In today’s younger managers, knowledge and ambition are identified as traits that are not valued leadership qualities (Institute of Management, 2001). The research by the Institute of Management goes on to say that a majority of executives favoured a model of leadership in which the leaders main role is to create a sense of purpose and a central vision or set of goals, and then help bring out the potential of others around them to achieve such goals (Institute of Management 2001). In times of economic change where there is a run down of the old structure of commerce, new fields of commerce are sought, in part, by innovation. Innovation can be seen as the "successful exploitation of new ideas" (The Scottish Office, 1996). To help exploit new ideas we need inspiring leaders. Leadership’s underlying constructs are inspiration and individualised consideration, entailing shifts in the beliefs, needs and values of the followers (Fiedler, 1996). The transforming leaders' behaviours emanate from deeply held beliefs and values, such as justice and integrity (Fiedler, 1996). Fiedler (1996) argues that past research into leadership has been focused on traits and abilities, and that the most important lesson over the past forty years is that the leadership of groups and organisations is a highly complex interaction between the individual and the social and task environment.

History Of IBM :: essays research papers fc

IBM- International Business Machines Corporation History: Though the building blocks of IBM reach back into the mid 1880’s, the company was officially founded in 1911 when Charles F. Flint engineered the merger of Hollerith's Tabulating Machine Company, Computing Scale Company of America and International Time Recording Company. The agreed upon name was Computing- Tabulating- Recording Company or C-T-R. C-T-R soon found itself struggling do to over diversification of its product. In 1914 Thomas J. Watson, Sr. was brought in to help homogenize the company. He succeeded to turn the company around in just 11 months and redirected its focus to producing large-scale, custom-built tabulating solutions for businesses and left the rest of their former endeavors to the competition. Over the next four years, with Watson at the helm, the company’s revenues doubled and expanded operations to Europe, South America, Asia, and Australia.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Over the next decade C-T-R continued to innovate in their industry and bought out addition companies and patents. This additional growth of the company made the old name too limited for their ambitious pursuits and in 1924 they formally changed the name over to International Business Machines Corporation or IBM.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Throughout the Great Depression IBM was able to continue to grow and innovate even when demand for their products began to drop. Because of their build op of data processing machines IBM won the governments social security act contract in 1935 and became responsible for keeping track of 26 million people, essentially ensuring a strong future for the company for at least the next decade.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  In the 1940’s IBM with a joint effort from Harvard University completed the first ever Automatic Sequence Controlled Calculator, also called the Mark I. In the 1950’s IBM’s computers became smaller and more practical for business applications such as billing, payroll and inventory control. In the 1960’s Thomas J. Watson, Jr took over control of the company from his father and directed into a new more consumer friendly environment. IBM was the first computing company to sell computers without software bundled into the package, this move would spawn the multi-billion dollar software industry that exist today, of which IBM is still an industry leader.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  In the 1970’s and 80’s IBM worked to get the computer smaller and more convenient for the household format. Floppy disks were introduced to the public market as personal self storage devices. IBM also developed the first Intranet in the mid 80’s and created the foundations for what would later become the internet.

Finance Foundation

LB5212:03 FINANCIAL FOUNDATIONS FOR MANAGERS Singapore Campuses Study Period 3, 2012 LB5212:03 Financial Foundations for Managers SUBJECT GUIDE 2012 Study Period 3, Singapore Campuses Contents Contents1 1. School Overview0 2. Subject at a Glance0 3. Subject Details0 4. Subject Readings and Resources0 5. Assessment Details0 6. Grading Criteria0 7. Student Assistance0 8. Important Policies & Guidelines0 9. Postgraduate Skills & Qualities0 10. Lecture & Tutorial Schedule0 11. Annexure0 School OverviewThe School of Business is at the forefront of innovation in business and information technology education. With a focus on internationalisation, growth and innovation, the school exploits its unique regional location and expertise in courses that combine discipline-based excellence with practical application. JCU aims to empower responsible managers with practical skills underpinned by cutting edge theory. The school is one of the largest schools at JCU in terms of student numbers and offer s programs at Brisbane, Cairns, Singapore and Townsville.Graduate coursework degrees include the flagship program the Master of Business Administration (MBA), Master of Professional Accounting (MPA), Master of Economics (ME), and Master of International Tourism and Hospitality Management (MITHM). The school also includes Information Technology, offering a Master of IT (MIT and MIT Extended). Within the coursework masters suite of degrees there are opportunities for joint degree combinations. JCU’s recently ‘refreshed’ MBA is committed to an agenda of responsible management, in which all our activities are consistent with sustainable and ethical business practices.Across the four campuses, there are majors available in Marketing, Human Resource Management, Managerial Accounting, Dispute Resolution and International Tourism. Research degrees are also available at honours, masters, and Doctoral levels. Honours students from JCU have an outstanding record of gaining quality jobs in government and consulting circles and a number of students have won Australian Postgraduate Award scholarships and progressed into doctoral courses. There are a number of different pathways into the postgraduate study areas, with direct entry for those already holding an undergraduate degree.For those who do not have a first degree but have relevant work experience and professional experience, the pathway to postgraduate study starts with a Graduate Certificate, progresses through the Graduate Diploma, and reaches the Masters level and above by following these indirect entry strategies. Our staff are friendly and approachable and our degrees are designed to help you develop skills for application anywhere in the world in the dynamic business environment of the twenty-first century. A number of our staff have been recognised through independent rankings as world leaders in their field.School of Business staff have also recently won national awards for teaching excelle nce, and are committed to helping students achieve their career goals. JCU’s School of Business is committed to working towards achievement of genuine and sustainable reconciliation between Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples and the wider community, as outlined in the JCU Reconciliation Statement at

And Then There Were None

Vera Calculator: Loved a man named Hugo Hog's nephew was the boy she watched Since the boy was a boy, Hugo lost all the inheritance money and therefore could not marry Vera Cyril desperately wanted to swim out to the rock in the ocean Vera knew he was too weak to Vera told him he could swim out there knowing full well that he would drown The family did not suspect her of killing him, but Hugo knew in his heart that she did so he left her What Vera didn't know was that Hugo loved Cyril Dry.Armstrong: Operated on a lady while he was drunk The sister (nurse) was aware of this but did not tell on him The lady died This memory haunts him Philip Lombard: Not a good leader He left 21 men to die Captain should die with his ship He was a coward for leaving them Intro important pillars Of society. This is how we live our lives Every doctor takes a Hippocratic oath which is an oath to practice medicine ethically and honestly.Vera Swam in easy practiced strokes after him knowing only to surely s he wouldn't be in time He was forbidden to swim out far- his parents forbid him to do this He wants to swim out there- Cyril said this He wasn't strong-very said this. It doesn't say why A small puny child no stamina-Vera said this.. T doesn't sys why The kind of child that perhaps wouldn't live to grow up. Vera says this.Because Hess weak and has no stamina Cyril thought he could swim out to the rock-he says this because he believes he can Vera responded saying she knows he can-she says this because she wants him dead Vera deltoid she would talk to his mom on the beach tomorrow and when she looks up he will be there on the rock waving to her-she trying to encourage him to swim to the rock because she knows he wont make it and he could swim out to the rock tomorrow-Vera says this because she planned a way to kill him in a way that no one will foreknow she did it Cyril told stories-Vera said that he was a liar and always made up stories.She said this because if he somehow made it to the rock then he would say Vera said he could, but since he made up stories no one wildebeest him she pretended to swim out after him-Vera recalls this before she kills herself from the guilt. She wanted him dead so she could marry Hugo Armstrong Operated while drunk Simple job if he wasn't drunk The sister knew Luckily there's loyalty in his profession so she didn't tell â€Å"Dry. Armstrong now. Well-known man. Had a consulting-room in Harley Street. Absolutely straight and aboveboard in his profession. Haven't been able to trace any record of an illegal operation or anything of that kind.It's true that there was a woman called Clues who was operated on by him way back in 1925 at Loiterer, when he was attached to the hospital there. Peritonitis and she died on the operating table. Maybe he wasn't very skilful over the pop-? after all he hadn't much experience-? but after all clumsiness isn't a criminal offence. There was certainly no motive. Christie, Ghats (2009-03-17). And Then There were None (P. 242). Harper Collins, Inc.. Kindle Edition. After marathon dies hashes as nightmare recalling the operating room Lombard Left 21 men to dieClaims it was a matter of self-preservation They were lost in the bush Him and a couple others took what food was there and left Said self-preservation is a man's first duty Intro: explain your moral code east guilty: dry. Armstrong He had no motive Don't know He killed one person He knew what he did was wrong Middle man: Vera She didn't necessarily know he would die. She just hoped he would. Most guilty: Lombard When you accept the position of captain you are accepting to do whatever you have to to make sure your men survive. Even if it means you wont survive.

Lennie & George in “Of Mice & Men” Essay

In the story â€Å"Of Mice & Men†, John Steinbeck creates a pair of low-class companionship as the story’s main character. This pair of companionship, George and Lennie is very different from each other, nothing alike, no matter talking about their figures, personality, IQ, etc, except that they both carry the same American dream as they spend their hard days traveling together and working in the ranch. Lennie is portrayed as being childlike. He looks up on George as a parental figure: â€Å"Lennie’s lips quivered and tears started in his eyes.† Lennie seek reassurance from George like a child does from their parents. He displays the excitement of a child: â€Å"Tell me about the rabbits, George. Tell me about the rabbits.† Steinbeck suggests that Lennie’s dependent on George and that we all need companionship even if the relationship is unequal. Not only is Lennie portrayed as being childlike, but also very forgetful: â€Å"I forgot, tried not to forget. Honest to god I did George†. Lennie always gets in trouble, and always needs George to help him out.: â€Å"Course you did. Well, look Lennie— if you jus’ happen to get in trouble like u always done before, I want you to come right here and hide in the bush†. Not only does he make himself in trouble but also gives trouble to George: â€Å"An’ whatta I got, I got you! You can’t keep a job and you lose me ever’ job I get. Steinbeck wants to give the readers a hint or preparation that a serious event is going to occur with Lennie, he also wants to convey that although Lennie is big, it doesn’t mean that he has a big brain nor can he be independent and look after himself. Lennie is also being put in a character with characteristic’s like an animal: â€Å"His huge companion dropped his blankets and flung himself down and drank from the green pool; drank with long gulps, snorting into the water like a horse.† Lennie enjoys keeping mice, but as a result always kills it:† They were so little, I’d pet them, and pretty soon they bit my fingers and I pinch they heads a little and they was dead— because they were so little.† Steinbeck wants to show that a big man also has a sensitive side, and that being strong also has disadvantages, especially for Lennie who enjoys to pet mice and as a result kills it very quickly due to his big, strong hands. Lennie’s physique is described by Steinbeck as being big, strong looking, but is also described to have body parts in which imitating an animal: â€Å"A huge man, shapeless of face, with large, pale eyes, with wide, sloping shoulders; and he walked heavily, dragging his feet a little, the way a bear drags his paws.† Although Lennie is very immature, but he is a very helpful and great worker : â€Å"Say, you sure was right about him. Maybe he ain’t bright, but I never seen such a worker.He damn near killed his partner buckin’barley. There ain’t nobody can keep up with him. God, awmighty I never seen such a strong guy.† Steinbck points out that even an immature, childish man like Lennie with low IQ, can also work better than a normal man, and that we should always give a chance to people like Lennie to work like a normal person with no prejudice against them. Lennie is a very simple minded man, and does whatever George tells him to do. He never thinks for himself and won’t bother to rate if it was dangerous or not, he simply just does as he says, like master and servant: â€Å"Tell you what made me stop that One day a bunch of guys were standin’ around Sacramento River.I was feelin’pretty smart. I turned to Lennie and says â€Å"Jump in† and he jumps, couldn’t swim a stroke. He damned near drowned before we could get him.† Not only does Lennie always listen to Georges demands, but he also never rejects him and never dares to argue with him. â€Å"He never got mad with it neither. I’ve beat the hell outa him, and he could bust every bone in me just with his one han’, but he never lifted a finger against me†. Steinbeck expresses to readers that Lennie looks up at George at a higher status, like an idol and believes that whatever George tells him to do, is  for his own good, which is why he listens to George not minding if it is dangerous or not. Where as the other main character in the story â€Å"Of Mice & Men†, known as George, is totally different from Lennie. George is suggested to protect Lennie too much, and that he doesn’t let Lennie talk when he is suppose to. When he sells Lennie too much, people might mistaken that George is hiding something about Lennie.: â€Å"Then why don’t you let him answer? What you trying to put over?†. George also uses a special technique to make Lennie listen to him, from this technique he gives pressure to Lennie so that he will always keep George’s words in mind.: â€Å"But you ain’t gonna get in no trouble, because if you do, I won’t let you tend the rabbits.† Steinbeck points out that George is protecting Lennie too much, and that he should always let him try and let him communicate more, socialize more and approach the outside world more, or else he would depend on George too much and takes it as an advantage. George is also suggested to be smart, and has a lot of common sense. He uses his sensitive sensitivity to teach and lead Lennie to the right track: â€Å"Tastes all right, don’t really seem to be running though. You never oughta drink water when it ain’t running, Lennie.† Not only is George sensitive but he is also very smart in the ability to judge correctly: â€Å"You never had none, you crazy bastard. I got both of ’em here. Think I let you carry your own work card?† Steinbeck shows the readers that it is an advantage for Lennie to be looked after by George, for George has the power to untie him from troubles he makes, and knows what’s best for him. Steinbeck also tells the readers, that the people with the same problems as Lennie should always be helped and be guided to the right way, instead of being discriminated. George also gets very fed up with Lennie sometimes, having to escape with Lennie from the troubles Lennie has caused from time to time.: â€Å"God a’mighty, if I was to live alone I could live so easy. I could get a job and  work, and no trouble. No mess at all, and when the end of the month come I could take my fifty bucks and go into town and get whatever I want.† But on the other hand, he also cares a lot about Lennie’s feelings, and always persuades him to think towards the positive side when Lennie is depressed.: â€Å"Aw, Lennie! I ain’t taking it away jus’ for meanness. That mouse ain’t fresh, Lennie; and besides, you’ve broke it pettin’ it. You get another mouse that’s fresh and I’ll let you keep it a while.† Steinbeck suggests that in order to be companionships, we will have to care for one and another’s feelings, Steinbeck also coveys that there aren’t any perfect pair of companionship, for there has to be arguments between people, since humans are born with these characteristics. George having to be a trustworthy companionship with Lennie, always believes in his partner no matter what happens. He will always trust Lennie for whatever he does, and the decisions he makes.: â€Å"Lennie never done it in meanness. All the time he done bad things, but never done one of them mean.† George makes the relationship between Lennie and him like a family, George tells Lennie about their dreams, and how they are different to other people, as if it’s going to come true. George gives hope to Lennie making him feel better and have a target so that he won’t feel that he is working for nothing and that they are working to make their dream come true.: † But not us! An’ why? Because †¦because I got you to look after me, and you got me to look after you, and that’s why†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ . Steinbeck tells the readers that although these low-class workers are poor and lonely, they haven’t got a stable home. But George and Lennie are different. For they carry a hope, a dream. This is why George and Lennie are never lonely. Steinbeck also suggests that an American dream in those days, does not come true easily. Overall I think that John Steinbeck wants us to know that we should use Lennie and George as an example to how we should treat people with the same problems as Lennie is facing. Instead of discriminating them, we should always give them a hand of trust to help them. John Steinbeck also suggests  that although Lennie may have mental problems, but from this information, it doesn’t mean that Lennie is useless. He may be stupid, but he is very hard working and may be better than most normal workers working in the ranch. John Steinbeck also wants us to know that although people like Lennie often creates serious problems due to his stupidity, this doesn’t suggest that he can use his low IQ, and stupidity as an excuse to not face the problem and just find another job, not caring what he had done before.

Music Therapy Essay

Music therapy is the use of music by health care professionals to promote healing and enhance quality of life for their patients. Music therapy may be used to encourage emotional expression, promote social interaction, relieve symptoms, and for other purposes. Music therapists may use active or passive methods with patients, depending on the individual patient’s needs and abilities. The idea of music as a healing influence which could affect health and behavior is as least as old as the writings of Aristotle and Plato. Native Americans and other indigenous groups have used music to enhance traditional healing practices for centuries. Traditional Chinese medicine practitioners have used music for healing. Traditional ragas (â€Å"melodic modes† used in classical music in India) have also been used to create different states of mind for healing. The 20th century profession formally began after World War I and World War II when community musicians of all types, both amateur and professional, went to Veterans hospitals around the country to play for the thousands of veterans suffering both physical and emotional trauma from the wars. The patients’ notable physical and emotional responses to music led the doctors and nurses to request the hiring of musicians by the hospitals. It was soon evident that the hospital musicians needed some prior training before entering the facility and so the demand grew for a college curriculum. A very brief historical glimpse of this fascinating profession follows, below. The earliest known reference to music therapy appeared in 1789 in an unsigned article in Columbian Magazine titled â€Å"Music Physically Considered.† In the early 1800s, writings on the therapeutic value of music appeared in two medical dissertations, the first published by Edwin Atlee (1804) and the second by Sam uel Mathews (1806). Atlee and Mathews were both students of Dr. Benjamin Rush, a physician and psychiatrist who was a strong proponent of using music to treat medical diseases. The 1800s also saw the first recorded music therapy intervention in an institutional setting (Blackwell’s Island in New York) as well as the first recorded systematic experiment in music therapy (Corning’s use of music to alter dream states during psychotherapy). Early associations with the interest in music therapy continued to gain support during the early 1900s leading to the formation of several  short-lived associations. In 1903, Eva Augusta Vescelius founded the National Society of Musical Therapeutics. In 1926, Isa Maud Ilsen founded the National Association for Music in Hospitals. And in 1941, Harriet Ayer Seymour founded the National Foundation of Music Therapy. Although these organizations contributed the first journals, books, and educational courses on music therapy, they unfortunately were not able to develop an organized clinical profession. In the 1940s, three persons began to emerge as innovators and key players in the development of music therapy as an organized clinical profession. Psychiatrist and music therapist Ira Altshuler, MD promoted music therapy in Michigan for three decades. Willem van de Wall pioneered the use of music therapy in state-funded facilities and wrote the first â€Å"how to† music therapy text, Music in Institutions (1936). E. Thayer Gaston, known as the â€Å"father of music therapy,† was instrumental in moving the profession forward in terms of an organizational and educational standpoint. The first music therapy college training programs were also created in the 1940s. Michigan State University established the first academic program in music therapy (1944) and other universities followed suit, including the University of Kansas, Chicago Musical College, College of the Pacific, and Alverno College. I was going to pick a few of these and talk about them but, all in all, music therapy helps so many people that I will talk about the overall outcome of what music therapy does for everyone I have listed: Children, adolescents, adults, and the elderly with mental health needs, developmental and learning disabilities, Alzheimer’s disease and other aging related conditions, substance abuse problems, brain injuries, physical disabilities, and acute and chronic pain, including mothers in labor, plus soldiers with PTSD. Scientific studies have shown the value of music therapy on the body, mind, and spirit of children and adults. Researchers have found that music therapy, when used with anti-nausea drugs for patients receiving high-dose chemotherapy, can help ease nausea and vomiting. A number of clinical trials have shown the benefit of music therapy for short-term pain, including pain from cancer. Some studies have suggested that music may help decrease the overall intensity of the patient’s experience of pain when used with pain-relieving drugs. Music therapy can also result in decreased need for pain medicine in some patients, although studies on this topic have shown  mixed results. In hospice patients, one study found that music therapy improved comfort, relaxation, and pain control. Another study found that quality of life improved in cancer patients who received music therapy, even as it declined in those who did not. No differences were seen in survival between the 2 groups. A more recent clinical trial looked at the effects of music during the course of several weeks of radiation treatments. The researchers found that while emotional distress (such as anxiety) seemed to be helped at the beginning of treatment, the patients reported that this effect gradually decreased. Music did not appear to help such symptoms as pain, fatigue, and depression over the long term. Other clinical trials have revealed a reduction in heart rate, blood pressure, breathing rate, insomnia, depression, and anxiety with music therapy. No one knows all the ways music can benefit the body, but studies have shown that music can affect brain waves, brain circulation, and stress hormones. These effects are usually seen during and shortly after the music therapy. Studies have shown that students who take music lessons have improved IQ levels, and show improvement in nonmusical abilities as well. Other studies have shown that listening to music composed by Mozart produces a short-term improvement in tasks that use spatial abilities. Studies of brain circulation have shown that people listening to Mozart have more activity in certain areas of the brain. This has been called the â€Å"Mozart effect.† Although the reasons for this effect are not completely clear, this kind of information supports the idea that music can be used in many helpful ways. Music affects people in ways that no other art or therapy can match; it distracts the mind, slows the body’s rhythms, alters moods, and influences behavior. It seems that music holds universal appeal and provides a bridge in a non-threatening setting between people and individuals within their environment. It facilitates relationships, learning, self-expression and communication. Music captures and helps maintain attention, it is highly-motivating and can be used as a natural â€Å"fortifier† for desired responses. Music therapy can enable people without verbal communication to communicate, participate and express themselves nonverbally. It also ass ists in the development of verbal communication, speech, and language skills. Music provides concrete, multi-layer/sensory stimulation, in visual, tactile, vestibular, and auditory. Researchers have shown that the power of rhythmic drumming helps  those with motor control illnesses, such as Parkinson’s disease. In that it uses regular tempo and rhythms to overcome their fast, slow and sometimes frozen moments. Using music in labor and delivery, helps the mother with improved abilities to walk and decreased pain in labor. In children fighting cancer exposed to singing showed an increase of the antibody IgA – a key component in stimulating immune system that helps the body fight the disease. For those with profound cognitive impairments, autism, and mental and physical disabilities, their brains respond more easily to music therapy than to speech. When in tachycardia, cardiac patients were able to reduce their heart rates to 50-60 beats per minute when listening to music that was exactly 50-60 beats a minute. Mentally handicapped children participating in music therapy programs has increased concentration, performance, self-control, and improved speech. For chronic pain patients, bringing into resonance the vibrations of pain with the vibrations of music alters the psychological perception of pain – even altering the pain or eliminating it. Increasing brainwaves has proven effective for people with ADHD and ADD, and various other learning disabilities. Slowing down the brainwaves has shown to help patients get to sleep, relax, find passion and happiness. The ability of music to change our mood seems to be related to the production of different chemicals in the brain. Endorphins triggered by music listening and music-making provide a kind of natural pain relief, where dopamine leads to feelings of buoyancy, optimism, energy and power. Impacts are even more potent for group music-making, because shared, positive experiences also release oxytocin, a brain tool for building trust. In this way, musical relationships develop encouraging non-verbal and emotional expression and building self-esteem, motivation and confidence. Symposium organizer Gabe Turow, a visiting scholar at the time in Stanford’s Department of Music, compared the effects of music therapy to taking medication. â€Å"We may be sitting on one of the most widely available and cost effective therapeutic modalities that has ever existed†, he also stated â€Å"Systematically, this could be like taking a pill. Listening to music seems to be able to change brain functioning to the same extent as medications, in many circumstances.†