My Life-Changing Decision

MY LIFE CHANGING DECISION ROSS BROWN ENGL 1301-270 SUSAN ROBBINS 4/2/2013 It was the beginning of spring about two years ago- a wet and gloomy day. I was thirty two years old, strung out on meth and homeless. Headed back to prison for the third time, I was faced with a life changing decision, â€Å"do I turn myself in† or â€Å"do I keep running and take my chances†. It was a decision that would affect the ones I love the most, my children. As I sat in the woods behind a run down, drug infested motel, I closed my eyes and all I could see were the tears in my kids eyes every time they came to see me in prison.The ones that depended on me for love and security, were now sad and scared of me. They were as lost as I was. Thoughts began to run through my head, â€Å"have I failed my children as a father†, â€Å"do I want them to go down the same path I went down† or â€Å"do I want to give them a future and a father to be proud of†. Living the life style I lived for ten years, taught me not to trust people. Especially authority figures. So the thought of turning myself in didn’t sound like a good idea to me at the time. It left me puzzled and scared.I could keep running, but the past ten years had been nothing but a continoues cycle that always landed me back in prison and left my children without a father. I’ve always been known for taking chances. Turning myself in would require taking the biggest chance of my life, trusting an authority figure and the system that I thought had already failed me. My Pastor had always told me â€Å"recovery has to start somewhere son†. At that moment, with my children in mind, I had made my decision. I was going to turn myself in.As I opened my eyes, tears streaming down my face, the day seemed to turn from wet and gloomy, to calm and clear. I picked up my phone and made the call. I was to turn myself in to the authorities within two weeks. On April 20,2011 I walked into the F ederal Halfway House. I was tired, physically and mentally. I did not know what to expect or what was expected of me. They gave me three meals a day and a hard mat to sleep on. They provided transportation and the opportunity to become stable, if you wanted it. I wanted it bad! It would require a lot of effort and determination to make it through the system successfully.Not many ex felons make it. They looked at me as another statistic when I first arrived. You only have a certain amount of time to get a job and start your recovery. I struggled, nobody wanted to hire a recovering ex con. I was starting to think I was not going to make it. I was at the end of the dead line, they were wanting go ahead and send me back to prison. On the very last day the phone rang, it was Bill Orr with Gym Bleacher Boards. He asked me to come in right away for an interview. I had to get permission from the job coordinator in order for that to happen.He was not wanting to give me this last chance at ge tting a job. Then out of nowhere my case worker, Ms. Woodson, showed up and said â€Å" just give him this one last chance before you send him back†. When I arrived at Gym Bleacher Boards, I was nervous and had mixed emotions about everything. As I sat there waiting on my interview with Bill, I said a little prayer to myself, â€Å" Lord, please let me get this job, not for me, but for my children†. Bill came out of his office and called me in and I was up front about everything.By the time the interview was over, we were talking as if we had known each other for years. Then he looked over at me and said, â€Å" Ross, everybody deserves a second chance at life, you are hired†. Within two months I was able to get my own place and out of the Federal Halfway House. Now, two years later I got my family back, a good job, and a set of nine month old twin daughters. As I look back on the day I made my decision, I realize I took a chance that changed my life. Now, I am able to give my children a future and a father to be proud of.

Bus Reservation System Essay

Traveling is a large growing business in Pakistan and other countries. Bus reservation system deals with maintenance of records of details of each passenger who had reserved a seat for a journey. It also includes maintenance of information like schedule and details of each bus. We observed the working of the Bus reservation system and after going through it, we get to know that there are many operations, which they have to do manually. It takes a lot of time and causes many errors. Due to this, sometimes a lot of problems occur and they were facing many disputes with customers. To solve the above problem, and further maintaining records of items, seat availability for customers, price of per seat, bill generation and other things, we are offering this proposal of reservation system. By using this software, we can reserve tickets from any part of the world, via internet. This project provides and checks all sorts of constraints so that user does give only useful data and thus validati on is done in an effective way. 2. INTRODUCTION Our project is to computerize traveling company to manage data, so that all the transactions become fast and there should not be any error in transaction like calculation mistake, bill generation and other things. It replaces all the paper work. It keeps records of all bills also, giving to ensure 100% successful implementation of the computerized Bus reservation system. Our reservation system has three modules. First module helps the customer to enquire the availability of seats in a particular bus at particular date. Second module helps him to reserve a ticket. Using third module he can cancel a reserved ticket. 3. SYSTEM STUDY System study aims at establishing requests for the system to be acquired, development and installed. It involves studying and analyzing the ways of an organization currently processing the data to produce information. Analyzing the problem thoroughly forms the vital part of the system study. In system analysis, prevailing situation of problem is carefully examined by breaking them into sub problems. Problematic areas are identified and information is collected. Data gathering is essential to any analysis of requests. It is necessary that this analysis familiarizes the designer with objectives, activities and the function of the organization in which the system is to be implemented. 3.1. Study of existing system * Existing system is totally on book and thus a great amount of manual work has to be done. The amount of manual work increases exponentially with increase in bus services. * Needs a lot of working staff and extra attention on all the records. * In existing system, there are various problems like keeping records of items, seats available, prices of per/seat and fixing bill generation on each bill. * Finding out details regarding any information is very difficult, as the user has to go through all the books manually. * Major problem was the lack of security.

Do Scientists Have Any Special Moral Obligations? Essay

1. Topic: Consider the extent to which knowledge issues in ethics are similar to those in at least one other area of knowledge Do scientists have any ‘special’ moral obligations? Or should science seek to be free from any values and morals? This has been a popular topic that has been discussed throughout not only this century but also, centuries previous to us. While looking at natural sciences and ethics we can see that these two areas of knowledge are quite similar, specifically when looking at theories of ethics and how it can be implemented towards natural sciences. Using reason we can identify this and emotion in order to determine that scientist do not have a moral obligation and should not seek to be free from any values and morals. This will be proven by comparing scientist that have used moral obligations such as the Arabs during the Islamic Golden Age and this is proof that science can prosper when scientists have a moral obligation. But there are also different perspectives of this issue with some people arguing that we are in a different century when the backbone of society has shifted towards science and that we must give science freedom in order to prosper more in the future. This is evident in real life from an article in the Daily Mail, which stated that a scientist took a sapling from Norway, which was infected with a disease in order to accomplish a science experiment. The result was that the disease has spread throughout England killing around 200,000 trees in the process. This article is evident about the theory that scientists need to have a moral obligation such as everyone else in society has to oblige to. The reason being that if scientist get to avoid obligations then this will go against the ethical approach of Kant which states that no individual should be given preferential treatment. This is demonstrated in the given example by showing how a scientist got a sapling into a country with a disease in order to accomplish an experiment and did not care what would happen to other people in society. This demonstrates that to a certain extent ethics does relate to natural sciences because scientists must consider ethics when doing a science experiment. By using different  approaches to ethics such as Kant and utilitarianism, which both agree on the fact that no person is above everyone else, which to a certain extent is evident from some scientists such as the one from the example above. The example about the scientist getting a disease for trees into England for an experiment may seem obvious that scientist should have a moral obligation to a certain extent. But the fact is that this data is from one scientist or organization and that the whole science community should not be judged for the mistake of one of its sectors. This goes with Kant’s approach to ethics to a certain extent because Kant theory states that the moral value of an act is determined by the motive and not the consequences of the act. This can relate to the article to a certain extent because the scientist may have been trying to find something that would benefit society more then it would impact it negatively. Another issue that would go against the belief that scientists need moral obligation is the fact that scientists believe they have the duty to explore the world and try to find answers to their questions. This works with the belief of duty ethics, which states that for a scientist, science is a matter of doing your duty and fulfilling your obligations. The only issue to this argument is that all of the scientists should not be blamed is the fact that this has given a bad image towards scientists to many people not only in England but the world. This illustrates that to a certain extent their should be a rule that will place a moral obligation over the heads of scientist all over the globe, like everyone else in society. Can science co exist when they are under moral obligations that relate to religion. Well many people in society would disagree with this theory, but when looking at history it is evident that religion and science have existed together and have prospered together in history. An example of this would be the Islamic Golden Age, where many important areas of science were studied quite meticulously, such as astronomy where Muslims used their moral obligation, which was the Quran in order to further their studies of astronomy and chemistry. This displays that despite popular claims science and religion can work together to a certain extent and this is displayed through scientists using a moral obligation or following their ethical  beliefs before doing an experiment. This can relate to the example about the scientist who brought the diseased tree to England because that maybe if scientist were in forced to follow a moral obligation that is followed by people in society, he might have not brought that plant. The reasons being is the scientist might have considered the utilitarianism approach to ethics (which was also used by the Muslims during the Golden Age) and consider the fact that he might not believe that this decision would seek the greatest happiness of the greatest number. The only issue with this belief is that we are now in a new century where science unlike in the past is firmly the backbone of society. Because if this we must to a certain extent break the shackles of scientist and free them of values or morals. This is firmly stated in the ted video starring Michael Specter, who states that we are in current situation that has not been seen before in society. The reason being that we are able to do so much for society by using science, but the only issue is the fact that people do not want to believe the results obtained by scientist because it is morally wrong to alter food in order to have more of it. In the video Michael Specter argues that scientist should not have a moral obligation in order to do an experiment, which may help society more, than hurt it. Such as the use of genetically enhanced food which to some people would seem morally incorrect because this is altering natures food. But on the other hand if we continue with genetically enhancing food we could end world hunger in the next decade, since we would be able to send food to countries that could not grow a big amount of food like the countries in Africa. This would become ironic because if we do not believe this then we are going against the utilitarianism approach of ethics, which states that we must try to exert the most happiness from any given situation. For this situation it can be argued that Michael Specter is right to a certain extent that in some occasions maybe scientists should be allowed to ignore their moral obligations in order to pursue their goals in science. The significance of this argument is that scientists are holding a major hand in the future of society as we know it, and as we can see in many events in society we are already learning that maybe science needs to have a  moral obligation like the rest of society. The reason why this would be true is that scientist could affect the world in a negative aspect such as the scientist in England who killed nearly 200,000 trees in order to accomplish a single experiment. This could lead to a problem that maybe science and religion cannot work together and one of them must conquer the other, but to me this is false because we have seen that throughout history we have used religion in order to accomplish science. This is evident in the Islamic Golden Age, which gives hope that people in this century do not need to fight which one is right, but work together in order to prosper in the future. But the other side of this argument would be the fact that scientist cannot have a moral obligation because if this occurs then they would not be able to do their experiment in order to benefit society. Also the fact that science is slowly becoming the backbone of our society and that in order to progress further in the future we must remove the chains off scientists and release them in to the wild in order to have the most success out of science. From the evidence presented in this essay we can see that this questions has many different perspectives that we must take into account. But the fact is that the major evidence in this essay states that science must have a moral obligation because it is evident that science can co exist with ethics, values and morals and that scientists even if they do not like it need to have a moral obligation in order to exert the most happiness in society.

Emergency Management Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Emergency Management - Essay Example In order to avoid these sorts of risks, there was a necessity to effectively manage these issues. Emergency Management is a resultant of such necessity. Hence, Emergency management can be thought of as the effort to avoid risks within as well as outside the country and help in cases of disasters whether natural or not (Jane, 2004). The Emergency management is very important sector which needs to be given a high priority for the kind of work they do. Emergency Management's work is to deal with risks and to avoid them. This is of great help at times of natural calamities. Emergency management can be done at various levels like country-wide, state-wide or it can also be done at group or individual level. The Emergency management process is considered as a continuous process which has four phases namely mitigation, preparedness, response and recovery (IJEM, 2006). Each phase has concentration on one part of the emergency management. Mitigation is the long term phase which tries to avoid risks or minimize the risks and stop them from turning into disasters. Hence, mitigation has the lead role in reduction of risks or threats to maximum extent possible. The mitigative measures are either structural or non-structural. Structural mitigation measures are taken from technology based measures to ensure safety from disasters where as the non-structural measures are the measures like the usage of shutters at hurricane prone areas or attachi ng water heaters to the building walls at regions where probability of earth quakes is high. Some of the structural mitigative measures are the building of dams, flood levees etc. The mitigation phase is economic and unwasteful. The risks are identified through an assessment calculation. The equation says that the hazard specific risk is the product of hazard and the vulnerability of the people to that hazard (IJEM, 2006). The higher hazard specific risk indicates the need for immediate action to solve it. The next phase in the emergency management is the preparedness phase. In the preparedness phase the concentration is on the planning of actions to be taken after a disaster occurs. This phase of planning is carried out by the Emergency managers. The preparedness phase has a few measures that are common to any kind of rescue. These include better communication plans between the team, division of the rescue team into multiple sub-divisions, training the team and emergency services, gathering required infrastructure and building temporary shelters etc. It is always advisable that individuals have their own preparedness but this may also cause confusion among the people and the team. The preparedness phase can be aptly done only with the help of trained team of committed and hard working people. The next phase is the response phase. This phase has the first to react team like ambulance or police etc. who are later followed by a rescue team. Response as the name suggests is the immediate reaction to the disaster occurred. This is done not only by the emergency management team but also by some local organizations like the Red Cross and other public safety agencies (Jane, 2004). The efforts

Employee Relations Management Style adopted by ACME Engineering Essay

Employee Relations Management Style adopted by ACME Engineering - Essay Example This management style reflects the personality and the perspectives of the manager. In this style of management, the subordinates become dependent over the leaders and they require more supervision from the leaders. These autocratic managers give orders to the subordinates and the subordinates are less trusted by these managers. This management style follows the McGregor’s X theory related to motivation towards workers. The autocratic management style also can be divided into two categories i.e. directive autocrat and permissive autocrat (Williams & Smith, 2010). Paternalistic The nature of the paternalistic management style is also dictatorial and the managers take decisions considering the benefits of the business as well as of the employees. In this form of management, the communication among the subordinates and the superiors is descending, but certain feedbacks related to the management, motivates and encourages for the better performance in the workplace. In this style o f management, the managers pay more concentration to the need of the society. These are the managers who consider the employee opinion and they get influenced with the employee feedback for the management. In spite of the employee participation, the paternalistic managers feel that the employees need directions from the superiors to perform. This management style is related to the Maslow’s motivation theory (Lussier, 2011). Democratic In the democratic management style, the employees are allowed by the managers to participate in the decision making process. In this style of management the decision are taken based on the majority of the opinion of the... The researcher states that management style is one of the most important and vital aspects of an organisation. Management style is the process of interaction in between the superiors and the subordinates of any organisation. Management styles are the featured ways to take necessary decisions and to relate to the managers, and the subordinates of an organisation. Management styles involve various formal as well as informal practices regarding open communication and close supervision with the subordinates. Management style assists in taking decisions by incorporating the views and opinions of the members and the people of an organization. Different types of management styles can be implied in an organisation based on task, business culture and personality, characteristics of workforce and leadership skills among others. Almost every management style has certain nature, methods, deficiencies and strengths. There are certain basic forms of management styles such as autocratic, paternalis tic and democratic. These different types of management styles have different characteristics. In relation to the case study, it can be stated that ACME Engineering is an organisation which has also focused on an effective employee relationship, by providing several facilities and cultivating positive attitudes within the employees. The company, founded in the 1980s, has also faced the reformation related to the employee relation. ACME Engineering has involved their employees to take part in various decision making activities

Reasons for doing volunteer work Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Reasons for doing volunteer work - Essay Example Nupur (2008) stated that volunteers possess great energy, optimistic attitude and big hearts. Working with such people and witnessing less fortunate lives gives one the opportunity to improve one’s perception and attitude towards life. This opportunity makes one appreciate small things in life, rather than complaining over petty problems. According to i to i Volunteering (n.d.) stated that alongside changing one’s perception of life, individuals gain experience in different professions and management areas; for example, working for a shelter home may give one the experience of making meals for hundreds of people or managing a fund raising event may give the opportunity to improve management skills. Volunteer work may demand occasional travelling to foreign countries that gives one the chance of learning about the traditions and customs of another culture. Therefore, it can be stated that volunteer work has many personal, as well as communal reasons for attracting people towards

Technology Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 3

Technology - Essay Example gely contingent on age, by and large, every person grounds his personal preference, principles, and decisions on what he or she ascertained from the information obtainable in television. Just as our culture is molded by the effects of television, so as the nature of our way of thinking, is brought about by our constant observation of the so-called â€Å"great cyclopean boob tube†. Television shapes the public opinion as asserted by the agenda-setting theory of mass communication. The gen that we glean out from watching the television affects our perceptions about different issues in the community as it replaces some of our former understandings of the varied disputes and arguments encompassing our environment. Personally, I use television as my prime source of information and current events. Because of its extensive coverage and the quality of the material that you receive from them, it permanently becomes the foundation from which I direct my elucidations of any political and social arguments. On account of the numerous source of news and coverage of current events, the knowledge that I have gained from watching television sets the platform on which I link and rate the accuracy of the information that I encounter from other sources like newspaper, radio and the internet. Momentarily, the quality of radio and TV programming is satisfactory on the whole. By consolidating the different opinions, arguments, information and standpoints gleaned through watching and listening to the radio and television respectively, a more concise data is achieved. That said, there is no need to change anything not unless if there are debarring hurdles that preclude the development of media, in the forms of ra dio and television, from delivering credible and substantial news to the

Neuropsychology paper on Split Brain Research Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Neuropsychology on Split Brain - Research Paper Example The brain is also very segmented in that specific parts of the brain are responsible for different tasks in ability and processing. Even though all of these different parts of the brain operate differently in processing and storage of a particular stimulus, they still communicate with one another in effort to process and integrate sensations more efficiently and more fully. One of the biggest divisions in the brain’s structure is the right and left hemisphere. Each is responsible for its own processing of data and they have to communicate with each other in order to understand the whole picture. As a result of this, a great deal of research has been devoted into split-brain studies in trying to figure out how the two hemispheres work in tandem as well as how they work separately. Like the Earth, the brain is divided into two hemispheres: the right and left hemispheres. They are as much independent as they are intertwined. Researchers and psychologist hypothesize that the divis ion of the two hemispheres makes them more like two minds rather than one. Research has shown that the left hemisphere is more dominant and responsible for processes involving language whereas the right hemisphere is designed to process spatial relationships. This has been proven through experimentation as well as natural medical phenomenon. When a person has a stroke and it impacts an area of the brain, it is observed that functioning that is associated with that area decreases. The way in which we process the environment and information is when these two hemispheres are in sync and are communicating with one another. For example, the left side of the brain controls the right side of the body and the ride side of the brain controls the left side of the body. This is achieved by a connection known as the corpus callosum. The corpus callosum is a thick band of neural fibers, which essentially anchor both hemispheres together in order to facilitate communication. If this connection we re to be severed, then the way in which the hemispheres could communicate would be separated, thus creating two different minds within one. This is never done for research, although it has been used in epileptic patients in order to cure seizures. Research was conducted (not through severing the corpus callosum) on the dual processing of the two hemispheres and designing tests in which the effects of separating the corpus callosum could be simulated and the behavior observed. This involved a combination of visual recognition tasks as well as tactile response tasks. In the visual tasks, their vision was altered in some way in which the disruption of communication occurred to where only one side of the brain was processing, while the other was missing the sensory input. In tactile response experiments, participants were asked to identify objects. Depending on which hand it was placed in had an effect on whether they could verbalize the recognition of the object. The research was able to conclude that there were remarkable differences in the way the two minds operate independently of each other. In fact, it is shown from some research that by having a set of brains versus one unified one leads to increased ability to dual process and complete tasks (Gazzaniga, 1967). Since the first studies and research that were conducted into split brain research

Leading and Managing in Early Years Settings Assignment

Leading and Managing in Early Years Settings - Assignment Example In this case, through effective education, the leaders have a direct impact on the general quality of the setting. All practitioners working with the young children have a responsibility of developing the communication skills for the children. Whether the practitioners work pre-school setting, in the playgroup or with the toddlers, they have a key role in ensuring that they develop the children to their full potential. Besides, effective learning affects feelings and behavior of the children and, therefore it is vital in the early years setting to ensure friendly communication. The leaders and managers ensure quality practices of the setting by putting in place an example regarding how the staff interacts with the children they teach and care for. The interaction between the staffs and the children that they teach helps in securing high-quality teaching and learning. Children and staff are in the most effective early years setting with an inclusive, warm and trusting relationship. Be sides, the emotional well-being and development of the children are also other vital ingredients in the setting. According to Rodd, effective learning strategies in the early year setting helps in the identification of the communication difficulties that exist between various children. Investigations have showed that most of the students that are prone to these difficulties are those that start schools with delayed skills in language because of lack of responsive parenting.

None Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 30

None - Essay Example Precisely, the Toyota Prius sold many vehicles to over eighty nations. The advertisements and word of mouth has influenced the demand for the Toyota Prius. The iPhone competes with the increasing alternatives, and the prices have dropped. The distribution of the iPhones has intensified, and the products are available in different parts of the globe. The adverts in maturity stage focus on promoting the product by influencing the consumers to increase the purchasing power (Cant et al 242). Fundamentally, the adverts aim at creating a competitive edge in the ever-competitive market through a differentiation strategy. The iPod advert is an excellent example of product in the decline stage of life cycle. With introduction of new products, iPod sales have decreased. Similarly, a notable decline of interest from the consumers and retailers is evident. Maximum competition has occurred leading to negative sales growth, as well as, lower profits. Cant et al argues that stagnation characterize the decline stage of product life cycle

Great chain of being Term Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Great chain of being - Term Paper Example However, the passage of time saw this trend slowly fade away and the classes that were hitherto much respected soon lost significance. A good example of this can be seen from the Tudor Dynasty which tried as hard as it could to maintain the existence of the classes but at the same time developed policies that weakened the chain further. According to Bucholz and Key (87), the Great Chain of Being was a system of governance that classified the English people by class, age and sex. From the divisions, it was able to differentiate who was and was not a knight, an esquire, or a gentleman (Bucholz and Key 11). The first of this class was the royalty and gentlemen who were the rulers of the community. This was the followed by the gentlemen and even among the gentlemen, there were still classes where the first and principal were the king, dukes, among others while next to these were knights, esquires, and simple gentlemen. Despite the strong social hierarchy, the passage of time saw this chain becoming weaker and weaker with the climax coming during the Tudor Dynasty. However, the Tudor Dynasty struggled to maintain the chain but at the same time carried out policies and actions that only led to weaken the Great Chain of Being further (Key and Bucholz 17). In the beginning of the 15th century, the England went through a series of wars that affected both the economy and leadership of the nation. Following the war that was going on in the West Country, the king together with his advisers chose Richard, the then duke of York to be the protector of the Realm. By 1461, the duke of Yolk rebelled against the Lancastrian monarchy that he had sworn to serve loyally. Soon after Richard had taken the throne, he was killed in cold blood by his own son Edward who took power in 1461. However, the Lancastrians went on making rival claims based on origin as well as formal vows of loyalty and this led to widespread violence in the entire country. During the 1460’s and

Flags of Our Fathers Essay Example for Free

Flags of Our Fathers Essay Context: Flags of our Fathers was a bit of change for Eastwood. The movie is about the famous photograph of the raising of the flag on Iwo Jima by soldiers. Eastwood wanted to show war at its most brutal and that is what he created. Audience: People who like war or action movies and who are interested in war. Mostly for young adults and above. Purpose: The purpose of this film is to entertain the audience. Brief synopsis of text: Flags of our Fathers is about 3 soldiers who raised the U. S. flag on Iwo Jima along with 3 other soldiers who recently died in battle. So the 3 soldiers were taken out of battle and sent back to the U.S. and were classed as heroes because of the most famous image of the raising of the U.S. flag in Iwo Jima and the government made them as heroes to the public to promote selling war bonds. But the 3 soldiers didnt believe they were heroes at all. Ideas relevant to Journeys: In Flags of our Fathers, the 3 men who were taken out of battle and were known as heroes by the public and the government used them to promote war bonds did not regard themselves as heroes. They didnt believe to be heroes but the public did. This shows from the publics imaginative journeys is that they are thinking of how these men, who are known as heroes to survive such a brutal battle and to be in the most famous photograph in U.S. history. The photograph that they show isnt them in the image, they were the soldiers who placed the replacement flag on top of the mountain. But no one knows that. In the first scene or at the beginning of the film, we see a soldier running through a battlefield that has been torn to pieces and keeps hearing a voice. He looks around everywhere to see where this voice is coming from. Then the camera zooms in on the soldiers face and suddenly it was just a dream. The effect of the close-up shot of his face creates a feeling of being involved and the man was afraid of something. We are then taken to a scene where a old age person has woken up to his dream and is sweating and shaking just like if you had a nightmare. This is related to imaginative journeys because the man is having a dream of the past where he was at war. He is remembering and reflecting on the time he was at war and gets woken up by it. In his dream he was afraid, when he woke up from his dream he was sweating and shaking. A dream is a journey through the mind. The lighting of this scene creates a wiry and dark feeling to the viewers who see a lone soldier looking through a torned battlefield hearing a voice in the distance. This is creating suspense through the use of colours and shadows and gets the viewer imagining what is going to happen next. Suddenly we hear a loud sound which was probably a gun been fired and then we are taken to a scene where an old man is woken up. We now notice it was a dream. The man still thinks about upon this day. So the viewers are now imagining what had happened on that day. Was the man wounded or did a person who we couldnt see got shot. We never know until we see what happens in the film. This creates suspense in the audience. Techniques used to present relevant ideas: 1. Use of suspense to keep the audience entertain throughout the film. From the first scene the viewers had no idea it was a dream until they see the old man waking up from that particular dream, sweating and shaking. The scene creates suspense to get the viewers thinking and imagining what is going to happen next which is based on imaginative journeys because the audience is thinking beyond what has happened to the man at that particular time of that dream we saw. 2. The use of lighting in the first scene was very dull and dark. It created a wiry looking scene of a torn battlefield with a lone soldier walking around. We hear voices in the distance which creates more suspense. Dark lighting from this scene can represent an old memory which should have been forgotten at the time the man had the dream. 3. Use of dramatic irony is also used in this film which is something that the audience knows but the characters dont know of. But in this film, its the other way round, the lone soldier in the beginning scene knows what is happening and is afraid but the audience doesnt know whats happening. All we know of is that it was a dream from his past memories. As I said, it creates suspense to keep the audience entertain throughout the film and this is based on imaginative journeys because we have witnessed a scene where is was a dream and a journey through the mind of past memories. Links to set text in terms of ideas and techniques: Flags of our Fathers can be linked with Othello by the use of some of the techniques used in the film such as dramatic irony. In Othello we know that Iago has planned to get Othello thinking that Desdemona is having an affair with Cassio. The audience knows already what is happening but Othello doesnt know that Iago is planning something. From the film, it is the other way round where the lone soldier in the scene knows what is having but the audience is kept in suspense and have to find out later what happens to him from that particular scene which was a journey through the mind or a dream. In Othello the audience is kept in suspense when Iago keeps his plan going well by telling Othello that Desdemona is with Cassio. The audience doesnt know what is going to happen next same as in the scene of the dream in Flags of our Fathers. In the film the audience is kept in suspense from the very first scene where the lone soldier is walking through a torned battlefield and we see he is afraid. Then we are taken to a scene where an old man has woken from this dream. We are then kept in suspense by this scene because the audience wants to know what happens next and they stay and watch the film to see what has happened after he had woken up from his memory of the war. Both Othello and Flags of our Fathers display both suspense and irony to keep their audience entertained and kept in suspense through the use of lighting, irony and imaginative journeys. The audience imagine in their minds what is going to happen next. In mostly all plays and films, everyone in the audience wants to know what will happen next and will stay to watch to see what happens. If there was no suspense or irony, it would be pointless to stay and watch because the audience would know what has happened. Without imagining, we dont know anything. So both of these texts display imaginative journeys.

Examining The Definition Of Western Orientalism Cultural Studies Essay

Examining The Definition Of Western Orientalism Cultural Studies Essay Orientalism transfigures the study of Middle East. Edward Said defines, Orientalism as the ethnocentric way Europe approaches the Asian regions.  Europeans looked upon the people of the Orient or the East and Arabic states as gullible and devoid of energy and initiative.   The invasion of European nations proved a radical decline in the natural prosperity of every nation they stumbled upon. The matters of the European sense of superiority and interest in control can also be seen in orientalist scholarship. Backward and barbaric, fundamentally incapable of social, political, or technological modernization, these were the descriptions of the non-western societies given to them by the people of west. Orientalism is the term that signifies the existing dislike and discrimination at the bottom of the political, economic, social and cultural discourses that were created to justify the imperialist Wests invasion and domination over the non-West. In other words, Orientalism was brought o ut as a matter of historical judgment. He illustrates Asian and Islamic Cultures during European imperialism and Europes goals of maintaining power and domination of non-Europeans.He argued that Europe used the Orient and imperialism as a symbol of its strength and superiority. Said suggested that Orientalists are treated as others-in this case, Muslims and Asians-and as objects defined not in terms of their own discourses, but solely in terms of standards and definitions imposed on them from outside. Among the influences underlying these definitions was, in Saids view, a long-standing Western concern with presenting Islam as opposed to Christianity. Said divided orientalism into two categories, one is the latent Orientalism which  is the unconscious, untouchable certainty about what the Orient is. Its basic content is static and unanimous. The Orient is seen as separate, eccentric, backward, silently different, sensual, and passive. It has a tendency towards despotism and away from progress. It displays feminine penetrability and supine malleability. Its progress and value are judged in terms of, and in comparison to, the West, so it is always the other, the conquerable, and the inferior whereas manifest Orientalism  is what is spoken and acted upon. It includes information and changes in knowledge about the Orient as well as policy decisions founded in Orientalist thinking. It is the expression in words and actions of Latent Orientalism. Any humanist would see that before the west intervened, each individual culture followed to their habitat, past experiences, and past knowledge.   Even though they were not modernized they still would have survived on their own just as they had been doing it for centuries.  Ã‚   However, a race of people could not be heartless enough to admit their destruction with a clear conscious and no remorse.   They would not pack their bags and leave a deserted crippled country. Orientalism and Western domination of the rest of the world. Understanding Orientalism is useful in the context of South Asia, as it enables us to understand the relationship between political hegemony and knowledge. Said says Orientalism exposes the European will to domination to create an orderly discipline of study a set of institutions, a latent vocabulary a subject matter, and subject races. It represents the power to make philological distinctions and the institutional force to make statements about Oriental mentality, the inscrutable Oriental, the unreliable and degenerate Oriental. The concept of Orientalism is useful in analysing prevailing literature, generalised and essentialised ideas such as Hinduism and Islam. It is also important in understanding womens movements and feminist discourses in South Asia. Many South Asian women used the criticism of Orientalism to criticise literature, imaginations and situations affecting women. Yet, the idea of Orientalism and the Western imagery of the Orient can be used ideologically by extremis t nationalists and fundamentalists who suppress the freedom of thought under the pretence of defending the Orient and fighting with the West. Misunderstanding the project of Orientalism may increase hostility between people and glorify myths such as West and Orient. It is no longer desirable, in our globalised world, to say that only South Asians can talk about South Asia, or only Hindu can talk about Hinduism and explain Indian religious traditions. For example, Tibetan Buddhism was scorned again during the Victorian period, when Buddhist studies were growing into an academic discipline. As depicted by Prof Lopez, The nineteenth-century constructions of Tibetan Buddhism are part of the heritage of Orientalism, described by Edward Said as a European mode for gaining authority over the Orient, a mode whereby Orientals were controlledpolitically and epistemologicallyby scholars in Europe and colonial officials in Asia. An important part of this scholarship was the self-aggrandizing ab ility of European scholars to write histories of Oriental civilizations that identified their origins, their classical periods, and their decline. The last of these (also called the modern period) was marked by decay and impotence. The modern period was also contemporaneous with European colonialism, one of whose products for the West was knowledge about the East. According to the exponents of this new field of knowledge, the facts and artefacts of the classical period were rescued by the emergent Western scholarship from the custody of the Orientals, who failed to recognize them for what they were and hence lost any right to them. The Orientalist would henceforth speak for the Oriental through heredity of scholarship whose task it was to represent the Orient because the Orient was incapable of representing itself. This representation of the East by the West carried with it the valuation of what was true and what was false, what was worthy and what was worthless. Furthermore, accord ing to Edward Saids  Orientalism, the texts produced by European Orientalists had the power to create not only knowledge but also the very reality they appear to define by delimiting the object of knowledge. Said argues that Orientalism also had more directly political effects: its representations of the Orient provided a justification for imperialism and a foundation for colonial policies and institutions. (Prof Donald S. Lopez Jr, 1994) Iraq is the ultimate illustration of how Orientalist conventional wisdom had it wrong.   Arguing that this Orientalism has driven America to contempt and discriminate against the Orient, and eventually to invade Afghanistan and Iraq as well as arousing certain public opinion against North Korea, may be criticized for its ignorance or exaggeration, especially when the world has observed the events of September attack (9/11) and the North Korean nuclear weapon issue.During the past two centuries Europe has ideologically constituted Asia in relation to itself with the purpose of putting its hand in it. In the past decade, Asian music and culture has spread throughout the West like poppies. The problem is that this Orientalism is still present, long after the imperialist invasions. Bushs policies are the evidence for the existence of Orientalism. The Bush administration invaded Iraq claiming that Iraq had Weapon of Mass destruction (WMD) and that Saddam Hussein was an unforgivable dict ator. As the supposed Weapon of mass destruction (WMD) have not yet been found and as Hussein was the representative of Iraq, chosen by its people, it is natural that the Iraqi people pronounce curse against Bush. With the amount of west intervention in Iraq, it was not possible for the US military force to occupy Iraq forever. During the Bush administration, he announced that the US military force will be withdrawn upon the establishment of a democratic government in Iraq, the US will probably still try to dominate Iraq in one way or another as long as they have an oil interest in Iraq. Their dominance, however, will not last for long, and the US army cannot help but leave Iraq. This is just a matter of time. Americans or people in the world felt over 9/11 attack. Nobody can deny that 9/11 was an atrocity that aroused anger around the world. The world, however, is aware that the broad antagonism of the west especially Americans against the Arab world was one of the main causes of 9 /11, and that the terrorist Bin Laden himself was, in the past nurtured by the US to fight against the USSR. In other words, 9/11 was a trap set by the US themselves then. The war in Iraq, perceptions have proven particularly relevant to the conduct of military operations. However, because Western outlook of this critical region, and forming the personal collection of most Westerners, are predetermined by each individuals experience within his/her culture. This experience is mostly shaped by the images, ideas and impressions retained from exposure to popular culture, media and more or less elaborate programmes or readings, and depending on ones educational accomplishments, personal or professional interests. The common characteristic between all these individual experiences, as far as the Middle-East is concerned, is that they are all immersed in a predominant consensus or discourse about the representation of this critical region of the world. Likewise, the launch of the Arabic lan guage Al-Jazeera satellite channel nearly ten years ago, transformed the television landscape in the Middle East. And over the past three years the channel has gained global reputation and became a name which governments and decision-makers across the world can hardly ignore. Even, In  The Lord of the Rings  film trilogy, the costumes of the Haradrims, a human race who allies itself with the enemy, are Middle-Eastern in style. When children are fed this kind of negative bias against the Middle-East, the subliminal cultural consciousness of whole generations is enduringly and profoundly impacted. The normality of such bad depictions clearly illustrates what several Western intellectuals qualify at best as acceptable political in correctness directed against Middle-Easterner The war declared on terrorism after the massacre of 9/11 in New York, with the subsequent military operations in Afghanistan and in Iraq, revives this tradition of improving interventionism by carrying on the old orientalist-related topic. Far from destroying the Great Divide between the West and the Rest, the wars of a new type support and separate the division between civilized and barbaric in the era of globalization. The explanation of ideology of the American, according to which there would no longer be outside or inside, because no country would now be released from terrorism. What now prevails is a sober vision of globalization, that of a fight to the death between two worlds, extending over all continents, between America, and the Islamic terrorism. But this originality goes back to schemes that are as old as the United States itself, insofar as this self-proclaimed exceptional, autonomous and providential imperial republic has an idealistic or ideal component qualified as es sential. Edward Said also refers to the medias ability to control and filter information as an invisible screen, releasing what it wants people to know and blacking out what it does not want them to know. To accomplish his goal Said sets up a methodological argument within which he addresses three main concepts. First, that imperialism is not about a specific moment in history, but rather a continuing interdependent dialogue between subject peoples and the dominant hegemony of the empire. Secondly, through the production of popular western literature authors have maintained a sense of continued supremacy upon subject peoples. This theorization that postcolonial domination has been institutionalized within western literature is a reference to the idea of a continuing interchange of ideas between dominant culture and oppressed peoples. Lastly, Saids comparison of colonialism to racism is integral to his argument about the continuation of oppression in a postcolonial environment. Throughout his analysis of culture, he focuses on the limitations of subjugated peoples within western culture and the reasons for their continued oppression. In Covering Islam (1997), Said postulates that, if knowledge is power, those who control the modern Western media (visual and print) are most powerful because they are able to determine what people like or dislike, what they wear and how they wear it, and what they should know and must not know about themselves. Said claims that untruth and falsehood about Islam and the Muslim world are consistently propagated in the media, in the name of objectivity, liberalism, freedom, democracy and progress Conclusion In this contemporary world, there is at least more than fifty percent intervention of the west towards the rest of the world. Edward Said argues in Orientalism, his landmark 1978 study of the relationship between the production of knowledge and the exercise of imperial power, the attitudes and images created by this tradition compose a closely bound system of created knowledge, of willed human work, about the Eastern other which the imperial powers of Europe and North America have historically used to invite and justify political and economic intervention and imperialism. Critics who have studied Orientalism in Europe, especially in nineteenth-century literature, have pointed out that there is much that can be learned about the Wests image of itself through the way Western writers have depicted the Orient. The influential popular magazine, The National Geographic, established in 1988 used to represent a window on the world for millions of middle class Americans at a time when movies and televisions were either not yet invented or in their infancy. The plain picturesque coverage of the Middle-East, by this magazine, showed the Arabs as exotic Orientals Mass media and movie industry developed throughout the twentieth century to become the main spreader of information, images and attitudes about the region to the public at large. The Arab Muslim progressively became a figure in American popular culture. No one can deny that orientalism has made great contributions to the study of Arab culture and history, and to the religion of Islam. Orientalists were and still are standing as experts in Arab-Islamic culture. They accumulated very rich knowledge and experience in this field of inquiry. In fact they made tremendous contribution to research, translation, and ultimately to the preservation and indexing of Arab-Islamic heritage.

Catering Industry | Marketing Essay

Catering Industry | Marketing Essay Catering Industry is a very wide industry, it has been categorised in different food outlets which are based on the nature of the demand, availability of place, availability of raw material and size of the organization. The catering industry has got different natures of outlets and catering can be organized at customers place. The following are some of the catering establishments: 1.1. Restaurant: The major known food outlet is a restaurant. A restaurant can be a part of the hotel or can be stand alone. A restaurant is an establishment that serves the customers with prepared food and beverages to order, to be consumed on the premises. The term restaurant includes a diversity of different venues and a diversity of styles of cuisines. Different Restaurants have got their own quality or nature of work. A restaurant can be a speciality restaurant or multi-cuisine, Fast food or may have got other nature. Typically a hotel, where the food items are provided for the convenience of the residents and for the hotel to maximize their potential revenue, such restaurants are often open to non-residents also (Lundburg D.E.1985). 1.2. Transport Catering: Transport Catering is the second widest class if catering. After restaurants, Transport catering is the catering which caters for most of the customers. Transport catering includes an airline catering, Railway catering, Ship catering etc. Serving the food and beverages to passengers, before, during and after a journey on trains, aircraft and ships and in buses or private vehicles is called as transport catering. Different transport caterings have got different nature. Sometimes transport catering services are to be offered to the general public who lives near to the surrounding of the service provider. The major forms of modern day transport catering are airline-catering, railways catering, ship catering and surface catering in coaches or buses which operate on long distance routes (Lawson F., 1994). 1.2.1. Airline Catering: Airline catering is the most expensive and important catering segment. Airline catering includes to provide food and beverages to the customer who are travelling by aircraft and restaurants situated in the airport area. In new era latest airports have a variety of food and beverage outlets to cater to the increasing number of air passengers. Catering to passengers en route is normally contracted out to a flight catering unit of a reputed hotel or to a catering contractor or to the catering unit operated by the airline itself as an independent entity (Jones P., 1995). 1.2.2. Railway Catering: Another segment of the transport catering is railway catering. It is basically includes; catering to railway passengers at the time of running journey as well as during halts at different railway stations is called railway catering. Long journey, especially travelling by train for long distances is sometimes exhausting; consequently a regular supply of variety of different refreshment (Food and Beverages) choices facilitates to make the journey less monotonous. On-board meal services are also provided on long distance trains (Kocher E M., 1960). 1.2.3. Ship Catering: This is once again another segment of the transport catering. Catering to the cargo crew and ship passengers is called Ship Catering. It includes providing the excellent services to both the internal customers and external customers. All the royal ships have kitchens and different kind of the restaurants on board these restaurants serves both A la Carte and Table Dhà ´te menus. The quality of service and facilities offered depends on the class of the ship and the price the passengers are willing to pay. There are cruises to suit every pocket. They range from room service and cocktail bars to speciality dining restaurants (International Labour Office, 1946). 1.3. Surface Catering: Surface Catering is stated to the catering outlets; which caters to passengers travelling by surface transport such as buses and private vehicles. This kind of the organizations are generally situated near to the bus terminals or may be near to the highways. There are different criteria for the entrepreneurship for these organizations, these establishments are owned by government or could be owned by the private owners. There is positive growth has been noticed in a survey by the United Kingdom government for this kind of the organizations. Of late there has been a growing popularity of Punjabi style eateries called dhabas on the highways (Banerjee S.C., 2000). 2. Types of Catering: Catering Industry is one of the major industries worldwide. The catering industry has segmented in to different- different diminutive sub industries but there are two major types of catering On premises and Off premises catering. These two types of caterings can be stated as large scale and small scale catering. On-premise catering for any function includes banquet, reception, or event that is held on the premise of the organization or provision that is organize or supporting the function. On-premise catering is totally different from off-premise catering, in the off premise catering; function takes place in a secluded location, such as a customers home, in the garden, in any event , or may be in the parking area, and the staff, food, and decor must be transported to the secluded location. In the off premise catering most of the times food is prepared in the central kitchen or may be in the main kitchen and after preparation this food is delivers to the different outlets that is clients location. Part or all of the production of food may be executed or finished at the location of the event (Buttle F., 1996). There are different statements about the categorizations of the catering industry. Catering can also be divided in other segments as public catering and corporate / business catering. Social or public catering includes such events as weddings, bar and get together, high school meeting, birthday parties, and charity events or may be sports related events. Business catering includes such events as association conventions and meetings, civic or community meetings, corporate sales or stockholder meetings, recognition banquets, new product commencing, training camps may be educational or work, provider and consumer meeting, service awards banquets, and entertaining in hospitality collection (Buttle F., 1996). 2.1. On-Premise Catering: As On premise catering is the most important catering because, basically in the On premise catering all the arrangement of the services and function done by the organizations itself. For example, a caterer within a food and beverage organization will prepare and cater all of the needs of the customer without taking any food or services out of the competence of the organization. In United Kingdom there are many catering organizations have particular rooms on-premise to give the services to the private-party function. A big catering organization could have a layout specially designed and separated in more than one dining room and attached to a centralized industrial food production kitchen. These different dining rooms may be available at the same time to maintain the operations in the outlet and for stipulation and brim over seating. In addition, these dinning rooms can be used and rented for the private party such as wedding, get together or birthday party celebration and may require their own specialized service and menu options. Other examples of on-premise catering include hospital catering, school, college catering (Shock P. J. et al. 2001). 2.2. Off Premises Catering: Off Premise catering is the segment of the catering; in which service is provided to the customer outside of the organization which may be away from the base catering unit. There is one instance of a food production facility which is a self-supporting commissary kitchen unit used exclusively for the preparation of meal which is to be delivered at other places. Other examples of production facilities include, but are not limited to, hotel, restaurant, and club kitchens. In most cases there is no existing kitchen facility at the location where the food is served. Caterers provide single-event foodservice, but not all caterers are created equal. Off Premise Catering is basically separated as three different categories: Party Food Caterers: Party Food caterers basically supply the food and drink items for a particular event. Party food caterers believe in the last minute preparation, they leave semi cooked food and leave any last-minute preparation, plus service and cleanup, to others. Hot Buffet Caterers: It is basically called as distance cooking in which hot buffet caterers provide hot foods to the pre arranged function, that are delivered from their commissaries in insulated containers. Hot Buffet Caterers sometimes send their contracted staff for serving the food and take the extra charges from the contractor. Full-Service Caterers: Full service caterers believe in both of the menus, A la Carte and Table Dhà ´te menu. They also arrange contracted staff for serving food at the event, and all the necessary catering concern utensils and equipments which are chinaware, different glasses for different uses, crockery, cutleries, tables and seating, tents, and so on. They can arrange for other services, like interior and music, as well. In brief, a full-service caterer can plan and execute an entire event, not just the food for it. (Shock P. J. et al. 2001). There are some other sub-divisions of catering industry which are as follows: 2.3. Outdoor Catering: Outdoor catering is the division of the catering industry. Basically outdoor catering comprises the stipulation of food and beverages away from home and indoor catering establishments. Venue for the outdoor catering may be different as per the customers choice. In new era most of the 5 star hotels, restaurants and different catering organizations trying to fulfil this growing demand. There are choices in the menu and set up for the event could be different depend on the customers willing to spend money. Outdoor catering includes catering for functions such as weddings; get together parties, birthday parties and conventions. 2.4. Retail Store Catering: In the United Kingdom market some big retail stores, are facilitating the additional facilities apart of their primary business. These stores keep the facility of dinning. Basically retail store catering develops when large departmental stores wants to facilitate their customers by provide food and beverages in the stores. These stores treat their customers as a part of their retailing perception. It is not convenient for the customers to take a break from shopping, to have some food and drinks at a different location and it can consume customers valuable time as well. Thus provoke the need for some sort of a dining facility in the retail store itself. This style of catering is becoming more popular and varied nowadays (Nystrom P H., 2009). 2.5. Club Catering: Club Catering is basically to facilitates the club members in terms of Food and Beverage. This type of catering includes a limited numbers of the consumers basically who are a part of the club. Here are some instances of clubs for people with similar interests are turf clubs, golf clubs, cricket clubs etc. In these kinds of clubs; quality of the food and beverages tend to be high and the services provides is good standard. With in the high quality of environment prices of the menu keep really low as compared to the big catering organizations. Night clubs are generally located in big cities that have a high class population. They offer entertainment with good food and expensive drinks (Loader G., 1974). 2.6. Welfare Catering: The Welfare Catering is basically the service of the food and beverages to the peoples as the communal responsibility determined by the acknowledge authority. This grew out of the welfare state concept, prevalent in western countries. The Welfare Catering includes providing food and beverages in the hospitals, Government schools, colleges, the armed forces and prisons (Loader G., 1974). 2.7. Industrial Catering: The Industrial Catering is the provision of service of food and beverages to the people who are working in industries and factories at highly subsidised rates. The criteria of service of industrial catering is quiet different depends on the nature of the organization. It is based on the assumption that better fed employees at concessional rates are happy and more productive. In the organizations where number of employees is really high may be undertaken by the management itself, or a contract can be established with the professional caterers. Depending on the choice of the menu suggested by the management, catering contractors undertake to feed the workforce for a fixed period of time at a predetermined price (Coates D.S., 1971). 2.8. Leisure-Linked Catering: This type of catering refers to the provision of food and beverages to people engaged in rest and recreation activities. Basically this type of catering includes the selling of food and beverages, refreshments through different cut outs and stands at theme parks, big exhibitions, photo galleries or entertainment places such as live theatres and cinema halls and so on. As the leisure and tourism spreading widely, the increase in the availability of leisure time and big payouts by employers for leisure activities has made it a very profitable form of catering (Heyward P., 2002). 3. Menu: For the Catering Industry a menu is the list of dishes which are ready for service or available food or beverage items for the customers to select from. The food items which are available for the customers to choose from are divided in to different categories. This depends on the time of meal taken or the particular event. The assemblage of a menu is the most important part of a caterers work. Menu Planning considered as an art which can be obtained by the time spending, experience and study. The menu is a link between the customer and the catering organization. A menu for an organization should be carefully considered and then planned by the establishments professionals, namely the food and beverage manager, the executive chef, and the food and beverage controller (Cousins J., 2002). The word menu came in consideration dates back to 1718, but the provision of planning and developing such a food and beverages list is much older. In the early times, the escriteau (bill of fare) or menu of traditional meals was displayed on one of the wall with the instruction for the kitchen staff to follow the order in which dishes to be served. In the old era it is said that, menus were maintained as a big glossary with different sections covering a diversity of dishes. As time passed the lengthy single copy menu became smaller but increased in number allowing a number of copies placed in table increased. Depending on the establishment and the occasion, the menu may be plain or artistic in its presentation (Davis B et al., 1998). 3.1 Types of Menu: In a restaurant, there are two different types of menus which are differentiated by the manner in which they are served and priced. A menu may be a la carte or table dhà ´te. 3.1.1. A La Carte Menu: An A La Carte Menu, is a multiple choice menu, with each dish priced separately. If a guest wishes to place an order, an a la carte is offered, from which one can choose the items one wants to eat. Traditionally, the original menus that offered consumers choices were prepared on a small chalkboard, a la carte in French; so foods chosen from a bill of fare are described as à   la carte, according to the board. In an a la carte menu all items are cooked to order including the sauces that are made with wine, cream or mustard. Depending on the dish chosen by the guest, the cooking time will vary. It is necessary to inform the guests about the time the preparation might take. An extensive a la carte menu is impressive but involves a huge amount of mise-en-place. 3.1.2. Table Dhà ´te Table dhà ´te is a French phrase which literally means hosts table. It is used to indicate a fixed menu where multi-course meals with limited choices are charged at a fixed price. Such a menu may also be called prix fixe (fixed price). It usually includes three or five courses meal available at a fixed price. It is also referred to as a fixed menu. Because the menu is set, the cutlery on the table may also already be set for all of the courses, with the first course cutlery on the outside, working in towards the plate as the courses progress. In olden days, when the inns or dining establishments offering a limited choice in the menu was not preferred by the guests, they started offering an a la carte menu for guests to select the type of food they wanted to eat. Fixed menus or table dhote menus are still used in various forms such as buffet menus, conference packages and on special occasions. A table dhote menu comprises a complete meal at a predetermined price. It is sometimes prin ted on a menu card or as in the case of banquets, it is agreed upon by the host of the party. A banquet style of fixed menu has more elaborate choices ranging from the soup to the dessert. For the banquets, the hosts invariably fix or select the menu in consultation with the hotel staff in advance. Most of the banquet food served in India is normally of Indian food. For this, a printed format offering a choice of vegetarian and non-vegetarian dishes is prepared, from which the guests make their choice. Western style fixed menus normally provide the choice of a starter or soup, a main course, and finally a dessert. In each course there could be a choice of dishes to suit the tastes of individual guests. Table dhote menus should be well planned and balanced. As the guest is not given a chance to plan his own meal, the meal should be interesting, without any similarity in the colour and taste of the courses as well as being palatable, delicious and well presented. If the main course is heavy, then the first course should be lighter, and act as an appetite stimulant for the courses to follow. Dishes that are heavy and hard to digest should be avoided. The colour, varieties of ingredients used, and the garnishes should, if possible, be different for each course. Fixed menus are prevalent in transport catering which include air, rail, and sea passengers. The guests have a variety of fixed or table dhote menus, with virtually no choice offered to the passengers (except the first class air passengers). Cruise liners may have elaborate fixed menus with multiple choices built into each course. 4. Menu Formats: Menus are also presented in different formats. Menus are not always printed on heavy paper and handed to the customer. Another popular format is the tabletop menu. This type of menu is oftentimes referred to as a table-top display or a table tent. It is used primarily to promote your money makers. The problem seems to be that guests dont usually read them. Or, if they do, they usually read them after they have given their orders to the server (John A. Drysdale, 1997) There is also the menu board or chalkboard. Think of this as a tabletop menu on steroids. A menu board is necessary if you operate a quick service facility and may also be required if you have a separate take-out area in your full-service restaurant. The chalkboard is popular in restaurants that wish to convey a European image. Like the typical table tent, though, guests usually dont read them completely until after they put in their orders. Some restaurants offer verbal menus. Many properties have their servers recite the food specials of the day at tableside. We prefer a printed menu insert instead of the time-consuming speech. Guests are usually chatting away and arent always eager to sit still long enough to hear the full spiel. Restaurants that offer interactive menus allow guests to mix and match their orders. For instance, in some Italian restaurants guests can select the type of pasta they want, the type of sauce, and so on (Lewis, 2002). You also might see this with some bingo catering menus. These menus have several lists of food and beverage items. Eventually he or she ends up with a personalized menu for the event. Some restaurants use wireless technology (WIFI) to display their wine lists. Sometimes a computer terminal is installed at each table. Or the floor manager brings a laptop to the table. Guests can interact, for example, by entering their desired entrees into the system and waiting for the computer to make wine suggestions. Another format is the chefs menu. This is the one you spring on people who dont want to see a menu (Lewis, 2002). They say, Let the chef order for me. There are three ways to go: You can ask the customer to give you some advance notice about what he or she wants, and then have those things ready upon arrival; you let the guest decide, or you can select items from your current menu(s). A third alternative is for you to put something unique together, something that doesnt appear on the regular menu(s). A potential downside of options 1 and 3 is you have to price them quickly; you need to know your numbers, as the bookkeeper may not be around. And you would need to know if you have enough food items and the right wines to pair with them, or if you have to make a special run to the vendor in order to get what you need Jack (Lewis, 2002). 5. Menu Planning: Menu is the statement of food and beverage items available or provided by food establishments primarily based on consumer demand and designed to achieve organizational objectives. It represents the focal point around which components of food service systems are based. The menu is designed carefully what the outlet wants to cater for, keeping in mind the type of clientele. The main advantage of a well-planned menu is that it leads to consumer satisfaction. It also helps to motivate the employees for a responsible and successful service. A successful menu depends upon composition-the right combination of foods, prepared perfectly, to the entire satisfaction of the customer. So claimed Antonin Careme (1784-1833), the French chef who is considered the founder of classical cuisine. Menu is a document that controls and directs an outlets operations and is considered the prime selling instrument of the restaurant (Johns P., 1988). Menu planning is the back bone of the catering industry. Menu planning gives the basic idea of the activities which are to be done for operation in any catering premises. This operation in the establishment means front office operation and back office operation. Menu planning in an organization depends on so many different factors which results different activities in the organization. Menu planning starts with the nature of the organization means it may be a restaurant or out door catering. So the nature of the work decides the clientele in the organization, their choices availability of the food raw material (Lockwood A., 1994). 5.1. Points to be considered while planning the menu: When planning the food and beverage for any event, its important for event planners to consider several not-so-obvious catering menu planning items to help ensure a successful program. Consider the following when planning your menu: 5.1.1. Knowledge of the Guest Profile: A menu planning Manager / Executive must have good knowledge about the Guest profile of the organization. What is the profile of the guests being invited to the event? For example, most business people attend many events throughout the year, and the phrase rubber chicken circuit is common among political, business and fundraising circles (and others). To prevent your event from having this description, consider the following: The professional level of your guest. The frequency your guest attends similar events. The location where guests reside. The ethnic background of your guests. 5.1.2. Knowledge of the Guests preference: For good menu planning and good customer service it is really important to understand the profile of the guest, this allows the event planner to begin considering what menu options to offer. These are some of the points which can help an event manager to serve the best food and service to the guest. Points are as follows: Old age people dont like more spicy food so it is really good to serve them mild spicy food. Attendees concerned about health may prefer more seafood and vegetables options. Younger or middle-aged guests may prefer spicier, more adventurous meals. The idea here is to consider what your guests will enjoy the most based on the type of event you are planning. 5.1.3. Provide Menu Choices: Anyone planning an event should offer several choices so that all guests will be pleased with whats available. Some general guidelines: Offer at least two choices of entrees (three is better). Offer three or more salad dressing options. Serve all condiments on the side. Offer two dessert options: one very indulgent, one healthy. 5.1.4. Incorporate Seasonal and Fresh Items: When selecting the menu, the time of year should play a large factor in determining food and beverage. Take into consideration which items are in season for spring or winter menus. Another important factor is to consider the region or location of the event and popular food items from the area. Incorporate fresh seafood or regionally grown produce. 5.1.5. Select a Menu that Fits the Event Schedule Sometimes the clock will be the greatest guide to determining Table dhote menu for an event. Some examples: Box lunches are best if you have 30 minutes or on the go. Plated meals usually requires at least 1.5 hours. Buffets may be finished in about 1 hour. Cocktail receptions require a minimum of 1 hour before dinner. Working breakfasts or lunches should incorporate menu items that can hold up for longer periods of time than others. 5.1.6. Anticipate Special Needs Before any event, it is critical for an event planner to find out if any of the guests have a special need so that the catering manager can address those needs prior to the event. Considerations include: Food allergies Religious requirements Dietary restrictions 5.1.7. Allow for a Comfortable Room Setup Choose the appropriate room layout that supports your event objectives. If youre serving a meal, the tables will be filled with used dishes and glassware, in addition to binders, notepads and pens. Thats why its important to choose the best room setup, and allow space for people to move. Examples: Boardroom setup should be for a maximum of 15 guests. U-shape and rectangle table layout to promote discussion. Class room style is great for a presentation. Banquet style promotes small group discussions. Regardless of the setup, allow for people to spread out. Tip: Setup for 8 in a 10 person banquet table. 5.1.8. Create Ethnic or Regional Menus Im a huge fan of planning events that have ethnic-specific themes. This allows an event planner and the executive chef to work together to bring region-specific and international foods into your event, and this will definitely please guests. Common ethnic catering includes the following: Asian/Chinese/Japanese French German Greek Italian Mexican Middle Eastern 5.1.9. Consider the Final Presentation of Food and Beverage We eat with our eyes and our nose before tasting it. Whether its served plated or buffet, a catered meal should visually colorful and fragrant. Therefore, the presentation of food should make your guests want to eat it. This means linens and decorations that complement the theme of the meal. If it doesnt look good and smell good, your guests will not be happy. Importance of menu planning: Good planning can make a huge difference! The menu influences almost every aspect of the food service operation, from what foods are purchased and how they are prepared, to whether or not meals are popular with the children (Lillicrap D. Et al. 2006). When planning the food and beverage for any event, its important for event planners to consider several not-so-obvious catering menu planning items to help ensure a successful program. Menu planning is basically includes the preferences of guests and the preferences of the owner as well like what the owner can spend and what kind of margin he is looking for. According to Dennis L. 1999, we can include some of the points during the Menu Planning consideration: Know the Guest profile Know the guests preferences Provide Menu choice Incorporate seasonal and fresh items Select a menu that fits the event schedule Anticipates special needs Allow for a comfortable room setup Create Ethnic or Regional menu Consider the final presentation of food and beverage Principles of menu planning: Basic Principles Cold and warm dishes are listed separately. Appetizers, soups, seafood and main courses are listed in separate groups. In every group the lighter dishes are listed before the richer ones. Salads should be highlighted. If offered, low-calorie foods should be specially indicated, and the number of calories should be stated. If foods are prepared with organically grown ingredients, this fact should be highlighted to the discriminating customer. Every dish should be described clearly and simply, in an appetizing way, without being too flowery. House specialties and seasonal items should correspond to the season and should change accordingly. Use a clip-on menu or special insert to attract attention to them. The dessert selection should be listed on a separate attractive card. The menu should inform the guests that such a card is available. The numbering of menu items can save time and confusion, especially with many of the new computerized cash registers. Numbering, however, discourages communication between guests and the service staff and thus does not help promote sales. For an easy compromise, place one numbered menu at the register or where orders are relayed to the kitchen so that one can punch in the guests order by number; the guest, however, orders the actual foods with words, not numbers. According to Larry, 1999 the five basic menu planning principles are: 1. Strive for balance. 2. Emphasize variety. 3. Add contrast. 4. Think about color. 5. Consider eye appeal. In many cases, especially in restaurants, serving haute cuisine, the part or table dhote menu is beautifully handwritten to emphasize the traditional character of the restaurant. In less fancy restaurants, a modern variant that is similar but simpler is often used: the blackboard, on which are written recommendations concerning the days specialties. In general, however, the table dhote or a part menu, which changes daily or cyclically, is prepared in-house (on a typewriter or computer) and duplicated as necessa Aldis International Strategic Management | Analysis Aldis International Strategic Management | Analysis Introduction Consumption plays a vital role in economic activities. In most developed countries, personal or household consumption takes up about 60% in GDPà ¯Ã‚ ¼Ã‹â€ OECD,2008à ¯Ã‚ ¼Ã¢â‚¬ °, of which retailing industry is often proven to be the most important industry. Recently, due to the economic growth, employment improvement, and favorable tax policies, retailing industry has the chance to develop in a more comfortable environment. According to statistics from Planet Retail, a Consultancy Organization for Retail Industry, in recent years, world retail industry has made a considerably fast development with a sales increase of 8.4% and 6.7% in 2005 and 2006 respectively(Network,2006à ¯Ã‚ ¼Ã¢â‚¬ °. Although the environment is good for retail industry, the intensity of competitiveness is also stronger ever than before. Many super large retailing corporations, such as Wal-Mart, Carrefour are competing for expanding and dominating both domestic and overseas market by implementing every strateg y. Aldi, as a hard-discount retailer is very small and simple compared to those Wal-Mart or Carrefour regarding its sell items, store occupancy etc. However, Aldi has survived in this competitive retailing market and become one of the reputable retailers which could contend with other large retailing corporations. Therefore, based on Aldi in Australia, this article will analyze the Aldis business strategy and its management which contribute to its great success. Also the article will give an analysis of Aldis capability of competitiveness in terms of its internal and external environment. Brief introduction of Aldi Aldi is an international hard-discount supermarket chain which was established in 1946 by the brothers Theo and Karl Albrecht in Germany, has grown rapidly in the years characterized by low price (Mcloughlin and Aaker, 2010). By the end of 2003, Aldi has developed into one of the biggest retailers in the world with more than 7000 stores around the world and created an estimated annual turnover of 36.2 billion Euros. The first Aldi store opened in Australia in Sydney in January 2001. After making huge profits out of the first store, 72 additional stores were opened in other different areas in 2004. It was predicted that Aldi would run more than 300 stores in Australia by 2010. Business strategy applied in Aldi Strategic management is the ongoing process which enterprises apply to establish their visions and analyze their external environment and internal environment, thus to choose one or more strategies to adopt to create value for customers and benefit other stakeholders (Ireland, Hoskisson and Hitt, 2008). Any corporation should set its overall corporative strategy to define what the organization is doing and where the organization wants to be in the future. Business strategy is one essential part of the companys overall corporate strategy. To be successful in the competitive market, managers must develop and execute an effective business strategy to promote its products in the market and account for a big market share. The business strategy concept implemented by Aldi can be regarded as very simple but effective. Aldis core business concept is to reduce cost in every way. Although both Aldi and Wal-Mart are the successful retailers by adopting cost reduction strategy, Aldi is very diff erent from Wal-Mart with regard to its method of implementation. Aldi is featured with high efficiency of operation and management based on the cost-reduction principle. All Aldis stores in the world are characterized by simple design and decoration thus to minimize the cost. Aldis cost-saving method is reflected through the followings: Compared to Wal-Mart, generally each Aldi store occupies only 750 square meters which can greatly cut down the rent and expenses of water and electricity consumption. Limited number of good-quality products for selling in the stores to save the expenses of shelves. A typical Aldi store only sells about 700 products which is less but able to satisfy the dairy necessities (Pradhan, 2010). The grocery structure saves the logistic cost greatly and enables Aldi the absolute advantages of negotiating to suppliers with respect to the quality control and price. Employee strategy: Aldi usually employs four or five employee for one store compared 15 employees at a standard supermarket. Although Aldi pays more to its employees but it have eventually reduced the employee cost. Simple promotion method: compared to Wal-Mart or Carrefour, Aldi never does advertising or public relations. Aldi holds the view of saving the cost for benefiting the customers because all the expenses related to the PR or marketing are all paid by customers. Another business strategy attached to Aldi is its good-quality assurance. Hard-discount is the most important feature of Aldi stores, but the low price is not based on the sacrifice of products quality. By contraries, Aldi always persist in providing customers with goods with the same quality of other supermarket but a relatively low price. In addition, Aldi has its own brands ranging from cookies to diaper and the quality is controlled very strictly. One of Aldis business strategies is emphasize the cooperation with suppliers and control the quality strictly. When Aldi purchases commodities from suppliers, Aldi puts forward its quality requirements and employ a third inspection organization besides the inspectors of Aldis company to conduct a strict inspection on the commodities. Whenever unqualified commodity is found, Aldi will not consider to cooperate with this supplier. Aldis business strategy is also based on the customers-orientation concept. Aldi focuses the needs of customers and pay much attention to develop customers loyalty. Aldi considers from the perspective of customers and provides customers with practical benefits. Aldi never applies the promotion ways of tying or wholesale which appear to give consumers the favorable benefits but actually ignore the needs of certain consumer groups. In addition, Aldi ensure the price of every commodity is the same despite the stores are located in different or remote places, therefore consumers should never worry the price difference case will happen. Another success secret of Aldi is that Aldi takes a slow step to expand the market. Aldi will open a trial store and analyze the profits before it launch other stores in that area. Meanwhile, Aldi uses decentralization management strategy. For example, Aldi North may sell more products than the Aldi South. The two companies maintain communication quite well, so that they are able to learn from each others managing experiences. Aldis success also can not separate from its strategy of Human Resources. Aldi attaches importance to the exploitation and development of HR. All managers and employees are well-trained about the knowledge of Aldis concepts before getting started in Aldi. Analysis of Aldis competitive environment in Australia Although Aldi expands very fast in Australia during the last years, it also faces challenges and competition from the local retailers in Australia, such as Woolworths and Coles Myer which are considered as the major rivalries in food retail industry. To analyze how Aldi can survive from this intense competition, it is very necessary to discuss both internal and external environment lying in Aldi Corporation. As the food retail industry develops very fast, some other large global retail players will probably enter in Australian market, such as Wal-Mart (US largest retailer) or Tesco (UKs largest retailer) and Lidl (another Germany retailer). Therefore the competition will become more and more intense ever than before as many retailers also prefer to adopt price strategy. Internal analysis of AldiStrengths and weakness For an organizations development in the competitive environment, it is essential for the organization to conduct internal analysis of its organization. A comprehensive internal analysis will provide management with a detailed understanding of the business, how effective its current strategies are and how effectively it has deployed its resources in support of its strategies (Campbell, Stonehouse and Houston, 2002). By executing internal analysis, a company will know their unique resources, capabilities, and competencies. In a word, by studying internal analysis, a company will identify what the can do. In Aldi case, it is oblivious that Aldis biggest strength in combating with other local retailers in Australia is its good-quality and low-price strategy. As mentioned in the previous part, Aldi stores offer customers with good quality commodities at a relatively lower price than in other retail stores. Aldi maintains to manufacture 90% of its commodities tagged with its own brand which are exclusively sold in its stores, which attracts customers. Meanwhile, the quality is ensured in this way. Aldi is a famous brand in Germany ranked as the third best corporate brand, which will accelerate its recognition by customers(RiesenbeckPerrey,2009). Aldi always persists in its management and business principles which seldom have been changed. It can be regarded both good and bad for the development of the organization. As we know the outside environment is changing everyday and peoples thinking is changing, so the Aldi should probably think about change some of the principles to acclimatize itself to the changeable environment in order to get better development. External analysis of Aldi-Threats and Opportunities External analysis is one of the strategic management processes in terms of analyzing the organizations external operating environment. The purpose of external analysis is to examine the strategic opportunities and threats in the organizations operating environment which will affect how it pursue its mission (Hill and Jones, 2009). External environment analysis requires analyzing the overall environment of the industry which the business operates in (is it good or bad for developing in the industry? What is the current macro environment of the industry?). By studying the external environment, firms can identify what are the opportunities and threats for its operation in the market and will know what they might choose to do. The macro environment of retailing industry is very prosperous because the daily consuming commodities are essential in peoples life. In Australia, the situation is the same; peoples consumption of the general stuff for food and household products is increasing as well. Therefore there is great increasing market in terms of retailing sectors, which contributes to a great development chance for all retailers including Aldi. Some prediction shows Aldi will continue to expand more market in Australia with more than 300 stores and capture 10 percent of the Australian packaged grocery dollar market by 2010. Meanwhile, as the development of globalization, Aldi could also have chance to enter into other overseas market such as China or other Asian countries. There is a great potential in these markets. As Aldi is very confident for its expansion plan in Australia, Aldi still faces the coming threats from its local existing rivalries and oncoming large retail competitors. The threat first co mes from the price competition from other local retailers. As the competition between retailers is becoming more and more intense, the local retailers also play price strategy as low-price offers for certain products. Other threat for Aldi comes from the potential entrants of other worlds largest retailers, like mentioned in the above, Wal-Mart, Tesco and Lidl. Once these largest retail players move into Australia, Aldi will have to face combat not only with the domestic retailers but also have to survive from the competition with these largest players. Conclusions In conclusion, Aldi is very successful in the retailing industry and famous for its unique operation styles in terms of its concept of running small-quantity products and cost-saving strategy and hard-discount strategy to attract buyers. Aldi is very wise in its expansion strategy, it never risk to expand to open another store unless it sees the previous store is making profits in that area. The concept of Aldi seems very simple which is centered at the customers and seeking for customers benefits. In this way, Aldi wins a lot of loyal consumers. However, despite these advantages Aldi has, the competition is cruel and Aldi may need to take further actions to combat with its rivalries. Recommendations After making analysis of Aldi case in terms of its business strategies and external and internal environment, two recommendations are made as to Aldis development in Australia: Although Aldi is competitive in some ways, it never changes its business strategy despite the external environment changes. Therefore, in my opinion, Aldi should make some changes regarding its business strategy and management to cope with the changeable market environment. As Aldi made profits from the 72 stores in Australia, Aldi should consider expanding market potential in other Australian states and territories before new rivalries move into Australia.

Paideia and the Matter of Mind Essay -- Education Learning Philosophy

Paideia and the "Matter of Mind" ABSTRACT: Paideia refers to a particular sort of education which has historically been concerned with learning for the sake of learning, i.e., for the development of mind. As such, paideia is distinguished from specialized learning, training and learning for extrinsic purposes. Paideia is embodied in the traditional notion of Liberal Education which holds that such an education is the development of mind through the achievement of worthwhile knowledge and understanding. A contemporary trend in the literature of philosophy of mind and epistemology is a concern with cognitive functions of the human mind and the role of these functions in the acquisition of knowledge. The functional conception of the mind emphasizes learning (cognitive development) through cognitive training to monitor and control one's own mental processes. The uncritical incorporation of cognitive theories of mind and knowledge acquisition into current educational theory and practice suggests that paideia can be combi ned with, if not enhanced by, cognitive training. This paper takes the position that such an assumption is misguided and that the 'matter' of mind is an issue which requires clarification for advocates of paideia. The paper contrasts the cognitive approach to a 'conventionalist' conception of mind which, arguably, is the concept of mind assumed by advocates of paideia. Paideia refers to a particular sort of education which historically has been concerned with learning for the sake of learning, i.e., for the development of mind. As such, paideia is distinguished from specialized learning, training, and learning for extrinsic purposes. Paideia is embodied in the traditional notion of Liberal Education which holds... ...M.Dent, London) (6) See for example, Wittgenstein, L. (1953) Philosophical Investigations (Oxford: Blackwell Ltd.); Hacker, P.M.S. (1990) Wittgenstein: Meaning and Mind (Part I) (Oxford:Blackwell Publishers); Ryle, G. (1949) The Concept of Mind (University of Chicago Press). (7) Lynne Rudder Baker (1995) Explaining Attitudes 223 (Cambridge University Press) (8) Ibid., 89 (9) Gilbert Ryle (1949) The Concept of Mind 199 (Chicago: University of Chicago Press) (10) Anthony Kenny (1989) the Metaphysics of Mind 21 (Oxford: Oxford University Press) (11) Paul Hirst (1969) "The Logic of the Curriculum" in Journal of Curriculum Studies, 151 (12) Ibid., 150 (13) Ibid. (14) Ibid., 148 (15) Ibid., 149 (16) Michael Oakeshott (1989) "The Engagement and Its Frustration" 71 in The Voice of Liberal Learning Fuller (ed) (London:Yale University Press)