History of Indian Airlines

Brief History of Indian Airlines India's chiefly domestic state-owned carrier, Indian Airlines Ltd. , flies passengers and cargo to 59 domestic and 16 international destinations. Its fleet numbered 52 aircraft in 2000. Indian Airlines has traditionally based its network around the four main hubs of Delhi, Mumbai (formerly Bombay), Calcutta, and Chennai (formerly Madras). The airline carries about six million passengers a year and has a substantial freight operation. Origins The Air Corporations Act of 1953 amalgamated India's dozen or so airlines, most of them undercapitalized, into two nationalized air carriers: Air-India Ltd. given responsibility for international routes, and Indian Airlines Corporation (IAC), the domestic airline. The eight airlines that were amalgamated into IAC included Air Services of India Ltd. , Airways (India) Ltd. , Bharat Airways Ltd. , Deccan Airways Ltd. (already 70 percent government-owned), Himalayan Aviation Ltd. , Indian National Airways Ltd. , Kalin ga Airlines, Ltd. , plus the domestic operations of Air-India Ltd. IAC began operations with a fleet of 74 of the war surplus Douglas DC-3s that had founded its short-lived predecessors. The airline also had three times as many employees as it needed, writes R.E. G. Davies, a situation that was slow to change due to the government's refusal to allow layoffs. Davies also writes that the standard of maintenance was low and the airline suffered many accidents in its early years. IAC soon moved to bolster its fleet by ordering a few new de Havilland 114 Herons, retired after only a couple of years of service, and Vickers Viscount 768s, which were assigned to trunk routes. The DC-3s continued to supply feeder traffic; they soon began to be phased out by Fokker F-27s and Avro 748s. IAC began flying short-haul jets–French-made Caravelles–in the mid-1960s.The Caravelles were so popular that IAC soon needed larger jets to on the routes between Bombay (Mumbai), Delhi, Calcutta, and Madras (Chennai) that formed the India's domestic trunk network. IAC's first Boeing 737s entered service in 1971. Between 1962 and 1972, IAC was called upon to support the military in several campaigns, first in skirmishes with China, and later with the wars with Pakistan that ultimately led to the creation of Bangladesh. Confidence and Crisis in the 1970s and 1980s IAC announced a Rs45 million loss for 1972. The next year, the company had several incidents of aircraft damage or loss.Labor unrest, high fuel costs, political burdens, and built-in inefficiencies added to the company's problems. However, these were met with such resolve that IAC had the confidence to order its first wide-body jets, Airbus A300s, in 1975. A program to produce ground support equipment in Indian factories was part of the deal. In 1976, new routes stretched across political divisions to Kabul, Afghanistan, in the northwest, and the Maldive Islands in the south. The government allowed the formation of a few new limited service airlines in the 1970s: Air Works India, Huns Air, and Goldensun Aviation.None of them had long life spans. Around 1979, IAC dropped the word â€Å"Corporation† from its name. Another national airline, Vayudoot, was formed in 1981 and tasked with carrying feeder traffic from India's smaller communities. Indian Airlines' managing director, Gerry Pais, was Vayudoot's part-time chairman. Vayudoot was serving more than 100 destinations within India by 1990. The government also set up a helicopter corporation to serve off-shore oil fields. Britain's  Financial Times  described Indian Airlines as the world's third largest domestic carrier in the mid-1980s.With business growing at better than ten percent a year, it was increasing its capacity. Indian Airlines ordered a dozen of the new Boeing 757s in August 1984. After Rajiv Gandhi, a former Indian Airlines pilot, became prime minister, this order was changed to Airbus A320s due to what were perceived as political reasons. However, the crash of an Indian Airlines A320 in Bangalore on February 14, 1990–the type's second major crash globally in a two-year period–sorely tested management's faith in the plane, which featured new fly-by-wire flight controls and electronic cockpit instrumentation.As part of a plan to merge Indian Airlines with Air-India, the state's international carrier, two leading young industrialists were appointed to chair the boards of the two companies in autumn 1986. Neither these plans nor the new chairmen lasted very long. In 1987, Indian Airlines carried 10 million passengers and earned a profit of Rs630 million ($48 million). However, the quality of its service was facing criticism, to be heightened by the coming entry of new carriers into the market. India's chiefly domestic state-owned carrier, Indian Airlines Ltd. flies passengers and cargo to 59 domestic and 16 international destinations. Its fleet numbered 52 aircraft in 2000. Indian Airline s has traditionally based its network around the four main hubs of Delhi, Mumbai (formerly Bombay), Calcutta, and Chennai (formerly Madras). The airline carries about six million passengers a year and has a substantial freight operation. Origins The Air Corporations Act of 1953 amalgamated India's dozen or so airlines, most of them undercapitalized, into two nationalized air carriers: Air-India Ltd. given responsibility for international routes, and Indian Airlines Corporation (IAC), the domestic airline. The eight airlines that were amalgamated into IAC included Air Services of India Ltd. , Airways (India) Ltd. , Bharat Airways Ltd. , Deccan Airways Ltd. (already 70 percent government-owned), Himalayan Aviation Ltd. , Indian National Airways Ltd. , Kalinga Airlines, Ltd. , plus the domestic operations of Air-India Ltd. IAC began operations with a fleet of 74 of the war surplus Douglas DC-3s that had founded its short-lived predecessors.The airline also had three times as many emplo yees as it needed, writes R. E. G. Davies, a situation that was slow to change due to the government's refusal to allow layoffs. Davies also writes that the standard of maintenance was low and the airline suffered many accidents in its early years. IAC soon moved to bolster its fleet by ordering a few new de Havilland 114 Herons, retired after only a couple of years of service, and Vickers Viscount 768s, which were assigned to trunk routes. The DC-3s continued to supply feeder traffic; they soon began to be phased out by Fokker F-27s and Avro 748s.IAC began flying short-haul jets–French-made Caravelles–in the mid-1960s. The Caravelles were so popular that IAC soon needed larger jets to on the routes between Bombay (Mumbai), Delhi, Calcutta, and Madras (Chennai) that formed the India's domestic trunk network. IAC's first Boeing 737s entered service in 1971. Between 1962 and 1972, IAC was called upon to support the military in several campaigns, first in skirmishes with China, and later with the wars with Pakistan that ultimately led to the creation of Bangladesh. Confidence and Crisis in the 1970s and 1980sIAC announced a Rs45 million loss for 1972. The next year, the company had several incidents of aircraft damage or loss. Labor unrest, high fuel costs, political burdens, and built-in inefficiencies added to the company's problems. However, these were met with such resolve that IAC had the confidence to order its first wide-body jets, Airbus A300s, in 1975. A program to produce ground support equipment in Indian factories was part of the deal. In 1976, new routes stretched across political divisions to Kabul, Afghanistan, in the northwest, and the Maldive Islands in the south.The government allowed the formation of a few new limited service airlines in the 1970s: Air Works India, Huns Air, and Goldensun Aviation. None of them had long life spans. Around 1979, IAC dropped the word â€Å"Corporation† from its name. Another national airline, Vayudoot, was formed in 1981 and tasked with carrying feeder traffic from India's smaller communities. Indian Airlines' managing director, Gerry Pais, was Vayudoot's part-time chairman. Vayudoot was serving more than 100 destinations within India by 1990.The government also set up a helicopter corporation to serve off-shore oil fields. Britain's  Financial Times  described Indian Airlines as the world's third largest domestic carrier in the mid-1980s. With business growing at better than ten percent a year, it was increasing its capacity. Indian Airlines ordered a dozen of the new Boeing 757s in August 1984. After Rajiv Gandhi, a former Indian Airlines pilot, became prime minister, this order was changed to Airbus A320s due to what were perceived as political reasons.However, the crash of an Indian Airlines A320 in Bangalore on February 14, 1990–the type's second major crash globally in a two-year period–sorely tested management's faith in the plane, which feature d new fly-by-wire flight controls and electronic cockpit instrumentation. As part of a plan to merge Indian Airlines with Air-India, the state's international carrier, two leading young industrialists were appointed to chair the boards of the two companies in autumn 1986. Neither these plans nor the new chairmen lasted very long.In 1987, Indian Airlines carried 10 million passengers and earned a profit of Rs630 million ($48 million). However, the quality of its service was facing criticism, to be heightened by the coming entry of new carriers into the market. Chronology * Key Dates: * 1953:  Indian Airlines is formed as India's domestic airline. * 1965:  Short-haul Caravelle jets enter the fleet. * 1972:  IAC records a rare loss. * 1975:  The company orders its first widebody jets. * 1992:  India's domestic air market is deregulated. * 1998:  Plans to merge Indian Airlines with Air-India are drawn up but not approved. 2001:  The Indian government solicits bidders for p artial ownership of Indian Airlines. Additional Details * State-Owned Company * Incorporated:  1953 as Indian Airlines Corporation * Employees:  22,500 * Sales:  Rs 3,755 crore ($1 billion) (2001) * NAIC:  481111 Scheduled Passenger Air Transportation; 481112 Scheduled Freight Air Transportation; 481211 Nonscheduled Chartered Passenger Air Transportation; 481212 Nonscheduled Chartered Freight Air Transportationhttp://www. referenceforbusiness. com/history2/65/Indian-Airlines-Ltd. html#ixzz2DAhNxQo5

United States Bill of Rights and American Sporting Tradition

Gun Control Gun control would not help crime or murder rates because instead it disarms the law abiding citizens, therefore putting them at a disadvantage in defending there selves against criminals. The second amendment states that citizens have the right to bear arms. Guns have also been an American sporting tradition for years, and have saved many lives from rapist, murders and innocent civilians from the hands of criminals. The second amendment is part of the constitution and is something that should never be taken away, and can’t be taken away.The amendment says that â€Å"A well-regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free state, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed. † The first 10 amendments to our Constitution protect our most basic rights from being stripped away by an overly zealous government, including rights that all Americans hold dear. The United States Bill of Rights plays a central role in American law an d government, and remains a fundamental symbol of the freedoms and culture of the nation.One of the original fourteen copies of the U. S. Bill of Rights is on public display at the National Archives in Washington, D. C. This amendment and right give us the citizens a chance to defend ourselves from danger from not only criminals but also a foreign attack. A shooting sport is a competitive sport involving tests of proficiency (accuracy and speed) using various types of guns such as firearms and air guns. Hunting is also a shooting sport, and indeed shooting live pigeons was an Olympic event only once, in 1900.The shooting sports are categorized by the type of firearm, target and distances at which targets are shot at. Shooting sports have been a part of the Games since Baron Pierre de Coubertin brought us the first modern Olympiad in 1896. It was one of the first nine events held at the first Olympic Games along with track and field, Cycling, Fencing, Gymnastics, Swimming, Tennis, We ightlifting, and Wrestling. Guns have been a huge part of American history since the Olympics started in 1896.Guns have been used for many years not only to defend our country but also defend ourselves in the event of being attacked by a criminal. If the availability of guns is the major reason for the murder of people, why isn’t it that when the rate of gun sales go up the murder rate doesn’t go up as well? The answer is simple guns don’t kill people, people kill people. Imagine if the 10,000+ victims had guns of their own. That statistic could have shockingly stayed the same, just with different victims: the criminals.Americans tend to believe that guns are easily obtained, when in reality federals laws already passed make it impossible for criminals to legally obtain a weapon. Gun sales have gone through the roof since president Obama took office yet in terms of violent crime, the United States is safer today than it was 20 years ago. Violent crimes will cont inue to exist with or without stricter gun control. Guns will always be obtained by criminals if they want to get their hands on one, and making stricter gun control laws will only make civilians defenseless against these criminals.Taking the right to bear arms away will not save lives it will only cause more violence and since criminals don't follow the laws in the first place more laws would only hinder law abiding people not the criminals; they will still get any type of gun they want because the all mighty dollar is king. Even if we outlawed all guns criminals would still have them smuggled into the country just like drugs. The only thing that would accomplish would be law abiding people would be defenseless and the criminals would rule.

Leadership Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Leadership - Essay Example This is contested by Andersen (2006) who wrote that traits alone are not enough for effective leadership and they are only prerequisite. Traits only provide people with the potential for leadership. Goleman (2008) hypothesized that great leaders are naturally inclined to show interest in others and bring about positive feelings from these people. This then allows a strong show of support. He further mentioned that learning and practice on desirable leadership style can lead to enhanced performance of a potential leader. Thus, the Great Man Theory only explains a part of a successful leader. There are various factors that influence the development of a good leader (Goleman 2008). Cawthon (1996) stated that most important leadership capabilities and proficiencies can be learned and people can be educated along these as long as there is desire to learn and there are no apparent obstacles to learning such as a learning disorder. When studying the several circumstances that play an import ant role in the lives of the great leaders, it seems hard to believe that only inherent traits contributed to their success. There are too many variables that are considered to make effective leaders. The possession of certain inherent traits does not guarantee the success of leadership. Additionally, any leadership style can be successful as long as it recognizes the path to success. Strong leadership capability goes further than genetic inheritance. House and Mitchell (1974) proposed that successful leaders have the capacity to persuade and motivate others to willingly increase their efforts to contribute to the organisation. They further stated that this can be achieved through a leader’s inimitable focus toward fulfilling the needs of their associates by providing the needed training, supervision and support. These motivate followers toward higher levels of performance. Researchers often take on the assumption that leadership comes inherently with individuals, that some o f them .possess a set of inherent traits that enable them to be recognized as great leaders. For many years, this assumption led social scientists to focus only on these traits. However, because of inconsistency in the results research, the trait theory was discarded in favor of the theory that leadership development does not espouse inherent leadership traits but only leadership styles or behaviors that may be developed and changed completely from one setting to another. There is also the notion that a person who is a leader in one setting may be a follower in another in the same way that traits which are practical in one situation may not be helpful in others. Thus, leaders are not born with any specific traits that determine effective leadership (Howard & Wilson, 1982). Even without inherent traits, a person can be an effective leader as long as he can adapt to the unique demands of ever changing organisations. According to Howard and Wilson (1982), leaders must have the aspirati on to lead. In order to be effective, a person must want to lead. However, even if a person has the ability and education to lead but has no enthusiasm, success will most likely not be achieved. History has presented the crucial roles that leaders and leadership play in the success of an organisation – these can be in the context of business ventures, educational settings and

English legal system case report Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

English legal system case report - Essay Example ited type of knife has been described by this section as one that has an automatically opening blade (Restriction of Offensive Weapons Act (c.37), 1959). However, in this knife, the blade should open when hand pressure is applied to a button or other device attached to the knife handle. Such offence attracts the following punishment, on summary conviction. For a first offence the offender will be sentenced to prison for a term that does not exceed three months or to a fine that is limited to  £50 or to both (Restriction of Offensive Weapons Act (c.37), 1959). In this case, the chief inspector charged the respondent with an offence under the provisions of section 1 of the Restriction of Offensive Weapons Act 1959. The charge was that on 26 October1959, the respondent had made an offer of sale with respect to a prohibited variety of knife. This knife opened automatically on pressure being applied to a device that was attached to the handle of the knife (Souper, 2008). The respondent consented to the police constable’s request to examine the knife. Thereafter, the latter confiscated the knife and submitted it to the superintendent of police. Subsequently, he returned to the shop and informed the respondent that the knife had been determined to be a flick knife and that he would be reported for offering it for sale (Souper, 2008). In court the appellant contended that the display of the knife in the shop window by the respondent with its price, constituted an offer of sale of the knife, in accordance with the provisions of the Restriction of Offensive Weapons Act 1959. This was contested by the respondent, who stated that he had never offered the knife for sale, as per the interpretation of the 1959 Act (Souper, 2008). The plaintiff’s main contention was that the display of Knife in the shop window does not amount to an offer. The court held that as this Act was devoid of a definition, the term offer for sale had to be determined from the law of contract. As a

The Student Motor Company Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words - 1

The Student Motor Company - Case Study Example In order to regain market prominence, the Student Motor Company launched a subcompact car Zinger. The concept of Zinger was approved and the study was conducted under the supervision of the management to maintain the code of ethics of the business. The research and development and preproduction testing of the automobile usually take 43 months but for Zinger it was just above 24 months. As Zinger was a rush project, design was given more importance than the mechanical aspects which is the major concern of the manufacturing firm. This act of the management demonstrated a lack of research and ignorance of quality. The crash test of Zinger displayed few issues which were to be resolved by the management for the safety of the people. It was noticeable that a moving barrier at 21 miles per hour caused the fuel neck to be torn from the tank which caused fuel leakage. This spilled fuel could enter the driver’s chamber causing fire to ignite, this was because of defect in the engineeri ng design. The crash test demonstrated that the gasoline tank can cause fire and turn the car into flames causing damage to the society. Moreover, the Zinger was not meeting the standard of emission which would pollute the environment and cause severe damage. The company did not follow the ethical practice of the business as it launched the product in the market with manufacturing defeats. The director of the company claimed that the improved design with more safety standards would increase the cost of the car and would not be able to meet the basic requirements of the people. The management knew the facts that the launch of the car could cause death and have a negative effect on the society but to regain its market share it launched Zinger with the lingering defeats. This was an unethical practice followed by the company which caused loss of life and severe damage to the individual in the car due to the fire (Fall 1-4). The stakeholders of the manufacturing firm are Mr. I.M.Good, t he Vice President of Car Engineering, Mrs. Lovely the group Vice President of the car engineering and Student Motor’s Product Planning Committee member. The production of the Zinger and the fault were known by the committee member; hence the code of ethics was not followed by the company (Fall 1-4). QUESTION 2 The ethical issues faced by the company created a negative impact in the market. The ethical issues faced by the company could have been resolved by following the basic ethics of the business. The first aspect which the company could have done was to focus more on the research and development of the subcompact car Zinger, before launching it in the market. Furthermore, the design should not have been the main area of concern but the technicality should have been the main focus. The committee member could have stopped the production of the car and stalled its sale in the market, when the preproduction test displayed several issues which could cause death. If the company would have used their ethics and sense of responsibility and stopped the manufacturing of the defective products, the life of succumbed person could have been saved. The management was aware of the consequences of the Zinger car but did not take any preventive measures to stop such unethical practices. The second ethical alternative could have been to maintain the standard of emission as indicated by Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). The maintenance of the emission level is the responsibility of the manufacturer. The company violated the rule and launched the car without maintaining the standard. This act was a fraudulent act from the management point of view as the people would get to know about the emission after a year. The maintenance

Ch12,13,and 14 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Ch12,13,and 14 - Essay Example Closely associated with a production oriented leader is the concept of a transformational and the counter, transactional leadership. Transformational leadership involves an individual causing change on followers, and on the other hand a transactional leader entails transactions between the leader and the followers. Activities such as punishment and rewarding of the junior employees mark the personality trait of a transactional leader, whereas the transformational leader is very innovative. The assessment results on the level of building and leading a team can predict the strength on transformative or transactional leadership approach. The score from the test is 88 out of a maximum score of 100, implying the second quartile. For a percentage that is 95 and above, the assessment test could have predicted a transformational leader, but from the test results, the prediction shows an obvious inclination towards a transactional leadership. Despite the different perceptions of leadership, there are certain theorists who argue that leadership is inherent in people. In fact to understand leadership, the following five bases of power becomes key; legitimacy, reward, expert, referent and coercive (Schermerhorn et al, 6). A personal analysis confirms the fourth, and this means that I do attract and worth and acknowledge the respect of other people. A score of 23 out of a maximum score of 100 shows a poor conflict handling style. This implies that what of interest is winning the conflict rather than negotiation and compromise. Additionally, accommodation would be the best way of handling the conflicting situations. Contrary to the test assessment results I am an accommodating person and probably the results predicted inaccurate results on a personal conflict handling situations. In professional circumstances just as in personal conflict situations, I

Physiology Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3500 words

Physiology - Essay Example This pathway consists of A & A fibers characterised with high velocity (30 to 110 m/sec) of impulse conduction. The dorsal column-lemniscal pathway has also high degree of spatial orientation of the nerve fibres; particularly the medial fibers convey the information from the lower parts of the body while the lateral fibers related to higher segments. The spasticity in the muscles is related to the pyramidal insufficiency. This condition can occur if pyramidal pathways controlling voluntary movements are damaged by the mechanic or other agents. Intoxications, chronic neurodegenerative diseases, traumas, and metabolic disorders can play role in the origin of muscular spasticity. The attenuation reflex is important protective mechanism providing the best sound perception. The contraction of the stapes muscle protects the inner ear from damaging. The role of outer ear structures is important also - they can reduce resonance in the middle ear. Summation is a process of gradual release of the transmitter and the transmission of the impulse from several presynaptic neurones to one postsynaptic neurone (spatial summation) or from only one presynaptic and one postsynaptic neurone (temporal summation). The summation leads to the release of sufficient the impulse is transmitted across the synaptic cleft. The pain control system of CNS is represented by three major components: the periaqueductal grey and the nucleus raphe magnus (in the brain) and the pain inhibitory neurons of the dorsal horns in medulla spinalis. The opioid receptors of these structures are activated by endorphins or exogenous opiates and block the spreading of pain impulses. 3.3 Why is it difficult to localize slow, chronic pain (2) Chronic pain usually irradiate to other areas thus its localisation could be difficult. Furthermore, the efferent pain stimuli are conducted to CNS

Current Supreme Court Cases Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Current Supreme Court Cases - Essay Example She had an infant in her hands and with the nature of the situation plus the initial occurrences; the officers asked her if they could conduct a safety search(Russell 1). However, Fernandez was quick to object claiming that he knew his rights. The officers brought Fernandez into custody under the suspicion he was behind Roxanne’s assault. After identification as one of the perpetrators from the gang robbery, the police accompanied him to the police station. Later on, one of the officers returned to the premises and obtained Roxanne’s consent to search the apartment(Russell 1). The search brought out new evidence that linked Fernandez to the violent robbery. In court, Fernandez’s motion to subdue the proof from the second search did not influence his case. The Georgia v. Randolph case chiefly influenced Fernandez’s motion since the summary judgment held that where there is physical presence of co-tenants and one objects the police’s consent while the other agrees; the police have no option but to respect the objection. Justices Alito, Ginsburg, Kagan, Sotomayors and the Chief Justice were against were against any motions filed with Randolph case as the basis hence agreed with the final decision(Russell 1). However, Fernandez has four votes from Justices Breyer, Kennedy, Scalia and Karlin who supported the Randolph summary judgment with the argument that the police officers went against the law by first taking into custody the objecting party and coming back to obtain consent of other co-tenant. Nonetheless, the California Court of Appeal’s affirmations held that Fernandez was not physically present when Roxan ne gave consent of the search. Typically, the application of Georgia v. Randolph as advocated for by Jeffrey Fisher (Fernandez’s lawyer) was not rational enough to make any exceptions particularly because one of the opposing justices invoked that his expression only depicted insightful disrespect towards Roxanne who wanted

Why is it so difficult to assess and evaluate the likelihood of Essay

Why is it so difficult to assess and evaluate the likelihood of terrorist attacks, both within the United States and throughout the world - Essay Example terrorist attacks in the United States made the government and counter-terrorist organizations realize the urgent and efficient need of counter-terrorist tactics and methodologies for the protection of their public, leadership and infrastructure. Governments of countries all across the world are emerging with modern and effectual strategies. However, certain hindrances are faced during the process of terrorist risk assessment and evaluation. The paper highlights such problems. Terrorists have used a variety of tactics over a period of time to bring about fear in the minds of general public or any particular group of people. Hence, it would be safe to say that terrorists aim to cause a psychological impact significantly. Common tactics employed by terrorists are bombings, biological and chemical attacks, environmental attacks such as hazardous waste disposal and other tactics such as hijacking, kidnapping, sabotage and arson (Duncan et al 313). International counterterrorism efforts include not only state-to-state co-operation but also multilateral co-ordination such as through Interpol. However, it has been observed that Interpol, international police agency, effectiveness has been restricted due to particular reasons. It is poorly funded and the quantity of staff is also not enough limiting its effectiveness. Moreover, Interpol is not allowed to involve in political issues (Duncan et al 315). The separation of Interpol from politics makes counterterroris m a difficult procedure as most of the terrorist attacks are related to political issues and circumstances. The European Union also developed a similarly acting agency called as Europol. Although Europol works effectively in controlling drugs and human trafficking, the counterterrorism efforts are still lagging behind. Europol requires political, technical and financial enhancement and development to tackle terrorist organizations or activities (Duncan et al 315). One of the major problems faced by the

Dewey has a concept of body-mind very different from Plato. What is Essay - 1

Dewey has a concept of body-mind very different from Plato. What is body for Dewey- what is soul Explain how Dewey attempts to account for human intelligence, and why he rejects old notions of dualism - Essay Example In philosophy, the word dualism is used to represent the differences between body and mind. â€Å"In dualism, ‘mind’ is contrasted with ‘body’, but at different times, different aspects of the mind have been the centre of attention†(Stanford encyclopaedia of philosophy-Dualism). Famous philosopher Rene Descartes has put forward the idea of dualism. He believed that mind is a non physical substance whereas body is a physical substance. He argued that brain is the origin of intelligence and the mind, the origin of consciousness and self awareness. Plato, another famous philosopher, supported and elaborated the arguments of Descartes. He argued that our perceptions of distinct and immaterial objects are nothing more than shadows. Even though Plato succeeded in defining soul as an entity imprisoned in the body, he failed to give a clear answer to the question; what binds a particular soul to a particular body. The questions like; ‘what happens to th e soul and mind once the body faces death’ and ‘what happens to the soul and mind if all the materials used in the making of our body is substituted with some other materials from another planet’ are difficult to answer with the help of dualism theory. John Dewey rejected the dualism theory because of the above concerns and argued in favor of a single entity consisting of body, mind and soul. Dewey has elaborated his arguments with the help of following example. The being who eats and digests is also the one who at the same time is sorrowing and rejoicing; it is a commonplace that he eats and digests in one way to one effect when glad, and in another when he is sad. Eating is also a social act, and the emotional temper of the festal board enters into the alleged merely physical function of digestion. Eating of bread and drinking of wine have indeed become so integrated with the mental attitudes of multitudes of persons that they have assumed a

Students Social Lifestyle and First Year Average Exam Grade Essay Example for Free

Students Social Lifestyle and First Year Average Exam Grade Essay The Relationship between a Students Social Lifestyle and First Year Average Exam Grade Alternate Hypothesis: There is a relationship between a Students social lifestyle and their first year average exam grades Null Hypothesis: There is no relationship between a Students social lifestyle and first year average exam grades Introduction The aim of my investigation is to find a significant relationship between a student’s first year academic grades and his or her social lifestyle. I can relate myself to this study as I am in the second year so it would be interesting to see if my first year grades were influenced by my social lifestyle. In this study I will consider one dependant variable, the exam grades and three independent variables which I believe are the main components of a student’s social lifestyle. These are alcohol consumption, the amount of hours on Facebook and the amount of hours of television watched. The more units of alcohol consumed, the lower a student’s grade would be I myself believe that this hypothesis is significant because alcohol is consumed normally before and during a night out. Nights out normally end at 3am in the morning. This means that the next morning the student will wake up tired with a possible hangover which leads to decreased concentration during lectures and the effects may also reduce motivation to even attend the lecture. Therefore as a result of this, the student may not work sufficiently enough to obtain a high grade. A study by Wood et al found that â€Å"A longitudinal study of 444 freshmen attending the University of Missouri found a significant cross-sectional association between heavy or problem drinking and academic problems.† (Wood et al., 1997) The more hours online on Facebook, the lower a student’s grade would be Facebook is a popular social networking website which is used by a large majority of students. Students that spend an excess amount of time on Facebook are missing out on time to study and revise. Therefore they have less time to prepare for their exams which will lead to them attaining lower grades. Kirschner and Karpinski carried out an experiment and â€Å"Results show that Facebook ® users reported having lower GPAs (Grade Point Averages) and spend fewer hours per week studying than nonusers.† (Paul A. Kirschner, Aryn C. Karpinski, 2010) The more hours of Television Watched, the lower a student’s grade would be We can presume that there is a link between the hours of television watched and a student’s grade. The reasons to this are as followed, if a student spends more time watching television they are dedicating less time to learning and revising. The students that watch less television may spend more time learning and therefore could perform better in exams obtaining a higher grade. Currently there has been no research in support of hours of television watched and a university student’s grade so this research would be a first in its field. Data and methodology The data collected has been obtained by using a survey. It contains answers from 82 second year undergraduate students from the Aston Business School. The questions were based on personal information, life style, family background, academic related information and other information. The answers that related to a student’s social lifestyle were then chosen to become variables for the research. In order to process the data, a programme called Stata which is an integrated statistical package for data analysis, will be used. It will enable the data to be viewed easily in the form of graphs, tables and numerical values. A problem that may occur in the study is the presence of heteroskedasticity. This only occurs in cross-sectional studies. We will carry out a heteroskedasticity test and if the probability shows a value quite far from 0 then heteroskedasticity is present. We will use the following methods to interpret the information: * Mean: The average number for the data * Standard Deviation: This creates a value that shows how dispersed the values are from their mean. The lower the standard deviation, the less dispersed the values are. * Min: shows the lowest value scored for the variable examined. * Max: Shows the highest value scored for the variable examined. * Correlation: Shows how strong the relationship between the two variables are. A positive correlation means that as one variable increases, so does the other. A negative correlation means as one variable decreases, the other increases. Zero correlation means that the variables have no effect on each other. I am looking for negative correlations in my study which will be portrayed as a negative coefficient value * Regression analysis – Shows how the value of the dependant variable changes as one independent variable is varied and the others remain fixed. * P value – A means to test the hypothesis, at the significance level 5%, if the P value is equal to or lower than 0.05, the null hypothesis is rejected * R2 – Value used to see how much percentage the dependent variable is explained by the independent variable. The more units of alcohol consumed, the lower a student’s first year average grade would be Table 2 shows that there is a positive correlation of 0.0947 between the students grade and alcohol consumption. This suggests that the students that consumed more alcohol scored higher grades. However, this data could be inaccurate because of possible anomalies. Graph 1 Graph 1 shows a scatter graph of average score for first year against units of alcohol consumed per week. A linear trend line has been added to display the positive correlation that exists between the two variables. It can be argued that the line is only slightly angled which portrays a weak positive correlation. It can also be seen that there is a large concentration where there has been little alcohol consumed but the grades vary enormously. The highest grade was 85. One of the students that achieved this drank 0 units a week, however the other that achieved it drank 14 units a week which is much larger than the mean of 6.71 units a week. A regression analysis was then carried out. Table 3 shows the statistical results obtained. The coefficient is 0.1057496, holding all other variables constant, means for every increase in unit of alcohol, there was a 0.1057496 increase in grades. The R2 shows a value of 0.009 which means only 0.9% of the students grades are explained by the units of alcohol consumption. Further the P-Value is larger than 0.05 at the 5% significance level which means the null hypothesis is accepted. Finally a heteroskedasticity test showed the value of 0.9975 which is larger than 0 suggesting that the relationship is heteroskedastic. It is generally believed that an increase in alcohol consumption would have led to reduced grades because of the effects alcohol has on your body such as reduced concentration. However, the results show a weak positive correlation which suggests that as alcohol consumption increased, grades also increased. These results could be conclusive to Aston Business Students as they all have a similar amount of work and follow similar timetables. In other courses, drinking the same amounts of alcohol may have a different effect on grades depending on how difficult the course is whether the course is exam dominated or coursework dominated. The more hours online on Facebook, the lower a student’s average grade would be Referring back to table 2, the correlation between the hours online on Facebook and a student grade is 0.1291. This also doesn’t conform to the hypothesis as it suggests that the more hours online on Facebook, the higher a student’s average grade would be. Graph 2 Here we can see clearly a positive correlation between the two variables. As hours online on Facebook rises, so do the students grades. However the anomaly which is at (75,80) could have an effect on the trend line causing it to become inaccurate. There is a large concentration of grades around 0 hours. However the grades vary a lot at this area. Table 4 shows the results of the regression analysis carried out on Stata. The coefficient was 0.1333656, holding all other variables constant. This implies that for every hour online on Facebook, there is a 0.1333656 increase in the average score of a student’s first year grades. The R2 value shows that 1.67% of the student’s grades are explained by the hours they spend online on Facebook. This again is small figure so there is a possibility that there is no real relationship between these two variables. The P-Value of 0.248 is larger than 0.05 at a 5% significance value which implies the null hypothesis should be accepted. The heteroskedasticity test showed a value of 0.4790 which is further than two showing that the relationship is heteroskedastic. In theory, the more hours online on Facebook would lead to reduced grades as it provides a distraction for revision and learning. However some students may use Facebook for work purposes such as an online study group. Roblyer et al stated that Facebook has â€Å"the potential to become a valuable resource to support their (students) educational communications and collaborations with faculty.† (Roblyer et al 2010). This shows that students are able to communicate with lectures via Facebook so may be able to get help on topics they are struggling with. This will show an increase in grades. Another reason for the results found is that Facebook allows students to take a break from their work leaving them feeling motivated to return to their work after they have rested so maybe a couple of hours on Facebook is beneficial. Overall the theory and the results do not conform. The null hypothesis will have to be accepted, however on a larger population, theory and results may conform. The more hours of Television Watched, the lower a student’s grade would be Referring back to table 2 shows that the coefficient between these two variables is -0.0569. This portrays a negative relationship meaning that as the hours of television watched are increased, the student’s average grade decreases. Graph 3 Graph 3 shows the relationship between the two variables and the trend line confirms a downward trend. It could be said that there are anomalies in this data at 20 hours of television watched, however 20 hours is possible and three people have reported to have watched 20 hours so in this case, it is justified as valid data. The samples are very spread out thought it can be viewed that a lot of students watch zero hours of television yet their grades varied from 44% to 85%. Similar results can be seen at 10 hours of television viewed per week. This evidence implies that there is no difference between hours of Television watched and the student’s first year average score. Regression analysis results for the two variables are displayed on table 5. The correlation coefficient shows a value of -0.1073295. This shows that there is a 0.1073295 decrease in a student’s average grade for every hour of television watched holding all other variables constant. The P-Value and R2 both show that there is little relationship between the variables. The P-Value is 0.612 which is much larger than 0.05 at the 5% significance level. This means that the null hypothesis is accepted. The R2 is 0.0032 which means that only 0.32% of students grade are explained by hours of television watched. Watching television in my view will reduce a student’s grades as, like Facebook, it provides a distraction towards learning and revision. Also most programmes are an hour long and this is a significant amount of time not to learn or revise particularly if the student watches 2 or 3 programmes in a row. However, MacLean and Roderick (1968) believe that television is â€Å" a new facility through which the teacher can better achieve traditional educational aims.† In university, lecturers can record their lectures and put them on the internet to be viewed anytime, if this is counted as a form of online TV then watching these type of programmes will be educational and may help the student to attain better grades. Conclusion With all the results obtained and analysed and after considering the theory behind the relationship between the variables, it can be concluded that only one of the three sub hypotheses could be confirmed. The first sub hypothesis aimed to find a relationship between a student’s average first year grade and the amount of alcohol consumed, however, due to a positive correlation it was concluded that, in this study, as alcohol consumption increased, so did the students grade. The next sub hypothesis aimed to find a relationship between a student’s average first year grade and the amount of hours on Facebook per week a student used. Again a positive correlation showed that, in this study, the more hours on Facebook, the higher a student’s average first year grade was. The last sub hypothesis aimed to find a relationship between hours of television watched per week and a student’s average grade. The positive correlation confirmed the relationship that the more hours of television watched, the lower a student’s average first year grade was. It must be taken into account that there may have been external factors also affecting the student’s grade that weren’t examined in this research. There were some problems in the data provided that may have caused inaccuracies in the studies. Firstly, the data was collected by means of a survey with multiple questions asked regarding many topics of the student’s life. A problem with using surveys is that people may lack the motivation to fill out the survey correctly and truthfully. Further, if a student doesn’t understand the question, they may just guess the answer which leads to inaccurate results. It is highly doubtful that a student would accurately measure his/hers unit of alcohol consumption nor would they time the hours they are on Facebook or hours watching television. It could be argued that all the data collected is based on approximation rather than accuracy and this reduces the validity of the research. Next, the sample size which consists of 82 people is too small to represent an entire population of students. Also, all the students used were business students. This might have had an effect on the grades achieved for the year and the amount of time the student could use for socializing. For other courses, it could be easier to achieve a higher grade with the same amount of alcohol drunk, time on Facebook and television watched. Finally, it was only students from Aston University who were surveyed which means students from other universities were not taken into account of. This questions the validity of this study and whether we can generalize it to an entire population. In my opinion, a much larger sample is needed to show a more accurate result. Too add to this, another survey should be conducted with a larger population and the only questions that should be asked are the ones that relate specifically to the variables in the hypothesis. This study allowed me to apply the statistical and analytical skills learnt in the econometrics module. I learnt how to use software to help provide statistics to achieve a conclusion to my hypothesis and sub-hypothesis. The study in my opinion was not a success due to the lack of data received. In this study, my hypothesis was not proven so I must accept the null hypothesis: There is no relationship between a Students social lifestyle and first year exam grades. However I believe if I could redo the study with a much larger sample size and only specific questions related to my variables, then the results would confirm my hypothesis. References Kirschner, P.A, Karpinski, A.C, 2010. Facebook ® and academic performance. Computers in Human Behaviour, [Online]. Volume 26 issue 6, 1237-1245. Available at: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0747563210000646[Accessed 01 December 2011]. Wood, P.K et al, 1997. Predicting Academic Problems in College from Freshman Alcohol Involvement.Journal of Studies on Alcohol and Drugs, [Online]. Volume 58 issue 2, 200-210. Available at:http://www.jsad.com/jsad/article/Predicting_Academic_Problems_in_College_from_Freshman_Alcohol_Involvement/406.html[Accessed 02 December 2011]. Freemantle, N et al, 1993. Brief interventions and alcohol use. Quality in Health Care, [Online]. Volume 2 issue 4, 267-273. Available at: http://qualitysafety.bmj.com/content/2/4/267.full.pdf [Accessed 02 December 2011]. Roblyer, M.D et al, 2010. Findings on Facebook in higher education: A comparison of college faculty and student uses and perceptions of social networking sites. The Internet and Higher Education, [Online]. 13/3, 134/140. Available at: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1096751610000278#aff1 [Accessed 03 December 2011].

Human Rights Essays Grotesque Violation Sudan

Human Rights Essays Grotesque Violation Sudan Grotesque Violation Sudan Since early 2003, the world has been witness to the grotesque violation of human right in the Darfur region of Sudan. More than two and a half million civilians have been removed from their homes and roughly four-hundred thousand have been killed in what has been deemed genocide. Despite actions taken by the American and European governments, wealthy celebrities and humanitarians from all around the globe, the conflict in Darfur remains. It is the moral and ethical responsibility of America, Europe and China to give foreign aid to the suffering people of Darfur and chastise the Sudanese government for allowing these crimes to happen. It is also the peoples’ universal right to be protected from genocide and torture inflicted by the Janjaweed militia and encouraged by the Sudanese government. Conflicts in Sudan can be dated back as far as the fourteenth century. The main source of conflict today deals with ideology, ethnicity and competition for resources between the people and the Sudanese government, (Snyder, 2007). Torture, rape and murder has been all too frequent for the civilians in Darfur and war has been a major part of their history. This is no way how people should be forced to live and how a government should govern its people. The current conflict in this region has been labeled by the United Nations as â€Å"the worst humanitarian crisis in the world today†, (Kim, Torbay, Lawry, 2007, 353). Former British Prime Minister, Tony Blair, began an initiative in 2005 to encourage the international community to accept its responsibility for the crisis in Darfur. He said, â€Å"There can be no excuse, no defense, no justification for the plight of millions of our fellow beings in Africa today†¦.It is obscenity that should haunt our daily thoughts that four million children will die in Africa this year before their fifth birthday†¦.I fear my own conscience on Africa. I fear the judgment of future generations, where history properly calculates the gravity of the suffering,† (Howard-Hassmann, 2005, 489). President George W. Bush has also recognized that something needs to be done in Darfur. He said, â€Å"I promise this to the people of Darfur: the United States will not avert our eyes from a crisis that challenges the conscience of the world. For too long the people of Darfur have suffered at the hands of a government that is complicit in the bombing, murder and rape of innocent civilians. My administration has called these actions by their rightful name: genocide. The world has a responsibility to put an end to it,† (Fox News, 2007) Increasingly large amounts of Western citizens believe that the violation of human rights in Darfur, at least in part, is their own responsibility. This is seen very frequently on television with promotional commercials that state, â€Å"Save Darfur!† Documentaries such as â€Å"The Devil Came on Horseback† and â€Å"Darfur Now† have also helped give awareness to the public about crimes being committed in Sudan. The West bears a lot of the universal responsibility to provide, promote, and protect human rights. Americans, along with other powerful countries, have a great sense of pride when it comes to helping others. Western states are collectively responsible for much of the current world social and international order, as well as for the political and economical situations of Africa today, (Howard-Hassmann, 2005, 490). This does not mean that African states and other African actors do not have the same ethical responsibility. Many African leaders are primarily responsible. It is necessary for key international organizations, such as the United Nations, to sort out global ethics and it is necessary to sort out what ethical responsibilities global actors have, (Reeve, 2006, 6). William J. Talbott argued that, â€Å"an appropriate empathic outside observer may be in a better position than insiders to morally evaluate the practice or social arrangement,† (Tablott, 2005, 71). He went on to say, â€Å"First, reliable moral observation, especially across cultures, requires empathic understanding. Not all moral observers have the same degree of empathic understanding. Second, one’s interests or desires can introduce biasing factors that lead to self-serving rationalizations of one’s moral judgment. Other things being equal, moral observers without such biases are more likely to make reliable moral judgments than those with such biases. The problem is exacerbated if the self-serving judgments are socially enforced,† (Talbott, 2005, 76). Many individuals involved in the world debate about human rights now accept that â€Å"to protect against harm and to aid the deprived are strong universal duties,† (Howard-Hassmann, 2005, 489). On-the-ground and regional research by the International Crisis Group, Human Rights Watch, Amnesty International, Refugee International, and Physicians for Human Rights have been the center of important work dating back to the beginning of the conflict, (Reeve, 2006, 5). The conflict in Darfur shows that the intrastate collective action problem has not been properly addressed by a traditional multilateral approach. Instead the crisis in Darfur demonstrates the need for an expanded view of modern international law in the face of intrastate conflict that includes systematic intervention procedures and preventative aid, as well as a comprehensive approach that recognizes and integrates non-governmental organizations and non-governmental organization alliances, (Welling, 2007,149). Many states, organizations, and individuals deny responsibility in Darfur to avoid, prevent, or create harm. Two of these very important states are Russia and China, who have not supported international intervention in Darfur. Russia has blocked votes to take action against the Sudanese because of its arms dealing and China has because of its interest in oil. William J. Talbott reinforced the idea as to why states like Russia and China do not intervene. He stated, â€Å"Where a culture’s practices are supported by socially enforced self-serving justifications, the result will typically be a wide spread moral blindness, a blindness that is unlikely to be detected by the members of the culture who benefits from the practices and, because of the social enforcement, unlikely to be voiced by those who are disadvantaged by the practices,† (Talbott, 2005, 73). China’s need for oil reserves is growing along with the population and the Sudanese are providing oil, (Human Rights Watch, 2003). â€Å"Oil was the driving force behind Sudan’s civil war. Oil is driving genocide in Darfur,† (Virginia Quarterly, 2007, 2). Thomas Pogge stresses that citizens around the world need to take responsibility to protect each others’ human rights, (Howard-Hassmann, 2005, 488). His idealistic idea rejects the â€Å"concentric-circle theory of obligation† and â€Å"communitarian arguments† that people have a bigger responsibility to their families, communities, and nation than to â€Å"strangers with whom they have no, or very tenuous, connections,† (Howard-Hassmann, 2005, 488). Some may argue that this idealistic idea goes against human nature, and they may argue in favor of a more realistic notion.; however, the recognition of individual human rights requires a standpoint from which to criticize not only a culture’s external norms, but also its internal norms, (Talbott, 2005, 87). Article 28 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights promotes the idea that every state, institution, and individuals have the responsibility to protect everyone’s human rights. This is a fine example of global ethics. Article 28 states, â€Å"everyone is entitled to a social and international order in which the rights and freedoms set forth in this Declaration can be fully realized,† (UN, 1948). â€Å"Common-sense morality† helps people to make decisions about their own responsibilities. This often accepts the â€Å"concentric-circle theory of obligation†, (Howard-Hassmann, 2005, 489). This also suggests that people have the greatest responsibility to improve those harms these individuals have caused. According to Henry Shue, the first duty is to avoid depriving people of their rights, (Howard-Hassmann, 2005, 489). States and social institutions have special responsibilities to ameliorate harm that they, or their formal and legal ancestors, have caused. These states and social institutions have a responsibility not only for â€Å"sins of commission†, but also for â€Å"sins of omission†, (Howard-Hassmann, 2005, 489). Shue argues that we have the responsibility to protect others from harm and to aid the deprived. To avoid these duties is to commit a â€Å"sin of omission,† (Howard-Hassmann, 2005, 489). Movements for basic human rights usually develop in reaction to oppressive social practices, (Talbott, 2005, 87). There have been many carefully assembled eyewitness accounts of mass executions of African civilians, clearly murdered because of their ethnicity, (Reeves, 2006, 6). The United States Government has â€Å"substantial intelligence on Khartoum’s movement of corpses from better known sites to remote desert dumping grounds†, (Reeves, 2006, 6). According to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, many of the rights of the civilians have been obviously violated. Article 3 states, â€Å"everybody has the right to life, liberty and security of person.† There have been accounts listed by U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon and groups such as Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch that some two-hundred thousand people have been killed during this conflict, (Fox News, 2007). This clearly violated article 3. Ahmed Adam Ali, a civilian currently taking refuge in eastern Chad, described the violations by the Janjaweed. He said, â€Å"The Janjaweed kill us because they want our land.† He claimed the Janjaweed said, â€Å"we don’t like black people in Darfur. Sudan is for Arabs, not Africans,† (Snyder, 2007). Of his village’s two-thousand people, Ali says, the Janjaweed killed four-hundred, including his brother, and bombers pursuing them on their multiple-week trek to camp in eastern Chad where one-hundred more were killed, (Snyder, 2007). There have been â€Å"hundreds of accounts, authoritatively assembled, of the ethnic targeting and comprehensive destruction of African villages† by Khartoum and the Janajaweed, (Reeves, 2006, 6). As seen in Ahmed Adam Ali’s account, it is clear that these assaults are charged with racial hatred. Article 5 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights states, â€Å"no one shall be subjected to torture or to cruel, inhumane or degrading treatment or punishment.† According to Amnesty International, a report found that rape and other forms of sexual violence in Darfur are being used as a weapon of war in order to humiliate, punish, control and inflict fear and displace women and their communities. These rapes and other sexual violence constitute grave violations of international human rights and humanitarian law, including war crimes and crimes against humanity. The report also examines the consequences of rape which have immediate and long-term effects on women beyond the actual physical violence, (Amnesty International, 2004). Human Rights Watch showed an example of Khartoums’s political and military command and control hierarchy. In a December 2005 report by Human Rights Watch there was a claim that stated: â€Å"Whether [National Islamic Front] policy [in Darfur] amounted to genocide remains unclear. The [UN] International Commission of Inquiry into the crimes in Darfur concluded that there was no government policy of genocide, but that crimes may have been committed by individuals with genocidal intent and that this question should be resolved in a court of law. Determining whether there was genocidal intent requires access to government documents and to those in the leadership, who planned and coordinated the campaign in Darfur, (Reeves, 2006, 6). A determination of genocidal intent does not require documentary evidence. There is already overwhelming evidence of the intent to commit acts that destroy a national, ethical, racial or religious group, which is defined by the 1948 United Nations Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crimes of Genocide, (Reeves, 2006, 7). Eric Reeves has pointed out several examples of how the Sudanese government has in fact committed genocide. He lists: 1.) The government, working along with the Janjaweed, has deliberately destroyed as many as eighty to ninety percent of the villages of African tribal groups. 2.) More than ninety percent of the total casualties are from African tribal populations. 3.) The people who are being displaced report that the massive destruction, killing, rape, abductions, and torture are from the African tribal populations in Darfur. 4.) The livelihoods of the displaced African tribal populations have been deliberately destroyed by the Sudanese government and Janjaweed. 5.) Damaging attacks on the African tribal populations are very often followed by the use of racial slurs from the Janjaweed aimed at this population. 6.) All evidence suggests that these actions are systematic, pre-planned, and coordinated, (Reeves, 2006, 6). There has been enough information available that vast exercises in ethnically targeted human destruction have been taking place, (Reeve, 2006, 6). It was clear to Western policymakers in late 2004 that the treatment of the people of Darfur constituted as genocide, (Howard-Hassmann, 2005, 497). On September 9, 2004 Colin Powell, the secretary of State during the first Administration of President George W. Bush, used the word â€Å"genocide† to describe the situation in Darfur, (Howard-Hassmann, 2005, 498). On September 21, 2004, at the United Nations, President George W. Bush himself also used to term, (Howard-Hassmann, 2005, 489). African areas of Darfur have experienced killing, raping and expelling of its inhabitants. Arab militias burned villages, killed animals, and poisoned wells, thus inflicting â€Å"conditions of life calculated to bring about a group’s physical destruction,† (Howard-Hassmann, 2005, 498). This is considered a form of genocide under Article II (c) of the 1948 Convention Against Genocide, (Howard-Hassmann, 2005, 498). Former Prime Minister Tony Blair talked about the world’s moral obligation and his then Chancellor, Gordon Brown, asked the question, â€Å"if not now, when? If not us, who?† (Howard-Hassmann, 2005, 510). Brown went on to say that it does not matter who causes Africa’s problems; everyone is responsible for solving them. Around the same time, General Romeo Dallaire added to this notion. He wrote: â€Å"Our governments are ourselves, at least in the West. Citizens are capable of actions in democracies, and of expressing their views to their elected representatives. Particular Western states may well have obligations to particular African countries for damaging them in the past or for not assisting them in the present. But this does not absolve other states of the responsibility to help Africans now,† (Howard-Hassmann, 2005, 510). The realization by powerful world leaders that there is a universal ethical responsibility to protect individuals from genocide has drawn debates around the globe. Russia and China have not supported international intervention in Darfur. By doing nothing when human rights are clearly being violated, gives the notion that these actions are â€Å"ok† by world standards. Abandoning the internal conflicts in Darfur weakens international efforts. This also creates a culture of impunity. Allowing genocide to continue gives a signal to African governments, especially the Sudanese government, that the international community accepts governance through murder and ethnic hatred, (Welling, 2007, 154). The willingness of the international community to intervene in intrastate conflicts lowers the level of violence state actors will risk and contribute to more serious foreign policy issues, (Welling, 2007, 154). When action is taken, results are noticed. When no action is taken, obviously, there are no positive results. The primary responsibility for the Darfur genocide falls on the Sudanese government and the Janajaweed, (Garcia, 2006, 51). No Western power had any reason to promote this genocide, nor did any do so. In fact, Western democratic powers strongly oppose such violations of human rights. Contributory factors might partially implicate the West, which has been hesitant to offend the central Sudanese government because it wanted to buy oil from the Sudanese, (Howard-Hassmann, 2005, 498). The Sudanese government also placed itself as a western ally in the war on terrorism, (Howard-Hassmann, 2005, 489). Another factor was the peace agreement between the Northern and Southern Sudan after their long civil war. Despite the evidence of mass murder, rape and torture, only small actions have been made to help the victims in Darfur. According to the United Nations Security Council, some of these small actions include a United Nations arms ban on all belligerents, a travel ban and asset freeze on some Sudanese. Also a decision has been made by the Council to refer suspected Sudanese war criminals to the International Criminal Court, (Howard-Hassmann, 2005, 499). These actions are not enough. People continue to die and only minimal actions, at best, are being made. Some African Union monitors have been in Darfur, logistically assisted by the West, watching what has been taking place. Unfortunately these monitors have been inadequately supplied. Nearly half of the expected personal from the African Union is currently in place, (Garcia, 2006, 53). Fred Nyabera, executive director of the Fellowship of Christian Councils and Churches, has welcomed a pledge of three-hundred million dollars in aid from the Sudanese government to help in the Darfur region. However, he claims that this is insufficient and should not divert attention from the underlying causes of the conflict. He said, â€Å"It is a positive step, but it is not enough,† (Christian Century Foundation, 2007, 15). He went on to say, â€Å"The real issues have never been sufficiently addressed. The focus has always been on the consequences,† (Christian Century Foundation, 2007, 15). Mark R. Amstutz would agree that foreign aid can undermine the goals being pursued, (Amsturtz, 2005, 30). Many world powers have failed to do anything in Darfur, and in some disrespect encouraged the hellacious violation of human rights. This needs to change immediately. The Chinese own forty per cent of a large oil project in Sudan and have also built a one-thousand six-hundred kilometer pipeline there, (Howard-Hassmann, 2005, 499). In exchange for access to the Sudanese oil, China gave the Sudanese government three arms factories. China is not a democracy and its citizens are probably unaware that the Chinese government is supporting a regime that condones genocide. Unfortunately, even if the Chinese population knew of what was happening in Darfur, they would not be able to criticize the Chinese government or take humanitarian action. China’s interests are a main reason why the Security Council has not taken stronger measures against the Sudanese government. Russia also invests in Sudanese oil and sells arms to the government, (Howard-Hassmann, 2005, 499). China and Russia prevent the United Nations Security Council from acting quickly or by applying sanctions. China and Russia have repeatedly threatened to use their individual vetoes to block all United Nations Security Council efforts to place sanctions on the Sudanese government, in order to protect their individual economic interests, (Welling, 2007, 160). Because of this, the international community allowed the killing to persist. Russia has blocked votes because of its arms dealing and China has because of its interest in Sudanese oil. It may also come as no surprise that the two most destructive regimes have been the Soviet Union (Russia) and communist China, which together are responsible for murdering ninety-seven million people, or more than half of all the twentieth century’s democide, (Amstutz, 2005, 95). Whatever actions the West and the international community take to improve the conditions in Darfur, they may not be enough. Humanitarian relief has been the primary aid given to the suffering individuals. The United Nations has not given as much support as it possibly could. Also, Western democratic states could provide more aid to individuals suffering in Darfur. Genocide is a political and military matter which at times is out of the hands of humanitarians willing to help. Genocide requires solutions made by political and military powers. Anything less than these actions suggests that â€Å"the world is indicating an acceptance of the genocidal status quo,† (Howard-Hassmann, 2005, 499). While states have many incentives for intervening in situations like Darfur, history has shown that, whether acting unilaterally or through the United Nations, states unusually intervene late or not at all. In Rwanda, the death toll reached eight-hundred thousand before effective actions were taken by the United Nations, (Welling, 2007, 157). The willingness of the international community to intervene influences the level of violence state actors will risk and contributes to more serious foreign policy issues, (Welling, 2007, 155). The world community, especially developed nations, pays for humanitarian crises that result from intrastate conflict. Many of the costs associated with intervention do not include the social and ethical costs of the nearly four-hundred thousand lives that have been lost. Even with regional organizations such as the European Union, the African Union, and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization involved in Sudan, they have not resolved the Darfur conflict in a speedy fashion, (Welling, 2007, 159). Some governments, such as the American, seem desperate not to be forced to do anything requiring serious diplomatic or political capital, even as it continually talks about the word â€Å"genocide† whenever the subject of Darfur arises, (Reeves, 2006, 7). The European Union has given millions of Euros to Darfur and the African Union has provided troops. However, the number of African Union troops in Sudan is restricted to a very small amount, while the region of Darfur they need to monitor is nearly the size of Texas, (Welling, 2007, 159). Obviously more ground and air support is needed. As of right now, the Security Council members desired to limit the troops’ mandate and refrain from giving the troops permission to protect innocent civilians. The African Union does not even have the most basic supplies. It cannot afford items such as tents, transportation or even food and medicine. Other states are still unwilling to help. For example, Germany gave the African Union computers for technical support, however, the instructions were in German, (Welling, 2007, 159). Diplomats from the region asked for support from the African Union to meet its challenges; however, only United Nations Member States outside of the African Union can provide the type of support needed. Darfur needs a peace agreement and an extensive multinational force to carry it out, (New York Times, 2007). Humanitarian intervention needs to continue in Darfur in hopes to â€Å"remedy mass and flagrant violations of basic human rights of foreign nationals by their government,† (Amstutz, 2005, 143). The United Nations, along with other world actors, need to take more serious action in preventing the genocide that is taking place. Global ethics requires global responsibility. All who are responsible for genocide must take responsibility. The â€Å"when† is now, and the â€Å"who† is everyone, (Howard-Hassmann, 2005, 510). The global responsibility includes all world actors, and it allows no government, no institution, and no individual to deny responsibility. The West may have a special responsibility to cure past harms and prevent present ones, but it is not the only region of the world to be responsible. International responsibility includes the need to understand that the Sudanese government is causing great atrocities in Darfur right now and all world actors need to hold them accountable for what has, and continues to, happen. The genocide must stop now! Bibliography Amnesty International. 2004. â€Å"Sudan: Darfur: Rape as a Weapon of War: Sexual Violence and its Conseguences.† http://www.amnesty.org/en/report/info/AFR54/076/2004. (10 January 2008). Amstutz, Mark R. 2005. International Ethics: Concepts, Theories, and Cases in Global Politics. New York: Rowman Littlefield Publishers, Inc. Christian Century Foundation. 2007. â€Å"Aid pledge to Darfur ‘not enough’, says African church leader.† Vol. 124 Issue 22: 15. Garcia, J. Malcolm. 2006. â€Å"African Promise.† The Virginia Quarterly. August-September 2006:49-77. Howard-Hassmann, Rhoda E. 2005. â€Å"Genocide and State-Induced Famine: Global Ethics and Western Resposibility for Mass Atrocities in Africa.† Persectives on Global Development and Technology, Vol. 4, issue 3-4: 487-516. Kim, Glen, Rabih Torbay and Lynn Lawry. 2007. â€Å"Basic Health, Women’s Health, and Mental Health Among Internally Displaced Persons in Nyala Province, South Darfur, Sudan.† American Journal of Public Health. February 2007. Vol. 97 Issue 2: 353-361. Reeves, Eric. 2006. â€Å"Dissent.† Watching Genocide, Doing Nothing. Fall 2006: 5-9. Snyder, David. 2007. â€Å"See no evil.† US CATHOLIC. January 2008: 30-35. Talbott, William J. 2005. Which Rights Should Be Universal?. New York: Oxford.University Press The New York Times. 2007. Editorial, 1 November. Playing Sudan’s Game: pg. A.26 The Virginia Quarterly. 2007.† Editor’s Desk.† The Quandary of Oil in Africa. Winter 2007: 1-3. Welling, J.J. 2007. â€Å"Non-governmental Organizations, Prevention, and Intervention in Internal Conflict: Through the Lens of Darfur.† Indiana Journal of Global Legal Studies. Vol. 14 #1. (Spring 2007): 147-179. 2007. â€Å"Bush Announces New Economic Sanctions on Sudan to Halt Darfur.† Fox News. http://foxnews.com/printer_friendly_story/0,3566,275994,00.html. (10 January 2008). 2003. â€Å"China’s Involvement in Sudan: Arms and Oil.† Human RightsWatch. http://www.hrw.org/reports/2003/sudan1103/26.htm. (10 January 2008). 1948. â€Å"Universal Declaration of Human Rights.† United Nationshttp://www.un.org/Overview/rights.html. (9 January 2008).

QA Systems in Upscale Hotels

QA Systems in Upscale Hotels Quality assurance systems are an important element of any business strategy. As Porter (1985 and 2004) suggests, quality is now seen as a major force for gaining competitive advantage, particularly with the consumer. There is no commercial activity where this is more important than in the hotel sector. As Yavas et al (1995) state, the question is no longer whether to have quality assurance programmes, but rather how to make these programmes work,  within this sector of hospitality. It can be argued that in terms of quality assurance systems delivery the hotel sector is in a distinctive position, particularly when it is related to service satisfaction (Parasuraman 1997, Schiffman and Kanuk 2000). Unlike most other industries, where customer contact and engagement during a visit might be fleeting, as happens in retail shop environment, a hotels interaction with customers can last from a few hours to several days. Furthermore, as Kandampully et al (2001, p.28) the quality of the hotel product also has to take into account the customer-to-customer interactions. Following a brief literature review, the intention of this essay is to examine quality assurance systems and evaluate the effect that these systems have upon service quality and customer satisfaction within the upscale Hotel market. Quality assurance and management within the hotel environment is focused upon satisfying the customer. Therefore, this review concentrates on the existing literature relating to customer satisfaction and the various methods and frameworks of service quality related to this focus. Academic literature relating to customer satisfaction falls within two main categories, these being the psychological perceptions of the customer and the practical ways in which customer satisfaction can be implemented to help a business achieve its objectives. In the hotel sector, this objective is to try and engender a high level of customer satisfaction in order to positively influence our customers repurchasing and communicative behaviour   (Hennig-Thurau and Hassen (2000, p.62). However, to achieve this aim the business has to understand what drives customer satisfaction. Christopher (1984), Holbrook (1999), Schiffmand and Kanuk 2000 and Brennen (2003) all agree that satisfaction is related to the consumers perception or judgement of a product experience and value when set against their expectations and the payment made. Zeithamls (1998, p.14) describes it as follows, being that   Perceived value is the consumers overall assessment of the utility of a product based on perceptions of what is received and what is given †¦ value represents a trade-off of the salient give and get components  , in other words the cost paid is measured against the value expected . Therefore, it can be suggested that the greater the service quality the higher the satisfaction (Kandampully et al. 2001, p.8) and, conversely, the higher the price the greater the perception of value. Bostepe (2007) further identifies that, within a service environment such as a hotel, consumer satisfaction does not simply rely upon the quality of service satisfaction received from business employees, although this is an essential element. The physical environment, for example the dà ©cor, bedrooms and other facilities offered, are also elements of the consumers perceived value and service satisfaction. If any of these are deemed as sub-standard, particularly when related to the price paid, this will reduce the customers enjoyment and levels of satisfaction. It follows therefore that only by concentration upon providing quality within all of these areas of the product will the business be able to assure satisfaction and encourage customer loyalty (Holbrook 1999, p.121), which Porter (1998), Parasuraman (1997) Agrawal (2000) and Harrison (2003) all agree is essential to competitive advantage. There are numerous quality assurance measurement systems and standards available for use within the business environment. Customer feedback is one such measurement. Client feedback can be achieved by two methods. The first way is to provide questionnaires that hotel guests are asked to complete before the end of their stay. The second is to rely upon externally conducted questionnaires, interviews and polls, which can be conducted on a continuous basis. However, whilst comments and responses provided by customers may act as a good testimonial for the business (Porter 1998, p.1478), these systems have their drawbacks. In addition to the fact that not all customers might respond, the design of the process itself is often flawed (Kandampully et al 2001) and can therefore be misinterpreted. For example, a simple complaints procedure would not necessarily identify areas of quality success. Secondly, these feedback processes tend to lack definition. Their use may therefore be inhibited by the fact that they do not provide management with sufficient detail to be able to locate and resolve the specific areas of the business where deficiency of service quality is occurring. Furthermore, a system of continuous surveys adds to the business administration costs and, in addition, raises the inherent issue of sampling (Visit Britain 2008 b). Evidence of these limitations can be seen in a recent survey conducted by Visit Britain (2008 a) (see figu re 1). Figure 1 Customer hotel choice determinants   Source: Visit Britain (2008 a, p.11)  Whilst it is clearly apparent from these results that customer satisfaction in related to encouraging loyalty and retention, as well as being inherently useful in turning existing customers into promotional tools for the hotel, this does not provide management with a detailed analysis of the areas where satisfaction has been achieved or denote what areas were not satisfying.  To provide detailed quality service observations therefore, a more robust quality assurance system is required and most of these are based upon variations of the Total Quality Management (TQM) system (Dotchin and Oakland 1994 and Ziethaml et al 2000). These methods are designed to assess and monitor the level of quality being maintained throughout all areas of the business process and its supply chain, from an internal as well as external viewpoint. One such variation, particularly applicable to the hotel industry, is the SERVQUAL method, which originated from the works of Parasuraman et al (1991). Kandampully et al (2001, p.68) observe that many academics and practical studies have used SERVQUAL as a true measure of customer service and that it has been extensively applied (Shahin 2005, p.4) in service based organisations. Amongst these service industries will be included the hospitality and hotel sector of the tourism industry. Despite the fact that recent researches have sought to extend the elements of quality measurement with the SERVQUAL model, fundamentally it is still based upon the level of quality assurance to be measured and gained within five key sectors of the business processes, which are: Tangibles Physical facilities, equipment and appearance of personnel. Reliability Ability to perform the promised service dependably and accurately. Responsiveness Willingness to help customers and provide prompt service. Assurance (including competence, courtesy, credibility and security). Knowledge and courtesy of employees and their ability to inspire trust and confidence. Empathy (including access, communication, understanding the customer). Caring and individualized attention that the firm provides to its customers. Source: Sahney et al 2004 The SERVQUAL measurement can be used internally, through measurement against preset quality assurance standards such as the ISO 9001 Quality certification process (BSI 2008) and the Star Rating system operated by Visit Britain (2008) in conjunction with the Automobile Association. In this case the hotel services and processes are measured against pre-determined sets of quality criterion and monitored at least annually by those who regulate these standards. The internal quality assurance programme is also complemented by external consumer questionnaires and interview surveys. The SERVQUAL quality assurance method has been in existence for some years and is tried and tested  (Shahin 2005, p.5), making it a firm favourite within the hotel service industry, where managers are comfortable and confident with the outcomes of these measurements. An element of SERVQUAL that is considered particularly important in this respect is the fact that the system and its measurements are monitored and updated on a regular basis (Holbrook (1999), Sahney et al (2004) and Boztepe (2007)), for example annually (Shahin 2005, p.6). Both ISO 9001 and the Star Rating systems conform to these determinants. As will be seen from the following analysis, the quality assurance systems applied to the hotel in terms of both the internal industry Star Rating and external SERVQUAL systems are virtually synonymous in terms of the standards and factors they rely upon for measurement. To maintain their perception as upscale or 5 star hotels, in each of these cases the hotel will have to achieve much higher levels of standards. 4.1 Star Rating system  Although the Star Rating system is formatted in a slightly different way to SERVQUAL, the quality elements of this process are still graded in a similar manner. The main difference is the fact that there are minimum quality requirements before the hotel will even be considered for a rating. However, even these equate to the tangible element of the SERVQUAL system (figure 2).  Figure 2 Minimum entry requirements   Source (Visit Britain 2005, p.8)  Once the minimum entry requirements have been met, to assess which star level is applicable to the establishment independent inspectors will monitor five quality bands and award a quality percentage to each. These percentages determine what rating the establishment has achieved (figure 3). Figure 3 Quality bands for star rating Star rating Bands One star 30-46% Two stars 47-54% Three stars 55-69% Four Stars 70-84% Five Stars 85-100% Source: Visit Britain (2005, p.6) Furthermore, this standard of quality has to be achieved across a range of five product elements, which include cleanliness, service, food quality, bedrooms and bathrooms. Simply complying in one of the areas is not sufficient to earn the highest star. Therefore, if the hotel fails to achieve the required 85-100% standards during an annual monitoring it risks its rating being downgraded to four stars or a lower standard. For instance, in the example shown below (figure 4), despite the fact that the hotel being monitored has achieved the five star requirements in three of the five bands, its failures in the other two would demote it to a four star hotel. Figure 4 Quality bank achievement Level Standard 1 2 3 4 5 Cleanliness X Service X Food quality X Bedrooms X Bathrooms X Source: adapted from Visit Britain (2005, p.7) 4.2 SERVQUAL system  When using the SERVQUAL system, which is largely based largely upon the results of customer satisfaction surveys, although all hotels would be looking to achieve the maximum service quality satisfaction level of 100% in terms of the overall scoring, there is a significant difference in the way this would be achieved when related to the different standard of establishments. To provide an example of how this equates in practice, the following is a comparison between the SERVQUAL requirements of a 5 star hotel against lower rated hotel, such as the budget Travelodge hotel chain (figure 5). Figure 5 SERVQUAL comparisons SERVQUAL criterion 5-star hotel Travelodge Tangibility 20% 20% Reliability 20% 30% Responsiveness 20% 15% Assurance 20% 25% Empathy 20% 10% Total 100% 100% It is apparent from the above comparison that the 5-star establishment requires their quality of service to be more balanced, in other words no one area of their product should be delivering a lower quality of service than any other. However, with the budget chain, which operates on a low cost strategy that eliminates much of the human resources and food elements, these specific areas are shown to have less importance to the business, but need to be compensated by increased levels of satisfaction in other areas of quality if the business is to remain successful. What is immediately apparent from the analysis of the two quality assurance systems identified above as being used within the hotel sector is their compatibility. This not only applies to the systems per se, but also to the measurement of the results. In both cases an upscale hotel would need to achieve a balanced score with high ratings in all of the quality determinants if it is to maintain its market position and be perceived by the potential customer as a quality (5 star) hotel. Conversely, the lower quality hotels pay less attention to those areas of the standards that are more directly related to the quality of service provided by their human resources, relying instead upon other elements to satisfy customer quality perception, such as low cost (Porter 2004). Whilst it could therefore be stated in simple terms that quality assurance is related to the price being paid for the product, what research such as that conducted by Shahin (2006), Ziethaml et al (1990) and Holbrook (1999), and the fact that all hotels, irrespective of their standards, operate quality assurance systems, shows is that price is simply one element required to fulfil customer satisfaction needs. Whatever price is being charged for the hotel product the customer will still weigh the experience received against the value they expect from the product enjoyed at that price (Zeithaml 1988 and Parasuraman et at 1994). A customer who decides to spend a greater amount of his or her disposable income on arranging to stay in a 5-star hotel will have a much greater value expectation than one who chooses a budget hotel stay. The former will expect the service quality to exist in all aspects of the hotel product. This includes the dà ©cor and the ambiance of the environment, the facilities that are being offered, including meals and room service, and the performance of the hotels human resources. If these quality expectations are not met that customer will perceive that they have not received value for money and therefore will view the experience as less than satisfactory. Therefore, they will be unlikely to promote the hotel in a positive manner to others or re-use it. It is apparent that in the case of an upscale or5-star hotel the combination of the industry Star Rating and SERVQUAL quality assurance systems will have a significant impact upon their service quality and the level of customer satisfaction achieved from using the product. In terms of the Star Rating system, the higher the star rating the greater the expectation of the customer in terms of their perception of the quality that will be found in this establishment. Therefore, the five star establishments are likely to attract customers who wish to avail themselves of the higher quality experience.   With regard to the external SERVQUAL system of measurement, because these are results from customer experiences, the greater the levels of quality achieved in the areas measured, the more likely it is that customers will be retained and act as recommenders to other potential customers. In both cases therefore, it can be concluded that the quality assurance system is designed to achieve competitive advantage by attracting additional market share, thus improving the hotels revenue and profitability levels. Agrawal (2000). Managing service industries in the new millennium: Evidence is everything. Paper presented at the AIMS Convention on Service Management  Berry L L and Parasuraman, A (1991). Marketing Services: Competing Through Quality,  Free Press. New York, US  Boztepe, Suzan (2007). 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An Analysis of the Sources of Disagreements between David Cole & Attorn

These two articles, one, an address by Attorney General John Ashcroft to the Senate Committee on the Judiciary, and the other, an article written by David Cole that appeared on the Amnesty International web site, deal with the ethics and Constitutionality of the United Stated Patriot Act. David Cole, a professor at Georgetown University Law Center, argues that the Patriot Act violates citizen’s civil rights and unfairly imprisons innocent individuals. Attorney General John Ashcroft counters that the Patriot Act is justified as a preventive measure to aid in the war on terrorism. Differences in Facts/Interpretation of Facts Both authors try to put an exact number on the number of individuals that have been detained sine the inception of the Patriot Act to suit their respective arguments. David Cole states that the Justice Department had the number at 1,147 less than two months into the Justice Department’s investigation. The Justice Department, according to Cole, reportedly â€Å"responded by simply stopping its practice of announcing the running tally† (p3) due to â€Å"mounting criticism over the scope of the roundup†. (p3) Attorney General John Ashcroft gives a substantially lower number of individuals. In three month’s time, he states that 60 individuals had been placed into federal custody, and that 563 have been detained due to immigration violations. (p17) Attorney General John Ashcroft states that the Patriot Act is Constitutionally sound, and that he and the Justice Departmen...